A BLOG ON THE SPECTRUM

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
OR
How green can one family be on a council estate in a city suburb?

I never say 'thank goodness it's friday but thank goodness it's monday'. I really appreciate that teachers need the weekend to recover but having the '2nd naughtiest child in the school' home during the day time really interferes with sleep recovery time. I really am impressed with the ability of my 5 year old to be up watching DVD's from 2.30am, then catch a nap from 6am until 7am and then still be able to get up and meet the new day with gusto and a smile. She is brilliant.
I love automatic washing machines and dishwashers, you can put the dirty clothes and dirty dishes in, have a recovery nap, wake up and find you've done your clothes washing and washed your dishes. I love muti-tasking. All I need now is a dishwasher that will empty itself and put the dishes away and a washing machine that will put the clothes on the line, then iron, fold and put the clothes away.
I read this article today titled 'Greens must come out of the woods' by Peter Gibson.
Peter Gibson says 'Self-styled 'greens' are seen as out of touch in many communities. They should concentrate on local issues.,which are what many people,particularly the disadvanteged see as the most important ones. Hippies, loonies and anoraks-thats how the public views enviromentalists. Or so a recent British survey on recycling said. Well meaning but out of touch.'
Peter Gibson talks about people in deprived neighbourhoods, where poverty, crime and drug addiction are very real and daily problems, the last thing on their minds is ozone depletion or the condition of the rainforests. He talks about how residents should take ownership of their land, and pride would be restored, crime could be reduced and an interest in environmental issues would snowball.'
WHAT A LOAD OF B----CKS!(Yes, I know that is a 'rather weighty' statement)
Who are these 'greens',' environmentalists' and 'they' that he is talking about?
I live on council estate and I am a full-time carer for a child with a disability so I live on carers benefit. Even though it would be difficult for me to work at the moment, I try to give back to the community by fundraising.
I reduce,reuse and recycle, just as Bob the Builder tells us.
I take all my used clothes to charity shops and recycle and compost(in my composter in my tiny back garden) everything else. I also have a water butt to save rain water to water my plants.
I eat an organic,vegetarian diet as much as possible and use all environmentally friendly products in my home.
I save as much power and water as possible in my home, I would love to have solarpanels and a small windmill but like that is ever going to happen on my money.
And yes, I do care about the ozone and the rainforests even though I am experiencing poverty, crime and there is drug addiction where I live and of course I do live in a deprived neighbourhood, GIVE UP HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.
I have also 'taken ownership of my land' and I am proud of that, and so have a lot of my neighbours.
This however has not changed the poverty, crime and drug use in the area.
I am still on carers benefit, somebody still tried to break into my home two weeks ago and people on this estate and probably every other estate , whether it is be a private estate or a council estate in this city, are still taking drugs.
So who am I Mr Gibson?
Am I a hippie, loonie or an anorak?
Or am I a green or an environmentalist?
Or am I one of the deprived experiencing the poverty, crime and drugged environment?
So please Mr Gibson, fly down out of your ivory tower and visit my home for afternoon tea so you can see how the deprived live and see how little we care about the environment and how much we care for our world.
Enough said.
Beautiful afternoon spent in the park whilst Beauty was taken around the lake for a walk in her buggy, she loved the ice cream. I spent the time relaxing on a park bench knitting my bashful and blush blanket,it is coming along well. Knitting must be a very calming image to people as it draws people to me like a magnet. I felt like the knitting counsellor today, three lots of people chatted to me and one lady told me her life story. It was an enjoyable experience, however rain again stopped play. But of course, when it rains it means no plants to water. And luckily this time no washing got wet.
Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes so far in previous blogs or in any blogs to come, I'm really not good at things like that. Anyway PINK IS THE NEW BLOG has made spelling mistakes so I am in brilliant company. PINK IS THE NEW BLOG and DOOCE are my favourite blogs, though I have never noticed DOOCE make a spelling mistake.
Beauty just stirred but thankfully has gone back to sleep, Snow White is watching ER repeats and there is still wandering around upstairs from the others.
I think I'll leave them to it and try and get some beauty sleep( get it?).
Hwyl
Mother of Many