Organic-Ally

This is to follow up an earlier post . I had just been out to pick my son up. I was pleased to have had my hat on. I was 'freezen'. I prefer the word 'freezen' to 'frozen'. Don't ask me why. There had also been occasions when I was standing on the school playground and hear other parents complain that the weather had been too hot. "Global warming", we all agreed, and then lament a few weeks later than summer had passed us by. "What summer?" We blinked and the warm dry weather had gone. For the year, it seemed. I also remember someone expressing her fear for little creatures disappearing because they will not be able to cope with the warmer weather. "Yes," I said, "that is probably the case. But nature always finds a way to adapt. Some parts of the UK, it seems are able to produce grapes. Some people are pleased." I'm in a business which has a 'mission' to protect the environment. I cannot be certain if our

This is an edited version of my letter published in the Straits Times in Singapore: ========================= Oct 22, 2008 Charity and a culture of dependency IN READING what Mr Willie Cheng had to say about the non-profit sector, ('Good Principles', Oct 12), I was struck by the following point he made: 'Charities should seek extinction rather than growth. The mantra of business is growth. 'The opposite applies to non-profits. Non-profits are created to achieve societal change. Ultimate success occurs when the non-profit's mission is achieved and its existence is no longer needed.' What a timely reminder amid the current context of big banks (formerly 'cooperative building societies') becoming 'super-banks', the dependence on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in disaster zones, and nearer home, the 'mega-churches'. I realised that NGOs, mothers (and fathers), teachers and missionaries have one aim in common: to work ourselves out of a

OK, just inserting a link in a post does not constitute much of a blog. The truth is I need to think, cogitate, over this one. Back to Organic-Ally . Become our fan on Facebook .

I found this very interesting: The climate change unbelievers Back to Organic-Ally . Become our fan on Facebook .

The words 'big' and 'mega' have been in the news all around the world. The big banks and other massive financial institutions have fallen, or are falling. I could not understand how Fannie May and Freddie Mac could become so big that they are not allowed to fall. (They were 'born big', being instruments created by the American government.) And the likes of Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.... Big does not mean invincible. In Singapore recently the spotlight has also fallen on the 'mega-churches', non-denominational churches led by very charismatic personalities that now boast of thousands of 'attendees' (apparently not all are 'members') in sparkling new buildings with massive carparks, state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, huge auditoriums, etc. with millions of dollars in the pot. This scrutiny is partly due to the fallout from a few major charities where the accounting has been found to be somewhat less than transparent. (My ex-bo

Many years ago at university someone -- who's now someone very important in Singapore -- said to me, "You have old men and women who like to tell stories, and young boys and girls who like listening to stories. Why not just put the two together?" There are scientists who argue organic agriculture will not solve the world's food problems because there is not enough people to do the labour. Or it gets too expensive. In the UK we have an exploding prison population and concerns that prisoners do not get to spend more than an hour outside their cell. Why not put these prisoners to work in organic farms? Lots of sunshine (are you seriously talking about the UK?) and fresh air to give them lots of exercise. Tire them out and keep them out of trouble and off the drugs. Why not? Prison has become so comfortable that for some it's a better place than to be on the streets. I hear stories that illegal migrants controlled by 'gangmasters' prefer a prison bed to themse

I was very amused, tickled, chuffed when, over the weekend, I discovered that something I wrote about pl-st-c bags has become required course reading for a university writing course at a North American university. As I said to my friends at SOAg (Sociologists Outside Academia Group, we even have our own very stylish logo), it was painful not to be able to remain in academia. So I indulged in writing, as well as started this Organic-Ally business. Now I'm sort of more established and comfortable taking on my business-woman persona, and I find that an 'output' meant for industry has found its way back to academia. Irony? But I am not complaining. Back to Organic-Ally .

I was in a flap. I had sent off my passport to a government agency for something to be done and had taken care to do so by special delivery. Because husband had done the actual registration I had assumed that he had arranged all payments and would have organized the passport to be returned by special delivery. No, he hadn't. There was nothing to pay, he said, so he could not pay for return postage, special delivery or not. So I fretted for the best part of a week. The passport was returned by ordinary post on Saturday. They required it again because something else was not sent. So, another trip down to post office to organize special delivery to and fro this time. I worked in Amsterdam where the trade of certain types of passports is good business. It is also going to be a real hassle if I did lose my passport. So I guess I "had the right" to be worried. Then I got a letter from husband's late cousins's partner. She is going blind slowly, and her daughter is only

For some reason I didn't have time to read the MM's message on (not) retiring till late last week. I drafted a response to his comments and sent it off to The Straits Times on Sunday. Today I received their unusually prompt reply that they are not running it. So this is it: a view from the social anthropologist who researched ageing for her PhD thesis. I also made reference to my stint as a factory worker when I was working on my Master's degree. Us social anthroplogists do a lot of 'participant observation'. =============== If we push the argument that ‘retirement means death, don’t stop working’ to the limit, a possible result would be people won’t start working in the first place. In my research I found that the happiest old people are those who are able to ‘age gracefully’. They accept that their bodies age, their eyes grow dim, their hearing deteriorates, and strength seeps away, little by little. They are always finding a new ‘equilibrium’ as they go through

I have a problem most other women would like. When my husband comes shopping with me – in real life, via catalogue or online when I really need to have something replaced – and I chance upon something nice and have difficulty deciding between one colour or another, his response is always, “Have both. Or all three.” As a result there are a few things in my wardrobe and coat cupboard which I have not yet been able to wear because of this. But things are getting better. I have learned to arm myself with some useful phrases when I shop with husband, or to remind myself when shopping alone. For clothes shopping, useful anti-buying mantras are: 1) “Do I really need another of those?” When one coat could see me between or over two seasons, just the one will do. If there is a very similar item in the wardrobe, just the one will do. Do I need another hat, another pair of gloves, another this or that? Do I really, really need another one of those? 2) “There’s no room in my wardrobe.” For a long

Outside my door sits a catalogue for some household products left by 'Ian' two weeks ago. Looks like Ian has forgotten to collect his catalogue or he has given up on selling. I was first introduced to this form of selling/buying when I first came to this country, O, some 15 years ago. This chap dropped off this catalogue. I found some things useful in there and ordered. He delivered. I paid by cheque. We chatted and he told me that his wife was expecting and he wanted to make some extra money. These catalogues kept coming, but they were never from the same person. I quickly figured that while the big company will always make a profit from what it sells, the little persons dropping and collecting the catalogues cannot be making enough money to make this a worthwhile second income. But it does not matter to the big company. So long as there are people out there hoping to make some commission and doing the legwork for them, products will be shifted. I've been thinking of tryin

My latest 'claim to fame' is 'taking on' the former Prime Minister of Singapore (now known as 'Minister Mentor') on the issue of graciousness. A funny thing happened, really. I sent a response to the MM's comment to The Straits Times Forum page. I was contacted by someone from my paper , a new bi-lingual newspaper within the same Straits Times stable. I was told that The Straits Times will not be running my letter, would I like to see it published in the new free newspaper with a 'circulation' of 300,000? The letter was published, edited of course, and which you could read here (reproduced below) not in my paper , but in asionone , another publication in the of Straits Times stable, yes. My letter was reproduced in another paper without my permission. (I'm editing this on 24th January 2008: The edited letter was in fact first published in my paper but I cannot insert a link here, and chanced upon my letter in asiaone . Hope this makes it

"What would you like for Christmas?" husband kept going. "Actually, some rest will be nice," was my sincere reply. Apart from a 'Winter Warmer Fair' at school (because this was held in late November) and a 'Secrets Room' (where children get to 'shop' for presents for their parents to surprise them at Christmas), an Advent Service and end-of-term concert to attend at school, I also decided that I cannot just buy gifts for the teachers. So it would have to be something we make. Dug out an old shortbread recipe. Not sure now if it works. So, researched and decided to change the weights of ingredients. The modified recipe worked alright. What about the container? Took some card paper, marked out the corners and thought I would cut and staple those back like I used to do when I was nine. But son took a look at it and came up with another idea. Instead of cutting and stapling we merely folded the corners into 45-degree angles and stapled. Then the

Husband works in IT. Spends 10-hour days sorting out IT issues. We decided that we needed to bring his Mum into the 21st century and bought her a computer so that she could be introduced to the cyber-world. Last Saturday Husband spent all Saturday configuring her new computer. Sunday he spent the afternoon trying to sort out the computer for another older lady from church. She has dial-up. This morning he brought home her computer, hooked it up to broadband at home, sorted her problems and took it back to her. I think he is so generous to be giving his time like that. Back to Organic-Ally .

A result from the BBC Strictly Come Dancing Series, a lesson on ethical thinking -- here is my recent contribution to Ethical Pulse, online publication of Ethical Junction: Strictly Comes Ethical Thinking ... and Action Enjoy! Back to Organic-Ally .

It must be my favourite day of the year. Better even than Christmas. Yes, the clocks moved 'back' last Saturday and we got that extra hour of sleep. An extra hour of sleep? Not quite. Sunday was also the day before the start of a new term. So we tried very much to get our son back on schedule. As such, rather than the usual lie-in, he was woken up ... quite early, shall we say. I was also on 'meet-and-greet' duty at church which meant that we had to be there earlier. Husband is now talking about getting that eco-friendly hybrid car again. We have been a one-car family for such a long time. But recently with my new duties at church it appears sensible to have another car sometimes. We have now ordered a new car with such low CO2 emissions that the tax is only £35 a year. I won't get it till at least February. I've never been comfortable driving husband's gas-guzzler. It comes in useful when we need to make certain kinds of journeys. I do not feel guilty about

In a previous blog I talked about sea freight. My supplier in Canada (or a former staff member) did not like the idea of sea freight. She thinks ships dump too much rubbish into the sea. This goes against our normal perception of sea freight being more eco-friendly than air freight. So I was, to a certain extent, surprised by this article in The Independent . On the other hand, having had this conversation with this person so jealous of keeping the water around her piece of coastline clean, I was not. Hmm, another ethical dilemma then. Back to Organic-Ally .

I've just pressed the "Send" button on the email to my parents/teachers committee telling them that I am stepping down as Chairman as of January 2008. And you know something? I feel very good about it. I've been talking about stepping down for some time. Every time I broached the subject they ignore me -- in a kindly sort of way. But after last week, I think it will be best for me and the committee if someone is 'forced' to take over. I am still recovering physically from last week's busy schedule, but feeling better every day, and am looking forward to half-term fortnight next week, although the first week is more or less booked up! And of course a mother does not actually get a 'holiday', does she? We need a butler. Back to Organic-Ally .

Last week was a tough week. One of the mothers who is such a rock when it comes to organizing PTA events like Quiz Night was suddenly taken ill, very ill. So I had to make alternative arrangements. The lady who was supposed to arrange food notified me of the new prices and I nearly choked. I had to make alternative arrangements. Fortunately the school cook stepped in and catered for us at very reasonable prices. Last Wednesday was very long as we had a parents' evening at school and we were able to see what son has been doing in class. He was very keen to show us his books. I was a bit perturbed that he had been doing little more than adding three digit numbers together. He was complaining that this was far too easy. He wanted something more challenging. Friday and we were told to collect our boys at 4pm instead of 5pm after their trip to the theatre. But this class returned very late and so the whole bunch of parents were standing around, getting impatient. When the hall was free

This happened a few weeks ago but I never got round to blog this. I discovered a hole in a shoe. It's not really a shoe, but a 'mule', I suppose you could call it that. It's Marks/Sparks Footglove. I showed my son the shoe, "Guess how long Mum has had this pair of shoes." "Hmm. Seven years?" "No, had these much longer than you've been around." "Longer than you've been married?" "Yes." "Ten years?" "At least." More like eleven, I think. I remember using those when I was doing my PhD fieldwork in a city "up north". I remember my 90-something neighbour (then only 80-something) saying how comfortable she found those shoes. She had a similar pair in black. Mine were an adventurous beige. I remember spilling tea on my nearly-new mules and tried very hard to rid them of the stains. No luck. Ah, well. No one's going to notice. These shoes/mules/whatever stayed with me, tramped all over S