Organic-Ally

First there was Jamie Oliver (JO) telling us about what to feed our children -- good on him -- and now Oliver James (OJ) tells us what my husband and I have believed in for a long time: children should be looked after by their own parents. OJ coined the term "affluenza virus" which causes victims to place "a high value on money, possessions, appearances (physical and social) and fame" (see Times article here ). He puts this down to the legacy of both Thatcherism and "Blatcherism" (never heard that one before, does he really deserve an 'ism'?) Is there anything new in what OJ is saying? Listen to the writer in Ecclesiastes: there is nothing new under the sun. Or to borrow another cliche: the writing's on the wall. It would seem logical -- to me as a social scientist any way -- that excessive consumerism (that was what we used to call it) would lead inevitably to the type of symptoms now so obvious and making OJ's thesis so credible. Back in...

This morning found me trudging off to the hospital again, this time having drunk nearly two pints of water. I couldn't get through the whole two pints. It was making me feel quite ill and I felt like throwing up. Then I found myself shaking, as the cold water made its way into deeper parts. I had been recalled so that the sonographers could decide whether or not I actually do have an abnormal womb (see another post ). Bus journey and a long wait at the waiting room later, and after two other sonographers have had a go at scanning (both external and internal -- ouch!), the opinion was I do not have an abnormal uterus after all. What I have is probably a fibroid growing from where the surgeon had closed me up after a Caesarean-section. I'm not sure if I'm any happier or clearer about the situation. Now we wait for the doctors to decide what could exactly be wrong with me and what therefore should the course of action be. Meanwhile, life goes on. There are customers' order...

It's a few cm of snow on the ground and everything grinds to a halt in the UK. Why is it, I ask myself, that if our Scandinavian friends can cope with much more snow and higher summer temperatures, etc, that when weather conditions deviate slightly towards 'extreme', nothing works on this island? Husband had a text from London Underground to say the station is closed due to 'unsafe platforms'. They knew it was going to snow and yet these platforms have not been made safe. Somewhere further down the line a faulty train was holding up the system and had been since early morning for I don't know how long. At his 'alternative' station trains were running late as well due to 'adverse weather'. Knock-on effects? Son's school is closed. We were already warned about this yesterday. The fact is a number of teachers and children depend on public transport to get in. Our roads were also not gritted, making it quite unsafe for children to be walking alon...

Suffolk this time. In a factory farm. Am I surprised? Not the least bit. See Bird farms, bird flu Hopefully, more people will begin to realize the dismal conditions that these cheap supermarket birds are reared and think about better animal welfare and stop buying cheap-cheap-cheap all the time. At this factory farm, there's no more chip-chip-chip. See previous blog . Back to Organic-Ally .

The staff were out in force at my local train station last Friday to catch fare dodgers. It's great, I think. Such people are making other passengers pay for their free rides. But it was rather inconvenient for me, and could have been worse, as I use the station as a short cut. When I need to walk to church some 25 minutes away, the station is a convenient short cut as I can keep to paths with low traffic and although I need to use lots of steps instead of walk up and over the railway bridge on the road, I prefer the cleaner air. I was asked for my ticket as I entered and I explained that I was only passing through the station. I was told I needed a pass or they would charge me when I exited the station. They gave me a pass and I was grateful and exited the station with no bother. It was a different story on the return journey. I was at the other entrance. I explained that I was only walking through the station. The guys refused to let me through. I said I had a pass a couple of ho...

Wanted to say something about son's achievement at school yesterday in my other blog . But there was such a kafuffle getting onto the blog -- because Google decided to switch us bloggers all over to Beta whether we liked it or not, after which I couldn't log back on -- I've forgotten what I was doing to say. There must be a reason for 'Old Blogger', for bloggers who are old and short on memory power and who want life kept simple. Digital clocks are OK so long as the instructions on the display aren't so small I can't read them, for example. My son's clock-CD player-radio was broken and we bought him a new one. The writing is so small on the display and the buttons so minute for my fat fingers I find it very difficult to get it to do what I want. There's the trouble these days with young prime ministers, young politicians, young designers, they don't realize what life is like -- going to be like for them in years to come -- when life, vision and t...

Gales. I'm nervous. I have visions of objects falling on me. Our water feature in the garden has fallen over. The doors in a shed had blown open. I managed to secure them temporarily. Just heard the news about fifteen (15!!) lorries being blown over. Planned to take son to the dentist by bus, both for the experience of travelling by bus, and for green reasons. But roadworks meant there was zero chance of us getting to the dentist on time as I had hoped. So I had no choice but to take the car. Even then I expected fallen objects to cause delays. Well, typical of a post-rugby lesson Thursday afternoon, the boys were late in being released. Just managed to get to the dentist in time. Driving back, the car was acting strangely as it was buffetted by wind. So I am really pleased to be home, well and safe now. Back to Organic-Ally .

I was at Marks for some fresh bread rolls. Woman beside me decided to forgo the tongs provided to pick up the bread and other goodies. She decided to use her fingers instead. That I didn't mind as she only picked out the buns she wanted. But instead of replacing the tongs -- putting them back in the holder provided -- she let them drop on its 'leash' so that they touched the floor. She wasn't even remotely apologetic. Immediately I alerted the staff working behind the counter about the situation. He cleaned the tongs immediately. Top marks to him. He even thanked me for bringing this to his notice. I think I spoke loudly enough for woman to realize that I did not approve of her behaviour. Back home and emptying my kitchen waste into the Council Brown Bin, dog-walker walked past and the dog decided to stop. There right in front of my house, just inside the boundary of our drive, the dog did a wee. I said to the dog-walker, "Thank you very much!" She had the aud...

OK, I am not a perfect mother. But what would you do if you were at a nice restaurant/cafe and your 18-month-old is screaming for attention because she's been left in the pushchair too long while you have been reading your Sunday papers? Would you: (a) stop reading and give your daughter a cuddle? (b) give her a new toy to entertain herself? (c) say, "Wait! You have to wait another five minutes." While waiting for my son to finish his golf lessons, I sit in the cafe area of this restaurant and I cannot remember the number of times my quiet, supposedly relaxing afternoons have been ruined by this toddler who screams at the top of her shrill, sharp voice as toddlers are able to do. Mum does not care. Dad, if he's there, does not care. Every one else in the restaurant/cafe -- and we pay for food and drinks -- have to endure her screaming. Today Mum was heard to say several times, "No, you're not getting out (of the pushchair) yet," and "No, you have to...

I recently got back in touch with a school friend. I remember us fondly as -- amongst other memories -- wearers of tooth-braces. It was like a badge of honour back then. I had my regular visits with the orthodontist and was told after each visit when I should next visit. Then I'd go to the nurse with her big diary and she'd flip the pages to four weeks or six months after and we'd fix an appointment, making sure that it did not clash with a band practice. She would write the date and time on my appointment card and I went home to note that date on my own calendar, diary, whatever. If, for whatever reason, I could not make the appointment, I rang to say, "Please could you re-schedule?" That way my slot was freed up for other people (especially emergencies) and I could rest assured that nobody's time was being wasted. Today my husband received a letter "An Invitation to make an Outpatient Appointment in --- Department" it said. My husband has a chronic...

I was measuring out washing powder to put into the washing machine and I thought: why on earth do manufacturers have to package some washing powder or liquids into tablets or gel sachets, every one of which is encased in some form of pl-st-c? The answer seems to be: because we are either too lazy to measure out the right amounts of washing powder/liquid, or too stupid to do so. I remember washing powder as my mum used it came in big cardboard boxes. In fact everything came packaged in cardboard boxes of different weights. She would measure out the amount of powder she needed for each wash. If those boxes were put into landfills, they biodegraded in due course. Or if they were incinerated (which is more likely the case in Singapore), it just broke down into ashes. It is interesting to read: Me pay? I didn’t ask to be buried in bubble wrap by Martin Samuel in The Times . Basically he is saying: why should I be paying to dispose the rubbish I did not ask for? "We did not ask for gre...

1st April 2016 Update: We do not stock Hankettes Cosmetic Squares any more, but have made-in-UK ones here . ===== The customer is always right. So give them what they want, not what the shopowner wants. Because I do not use make-up now, I didn't even think of selling the washable reusable cosmetic pads on the Organic-Ally business site. When I took the risk and imported my first batch, I was pleasantly surprised to find these quickly becoming very popular. So it was a bit of a shock when I received an email from a prospective customer who told me that she liked the idea but does not like the pl-st-c packaging. Immediately I had a quick pow-wow with my supplier and we now have the same soft reusable cosmetic pads packaged in an organic cotton gauze bag. The bag with a twine tie doubles as a 'wash bag', to stop these pads being lost in the washing machine. We are proud to present reusable washable organic cotton cosmetic pads in new packaging . Whatever hel...

Usually we host a lunch at Christmas and New Year. The Christmas crowd consists mainly of people who are either new to the country or just visiting, those who live on their own, or one or two who have no where else to go at Christmas. Since we were away for Christmas, it was only New Year lunch this time. Our usual 'select' crowd gathered, mainly friends whom we've known for a long time and family who live further afield. We had a lovely time. Food was OK but simple. Company was fine. Son was not as anti-social as he often is. In fact, after the Christmas pudding (which apparently was generously laced with cognac) he was definitely on a high. I do not usually like Christmas pudding, by the way. But we managed to get our hands on an organic version, packed "in an earthenware basin with cloth" and it was delicious. Unlike other Christmas puds I've tasted, this was very light in texture. We were also impressed that there was not a bit of pl-st-c packaging in sigh...

This is the first time ever that I’m spending Christmas at mum-in-law’s house. I was really looking forward to a 'restful' time as recent poor-ish health has made me irritable and quite depressed at one point. It was nice that we could look out of the window and see sheep wandering on the Devon hill-side. When we did go out, it was not unusual to see tractors (real ones, not Chelsea versions) holding up long lines of traffic. There was no internet service. Ah.... There was also a lot of food. We had brought with us a lot of fruit from our weekly organic fruit bag, not wanting it to go to waste. My ‘job’ on Boxing Day was to make a fruit salad. With all that rich food, ultra-sweet Christmas puddings and all that, husband and I thought a refreshing and detox-ing fruit salad might be a good idea. So it was a bit strange, as far as I am concerned, that mum-in-law kept asking whether she needed to make a (sugar) syrup for the fruit salad. No, I said. And thought, 'Syrup on fresh...

And peace and goodwill to all man (ie including woman). This is supposed to be 'the season to be jolly', but do you see a lot of jolliness around? Go into a supermarket carpark and you will find cars parked most indiscriminately. Shoppers do not bother to look for a space. They simply leave their cars where they think they should. Getting in and out of a tight space in a supermarket is difficult enough at the best of times. When motorists choose to park in a non-designated parking area behind you, it is even more difficult to maneouvre out of it. So I was stuck in a spot coming up to Christmas some years back because some moron was parked behind me. The woman driver next to me was trying to leave at about the same time. I indicated to her that she should go first as her path was not blocked by this other car. She glared at me and through the window I could hear her say, "What? You can't reverse?" I've lived with that for a few years thinking that my driving sk...

Husband and I hosted our annual champagne party last night. Sounds a bit posh, doesn't it? Actually it is a very informal 'champagne and Cornish pasty' party. Husband (who usually has more note-worthy role models) took the inspiration from a certain Jeffrey A. We had champagne and shepherd's pie one year, but shepherd's pie for 15-20 guests without a catering size oven was a bit difficult to manage. Last year we experimented with Cornish pasties, bought from the best CP shop in the area (supplied by makers in Cornwall). This year we voted to have the same. 'We' are the eight or nine church members meeting fortnightly at our house as a 'fellowship group'. The party (a Christmas celebration, if I hadn't made it clear) normally includes those members who cannot usually attend due to class schedules, invited guests of the members and members of their families. Last night started out alright. I had cooked the pasties in good time, unlike the previous ...

Son came home today with a card from every other boy in his class. To be fair, he also gave a card to everyone in his class. So we ended up with a pile of torn envelopes and cards that he is not likely to look at again. Why do we do this? This card-giving business? When I was growing up we weren't so much into sending each other cards. Certainly we did not give cards to people we saw all the time. What a waste of paper, especially of the envelopes which can't go into the recycling (because of the glue, unless your local authority specifically allows this). Perhaps we should just put out one card for each child in the class, and everyone gets asked to send greetings (ie sign) to everyone else except himself/herself. Then each child takes that one card home before Christmas. Personally I can't be bothered to send cards to people I see the whole year round. Why send a card when you could send personal verbal greetings? Back to Organic-Ally .

I remember once sitting at church in Singapore and felt myself getting hotter and hotter under the collar. After the sermon I marched up to the preacher to say, "There wasn't ANY thing in your sermon for the single person." The following week he told the congregation, "Last week, SP came up to me to say .... So this is what I have to say to the single person...." Living in a 'family-friendly' culture, the singles can be forgotten even at church. Last week I did it again, sort of. I've been having some health problems. My husband was sorting out the screen projector for the service. The topic for the sermon was: How does God heal today? "You're not going to give the example of the woman who was bleeding for 12 years, are you?" I asked the minister. "Uh, well, yes I could have chosen that story from about 3 million examples, but no, I'm not using that story." "Well, I was just saying to [husband], so many male preachers...

Do you, like me, take your children's uniforms out of the washing machine only to see them sort of 'stand' on its own and wonder what sort of material it is made of? No matter how much they have been wrung in the washing machine, they are still wearable without ironing. Convenience to you and me perhaps. But something about these uniforms scare me. To make anything 'iron-free' is to make it 'non-stick' so that creases do not set in. Non-stick means using that stuff they have been using to coat your pots and pans. My son is moving from short shorts to long trousers next year and I cannot bear to think of all that non-stick uniform next to his bare skin. But where can one get old-fashioned school uniforms these days? Well some 'research' came up with Clean Slate , for organic cotton (yay!) fair trade (better still) schoolwear. Parents should be aware (and wary?) of the PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) in the family of PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals) used ...

When you've spent most of your adolescent life (and your twenties, thirties and forties!) finding 'stuff' to rid your face of the grease that gives you zits, pimples or 'youth spots' ( qing chun dou as we call it in Mandarin), would you not, like me, be taken aback when you are then told that your skin is 'very dry'? So it was that when I used mum-in-law's birthday gift money to treat myself to a salon massage and facial, I was told, 'Your skin is very dry.' But I don't like the idea of slapping cream and stuff on my face. I was therefore chuffed to discover this helpful page from Lyrae's Natural. Lyrae's and Hankettes formed The Good Life Collective some years ago to market their natural and organic products. The advice here is to use oil, like jojoba oil which I happened to have, and work it into the skin with the help of water. Simple. So simple. I don't know if my skin has got less dry as a result, but it is much more shiny a...