Well it can't be said I've led a boring life over the last twelve months. I've sobbed over landfill, stumbled into a mixed plastics recycling conference and have even managed not to tuck my dress in my knickers at a huge county waste seminar. But nothing, absolutely nothing beats my latest challenge. And the best bit is, this time I'm doing it for charity, for Comic Relief, which raises money to help fight poverty in the UK and abroad.My little YoohooTube video explains all, so if you're reading via a feed or email subscription, it's time to come directly to the blog where you'll find me embarrassing...
Thursday, 26 February 2009
I'm finally bagless
I am simply beside myself, because at last I can finally say goodbye to these little monkeys.This vacuum cleaner bag may look like an innocent little thing but the reality is it represents the worst of my incompetencies and whenever I've used them, I feel like I'm battling with the enemy.Vacuuming has always brought out the worst in me and vacuum cleaner management has certainly not been my strength.There have been the "stretching it out" moments, where I would hope upon hope that the bag would take a few more square inches of dust, even poking its contents in a little deeper to create a little...
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Defence against the Dark Art of Pancake Making
As domestic goddesses (and gods) across the land created magic and wonder with pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, the Almost Average household fell into a state of disorder, disappointment and disarray.The culinary bliss of the previous weekend with shouts of milky puddings and other British fayre might have given the impression that I'm a dab hand in the kitchen but the truth of the matter is my experience in that very small space is more like a practical lesson in the Defence against the Dark Arts......especially when it comes to pancakes.If I can just bung in ingredients and cook it according to...
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Gradual changes and ethical decisions
(scary mashed potato monster with avocado)Since Saturday I've been fully occupied making white food with a faint hint of of banana yellow, rice pudding brown and avocado green.It might sound like I've been conjuring up baby food, but I've actually been busy using up 12 pints of milk and concocting banana milkshakes (which the kids hate), bread & butter pudding, toad-in-the-hole, rice pudding, mashed potato and hot chocolates (which the kids love). Even Mr A has been busy with his frother making a couple of cappuccinos.So by today, we were left with just one and a half pints before our next...
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Project Milk Lake
What's a girl to do eh? I only sloped off for a couple of days but on my return it looked like the local dairy has taken up residence . I hadn't really acknowledged our boastful supplies of the white stuff until I opened the fridge this morning to store today's delivery and found there was no room at the inn so to speak. There were nine pints in there already plus today's three extra bottles. Scratching my head in confusion, I am bemused at our surplus stock. Our family normally gets through 2 pints of milk every day and with this week being half-term, quite naturally I'd expect at least one...
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
The Landfill Prize has been announced!
It's official. The Motorised ice-cream cone has been voted Britain’s most pointless, wasteful product by the Landfill Prize panel.I had hoped my nomination, the Sat Nag, would have landed the top prize but I can't agree more that a motorised ice-cream cone is one thing the world doesn't need and is a very deserving winner.This plastic gadget has been voted the winner of the Landfill prize, the award for Britain’s most pointless, wasteful and over-complex consumer item, after thousands of people visited the site, many offering nominations. The motorised cone, marketed by the Perpetual Kid...
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Recycling Blame
It can't have escaped people's attention that recycling has hit the news again, this time with a Food Packaging Study from the Local Government Association, as part of its "War on Waste" campaign.For anyone with an interest in waste minimisation this should be a real welcome report as it pays particular attention to the weight of food packaging that can be found in a typical shopping basket across eight supermarkets.The survey revealed the following results:Waitrose had the heaviest packaging (802.5 grams)Lidl had the lowest level of packaging that could be easily recycled (58 per cent)Tesco had...
Sunday, 15 February 2009
STARVE YOUR BIN! Recycle for London
Oh my word. Thanks to a tip-off from Suitably Despairing, look what I've just discovered on the web. Now if I wasn't so happily married to Mr A, I think I might be tapping Recycle for London for this man's number. I like his style and dare I say we've got the same taste in bins.Starve Your Bin is Recycle for London’s new campaign to urge Londoners to put less into the black bin bag and more into their recycling. London recycles only 20% of its rubbish, but around 60% of what is thrown into its household bins could be recycled.Commenting on the campaign Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Chair...
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
MEGA MEGA News: Almost Mrs Average is officially speechless
As regular readers will know, there are very few things that render me speechless and make my legs turn to jelly.Absinthe did once, but that was a long time ago before you got to know me. Later there was labour both the first and second time round - the act of childbirth I should add, not the political party!But nothing has made me more speechless in recent times than standing on the top of landfill, smelling the stench of household waste as it was bulldozed and buried into our landscape. The pitiful sight of reusable resources poking up through the soil. It wasn't just a sad picture of civilised...
The Carnival of Trash
Welcome to the February 11, 2009 edition of Carnival of Trash.It's that time of the month where everyone gets the opportunity to share their thoughts on the world's garbage. You'll find the bloggers here are from all walks of life, with a different take on all aspects of society's rubbish. This month has a particular American flavour and includes a more contoversial submission that debates the environmental impact on nappies, or diapers as they say on the other side of the Atlantic.Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this month's carnival. Just keep the trash-talk going and hope to see...
Sunday, 8 February 2009
The credit-crunching eco-friendly tip has been chosen
When the folks over at AllAboutYou.com asked readers for a credit-crunching eco-friendly tip, I wasn't sure whether I should get excited or nervous. After all who would respond.... and with what? Would Great Aunt Sally's suggestion of handwashing her Marks & Spencer bloomers (circa 1950) with a bar of Fairy really make the mark? And what about Uncle Derek's habit of weeing in the compost to save flushing the loo? How embarrassing would that be?Thankfully folks, you came to the rescue in the nick of time, with some wonderful tips from which to choose. It was a hard decision, which had me...
Friday, 6 February 2009
LETS barter it! An account of a cashless economy.
It may not be your typical setting for a bartering get-together but on Tuesday evening, a trendy town centre bar in Bury St Edmunds played host to what must be one of the oldest surviving LETS groups in the UK.With cool music filling the softly lit room, the activities began under the watchful eye of the Mona Lisa, raising her enigmatic smile almost in approval of the goings-on.A lively banter kept the atmosphere alive, with a group of folk who were as eclectic as the venue itself, ten people in total, including an IT professional, a lettings manager, a teaching assistant, a broadcasting producer,...
Thursday, 5 February 2009
There IS such a thing as a free lunch!
And here it is, in the form of a free Organic Fruit & Veg Box from Abel & Cole, who have kindly sent me a sample of their supplies to test out.Having been too busy to get to the market this week or indeed my local farm shop recently, it was fabulous timing to have this arrive on my doorstep this week. And with some freshly-made chicken stock in the fridge, I've now got all the ingredients to make a tasty vegetable soup, including leeks, carrots and potatoes.Now I'm not known to normally welcome veg boxes. I have tried them before, but the problem I've had in the past is particularly...
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
LETS have fun!
Well here's a turn up for the books. I'm actually out enjoying myself in a bar in Bury St Edmunds. But it's not just any old bar, it's So Bar in Langton Place, which is the new host for our LETS group.For anyone who doesn't know what a LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) group is, all I can say it's the best thing since sliced bread and is perfect for today's economy. Not only can you have a good laugh to cheer yourself up, you can also get stuff without paying any cash, like these DVDs I've got for the kids. It's a simple system akin to bartering.So if you're in Bury St Edmunds at this...
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