New bags and new blogs!

Showing off my new bag with eco-designer Kresse at the Bury St Edmunds Eco Fair

If someone offered to sell me a piece of old fire-hose, I'd probably turn them down in an instant, but a gorgeous bag made from condemned fire-hose that would otherwise be buried in landfill, then that's a different story indeed.

And that's how this story begins, with me becoming a proud owner of a stylish bag made from rubber hose that was once used to put out fires across the UK.

The designs are the hot property of Elvis & Kresse (Eako), a very progressive eco business that turns industrial waste into luxury sought after accessories.  I first discovered them while researching gifts for a Recycle Now article last Christmas and couldn't wait to find out more.  Although decommisioned fire-hose is at the heart of many of their products, the designers also create fabulous accessories from other materials too, including waste coffee sacks, scrap sail cloth, used air traffic control flight strips, repurposed opticians' boxes,  reclaimed pewter, parachute silk and decommissioned office furniture textiles.  Even their packaging is made from reclaimed or end of line materials.

It was a real delight to meet Kresse and James who are the people behind the business and to have the chance to find out more about their plans and the fabulous opportunities in store. The Fire Station proved to be a wonderful setting to demonstrate the value in reusing such materials and what's great about their business is that they contribute 50% of their profits to the Fire Fighters Charity too.


Stocking up on lovely and useful accessories must have been the key thing on my mind on Saturday, as I was also tempted in the direction of the Onya Bags stall to pick up a roll-up back-pack made out of recycled bottles from Dan, who looked quite at home at the Fire Station with his VW Feuerwehr camper van.

After my little spot of retail therapy I also partook in some heavy reuse action myself, which involved five firefighters and some hydraulic machinery.  It was both terrifyng and exciting, and you can find about it at my new personal blog here.

That's right...it's a whole new blog, revealing all sorts of mischief and musings that currently feature in my life.  With so much happening at the moment, sometimes a girl just has to take a break from the bin and you could say, it's got off to a bit of a "cracking" start.  To see what I mean, just follow the link below:

http://anythingbutrubbish.blogspot.com/2010/07/five-firemen-and-blogger.html

And after reading the tale, if you're tempted to help support the Firefighters who risk their lives to save others, it would be great if you could make a contribution to the Fire Fighters Charity at my justgiving page that I set up for the Eco Fair.  I'm appalling at trying to get sponsorship, always preferring to give than ask, but I've learned this is a cause worth nagging for,  So if you can spare a couple of quid, please pop over to www.justgiving.com/buryecofair, where your kindness will be much appreciated.

And as for me, after such a hectic weekend, I know a pair of feet that are still in need of an emergency rescue.   So with a cup of tea in hand and a stool as a footrest, for the moment it's over and out!

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Cool Eco Fair at Hot Venue

If you want to find a cool place to hang out in Bury St Edmunds today, then drop into the Eco Fair that is being hosted by the Fire Station, thanks to Fire Fighter Paul Turner who has worked so hard to organise the event.

Yes you heard it right and apologies to friends on Facebook for having to listen to me mention it yet again, but this it the place to be to find about all things eco today.  I first wrote about it some months ago, in this blogpost here and a lot has happened since then, with a whole load of groups and people signed up to attend today, including the www.welovelocalfood.co.uk who helped me with my Suffolk Diet, Dan from Onya Bags, trendy fire hose upcyclers Elvis & Kresse,  local growers Nowton Park nurseries, The Suffolk Climate Change Partnership,  Woodland Ways,  Bury LETS bartering group and Greener Bury, the launch of a local transition town movement. 

There will be lots to keep the kids entertained too, including dressing up as a fireman, building bird or bat boxes and some children's yoga.

As well as promoting eco awareness, the fire and rescue service will also be raising awareness over safety and the event will also include a demonstration of an emergency car rescue, featuring me being cut out of a car.  Note how casually I mentioned that.  I'm actually more terrified of being the guinea pig for that demonstration than I am of giving a presentation later today about the Rubbish Diet.

As a result I've set up a couple of sponsor pages to help me through it.  Although free to enter, the event is trying to raise money for charity and all the proceeds will be shared by the Fire Fighters Charity and the EACH Treehouse Appeal, to help build a new children's hospice in Ipswich. These are two charities that can't help make you feel lucky to be alive.  So it would be really great if you could sponsor my emergency car rescue on either or both my Justgiving pages that have I set up specifically for the event.  You can find them at www.justgiving.com/thatrubbishwoman (EACH) or www.justgiving.com/BuryEcoFair (Fire Fighters our Charity).  You know I hate asking for money, but boy do these two causes really need your help.

Well, I hoped this blogpost this morning would calm my nerves a little, but the butterflies are still there. So, if you're in Bury, it would be great to see you there today.  It's running from 10am -4pm. There's even going to be a showing of The Age of Stupid, which is another first for Bury St Edmunds too!

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Love your Electricals and set them free for Recycle Week

So if your old man has reached the heights of being follicly challenged and doesn't know what to do with his redundant hair clippers or you're fed up of tripping over the broken strimmer in the shed, this is the week to go forth and show them the door for good.

Not "him indoors" of course, but his truckload of useless stuff!

Yes, it's Recycle Week 2010, which runs until 27th June, and this year's theme is Love your Electricals, encouraging us to finally part with our useless gadgets. That's anything with a battery or plug and could include broken toasters and kettles, old mobile phones or disused power tools, all of which could either be reused or recycled.

But did you know getting rid of this stuff is actually easier said than done!

According to a survey carried out  by ICM Research, many of us have deep-seated issues associated with ditching our electrical clutter and cling onto our wired smalls even when we no longer have a use for them.  No matter whether they are broken or have been replaced by a more recent model, we leave them lurking in attics, garages, cupboards and drawers.

Apparently we hold onto these items for both sentimental and practical reasons.  Indeed the results of the survey revealed the following feedback from participants.

• 40% feel too sad to part with an item they no longer use
• 41% hoped the item might come in handy some day, or that they might be able to pass them on to someone
• 23% feel that small electrical items seem too valuable just to throw away
• 29% hang on to them because they are not sure what to do with them

If this sounds like you or certain members of your family - and yes a few of mine come to mind - the folk at Recycle Now might be able to offer some timely assistance.

For the latest Recycle Week campaign, they've partnered with the British Heart Foundation, who are accepting at their furniture and electrical reuse centres, unwanted electrical and electronic products that are still in working order.  And by dropping off your gadgets you will be doing your bit for charity too.

But if your gizmo is totally defunct and can't be fixed, don't lose hope as there's good old fashioned recycling to hand, where you can drop off your broken electronics at your local recycling centre and the components will be saved to create new products further down the line.

So if you want to find out more, pop along to the Recycle Now website for all the information you'll need.  And if you really do have issues separating yourself from your beloved broken bits, there's even an agony aunt available to lend a hand, a nice old lady with curly grey hair who comes with an interactive set of cheesy  content that will help keep you entertained while you ponder your declutter.

Now where did I put that portable stereo I last saw circa 2003?  It's probably hidden in the loft somewhere, which means I've got little hope of finding it even if I have until the start of London Olympics.  But if I did, there'd be enough material to turn that outdated piece of kit into 267 yoghurt pots and 11 steel cans.

Not bad eh!  Far more useful than dumping it into landfill.  And if this video is anything to go by Mr A had better keep a tight grip on his games consoles, as I can see myself heading straight to the jewellers armed with a screwdriver.

All this, plus news of a competition to win an Eco-friendly DAB radio is available at www.recyclenow.com. Right, on that note, I'm off to hunt out the old Playstation. A new gold ring, here I come!

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Time for an ASAP pledge

Yesterday I received a call from Baglady.  Not just any old baglady but Shirley Lewis, the fabulous campaigner from Northern Ireland who's encouraging folk everywhere to live ASAP - As Sustainably As Possible.  And what better time to get involved as Baglady has just launched ASAP Pledge Fortnight.

The highlight of the awareness campaign is ASAP Pledge Week, which starts on Monday 14th June and leads up to ASAP Pledge Day when, on June 21st, children from Northern Ireland will take their pledges to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont to ask politicians to join in and support living ASAP.

Baglady is asking you to be involved too, by sharing your ideas on how to live as sustainably as possible.  You just need visit her website and tell her what you are giving up and what you pledge to take up. It's that easy!

I'm going to join in and I pledge to give up using my car so much now that it's got fixed.  Yes, I seem to have developed a few inconvenient habits since it's come back from its MOT.   But it's not just about what I am giving up, it's also about what I intend to take up.  And for that, I pledge to help out a charitable cause which is in need of some extra recycling assistance. 

I'll share more information on that soon, but in the meantime, if you'd like to take the pledge too, visit www.bagladyproductions.org/ASAP-world/pledge and if you want to get your kids involved simply go to www.bagladyproductions.org.

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The most rubbish hotel in Rome

So who wants to stay in a hotel like this?   Well, supermodel and eco warrior Helena Christensen for one!

Commissioned by Corona's Save the Beach campaign for World Environment Day, this pop-up rubbish hotel in Rome was created by German artist HA Schult to highlight the importance of preserving Europe's beaches. And it's built almost entirely from rubbish collected from the sands of our wonderful continent.

Although this two storey construction, which surprisingly can sleep up to 10 people, will only be in open until Monday 7 June, its message will last for longer.  The Save the Beach campaign is inviting people across Europe to report and nominate endangered beaches throughout the summer, by visiting www.coronasavethebeach.org.  The winning beach will be recovered and cleaned later this year by brewing company Corona.  Last year, website users chose the Italian beach  in Capocotta as the recipient of the Save the Beach clean up.

It's a shame I'm not in Rome for World Environment Day, which is in fact today.  I won't be off to the beach either.  I'll be digging my garden rather than the sands of Suffolk.  But next time I go, I'll certainly pay closer attention and pick up even more litter than usual.  And who knows, I may find enough to build a trashy hotel nearer to home.   Now, I wonder who I could get to stay in my hotel. Alas, knowing my luck it would be the Chuckle Brothers.  So while I ponder that malarkey, I'll leave you with a photo of the world's first ever rubbish hotel with its first ever guest.

Helena Christensen at the Save The Beach Hotel in Rome

More information about the campaign can be found at www.coronasavethebeach.org.

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Four pounds, really? Well that's music to my ears.

"I really want a guitar", said the little man, a few months ago, in amongst his list of other things that a five year old really, really wants.

"Yes, yes" I said, adding it to my own mental list known as 'yeah, yeah, that's nice...mention it five more times in the next six months and I'll know that you really really - yes really really - want it'.

Now guitars don't come cheap and even second hand ones on eBay can be a small fortune if they are just left to gather dust when a child's keen interest amounts to nothing more than a flavour of the month idea.  So even though a guitar has been mooted around three times already, I've been biding my time for a little longer, just to test the water.

But strike a chord will you, because whilst paying a visit to the recycling centre yesterday, I turned my back to return to the car and there in the Reuse Bay, was a classical guitar, in excellent condition, for just £4!

Of course I snapped it up, brought it home and put it in the hands of the keen little musician, who surprisingly didn't launch into the expected rendition of Early Years thrash metal, but actually created some chilled-out sounds, even though he's got no idea how to play it yet.


But the budding guitarist has got his wits about him you know.  When I put in a request for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, he quickly whipped out an empty jar, requesting donations!  Blimmin' cheek!  I thought I saw him taking a longer than usual interest in the buskers of Bury St Edmunds the other day.  Crikey, who knows where this £4 find will lead.  It might amount to nothing or it could turn into a very satisfying hobby.  Watch this space, Simon Cowell...

So if your recycling centre hasn't got a Reuse Bay, it really is worth suggesting to your council that they include one if space allows. They can offer lots of potential for keeping stuff in circulation and all sorts of things out of landfill.   Maybe you've already got a great one in your area and have picked up some excellent finds yourself.  If so, I'd love to know what extraordinary finds have also been music to your own ears.

And on that little note (excuse the pun)...here's what I've disovered can actually be achieved with a classical guitar.  I'll show Little T this video when he comes home from school later.  I'll also mention that if he ever reaches this standard, his tip jar could be filled up quite quickly.... enjoy.

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Look who's decluttering for EACH's Treehouse appeal!

I hope BBC Radio Suffolk's James Hazell isn't planning to sell off his producer Sally Burch at the massive car boot sale they've organised  [So James, you'd better ask Sal to get off that table pretty sharpish, before someone snaps her up!]

Regular listeners will already know that BBC Radio Suffolk is supporting the East Anglian Children's Hospice Treehouse Appeal, to help raise £3 million for a much needed new hospice to be built in Ipswich. Presenters have been getting up to allsorts including dragonboat racing, cycling challenges and getting into training to climb Mount Kilmanjaro.  And now, James & Sal have put their heads together to come up with an idea that can involve everyone across Suffolk, in the shape of the BBC Radio Suffolk Big Summer De-Clutter.

They're asking listeners to start sorting out their drawers and cupboards and dig out all those unwanted items that are lurking in forgotten corners and sell them off at their huuuuuuuuuuuge car boot sale, which will be held at Ipswich Trinity Park on Sunday 8th August!  So, not only do you get a chance to help your own piggy bank, but you can do so knowing that you're helping a really good cause.

Pitches are just £10 each  and booking forms can be downloaded via the Each Website.  But interested peeps have to move quick.  Pitches are going like hotcakes, with bookings already arriving today, having only been launched yesterday.

Well, I've certainly registered my interest as it's about time I sold off all that valuable treasure I've uncovered from my own decluttering escapade earlier this year.   

But I don't want to just give a tenner to EACH.  I've decided that I'm going to donate all the proceeds of my boot pitch to the Treehouse Appeal, which I'll be announcing when I appear on the James Hazell show tomorrow at 11.10am tomorrow.  Yes, I know I'm on again, but this time I won't be talking rubbish, I'll be talking about blogging, thanks to this little article I discovered quite recently, where I seem to have had a little mention.


More information on the EACH Treehouse appeal can be found at the EACH website.  Details about BBC Radio Suffolk De-clutter are available at the BBC's news pages.  To listen to the James Hazell show, you can tune in online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/playlive/bbc_radio_suffolk/

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