Earth Gazer

The TV series, " Tales from the Green Valley " (which I seem to have missed) contains some great and not-so-great scenes. If like me, you're vegan or vegetarian, scenes of animal slaughter and animal consumption (and they seemed to consume every part, unlike most of today's society) are not something I especially want to watch, even though I know it goes on. However, I digress, follow the link below to go to a YouTube clip of the 'women' making some herbal medicines for the families winter ailments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWSASG3sJ8&t=10m53s

OK, I realise that this is rose-tinted glasses material, but from time to time, why not? I'm fascinated by small, portable dwellings, and especially those built onto or into a van etc. In my dream world, I've converted several vans into little 'houses' that I use to have adventures and explore the wonderful countryside in the UK. Whilst this is a wonderfully romantic idea, I know that the reality might be somewhat different and then there's the unhappy grating of my environmental beliefs against using all that diesel to travel with! Anyway, as a nice distraction, I came across a website which featured a really pretty dwelling built onto the back of a 1950's 'Green Goddess' ex-military, decommissioned fire engine. Here, on the first exterior shot you can begin to appreciate the beautiful wood used on the body of the house part, although I'm not sure about the blue and yellow paint they've used on the cab etc. Personally, I think a cream o...

Morning Rays by Tony Armstrong on Flickr Winter is beginning to rise and gently asking autumn to pass. We've still got relatively warm weather at the moment, but a clear night brings in a chilly mist that looks like the finest gossamer between the moon, stars and the land, not blocking the light, but shifting and softening it. The last couple of nights and mornings have been virtually windless too, which together with the mist, can bring an eery, still atmosphere. Unfortunately, one of the downsides to the stillness is that the sounds of the roads and not-too distant motorway appear louder and closer than they should. I don't like it when this peaceful world is invaded and violated in this way. These unnatural noises are now such a part of our lives that we barely notice them. I could never understand how people who live under flight-paths could get used to it, but I suppose even that can just become background noise for some people, but not me, I think. I can remem...

You know the feeling you get when something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it, or maybe you think you know but you can't quite articulate it well enough, or maybe what you think scares you because of the enormity of the consequences of your acceptance of a problem or situation?  Maybe, just maybe, I've found a book which will help me to accept, contextualise and articulate my thoughts and words on something that is on my mind - Derrick Jensen's Endgame : Volume 1, The Problem of Civilisation . So what is on my mind? I'm interested, very interested, in environmental issues. Specifically, there's the issue that most 'developed' and indeed 'developing' countries are fixated on continued and probably endless economic growth in a world where there are finite, and in many cases, dwindling, resources. Nobody, especially our puppet leaders, seem able to mention the unthinkable - that endless growth cannot possibly continue,...

Yesterday evening, we were invited to a 50th birthday party for a friend of my wife. There were 104 people there and I'm sure they are all lovely, but I could not connect at all. The place had no soul, the people were loud, the music was louder (and was more suited to a 21st birthday). It was everything I am not. Am I just getting grumpy as I get older, maybe less tolerant, or is there something else? I felt lost and alone in a crowded room. I felt angry with myself for wasting my time and my life by being here, but on the other hand I felt I should be respectful and thankful that I had been invited. Fortunately, my wife felt the same as I did, and so after a couple of hours and with a plausible excuse, we said our thanks and goodbyes and left. What I am and what I want is becoming clearer. My purpose, my direction, my goals, my path are slowly materialising before me. But the transition itself will still be hard - just because you know the direction you should be going i...

Please read the update at the end :-) Because the British Isles is a relatively small place and over developed (from the point of view of buildings, both commercial and domestic), you don't expect that there are many 'hidden' communities. Those out there are often fighting with the authorities or land-owners for survival. One such place is called 'Carbeth' in Scotland and it was originally set up in 1920, but really came into its own just after the WW2 when it became an 'escape' for some of the people of war-torn Glasgow and Clydebank. A few years ago, the 'hutters' of Carbeth were being threatened with ridiculous rent rises from the landlord (in Scotland, the vast majority of land is owned by a very small number of wealthy estates) who, it became clear, intended to keep increasing the rents until the people moved off. They were also threatened with violence if they resisted. This short film gives a little background to the people, their bu...

One of the issues that I'm exploring and reading about currently, is what would someone do when presented with a fact or concept that they totally accepted, but in doing so, it then exposes a hypocrasy within their current way of life? In other words, what is a person's 'tipping point'? In a previous article, I included a video showing Julia Butterfly Hill talking about Disposability Consciousness , and since then, I've discovered that for 738 days between December 10, 1997 and December 18, 1999, Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests and deforestation. Luna was over 1,000 years old and 200 ft tall. “When I entered the majestic cathedral of the redwood forest for the first time, my spirit knew it had found what it was searching for. I dropped to my knees and began to cry because I was so overwhelmed by the wisdom, energy and spirituality housed in this ...