Blog
Mobile phones: When Second-Hand Just Isn’t Good Enough
I’ve decided that I need a new phone. Need, I hear you say? Do I actually need a new phone? Good question. My current phone is an iPhone 3GS. I purchased it as a refurbished phone in January 2010. In phone life, that’s old. iPhone have released 8 different models since they launched, and the […]
The Age of Sustainable Development
On Monday afternoon I went to a lecture about The Age of Sustainable Development. I’m normally fairly skeptical of these men-in-suits type events, but this one caught my eye. It’s good to get out there occasionally and hear what the men-in-suits have to say. The lecture was by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a Professor of Economics […]
Doubt and What to Think About What Other People Think
It’s been almost two weeks since we moved from the tiny flat to the palace. I’ve found these last few weeks quite difficult. After we made the decision to move, the initial feelings of excitement and elation were suddenly swapped with feelings of doubt and panic. “What am I doing?!!!” Our old flat was comfortable, […]
Fair Trade: what it means, what it does, and how you play a part
Last Friday I attended the Fairly Fashionable? event, where local fashion designers created garments using Fair Trade fabric to raise awareness of ethical fashion. I was telling some new friends about it, and one of them asked me: “What is Fair Trade?” Good point! Whilst you probably know (or could guess!) it means that workers […]
Fairly Fashionable? Making a Difference after Rana Plaza
24th April 2014 was the one year anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, where 1133 people lost their lives, and over 2,500 were injured when the overcrowded and unsafe building they were working in collapsed. They were sewing garments to be sold in the West. Companies who have admitted they had recent or […]
Cardboard Castles, Celebrity Coffee and Social Contracts
I had a busy, productive and inspiring weekend. Don’t you just love those weekends? It nearly didn’t happen – I’d been brewing a cold/virus for the previous few days – but in the end the sun was shining and it all worked out perfectly. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights. The Celebrity Photo Shoot […]
The best $199 ever spent?
One of the best lessons I’ve learned about living with less is to avoid looking at adverts. Tricky, yes, because they’re everywhere. I don’t have a television, and I don’t tend to read magazines or newspapers, so I don’t get exposed from these sources… But I walk past billboards every day, buses and taxis drive […]
The One Golden Rule of Decluttering
I’m moving home in just over a week, and there’s nothing like a house move to flex that decluttering muscle and have a clear-out. All that stuff piled away in the corners of the flat that we’ve probably forgotten about? It’s one thing to let it sit there, not bothering us; but it’s quite another […]
