Almost Mrs Averages leaves Suffolk!

NOW THAT'S A HEADLINE THAT WOULDN'T SELL NEWSPAPERS!

But yes, the news is that I'm getting out of town today and even venturing out of the region.

Destination LONDON! The UK capital of the freebie paper.

One of my memories of working in London during the nineties was how the tube trains were often used as surrogate recycling bins, with newspapers abandoned on the seats, the floors and even tucked away near the windows. The buses were no better!

I wonder if anything has changed, particularly in light of new titles that have since been launched. If my memory serves me well, we only had the Metro at the time. Since then, there have been a range of new titles, including thelondonpaper and London Lite, which were both launched in 2006.

There is a list of current London newspapers on the Wikipedia site but if you look at the above photo, there are obviously many others that aren't accounted for.

I have read that following the launch of thelondonpaper and London Lite, Associated Newspapers and News International agreed to pay for 64 recycling bins, in an attempt to manage an estimated extra 1,000 tonnes of waste resulting from their distribution. Now that really is a lot of wastage and makes me very glad that our little town of Bury St Edmunds only has two weekly freebies!

I wonder if I'll spot one of those bins today, hardly a major tourist attraction I know!

Anyway, I'll soon find out...and if I can track down a free wi-fi hotspot (suggestions welcome), I'll publish the photos later on. (An opportunity to blog from London....how exciting!)

So, it's a case of HELLO LONDON...and without further ado, let the rubbish tour begin.

P.S. Take a look at the creative designs that promote the message of recycling on the London Lite site. http://www.thelondonlite.co.uk/advertising/recycling.html. My favourite is the Tower of London version. How cruel of me!

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ADDENDUM
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It's almost 6pm and I'm still in London, having a fab time.

I've seen some rubbish bins and the odd freebie paper, but I've been rather distracted by loads of other things:

....including buying some strange fruit in Harrods and refusing the carrier bag. Yes, refusing a Harrods carrier bag, in preference of using my own! I bet that's quite unheard of!



But do I really need a bag that says I can afford to shop in Harrods?

NO! I don't...

...especially as I can't afford much more than some opulent fruit from the even more opulent Food Hall.

Later, I was also distracted by the fact that it's my uncle's birthday tomorrow and I'd forgotten to buy a card...so with Paperchase on hand, I quickly popped in for an emergency purchase.

But could I find a card that didn't come in one of those unnecessary plastic wrappers? Could I heck! So I plumped for a 60p cheery postcard instead! So much cheaper and much less waste...


And now...onto my final distraction. Before I head back to Sleepy Suffolk, I'm spending the last hour with my lovely friend Ruby, indulging in my favourite restaurant...the very opulent Sarastro on Drury Lane. It's the place where I had my 30th birthday celebrations and celebrated my hen-night, so is very close to my heart

And if it's a choice between documenting bins at Kings Cross or "indulging" in Sarasto's with a very decent meal for just £12.50, you can bet the restaurant wins hands-down!



But don't worry...there's always time for bins later...because with my new lifestyle, Almost Mrs Average can never take a day off!

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