We've caught the swapping bug! Sustainable Bury launches its first Swap Shop

L-R: Pippa, Fiona & me: Some of the founding members of Sustainable Bury, at our very first Swap Shop. Photo credit: Sandy Jackson. 

I've been to several 'Swap shops' or 'Give & Take' days organised by Transition Town groups around Suffolk. the last one being being held by Sustainable Bungay in September.  I must confess that when I left that event, I was both quite jealous that Bury St Edmunds didn't have such an occasion to get the good town-folk out swapping, but also very much inspired to do something about it.

After all, in Bungay, what I witnessed was not just a great way of motivating people to declutter their unwanted items and let someone else take them home for free, but there was also a fantastic vibrant community spirit.  

Now left to my own devices, that inspiration might have remained a pipe dream due to competing priorities.  However, my visit to Bungay coincided with the gathering of like-minded folk in Bury St Edmunds - mainly in a pub - to organise a new Transition Town community group called Sustainable Bury.  As we were planning our events, I mentioned how much I'd love to bring the Swap Shop idea under our umbrella.  All it took was someone to suggest enthusiastically that we should run one just after Christmas and Bob's your uncle, the first community event for Sustainable Bury was born!  Such is the power of team-work.

The posters went up, leaflets were distributed and we received some great mentions on Radio Suffolk and excellent coverage in the Bury Free Press, but it was still quite nerve-wracking yesterday morning as we got ready for our 'big event'.  Would the good folk of Bury St Edmunds turn up?

Setting out the tables at the St John's Centre.

Thankfully, yes they did!

Including Kim, one of Bury St Edmunds' entertainment organisers.  I never did find out whether she took those funky specs home, but I really hope she did!

The idea was that people could drop off items that they no longer wanted and take anything away that they wished, for free!  If they didn't have anything to bring, they could simply leave a donation at their discretion.  Any items that were left, we simply pledged to donate them to the charity shops, dotted along St John's Street.

As with any Reuse event, the swap shop featured a real eclectic range of stuff.  I loved these little Saki cups.

And this unopened Body Shop gift pack was certainly a great find for its new owner.

As was this Past Times tea cosy. proclaiming "Where there's tea there's hope"!  That might become my new mantra.

I'm really pleased that for our first event we had around 30 people, perhaps even more.  To be honest, we were so busy listening to all the great feedback from the visitors who dropped by that it was really tricky to keep count.   In fact, the feedback that we received was so encouraging, we have decided to bring forward plans for our next Swap Shop, which we will now run in April.

I'm now looking forward to the Swap Shop becoming a regular event that supports the Reuse infrastructure in Suffolk, in a way that is truly fun and brings the community together.   For those who struggle to get stuff into town, it would also be wonderful for satellite events to be hosted by community centres and schools in the the surrounding estates and villages and I would certainly be happy to help get those rolling.

However, Sustainable Bury is not just about encouraging reuse and reducing waste, there are other great plans on the cards too.  There is a real wealth of ideas coming through, so if you have time, do check out this great piece by the Bury Free Press from yesterday's event, which also features a video of our members, sharing some thoughts about what they'd love the group to achieve.

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Sustainable Bury really is in its infancy, so while we wait for its website/blog to be created, more information can be found at the Facebook page or by following @SustainableBury on Twitter.   If you are local to Bury St Edmunds and would like to get involved,  please do get in touch via Facebook/Twitter, email me or alternatively leave a note below and I will be pleased to pass on your details to the team.  The next planning meeting is this Tuesday, 15 January, 7.30pm at the Fox Inn, in Eastgate Street.  All are welcome.

More information about Transition Towns can be found at www.transitionnetwork.org.

Transition Town opportunity for Bury St Edmunds

If you are interested in any element of sustainability, resource efficiency or community development in Bury St Edmunds, I suggest putting 15th May in your diary and heading along to the Fox Inn (pictured above), where you will find out more about how Bury can become a Transition Town.

Transition Towns have been in place since 2006, founded by Rob Hopkins, who created the first community in Totnes, Devon. Now there are over 1000 similar initiatives in 34 countries, all seeking to develop a more sustainable and resilient society, which strengthens local skills and resources in order to become less dependant on a fossil-fuel based culture.

Proposed by county councillor Mark Ereira, the Bury St Edmunds initiative will have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the more established groups in the East of England including Suffolk's Sustainable Bungay, Greener Framlingham, Transition Lavenham,Transition Ipswich and Greener Sax.  All it needs is the support of local residents, local businesses, entrepreneurs and community innovators to kickstart the action.  The meeting held on 15th May will be the first step to see if this can happen.

Although I won't be able to attend during the evening (due to a prior engagement with another Suffolk transition group), I fully support the launch of a local group and I have already committed to developing ideas that will help reduce Bury St Edmunds' waste footprint both within the community and the business sector.

So whatever your background, if you'd like to know more or would like to take an active part in creating a more sustainable Bury St Edmunds, please do get involved.

The first meeting will be held at 6:45pm, on Tuesday 15th May at The Fox Inn, Eastgate St, IP33 1XX.  For more information, please contact Richard Frost on 07590 515992 richard.frost3@virgin.net or Mark Ereira mark.ereira@suffolk.gov.uk 07913 818838.

Further details about Transition Towns can be found at www.transitionnetwork.org.

Sorting rubbish. Things take a new turn with a comedy litter pick

Volunteers gather at the start of the litter pick and councillors Pat & Frank Warby, regular litter pickers themselves, stop by to show their support. Other people joined in throughout the day.  Unfortunately, Claire the event's organiser was unable to make it due to illness.

Ever since the launch of the 1000 Bins Challenge, Shedwyn the campaign's mascot has been a busy bee, not least travelling around the country to find out all she can about recycling on the go.

However, yesterday, she took a break from proceedings and got involved with Bury St Edmunds' first ever Comedy Litter Pick in a manner that was more like recycling on the go-go.

Organised by Claire Lowe of the Bury Fringe Festival team, the litter pick was created under the theme of Soaper Heroes, encouraging people from across all generations to take an interest in keeping the community clean and tidy.  Today was the first event of its kind, with many more planned, the aim of which is to inject a huge dose of fun and comedy into an activity that many find uninteresting, by providing on-tap entertainment and encouraging folk to wear their fancy dress garb and join in..

So equipped with litter picking grabbers and Big Tidy Up bags for sorting rubbish and recycling, Shedwyn and I took it in turns to pick our way through the Abbey Gardens, having a go at the odd hula-hooping and chatting to onlookers while we went about our litter-picking business.  And what an interesting day it was too.  Just check out those hula-hooping skills for starters.

Shedwyn, getting a mini-lesson from Circus Freaks very own Lucia

I was privileged to have the company of Chris Holmes for the day, the local community manager at Bury St Edmunds' Asda store.

It was interesting to hear how Asda stores are working closely with local communities, and having recently been approached by Claire from the Bury Fringe, Chris is particularly keen on exploring ways in which his store can help the local community to reduce litter and recycle more.

The litter pick gave us a great chance to talk through ideas and opportunities and chat to a whole range of visitors, including the older generations and teenagers.   The teenagers were a very interesting group indeed, not least because they have gained a reputation for littering the areas where they regularly hang out, in particular around the Abbey ruins.

Teenagers clearing up their litter following a visit from the park ranger.

Some admitted that they have left litter and the key reason that they gave was that there aren't enough bins and that the bins in the local vicinity were often full.  While some offered self-acknowledgement that they were too lazy to go further afield and hunt out an empty bin, they also understood why adults took a tough stance and why it was their responsibility.  Some people also quoted that they were often told off for leaving litter when it wasn't actually their fault and felt aggrieved at having to clear up other people's mess, wondering why they should then bother themselves. 

This was a particular theme and it was very clear in our discussions that in their experience, many adults and those in authority appear to class all teenagers as the same and assume that they are going to be irresponsible, before even giving them a chance.  They quoted a number of incidents where they were targeted and told off where young families and similar-sized groups of adults would be left alone.

The feelings that were coming over seemed to be a mixture of defeat, ambivalence and a dose of rebellion, all of which I still remember from my own teenage years. There seemed to be no sense of hope amongst the majority of teenagers we spoke with, nor the immediate desire to change attitudes about litter.  However when I posed the question about whether they would welcome the opportunity to banish misconceptions and get involved with the comedy litter picks in some way, whether it be through providing entertainment, taking photographs or recording You Tube videos, there seemed to be a slight glimmer of interest. 

One thing's for sure.  I have learned a lot from today and if there are ways to engage young people in the Comedy Litter Picks in a way that benefits them and opens new opportunities for those involved, I will give it a real chance.  As well as wider concerns I admit to some self-interest.  In just three years time, my eldest son will be come a teenager and all too soon, he will be one of the many kids who'll be chilling out with his friends in the local park.  Having witnessed first-hand how the disparate groups of our community engage in conflict of responsibilities as well as misconceptions, (my opinions included), I think I need to be better prepared.   

The Soaper Heroes day was most certainly a taster event and a case of dipping our toes in the water, raising awareness of what's to come in the near future. The plan is to roll-out regular events throughout the year featuring comedy performances dotted around town and all sorts of entertainment to engage the public and participants.

Thanks to volunteers from the community, Chris Holmes from Asda, entertainers Circus Freaks and some positive role models from the younger generation, we did well on the litter count.  There were only a few of us, but we collected 5 bags of recycling as well as 6 bags of rubbish, with much credit going to Mr & Mrs Mills who targeted the Station Hill area.  Pictured below are some of the participants who joined in the fun in the Abbey Gardens. 

Entertainers & Volunteers, including Chris Holmes from Asda and members of the Circus Freaks performers.

More information about Soaper Heroes can be found at www.soaperheroes.co.uk.  If you would like further details or find out how to get involved in future events, please contact organiser Claire Lowe on 07545 286574.  In the meantime, check out Lucia's amazing circus skills where she shows off how she can pick up litter and hula hoop at the same time.   It will be a long time before I can do that for sure.

Friday Fishcakes

On Day 5 of National Zero Waste Week, today's pot-luck lunch at Saints was a fabulous example of why I really should sort out my relationship with the fish that's lurking in my freezer at home.

Don't get me wrong, I actually like fish, but my imagination only goes as far as making fish pie, baking cod steaks or getting a battered fish from the chip shop.  It's the kind of thing that I cook at home because I feel I should, but never get excited about otherwise.

Hence, I really do have around a dozen pieces of tuna and cod that have been left in a frozen state, waiting for their release date from the freezer.   But eh that's progress, whenever I used to buy fish before I started The Rubbish Diet, chances were that it would remain in the fridge until after its use-by date then get bunged in the bin with the packaging intact!

But that was back then and despite my former disposition, I now feel that I've got the inspiration to deal with my larder of frozen fish thanks to the fishcakes that were served today.

Now don't fall off your chairs will you, but I finally managed to capture the elusive Engin on camera today as he talked me through the contents of the fishcakes. And here he is, sharing the wisdom that just like soups, pies and stews, fishcakes are great for using up odd pieces of spare vegetables.

Today's fishcakes contained a mixture of salmon and sea bass, combined with mashed potato, chilli peppers, grated carrots and leeks.  I can also envisage they'd also be great for using up grated courgettes, cheese and any other bits and bobs that might be found in the average salad drawer.  The coating is something that I've never got my head around but Engin explained that he uses a light batter made from eggs, milk and flour.

So my challenge now is to see if I can have the confidence to recreate fishcakes at home.  If I can, I know I will be extremely popular with the kids....well, that's if I leave out the chilli pepper.

Today's lunch made a fabulous end to what's been a great week here at Saints. I'd like to thank owners Engin and Bernadette for being such great sports in supporting this year's National Zero Waste Week and for the delicious inspiration and fabulous hospitality of their wonderful staff.   It's been a great opportunity to share some of their professional expertise in minimising waste and I now feel reinspired to shake up the menu on the homefront and put my leftover veg to much better use

I've also had some brilliant company here too and I've been joined by some of my lovely friends, many of whom have been more than happy to talk rubbish with me.

Take my friend Fi for instance, who despite it being her birthday today, got engrossed in discussing how she is busy concentrating on ways to minimise waste in a new business that she's setting up on the outskirts of Bury.  But just in case you feel sorry for her having to gab on about rubbish, don't, we'll be out on the town later celebrating her birthday properly and gossiping about other interesting things.

And on the topic of other matters of interest, it just so happens that BBC Radio Suffolk's Rob Dunger dropped into town today, researching his new weekend show feature called "Looking Up", which highlights intriguing details about well used thoroughfares around Suffolk towns.  I managed to catch up with him for ten minutes, and was treated to a whole lot of fascinating facts about the history of buildings that line Abbeygate Street, where Saints cafe is based.  In fact, even the view from my favourite table at Saints reveals the pestle and mortar sculpture on the wall of what once was the old apothecary (currently a pasty shop).  And the clock face has an interesting fact about it too, which Rob will no doubt reveal when he covers Bury St Edmunds next week.

In the meantime, I think I may have blagged an interview with Mr Dunger on his programme tomorrow morning.   So if you're up between 6am-9am, do try and tune in.  Even if you're outside Suffolk, you can catch him online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/suffolk/hi/tv_and_radio/  In fact here's the chap himself, the very lovely Dungerman snapped getting ready to take photos of Bury St Edmunds for his Facebook page.

And do pop by here tomorrow too, as I will also be revealing the more serious side of what I've been getting up to this week.   My focus has not just been on having a good time you know and tomorrow I'll be asking for your help in a blogpost which I've prepared in order to support a very worthwhile cause.
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More information about National Zero Waste Week can be found at www.myzerowaste.com and details about Saints Cafe can be found at www.saintscafe.co.uk.

Sardine Surprise

It's Day 4 of my National Zero Waste Week visit to foodie heaven Saints Cafe, and today's "pot luck" lunch revealed another great use for ciabatta, this time served with sardine fillets, which were broken up and combined with a zingy tomato and pepper salsa.

So again, I can confirm that this was totally delicious and is indeed a fabulous way of serving sardines, a fish that so rarely gets on my menu at home that I can count the number of times I've cooked it on one finger!

And what you see to the right is a strawberry and melon lassi, made from the over-ripe fruit that I mentioned yesterday and blended with yoghurt and milk and a dash of lime juice.

I arrived at Saints unusually early this morning and the cafe was packed, so I squeezed myself onto the larger table where I was accompanied by a whole range of  regular customers including a man with a laptop at the other end of the table.

Being a nosey old bird with a penchant for talking to strangers, my line of questioning soon revealed that the man with the laptop, aka Will Bryant, happened to work for professional catering equipment company AKRO who supply a whole range of goods to independent eateries as well as larger organisations including hospitals, school and colleges.

Will is the company's International Sales Manager and we soon got onto the subject of waste and what particularly interested me from the conversation was the extent of "disposable items" that are sold within the sector that are actually made from recycled materials that have reached the end of their life due to their lower grade. I'd never come across AKRO before so took a look at its website and although my heart lies in reusable, it's good to see a mainstream company that serves a disposable-hungry catering sector with greener alternatives.

AKRO also works closely with the Carbon Trust, and caterers who wish to upgrade their ovens to a more fuel-efficient model are encouraged to apply for a carbon loan, where the monthly interest can be easily paid from the fuel savings brought by the new technology.

So as well as enjoying another imaginative and delicious lunch today, I've also come away with more food for thought about what goes on behind the scenes at our nation's eateries.  It's just a shame that Will from AKRO was as elusive to the camera as cafe owner Engin has been this week.

But guess what, I finally managed to grab a quick snapshot of Engin today.....as he was hot-stepping it away from the camera.   Better luck next time eh!

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National Zero Waste Week is an awareness campaign organised by My Zero Waste.  For more information visit www.myzerowaste.com. 

Feel Good Chicken Soup at Saints Cafe

For anyone who's looking for refreshing ways to use up any excess chicken from their Sunday Roast, here's some more inspiration from Saints Cafe on Day 3 of National Zero Waste Week.

Today's lunch was Feel Good Chicken Soup, which regularly features on the Specials menu, using whichever vegetables are available on the day. The contents may change each time but the flavour is consistent thanks to the delicious home-made stock.  This lunchtime, the ingredients included courgettes with onions as well as some leeks.  I've had this soup before and remember there being chunks of potatoes and carrots at other times.

Over the autumn and winter months I become a real fan of heart-warming soups, but tend to use stock cubes or my own chicken stock, which never reaches the taste quality of the soups that are served at Saints, so I couldn't resist tapping Engin for some top tips on making stock.

And the tips I am taking away today include a reminder to use potatoes and a balance of green vegetables as well as the usual bay leaf, herbs and seasoning.  But what's grabbed my attention today is Engin's advice to grate vegetables such as carrots, which really helps to release and intensify the flavour, and is a more eco-friendly style of cooking too as the flavour is brought out more quickly.

Today's soup was served with toasted garlic ciabatta, using perfectly edible loaves that would be too dry to live up to the quality of Saints' fresh ciabatta sandwiches.  Quite often these loaves are also toasted and used for making croutons too.

I also had a surprise treat this lunchtime, which was a smoothie made up of strawberries that were too soft to serve as a dessert, so were whizzed up with orange juice and a dash of lime - delicious.

So, I am totally feeling like a very spoiled customer, making this the most enjoyable Zero Waste Week ever.  However, there have been a couple of mishaps at home, which I will tell you about at the end of the week.

In the meantime, skirting away from my haphazard happenings on the domestic front, please do say hello to Sandy who dropped in to keep me company today.  I know Sandy from when I originally joined BuryLETS, but these days she is more heavily involved in the Suffolk's Wildlife Trust's Barn Owl project.

Sandy's taking an active part in this year's National Zero Waste Week too and has already made a pledge at myzerowaste.com to get creative in the kitchen.  While we sat over coffee I got the low down on how she made some fabulous muffins this week using some stewed blackcurrants that were still in the fridge.

After stewing the blackberries last week, Sandy added extra sugar to the top of the jar to preserve them for longer, and used the intact pieces of fruit (as a replacement for blueberries) to add to the muffin mixture, which incorporated 3 eggs, 6oz self raising flour, 6oz caster sugar and 6oz Bertolli's spread. 

This has definitely encouraged me to check out the remains of the stewed blackberries that I've got sitting in my fridge and have a go at making them at home. They only take about 15-20 minutes to cook so could be a lovely surprise for the kids later.

However my biggest challenge this week is to see if I can get a photo of the elusive Engin, cafe owner and chef extraordinaire, who seems to disappear every time I pull out my camera.  I'm sure you'd all like to see a snapshot of the man behind the fabulous food I've been enjoying this week.  So watch this space and see what happens.

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More information about National Zero Waste Week can be found at www.myzerowaste.com.   While you're there, please take the opportunity to visit this urgent post, encouraging readers to take part in an online Defra survey about how England should manage its waste. The deadline is 9 September, which happens to be this Thursday.

 

The one that doesn't yet have a name

 

Take some toasted ciabatta and add a delicious topping of grated parmesan, some over-ripened Suffolk tomatoes, Essex onions, red pesto and local organic free-range chicken and you've got a mouth-watering lunch made especially for me.

Yes, it's Day 2 of my mission to pick up some inspiration from Saints Cafe for National Zero Waste Week and I have to say, I could get used to having my own personal chef.

Engin would have normally used these ingredients to create a fabulous house stew, but this Zero Waste Week is giving Saints a great excuse to test out some new ideas...and this dish is so new it doesn't even have a name.  Could this be an opportunity for suggestions on a postcard?

I'm really enjoying this Zero Waste Week and am beginning to feel totally pampered.  Having already indulged in a facial this morning, followed by another lunch of great local zero waste food, I'm also enjoying the company of some great friends, who will be both joining me at the screening of No Impact Man this evening at the Abbeygate Picturehouse Bury St Edmunds.

So do say hello to the lovely Lucy Middleton, who is a Marketing and PR Strategist, specifically working in the eco sector and the fabulous Alison Plumridge, winner of two Green Suffolk awards for her work as Director of the Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, soon to be renamed Smiths Row.  (Update: in my excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Alison and her colleagues are this week kicking off a scheme to swap excess supplies of home-grown produce in honour of National Zero Waste Week.  I bet Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste will be chuffed to hear that).

More information about National Zero Waste Week can be found www.myzerowaste.com and if you fancy joining me at Saints this week, do pop in even if you are at risk of appearing in a blogpost.  If you've never had the joy of visiting before, you can find all details at their website www.saintscafe.co.uk.   Of course, if you're at the local screening of No Impact Man tonight, which starts at 8.30pm, please do say hello at the post movie Q&A session that I'm delighted to be hosting (MyZeroWaste are also hosting the one at Oxford, so if you're in the vicinity, be sure to give them a huge wave too).  Information about all screenings can be found at http://gonoimpact.dogwoof.com/

Roasted tomato soup madam? Oh yes please.

Bernadette, one of the owners of Saints Cafe, where they always provide a friendly welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

As well as its great food, the one thing I especially love about Saints is the fabulous atmosphere and very warm welcome. It's the kind of place where the owners and staff let you get on with your business in a non-intrusive manner, but if you're the type to seek out some friendly chat and humorous banter, there's plenty on offer, to make this one of the most engaging eateries in town.  

So, can you imagine how delighted I am to have a valid excuse to dine out at Saints Cafe to celebrate the National Zero Waste Week awareness campaign.  It's like home from home, but without having to do the cooking. And I'm here all week, learning some great tips in using up perfectly healthy ingredients that might not be obvious to an average householder. 

And today's lesson is the humble tomato, which when freshly delivered is great for summer salads but when the sides soften don't look so great on the plate. 

In the past, I would have just chucked out any tomato that didn't sport firmness worthy of a six-pack, but  I now know better and have since boiled up plenty of very ripe tomatoes to serve up an unidentifiable "Cannard Creation".   Anything to avoid waste, even if it did mean I'd be sat on my lonesome at the dining table. 

What I've really needed is a good dash of inspiration so when Engin at Saints told me that today's "pot luck" lunch was Roasted Tomato Soup, both my tastebuds and imagination jumped for joy.  No sooner had I sat down and settled myself in getting ready to blog and have a natter on Facebook, Kathryn arrived with the soup and accompanying garlic bread.

So for a proper look at what was on today's "pot luck" menu, and a game of  "guess the ingredients" here's the close-up shot!  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Roasted Tomato Soup, courtesy of Saints.

Being a tomato lover, this soup was just the ticket for my first day in the cafe.  It was delicious, full of mediterranean flavour and the texture was just perfect, and I managed to grab Engin for a quick run-down of  ingredients....although I am quite proud of myself that I guessed most of them, even if there was one ingredient that totally suprised me.

Aside from the vine tomatoes, which were roasted in olive oil for 20 minutes, the other vegetables included onions, carrots, celery, all softened on the hob with olive oil to release their flavour.  And the surprise vegetable was potato, which Engin introduced as the ingredient "no soup should be without" due to its fantastic thickening properties.

With the skins removed, the roasted tomatoes and pan juices were added to the softened vegetables and brought to the boil in a pan of regular home-made vegetable stock, seasoned with fresh coriander, a touch of basil, some parsley, salt & pepper and simmered for 20 minutes.  It was then whizzed up (my words not Engin's) and served with some fresh cream and a sprig of parsley.

So how easy is that!  It's definitely something I have the confidence to recreate at home.  And while I've been typing up this blogpost, I've already been contemplating this soup as a great rescue recipe for some squashy tomatoes and bendy carrots I have at home, as well as some onions and potatoes that have begun to soften.

The only problem is, those soft potatoes I mentioned.....well, er, I have an awful feeling that in my hurry to exit my holiday lodge at Center Parcs this morning I left them in one of the kitchen cupboards. My only hope is that I left my husband there to pack up the car while I dashed off to take the kids to school.

So as I end this post with a keen desire to make Roasted Tomato Soup at home tonight, the mystery of the potatoes might just thwart me.  And given that my hubby was close to throwing them in the compost bin last week when all they needed was a wash and the eyes removed, I've got a feeling that if he had found them, he might have left them there.

Oh well.  That'll get me back to the drawing board then.

In the meantime, my huge thanks go to Engin and Bernadette at Saints for a fabulous Day 1.  I look forward to coming back to see what's on the menu tomorrow.

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It's not too late to join in the National Zero Waste Week.  For more information about how you can get involved, visit www.myzerowaste.com.

Guess who'll be hanging out with Saints for National Zero Waste Week?

I've taken my husband there, my children, my mother and most of my friends in Bury and friends who visit from further afield, not to mention an eco-friendly fireman and an incognito waste campaigner.  So I thought it's about time I introduced you to my favourite café to hit Bury St Edmunds too, where I hope you will join me next week to help celebrate an exciting week that's about to hit the blogosphere.

Yes, Monday sees the start of National Zero Waste Week, an annual social media campaign that promotes ideas for waste reduction. Developed and managed by the grassroots website www.MyZeroWaste.com, it is now in its third year, and for the first time is sponsored by Tetra Pak.

This year’s theme, ‘Cooking for Victory’, is supported by celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE, who will share how he views food as an asset on the MyZeroWaste website and will demonstrate “a compost while you cook” approach during National Zero Waste Week. The topics are a response to research by WRAP that reveals households throw away 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink every year, costing the average family in Britain £50 per month.

Enthused by the celebrity chef’s commitment to the national awareness campaign, I asked Saints Café if they would also be prepared to help inspire people at a more local level, serving me a daily “pot luck lunch” to showcase how delicious meals can be made from even small amounts of usable healthy ingredients that busy households might otherwise throw away.  Can you imagine my excitement when they said yes!

Saints Café owners, Engin Aga and Bernadette McAleer, said: "since launching earlier in the year, we have always placed a high emphasis on minimising food waste, sourcing seasonal and local produce where we can, cooking in small batches and fresh to order, along with running a careful stock control system to ensure that the ‘Zero Waste’ model is never far from being achieved.

“We are very excited about the project and are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate that efficient use of ingredients can reduce household food waste and save families hundreds of pounds a year too”.

Rachelle Strauss, aka Mrs Green, from MyZeroWaste adds "I'm thrilled that Karen has teamed up with Saints Café to promote National Zero Waste Week locally. It would be great if other eateries across Bury and Suffolk join in too, inspiring their own customers with ideas to try ‘pot luck recipes’ at home in a bid to reduce the nation’s waste.”

Despite having reduced my waste by 95% since I started The Rubbish Diet in 2008, I know I’ve got lax over the summer and so it will be great to pick up some new ideas and inspiration from one of my favourite cafés in Suffolk. There is a real buzz in the UK at the moment, where professionals are even being signed up by production companies to share their knowledge with prime-time audiences on national TV.   It’s an exciting time for raising awareness locally.

Professional chefs are extremely talented in managing food as a resource and minimising waste and even Brian Turner believes there is a role for local chefs to promote their food efficiency skills amongst their own customer community in a way that is fun and accessible. He says “To all chefs - make the world a better place, buy well, waste 'nout and make a bit more profit at the same time, it'd be daft not to.”

So if you fancy joining me next week at Saints for a coffee or even some lunch yourself, do pop in.  I'll be there enjoying good food and blogging from 1pm every day.  If you do, and can share a top tip or two, I'll even feature you on the blog!   But if you live too far away to come along, don't worry, I'll be sharing their top tips and recipes on the blog throughout National Zero Waste Week, before I pack up and attempt to use up everything from my fridge at home.

So how excited am I to have a legitimate excuse to be a lady who lunches!   Well the answer is very, so do keep coming back for all the updates and if you've got a blog, why not blog about it too.

National Zero Waste Week takes place from 6th-12th September. Anyone can pledge to join in at www.myzerowaste.com, where there will be prizes for the most inspirational stories and opportunities to share news on Facebook and Twitter. For further information about Saints Café, check out their website at www.saintscafe.co.uk.

Firefighting blogging duties

Bury St Edmunds Fire Station: Venue for the 2010 Eco Fair

Yikes.  Can you believe it's been over a month since I last blogged.  I'm so sorry for my absence but I've got a list of excuses as long as my arm.  In just five weeks I've packed in a holiday to France ,enjoyed lots of Easter fun with the kids, done a community litter pick, took a trip to the super dooper UK Aware exhibition, have been dropping in on the Green Living Forum to see how their members have been getting on with their rubbish challenge..and met up a with a few folk who want to kickstart a Transition Town initiative in Bury St Edmunds.

I would have kept you up-to-date, but having juggled a middle ear infection, a husband with man-flu and the  ghastly condition of a broken laptop, I've hardly been able to keep up with myself  let alone much else.

And I have to confess that I've also been distracted by a fireman, which has kept me busier than all of the above.

Now before any ladies start swooning over men in uniform and asking for details, let me reassure you that my actions are all above board and that the fireman in question has honourable intentions indeed. In fact, his intentions are more than honourable. They are sustainable and so full of eco promise that Suffolk Fire Service will soon be at the very heart of greening up our county.

I met Paul Turner, the Fire Brigade Union's environmental rep for Suffolk (pictured above), as a result of my last visit to BBC Radio Suffolk when I was a guest on James Hazell's show alongside local wedding dress designer Terry Fox.  Her partner who accompanied us into the Green Room is a firefighter and when he discovered my passion for waste reduction, he suggested that Paul and I should get in touch.

Two weeks later, I happily found myself on a tour of Bury St Edmunds fire station listening to Paul's account of what he and the station have already achieved, as well as his plans for the fire station to promote sustainability throughout the local community and across Suffolk.

To date he has been responsible for organising recycling facilities onsite as well as installing compost bins for kitchen waste and creating a wildlife garden in the grounds of the fire station.  In fact, the garden has already won a prestigious Bury in Bloom award for its contribution to the environment.

Now Paul wants to share green and sustainable ideas more widely and this year is launching Suffolk Fire Service's first ever eco fair, where members of the public, colleagues from other stations and  local business owners will be invited to to the station's premises to sample eco products and services and find out more about local facilities that can help reduce their carbon footprint.

So caught by his enthusiasm, I couldn't resist pointing him in the direction of a few useful sources who I thought would love to help out, starting with fabulous designers Elvis & Kresse who save decommisioned firehose from landfill, by turning them into stylish accessories including bags, belts and  iPhone covers.

 

iPhone cover made from firehose

The great news is that Paul has already got in touch with Elvis & Kresse to make plans for them to take delivery of Suffolk's decommissioned firehose this year and is hoping that the company will also be able to show off their products at the Eco Fair, which is being held on Saturday 10th July.

So what else can you expect from the event?  It's early days yet, but arrangements are already in place to showcase local food, promote renewable energy systems and to introduce a fabulous range of awesome eco products that are beginning to penetrate the consumer marketplace.  There will be talks and video presentations as well as fun activities for the kids, all aimed at demonstrating how eco alternatives can be incorporated into mainstream living, whether it's greening up the office or keeping hens in your back garden.

Although  the event will be free to exhibitors and to members of the public, there will be a raffle which will raise money in support of the Firefighters Charity and the EACH (East Anglian Children's Hospice) Treehouse Appeal, to specifically fund a sedum roof that is being planned for a new hospice.

With such worthwhile causes it would be great if this raffle could raise some gigantic funds.  So if any of you lovely readers know of friendly companies who would be happy to donate some eco prizes, then do get in touch.  Some exciting prizes are already coming in from a range of green companies, but to help raise shedloads of money for these particular charities I hope we can hook a few more.

More information will be available nearer the time, once the programme has been finalised.  But if you or any of your contacts are interested in supporting the event, either as a speaker, hosting an activity or as a stall-holder, feel free to email me and I will be happy to forward your details onto Paul.

In the meantime, I think I'll just have a nice cup of tea and a sit down.  Ooooh ouch!  Did I mention I've also taken up aerobics and regular cycling too.  No wonder you haven't got a blogpost out of me for the last month! 

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Day 4: Girls go shopping!

It's been a beautiful day in Moreton Hall... lovely sunshine and birds twittering...

... a wonderul summer's day, only be topped off by builders drilling and banging outside...

...followed by their intermittent sunbathing on the grass verge just in front of my home.

Crikey, now there's a view I'd rather not have.

So when my best buddy Lucy offered to whisk me away for some shopping, how could I say no.

We both love shopping and have spent many a day browsing around boutiques, interior design shops as well as creative havens of artistic delight.

But today was different!

We weren't off to the sparkling stores in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich or Cambridge.

In fact, we didn't need to leave Moreton Hall.

Our destination was the St Nicholas Hospice Retail Centre, which is located in a warehouse just a few minutes away from our residential area. It's an amazing place full of good quality furniture and homewares.



I discovered this treasure trove a couple of weeks ago, and having spent many a shared hour being inspired by the latest wave of TV programmes such as Kirstie's Home-made Home and Mary Queen of Charity Shops, I couldn't wait to introduce Lucy to my new find! I knew she'd love it because as well as enjoying a good rummage, she's become more and more active in supporting charity work - even as I write she's preparing for the Race for Life this Sunday.

And what better timing could there be to visit than Recycle Week, when we are being encouraged to reduce and reuse as well as recycle.

I've been thinking a lot about charity shops myself recently, not just in relation to the benefits they offer but regarding how my attitude to them has changed over time.

When I was a student in the 1980s, I used to use charity shops a lot, looking for every opportunity to find something cheap that could be altered and would make me feel like an individual.

Then when I graduated and found a job, I left the charity shops behind and instead made sure my work wardrobe was kept up-to-date with the latest fashions from Next and Principles, switching to Per Una and Phase Eight as I grew older.

I found that the more money I earned, the less I depended on charity shops and if ever I visited, it would be simply to drop stuff off before running back out again, with the kind of embarrassed look that said "I'm only donating, I can actually afford to shop elsewhere, you know".

What a snobby twerp eh!

And yes, you do now have my permission to give me a tickle around the face with a wet fish whilst dangling eels over my head.

But before you do, let me at least redeem myself because these days you can't keep me out of such places.

I've since realised that my purchasing habits are no longer dependant on income or the pride associated with buying brand new things. For me, it's now the opportunity to buy things we need without impacting upon the waste stream and the environment. And by switching much of my custom to charitable causes, I know our money will be put to good use.

Of course, not everything I buy is sourced from a charity or thrift shop but it is the case that while Mr A may be found buying his bespoke-made suit at the tailors, I am usually busy in the charity shop next door.

And thanks to this, my favourite wardrobe items have been charity shop finds, including a fabulous pair of nearly new Betty Barclay boots that I picked up from St Nicholas Hospice's town-centre store for just £25 last Christmas. Indeed, I've seen so many good quality items, I've regularly come away speechless.

So this afternoon was one of those visits to find little treasures and support a very worthy cause that provides palliative care to local people and their families living with terminal illnesses. And I had no hesitation that Lucy would be impressed with the retail facilities.

While I came away with a brand new picnic rucksack, she picked up a few items including a stunning piece of art, which will look fabulous in her home and a Lion King video which her daughter has been wanting for over six months.

But we also came away making a pact to rummage through our homes for good quality items that we no longer need and have committed to dropping them off in a month's time.

It won't have the same impact as Mrs Green's massive decluttering exercise that's occuring over at MyZeroWaste - I don't think I could be that brave - but it will be a gentle nudge for us to get rid of some old things that we've both been harbouring. And by doing it together we can at least encourage each other along.

Now the one thing I haven't told you about Lucy, is that last weekend as her pledge for Recycle Week, she also agreed to let me help her whittle down her week's rubbish.

As well as taking her food waste off her hands she's also going to hand over the things that she's been unable to recycle in her blue bin. She hasn't yet revealed what she's got in store, so who knows what challenges I'll find. I'm not sure whether I should indeed be scared.

Well at least I've already sorted out her Tetra Pak problem, because the other thing I haven't told you is that she's married to "that man in the kilt"...

YES...Remember him?

For all those who missed it, here's the YouTube video revealing what actually happened to her cartons. With entertainment like this, I don't think she'll be throwing them in her landfill bin ever again!



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Day 1: Merci beaucoup Monsieur

Il y a beaucoup des cartons pour moi. Bon travail Monsieur. Super!

Phew. I have some cartons! The relief!

If you remember, my sons' school is joining in my Recycle Week pledge by collecting Tetra Pak cartons over the next few days but having hobbled into school this morning, I hadn't noticed whether the rest of the children were laden down with bags and bags to add to our collection.

And I have a another confession to make. EVEN I forgot to give our own cartons to my children to take to school today.

Yes I know it's Recycle Week and I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on such matters but I was entirely distracted by avoiding the pain that comes with a trapped nerve that I developed yesterday.

And given that it had taken me a whole hour to ease myself out of bed, culminating in a great impression of a cow in labour, gathering cartons was not the first thing on my mind.

AND there were the logistics of getting to Ipswich to consider, where I spent most of the day.

So I don't yet know how the rest of the children got on today at Abbots Green. However the REALLY GREAT NEWS is that on picking up my eldest from his regular French Club at school this evening, Jon who runs the fabulous Le Club Francais, happily presented me with OVER A DOZEN Tetra Pak cartons that he'd collected at the weekend.

Yep, it was party time for some lucky folk and as a result there were a couple of bagfulls that would have otherwise ended up in landfill.

How blessed am I?

And very easily pleased!

So as well as the dozen or so that we've been collecting at home, we can now match that with the donation given to us by Jon from Le Club Francais.

And with the numbers quickly gathering apace at home, if I'm not careful to take them in tomorrow, I'll be doing a worthy impression of a Buckaroo horse, burdened down with them all. And I can add good sound effects too.

So I think the best thing is to take them into class tomorrow morning, where they will be counted and added to the classroom collection before being squashed and placed in the huge blue bin that has been dropped off by the council.

It really is an enormous bin. Look at it!

Will we really be able to fill that?

I truly hope so!

All I can say is bon chance toute le monde et merci beaucoup. Keep up the good work and let's see what we get tomorrow.



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A Welly Good Idea

Today I dropped into Raspberry Rascals, a gorgeous boutique in Bury St Edmunds, which sells pre-loved clothing for children.

It's such a beautiful shop and thanks to the quality of well chosen stock, it's hard to tell that the range of clothing, books and toys is mainly second-hand.




I normally spend ages in the little boutique browsing for bargains for the children, but today's visit wasn't to shop, it was to drop off a pair of old wellies for a Welly Swap event that's taking place next week.



The owner, Heather Bream, is a huge supporter of recycling and has organised the Free Welly Swap to enable customers to drop off old wellies that are still in a wearable condition and to take another pair if they find a size that is suitable. If it is a real success, she will continue the idea throughout the rest of the year too.



The idea came from a discussion we had about a month ago. Heather had been pondering how she could support Recycle Week and do something helpful for the local community. When she asked if I had any bright ideas, I agreed to get my brain into gear and have a ponder too.

Then out of the blue came a wonderful comment from fellow blogger, CompostWoman, who provided inspiration on a blogpost that I'd published about my old wellington boots. She made reference to Welly and Jelly libraries that allowed parents in Herefordshire to swap items that their children had outgrown.

Heather loved this idea and is now excited about launching her own welly exchange next week and in doing so will hopefully save lots of boots from landfill...

... or at the very least protect them from gardening enthusiasts like me reusing them as plant-pots.

So thanks to CompostWoman, Raspberry Rascals and the power of talking rubbish. As a result of sharing great ideas, here's another opportunity that will hopefully help the local community waste even less next week.

For those who live in Bury St Edmunds, Raspberry Rascals is located on Langton Place, just off Hatter Street. The shop is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. More information can be found at www.raspberryrascals.co.uk.


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Are any of your local shops doing anything to support Recycle Week? It's always worth asking around, and if you find out anything exciting I'd love to know the gossip. You might even be able to help them with ideas. Who knows what can happen when like-minded folk get together.

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Updated with new photos 20:35, 20/06/09

Curiouser and Curiouser: A right royal tale

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" I muttered, as I struggled to get my bike out of the garage.

I felt like the white rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, hurrying and scurrying around whilst fiddling with my two-wheeled contraption that had been hidden away for most of the Winter.

But why the rush?

I was off to see the Queen. Or rather, off to see if I could see the Queen. Not Lewis Carroll's Queen of Hearts I should add, but Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on a rare visit to Bury St Edmunds. I've only ever seen her on TV, so I was curious to see her in the flesh.

I had only 10 minutes to cycle into town. I was most definitely running late.

But it was downhill all the way.... which meant descending a very steep slope, the kind that makes you want to shout "wheeeee" - all childlike, with my legs stretched out in a manner suited to balancing at high speed.

It was good to feel 10 again.

But I bet a 10 year old wouldn't have had a red face when they reached the bottom of the hill, like a big juicy raspberry on legs, huffing and puffing as the incline gave way to a a more level street, lined with people perfectly positioned for their first view of the royal party.

There was no traffic in front or behind. Just me, peddling past all the locals, the policemen and the men in dressed in black - the security professionals that had the whole town under scrutiny.

I wondered whether my reusable bags-for-life all scrunched up in my shopping basket would be met with an air of suspicion. I hoped not. I would have crumpled if I'd been stopped by a man in black and too scared of the consequences, despite my innocent nature. It was a curious experience indeed.

It was also a miracle that I made it into town just in time to see Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh passing through. The people clapped, cheered and waved flags. The crowd then followed the royal car towards the cathedral, while I made my way to the lounge of the historic Angel Hotel, where I often hide away with my laptop, regularly witnessing the appearance of the glass recycling bin being wheeled to the back door and bemusing the staff with my interest in such an activity.

So while Her Majesty distributed the Maundy Money and then wined and dined with the guests, I worked away like a busy little bee, tapping at the laptop to get as much done as I could possibly achieve before the arrival of the Easter bank holiday

But disturbed by a sudden noise, I looked over towards the lobby as the gentle humdrum of the lounge gave way to heavy footsteps marching up the stairs.

Blimmin' 'eck I couldn't believe my eyes - there were Beefeaters climbing the apples and pears. A whole army of them, or whatever the collective term may be for the traditional warders of The Tower of London. There were so many, I hoped the crown jewels were still in safe hands.

There they were, all the way up from London, looking fabulous in their costumes of red and gold. So distinguished and so British and so rare a sight in Suffolk.

Before the experience rendered itself into a figment of my overactive imagination. I rang my friend Ruby, who has a passion for historic events but who was unfortunately otherwise engaged and unable to make it into town that day.

"Guess what I've just seen," I chuckled and told her the tale of the Queen's Beefeaters."

She listened intently as I related my right royal story.

"Well guess what I've just seen," she said with a more serious tone.

"Waitrose's right royal parody of a veg box".

Now that's something special I thought. Waitrose selling veg boxes with a royal warrant by appointment.

But what she described was certainly no veg box, more of a recession-beating bargain of a veg bag, all prepacked with assorted vegetables for just a fiver. Now that was cheap, but with such a low price tag, surely it had to come at a cost! And it did because each group of vegetables were all carefully wrapped in their own plastic bags before being placed in the larger plastic bag, all for extending shelf life of course. How my jaw dropped. There's more plastic in there than one can shake a stick at, if you beg my royal pardon.

My day of flirting with glimpses of royalty might have been a curious adventure, but for me Ruby's tale of the assorted veg bags was the most curious event of them all, especially when retailers are busy trying to reduce the amount of packaging on their shelves, suddenly we were witnessing an example of a reversal in trend.

Where I'd glided down that hill in delight, I groaned all the way back up, not at the steepness of the incline, but at the thought of all those bags and whether other supermarkets are doing the same. I was certainly more red-faced by the time I'd reached the top. And as I arrived home, I felt more like a raspberry jelly balancing on a pair of wobbly legs.

I've since written to Waitrose, this evening in fact, after I'd managed to see the veg bags for myself in their plastic glory as Ruby had described.

I wonder if the royal household has bought any yet because of course Waitrose holds a Royal Warrant with Her Majesty The Queen.

Maybe I should ring and ask, but then again, maybe I'll mind my own business and stick to the local market, where I can get a whole lot more for a fiver, contained in just one reusable bag.

And maybe, just maybe, an alternative recession-busting solution can be found for Waitrose's assorted bag of plastic wrapped veg.

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Kids in a Fizz: Just in time for Christmas

This weekend, I took the children to their favourite cafe in Bury St Edmunds: Coffee 'n' Kids, in Langton Place, where we went to road-test their latest and most exciting party activity ever...making bath bombs! And my goodness, I would never have thought that making those fizzy things would be so blimmin' easy, or indeed so much fun.




All they had to do was gently rub a bowl full of bicarbonate of soda, which had been combined with a little citric acid. Then adding a couple of drops of yellow and blue liquid, they watched the colour of the powder gradually change before their very eyes.



They added a scent of their choice. The mixture was then sprayed with some water and scrunched together as if making dough, before being pushed into a mould, where it was left to harden. A process that didn't take long at all.




And eh presto! No sooner said than done, the kids had a couple of solid bath bombs to take home with them!


And don't they look great!

As you can probably guess, I had no trouble getting both of them in the bath that evening...or indeed the next!

Now that they are smelling a lot more fragrant than normal, the boys can't wait to have another go and experiment with the different moulds, to make hearts as well as the traditional ball.

And with Christmas around the corner, we've got just enough time to get cracking on some very special hand-made gifts that'll make a nice change from their home-made invisible bogie biscuits. You know the ones I mean...fingers in dough one minute - and when you're not looking - up the nose the next...

So you see, there's no doubt about it that these gorgeous bath bombs are a healthier option and much more pleasant too. Dried flower petals can also be added to make an extra special gift for all the aunts out there. So huge thanks to Jo, the lovely owner, for introducing us to this fizzy adventure and giving an extra special touch to our weekend. We will most definitely be back very soon.

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