The Throw Away Generation

We really are a throw away generation (thirties and under). I have just watched an advert that suggests, rather than throwing away your broken items you should recycle, well this is just nuts. Whatever happened to repairing items? Our folks (the majority of them anyway) had to make do, they repaired broken items where possible and almost never threw anything away!

When did we become such a useless group of people? I know people who would rather get a new washing machine than have it repaired. This is such a waste of money and these are people who are not rolling in it, they are regular people on minimum wages and yet they’d rather fork out a small fortune for new items than have the ones they already own repaired. It just doesn’t make sense!

Recycling should be the last step in any items life - reduce, reuse, recycle. SO why not try getting it fixed first?

Another bee in my bonnet in this vein is the mazuma etc ads. These companies are not helping the environment, they re-sell the items and make a profit, or take part, such as the tiny amounts of gold in a phone and sell them on. They, in my opinion, couldn’t care less about the environment and certainly aren’t doing anything to help it, they simply aren’t (hopefully), adding to environmental issues.

If you really want to help the environment, go see what you can do for The Soil Association, or Friends of the Earth (Greenpeace only care about small aspects of the environment, not the whole system, as I found out during the foot and mouth days/months).

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

What the hell is happening in America?

I just read the paper today and saw something that shocked the hell out of me. A new report states that 20% of women in America – that’s the USA, not a South American country, have been raped at least once!!! That is 1 in 5 women! I know more than 5 American women and this report means that there is a good chance that at least one of them has been raped! So I’m sitting here thinking what the f**k is going on in America that this could be so?

This report also states that of these 20%, 1 in 4 were severely assaulted by a partner! Almost 80% of the victims were raped (their first rape that is) under the age of 25. 1 in 8 of the women surveyed said that they were raped by a member of their family.

This is horrific. The thing that makes this really scary is that this is a report from the CDC, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
My heart goes out to all those affected by these horrific statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/features/NISVS/

Ready for Winter - Be Prepared

Winter is now here and with it snow, freezing temperatures and more icy roads/pavements are to be expected. So what can we do to stay safe, warm and well?

In Scotland, the government are running a Ready Scotland campaign, to help prepare for this cold season and its possible dangers.

In the meantime, what can we do?
Make sure you have a supply of salt or cat litter or ash for your driveway to keep ice to a minimum.
Buy in tins of food and packets of pasta/noodles in the event that you cannot get out for a few days.
Make sure you have alternative heating - so if your electricity goes off, you have a small gas stove or a fire you can use in the meantime. Likewise - a cooking gas stove, such as you would need for camping, will be beneficial in the event of a power cut. Warm duvets and blankets are a must.
If your home is drafty, use draft excluders and heavy curtains to keep drafts to a minimum.
Make sure you are up to date with all your prescriptions and have a complete first aid kit in your home/car.
Carry blankets, food, water and a shovel in your car in case you are stuck anywhere for a time.
Those under sixty may wish to look in on older neighbours who are afraid of slipping and who may remain indoors for long periods of time.
Wear shoes/boots with good grip or buy add-on grips

With fuel bills at an all time high, many of us are very reluctant to use oil/gas/electricity but this is the time of year when we need it most. If you have a fireplace and chimney in your house, it may be worth having it looked at to see whether you can use it and if you can, do so. it is far cheaper than the bills the fat fuel companies would charge.

Stay warma dn well this winter.