Live Earth

Yesterday was the big earth event and the miracle of a Summer Day occurred in North London. Naturally I signed the pledge - actually I may have signed it twice in my enthusiasm to be counted. What were those scary dancers of Madonna's all about? She was fabulous of course and so were many of the others. Good telly and hopefully a whole lot more as we all rush to do the right thing and stop being so selfish. I for one will be offsetting my flea market chandelier with a dull eco-bulb in my husband's bedside reading light - ha! Only joking. I'll be turning off the stereo at the plug then spending half a day re-programming all the stations in time to switch them all off at the plug again and do the same the next morning. And that won't last so I'll have to buy a new gismo to do it for me. Must try harder.

Today's other little rant is about the thoughtless juxta-postion of advertisements alongside the tragic story of inflation and poverty in Zimbabwe in the Observer Magazine. There are two full-page ads that are incredibly insensitive. Does nobody look at the whole magazine when they put it put together - or is that an old fashioned idea?
The first Ad is for John Lewis mattresses costing thousands of pounds alongside a picture of two young children asleep in the middle of a pavement because they are too poor to actually have a designated corner to sleep in. Turn over and we see hands holding wads of inflation devalued notes that amount to the £80 a month wage earned by a 'lucky' employed person set against the glossy ad of a couple enjoying the golf course of their luxury retirement second home in sunny Spain. Carbon footprint wise I imagine a second home in Spain off-sets your winter fuel consumption in the UK and so it goes.
My own pledge is to continue to remember to carry a bag and turn out the lights and to really try to do all the other things too.
love
Sally