Welcome

I met someone recently who told me they were having a themed Christmas this year. “Climate Change, the whole family are doing it…”

With fingers crossed we hope that from the humble beginnings of egg box flowers, and a handful of crayons our future eco warriors shall grow!

There’s a lot of good stuff happening right now, not that the national news channel outlets would ever let on, but as a reader of the Positive News magazine I can tell you that it is. From re-wilding projects to the ever growing trade in second hand clothing and a whole host of stuff in between, it’s happening worldwide.

Another year, another chance to renew our resolutions – or not! The fact that some of mine have altered little over the years, waste less, re-cycle more, finish what I start, because I have this nasty habit of thinking yes, I’ll do that, just, not now, must mean something. Either that I’m failing miserably to get a grip, or that I grow ever more demanding of these aims?

It’s that time of year again, when the apples and garden produce start rolling in and we get caught midway between stress - will I cope with the mounds of apples my OH is piling on the table almost daily - and satisfaction… because there is nothing nicer than preserving excess food for the winter months or to give as gifts to friends and relations, or, if you have as much produce as I do, the odd delivery driver and unexpected caller who you want to thank for their service.

The idea of repairing or altering clothes to prolong their life is not a new idea. Indeed my own grandmother’s main form of evening entertainment seemed to largely centre around darning socks, turning shirt collars, letting down hems, unpicking old jumpers, re-using wool and a whole lot more.

When I first met my husband Steve, he impressed me with presents. Not that they always hit the spot, and they were often random, like the cocktail dress he fondly imagined I’d look glamorous in, bought at a jumble sale, or the set of shot glasses that as a virtual teetotaler, I’ve still never quite found a use for other than measuring fruit cordial in…

I am not a natural seamstress. There I’ve said it. Then I came across the term, Deadstock Fabric. Commercially it is the avoidance of throwing out end of line material, domestically, it is the art of making something new out of something old… ideal for someone like me.

I was eating a baked onion the other day, a simple and delicious meal, quickly prepared and yes, cheap, especially if you have a small table top, or slow cooker to bake them in. Looking down at my plate I suddenly thought about the journey it had taken to get there.

For a few years now I’ve secretly hankered after a fake tree. For me all that fuss and mess, the lop sided tilt that no amount of propping up ever sorts, has lost its charm along with the never ending pine needles that in our house often linger well into the spring. Before now I’ve never quite plucked up the courage to broach the subject though, rightly, as it turns out suspecting the outrage that might ensue.