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Zero Waste (A Glimmer of Hope in Turkey)

Jan 8, 2019
6 min

Zero Waste (A Glimmer of Hope in Turkey)

The cost of 25 kuruş per plastic bag ruling that came into effect as of January the 1st 2019 here in Turkey is a start towards sustainability. One that is just the tip of the iceberg but none the less a step towards transformation in the habits of consumers, stores and producers alike. Asides from the plastic bag ruling the government has joined many countries in implementing a “Container Deposit Legislation” Producers will be charged a contribution towards recycling infrastr

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Hatchimals: Why & How We Made Our Own!

Oct 24, 2018
3 min

Hatchimals: Why & How We Made Our Own!

Hatchimals are some seriously f*cked up stuff! Now I'm not going to dwell on this except to ask: Why do we need to create fake nature and fake nurturing opportunities for kids to feel connected and loving? OK so we've been doing it for some time... there has been all kinds of weird stuff designed to entertain kids and sure, I'd rather kids used their brief attention spans on nurturing a toy than a puppy that would end up on the street, but still, are there really no opportuni

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Black Cat

Jul 25, 2018
2 min

Black Cat

The skinny black cat spies upon us with her bright yellow eyes. She is feral and fearful, never closer than a few meters away and only that close because I put food out. Other cats upset Zilla. Zilla is our cat, we adopted and domesticated her, we even had her reproductive organs chopped out so she'd comply with our idea of cohabitation, to save her the inconvenience of procreation and also responsibly ensuring a controlled population. We love our cat. She's almost 10 years o

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#MyClean Beach

Jun 7, 2018
4 min

#MyClean Beach

A movement of multiple acts of cleaning to prompt NOT LITTERING in the first place and to instigate that as consumers we avoid single use plastic. On May the 5th we had a Clean up on the local beaches of Şile, for those who missed my post about the event this is a brief synopsis of why we bother, what we gained from trying and how we plan to take it from here. So far Turkey has been slow to pick up on the international improvement regarding littering and recycling. Some munic

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A Zero Waste Initiative that also enables Sharing Community.

Jun 7, 2018
4 min

A Zero Waste Initiative that also enables Sharing Community.

The CCCC: Community Crockery and Cutlery Collection. Many of us dread having to use plastic plates and cutlery, I have made a real effort to create 'zero waste' at recent home gatherings (see my post about this) and have accumulated a fair amount of crockery and cutlery, but I am able to borrow too (and audacious enough to ask). With this in mind and in aid of facilitating the birth of a Sharing Community within Istanbul I am attempting to create a CCCC. The CCCC is a large c

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My Clean Beach!

May 3, 2018
4 min

My Clean Beach!

Your Invitation to our Clean Up Event - Şile. 5 May 2018 So far Turkey has been slow to pick up on the international improvement regarding single use plastic and how litter is recycled or disposed. Some municipalities have local success and some, like Şile are struggling. The efforts of the municipality itself need some scrutiny to see where improvement can be made in areas such as the location and visibility of bins, availability of recycling bins and the design and use of p

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From Trauma, Icons and Passive to Power

Mar 23, 2018
9 min

From Trauma, Icons and Passive to Power

I read the news again. Apparently the world is a depraved, evil place. I wonder how can we dig ourselves out from under the dead rhino, drowned babies, the murdered and the murderers, rapists and the unscrupulous? The world is full of amazing and good things happening right now, but we are manipulated by a paralysis of fear. Can't we refuse to buy the bad news and refuse to eat violence as entertainment? Can't we actively choose art, life, sharing, creating, healing, producti

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We are Stitch (Let's be Lilo!)

Mar 2, 2018
3 min

We are Stitch (Let's be Lilo!)

Stitched up as we are I figure we can Lilo it out of here. Recently I read another article about how it's now considered fact; we are all doomed and sadly no one has a real solution. (Though George Monbiot had the best shot at it apparently so I'm reading the recommended book.*) Then, with my mind still on impending apocalypse I sat to have our film slot with Mia, my four year old daughter. She gets to choose. 'Lilo and Stitch'* is a fun film and portrays the relationship bet

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My Cuppa Tea

Feb 9, 2018
3 min

My Cuppa Tea

Some of our most fundamental daily habits need changing is we want the world to be able to sustain us.. Those who know me can testify that there's not much that can get between me and my tea. It's a 5 mugs a day addiction, I won't leave the house before having one and NO! I won't give up on having milk in it! Having lived almost 30 years here in Turkey (1) and still managing to maintain this quintessential British idiosyncrasy I feel I have proven my stance on this one. Howev

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Post Party Post

Jan 23, 2018
11 min

Post Party Post

A Zero Waste progress report. So if you read my post* about my planned party held last month you may have wondered just how possible it is to hold a party for 65 and how close to Zero Waste I could get. So hear is a break down of what I used and how successful I was... or was not. I personally have learnt a lot from this and am now even more intent to do better during the year, my next party will be a few steps closer to setting a good example, but for now I'd like you to tak

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Rearing of the New Generation

Jan 12, 2018
18 min

Rearing of the New Generation

Our predominant behavioural patterns will become the emerging future of human kind; so let's act accordingly! For a shorter version of this see: Bringing up the Kids Consciously. Being a parent is challenging, but not just for the usual reasons. Many of us are having to deal with the knowledge that change has to occur, that we must set a precedent for a new, healthier future while facing difficulties as a species that we have never faced before. Our kids will have to do bette

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Spade a Spade

Dec 20, 2017
4 min

Spade a Spade

I picked chard from my garden. A big bunch washed, chopped and combined with chicken and onions, the whole thing went in a creamy, curry kind of direction. I was wondering if, seeing as I blog now, whether my home grown concoctions were worth sharing. Then I thought "but the chicken isn't organic and the onion not home grown". I wondered whether by admitting this that I would render the chard and chicken dish unworthy. Worthy of what? My consumption? (It was too spicy for

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Fix Up (Your Street...)

Dec 6, 2017
2 min

Fix Up (Your Street...)

If you have a problem with something; litter on your street, a pile of debris from the neighbour's tree cuttings, broken street lamp, around here it might be a pile of cow dung* at your gate, or whatever it is, don't just moan about it. Deal with it! First of all become aware of your surroundings and see if there are things that annoy you, don't let subliminal irritations eat at you. Then figure out what you can do about it. Near our house we have a few major problems, the fi

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Shopping Centres

Nov 23, 2017
6 min

Shopping Centres

Hardly an inspiring topic is it? That is how I feel every time I enter one, whether it be open air or enclosed or one of those that the commercial space designers so extol where we are forced to zigzag between every kind of store before we can reach our destination, both aware of the ruse yet unable to resist our inclination to lavish our hard earned cash upon the praying merchants in return for yet more stuff. That's how it looks to me. Stuff upon stuff right through the lot

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Dear Mall Developer...

Nov 23, 2017
8 min

Dear Mall Developer...

MAPIC had quite a pervasive advertising campaign going on this year, they popped up on my feed despite the fact I have no recollection of even doing a search regarding them. The main aim (for the uninitiated) of MAPIC is to bring together the retail and commercial property people from all over the world at the rather lovely location of Cannes, France. Whether you are a developer or a retailer or selling any product (like technology and infrastructure) you can attend and

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The Local Pazar

Nov 15, 2017
5 min

The Local Pazar

Kas Local market. What abundance and what fun! Local produce and the bustle of people both shopping and enjoying the chance meetings that the pazar provides. I bumped into some very dear, old friends, memories sweet and bitter mingled with the smells of olives, cheese and honey. Spices displayed open air and the tang of fruits and vegetables freshly picked or uprooted and put out on display half shaded from the sun. If you haven't been to a local market in Turkey

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On the Verge

Nov 10, 2017
5 min

On the Verge

People who love places like Kas on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, whether we come from afar or were born locally love it for its own particular nature. The unaware note a lack of trees, where as the very fact that the indigenous natives have grown in the wild despite the rocky terrain, the hot dry summers and the gusting winds makes them more worthy than some of the most luscious forests and tallest cultivated trees. In the cities and suburbs people pay incredible su

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Blame, Guilt, Responsibility.

Nov 9, 2017
5 min

Blame, Guilt, Responsibility.

We had a tough time of it, it was all in the news so I won't repeat it, but lets suffice to say that a lot of people I know left this country, people are migrating. There was a moment when I considered leaving too, but then the reality of how this and many other countries have gotten into a muddle came to mind and I found myself blurting out "I'd rather die here than live among the self righteous hypocrisy of my birth country!" Our countries perpetrate the horrors of the worl

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Manifesto for One

Nov 7, 2017
3 min

Manifesto for One

If all of us just did something, or a few things, we'd be a part of a solution, there isn't just one, no one thing and no one person that can dig us out of our rut and cure the ills of our beautiful world, but each one of us can take a tiny bit of responsibility, and in this we can initiate change. This is our job; one of existing, one of perpetual change and of ongoing evolution. If you join me we will become together a Multitude of Ones. See Action page My Example 'Manifest

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I'm Nuts for Sustainable Nut Butter

Nov 7, 2017
2 min

I'm Nuts for Sustainable Nut Butter

Nut and chocolate nut spreads. (Nut Stuff) Some days you have to drop the heavy stuff and pick up something utterly doable! Though it is possible to find palm oil* free nut spreads it is virtually impossible here in Istanbul, besides, making your own nut butter is easy and fun. (Just don't blame me if you end up spooning the lot!) Important point for all Nut Stuff: 1. The nuts should be blended for a long time (about 5 minutes?) until the natural oil is released and the te

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