Cool Summer Stuff I want to do but probably won't get round to...

......but don't let that stop you! Weekend time seems to be at a premium at the moment and the next few are already booked up with weekends away and trips to see family up North but there is some very cool stuff going on in London in the coming weeks and I would suggest those of you with some free time check it out.

1. Visit the Urban Physic Garden, a pop-up community built garden celebrating medicinal plants. The garden is open to the public from 11 June to 15 August and there will be talks, workshops, film screenings and other very interesting-sounding stuff going on.

(Picture credit: Mike Massaro)

2. Attend Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair at Old Spitalfields Market on the 29th of August. This fair is a nationwide one and takes place not only in London but also in 30 other towns and cities. All traders are scrutinised for quality and affordability. I haven't ever attended one of Judy's fairs myself but apparently the careful screening makes it more accessible than some...and more likely to induce you to part with your cash.

(Picture from Vintage Style blog)

3. See a film outside on the Summer Screen at Somerset House. Screenings take place from 4 July to 7 August and films being shown include The Princess Bride, Thelma and Louise and The Big Blue.

The first UK Green Film Festival....

The UK Green Film Festival is being held for the first time this weekend. The festival will showcase films and filmmakers dealing with environmental issues and climate change themes. A few of the films being shown include FernGully, Godzilla and Plastic Planet. It will include the nationwide premiere of the film 'Planeat', a story about a quest to find a sustainable, healthy diet (which doesn't sound quite as thrilling as say, Godzilla, but should be fairly interesting....).

• 2011 Green Film Festival Timetable

Stroopwafels from 'The Grocery'

I don't often take a lunch break at work...I know one is supposed to for improved productivity and work-life balance yada-yada but generally I would rather get more done and be able to leave on time. However....the recent spate of sunny-gorgeousness outside has made me resent being desk bound for long periods at a time and so I have been 'popping out' to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine on my face. And I do actually work in a very interesting area (Shoreditch) and have discovered some great shops and pubs and cafes in the last few days that I have generally known about but never actually located. In particular I can't believe I have never been into 'The Grocery' on Kingsland Road despite having walked past it a few times. It's right up my street (figuratively and kind-of literally), and crammed with not only lovely organic and/or fairtrade groceries but various organic cosmetics and toiletries as well. In their own words "The Grocery sells organic, fresh and whole foods, household goods and all your favourite everyday brands. Our stock is sourced from reputable local producers and we advocate good trading relationships. We supply healthy, well sourced produce, keeps prices down and tie our efforts in to local community needs." All of which sounds good to me. I am not quite sure where my purchase of Stroopwafels (Syrup Waffles) fits in with these policies but I had been after some since reading about the Holland House Festival on the weekend and The Grocery seemed as good a place as any to pick some up. Will definitely be stopping by there a bit more often in future....

Coveting....Magno Cube Wooden Radio

The Design Museum London's Sustainable Futures exhibition is currently showing and will be until the 5th of September. Hopefully I will get there sooner rather than later (such as after the 5th of September!) and will be able to tell you more about it but in the meantime....in conjunction with the exhibition their generally-fabulous-anyway Design Museum Shop has a number of gorgeous things in stock with an 'eco' aspect and I am loving the 'Magno Cube Wooden Radio' by Singgih Kartono. Not only beautifully designed and manufactured through an environmentally sustainable process; profits also support the development of the plantation surrounding the production facility. Plus it's MP3 compatible so can be used as speakers for one's iPod/MP3. It does cost £175 so this is very much admiration from afar on my part....but I can still enjoy its sheer existence! And that is what I am going to keep telling myself......

Lurgy, laziness and London Borough Market

I have been a very neglectful blogger of late. The past few weeks have flown by in a haze of fuzzy-headedness and a desire to do as little as possible brought on by an indeterminate illness. So I a) haven’t actually done anything worth sharing and b) have spent any time while not at work sleeping, in the bath or lying on the sofa feeling vaguely sorry for myself.

The one thing I did do before the rot set in was visit London Borough Market. Now is not the best time for a first visit as construction is well under way on one of the market’s main sections….so it is even more crowded than usual and rather difficult to navigate without getting stuck in bottle necks but for anyone who likes food (and I find it hard to imagine how anyone could not) it is still worth a visit.

While there I feasted on raclette, numerous bits of cheese and bread with various olive oils, and fresh cranberry and apple juice. I went home with toffee-pecan cheesecake (oh my word, this is amazing, trust me on this one), Spanish hot sauce (the exact name of which escapes me), chipotle paste, sausages, dry-cure bacon and various herbs and vegetables. Whenever I buy food from Borough I am always amazed at how well dishes turn out and what a difference it makes buying things that are fresh and in season rather than from the supermarket. It’s not possible, unfortunately, for me to do day-to-day shopping at a market but I think it really is worth doing as often as possible.

Psst....

Ok, so I am not sure why either, but online ethical retailer and brand Adili have changed their name to Ascension. Go figure. But what is actually kind of cool is…. they are launching a flagship London store. It will be opening in central London (exact location tbc) in early November. Let’s hope it is the first of many!

London's Eco-finest....

Coco Eco Magazine’s latest issue features an eco-guide to London. The article highlights some of London’s top eco-restaurants, hotels and shops. ‘London Goes Eco Chic’ was written by Tara of great eco-blog ‘Green Lashes and Fashion’ and is definitely worth a read if you’re planning a visit to London or are a jaded Londoner looking for some eco-inspiration…

Enjoying London doesn't have to cost the earth....

I agree so much with the general premise of this article ‘Bargain London’ [guardian website travel blog]. Check out the comments to this as well for a whole lot of ideas on what to do in London when money is tight.

London can be incredibly expensive, as can most major cities, but there is also plenty to do on a budget. I am just too lazy to get out and do these things most of the time but as this article mentions, there are a host of websites and guides that can offer inspiration. On a ‘green’ note (just cause I can ;) Visit London even has a ‘green’ section of their website: www.visitlondon.com/people/green which not only has ideas on where to go and what to eat, but also tips on how to make sure you’re a ‘responsible tourist’ (which doesn’t sound particularly exciting I’ll admit but is more along the lines of throw away your litter and respect your environment rather than prohibiting any wild behaviour!).

More Shoreditch graffiti....

More mobile phone graffiti shots....

Spring inspiration...

I love London in Springtime. It's almost as if the great collective mood of the city shifts and suddenly, after the first sunny weekend in March, everyone is looking around for things to do and places to chill and enjoy any rays of sunshine that the gods of weather may choose to bestow.
Here are some of the things Spring has inspired me to do.... 1.) Take a walk in the woods (photographic evidence attached) 2.) Begin a new, more serious home recycling initiative (more to follow on this later in the week and yes, I am aware that home recycling initiative does not, in any way, sound cool and for that I apologise) 3.) Check out one of London's secret gardens 4.) Grow my own herbs for a variety of uses, culinary and otherwise (I found this website particularly helpful but there is a wealth of information online regarding growing and using herbs) and 5.) Buy a dress, preferably from one of my latest favourite ethical online shopping retailers Adili (http://www.adili.com/).

Shoreditch graffiti....

I took these pictures in and around Hoxton, on my mobile phone, fully intending to go back and take proper camera shots but alas, London is ever changing and nearly all of these are now gone or painted over.

And so it begins.....

I like stuff. I have way too much stuff, too much make-up, too many handbags, too many pairs of shoes and I know, in my heart…..that it’s wrong. I should, we all should, be living lives of 21st century-style simplicity, eschewing material possessions and Marks and Spencer ready meals and living off the land, shopping in Oxfam and making our own lip and cheek stains out of beetroot juice and rose water. Personally however, I like stuff too much. I love living in London and the opportunities that this allows for the purchasing of and doing of and seeing of stuff.

I am hoping that this blog will be a way for me to exorcise some of my stuff demons. Perhaps writing about some of the things I covet will lessen the coveting. I am not making any promises about the environmental and ethical nature of the things I write about so please, don’t shout at me. I am sure many will think I am a disgusting capitalist pig but to be honest, my conscience is more in the nature of a ladybug than a full-blown Jiminy Cricket so even if you do shout at me, I probably won’t care. I recycle, I work for a non-profit organisation that, without getting into details, I believe does very important work and I will certainly add to this blog any green and ethical information I have or have researched about the stuff that I am writing about but ultimately, this is a blog about stuff that I find interesting/useful/inspiring/worth owning/any combination of these things. I hope you enjoy it…..