the blog has returned

Why has the blog come back now? This beautiful wind turbine is on a farm between Ravenscar and Staintondale; yesterday there was hardly a breath of wind and yet it was turning and generating clean power for the farmer. So well done the farmer and well done to the National Park www.northyorkmoors.org.uk for giving it planning permission. I felt that the latest report on climate change meant that those of us who know that climate change is largely human made and support renewables needed to stand up and be counted. So as well as my reporting on the usual aspects of my small society I am now adding what I have done or seen to help in the struggle for increased renewable energy supplies. Just behind this farm is a small building which belongs to the Society of Friends www.quaker.org.uk, as well as its own wind turbine it also has a solar panel in the garden.

a recycled Fairtrade  reindeer
watches over Christmas gifts

fairly traded toys

Many of the farmers that Fairtrade, www.fairtrade.org.uk/, supports are at risk of  rising sea levels, others are at risk of the desert creeping closer; so our annual shop in Malton is important in both raising the profile of Fairtrade and increasing their sales. Over two days and despite dreadful weather we sold over £1600 worth of Fairtrade food, gifts and Christmas cards. Thank you to Fairer World www.fairerworldyork.co.uk/ in York for providing us with all the shop's stock.

This afternoon I took some Fairtrade food and Christmas items to a meeting of the local Sight Savers group, sightsupportryedale.org/, thank you to them for inviting me and buying so generously.

Tomorrow I am off to Leeds to see my 'leave to stay' friend and meet other volunteers at LASSN, lassn.org.uk/. Over tea and coffee we will catch up with new ideas and exchange helpful thoughts with other people also trying to support these very vulnerable, and at times wrongly maligned, small group of people living amongst us.

Coasties as usual on Wednesday, so now that the blog has returned you will be able to catch up with the cutting back and drain clearing next week.