I'm off to Italy tonight for 10 days, and I'm packing a my bag. A few sundresses, a bikini, some suncreme. 3 books ('The Quiet American', John Simpson's first autobiography and 'Heat' by George Monbiot). 6 balls of yarn. 2 sets of knitting needles. An mp3 player. Some herbal sleeping tablets. A sleeping bag. A pillow.
Random collection of stuff? That's because my holiday begins with a 35-hour coach journey from Manchester to Florence, via London, Paris and Milan. And ends in the reverse order. Craziness.
The reason? To limit my impact on the environment. Totally daft? Probably. As I sit there on the coach counting down the hours, shifting in my tiny allocation of space and losing hours of sleep... I dread to think how many flights will be jetting off from airports all over the world.
What's the point? Well... I guess I just couldn't live with myself if I booked a short haul flight from Manchester to Florence after trying to convince the world to become a more climate-friendly place. So maybe the reason is entirely selfish; I'd quite like to preserve my own integrity and self-righteousness. That and the fact that I'm not sure I can look future generations in the eye and tell them that I was quite happy to emit 476kg of carbon dioxide on a return journey to Italy, just for the heck of it...
So wish me luck. Wish that I don't end up sitting next to someone who is oversized for the seat they are trying to fit into, who snores and spits crumbs of food all over me for 35 hours. Wish that I don't have someone in the seat in front of me reclining into my lap. Wish that coach travel will prove to be a pleasurable experience and something that I can recommend to you all, in the hope that I might convince you that it's not so bad... And that it's bearable as the most environmentally sustainable form of medium-distance transport we have...
And while you're at it... wish for the safety of two of my friends who are currently en route from Leeds to Sierra Leone in order to carry out their medical electives without hurting a world they seek to heal.
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Roots grow with plants - you can't always see them but they're underground, winding round other roots, forming networks, carving out channels in the soil.
About Me
- Jenny
- Mother, wife and doctor, but mainly and before all else a follower of Jesus. Lover of kale. Disliker of bananas.
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This year April had a blizzard just to show she did not care
And the new dead leaves they made the trees look like children with grey hair
But I'll push myself up through the dirt and shake my petals free,
I'm resolved to being born and so resigned to bravery
- dar williams
And the new dead leaves they made the trees look like children with grey hair
But I'll push myself up through the dirt and shake my petals free,
I'm resolved to being born and so resigned to bravery
- dar williams
1 comment:
35 hours? Do they have a badge of merit for that?
I'm wishing you all those good things you listed, and an additional: I wish for you that this bus trip bears no resemblance to Ani's in "hide and seek."
Have fun!
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