It’s not often I get a day entirely to myself, no deadlines, no reports to write / read, no presentations to prepare. So, for the benefit of everyone who has ever wondered what a low carbon day looks and feels like, here it is – in all it’s mundane glory!
8am: Bath
Yes, I admit it, every once in a blue moon a low carbon day begins with a bath. For Christmas some very dear friends bought me a selection of Origins Ginger bath treats. They smell heavenly and are a complete inulgence. I’m off to Birmingham tomorrow, so I thought a facepack was in order, as always I reached for the Liz Earle intensive nourishing mask and enjoyed a few moments of complete stillness. I’ve been using Liz Earle for 15 years and it’s still my favourite.
10am: walk the dog
This is always the best part of my day, no matter what the weather. Today we walked over the fields to the nearest village, Kelsall, I bought Crabbies Ginger beer in the pharmacy (yes, that’s right the pharmacy) and a new toothbrush (aren’t you glad you’re still reading!), then a quick detour to the Co-op to buy the latest copy of Grazia, ok not my usual reading material. But, I’ve been reading Liberty London Girl’s blog for the past year and this week she “came out” to Grazia – like so many bloggers before her she decided to reveal her identity before someone else did. It’s a sensitively written piece, brutally honest and forthright – just like LLG herself.
12.30 Home for lunch
One of the real benefits of working from home - and having a loved one who does too – is lunch together. We sat in front of the wood burner eating dips and nibbles and planning an Easter camping trip.
(Dear reader, I’ll spare you the next few hours, imagine the laundry basket, the vacuuming, the ironing, the cleaning of the bathroom and other typical week day chores that can’t be ignored – low carbon living or not the housework still needs to be done)
5pm: Radio 4 and a curry
Time to cook tea, there’s something comforting about switching on the radio (it’s a wind up Freeplay if you really need to know), hearing the familiar voices of PM’s presenters, listening to the dog munching through his evening meal, the sound of teenage daughter’s drum practice in the background. I chop onions and garlic (homegrown), fry mince from the local butcher, add some curry paste and tomatoes, boil rice and spend a peaceful 20 minutes stirring and listening to the day’s news.
Evening:
Here I am sitting in front of my laptop, the others are watching re runs of Top Gear and soon we’ll settle down to watch an episode of Bones on DVD. I’ll put another log on the fire, and spend an evening in the company of my loved ones, maybe indulging in a small glass of Sloe Gin a friend made for Christmas. The coffee pot is bubbling away on top of the woodburner and the low energy light bulbs are dimmed.
Then,
bed
You see – a low carbon life isn’t so very different after all is it? And tomorrow I’m going here for 4 days - surely there will a blog story or two there?
Enjoy your weekends, what ever you’re up to.
