Chateau Tooting

For those of you not already in the know, Tooting, in South London, is not exactly an area with the sun-streamed vineyards of Italy, South Africa, Australia, or well, anywhere warm.

Nevertheless, Richard Sharp, a local resident, decided to set up an urban community scheme to get his Furzedown neighbours growing grapes in their small back gardens, which were then pressed in West Sussex and turned into wine.

For the discerning sommelier out there, an English backyard might not sound like it has the likely credentials for a quality wine, but it's a great community scheme, and we're assured that the taste is improving every year.

There's a great interview with the founder at Rise Magazine, and if you're interested in running a similar urban scheme, there's lots of help and advice at their Urban Wine Company website.

Re-usable Bag dilemma

Ah yes, the re-usable bag again...I've just seen this post on Re-nest; apparently the Wall Street Journal just ran a piece which states (somewhat obviously, but with statistics) that if you have a re-usable bag, you need to use it a lot for it to be a more environmentally friendly than the normal plastic bag, as the cost to the environment can actually be higher than making a plastic bag if they end up in the landfill, unused and unloved. They take more energy to make and longer to biodegrade.

If you get the chance, have a listen to the podcast on the WSJ site - it's actually pretty interesting. I'm sure it must depend on the material used - if you're using recycled fabric to make your own bag, that has to be preferable to using a plastic bag.

I'm really wishing I had bought the yellow trolley bag in Paris.

Paris bicycles

Every few months, My Eco Self has a renewed desire to get a bicycle, but then I remember that I don't have anywhere to keep it, unless I want to drag it up my stairs, and, most of the places I go to I can walk to (I will never become a fully fledged bicycle commuter, I'm accident prone.)

I wish London had a scheme like the the Velib scheme in Paris. There are various bicycle stops around the city where you can pick up and drop off the bicycles - for a minimal fee. The bikes are great too - they have everything you need; a basket, lights, and locks. I saw lots of people using them, although it seems that French cyclists don't use helmets. People of France, that is a mistake! Although there are some allocated bicycle lanes, there still seemed to be some pretty risky manouvres going on - not least because cycling in high heels (as lots of the French women were doing) seems like a recipe for disaster.

An eco-aspirational list

My Eco Self has decided to improve my eco credentials, so am setting myself a target by participating in Simple Lovely and Doobleh-Vay's list challenge.

This is my list of eco to-dos before the end of October. Warning: if you believe that I am some kind of eco guru (in which case I'd have to assume you are a new reader) - and are averse to having that image shattered, then look away now - there are some shocking revelations on this list...

1. Check if my loft is insulated (shameful, I know, but it's really inconvenient to get into my loft - through a very high hatch - I've never been up there.)
2. Use up all the contents of my organic vegetable box before the next one comes, at least once - so I don't have to always resort to Friday morning soup.
3. Make one of Orangette's delicious banana bread recipes (with the collection of mushy frozen bananas in my fridge which I didn't eat in time - see point 2. Note: top tip - freeze them without the skins - or perhaps you all knew that already? Never occurred to me.)
4. Do an inventory of all of the reusable bags I already own, so I don't feel tempted to buy another one...
5. Become more serious about my food shopping habits, take my shopping trolley and try out the well-reknowned organic butcher, Chadwicks in Balham, near to where I live.
6. Turn my thermostat down by one degree.
7. Remember to water my rocket plants so that they don't die.
8. Look on Ebay for some second-hand bargain furniture, the likes of which elude me but seem to feature regularly in the homes of celebrity stylists/designers/never your ordinary 5'8" in Living Etc.
9. Put up the curtains I've lived without for 17 months (I know, how did it get to be so long?) - a major energy waster.
10. Buy one of those energy monitoring electricity devices.

I could go on, and on - perhaps I'll update this list when I've achieved everything above - I want to keep it manageable...Please post your list below and I will feature any good resolutions (as long as the intention is sincere!)

Please stay with me...

As I do some work on the blog header....there's still some work to do so please don't desert me if you think this one is a bit much!

Yellow fever

My Eco Self took myself on an impromptu trip to Paris this week, feeling the strong call of the Paris flea market...Quick as a flash I booked myself onto the Eurostar and (I'm still trying to blank this bit out) into a youth hostel, as I couldn't find any last minute options under £300 a night.
These are my happy Paris feet - and as much as can be revealed for public consumption. I took one small rucksack, with only a few cardigans and clean vests, and I suspect I looked quite rough for a few days. As a last minute gesture towards Parisien chic, I threw in a lip gloss at the last minute, but I am not sure that was enough to pull me back from the depths of scruffydom. Lip gloss + towel-dried hair does not equal a chic Parisien look.

I managed to exercise great spending restraint and I only spent 28 euros on things for myself. It was so sunny in Paris that I felt myself drawn to this yellow Perigot trolley bag, but then I remembered I already own a shopping trolley so in my non-wasteful attitude I decided I couldn't justify getting another one.

I think this may have been a mistake. This one was really sturdy, whereas mine is a) very flimsy, so it's a real pain to pull along and b) not yellow! I think if you're going down the old lady trolley route, you might as well have a statement piece? Oui?

A Jungle tribute

Yes, another bag. This time, it's a collaboration between primologist Dr Jane Goodall and GANT - for this £8 purchase, available online, they will plant 25 trees in the Tanzanian jungle.

When I saw this bag I couldn't help think of fellow blogger The Jungle Fever...

via Hippyshopper.

Eco Fair Promotion

Enter 'balhameco' into the promotional code box at greenhands.co.uk and receive a generous 20% discount until the end of this month.

Green Hands eco-friendly manicures

Green Hands provided very popular manicures at the Eco Fair. A lot of the ingredients in conventional nail products are really very toxic - they sell very natural hand creams and formaldehyde-free nail polishes and oils. I especially liked the glass nail files - they look stylish as well as lasting for a long time.

Tree-pee

My Eco Self is still impressed with my friend Alice's imagination in calling the teepee covered with tree pictures a 'tree-pee.' Thanks to Tactile Interiors, who provided it - they sell lots of children's play houses made of recycled cardboard, including forts, rockets, dolls houses and dens.