Consumerism - the Eighth Deadly sin.

I had to do a bit of research for this one.  I understand the idea of seven deadly sins and they all have modern day connotations. Gluttony - can lead to obesity - which can lead to complicated health problems and early death.  Naturally - you would have to allow a little grace when considering that the fast food industry and soft drinks manufacturers have made it very easy to become obese.

That takes me to Sloth. I am not naturally a lazy person. I am seldom seen without a tea towel at parties - I rarely relax even at home if there is washing up, a dirty floor, ironing in the basket. I find it hard to understand how anyone can. I live in an active family of sports professionals, hard workers and very busy children. Sloth is just not in our genes: Vanity may be though. My father was a very handsome man. He was always dapper too. Mum says he used to look in the mirror, comb his hair and moustache and tell her what a lucky woman she was to have married him.  I am not fond of the mirror.  I like to look attractive but I wouldn't have half as much fun if I worried about my appearance all the time. My roots haven't been done since June and no one has commented. I sometimes think that I am invisible.

Then there is Pride.  I wrestle with this one. Surely  - if you have worked hard to achieve - to be at the top of your game - earned the rewards for your tenacity and determination - surely after all that striving we are entitled to be proud. Aren't we? Maybe not.

Envy - I have to admit this one. There are people whose traits and abilities I envy but I consider that the ability to recognise that there are people to admire, people to learn from and emulate is a good thing. Envy without purpose is a destructive force but we all need someone to admire, to be our role model. For me a teacher, a dancer, my Godmother, my sister and a wonderful poet.  I have envied them all for their talent, their resilience, their patience, their creativity. For me envy is a force for good.

Greed. I am not greedy but then I have never been a 'thing' person.  I take my pleasure in more ethereal pursuits.  I like to take part in life. I dance, sing, go to workshops, help at fundraisers and I have nothing in my home that I don't need apart from gifts from others.  I don't part with them.  I collect pretty little jugs but I only have five. I am definitely not greedy. Oops - I forgot about gloves.  I have a few more pairs of gloves than I need but my hands (and feet) get very cold. I am a bit greedy when it comes to gloves. Forget about all those clothes - most of them are charity shop finds - recycled - part-worn - pre-loved - vintage. There is very little in the shops that doesn't fuel global warming. When I buy new, I like to buy 'British', often more expensive but quality is an investment.

Here we are - I really get Wrath. I understand anger but it is such a waste of energy and time. My brother once said to me, "Don't get angry - get even." It is an interesting idea and one that seems to work for me, however - I believe that Karma has a way for interceding to put the universe to rights.  At least it does seem to happen in my world. I am not convinced that it works as a global phenomenon. I have been around for nearly 60 years and have witnessed too many cruel, unpunished humanitarian catastrophes to believe that everything will come right in the end. Unfortunately I now believe that the constant bombardment of bad news into our relaxation time is causing national depression.  It is all too much to cope with. It is enough to make anyone angry.

Seven Deadly sins - an idea first bandied about by the Greek philosophers, tampered with in the Middle Ages by monks, apparently each of them is punishable in hell by a particularly nasty outcome.  Well my little rampage through the list has told me that I am not all bad. My Dad used to say that there was only one perfect man and look what they did to him.

However, it is the purpose of this blog tell you what I consider should be the eighth deadly sin. Well that is very easy because it runs unseen through the original seven. Consumerism is the root of all evil. We make too much stuff.  We buy too much stuff. We buy stuff that has no practical purpose. We buy stuff because we envy the stuff other people have.  We buy stuff from all over the world that is made under appalling working conditions, where people survive on subsistence incomes to make other greedy people rich. We buy stuff that has to be transported to our door, using planet polluting fuels. We buy stuff that destroys our planet because it cannot be destroyed.  We are greedy, vain, lazy and we think that possessions, how we look, where we are seen and what we wear is more important than the welfare of others and the welfare of our world.

Let's stop and think this year. Do we need to buy any more plastic?  Do we need to import so much fashion clothing? Do we need so many new gadgets? I am all for having a party, a family celebration - Winter would be a long, cold, boring season without Christmas but surely one thoughtful, longed for gift is adequate. One gift made by a local artist, something you make yourself at an art workshop or craft club - isn't that giving love instead of a 'buy two get one free' gift set that says so little, languishing in the back of a cupboard until the end of days.

Why not go to a local gallery and buy a handmade card? Look at labels before you fuel over-production in countries that don't care about the effects of global warming. Shop politically, buy Fairtrade goods and food. I once cleaned a friend's house as a Christmas gift: She had five year old twins and was thrilled. Buy less. Be mindful. Be the difference. Care about the world but sometimes just turn off all the bad news and enjoy the here and now. Today may be the best day you ever have.



Hygge - the Danish way of getting cosy. 

Disconnect the battery,

Throw away the keys,

I just want to walk today,

It’s better for my knees.

Give me the simple life

Trash the tumble drier,

Hand me pegs for the clothes,
Let the breeze blow through the bed linen,
Like flags in billowing rows.

Give me the simple life.

Empty the inbox, unplug the hub,

Disconnect the World Wide Web.
Settle down with knitting wool,
Let’s make socks for bed instead.

Give me the simple life.

Cross out the ‘To Do’ list 

Tear the pages from my diary,
let’s go and track a bullfinch
eat a picnic near the Priory.

Give me the simple life. 

Drag out the aerial,

Put gentle music in the air,

Find a book and glowing candle,

Read some poems we can share.

Give me the simple life.

Blow up the microwave,

Stoke up the fire,
Put fresh bread on the toasting fork.
Butter my desire!

Give me the simple life. 

Break the hands off the alarm clock,

Leave the curtains wide apart,
Awaken with the sunrise,
Sleep sweetly when it’s dark,

Give me the simple life.

Forget the espresso maker,

Let’s sit and sip Earl Grey,
You fill up the teapot,
And I will lay the tray
with cucumber sandwiches,
scones and clotted cream,

We’ll eat it in the garden,

Go on let’s live the dream
Then I’ll wash off my make-up,
Let down my hair,
Let's throw on soft pyjamas,
snuggle together in the big arm chair.

 Give me the simple life

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A Spring in your Step - Banish the Blues.

I don't know about you but at this time of year, when the weather improves, I often develop a spring in my step.  I dust down my summer wardrobe, stick a glow-white in the wash to brighten everything up, identify the must-haves from the glossies and step out ready for bright days in florals, stripes and shorts. Summer is great isn't it? This year, so far at least, we have been blessed with hot sunny days and here in the North West of England, the evenings have been warm and humid. It is the perfect weather for floating chiffon, billowing cotton dresses and pretty open toed footwear.

I have been searching everywhere for suitable sandals but I insist on leather and this year because I haven't been able to get abroad to buy any at the markets of Spain, Greece or Italy, I find myself resentful.  Leather sandals in the UK are vastly over-priced. The major department stores are full of 'looks like leather' plastic uppers.  Foot wreckers with leather price tags. I don't understand why this is the case. In the last ten years, I have bought soft, chic, leather sandals very cheaply in Positano in Italy, Calpe in Spain and in Greece.

It seems that in the UK - quality merchandise is moving out of reach of the average pocket. Across Europe, V.A.T varies from 17% to 27% - here it is 20% but that doesn't explain the price difference.  Labels reveal that shoes manufactured in the UK are a very illusive commodity and perhaps that is the problem.  Import tax on goods manufactured abroad hike up the price.  Oh there are plenty of Chinese and Indian shoes here but they are not traded without duty but if there is no import duty on shoes produced in Europe, then why can't I buy cheap Italian or Spanish made sandals in the UK? It is a mystery.

Last week, I saw a toaster and kettle for sale in the Co-Op with the Hotpoint brand name.  Examining the boxes, I discovered that they were manufactured in Italy by Indesit.  The iconic Mini, beloved by Brits young and old, is now manufactured in Germany by BMW.  The search to buy British is problematic. British meat is usually more expensive on supermarket shelves than meat produced in the EU. I am always suspicious of the 'produced in the EU' labelling - let's face it there are now 32 countries in the EU and many of them I would hesitate to visit  - so I certainly wouldn't knowingly eat their meat. Tethering pigs, (a cruel practice banned in the UK for many years),  is still standard practice in many of the newest member countries and food safety regulations are not enforced as well as they are in the UK.  I stick with what I know is safe.

I am undecided about the advantages of being in the EU. My father fought in WWII and as a young man, worked manufacturing shoes.  When war ended and shoes were still rationed, Dad made wedged heel sandals in the shed and my mother sold them to her colleagues at Vickers. All his life, he bought British whenever possible and I have tried hard to follow in his footsteps.  What is the point of importing milk, meat and veg from over there when we produce it better over here. I remember the Common Market butter mountain; the milk lake and the outrage caused to English fruit growers when the French Golden delicious began to flood our greengrocers shelves.

I like a ripe juicy cox's pippin, prefer to wait for the Kent or Lincolnshire strawberries and will buy Scottish raspberries until my own are ready.  I adore English asparagus, Jersey cream and new potatoes and would rather support local producers than buy tasteless produce from further away.  I am not sure how I will vote in the up-coming referendum but I am unconvinced that there are any benefits to our farmers of remaining in the single market.

It is reassuring to know that our homeland security is safe - we are protected by our natural border - the sea - with the exception of what my father would have said was the 'biggest mistake this country made post-war' - the channel tunnel. We are members of NATO and The Commonwealth. Leaving the leaving the EU will not affect that.

My real concern, should the country decide to remain in the EU, is for the future of our next generation.  I worry what life holds for them when five more poorer and hugely populated countries join and the floodgates open to more unskilled workers, usurping jobs that should give security to our own, less academic young adults. I am witnessing, in my lifetime, the rise of Nazism, just as it happened in Europe when my parents were young. The depression in the 1930's that seeded nationalistic movements in Austria and Germany, turning them against immigrants, has been similar to our own economic depression.  History as we know from experience, is capable of repeating itself.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, at this time of year, I usually have a spring in my step. This summer, I am worried, more than a little depressed and nervous about the future of our once 'Great Britain'. We need to start real manufacturing again: make durables that we want to buy and that people in the rest of the world will want to buy.  'Made in Britain' was once the bi-line for quality. We need to support our own farmers and we need to buy British grown produce.  Perhaps we don't need to leave the EU to make our own lives better but being in Europe is not the solution to our future prosperity: We the British people are.

The sun wears a sombrero

as the mercury starts to rise,
now scuffed and saddening Winter boots
are cleaned and consigned away
and last year’s well worn slip-ons
come out of their box to play.

You are pulling on shorts and a tee-shirt,

checking your buffed up heels,
with vividly painted toenails
you tap on the laminate floor,

and then with a little spring in your step,

you are heading for the door.

Bouncing along the high street,

you keep hearing the siren’s call.

It’s sandal time,
let the frenzy begin,
as faithful fashionistas,  

tell you what’s out and what’s in.

A pair of Cameron staples,

remaining the same with a twist,

a touch more fringing and winging,
a promising veto, in last season's hue, 

but you will be slightly different

from the rest of the thirty-two. 

Or how about 'Brexity' Rollers?

A retro design, re-packaged as new, 
Union Jack with a sling back, 

a psycho-seventies shock,  

the wheels may come off, but baby,

wear these and you’re sure to rock.

Over-priced, over here, Italian heels,

throw-away, fast-fashion, Chinese,   
before you step up to the ballot box,
try them all on and then choose.
It's the only sure way to banish,
EU Referendum blues.


Thanks for reading.  Adele

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