Cruelty has a human heart,
And jealously a human face;
Terror the human form divine,
And secrecy the human dress.

The human dress is forged iron,
The human form a fiery forge,
The human face a furnace seal'd,
The human heart its hungry gorge.

- William Blake  

copied from Kate's Blog:

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she can get back her focus on what's important.

I learned it in the back of a Harare City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi and we took off for Westgate . We were driving when all of a sudden a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches! Here's what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any Zimbabwean, some words in Harare come with a special face. Now, here's what blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personal. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did. I guarantee it. So this was it: The "Law of the Garbage Truck." I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore." I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie "The Sixth Sense," where the little boy said, "I see Dead People." Well now "I see Garbage Trucks." I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on. One of my favourite Football players of all times, Ronaldino, does this every day on the football field. With a smile he always jumps up as quickly as he hits the ground after being tackled. He never dwells on a hit. Ronaldino is always ready to make the next play his best. Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses.

Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? You'll be happier. I guarantee it.

Author unknown

The real cost of our bottled water binge

If you order water in a restaurant, chances are the waiter will ask whether you want still or sparkling. You are unlikely to be offered a choice between bottled and tap. But why? Our tap water is perfectly safe - so safe that it now meets stringent quality standards in 99.98% of cases, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Some people argue that it is even safer than bottled water, which is vulnerable to contamination.

Yet still we reach for the bottle. In 2006 we glugged 2,275 million litres of bottled water, according to figures from the British Soft Drinks Association. Londoners alone drink the bottled water equivalent of just over one Olympic-sized swimming pool a week. Our habit seems even more crazy when you consider how much we are willing to pay for our fix: bottled water typically costs around 500 times as much as tap water, the equivalent of paying £1,500 for a pint of beer or glass of wine.

So what are we buying? There are three types of bottled water in the UK.

1.Natural mineral water comes from a named source and is untreated, so what you see is what you get.

2.Spring water, which is also from a named source, but might have a passing acquaintance with chemicals.

3.Bottled drinking water, whose source cannot be identified – and might even be the tap.

UK consumers drink far more mineral and spring than drinking water, which makes up only 13% of the market.

The American market is different. In the United States, PepsiCo, the soft drinks giant, last month agreed to spell out the letters ‘PWS’ on the label of its best-selling 'Aquafina' brand. They stand for public water source, which is tap water to you and me. The industry does not seem to have suffered too much. Bottled water is now the world’s fastest-growing drinks sector and is worth £1.5 billion a year in the UK. It even outsells Coca-Cola in London.

Healthy for us, unhealthy for the wider world? It’s partly down so some genius marketing by the big multinationals, such as Nestle, which owns such well-known brands as Buxton, Perrier, San Pellegrino and Vittel. The drinks giants have persuaded us that bottled water is more than just a drink; it’s a lifestyle. Then there’s the suggestion of health benefits – all those wide-angle shots of mountains and talk of natural minerals. But there is no convincing proof that bottled water is any healthier than the ordinary stuff from the taps.

And it’s probably a lot unhealthier for the environment. Jeanette Longfield of the organisation Sustain says: "The bottles contribute to the half a million tonnes of plastic we throw away every year, and 'water miles' are adding to the damage caused by food miles. It also takes an estimated two litres of water to produce a litre of bottled water – all because drinking tap water has become unfashionable."

So how do we make tap water as hip as Fiji - the latest must-have brand in the US which is also available over here. It costs about £1 a bottle and is shipped all the way from the eponymous Pacific island, where more than half the population doesn’t have safe, reliable drinking water. Why are we transporting water halfway round the world when we could simply turn on the tap? Surely it’s ludicrous. It is also seems irresponsibly decadent when you consider that 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water – roughly one sixth of the global population.

Of course, the drinks industry does not want consumers to feel guilty about picking the bottle over the tap. Richard Laming of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) says: "People aren’t necessarily choosing bottled instead of tap water; they are choosing bottled water over another packaged drink." The BSDA is also keen to stress the industry’s green credentials. Laming says: "Companies nowadays use less plastic in their bottles and are exploring ways to use more recycled plastic. There is more work to be done, but we are moving in the right direction." Of course, it’s also up to the consumer to make sure their water bottle does not end up in a landfill site. Local authorities too have a part to play in making it easier to recycle plastic.

Education, education, education

But it’s not enough for some people. Jenny Jones, Green Party member of the London Assembly, is trying to encourage more people to drink tap water. She says: "We need to show some independence and show that ordering tap water with your meal, or at the pub, is fashionable and the right thing to do. Selling water in bottles and burning massive quantities of fossil fuels for its transportation does not make economic or environmental sense." The Green Party could start by persuading the government to serve tap water. A recent Sustain survey of government departments and agencies shows that only two departments and one agency routinely serve tap water. The Cabinet Office, the House of Commons, the Treasury and the Departments for Health and Education and Skills all bring out bottled water.

A campaign is already underway in the US, where a number of cities have changed their ways. San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsom banned the use of city funds to buy bottled water at the beginning of last month. Other mayors, notably in New York and Salt Lake City, are starting to follow his lead. So next time we are in the supermarket should we shun the display of bottled waters? You can’t beat bottled water for convenience. Some people also prefer the taste to tap water. And it would be naïve to think that a ban would be all good. What about the loss of jobs and profits that keep the economy turning? A number of brands have taken a moral stand. One and Belu, for example, use their profits to pay for clean water schemes in the developing world. So you might want to select your brand with care. It also makes sense to read the label carefully – and don’t just chuck out the empty bottle. But will we turn on the tap more often? I’m not sure we’ve got the bottle.

By Naomi Caine

August 15 2007

What might I ask is wrong with milk. Real milk with at least an inch of cream in the neck of the bottle? Not the thin watery stuff on sale in all supermarkets.

Water, water, everywhere,Nor any drop to drink.

£1500 a glass, now that makes you think? 

The roses red upon my neighbour's vine
Are owned by him, but they are also
mine.
His was the cost, and his the labour, too,
But mine as well as his the joy, their
loveliness to view.

They bloom for me and are for me as fair
As for the man who gives them all his
care.
Thus I am rich because a good man grew
A rose-clad vine for all his neighbour's view.

I know from this that others plant for me,
And what they own my joy may also be;
So why be selfish when so much that's fine
Is grown for you upon your neighbour's vine?

by A.L. Gruber

MY NEIGHBOUR'S REPLY

Your neighbour, sir, whose roses you admire,
Is glad indeed to know that they inspire
Within your breast a feeling quite as fine
As felt by him who owns and tends the vine.

That those fair flowers should give my neighbors joy
But swells my own, and draws therefrom alloy
Which would lessen its full worth, did I not know
That other's pleasure in the flowers grow.

Friend, from my neighbours and this vine I've learned
That sharing pleasure means a profit turned;
And he who shares the joy in what he's grown
Spreads joy abroad and doubles all his own.

Author Unknown

The Grouse hunting season started on Sunday 12th August, I had planned to watch the shooting stars that night, despite the light pollution in this area, by midnight the cloud cover had increased to such an extent that I had a wee dram and retired to bed. I hope those in pursuit of these birds will remember to take great care so as not to disturb the wild Haggis. I found this article @ http://www.lawian.supanet.com/earlier today and pass it on to one and all. 

Not for the squeamish.

Stop Battery Haggis Farming

The life of a battery Haggis

If the neep is a male, it will be killed by gassing. The female neep is taken to a new environment with hundreds of other day-old neeps. The neeps are kept under heat lamps for warmth, either in 'training' cages or in deep litter sheds. Their food and water are provided via automated electronically controlled methods. Their light is timer-controlled, and large fans keep the air circulating. An unknown proportion of female neeps undergo 'de-snouting', which means that the haggis's snout is partially amputated - many die of shock or their injury after this operation has taken place.

The neep grows up and becomes a haggis. If she has not been in a cage from day one, she will be put in a battery cage made entirely of thin wire mesh . The cage measures 50cm by 50cm (20 inches by 20 inches), and she shares this cage with four other haggis.. The cages are kept in a large windowless building, and are usually stacked in tiers six high. The haggis are fed and watered automatically, and their homogenised food is treated with antibiotics, colouring and medication. Their dung is taken away from the cages via conveyor belts. She will stay in the wire battery cage until her sixth week of life she will be hung by her feet on a conveyor belt and her throat will be cut by an automatic knife, unless she moves then she will have part of her head sliced off.

Buy only free range Haggis

http://www.lawian.supanet.com/ 

The last time that National Moth Night was held in August was the year 2001. That event was also
held on 11 August, which offers an opportunity to make some interesting comparisons. A total of 682
species was recorded at 389 sites around Britain and Ireland on NMN 2001.
Can this total be beaten in 2007? Participants throughout the British Isles are encouraged to record the moths in their chosen location and the results are pooled into Britain’s largest survey of what species are flying around the country. Much important information has been generated, including new county records, new sites for scarce species and records of rare immigrants. Public events take place around the country, which can be a great introduction to the world of moths. National Moth Night grabs the imagination of those taking part and has involved some fine displays of British eccentricity in terms of unusual methods of recording moths, as well as visits to some unusual locations. August is an interesting time for moth recorders with a variety of colourful and scarce species on the wing. Widespread immigration from other parts of Europe, or even Africa, may take place if conditions
are favourable. Species range from the tiny Diamond-back Moth to the enormous Convolvulus Hawk-moth.
Many of these immigrant species are quite common and may be recorded in just about any part of Britain
and Ireland. Winds blowing in from the Continent may bring with them much rarer species too.

http://www.nationalmothnight.info/links.php 

And with any luck you may see:

Pleiades

Chrissie Williams, August 2003