Diversity & Discrimination

There is an International day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples on the 9th August - Who knew?   

Indigenous peoples face high rates of poverty and acute socio-economic disadvantages. It is only recently that their importance to the whole climate change emergency has come to the forefront. Living in harmony with nature, indigenous peoples help safeguard 80% of the world's biodiversity and hold many of the solutions to the climate crisis, despite constituting less than 5% of the global population. They have the traditional knowledge of their ancestors. The important value of that knowledge simply cannot be overstated

https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-2021.html

Yet all over the world indigenous people have been & are discriminated against. Historically you only have to think about the Native American Indians V white settlers, Mesoamerican Indians V Spanish colonists, Antipodean Maori & Aboriginals V Imperial settlers, Africa V European colonists.

Today nothing much has changed. Amnesty identifies "370 million Indigenous people around the world  spread across more than 90 countries. They belong to more than 5,000 different Indigenous peoples and speak more than 4,000 languages. The vast majority of them – 70% – live in Asia".

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/

Human Rights day is on the 10th December, commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/ListOfIssues.aspx

Yet we have numerous Human Rights issues in the world today. Two prime examples being the Uyghur discrimination in Xinjiang China & the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. But they are not alone - Syria, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan...We seem to be going through a battle between good & evil in human behaviour.

 

Human beings have the capacity for all the positive & negative traits of behaviour. There is a very fine  balance between the two. Approaching a new year & my 77th birthday I wonder which will win.

Democracy - Is the UK Democratic?

‘Democracy‘originated from two Greek words ‘Demos‘ and ‘Cratia‘. ‘Demos’ means people and ‘Cratia’ means power. Thus, democracy means a form of government in which the power is exercised by the people. Abraham Lincoln - “Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people”. Seeley - “Democracy is a government in which everyone has a share”.

The following conditions are necessary for Successful Democracy:-

• Belief in Democratic Principles - Citizens should have faith in democratic principles. They should have respect for other views and should perform their duties properly.
• Economic Equality - Democracy functions smoothly in countries without extremes of wealth and property. Countries which have large numbers of poor with a few who have plenty cannot  run successfully.
• Education - Only educated citizens can understand their rights and duties and can exercise them properly. Uneducated citizens cannot even vote effectively.
• Moral Standards - Citizens are honest, impartial and selfless. They should not be susceptible to undue electoral pressure
  
• Good Leaders - Democratic success depends greatly on the quality of leaders. People of sound judgement, balanced mind, honest and of unimpeachable character.
• Equal Rights - All citizens have equal social and political rights, equality before the law, the right to vote and to fight elections.
• Party System - Political parties are organized on definite economic, social and political principles, not on the basis of religion or caste.
• Free and Honest Press - People should have access to free and unbiased information regarding domestic and foreign affairs.
• Independent Judiciary - The rights and liberties of the citizens cannot be safeguarded if the Judiciary is not free.
• Local-Self Government - Local institutions should be established at all levels. Local institutions are a training ground for democracy.
• Strong Opposition - Organized opposition checks the government from becoming dictatorial.
• Peace and Security - Perpetual danger of war or revolt means democracy cannot work.

Sadly, I do not believe that the United Kingdom, under the present Government & the present Prime Minister, meets all of these criteria. 

 

Patterns of Behaviour

We humans have 4 major behaviour patterns - Optimistic, Pessimistic, Trusting & Envious. The latter is the most common, with 30%, compared to 20% for each of the other groups. Maybe that explains our consumerism & need for more "stuff". I am truly horrified watching TV programmes showing people who have so much "stuff" that they can barely use the rooms in their houses. The "stuff" literally weighs them down. No surface is uncluttered.

I have cleared houses for family & friends when people have died. The most shocking things were piles of useless rubbish like bills & receipts which were years old. Or huge numbers of single items like shoes, underwear or make up. Sometimes brand new & unused. I wonder what drives hoarding. Do we think that we must have what everyone else has? We must be part of the crowd? Or is it a basic insecurity?

I have known people at both ends of the positivity spectrum. I have found Pessimistic people very draining. Nothing can change their world view. Optimistic people tend to be much easier to get along with unless they take it to extremes as Bi Polar people often do. A Bi Polar man I knew was really exciting to be with - life was fun, but it was exhausting & sometimes dangerous & uncontrollable. I am definitely a "glass half full" person. I always try to find the positive in a situation.

I think, generally speaking, I am trusting. When travelling abroad this has often led to really worthwhile insights into different cultures, but occasionally into quite dangerous situations. On the whole I think trusting is a positive trait. My internal monitor, or gut reaction, has usually been correct in summing people up.

Type A Behavioural Pattern

Type B's are relaxed, Patient & Easy Going

I am Type A - I am climbing the mountain. Currently I am out on a limb because I am completely trusting a lot of people who are contributing to the renovation of my house. I don't have the necessary skills, knowledge or experience. I have to trust that they do & do the job well. I also have to trust that suppliers are competent in navigating the currently broken supply chain. 

Everything is fluid & changes day by day. We are all having to adjust to changing circumstances. It is a huge gamble & could go "pear shaped" very easily. It's certainly taking far more time & probably far more money than I thought it would.

I do believe the outcome will be worth it. I will reach the top of the mountain.

Oligarchy or Democracy - Which do you Want?

Oligarchy - A form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics - nobility, fame, wealth, education OR corporate, religious, political or military control.Throughout history, oligarchies have often been tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist.

Sounds familiar?

Double Down News just posted a piece on Facebook by Peter Jukes:- https://www.doubledown.news/watch/2021/november/16/theres-a-sickness-at-the-heart-of-british-democracy-its-called-oligarchy?fbclid=IwAR22utlghFhMwRzmfafNiRVhdnO8vDFW5RiyaHdVJeJtIV0E76I9K51tJcg

It seems to me that in the UK today we are well on the way to being an Oligarchy. The State is corrupted by an admittedly small group of wealthy, largely privately educated, entitled men. 41% of Conservative MPs elected at the 2019 General Election attended a fee-paying school. (Only 7% of the general population go to fee paying schools).

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/25/two-thirds-of-boris-johnsons-cabinet-went-to-private-schools.

 

We need intelligent & educated politicians, who come from diverse backgrounds, with a wide range of experience & qualifications. We need representation from all adult age groups. We don't need a cabal from any group. We certainly don't need people whose only experience of life in the adult world is the incestuous political world. Going from being gophers, to researchers to advisors. Or from local politics into the House of Commons.

Afghanistan, Yemen & Syria - Man made Human Catastrophes

I want to cancel Christmas! How on earth can we celebrate, giving gifts, many of which will be unwanted. Eating & drinking too much & wasting even more food than usual. Being hedonistic while the world literally burns around us. 

I really don't want to be a part of it. "Putting ones head in the sand" really doesn't cover it. 

Current Emergencies

• Afghanistan emergency
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Democratic Republic of the Congo emergency
• Haiti emergency
• North Eastern Nigeria emergency
• Sahel emergency
• Southern Madagascar emergency
• South Sudan emergency
• Syria emergency
• Yemen emergency

https://www.wfp.org/support-us/stories/families-afghanistan-need-help?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=14487154511&utm_content=127541781598&gclid=CjwKCAiA1aiMBhAUEiwACw25MXxcs5BuyJ26Fo62HbNOYLESHLoOpQuPiY3gW0czAytxXmGU6lixBxoCpf0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Afghanistan - Around 10 million children across Afghanistan urgently need humanitarian assistance to survive. Without urgent action, almost one million children could be severely malnourished by the end of the year. 1 in 3 people are hungry and 2 million children are malnourished. With drought, pandemic, and conflict, the food security situation will continue to worsen; and hunger will rise. 

Yemen - 16.2 million people are food insecure. 1.1 million women and children under 5 receive World Food Programme nutrition support every month. 20.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021

Syria - 12.4 million people are food insecure. 4.8 million people receive lifesaving food from WFP each month. WFP’s funding requirement until February 2022 is US$ 479.7 million.

These situations are directly brought about by Western Government policies. By our actions or lack of action. We voted for our governments who seem to treat these people as "collateral damage". Then the NGO's have to go in & try to pick up the pieces.

We should all be angry about this. An accident of birth means that we are relatively safe & secure. We have spare money to spend on Christmas & New Year. We are going to celebrate. 

What the hell is there to celebrate at the moment? 😪

 

 

10 Practical Ways You can Save the Planet

People power has brought in seat belts in cars. It has changed attitudes to drink driving. It has stopped smoking in public places. Each individual action is important & together we do have huge power. It's the Butterfly Effect.🦋

Unless everyone does something the Climate Emergency will get worse. It's no good trying to pass responsibility on to someone else. YOU have to ACT. You have to take responsibility for what you are doing or not doing. LEAD by example.

This is my simple list of what everyone can do.

 

Practical Ways to save the Planet in the face of the Climate Emergency

1. Leave the fossil fuel Car at home. If you must drive, reduce air pollution by driving an Electric car.

2. Rethink how you travel for shorter journeys – get a Bus. Boost your physical & mental health Cycle or Walk.

3. Reduce aviation growth. Fly less - Train not Plane.

4. Reduce Energy use & save money. Change your lightbulbs. Turn down heating thermostats.

5. Insulate your home.

6. Eat less Meat & Dairy to also reduce the risk of health problems.

7. Reduce, Reuse, Repair & Recycle.

8. Help to make your Garden or Local area wildlife & pollinator friendly. Grow your own food.

9. Lobby politicians – they need to know how much you care.

10. Donate to support the climate.

 

And AVOID PLASTIC.

Just think what we could achieve. There is no Plan B. There is no Planet B.

 

Your Choice.   

 

 

Climate Emergency & Individual Action

 At least 13 years ago my husband, now departed, foretold the consequences of our unsustainable way of life & destruction of the planet. He was a "glass half empty" person & thought that our selfish lifestyles would result in consequences so grave that there would be public unrest & rioting in the streets. He wanted us to consider what we would do if he was right. He thought we should be prepared to commit suicide in extremis.

I was not that negative.

At the time I was working with a man who was possibly a genius. (Also a manic depressive). But he knew far more than me about climate change & had the skills to design & build a "passive haus" & develop  technology to deal with no fossil fuels.

Now I know far more having been closely involved with NGO's like Greenpeace, Client Earth, Population Matters, Plantlife & Shelter Box......Now I really fear for the future of my 16 year old grandchildren. They are going to inherit the depleted world we have created since man started to till the earth & went on to create the Industrial Revolution.

There is nothing more important than this. Although we are intelligent & inventive & probably have the skills to put right a lot of the havoc we have created, there is very little time. 

There isn't time for "talking shops" & posturing. There isn't time for signing pledges & not fulfilling them. There isn't time to carry on with "business as usual" for a bit. 

This is a question of survival - for every living thing on this planet. 

Once we are gone, unless we are daft enough to bomb ourselves out of existance & contaminate the whole world, the wonderful world ecosystem will regenerate itself. 

Then, just possibly, this beautiful world will evolve & survive. Without the contaminating hand of greedy, self serving, money obsessed humans.

https://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceuk/videos/418528783160273

Broken Supply Chain - To Panic or not to Panic!

Anyone who has ever done building work knows that it never goes entirely smoothly. There are always unexpected problems to deal with. It's all a question of degree - real schedule & heart stopping surprises, down to minor inconveniences. It's all a question of how you deal with the unexpected. Are you a lateral thinker, are you positive, do you look for solutions, are you prepared to compromise?

If you aren't, don't even get started, because the stress will get to you.

My timing is dreadful. This is not a good time to be doing a big renovation & extension. The building trade is in crisis. The supply chain is broken. Materials are in short supply & have increased hugely in price. It doesn't matter what you need, there are long lead times & suppliers are fraught. Getting hold of people is a nightmare, despite the fact that this is 21st century communication. I'm tired of phone menus & music, voicemail, being cut off, non response to emails, people not doing their job.

Not everyone. Some do their darndest to help you through the issues - Bless them all. But they are in the minority.

So last week was a shocker:-

• The order for the ultra modern metal cladding for my extension, which should have been confirmed at the beginning of September wasn't. So now the company can't do it until Feb / March 2022.
• The bifold doors & windows, also for the extension, which I ordered a couple of months ago & should have been ready within a few weeks, are not even on the horizon. The lead time suddenly stretched to 16 weeks - February 2022. They must have known that before now!
• The company who are supposed to be fitting my sliding sash windows this week are not answering the phone or responding to answerphone messages. The plastering can't be finished until the windows are done.
  
• I've been waiting on accurate measurements so I can design my kitchen for months.

There is progress. The foundations are being built & the extension itself should be quick to build. It just won't have any cladding, doors, or windows. The flooring I ordered is coming this week, so the bathroom can be installed. The garden & groundworks are a sea of mud & rubble, but have been cleared. The shed I have ordered is coming this week - really looking forward to that. (Just need to find someone to erect it). The company I found to strip all the internal doors is collecting them this week. I really want to re-use them. They are original & solid wood, but are thick, sticky, smoke grimed paint.

Literally every single thing from the floor up to the loft, in both the renovation & the extension involves choices & costings. The only way to deal with it all is to be organised & ahead of the curve. I'm trying to plan the kitchen - need to get to grips with the sorftware. Ditto wardrobe planning software. I have a notebook & pen beside my bed so I can write down the things that spring into my brain in the middle of the night. How obsessive is that!

But - and it's a big but. This is only a house. It isn't COP 26. I don't live in a war or famine zone. There are more important things than my home.

 

Renovation & Building

 Stripping out - Thick lime plaster walls, lath & plaster ceilings & internal walls. 

Filthy, noisy, dusty work.

Mountains of rubbish - Several huge skips.

Demolishing - the sun room & old outside loo & larder - Spot the difference.

Front & back garden - 4 trees removed & huge shrubs drastically pruned. Stump grinder for massive Lime tree.

Mini digger scraping off all the weeds. Suddenly the garden is much bigger.

Help - I need a landscape gardener to tell me what to do!

Boarding Out -All the internal outside walls are well insulated under the plasterboard.

Bricking in - the old side door. A new one will go where the window is.

New Foundations - Literally & metaphorically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message from the past - Done in 1950, something to do with papering the room.

It's definitely all been a learning curve. Always interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes frustrating & occasionally quite depressing. But the people I have working for me are amazing & hard working. I'm really grateful for their practical experience & knowledge. 

Who knows when it will be finished though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ageing, Pain & Disability

My father & mother in law went through their lives until they were in their 90's relatively pain free & healthy. My father said he had never had a headache. My father in law never seemed to be ill in all the years I knew him. My mother always seemed old to me & in a lot of pain. The older I get the more I think that Genetics has a lot to do with health - I am my mother reincarnated. Fortunately I don't think my daughter will follow my genetics, she has my mother in law's body.

38% of adults in the UK were in daily chronic pain in 2020. Over 8 million people in the UK said they have chronic pain 19.5 million people in the UK were in pain at least once a day. Chronic Pain affects 1 in 3 young adults

https://www.formulatehealth.com/blog/chronic-pain-statistics-uk-2020

 

You would think that statistics like that would mean that there would be lots of research into pain & effective treatments. Versus Arthritis has produced a new report on Chronic Pain this year (2021). The recommendations starting on Page 93 make interesting reading to someone like me, because there is little similarity to our lived experience.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/23782/chronic-pain-report-june2021-print-friendly.pdf

Chronic pain is largely unseen, unless like me you have "flare ups". Normally I look normal. During the current episode I have barely been able to walk, stand, sit, lie down, carry anything or dress myself. When it's that bad I look like the elderly woman I am. The pain & lack of sleep is exhausting. You are isolated in a cocoon of disability & pain especially if you live alone. Nothing seems to work.

Doctors prescribe drugs of varying efficacy to treat the symptoms. Alternative therapists can help a lot, but in my experience temporarily. That is a lifeline though. Exercise, distraction technique, pacing & a positive attitude helps a lot. Each chronic pain sufferer has to find what works best for them.

But we all need the medical community to adopt the recommendations for treatment plans sooner rather than later, because living with pain is no fun, however positive you try to be.

Neighbourliness

We live on a crowded island. We don't have a big landmass like France (126% more landmass) or Germany (47% more landmass). That means that although we value home ownership, again in contrast to our European neighbours, we don't generally end up with a big plot of land all round. 51% of Germans owned their homes, 65% of the French did & 63% -73% Brits did in the same period.

This space poverty is particularly true in Urban areas. So it is important that we "live & let live". That we are generous spirited. Covid has shown that we can keep an eye out for our neighbours & often help where we can.

I have only once had a problem with neighbours in the whole 55 years that I have lived in my own home. That was 3 houses ago. The man was very wealthy & very obnoxious. I was actually afraid of him & that is not something that usually affects me. He was simply a bully. However Karma worked against him & he lost a lot of money & had to sell up.

Renovating my house has been a revelation. Most of my neighbours to be have been extremely welcoming, friendly & tolerant of the noise, disruption, dust & mess created by the work - I am so grateful. I am just surprised at the occasional level of intrusiveness & unnecessary difficulty that can be caused. 

The neighbour who stopped work on the felling of my lime tree because she erroneously said there was a  TPO on the tree, caused the whole team of tree surgeons to stop work. There was a lengthy delay while we tried to confirm that we were right & she was wrong. I was extremely worried. Frankly it was self interested & malicious. She just didn't want to be able to see my house from the back of her house.

Then a neighbour informed my builder that she had checked our planning permission & wanted him to know that she knew that the depth of the extension had been reduced by the planners. She would be checking to see that he complied. The reduction is 15cms - 6" in old money! Of course we will comply. Why would we want the hassle of having to remove anything wrongly constructed? What I really object to is the implication that I and my builder are dishonest & untrustworthy. 

 

 

It isn't the first time that we have been made to feel that we would not comply with "building regulations" or any relevant legislation. It isn't pleasant. To be honest it leaves a bad taste. 

I just need to focus on the much bigger proportion of really nice neighbours.

Land Ownership

In theory I own a house & the land it stands on. I've been an unmortgaged home owner for decades. That same plot of land will have been owned by a succession of people way back. If you go back far enough I imagine it was countryside. After I've gone it will belong to someone else.

I don't feel I actually own it. I'm just the temporary guardian of the land & the house that sits on it. I should maintain it in the best possible state.

I watched a really good documentary about the climate emergency showing communities in the Southern Hemisphere who had actually had their islands swallowed up by rising sea levels. They had thought their homes were permanent. They discovered that they are not, because of our lack of stewardship of the planet we live on.

People all over the world are losing their homes for all sorts of reasons. Some are climate related, some are because of man's misconceived belief that we own the countries we live in. That belief starts wars. Population migrations have already reached pandemic proportions. Countries are becoming protectionist. They fail to see that every human being has the right to a home, safety, food & the necessities of life.

People will flee from flood, fire, rising seas, war, famine, poverty & all the terrors which beset the world today. We have to recognise that we cannot be protectionist. We cannot sit in our homes in a relatively secure country & pull up the drawbridge to keep refugees out. It matters little whether they are fleeing persecution, devastation or poverty. They have the same rights that we do. 

The simple fact is that all human beings everywhere have the right to expect other human beings to help them in any way they can. I'm not a Christian, but the "Good Samaritan" story epitomises all religious & moral belief.

I recognise that this will play havoc with our own little lives. It will devastate the world economy & big business. But if we don't truly understand this there will not just be civil unrest. The world will suffer a huge upheaval. Again I'm not a Christian. But maybe that's what Armageddon was warning us about.

We have heard he message. We have to come together to find solutions.

Vaccines & Vaccine Refusers

I've got an arm full of Covid & an arm full of Flu. The whole thing went like clockwork. So easy & efficient thanks to the NHS & a lot of volunteers. Doubt the Government had much to do with the organisation given their track record.

As a child I was vaccinated against Diphtheria, Smallpox, TB, Polio. Not sure if I had the Measles, Mumps & Rubella. As an adult I have been vaccinated every time I have travelled abroad to places like Africa & the Middle East. I've regularly had Tetanus injections. As a medically vulnerable pensioner I have been vaccinated against Pneumonia & Influenza. When I've had hospital procedures I have been injected with anesthetics & been on drips. Here I am at 76 & I've never had any of those diseases. The vaccines worked! I have not had any ill effects at all. I am extremely fortunate that vaccines were available.

 

All through my life I have had health problems which needed medication. I have taken everything from Morphine to Paracetamol to control symptoms.

I do not know what was in any vaccines or medications. I never asked. I was just grateful that they were available.

What is so different about the Covid vaccines? What on earth justifies all of the "conspiracy theorists", the "Covid deniers", the "vaccine refusers". Have all of them never had any vaccine or taken any drug? Have they chosen to suffer all through their lives when they have been ill? If they have had vaccines or taken drugs, have they known exactly what was in them? No - of course not. 

The whole thing is so difficult to understand, because it seems so irrational. Why has it happened? Is it the prevalence of Social Media & Fake News? Idiot politicians like Trump who suggested drinking Bleach. 

I accept that there are a small percentage of people who have a good reason for not having the vaccine. But the majority are simply misguided & frankly gullible.

The problem is that their refusal affects everyone else.

Keeping my Head above Water

Swimming helps me on so many levels - fitness, range of movement, distraction from problems, calm meditation. I love it & do it 3 times a week. I would do more if I had the time. I'm happy to have my head in or under water.

It's so different to life at the moment. Sometimes I do just about feel that I am keeping my head above water. Sometimes, although I'm not drowning, I need a lot of advice & information. Normally, I know stuff. I'm within my comfort zone. Not so renovating my house & building an extension.

I just don't know the answers to questions & I'm beginning to feel that I must be a pain as a client. It's all quite technical & there are so many areas to research. What do I know about groundworks, underpinning, modern building techniques, wiring...? I can do the selection of fixtures & fittings. I know what I like. But the more complex things mean I don't actually know the right questions to ask, never mind the answers.

Getting 3 quotes for everything has been a revelation. Each person you talk to gives you different information, so by the time you see the final one you do, just possibly, know what to ask.  Take the driveway. I want it to be permeable & as eco as possible. One company say I need to have all the concrete dug up & removed & then start laying the resin based gravel. Another company says no, not all the concrete needs to go, only the poor stuff in the front garden. The side drive can just have 3 drainage channels. Well, how do I know which is right? I just want the rainwater to get into the soil.

I don't think I have ever had to make so many choices in such a relatively short period of time. It is daunting. Thank goodness for the internet. Thank goodness I don't have a "proper job".

Planning Consent & Tree Preservation Orders.

I have never liked Rollercoasters. But that is what I am on, holding tight, closing my eyes & trusting that the whole structure won't collapse & send me flying into the abyss.

Dealing with the City Planning Department during Covid isn't easy. They have problems, mainly staffing issues I think. So yesterday afternoon I was on a high. An email from my lovely Architect finally came several weeks & several supposed dates late. I have got full planning consent. Huge relief. The groundwork for the extension can begin. Hopefully it will be quick to build. But that depends on whether we can get the contractors who do the specialist standing seam cladding in before Christmas.

Today my tree surgeon team arrived with 4 vehicles & a mass of kit to take down the huge Lime tree in the middle of the garden plus 3 smaller trees. I've waited for months, because they are really busy over the summer period & there are rules whilst birds are nesting. A neighbour apparently came round & told them there was a Tree Preservation Order on the Lime. She said she liked watching the birds, (there aren't any to see in the Lime it's too dense), & she didn't want to see my house. She lives at the back I think. Frantic phone calls to City Planning Tree Department by the main tree surgeon & me. Also a call to my solicitor, because I don't have any of the paperwork for my house because Land Registry have a backlog. The 2 planners dealing with TPO's are not in the office, they are out in the field so a really helpful lady left them both voicemails. 

Both the tree surgeon & I were fairly sure there was no P O on the lime, but we couldn't take the risk. A long stressfull delay until we finally got the go ahead. Huge relief, again. When they started work they discovered, as we expected that the whole of the middle of the tree was rotten. Lime's are very prone to that. So it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Meanwhile I feel shredded. This is a big undertaking, requiring a lot of time & effort. Nothing is going smoothly. 

By the time I move in I think everyone involved will feel a huge sense of relief & achievement.

Eco Warrior Failure - A tale of Woe

That's how I feel. I set out with high aspirations to refurbish my 1930's semi in as Green a way as possible. I'm a complete failure. 

Windows - What I wanted was sliding sash replacement windows in a modified softwood called Accoya. It's sustainable & really good. But it's also a lot more expensive that what I have bought, which is really good quality UPVc sashes. From the kerbside you won't be able to tell that they aren't wood, but that isn't the point.

Wall Insulation - What I was going to use was Pavatex wood fibre. But again the price has shot up because there is "A Severe timber shortage as ‘a perfect storm’ brings price hikes and delays" because of a surge in demand due to Brexit & Covid. It's now more than double the alternative. The underfloor insulation also looks as if it is coming in very expensive too. I haven't got round to the loft insulation yet.

Heating - I was seriously considering a heat pump instead of a combi gas boiler & did my research. I can't have a ground sourced heat pump because I don't have enough land for the collector loop, which is laid horizontally in a trench about a metre or so below ground. Where there isn't room to do this, you can drill vertical boreholes to extract heat from much further down, typically between 90m and 160m deep. It's significant, costly, disruptive work in the garden. A 6-8 kW horizontal ground source heat pump system usually costs around £10,000 to £12,500 to install. A larger 12kW heat pump system would cost around £15,500 to £17,500 to install. I simply can't afford to do it. 

Air source heat pumps are cheaper, but they are noisy & UK houses, not insulated to high enough standards, are not kept wam enough in winter.

It's a no brainer. I am having a gas boiler. I won't live long enough to get the financial benefit from the technology & the government have withdrawn the Green Deal financial support.

I don't expect the Government to foot the bill for my project, but as a member of Greenpeace & several other Eco charities, I know how important this is. We need to be doing this now. But the public won't do it unless they are helped with incentives of some sort. There is a limit to how much extra cost an individual household can absorb, however high their ideals. 

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development in September 2020, " a majority of people across Britain support an ambitious transformation of the United Kingdom into a greener, fairer, and more equal society. The assessment is based on an extensive inquiries by a cross-party group of MPs, which involved over 55,000 people through representative polls, workshops, and telephone conversations". Covid triggered a widespread desire for change. There is plenty of evidence that a Green economy will benefit the whole country. But it won't happen on it's own. It needs political will & Government commitment.

So I have failed & I'm really dieappointed. I just don't have a bottomless pit of money. The good thing, if I can afford it, is that I might have a resin bound, permeable, gravel driveway that uses recycled plastic drinking straws.

This Government has failed me & everyone else too. To quote Greta Thunberg  “Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.”

 https://www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/videos/1033097317441254

We don't have long to sort this out. There have been plenty of warning signs. We are hosting Cop 26 in a month's time. I don't know how our Cabinet have the cheek to do it. 

 

But I am so disappointed with myself personally too. 

 

Communication

We assume that because we can think & speak we have the tools to communicate effectively. Communication skills & understanding are really important in all aspects of our lives. We are lucky that we have communication tools which were not available for the majority of our lives. I must have been in my 20's before my parents even had a landline!

Managing my renovation & extension has made very clear that there is huge variation in how effective communication is. Yesterday was a case in point. Planning consents were expected in late August, early September. It was delayed to Wednesday 22nd this week, because of staffing issues. It didn't come. It is holding up a lot of the work. We can't risk starting before we have it, even if it is permitted development. 

I spent all day yesterday trying to communicate with the city planning department by phone & email. My builder wasn't sure what he can do & thinks he has done everything he can stripping out & first fixing in the actual house. I spoke to 3 different people, all of whom tried to be helpful, but none of whom actually knew anything about the application. The officer who dealt with it is on leave & no one else was appointed to cover this work. I find that amazing & frankly unprofessional. So we are in limbo until the officer returns & gets round to issuing my paperwork.

I have had a team of 4 professional people working on my project plus the 3 people actually doing most of the hard work. That meant that there needed to be effective lines of communication between them & me. It hasn't always worked & I have often felt I was fire fighting & acting as a relay. Sometimes I have been concerned that I don't have the skill set to really understand processes & technicalities. I have to rely on the people I have employed. They are all busy people & have other projects as well as mine. It can be a bit of a quagmire.

I also need to try to keep open good communication with suppliers, which is a real nightmare. There are huge supply & lead time problems. They are all struggling to cope with their supplers - it's a chain which is broken currently, due to Brexit & Covid.

Then there is the importance of keeping neighbours informed & on side, despite not living in the house. I'm not having to live with the noise, dust, traffic & disruption, but I do realise what an impact it must have. I'm a big believer in face to face communication. You can pick up body language & expressions & hopefully respond appropriately. Emails are quick & provide a paper trail, but can be misinterpreted. The receiver doesn't necessarily read what we intend when we write.

It's all hard work & exhausting. But I can go home to my rental, read a book, watch TV & unwind. I have a supportive daughter & family & I have lots of friends who are also interested & supportive. They all know what a huge task this is. They sympathise & encourage when things are not going well.

So, all in all, I am lucky.

Renovating & Building an Extension

Two of my previous homes have needed massive renovation. One needed a big extension simultaneously. My husband & I lived in both whilst the work was going on, which wasn't easy. But at least we were there every day to oversee the work & answer questions. Both houses were detached, both were in rural locations. So we didn't have to be too concerned about the impact on neighbours. Neither project went smoothly, but we were able to divide the work between us & share the ups & downs. Just as well as we were both working during the first one.

My current house is a completely different situation. It is a semi in an urban street. So there are neighbours all around who must be impacted by the builders. There are the vehicles & workmen. There is the noise & dust. Obviously the work only goes on during prescribed hours, but even so I can understand that it is disturbing.

So far my lovely builders have had to remove all the lime plaster on the interior of the 3 outside walls in order to insulate them. There is no cavity. Many interior walls & ceilings were still lath & plaster, so they also have to be stripped out & replaced. Some floorboards were rotten. The whole of the ground floor needs to be stripped out & insulated, then some rooms need the level raising so it is the same throughout. The wiring & gas pipework was all visible on the walls, so all has to be replaced. The water comes through lead pipes, which need replacing. Interior walls have to come down & new ones need to be built. It's noisy, dusty, filthy work. But the builders remain cheerful despite it all. Most of my neighbours are understanding & tolerant & I'm really grateful.

 

I'm finding it all quite hard now. It feels like a full time job. It's a combination of fire fighting problems, constantly chasing for fittings etc, trying to second guess which choices need to be made & getting quotes, driving back & forth to the site. I never know what each day will bring.

I seem to be transferring money out more regularly than ever before - It's a one way river. This is not a good time to be doing this. The building trade is suffering from a combination of the aftermath of Brexit & Covid. Both have made prices spiral out of control because of increased costs & shortage of materials. Lead times have increased because of delivery problems. Scheduling the work has become more dependent on outside circumstances than ever before.

This house could be a dream fulfilled for me. It could be "future proofed" for how ever many more years I have. I'm lucky to be able to buy a house with so much potential & be able to keep the best of it whilst bringing it into the 21st century. 

It is taking it's toll though. It certainly isn't easy. Think "Grand Designs" on a smaller scale. I need to keep the "vision" in mind on the really difficult days. 

I do just hope that it will be worth it all.