I started the day with another run with Becca, we have been running in the park together regularly for just over a year but recently, Becca has had an injury which has stopped us temporarily. I have secretly been worried that I might not be able to cope with the extra exercise on top of all the cycling and how hungry running usually makes me, but I don’t seem to have had an negative effects from the run on Wednesday or Friday. The buckets were still full so again I used a jug and today, my last day of rationing I used just 4 litres of hot for a good wash.
I dropped in to have breakfast with my friend Su and ate porridge in her garden in the sunshine. We don’t have scales at home and I thought I would see how much weight I have lost as a result of rationing, and its in the region of three quarters of a stone which is quite drastic. Obviously the developing world doesn’t have an obesity problem which we clearly wouldn’t have here either if we were rationed to the extent of Ration Me Up which stops you eating processed food, so much dairy and meat. I left Su’s and cycled over to Camberwell to pick up something from the sorting office which has moved from Herne Hill. I’m not sure how people manage to get there without a bike or a car. Its crazy that the local sorting office should be so very very far off being local.

I was working from home today so was able to flush with bathwater. I met up with Graham and Rachid in Brockwell Park for lunch and had chips and veg which was tastier than anything I have had in the Cafe for ages; I’m not a fan of their food, but on a sunny day, its the best place to sit and eat. Went to Herne Hill Oxfam to buy washing powder and bought some trousers, anything second hand is ration free.

I cooked split yellow peas again in the pressure cooker, with chillies this time. I’m looking forward to being able to eat rice or pasta again instead of potatoes with almost every meal. I was going to write the blog last night, but again, I fell asleep putting Haroun to bed, but this time didn’t wake up until half past 10 and just went straight to bed. Very energy saving, no TV, computer, radio temptations.

I’ve actually not missed TV or watching DVD’s at all. Apart from the little bit at my brothers over Easter where It wasn’t my choice I’ve not been remotely tempted. I was brought up in a household without a TV and we only have a portable one borrowed when Haroun was born and never returned. It’s too old to connect to a livebox, and moves in and out of the living room depending on what’s going on, so its not a permanent fixture sitting in the corner of room with a remote control and watching it requires a bit of bother. I’ve really missed the radio and music, so this morning, my first day after rationing I switched it on, only to switch it off as it seemed pointless as Haroun was making so much noise in our bed playing rough games. It was on in the kitchen later, but when I left the room, I switched it off. Previously I would have left it on while going in and out of the room. I have made all sorts of changes to my habits which I think I’ll be happy to stick with. I’ve done all washing up today in the same way, cold water, just using a tiny amount, I’ve watered the plants in the garden and the the window boxes with the dirty washing up water, maybe when I’m rushing off to work I won’t do this, but if not, why not? Some of the things I have done during this period have been marginally more time consuming, brushing the carpet for one, filling up buckets and moving them from room to room, but I spend less time in the bath room washing, and have spare time from not watching TV or wasting time on the internet. I’ve definitely spent less times sitting in cafes drinking coffee and eating cake. The flat is cleaner than before, because I’m re-using water and have to do something with it. Its just requires a bit more thought, organisation and putting up with the very mild inconvenience of buckets of water in our small bathroom. I have stopped running the tap without either a carton, a cup, a pan or a bucket underneath or at the very least the plug in. Rather than automatically turning the tap to wash my hands, I reach for the margarine tub and scoop out some old water from a bucket and pour it over them. I see no reason why not to continue with this. I only wish we could get a water meter.

I have been really rigourous with this experiment and quite honestly, its really, really achieveable. if you are prepared to operate locally, walk, cycle and use public transport sparingly. If you want to drive everywhere, you won’t be able to make it. If you have a problem with narrowing down your diet to just eating local produce (which in the winter is fairly limited) you won’t be able to make it either. Eating meat and cheese every day is out of the question, but when in history has there ever been a period where ordinary people did things like eat meat and cheese everyday? Doing this has just kept on reinforcing to me, over and over again, how much we have in this country in terms of choice and easy access to all kinds of resources. I could easily carry on, but its hard when no one else around you is doing it. Its hard to being so altruistic that you severely limit your use of resources knowing that the majority people are not considering changing their habits in any way or think that its their god given right to consume whatever they want whenever they want it. I did check my bank balance yesterday, and I have probably about 300 quid left of my wages more than I usually would at this point in the month which is incredible. I don’t earn a huge amount, its enough to live on comfortably, mainly because our housing costs are low and we don’t run a car (I have a part time teaching salary and the odd bit of freelance work) but clearly, I’m spending about £300 a month on luxuries that I wasn’t even aware of. That is eating out, random shopping, snacks while out and about, takeaway coffees, who knows what else.

This month was a fairly crazy month to choose to do this as I had two long distance trips planned, Haroun’s birthday and Easter. Without so much travel I would have definitely eaten more food, had some meat even. If this rationing were in place all the time you wouldn’t consider travelling so much, it would be out of the question, we would eat less, use water sparingly and we would be living our lives much more in line with the rest of the world.

Here is the breakdown of how I have used my 40 rations.

20 for travel
2 for the fridge
5 rations for non seasonal food, including the odd bit of cheese/butter (almost none)
1 for drinking and cooking water
1 for lighting our flat (all but 1 energy saving bulbs) don’t leave lights on any more apart from outside Haroun’s bedroom at night.
1 for heating our flat (hardly on at all, used lots of blankets)
1 for flushing loo, thats 14 full flushes and 16 economy flushes, and lots of leaving the flush until really needed, sharing flushes and using bath water.
1 for potatoes, I’ve eaten about 8 kilos to myself,
1 ration for milk (this has been very hard but helped by reduction of tea drinking, using Haroun’s leftovers and making porridge with water.) If I did this long term I would have to have some calcium substitute.
1 ration (just under actually) for bread
1 ration for computer (writing the bloody blog)
1 dishwasher bit of TV while staying at my brothers.
1/2 ration for washing dishes and vegetables, always cold so no need to use an energy ration there
1/2 ration for Eggs (7 in the month, including 2 egg share for haroun’s birthday cake)
1/2 ration internet (uploading bloody blog)
1/3 for boiling kettle, I boiled a whole kettle only 14 times, and had 28 cups of tea away from home or when Rizwan has made a pot which i reckon is equivalent to 7 whole kettles full (60 kettle’s full is 1 ration)
1/3 ration for washing myself and my teeth and hand I have used only 83 litres of warm water (60 litres a week would make one ration) This has been helped by using my parents bath water when I have been with them, and using old bath water to wash my hands with.
1/3 ration for heating washing water.
1/4 washing machine water
1/4 washing machine energy

That leaves one ration that I am lumping lots of little things in like
1 use of toaster (30 = 1 ration), 2 mintues in microwave at work (10 mins a day = 1 ration), 10 minutes hoover (1 hour a week = 1 ration) 100 grammes of sugar for porridge, mobile phone charge, sewing machine and charging camera battery once.

There are all sorts of things that are missed off the ration book, but its a art project, not a government directive and it reminds you in a pretty clear way that there is virtually nothing you do that doesn’t have some kind of carbon implication and encourages you to celebrate the things that don’t.

By the way, I now switch off the computer, take out the plug and switch off the modem when I’m finished. Good night.

Used Mum and Dad’s bathwater, and kept rest in bath and buckets for flushing loo and watering garden. I haven’t got any more floors to clean. Rizwan and I have decided to sort out a water butt to keep bathroom water in and another for rainwater if there is space. Watered the window boxes with left over washing up water. The pansies seem to be thriving on dregs of porridge in their soil. l cycled to work in the sunshine. Spent more time in the office so had two hot drinks today. Got a load of stick from my colleagues Klaus and Paul running after Jo when she went to the loo so I could share a flush with her. I had a tutorial with a third year student who was very encouraging about Ration Me Up, she also told me that her mother has taken her self off the national grid and has stickers up all over her home asking if you really need to switch on this light. I took my own lunch – last nights split yellow peas added to a portion of canteen potatoes. I’d like to think that I’ll carry on taking my lunch in but requires a certain level of organisation that I might not be up to long term… it would save me about a tenner a week, and the canteen food isn’t great.

I have been using my Mooncup this week, its the most brilliant alternative to tampons/sanitary towels. You buy one, and use it for life. I’ve know about them for years but only got round to buying one last year and wish I had done so years ago, its already paid for itself and I feel incredibly pleased with myself that I’m no longer regularly contributing these rather unpleasant items to landfill/sewage system. I have told some of my sensible female students who I didn’t think would be squeamish about the idea, or disturbed by the idea of their tutor sharing this kind of thing with them and they are now using them and telling all their friends. I wish when I was in my 20’s I’d been told about them; I’d have saved an absolute fortune. I got mine from Fareshares, £7 cheaper than in Boots.

Dropped in to Fareshares on the way home to restock on porridge and parsnips. Tricia and I had a chat about the Indian style alternative to using loo paper which we both learnt about travelling in India. This is the method that Rizwan was brought up with and consequently, we get through very little loo paper in this home. Tricia and I started to imagine what would happen if the vaste majority of the world who doesn’t use loo paper suddenly started to. There wouldn’t be a single tree left. This is not your regular shopping chit chat, but then Fareshares isn’t your regular shop.

When I got home, Rizwan had fried up the remains of last nights bubble and squeak for me,and I had the very last bit of the split peas. Haroun and I went out into the garden to water the plants with bathwater. He stepped in some kind of poo, so his feet got a scrub in the remains of Mum and Dad’s bath. Thames Water visited today to see if we can have a water meter fitted. Apparently we can’t, which I’m really gutted about, as I know how much water I’m going to save in the future and was looking forward to the financial benefit of this. Talking of financial benefit, I’m going to check my bank balance tomorrow, my last day of the Ration Book (for now anyway) and see how much money I have saved. I have a feeling its going to be loads, as my food shopping has been unbelivably frugal, I haven’t been drinking endless milky coffess and snacking, not a single bar of chocolate or bag of crisps has passed my lips, all presents have been home made and apart from a £3 pair of cheap sunglasses I bought at the seaside before I realised what I was doing, I don’t think I’ve bought anything.

Rizwan wanted to use the shower this morning without the bath ankle deep in cold soapy water, so I spent the first few minutes of the day ferrying cold water in buckets up and down the stairs to water the garden, two buckets and a large jug left in bathroom to use later.
was listening this morning to the radio, a tiny battery operated transistor radio, I don’t think it has ever run out of batteries the 2 years we have had it and those are I went for a run round Brockwell Park with Becca next door and needed a wash afterwards, but all our buckets were full, so I used a plastic jug, using only about 5 litres worth. After I dropped Haroun off at school I had an hour spare so washed the kitchen and bathroom floors with his leftover bath water. I can safely say, I have never washed any kitchen floor twice in one month apart from when I have had cleaning jobs. Of course, it was easy this time round as it wasn’t disgustingly dirty to start with, so a lasting effect of this experiment may be that the floors in the flat are cleaner than ever before, and I’ll be using 2nd hand water while I’m at it. I soaked some split yellow peas for later. I bought these at fareshares at the beginning of this month, as they are the only pulse they sell that is grown in the UK. Rizwan was listening this morning to the radio, a tiny battery operated transistor radio, I don’t think it has ever run out of batteries the 2 years we have had it and those are rechargeable. I can’t believe that the energy used in making and running this can be anywhere near the energy used by our much larger digital Roberts Radio. I do question some of the calculations involved in the ration book, but I am accepting them for the sake of this. When all analogue TV’s and radios are scrapped whenever the switch over date is planned, I hope that someone is going to do an environmental audit of the costs of replacing analogue equipment, the implication of disposing of all these millions of TVs and radios and how much more power is going to be drawn running them and wave this in the face of the people responsible for making the decision.

My parents were due to stay for a couple of nights to help Rizwan out while I was in Abu Dhabi and I asked them to come for one night, after the job was cancelled as a consolation. I cycled to meet them at Tate Britain to see the fantastic Henry Moore Exhibition I really have run out of rations so now have to cycle everywhere, but it only took me 25 minutes door to door, much, much quicker than bus or train. The carbon rationing business is a whole heap easier in the sunshine. I took them into the exhibition, and Dad bought us lunch. It really was impossible to eat anything in the café, so I had one fishcake (mainly potato, some salmon although allegedly salmon and haddock, and not close to worth the 7.10 he paid for it). I’m still waiting via Clare to hear from the New Economic Foundation about fish. I didn’t have the lettuce, as this is not yet in season here so got a kids pot of carrot sticks as a substitute. Luckily they are used to me being such a born again faddy eater. After a run and cycle ride, I was really really hungry. I’ve been noticing lately that I’m getting quite dizzy if I get up too quickly after bending down to chat to Haroun or get off the floor. I’m not sure if this is hunger or old age. Any way, I am going to add what I ate today to the two pasta meals I’ve had in the month to make up one ration of non-seasonal.

I got back to Herne HIll a good 15 minutes ahead of my parents who took the bus that drops them outside our door.

I cooked the split peas with veg in the pressure cooker which took 10 minutes and were delicious. I’m now kicking myself that its taken so long to get round to cooking them, they are really filling, and nutritious. More bubble and squeak using up half a shrivelled old cabbage , bringing it back to life. In a former life, I would have chucked it into the compost bin.

I’m really missing the radio and music, but as I’m writing this, I’ve heard an aeroplane passing overhead for the first time, so that’s news in itself. We seem to be right under the flight path.

I used 8 litres of water this morning for my wash. The rocket seeds have come up already.

I cycled to work. If I set off from school promptly, I can get to work just slightly before I would were I to take the train. On such a lovely day, its just not worth going any other way. Normally when we are in the office we drink endless cups of tea and coffee, but we were assessing students in a room where we are not allowed to take cups so I got away with just drinking water today. I took a thermos of last nights soup with me so I wouldn’t get forced into a heavy ration situation in the college canteen like last time. By the time it got to lunch time the soup was tepid, so a fairly miserable lunch experience, but probably better than what was on offer there. I haven’t seen my colleagues for 3 weeks and they are all shocked that I’ve shrunk. I resisted the customary post lunch cake/bar of chocolate. I forgot the time and only just left in time to pick Haroun up from school. Had I taken the train, I would probably have been late. We met Rebecca and Josie in the park after school and Rebecca brought me the most fantastic looking Easter Egg as she’s feeling sorry I missed out this year. I’ve only got a few days to go, but not sure If I’ll be able to keep Rizwan at bay. While Haroun and I were in Norwich, he ate ALL of the Egg my parents gave Haroun.

I grilled  a lamb chop for Haroun’s supper tonight, I cut the meat off the bone for him and then found myself gnawing at the remains like an animal. We had the last of his birthday cake this evening….I can eat as much of that as I want as I have accounted for all the food for his party. Haroun had a bath tonight so i have a good stock of water now in buckets for washing the flat and floors tomorrow morning as I will have a spare hour. We had a huge pile of roasted root veg this evening which was very tasty but I know I’ll be hungry by morning.

Cup of tea in bed, felt like wonderful luxury. Porridge with leftover milk again, I’m sorry I’ve only just hit on this idea, I could have had more milk in other things, also, I’ve stopped using sugar now I’ve got into apple porridge.
I was really hungry this morning, but Haroun was ready for his second breakfast by the time I sat down to eat so he had half of it. I didn’t bother washing this morning, apart from teeth.

Did our third clothes wash this month, and won’t need to do another one now for a week. Even though we’re not frequent washers, I have definitely used clothes more than normal and don’t see why I shouldn’t carry on with this after the month is up. I have been thinking I’ve done so well with this that I think I might have a little bit of a ration spare(used 1/4 ration), but as I looked at the book realised I’ve actually forgotten to account for washing machine use in both the water and the energy categories. There seems to be a discrepancy in the water page saying two things, you can use the machine 21 times or you can use it 4 times, so I’m not sure what to do. Did a huge mountain of party washing up (the half that Rizwan hadn’t already done) using only a half a sink full of water.

Haroun wanted to go the the British Museum for his birthday treat to see the Mummies, and as I think I have run out of rations we went by bike. I don’t normally take him right into town on the big bike, but armed with the London cycle routes map,worked out a great route that kept us off main roads and took us down roads I’d never seen before. Rizwan took me and Haroun out for lunch, for both our birthday treats and I don’t know if to count this or not, if I do, I didn’t eat much, I shared a margarita pizza (not dripping with cheese) with Haroun and he ended up eating more than half of it, plus roast potatoes and spinach. We shared an ice cream and I was too cautious to have alcohol while cycling Haroun through town. After the British Museum we cycled on to Hamleys to get the Handcuffs he desperately wanted (Rizwan’s present) but they didn’t have any. He was pretty cool about this, but I nearly cried. There isn’t a bike rack to be seen anywhere near Hamleys. Now theres a hideous vision of excess. There is an almost full sized toy camel going for £1,500. People were leaving with huge bags, heaving with toys. Haroun left clutching a £1.50 candy cane, and bless him, not complaining, I was the one grumbling. We stopped to check out the Pelicans in St. James’ park.

We all sat under a blanket this evening on the sofa, reading books, its surprisingly cold.

Rizwan made me carrot soup with the uneaten carrot sticks leftover from the party. My appetite has most definitely shrunk, as have I. I have been wearing an old pair of cords today that I haven’t been able to wear for at least 10 years. My brilliant neighbour Becca came over this evening with the best pair of heavy metal handcuffs I have ever seen, with two keys. She says they have been knocking around their flat for ages, I can’t wait to Haroun’s face in the morning.

The cloud of Volcanic ash has saved me from my fuel guzzling self. The trip to Abu Dhabi is off. This is a real anti climax, we’ve worked really hard to get everything ready, especially Dot, so its back to normal work for me in the morning. The Easter Holidays are over.

Cup of tea this morning apple porridge and sieved second hand milk again, just part of the routine now. Rizwan had music playing a fair bit today getting ready, so I’m not sure whether to account for this.
I brushed the whole of the downstairs with the hard brush again, and the flat looks spotless. Rizwan got back from a run, got the hoover out and to my annoyance, did most of it again. I got all the food ready for the party and apart from the crisps and jelly, every thing was home made and ready before everyone arrives so I have enough time for a quick bucket wash, 9 litres today including hair wash, leaving enough for teeth etc…. except Rizwan empties the bucket down the sink which feels as if he’s thrown something very precious away, I’m beginning to realise actually that’s exactly what it is. We manage to have a party without any crap plastic toys. I made the jellies in plastic glasses that get washed up, the kids eat with their fingers or real cutlery and no disposable plates or cups. This year, we have decided not to do party bags, not because of the rationing, they just seem like a bit of party overkill, surely the games, food and the party itself is more than enough….everyone gets a pink coconut mouse as a going home present, tails courtesy of that old devil Sainsbury. While the parcel is being passed wrapped in next door’s newspapers, a chocolate heart in between each layer, Leigh and I wonder when the days of just a parcel, randomly stopping with 1 present in the middle changed. I really enjoyed the party, it was such a beautiful day so we spent most of it in the garden, and I hope people left not feeling like they’d been subjected to war time rationing. I finally got Haroun to bed late, and went down to start clearing up, and toasted the left over sandwiches, which is something my mum always used to do with sandwiches left over from journeys and picnics, the tomato ones never worked, far too soggy, but we didn’t have tomatoes as there aren’t any growing in this country yet!

Sieved the milk out of Haroun’s cereal again through the tea strainer.

Wrote a big long list of what was needed for Haroun’s birthday party and headed off to shop. I really didn’t want to go to Sainsburys, but headed there as I didn’t have the time to schlep from shop to shop to get everything on the list, so I got on the bike with two panniers. I discovered a brilliant cycle path from fairly near us all the way to the back of the Sainsbury’s on dog Kennel Lane which was very satisfying. I really hate supermarkets, and feel very fortunate to live in a place where its not necessary to use them. This is my first trip to one since I started Ration Me Up, but I rarely go. I used to go to the small local one to buy organic milk, but since the best local shop in the world started stocking it, i don’t go any more. The best local shop in the world by the way is Andrews Foodstore on Rosendale Road. I think anyone who lives here would agree with me that to have them on the doorstep adds to the quality of your life, they stock almost everything, have a really amazing selection of fresh fruit and veg and are such incredibly friendly people. Between them, Peckham or Brixton farmer’s markets and fareshares, I’m covered for all I need.

As I drew up to the car park, my hackles immediately rose. Car parking for thousands of bloody cars and 21 cycle racks, not that many people were using them. Allowing supermarkets to use so much space for parking cars in the city is criminal to me on many levels, and renders all other shops trying to survive without this unnecessary luxury completely uncompetitive. I was tempted to turn round and go somewhere else but had so much to do so locked up the bike, which at least I could do right by the entrance. I find a trip to the supermarket a sickening experience, overwhelming bright lights, freezing cold, the constant bleep bleep bleep of items being scanned. Even if there was only a 1p mark up on everything (which of course there isn’t) they’d make a fortune. The packaging overwhelms me too, aisle after aisle of packaged products, shelves being emptied and filled day after day. where does it all go? And all that bottled water really gets to me. We’re so lucky to live in a country where we have clean water on tap, so what is all this drinking water thats been sitting around for months in plastic bottles all about? Anyway, I didn’t stray from my list apart from buying some 100% recycled aluminium foil. I managed to only buy fruit and veg, sugar and flour grown in the UK and get everything on the list down to the sweet shoelaces for making tails for coconut mice which at least made the trip worthwhile. My panniers were so stuffed that I struggled to cycle with such a weight on the back and wobbled out of the car-park. There were two other cyclists loading up when I left; its amazing how much you can get on a bike.

I added up the rations in the shopping, and they come to just under 9, so if I divide that by 3, as I’m only one third of this family, I will have to put 3 more ration stickers in the back of my book and I must now be up to my 40. I spent the rest of the day, preparing food. Seeing as I am putting these rations in the book I can eat anything I’m making, but when it comes down to it, i’m not really bothered. I finish off the batman suit and also the Jolly Roger.

I woke up  this morning and one of the first things Haroun said was, “I can read your mind, I guess you are going to have porridge for breakfast this morning.”
I did, but I made a deluxe version with cut up Bramley apple in it, no sugar.  There was quite a lot of milk left in Haroun’s cereal bowl, so I sieved out the dregs of bran flakes and used the milk in my porridge. I also reused the bowl to save on washing up.  I’m getting used to not having a cup of tea every morning now.

The rug in the sitting room was free from toys for the first time in ages so I got the hard brush out and had a good scrub.  It was truly filthy and also covered in tiny bits of black cotton fluff from cutting up mum’s trousers.  There was such a horrible pile of dust that I didn’t want to have to brush all the way through the flat, so I got the hoover  out  ( the first time this month) and used it for about a minute to suck up the pile, maybe I’ll put that towards a miscellaneous  use of electrical goods ration, such as the one use of the toaster last night, charging mobile phones, sewing machine, (still need an answer from the Ministry).  Again, I needed a wash after the physical exertion of using a hard brush.  Carpet looks lovely.   Another 6 litres including hair wash, enough left for teeth etc.

I was working with Dot and Keirion, at her flat today, preparing for Womad (thats the reason why I am going to Abu Dhabi, even though with the volcanic ash, we might not make it.) I cycled over to Brockley with Haroun who played with Tyler all day while we worked.  Dot insisted on putting the radio on, but seeing as I was working, and she really did insist so we could keep up with the news about flights, I’m not going to count it for rationing.

We went to the cafe for lunch and I had one of my weirdest rationing lunches yet…..Bubble and Squeak, chips, onions, a fried egg and pickled beetroot.

We worked late and Andy, made us all some food which was delicious, pasta with tuna and olives but will have to go into the list of non-seasonal/imported food, which added to the pasta I ate last weekend in Norwich, I”m nearly up to another ration.  I think I might be down to just 4 to spare for Haroun’s party and the rest of the week.  I have decided to suspend this while we are away, it seems pointless.  I imagine that in Abu Dhabi, I’ll be using 40 rations in 5 days, everything is imported, even the labour force and 24 hour air conditioning.  John from Gravesend said that if the the whole world consumed at the rate we do in this county we’d need  3 planets, the rate the Americans consume its 6 planets and United Arab Emirates, about 8 planets.  Currently the world combined uses 1.3 planets worth of resources which gives you an idea of how bloody selfish we all are.  What with me virtually measuring water with a tea spoon, it seems mad to go to probably the highest carbon guzzling country in the world.  Doing it in the same month as trying to live with with my fare share of the world’s resources is frankly embarrassing.  Keirion has made me promise not to go on about rations while we are away.

Batman suit all evening, all  finished apart from sewing on two hooks, I’m embarking on a huge pirate flag using a leftover from our Womad materials which had already been something else and making the skull and crossbones from the ripped back of our duvet which I replaced and kept for rags, and the remains of Mum’s trousers!

Rizwan can’t stop himself from going on and on and on about me visiting a benign dictatorship.

I started the day with another huge bowl of porridge.
Yet again, I ummed and ahhed about whether to take the bike or go by train as I had to drop Haroun off with Rebecca, then drop a tape off for work in Kings Cross, then go on to Clapham Common and then back to Brixton by 2pm, it all seemed a bit exhausting but the sunny day made my mind up for me. As I cycled over Blackfriars Bridge on the wonderfully wide dedicated cycle lane I knew I’d made the best decision. Two hours after dropping Haroun off, I was sitting in the sun with a cup of tea in the Café on Clapham Common. Cycling through town on a sunny day is so full of rewards, and I just think how much you miss going underground. I alsappy to save on the cost of a travel card.

I got back to Rebecca’s flat, starving. They had a big plate of baked potatoes left after lunch, so I had a couple of them, a grated carrot salad and a pint of water. While the kids did their thing, we sat in their freezing cold kitchen, wrapped in blankets and chatting, until it was time to feed the kids again. I had another baked potato. Haroun had a bath there before we left and I couldn’t help thinking what a waste of all that bath water, sending it down the plug hole.

I have been thinking all month about a book written by Moyra Bremner my school friend Siobhan’s mum in the 1970’s called Supertips to make life easy. It had a picture of her looking very beautiful on the front in a purple evening dress and rubber gloves I think. I seem to remember its stuffed full of ideas that could help me out now. Tonight, my Friend Tessa rang up on her way to a Transition Town meeting and she tried to get me to guess who was very invovled, I couldn’t, so she told me it was Moyra. Its such a coincidence that I have to mention it.
I spent the whole evening making the Batman suit which is now being made out of Mum’s trousers for the cape, my old pair of exercise trousers from when I was pregnant, an ancient t shirt of mine and the black pants bit off his old batman pyjamas. At about half past 11, I was starving and found Rizwan in the Kitchen snacking on bread and cheese, my will snapped and I had 2 slices of toast with I image ammounts to one 6th of a ration of cheese(still no butter) As I uploaded the previous days blog, I checked my e-mails and got one from a student who can’t get back to England in time for a class because her flight has been cancelled due to the dust from the volcano. I didn’t have a clue what she was on about, I’m quite enjoying how cut off I am without the radio and TV, its a bit like being on holiday.

Used a whole ration on travel in Norwich and also about a third on non-seasonal/imported food.

I’m on target roughly for the following

1/2 ration for Internet
1 Ration for the loo flush(might be a bit under)
1 ration for Milk
1 ration for potatoes
1 ration for heating
1 ration for PC
1/2 ration for bathing, brushing teeth and hand washing
1/2 Energy to heat washing water
1/2 ration Hot drinks, this may go up to a whole one

1/2 ration for eggs

1/2 ration for dish washing and veg washing

1/3 ration washing machine

1 ration for bread, and butter and sugar.

this leaves me 4 rations for the final week which will include Haroun’s birthday party, lots of ration heavy things for cakes and party food.