urban green travellers unite

In the past month, with the weather improving, I've had a good 'green' undertaking - and I challenge anyone to 1) take this as a personal goal 2) pose it as a challenge to friends and family. All travel (work or leisure) within 5 km is either done on foot or by bicycle. It takes roughly 20 minutes to walk 2 km and for the unfit like me, 20 minutes to cycle 5 km.

Where to start: We urban South Africans are very lucky in that most of our convenience shops are located within 5 km from home. Apart form the safety concerns, there really is not excuse for us to embark on greener travel to these destinations. My experiments over the past month has proven that (for me in any case) a walk or a cycle ride hardly takes longer than a car ride. Once you've taken into consideration the amount of time it takes to start your car, reverse out of the driveway / parking garage, wait at traffic lights, pay for parking etc, you'll be surprised how long it takes to drive 5 km in the city.

There are of course draw-backs to walking / cycling. You can't for example impulse shop, as you'll have to cart everything home via man-power. So plan better. Make a list. Also, for the fearful like me, cycling in the road is not an option, as taxis, cars and busses driving badly freaks me out. So I hop onto the pavement with my mountain bike - after all, they can handle that! Here are some of the difficulties I encountered en-route from Emmarentia via Greenside to Rosebank:

• Wheel chair ramps are often only installed on one pavement at a crossing, so you can easily go down one to cross the road, but you can't easily get up again
• There are numerous poles and bus shelters installed in the middle of the pavement, so you have to carefully navigate yourself around it. In same cases, this is impossible, so you have to go in the road.
• There are lots of dongas, which tends to break your teeth if you go into them too fast
• In some places, the pavement disappears.
• Cars park on the pavement, not next to them.
• People think you're a bit weird for cycling on the pavement (so, at least I am cycling and not driving my car like you weirdo abck at you!).

I might also add that I have two young children who have been pushed up and down these same pavements for the past 3 years in their of-roader pram. Ha! Never a dull (or easy) moment.

So, when are our municipalities planning to come to the party to encourage greener short-distance travel? And are we going to wait, or are we going to tale the initiaves ourselves?

wedding traditions and myths

Over hundred and hundreds of years, wedding traditions have been formed and passed on through the generations. But have you ever really thought about where these traditions and myths originated? Well I did, so I decided to do some internet research, and what I found was quite intriguing and some of it quite peculiar. I'd nevertheless like to share my findings with you.

Please remember that I am not suggesting that any of the information below is factual.

the 'bridesmaids curse'

I am sure every women has heard this saying at least once: 'thrice a bridesmaid, never a bride'. This is apparently an old charm that can be broken by being a bridesmaid seven times. Good luck ladies!

picking out your bridesmaids dresses

Take this into consideration: the tradition of bridesmaids dressing the same as each other and in similar style to the bride, comes from ancient days when it was believed that evil spirits found it more difficult to distinguish between them. It was therefore more difficult to put a curse on the bride. In Denmark, the bride and groom did it a little differently: both of them cross-dressed in order to confuse evil spirits.

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Blue is symbolic of the blood of royalty - both the bride and groom were once considered to be 'royal' on their wedding day. In a bridal ensemble, blue symbolizes purity, fidelity and love. Something old symbolizes continuity with the past. Something new guarantees optimism for the future and something borrowed brings eternal happiness.

the wedding ring

Ancient Egyptians believed that the 'vein of love' ran from the forth finger on the left hand, directly to the heart. The circular ring (without and end) represents eternity and worn around that finger, represents eternal love. This is said to be the reason for the tradition/custom that we still follow today.

picking out your wedding date

In English tradition, Wednesday is the best day to get married and Saturday is apparently the day of least luck [not sure why]. Monday is supposed to bring wealth and Tuesday health...how many people do you know that have been married on a Saturday?

Juno is the roman goddess of marriage, the heart and child birth. Hence the popularity of June weddings. Although, in the 1500's, a yearly bath was had in May. So in general women still smelt 'good' by June and this is why most women got married then. This is also the time when carrying a bouquet became a tradition, as flowers would mask body odour [perhaps they would have used some Blushing Brides like these].

your wedding dress

This is one of the most exciting and important parts of a brides wedding day. But have you ever wondered why the wedding dress is traditionally white? Well, except for in Japan, it was not always a white dress. The wedding dress was usually just the best dress the bride owned. It was not until the 1840's, when Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress that it actually became a fashion in the Western World. Red was a favourite in the middle ages in Europe. Other colours were worn for symbolic reasons, for example, blue represented loyalty and green, youth. So why not be adventurous and wear your favourite colour on your special day?

the veil

The veil was said to hide the bride from evil spirits, as well as people who may want to take her captive.

so where did the word 'honeymoon' come from?

Back in the day, weddings entailed a groom taking his bride captive. He would take her somewhere hidden, so that her family and other villagers could not find her. They would stay in their hiding place for one moon phase and drank a wine made from honey. Well at least these days, instead of being captured, we are swept away to some romantic island getaway!

So now you know!

Happy Valentines Day!

niki writes a bit about going green

It has long been my ambition to become more planet friendly and do more towards saving the environment. I am absolutely in love with my country, and as an out-doorsy kind of person, I try to see as many places as possible – remote and touristy. I have a few favourite weekend spots where I go and unwind – these usually include a good dose of nature.

What has been bothering me, though, is how little people care about their surrounds – we are always debating whether it is because of lack of information, or because of a no-care attitude. I am talking here, for example, about invasive species taking over our beautiful indigenous bush and forest areas. I often try to engage with proprietors to understand why they are not doing something about it, and I have find that some are in fact busy resolving the problem. There are usually financial constraints and often, what I see is a snapshot en-route – not the end result. To take out, for example, a forest of wattle, takes ages. However, I do often find the less-informed and can’t-be-bothereds.

A few years ago, we went to a lodge in the Waterberg. One of the main attractions (published on their web page) was that they are located in an ecologically sensitive area and that they have been doing a lot to conserve their beautiful indigenous bush. When we arrived, however, we encountered a large garden surrounding the lodge (bordering their ecologically sensitive bush), which contained nothing but foreign plants (I call them exdiginous). This included a large lawn of kikuyu. They were very proud to announce that this garden was a new addition. First of all, the person who advised them on the garden should be hanged by the toes, and second of all, these doffies should have their license revoked....say no more.

I will never call myself an expert, but I think that most people who decide to go green, will find themselves in a bit of a conundrum. There is so much information out there and as with everything these days, it is very difficult to sift through the minefield and decide what to do. We hear about cars that are green because they emit such low levels of greenhouse gas, but then some scientist reminds us that the production process for this car is not so green. A well-known packaging company announces that all their packaging is recyclable – but what they omit to tell us, is that there is not a recycling plant for this particular material in South Africa – only in Norway. So the environmental impact of recycling the packaging is far worse than producing the stuff in the first place. Wind turbines are great, but they apparently create noise pollution (and I am holding my breath for some scientist proving that large wind farms cause micro climate changes which in turn has some disastrous impact on some sensitive ecological system down stream). But I am not a scientist, and therefore, admittedly, I have to take my lead from the experts. And I have to accept that what sounds right today, might be proven to be complete bullocks tomorrow.

But I am committed to try. To use an old cliché – the best way to eat an elephant is in small bites. Through my business, I am committed to learn more and do more and hope that others will follow my lead. I am hoping to at least create some momentum amongst the less-informed to find out more, and a tiny bit of guilt amongst those can’t-be-bothereds!

lunch menu

Crostini with Crème Fraîche, fish roe and smoked trout

--------

Gammon with sliced melon

---------

Chicken stuffed with buttery garlic cornflakes

served with tomato and basil salsa

---------

French green bean salad

---------

Pasta salad with garden herbs

---------

Traditional trifle (aunty Delia is a star!)

from the garden

Look at this beautiful crocosmia. If you are planning a function, party or wedding in summer, why not go for these - they are indiginous.