Just Shopping

When we moved back to England two years ago, I was keen to become an ethical shopper. Using farmers' markets, and seasonal eating, were two of my goals. But I soon found out that farmers' markets are really expensive. And, the children won't tolerate eating root vegetables all winter. They want peas and beans, and they won't eat cabbage or leeks. So, it is not easy.

The questions that compete for my attention and exhaust me, when I do the weekly shop include:

is this locally produced?

if not how far away is it from?

if it is from the developing world, is it fair traded?

is it cheap/reasonable?

is it on special offer?

is it packed in too much packaging?

is the glass bottle more environmentally friendly than the plastic one, given that both can be recycled?

if it is an animal product, was the animal well-treated?

is it healthy?

does it contain natural ingredients?

is the two for one deal really money-saving? If so, can we eat two of these packs before they go off (if not, you have just wasted stuff)

is the larger size really more economical than the smaller size, and if so ditto to the above - can we use that much before it goes off?

I end up weighing these factors against each other - so for example, I will buy the New Zealand lamb over the British, if it is on special offer - and I'll buy the yoghurts with loads of plastic wrapping, if the two for one deal is on - yes, money does usually end up winning the day.

Trouble is, I want to be an ethical shopper. But, it just costs more. And I feel as though I should be spending less on our food, not more. Aren't we meant to be good stewards of our money? And isn't it wrong to spend more money than necessary on food when other people are going hungry? But then again, I want to be good to the environment, not see food-producers exploited, and eat healthy food, and not eat chickens that lived in a battery, and so on. This is why I say, it is murky!

In our home group discussion on this subject last week, we also learned some surprising facts that threw more spanners into the works. For example, New Zealand lamb actually has less of a carbon footprint than British in spite of the long journey to get here - because British lamb has had more energy spent on feeding and raising it in our cold climate. So one of my food lynch-pins - "local is best" turns out not to be true. But on the other hand, British farmers need all the support they can get, so maybe it is true. But on the other hand, if we all stopped eating NZ lamb, would that damage their livelihood? Which is more important, the carbon footprint of the food, or the livelihood of the British farmers? Or the NZ farmers? Help!

Our conclusion as a group was, there is no set of clear principals, but, it is all just - murky.

We did agree that in spite of all of us being on a tight budget, we should be prepared to spend more money on some things, and in particular, our meat - buying it from local butchers, and so maybe we will eat less of it, but, it will be healthier. And we should eat seasonally - meaning that local vegetables bought when they are in season, are bound to be the healthiest and cheapest option. And, there is nothing wrong with having some frozen peas in the freezer! And, buying tea from India is fine but it should be fair traded, because we can't grow it here. But just because something says it is fair trade does not mean that it always is - so, we should try to be up on these things.

Shopping ethically is unfortunately complicated, more expensive, and more time-consuming. But for the sake of the planet, justice, and our own health, it is worth it. So, we should try.

Highlights of my first two weeks

After almost two weeks working as a new prep school librarian, I thought I would write about the highlights so far. I won't use the children's names, but that is definitely one of the highlights - beginning to know the children by name - and every day another two or three become "real people," not just faces in a crowd.

The children have so far been so friendly, and very chatty, and helpful. So I have a gang of little boys who come in every break and every lunch, and tell me if they can't make it because of a music lesson or something. Then a few girls who come almost every day, have a little chat, read a bit, and then go away again. Two little girls just throw themselves on the bean bags in the corner and read busily all lunchtime - in another world.  

I have to choose Library Monitors, so I have asked those who are interested to write me an "application" letter. The three boys who are utterly determined to do it, have already chosen what colour monitor badge they will wear - on a Star Trek theme! So I will get the yellow badge, as "Captain Button", and two of them will have blue badges ("Medical"), and the rest will have red badges ("Security"). Of course, they are the newest breed of Star Trek fans, only knowing the new series of films with Chris Pines and co - whereas I am a long-in-the-tooth fan of the original series! So anyway we are all happy!

I put up a competition this week, to make the most words out of the letters R E A D - and several children ran away with it and loved doing it - I gave the winners mini erasers as prizes.

Putting things up on the display boards - two library posters made by children in a lunchtime for example - is fun, and, getting the books in order and all covered etc is satisfying.

We had a Roald Dahl quiz on Friday as it was Roald Dahl Day - his birthday was 13th September. His children's books are still hard to beat.

I think I am going to enjoy this job in many ways. And the other staff have been friendly and welcoming, and seem really nice. There is always tea, coffee and biscuits in the staff common room. And I get free lunch! 

My Favourite Children's Books

Now that I'm a school librarian... I thought I should list my ten favourite children's books - that is, the books I loved most as a child. If I do it nicely, I can print it out and put it up in my new library! For most of them I have found images of the covers of my actual copies, rather than more modern covers.

1. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion - a dog who started out white with black spots, and ended up black with white spots - so even his mistress didn't recognise him. The story ends with a glorious bubble bath. Being known is better fun than being filthy!




2.  Diana and her Rhinoceros by Edward Ardizzone - my goodness I made my parents read this story SO MANY TIMES! A young girl befriends a rhinoceros who escaped from the zoo, treats its nasty cold, and feeds it toast made in front of the fire. When the zoo keepers come with long guns, she fends them off and manages to keep her unusual pet... To this day, a ghostly Edwardian lady walks the streets of London with her huge companion at her side...




3. Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson.
This is the first of a whole set of books that I adored. The main character is a short, round, amiable troll-person, called Moomintroll, and his friends are Snufkin and Sniff. There is Moominmama and Moominpapa, and a beautiful but sad creature called the Snork Maiden, the strange Hattifatteners, and many more. Moomintroll gets up to adventures and makes strange and fascinating friends along the way. Endearing and magical. I could read them all again right now...




4. Green Smoke by Rosemary Manning.
This book tells of a young girl who goes on holiday with her parents to a Cornish beach, and one day hears a loud sneeze coming from a cave. The sneezer turns out to be a dragon - fortunately a friendly talkative one. The dragon tells the girl wonderful stories, and takes her on some magical journeys, including a visit to a mermaid. How I wanted to have that dragon for a friend!

5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. I lapped up this whole set of books, adoring each one in turn, relishing the winning mixture of adventure, talking animals, magic, siblings, the awe and love surrounding Aslan, the underlying tenet that good is strong and powerful. I knew Narnia must be a real place, and that even though I most likely wouldn't find my own magic wardrobe door or living painting, I would eventually go there...

6. My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I read lots of Gerald Durrell's books, mostly about his life of collecting rare animals to bring back to his zoo to study and to help preserve their species. I loved how he arrived in an exotic location with a "shopping list" of animals, and the often hilarious accounts of how he tracked down and captured them, with the help or hindrance of local people. But My Family and Other Animals is about his childhood on a Greek island, and is as much about his whacky family and friends as about animals - and very funny.




7. King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green. I read and re-read these stories. I greatly admired the knights, each riding off to do noble deeds and save lives, even if it meant sacrificing themselves. And I so felt the sorrow of Lancelot who loved Guinevere even though he shouldn't, and of Arthur whose beautiful wife loved Lancelot.






8. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. The story of this loyal, faithful, and strong horse, who was friend and companion to a succession of fellow-horses and humans, contains so much sadness, and yet I loved it. Maybe I loved the fact that he survived it all and in the end was reunited with his beloved owner and given a peaceful retirement in a green field...






9. The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkein. Probably don't need to say anything about this wonderful trilogy. But, suffice to say, when I first read these books as a young teenager, at the end I turned straight from the last page of book three, to the first page of book one, and read it through all over again.

10. The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge. This remains my favourite children's book ever; I re-read it several times through my teenage years, and took it to Zambia in my twenties. Everything about the story: the hero Maria, her little dog, her governess, her new home in a castle, her valley, her pony, her church, her friend Robin, and then the adventures that followed, charmed me and drew me into another world where friendship and courage mattered, where bad things happened but could be overcome, where mysterious creatures had been sent to be by your side and guide you, where magical moments do happen which prove you are special. A perfect world.