Unfair Trade?

The Adam Smith Institute has just published Unfair Trade, a report which argues that for all its good intentions, Fairtrade is not fair. It sets out a number of arguments explaining this thesis and argues in conclusion that "free trade is the most effective poverty reduction strategy the world has ever seen. If we really want to aid international development we should abolish barriers to trade in the rich world, and persuade the developing world to do the same. The evidence is clear: fair trade is unfair, but free trade makes you rich".

The Fairtrade Foundation has responded to the report:
"The Fairtrade Foundation finds it extremely sad that the Adam Smith Institute has chosen Fairtrade Fortnight to publish an inaccurate report, claiming that Fairtrade does 'more harm than good'. This completely contradicts our experience of working with farmers and workers in developing countries as part of a coalition that includes all the major development agencies in the UK. Releasing this report when thousands of people are trying to make a difference to global poverty by promoting Fairtrade products, is an insult to the effort and commitment of Fairtrade producers and their supporters in the UK."

Lift the label - ethical clothing

If you are considering other Fairtrade aspects of life during Fairtrade fortnight, then you may be interested in a resource from TearFund. Lift the label - ethical fashion lists shops which stock "ethical clothing" - another way to use your consumer choices to bring about positive change in the lives of the poor. Just Fairtrade in Leicester stocks quite a large range of ethically-sourced clothes.

Leicester Book News on Facebook

Are you a member of the social network Facebook? If so you can now find out about everything to do with books and reading in the city on the Leicester Book News Facebook group. The group is a great way to get involved with the latest live reading events, chat with other people who enjoy books and even join in with great book promotions, like Leicester favourite book. Go to Leicester Book News on Facebook.

deovox

Deovox: the Word in your ear is a download designed for anyone with a desire to draw closer to God through a study of the Bible. It’s an audio devotional aimed at helping people get back into regular Bible study. Working sequentially through a book of the Bible, deovox will help listeners understand what the original authors intended, and then apply those truths to their lives. It incorporates examples from popular culture to flesh out the contemporary significance of eternal themes found in Scripture. Each listening experience includes music, commentary, the Bible passage read out and clips from movies, where possible.

To try one of the sample episodes, click here or explore the further study resources, including links to books, articles and online sermons. Developed by Damaris, deovox will launch in March 2008 with two episodes per week.

Fairtrade communion wine

In the run-up to Fairtrade Fortnight it seems appropriate to mention that Fairtrade communion wine is now available (information courtesy of Dave Walker's blog). He quite rightly asks some questions about this: "is it better to ship Fairtrade wine half the way around the world rather than buying something produced more locally? And why not just use ordinary Fairtrade wine?"

From the Press Release: Ehrmanns, the UK importer of Los Robles Fairtrade wines, in partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation and Whitebridge wines is delighted to announce the launch of the first Fairtrade communion wine in the UK. ‘Poterion’, a Communion Wine made from Fairtrade Certified Wine grapes, and produced by Vinos Los Robles from Chile, will be available from Whitebridge Wines from the 4th February in time for Fairtrade Fortnight (25th Feb – 9th March).

Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show

The Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show is taking place again from 14-16 March at the NEC Birmingham. It is aimed at all explorers, adventurers, cyclists, kayakers, canoers, runners, skiers, boarders, climbers, base jumpers, bmx-ers, ramblers, off road drivers, scuba divers and…walkers. Entry is £12 if booked in advance or £16 on the door.

On the Show website I was alerted to a YHA competition: My Favourite YHA. You simply visit the My Favourites section of the website and upload a picture of your favourite YHA and a few words explaining why it's your favourite; there are five weekend breaks for two at the YHA of your choice available as prizes. You may also win a pair of free tickets to the Outdoors Show if your image is chosen to go on the Show home page.

£2m study prays for answer

An article in The Times, Why do we believe in God? £2m study prays for answer reports that researchers at the University of Oxford will spend £1.9 million investigating why people believe in God. The purpose of the grant is to try to find out whether belief in a deity is a matter of nature or nurture. Therefore the academics have will not attempt to solve the question of whether God exists but they will examine evidence to try to prove whether belief in God conferred an evolutionary advantage to mankind. They will also consider the possibility that faith developed as a byproduct of other human characteristics, such as sociability.

The Landfill Prize Top 10

The Landfill Prize Top 10 is a list of Britain’s cleverest rubbish – unnecessarily convoluted consumer inventions that help to increase the teetering junkpile of refuse we Britons produce every year". Nominations were made by thousands of visitors to the Landfill Prize website - check it out to see the list of top-ten nominees in the Landfill Hall of Shame "luridly exposed in all their guilty, planet-draining detail".

The winner is a £179 electric toothbrush which is described as "the most resource-wasting, overcomplex piece of gadgetry that’s been witnessed by Internet voters in the past 12 months". Apparently it performed only as well as a £4 electric brush.

Lent is the new Ramadan?

Libby Purves writes that Dutch Catholics have re-branded Lent as the "Christian Ramadan" because young people in the Netherlands are more likely to know about Islam (as the younger, noisier religion) than they are about Christianity.

She also notes that some young American Christians are having a Facebook Fast during Lent.

Fairtrade Fortnight Challenge

It's just over a week until Fairtrade Fortnight (February 25th - March 9th 2008) begins. During Fairtrade Fortnight we are asked not to "shop quietly" but instead to put pressure on stores to help make Fairtrade products more available! It is suggested that if we can't find Fairtrade products in a shop perhaps we could ask the staff why they don't have any and if they are thinking of getting any in. "Stock it" postcards and other resources can be ordered from the Fairtrade Foundation.

The Fairtrade Fortnight Challenge is a challenge to eat only Fairtrade food and drink (and ethically sourced when Fairtrade is not available e.g. local and organic) during the Fortnight. To help, check out the guide to Fairtrade retailers. The dual purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness of the variety of Fairtrade food available and explore the sources of the food we eat. There are three suggested levels to the Challenge:

• Gold - Challenge yourself to only eat Fairtrade and ethically sourced products for the whole of Fairtrade Fortnight (and hopefully beyond)
• Silver - Try a week, or a set number of days
• Bronze - Make a decision to try one new Fairtrade product or switch something you'd normally buy to a Fairtrade or locally sourced brand

Drinking Fairtrade more important than ever

Cafédirect, the UK's largest and longest running Fairtrade hot drinks company, is in Uganda this week meeting with its 17 African tea and coffee growing partners, who represent 162,000 farmers. The farmers are shareholders in the company, and are meeting to discuss the company's strategic direction and actions to be taken following the consequences of Kenyan unrest. Cafédirect has issued a press release asking Fairtrade drinkers not to turn your back on Africa's smallholder growers.

Cafédirect also announce their newest product, Teadirect Gold (see above), the first premium Fairtrade tea available in major retailers. This high grade tea demonstrates Cafédirect 's commitment to product innovation and improving quality: the luxurious, rich flavour of this delicious, aromatic blend of teas comes from expert grower partners in Kenya, Rwanda, and India.

Welcome to England. Fancy a cuppa?

Somewhat belatedly I have discovered a news item from last month in which a British MP is calling for a traditional tea trolley to be introduced at British airports. Acting on a suggestion by the managing director of Waitrose, MP Michael Fabricant has tabled a Early Day Motion in the House of Commons which states: "That this House supports a proposal initiated, funded and operated by Waitrose, to trial the introduction of tea trolleys with biscuits into arrival halls at UK international airports to provide a warm welcome to weary returning UK nationals and visitors from overseas queuing up for passport inspection."

Discussing this in an article in the Times, "Welcome to England, ducks. Fancy a cuppa?", the columnist describes the "psychological maelstrom" of modern air travel and asks "who would not be instantly soothed and cheered by the sight of a gleaming, steaming tea urn in the arrivals hall?"

Cheep and cheerful - the new radio hit

Apparently an old recording of birdsong played on a loop on the old Oneword channel is causing a stir with tens of thousands of listeners flocking to it! In "cheep and cheerful" Elisabeth Mahoney writes in The Guardian:

"When digital radio station Oneword closed last month, it seemed that things couldn't get any worse for the broadcaster. But indeed they could. Gallingly, the temporary replacement on the old Oneword channel - a 1992 recording of birdsong, played on a loop - is causing more of a stir than its predecessor ever managed, with tens of thousands of listeners flocking to it.

"The warbling and tweeting is proving an unlikely hit with urbanites apparently hankering for the soundtrack of a rural idyll. Online radio and bird-watching forums are full of chirrupy comments. 'It is a lot more enjoyable than some of the rubbish on air these days,' trills one happy listener, 'and definitely better than phone-in shows full of 'oiks' shouting at each other.'"

Green podcast series

The Stop Climate Chaos coalition has launched a series of 20-minute podcasts to reach out to new audiences as part of its I Count campaign. The podcasts are available on the I Count website, and on the websites of the 60 organisations that make up the coalition'; they will also be available on iTunes.

The first podcast, produced by performer and writer Chris Pavlo, features a panel discussion about policy and campaign highlights of 2007 and what to expect in 2008. It also contains news and events from the coalition, eco-gadget reviews, green words of wisdom, a Q&A with eco-friendly musician Just Jack, finishing off the show with an original ‘green’ tune from singer-songwriter Gavin Osborne.

The Strange Parallel World of Christian Pop

Earlier this week Paul Bayley investigated The Strange Parallel World of Christian Pop on Radio 4, which talks about the emergence of Christian pop music back in the 60 when "a few of the faithful were dabbling with the devil's music". Although they never got much airplay, "some of the music was surprisingly good - and now it's being rediscovered by fans of 60s psychedelia". In fact some rare recordings made by Christian pop groups from Britain during the 1960s and 70s have become collectors' items. You can use Radio 4's Listen Again feature to catch it until a week after transmission.

Narnia in the news

If you are thinking about re-reading old favourites during the the Year of Reading, you may be interested in a blog post from Sam Allberry who says that the correct order for reading the Chronicles of Narnia is the order in which they were published: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew; and The Last Battle.

You may also be interested in publicity for Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Michael Ward, to be published next month. There's a blog post about it here.

Climate change campaigner canoes to shops for Lent

A campaigner from Tearfund has thrown away his car keys, is sleeping in a tent and will canoe to the shops as part of the charity's Lent carbon fast. The initiative has been launched to encourage people to take a simple energy saving action, such as refusing to use plastic bags or giving the tumble dryer the day off, each day during the 40 days of Lent. But Tearfund campaigner Ben Clowney wanted to take the challenge to extremes and become ‘low carbon man’ during February, by cutting his emissions by as much as 95 per cent. He has therefore moved out of his house and pitched his tent in his parking space outside the Tearfund office in Teddington, Middlesex. Read the story here (Tearfund press release) and here (charity press including photo).

Free Day in Leicestershire Libraries

Have the blog posts about the Year of Reading inspired you to return to your local library? If not, will tomorrow's Free Day in Leicestershire Libraries encourage you? Basically, everything is free at your local public library tomorrow, including DVD hire, CD hire, Talking Books, requests, broadband internet access, free printing and free book loans. Best of all: no charges on overdue items tomorrow.

There is some small print (1 DVD/CD per person, subject to availability and a max 6 prints per person). However, the good news is that it is always free to join and borrow books.

Round-up: faith in print and statistics

Following on from Zoe Williams' positive Guardian piece on the church and the environment, I discover that The New Statesman has published a special God Issue. The articles includesAndrew Marr on "the roots of Britain's deep-seated distrust of fanaticism". Browsing online I discovered that the NS includes The Faith Column - a a weekly feature in which a different believer gives the inside track on their religion or philosophy.

I can remember a time when The New Statesman and The Guardian would have been unlikely to include such coverage. I wonder if this is a result of the New Labour effect - even if the previous PM didn't "do God" while in office.

Meanwhile the C of E publishes the latest figures on changing trends in church-going. There is a one per cent fall in overall attendance, but "a positive spirit of growth developing around the Church with more than half the dioceses seeing aspects of church attendance increasing". The figures also show that attendance at church services outside Sundays continues to add a significant number to local congregations.

Natural World

If you've not given up watching TV for Lent, I can thoroughly recommend the current series of The Natural World on BBC Two. It is the BBC Natural History Unit's longest running series. It is internationally renowned for bringing exotic wildlife, stunning scenery and breathtaking insights into the world we share. If you miss the programmes, and have broadband, you can watch the most recent episode on iPlayer. The next two episodes are:

• Saved by dolphins Since ancient times there have been stories of dolphins rescuing humans at sea. But is there any truth behind them, or are they just myths and legends? Set against the stunning backdrops of the Red Sea and New Zealand's North Island, the film dramatises two events where dolphins apparently saved humans from shark attacks. [BBC Two Fri 8 Feb 8.00pm and Sat 9 Feb 6.05pm]
• Badgers: secrets of the sett Deep in a picturesque Devon valley lives the best loved wild animal in Britain. Yet while the badger is easily recognised, remarkably few people have ever seen one alive. For a creature never far from controversy and blamed for all manner of destruction and disease, surprisingly little is known about the badger's private family life. Using the latest research and hidden cameras this film exposes the secrets of life in the sett. [BBC Two Fri 15 Feb 8.00pm and Sat 16 Feb 5.40pm]

That hairshirt! I must have it

Libby Purves in The Times suggests that the Love Life Live Lent campaign, in "trying to play down the austerity and associate the 40 days of wilderness with upbeat acts of kindness and wacky new Facebook applications", may actually be "missing the Zeitgeist".

In a the context of a discussion on economic woes, she suggests that "after the spending boom we need the calming influence of Lent to see some sense" and that "the architects of the liturgical year got it right: after Christmas comes Lent with fasting and repentance". Its a thought-provoking piece - do read it.

Sermon for a carbon fast

Zoe Williams in today's Guardian, gives a "sermon for a carbon fast" suggesting that "the church should keep up its climate preaching. It is taken more seriously than politicians or media".

She writes that "the Church of England is ringing the changes this year, preaching a carbon fast instead of a chocolate one". While noting that the word 'carbon' affixed to almost anything makes it sound faddish, such a proposal is fairly modest and builds on the "history, tradition, ideology, sincerity and authenticity" of the church which has "a message of self-denial going back to the dawn of time. It has an awful lot to play with when it seeks to influence our behaviour in terms of carbon use. It has been into small economies since before the environment even existed".

She concludes by saying that "even we faithless can see how copper-bottomed this is, and it makes it very easy to take" and the status of the church "as environmental pioneer is really worth playing up".

Love Life Live Lent

Love Life Live Lent is based on a project developed by the Diocese of Birmingham and is now in its second year as a national project. Last year's campaign was a massive success with adults and children all across the UK getting involved! It gained a wide and positive range of media coverage.

This year it is anticipated that Love Life Live Lent 2 will be even bigger with Facebook and MySpace applications, church resources, and new full-colour booklets with the theme of being good neighbours are available. Love Life Live Lent 2 offers something exciting, different and refreshing to try during Lent - encouraging us again to take small actions that can have big effects. So why don't you take some time out to be a good neighbour... and have fun this Lent?

Do you speak Ikea?

An article in today's Guardian asks "Do you speak Ikea"? This points to The IKEA Game - a simple game that gives you a list of IKEA product names and you try to guess what the product is. Ten products are picked from the IKEA database at random, so every game is different!

Cal Henderson, who also created the internet photo-site Flickr, devised the game so people can spend "enjoy endless hours of amusement trying to guess what all those bizarre, wacky Ikea product names might actually refer to". Or perhaps not, if you intend trying to cut down on the time you spend surfing the Internet during Lent....

The Word of God - what does it mean?

If you are planning to spend Lent focusing on your Bible reading or prayer life, ReSource have published a new booklet which may be of interest. The Word of God - what does it mean?, by Alison Morgan, takes a careful look at what we mean by words and how we use them, and then asks whether our human understanding of words limits the way in which we think about the Word and words of God. Offering a mixture of theological reflection, testimony, poetry, and image, the booklet challenges our preconceptions and affirms the word of God as something intriguing, dynamic and life-changing. It is available (£3) from the ReSource website. You can see excerpts on the new prayer page on the ReSource website.

Dogs enjoy classical music

If you want your dog to behave then it seems the answer could be found in playing them a blast of classical music, one charity has found. Fascinating research from The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association reveals that Guide Dog Trainers have discovered that dogs love Classic FM. The discovery was made after the digital radio manufacturer, PURE, donated six radios to each of the four Guide Dogs' training schools. The Association was seeking to provide a more relaxed atmosphere within the Dog Care Department for the dogs while they were at rest, as part of an environmental enrichment project. The trainers tried a range of radio stations and Classic FM produced the best results: "leaving the dogs chilled out and ready for a new day’s training!"

How beautiful are the feet

Libby Purves yet again finds a kitsch product from the US: insoles called In-Souls (TM) inscribed with texts so you literally "walk in the word of the Lord". Each one provides a related scripture and affirmation, and they are worn in the right shoe.

24 Hour Tea and Coffee Break

A cuppa can make a world of difference! ActionAid are inviting you to participate in a 24 Hour Tea and Coffee Break on Friday 29 February 2008 and help give poor farmers a break – by taking one yourself! By holding a fair trade tea or coffee morning you can support ActionAid’s work with small-scale farmers in the developing world and take action against the global injustices that keep them poor.

Taking part in the 24 Hour Tea and Coffee Break couldn’t be easier - all you need is a kettle and someone to share a cuppa with you are almost there. There are plenty of fundraising ideas on the ActionAid website to help get started, including a fundraising pack with everything you’ll need to hold an event, and a free starter pack of fair trade tea and coffee courtesy of Cafe Direct and fair trade chocolate courtesy of Divine.

You can also check out the ActionAid Extreme Cuppa blog: photos of people having a cuppa in extreme and unlikely situations.

Carbon Fast during Lent?

One resource I didn't include in the initial round-up of Lent resources is from Tearfund, who have produced a Carbon Fast to be done over the period of Lent - 40 days to examine our carbon footprint and take some steps to reduce it. It is firmly based in prayer and action. You can sign up for Carbon Fast emails and get the daily actions, facts and prayers emailed to you, and Tearfund will also add you to the carbon map. You can also download resources for personal or church use.

Leicester's Lent Pilgrimage

During Lent 2008, Bishop Tim will be Crossing the Diocese - he will be a pilgrim walking 215 miles and visiting 114 churches in the Leicester Diocese (download the walking plan). The pilgrimage takes place between Thursday morning and Sunday evening on each of the six weeks of Lent. Along the way others will join Bishop Tim as part of their Lent observance, and he will also meet and talk with the people of the diocese at a variety of events. There will be stories to be told, heard and shared. The pilgrimage begins and end in the Cathedral with an Ash Wednesday service and the Palm Sunday service. Although there will be opportunities to meet the bishop on his pilgrimage he also hopes for times of prayer and silence as part of his personal discipline during Lent.

Bishop Tim asks for prayer for all that is planned and encourages us to share in the pilgrimage prayer during the coming days:
O Lord God, on today’s journey you walk beside us,
on our journey through Lent you walk ahead of us,
on our journey through life you are the end of all our longing.
On all our journeys may you be the way, the truth and the life
which sustains, guides and fulfils us. Amen.

Pancake recipes

No sooner do I mention the Infusion Pancake Party on the blog, but I receive an email from Lakeland Limited with two pancake recipes: pancakes with orange sauce and potato and feta pancakes. (There are more Lakeland recipes here). Lakeland also explain to visitors to their website that:

Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent marks the 40 days leading up to Easter and was traditionally a period of fasting. The name Shrove comes from the word ‘shrive’ which means to confess.

Lent resources

Lent begins next week. Infusion is celebrating Shrove Tuesday early with a Pancake Party on Saturday, but if you wish to feed your spirit (as well as your body), here are some resources:

• Easter Reflections from rejesus.com
• SGM Lifewords is hosting an online reflective journey through Holy Week
• Count your blessings is Christian Aid’s latest resource, with ideas about how you can do this by offering something to reflect on or do every day during Lent. There is an accompanying Bible study for small groups (PDF)
• The Methodist Church offer Buy Less Live More, a resource (and Facebook group) to encourage people to change their patterns of behaviour by becoming less 'consumerist' and more generous and fulfilled
• The Hope08 website suggests some books
• An article on Lent for the Non-Liturgical from Christianity Today
  

How green is your holiday?

Thinking about your summer holiday is a good antidote to the grey days of January. The Telegraph reports on which tour operators, airlines and cruise lines are doing the most for the environment in How green is your travel company? The report focuses on five factors that signal whether these companies are really committed to creating positive change: carbon reduction, carbon offsetting, conservation schemes, responsible tourism (RT) policy, and sourcing of local produce, services and employment. The article also suggests some eco-friendly travel ideas.

Of course, the Youth Hostel Association ("travel company" of choice for a number of Infusion folk) has a strong commitment to going green, and is increasing the number of environmentally sustainable flagship sites (known as eco-hostels or Green Beacons) it provides. However it is the Scottish Youth Hostels Association that claims to have the most eco-friendly accommodation in the UK at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel.

Not-so-virtuous foods

In a week that may see many of us reaching for extra calories - whether to cheer us up on Blue Monday or simply to enjoy Farmhouse Breakfast Week or a Burns Supper - the Guardian reports on the foods that pack a surprisingly high calorific punch, including the coffee with 628 calories. Perhaps we need The Dieter's Prayer Book after all!

Burns Night and the Scots language

Last year we held an Infusion Burns Night, albeit on the 27th January. Some of Rabbie Burns' poetry was read and we enjoyed our haggis, neeps and tatties - though sadly only as a starter.

I was pleased to read a recent Guardian piece on In praise of ... Scottish words but I recognise that not everyone has the privilege of growing up in Scotland. I'm therefore pleased to say that the The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) is freely available on the Internet. It comprises electronic editions of the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language: the 12-volume Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST) and the 10-volume Scottish National Dictionary (SND). These 22 volumes provide a comprehensive history of Scots, and are essential research tools for anyone interested in the history of either Scots or English language, and for historical or literary scholars whose sources are written in Scots.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!

Impact of An Inconvenient Truth

"Heating Up for Global Warming Research and Policy" is an article (from a library magazine) which looks at how effective the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth has been in spreading the word about global warming. The article looks at newspaper coverage of the topics related to global warming and climate change and notes that the film received its theatrical release in June 2006, and media promotions began 1 to 2 months before that. Newspapers have shown a marked increase in the coverage of global warming news in the past 15 to 18 months, the film won an Oscar, and Al Gore was named as co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts. The article concludes by saying that:

"..it takes more than winning Oscars and Nobel Prizes to combat global warming..... Everyone, from large multinational corporations to individuals, is joining the debate on the important issue of global warming and climate change. More important, people are looking for much more than just words to solve the problems. The resources in this article should give you a starting point and should help you stay informed, become educated, and begin communicating about global warming."

What is YOUR favourite book?

People across Leicester will be thinking about their favourite books as part of the city’s celebrations for the National Year of Reading 2008. This month, Leicester Libraries launches its search for Leicester’s favourite book. It doesn’t matter whether you are an avid reader or just flick through the occasional paperback, the survey offers you the opportunity to to suggest your favourite book.

Any work of fiction, including novels, short stories and poems are eligible for nominations. Every member of library staff will also be suggesting their own top reads and these will be combined together with ideas from the public and decades of library lending records to produce a shortlist of Leicester’s favourite books. People will be able to vote on the shortlist from April, and the winning book will be announced in July.

Farmhouse Breakfast Week

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual campaign that emphasises the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every day. Running from 20th - 26th January, A Great Start is the theme of the 2008 campaign to encourage everyone to wake up to a balanced breakfast as part of a healthy and active lifestyle. Check out the website which includes recipes and facts and figures.

Smells like..Infusion

Pottering through M&S today I spotted Infusion - the fragrance! I know we don't have a monopoly on the name, but I was still surprised to find the name on a bottle of women's perfume. The website just says it is "an exotic floral fragrance" but in the store it merited a whole descriptive paragraph.

Big Garden Birdwatch

The 2008 Big Garden Birdwatch takes place next weekend. All you need to do is watch your garden or local park on either Saturday 26 or Sunday 27 January, and spend an hour counting the birds, recording the highest number of each species seen in your garden (not flying over) at any one time. You can download a counting sheet to help you keep track of how many birds you've seen; the sheet has pictures of the commonest birds seen in gardens and space to cross off how many of each species you have seen in total.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world's biggest bird survey. Thanks to its simplicity and the small time it takes to do, the Big Garden Birdwatch has always had great support, providing the RSPB with a vital snapshot of the UK's birds each winter.In 2007, over 400,000 people took part by counting the birds in their garden for an hour. Together they spotted 6 million birds across 236,000 gardens, helping reveal the winners and losers in the garden bird world.

If you need an additional reason to take part, a report commissioned by the RSPB reveals that nature improves your fitness and reduces stress.

National Year of Reading

Given my profession, its hardly surprising that I blog about books and reading fairly often. However, I may do so even more frequently this year as 2008 is the National Year of Reading. Here are some recent links on the topic:

• Do you need to read books to be clever? - BBC website

• The reading cure (Bibliotherapy) - The Guardian

• How book groups got child- friendly - The Guardian

• Make 2008 your National Year of Reading - DCSF Press release

2008's most wanted culinary gizmos

You probably resisted the most-wanted gadgets this Christmas, but if you enjoy food as much as most Infusion folk do, you possibly own a few kitchen gadgets. There's an article in today's Guardian which reveals that last year UK consumers spent £625m on kitchen gadgets, up 240% on the previous two years. This included more than £8m on chocolate fountains alone! According to the article, the must-have kitchen accoutrements of 2008 are: Raclette, St Lucia Coalpot, Sous-vide digital bath, Home smoker, and Pressure cooker (read the article for explanations).

I own two of these - the pressure cooker (since the 1980s) and a raclette (for nine years - it was a gift) and I'm pleased to be so on-trend for once as we used our raclette when family visited on New Year's Day! The article notes that although pressure cookers may not be cutting edge (dating back to 1939) they excel at making the most of cheaper cuts of meat, which would normally take several hours to render edible. The article concludes: "as longer working hours reduce the time we have to prepare food, a pressure cooker can almost make you believe that you're the sort of person organised enough to have marinated your food in advance". It's made me want to dig out my pressure cooker and use it again.

What unused gadgets do you have lurking in your kitchen cupboards?

Health news

The good news is.....this winter's norovirus outbreak may not be as bad as the media have made it out to be (which friend who is a doctor told me two weeks ago). The bad news is....your computer keyboard is a breeding ground for bacteria and almost certainly a health hazard! We can't all afford to use the ultrasonic cleaning discussed, but there are a number of websites that advise on How To Clean Your Keyboard, including this Step By Step Guide.

Cross shaped MP3 player

A blog post, Awful Object of the Week, alerted me to the cross shaped MP3 player! Its from the Ship of Fools website which also features many more Gadgets for God (aka tacky religious artefacts).

Slim for Him - religious dieting

After the superb food at the New Year's Eve Party, did you resolve to start eating smaller portions (and less junk) in 2008? And are you sticking to it - or still eating up the Christmas cake and chcolates? If its the latter, then have a read of Slim for Him - religious dieting post over on FaithCentral. Links include prayers from The Dieter's Prayer Book!

In praise of ... the Covenant Service

Good to see The Guardian with an editorial piece on In praise of ... the covenant service. This refers to the Methodist Church's Covenant Service, celebrated in January each year. The Methodist Church website says that the service is for members to "celebrate all that God has done for us, and affirm that we give our lives and choices to God". The traditional Covenant prayer makes it very clear that this affirmation is a serious one that embraces the whole of life. As the website says:

"Most people find it quite tough to say, and really mean it. But the prayer is so central to the Christian life that other Churches have also adopted it. In our culture we tend to prize our ability to make decisions and choose our own path in life. It can feel very hard to give that up. But this prayer is like a love poem. It is about surrendering to God in love and joy."

Coffee made with UK-grown beans

Coffee beans grown at the UK's Eden Project have been turned into enough coffee for just 20 cups! This week Eden Coffee, carefully nurtured in the giant greenhouse biomes at the Eden Project in Cornwall, was revealed to the world at Fifteen Cornwall, part of the chain of restaurants launched by Jamie Oliver to help disadvantaged youngsters. While Fifteen tries to source as much of its menu locally as possible, locally grown coffee is certainly going a step further, and this was probably the first cup professionally made out of beans produced in the UK. However, the Eden coffee crop only produced a handful of Arabica cherries - 200g (7oz) worth, which turned into only about 150g of beans - enough for about 20 cups.

It is perhaps not surprising that coffee has been produced in this part of the world. An increasing number of products normally associated with warmer climates are already being grown in the south-west, and tea has been grown at Tregothnan, an estate near Truro, for some time. Tregothnan Tea is stocked at some of London's most prestigious food halls.

Anglican Bloggers: new Facebook Group

Just discovered that a new Facebook Group for Anglican Bloggers has been created. You can join here.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Giving to religious causes on the increase

Noted in the latest Christian Research Newsletter that giving to religious causes has risen despite charity giving going down. In the report UK Giving 2007, the latest figures released by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) show that the proportion of the UK population that gave to charity in 2006/7 dropped to 54% (from the 57% in 2005/6). This decrease was also reflected in the total amount given - £9.5 billion, which showed a 3% drop from the previous year.

Religious causes were the only causes to see a rise, accounting for 16% of money given, second only to medical research which received 17%. Religious causes were also the recipients of the most high level (over £100) donations. The research also revealed that married women were more likely to give than married men (62% and 52%). Generally, there has been a significant decrease in giving among men, with single men being the least likely to give, and the least generous.

2008 trends (1)

After reading about the anticipated trends for 2008, I thought it might be interesting to see how relevant these are to life in Leicestershire. So here goes with a look at the first two trends:

• Make it yourself: while creating your own music, video and multimedia productions and posting them online has become commonplace (see this post about Loughborough musicians, for example), it is predicted that it will soon be just as easy to create physical goods - designing them online and having them professionally manufactured, and then joining online communities to share tips, market and sell their goods. For the past two Christmases I've used online sites to create photo calendars as gifts, although the trend takes this much further .
  

• Local networking: although Facebook will still continue to grow, trend watchers expect the social networking phenomenon to diversify next year, with the rise of smaller, "local" sites for a single neighbourhood, street or building. The BBC report suggests that local networking sites could be "very useful, enabling people to post advertisements and helping with anything from lost cats to trader recommendations. They also have the potential to recreate the kind of community spirit we like to imagine existed in the days before we spent our lives glued to computer screens". You could argue that postcards in the windows of corner shops have done sort of networking this for years! However, this isn't ground-breaking stuff as many university (and some hospital) communities have offered this sort of interaction electronically for some years (through bulletin boards, portals and Virtual Learning Environments). However this trend again raises the issue of the digital divide and disenfranchises those without access to speedy online connections.

New Year Party 2008

Online, in touch, up to speed

The Infusion Group on Facebook is still small in numbers - but those who are shunning Facebook are bucking the trend in the UK, as the UK's social network obsessives are the most connected in Europe! A study from the regulator Ofcom notes that social networking is categorically "no longer the preserve of teenagers and students" and has been adopted by a growing army of older surfers determined to link up with old acquaintances.

Thanks to their growing obsession and the widespread availability of broadband, the UK leads Europe in using social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. UK adults spend more time on social networking sites than any other country in Europe, with 4 in 10 UK adults saying that they regularly visit the sites. The UK adults who visit the sites spend an average of 5.3 hours each month on them and return to them an average 23 times in the month.

WordLive

Scripture Union have just launched WordLive – a website which allows you to step into a multi-media Bible reading experience and deepen your relationship with God.

WordLive offers a range of creative approaches you can follow to engage with God’s Word. Each day when you log on you will be prompted to pray and then read the Bible, the next step is up to you. Using the revolving carousel that sits underneath each day’s Bible passage, you can watch a video, listen to the Bible passage (or download it to your mp3 player), dig deeper into further Bible study, dip into creative prayer suggestions and explore other activities. You can sign up to receive a daily WordLive email, or you may prefer to access WordLive through your mobile or PDA.

WordLive is updated and growing each day with new notes, images, videos and audio. It also has an extensive archive of material. WordLive is free to access and is funded by donations.

Hope for Planet Earth Tour

Hope for Planet Earth is a national tour running between 18 Feb and 14 March 2008 exploring the science behind climate change from a Christian perspective and its impact on people and the planet. Leading experts from Tearfund, A Rocha, John Ray Initiative, The Faraday Institute and Share Jesus International are working together to create stimulating, educational, interactive and challenging presentations for students and adults.

During the day the team will be working with students in schools around the country. The evening presentations provide the opportunity for parents and the general public to meet the experts, explore the relationship between science and faith and challenge the myths surrounding climate change.

Local(ish) meetings are Rugby (Tuesday 19 February) and Nottingham (Thursday 21 February), and Derby (Friday 29^th February). Full details here.

Bible put on a pinhead-size chip

The BBC reports that scientists in Israel have succeeded in putting a version of the Bible on a chip smaller than a pinhead. The 300,000 words in Hebrew were inscribed on a silicon surface at the Haifa Institute of Technology, and the researchers involved stated that the project aimed to increase young people's interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Fair trade 'more effective than giving to charity'

A recent ICM poll, conducted on behalf of the Department for International Development, has revealed that British consumers believe shopping ethically is a more effective way to relieve global poverty than donating to charity.

The poll found that 61 per cent of people felt they had a personal responsibility to help relieve poverty; most said that charities were the biggest influence on their decision to take action. 74 per cent of respondents in the poll thought buying fair trade goods was an effective way to benefit those in the developing world.

Electric eel used to power Christmas lights

While we're still in the twelve days of Christmas, here's one last Christmas post (or perhaps it is simply the first of 2008), a story with admirable green credentials: from Japan comes details of an electric eel being used to power lights on a Christmas tree.

Trends in 2008

After considering 100 things we didn't know last year, the BBC consulted trend-prediction experts to discuss what will be the hottest trends of 2008. The list they produced identifies these:

• Make it yourself
• Local networking
• See-hear-buy
• Think blue
• Secret bling
• Radical transparency
• Body language

100 things we didn't know last year

Happy New Year! If you have time to surf the Internet today, here's a round-up of interesting and unexpected facts that the BBC website has covered in the past year, entitled 100 things we didn't know last year.

Climate change is threatening your daily cuppa

As the world leaders gathered in Indonesia for the United Nations’ climate negotiations earlier this month, Cafédirect (the UK’s largest 100% Fairtrade hot drinks company) issued a warning that international tea and coffee production is threatened by climate change. Putting the challenges growers face in the media spotlight, nationally and internationally, Cafédirect used the negotiations as an opportunity to issue a press release to raise awareness of the effect a rapidly changing climate has on international tea and coffee production. The website has further information on the Cafédirect and GTZ climate change project.

Grateful for a goat

The BBC website discusses How to receive a goat (if you receive an alternative Christmas present) and other 21st Century etiquette dilemmas.

Boxing Day recipes

Cook more turkey than you needed? The British Turkey website has a range of recipes for leftover turkey. The website also provides some Turkey trivia.

Happy Christmas!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in

Match your coffees with festive foods

Cafédirect offer advice on the appropriate festive food to partner your Fairtrade coffee.

Significant anniversaries

Two significant anniversaries have fallen this week: on Tuesday it was 300 years since the birth of Charles Wesley and today is the 200th anniversary of John Newton’s death. How much poorer the Christian church worldwide would have been without these two men......

Wrap Art

Still got presents to wrap? You could take the scientific approach and work out how much wrapping paper you need. Or you could be more artistic and try Wrap Art: wrapping presents creatively, using fragments of paper and miscellaneous items from around your house.

Messiah: still going strong after 265 years

The Guardian discusses why Handel's Messiah has lasted so well:

"Messiah represents Handel's direct, personal response to the Bible, but the pacing remains essentially operatic. He was always an opera man, anxious to tell his story dramatically. The overture brilliantly sets the mood for the rest of the parts, filling us with a sense of hope and lightness. Then Handel launches into the sublime Comfort Ye, which calms everyone down. It's Handel saying: "I'm going to make you listen, because this is a long story." He takes you into another world and has this ability to uplift people, then calm them, before taking them up again. As a result, Messiah never fails."

Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2007

The Last Posting Dates website tells it like it is! There is now 1 day left to use your Christmas stamps before the final Royal Mail posting date for Christmas 2007.

Free rooms for Mary and Joseph at Travelodge

Here's a fantastic PR stunt from Travelodge: it is offering couples called Mary and Joseph a free "room at the inn" at any one of its 322 hotels in the UK. The 'gift' of a free night's stay is to make up for the hotel industry not having any rooms left on Christmas Eve over 2,000 years ago when the original 'Mary and Joseph' had to settle for the night in a stable.

Today's Mary and Joseph are offered a "spacious Travelodge family room which can also cater for a baby and a manger". A free car-parking space will be provided for the donkey and there are plenty of rooms available for the Shepherds and Wise Men to book. The couple can stay anytime from Christmas Eve to the Twelfth Night.

God rest you merry atheist

I was intrigued to read that Richard Dawkins enjoys singing Christmas carols as, despite his strong anti-faith polemic, he has described himself as a "cultural Christian" in a recent BBC interview. Yet the words of many carols are soaked in the gospel, so perhaps one year he may come to find his view that science has all the answers is transcended by a greater Truth as he sings:

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth

2007 Word of the Year

The Word of the Year in 2007 is locavore. Never heard of it? “Locavore” was coined two years ago by four women in San Francisco who proposed that local residents should try to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius. Other regional movements have emerged since then, though some groups refer to themselves as “localvores” rather than “locavores.” There are echoes of Christian Ecology’s LOAF principle.

Carbon cost of Christmas dinner

After the good news about researchers working on solving our Christmas wrapping problems comes the negative news of research into the carbon footprint of our Christmas dinner! Academics calculated the production, processing and transportation costs of the festive ingredients and announced that a combined carbon footprint equivalent to 6,000 car journeys around the world will be produced by the UK population eating their Christmas dinner. The worst offender is cranberry sauce, as the importing the cranberries from the US contributes up to half the carbon footprint related to transport. So, maybe the best gift to request this Christmas is the carbon offset option.

Christmas shopping

Did you observe Buy Nothing Day? If not, maybe the cartoon says it all!

[Cartoon by Dave Walker. Reproduced and posted in accordance with conditions of use at We Blog Cartoons]

Science of wrapping presents

I was delighted to read in the Metro newspaper that a researcher at Leicester University has devised an eco-friendly scientific formula on how to wrap a Christmas present. Apparently most of us overestimate the amount of paper we need to wrap up Christmas presents. However, mathematician Warwick Dumas has been working with Bluewater to devise the perfect method of gift-wrapping to help customers save time and money and reduce the amount of paper that will be wasted. The length of the wrapping paper should be as long as the perimeter of the side of the gift, with no more than 2cm allowed for an overlap and the width should be just a little over the sum of the width and the depth of the gift. Mathematically, this can be expressed as A1 = 2(ab+ac+bc+c2).

Kitschmas

The satirical Christian website Ship of Fools hunts down kitsch religious-themed items it has seen for sale. The BBC website has produced a photo gallery of some of the tackiest. Meanwhile Ship of Fools itself has a Christ vs. kitsch feature about kitsch and true religion.

Want a second go at life?

It is the first Sunday of Advent today. You may have already seen this year's Christmas campaign from the Churches Advertising Network which is: "Want a second go at life?" It has radio and poster ads which invite people to visit a special space on Second Life, the virtual world, where they can find out more about the Christian faith and second chances of life.

Read any good film reviews recently?

It was good to read an article entitled Hooray for the internet movie database in this week's Technology Guardian as I normally link to the relevant Internet Movie Database review if I'm publicising an Infusion Film Night. Jack Schofield notes that "the IMDb is still the best place for movie trivia, but few people realise its history as a net pioneer" - the service was actually set up in 1990 and the first web version of the database went live in 1993. Like Jack, I've used it for a long time - I remember promoting it to film studies students and researchers in mid-1990s.

Charity hits out at ethical gifts

Are you sending some alternative ("ethical") gifts this year? I was disturbed to discover that an education charity is claiming that 'give-a-goat'-type gifts "are degrading for developing countries". The Director of Worldwrite suggests that "we should ditch the ethical items in our shopping trolleys. If we want to help our peers, we need to think big and hand over the money", and this month the charity is releasing two films that claim many NGO campaigns are simply about making people feel good and not about helping people. However, the manager of Oxfam Unwrapped says that "What might feel like a fun thing to do at Christmas has an impact the whole year round.... We work with communities who, at the beginning of each year, tell us what they need and want".

What do you think? I remembered an article Getting your goat, from a couple of years ago that follows up one such give-a-goat project and reports the positive impact on the community concerned.

More on sleep

I love the serendipity of blogging... I write another post about sleep and the next day stumble across a podcast on the topic which discusses the Wellcome Collection's new exhibition of sleep and dreaming.

Cat nap or power nap?

It seems that sleep deprivation is becoming a national problem. I posted recently on the theology of sleep, but if you're still feeling tired all the time, the BBC website is offering top tips for nodding off.

Lincoln Christmas Market

If you are planning to go on the Infusion trip to Lincoln on Saturday 8 December, you may be interested in reading the Christmas Market website with dates and times, facts, and photos. You an also view a web film about the Market.

Should you have the time, inclination and money, here are some more exotic Christmas shopping trips....

Countdown to Christmas (8)

Here's an example of what Libby Purves was talking about concerning Advent calendars: while several Infusion members are diehard Doctor Who fans, I do think a Dalek advent calendar is going too far!

Tearfund uses Facebook to campaign

I was recently invited to add the Superbadger application to my Facebook profile. This is a great application which aims to unite thousands of Facebook users in the fight against global poverty. It enables you to send pre-written emails direct from your profile to those people who make key decisions affecting those living in poverty. Roughly every two weeks a new badger will be uploaded.

Whether it's badgering politicians about climate change or badgering supermarkets to stock more Fairtrade products, we all need to be in the movement of Facebook badgers!

And if this has encouraged you to sign up, then why not ask me to add you to the Infusion Facebook group as well?

Countdown to Christmas (7)

After discussing Advent reading, I was going to discuss Advent calendars but I'm not sure that I can improve on Libby Purves's posting on Advent Rage - do check it out!She also references a website offering the history of the Advent Calendar.

Guardian praises TFTD

You probably gather that I tend to listen to Thought for the Day most days, although I'm aware that opinions vary. However, I was intrigued to read a Guardian editorial today in their "In praise of...."series on TFTD. While still calling for the inclusion of "non-religious contributors", the leader says:

"while the slot may be one of Radio 4's Marmite offerings (provoking either love or hatred), the evidence shows the audience appreciates it"

Buy Nothing Day - No Purchase Necessary!

To buy, or not to buy, that is the question.....

Saturday November 24h 2007 is Buy Nothing Day (UK), It's a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

The challenge is easy - try simple living for a day. Spend time with family and friends, rather than spend money on them. Buy Nothing Day also exposes the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries - only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth's natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth.

As consumers we need to question the products we buy and challenge the companies who produce them. What are the true risks to the environment and developing countries? It's our responsibility to look for simple solutions and Buy Nothing Day is a good place to start.