Living plastic free workshop

Wednesday 23rd May 2018

Talk & workshop at 7.30pm at the Glasshouse Community Centre

LIVING PLASTIC-FREE: HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND SAVE THE PLANET

You sort your recycling. You take your reusable bag when you go shopping. You want to do more, but you just don’t know what, or how, and you don’t have the time to research everything you could be doing. In this fun, friendly workshop Lizzy will share with you some of the tips and resources she has discovered from reducing her non-recyclable waste over the last two years. You will develop awareness of your own habits and feel more confident making more environmentally-friendly choices every day. And along the way we’ll bust some myths and discover how being green can even be cheaper and more convenient.

 

About Lizzy:

Lizzy has always been passionate about the environment and has lots of ideas to inspire local people. She is currently the Chair of Cranbrook Community Food Garden. She is involved in the Bethnal Green Transition Town group and the Roman Road Trust.

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Swim the Thames at London Fields

How is it possible?

It is, the length of the River Thames is 346km, equalling 700 lengths of the Hackney Lido pool. To be on 30th June 2018 from 3pm till late.

With a combined effort, people are expected to swim those 700 lengths within 4 hours. That is such a doddle. Of course the expert swimmers will do most swimming. Parents and others can choose to swim any amount of lengths of the pool.

This is couched within a splendid Hackney Aquatics Community Day at the park and the Lido with Swim the Thames!

• Sponsored Swim at London Fields Lido from 4pm.
• barbecue, ice cream and food stalls
• Pilates in the Park
• Outdoor Yoga
• Various games and activities such as football and extreme frisbee!

Of course all activities will be expertly run and are supervised. I understand anybody can take part in the sponsored swim. There is a fundraising page on Gofundme but I am not sure whether paying into this will also enter people for the sponsored swim. I am awaiting further details. However contributing to the founds would not do any harm to anybody. I think the aim is to help low-income families to allow their kids to swim at the Hackney Aquatics swimming club.

Our lovely estate

Has lovely wild-life friendly flowers planted on green areas of the estate, which attract birds, bees and environmentally friendly bugs.

In close up the flowers look very cheerful but unfortunately a very picturesque  bird hopped off before I could get him into the frame.

Our Parkview Gardening Scheme also encourages all residents to plant window and balcony boxes to further enhance our lovely estate to help us feel better.

Please come to the Community Garden next to the Glasshouse on Saturdays between 10am and 12 noon to collect your free plants for balcony planting.

Stay in good health

Helping good health for all of us is to keep our bodyweight within good norms. Doing our bit for health – as much as it is in our ability – we can reduce the strain on GP surgeries.

A great and easy way to find out if we are overweight is to use a piece of string, measure from toe to the top of our head, then half the string and put it around our waist. If the string meets in the middle then we are OK, but if the string doesn’t meet then our waistline is too big. However this doesn’t show if we are too thin.

We can also calculate our BMI (Body Mass Index) according to height and weight.

Hugh Fearnly-Wittingstall explained the problem of Britain now being the most overweight nation in Europe, in 3 great programs, which are piloted by a scheme in Newcastle where people signed up to lose weight. Newcastle can. There is a signature collection to encourage the government to do more to prevent obesity with better legislation. Anybody from anywhere can join the scheme.

A lot of blame is laid on junk foods and now London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to join by banning junk food adverts on Transport for London. ‘If the proposal is approved, all adverts for “unhealthy food and drink” will be banned on the London Underground, Overground, buses and bus shelters.’ Please express your views in the Mayor of London survey on the London Food Strategy, opened today.

Our local GP surgeries also run help schemes, please enquire. Weight watchers are a superb help group, which can be joined against the payment of a fee.

Our estate run gardening scheme is a great way to get out of the home and get active. They run open gardening sessions on Saturdays from 10am to 12 noon.

 

Police action around Sidney House

On Wednesday 9th May 2018, following on from residents’ concerns regarding drug dealing and ASB issues, Bethnal Green SNT officers carried out patrols and conducted searches near SIDNEY HOUSE, OLD FORD ROAD, E2.  During the area search we found 30 small bags each containing an amount of herbal cannabis inside.  This was found under the seat of a hidden/ abandoned motor scooter parked nearby, which by the pungent smell alone, drew officers towards it.  Another nearby search also recovered a hidden 8 inch bladed kitchen knife as well as a 20 inch bladed zombie-style knife.

Both drugs and weapons have now been removed from the streets of Bethnal Green Ward.  It also sends out a message to those hanging around, that police are aware of what they are doing and also shows that we take residents’ concerns seriously