Review: The Cove

After having heard all the hype and seen the captivating trailer on Channel 4, I finally got around to watching the award winning documentary The Cove with the other volunteers on the recommendation of Liv, who had brought a copy with her to camp. Before watching I had a vague idea of what the film was about – ie dolphins – but not really in any great detail.

The film follows the work of activist Ric O'Barry, a renowned dolphin trainer who trained Flipper – and as a result probably helped contribute to the popularity of dolphin tourism today – on his quest to expose the cruelties of the Japanese dolphin trade. The team uses state-of-the-art technologies to uncover the abuse, capturing a graphic scene of bloodshed which is utterly shocking.

The film documents one man's campaign to bring light to the events which take place in this Japanese cove and he certainly succeeded – the film won the 2010 Academy Award for best documentary. However, the fact that he was aided in this campaign by millions of dollars worth of film equipment reduced the impact of his achievements in my eyes. In the film, O'Barry says “If you aren't an activist you're an inactivist”. Well it's very easy to be an activist if you have a very large budget behind you and an unlimited amount of time to spend pursuing a singular aim. Overall the film left a rather sour taste in my mouth. Unlike the excellent documentary “The End of the Line”, the viewer can take no action in response to this film (apart from perhaps texting the word “dolphin”, as is suggested in the end credits). The End of the Line tries to educate the viewer about the problems with over-fishing and what actions every single one of us can take to remedy against this. The Cove places the blame on a distant “other” making it in a way, the perfect film for an “inactivist”.

Another point which I found quite odd was the way this issue of the health risks associated with the eating dolphin meat was handled. It was mentioned as almost an after-thought and very much a secondary issue in the film that many Japanese citizens may be unknowingly consuming meat contaminated with mercury. I don't know if and how the film was received in Japan but I would have thought that the issue of potential mercury poisoning would not be something that was taken at all lightly.

In short, whilst the film uncovers some important issues I personally didn't find it very inspiring. The needless slaughter of any animal is obviously tragic and I am glad that O'Barry is able to devote his time to this cause which is so important to him. However I find that when you watch a film which is all about activism, it is rather frustrating to be left with a feeling that there is nothing that you personally can do about it.

Vegan Week

Over the last week at camp, all the volunteers have been taking part in our own self-imposed week of veganism. “Why?”, many people asked. I'm not sure about the others but for me it's simply because I find it very hard to turn down a challenge. I think, when it was suggested to me, it was assumed that I wouldn't take part considering that I transform into a bit of a beast if I don't have my morning cup of tea (milk, no sugar) and I am a seasoned turophile (thanks to Bill for this word of the day!). 

I found throughout the week however that I didn't actually miss the things I normally have that much at all. The worst thing by far was when offered something non-vegan and painfully having to turn it down. And of course there were a few accidental slips – who would have thought that salt and vinegar crisps would have lactose in them??

For me, I enjoy doing little food experiments such as this mainly just to make myself think a little more about what I'm eating. Whilst being vegan for a week might not make that much impact on my lifetime carbon footprint, it has made me consider just how much animal products I would regularly consume and how I can reduce this in a relatively pain-free way.

Totnes: Britain's town of the future

From The Observer, Sunday 6 February 2011:
"Totnes in Devon might be the most forward-thinking eco settlement in the world. As fossil-fuel reserves dwindle and the economy contracts, will resident-led Transition Towns become the way that we all live?"

Read the full article.

Why shop when you can swap?

Just before leaving Manchester, I finally got round to organising something I'd been meaning to do for a long time. Because I knew that I would probably moving house in the not to distant future, I felt the need to lighten my life a little. So I was very ruthless and cleared out a lot of clothes which I no longer wear. Most of them went to the clothes bin however certain items were more difficult to part with... Through guilt, sentimental attachment or pure bloody mindedness (“I WILL wear those jeans one day”), certain clothes are just difficult to let go of. So they sat in a bag in the bottom of my wardrobe (not being missed at all, might I add) whilst I waited for someone to hold a Swishing party so that they could go to a good home. However, after waiting a number of months to no avail, I realised that I would probably have to be proactive and hold one myself.

Swishing is simply an organised clothes swap. It can take on any number of formats and the rules of the game are very flexible. In fact, before the guests arrived I hadn't really considered how it was going to work in practicality! However when it came down to it, everything went very smoothly (there were jokes throughout the evening about how it might turn into a fist fight when it came to laying claims on the nicest items – thankfully this didn't happen!). Preparations began when my friend Jenny arrived several hours before kick off. We arranged both our contributions in my living room which gave it the feel of a lovely boutique and eagerly awaited the arrival of the other swishers (whilst getting a sneak preview of each other's offerings). Susie and Alison, then Gemma and Sue arrived in pairs bringing the total number of swappers to six – which turns out was a good number as the living room was jam packed with goodies!

Once the clothes were all laid out, we spent the next few hours perusing the hidden gems that we had each discarded. Whilst keeping in mind a mental wish-list of the items we wanted, we then proceeded to “auction” the clothes by picking out each item in turn and seeing if anyone wanted it – and if more than one person wanted it, trying to decide who wanted it the most!

I would say the most satisfying part of the whole event, aside from getting some fantastic new additions to my wardrobe, was actually seeing my old clothes find nice new homes and knowing that they would be worn and enjoyed. Sure, I could have taken all these things to a charity shop and allowed someone to discover them but now I occasionally get texts from my friends telling me how much they love their new clothes which used to belong to me. And I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside every time I wear Jenny's blue wool dress or Gemma's coat. Plus the whole evening in itself was extremely enjoyable – like sales shopping, but everything was free, in the comfort of my own house and with some good friends to enjoy it all with!

I can't wait till the next time I get a chance to clear out my wardrobe and do it all again!

Yurt Life

Towards the end of last year, I made a decision that 2011 was going to be very different and so far things have been just about as different as they could get. As of 18^th January, I moved down to Devon from Manchester to start a 15 week voluntary placement at the Sharpham Estate, a project funded by Vinspired, along with 3 other volunteers. Living accommodation is provided in the form of yurts – a girls' yurt, a boys' yurt and a communal yurt which functions as a living room/dining room/meeting room/library (gurt, burt and curt as they have been nicknamed).

So three weeks into the project, here are some observations about life so far (somewhere along the lines of “you know you've been living in a yurt to long when...”):

• Being warm is pretty much your one aim in life. Fire is worshipped.
• Not being able to light your stove is the most depressing thing in the world.
• Keeping your fire going all night is just about the best feeling in the world.
• Going into a “real house” feels a little strange...
• Showers aren't really necessary: everything smells like wood smoke. And everyone smells as bad as each other so it doesn't really matter anyway.