IMPORTANT NEWS...
Please note that I have a new website for waterpilgrim which can be found at:
http://waterpilgrim.wordpress.com/
This is the one which I will be using from Sunday 5 July 2009.
Sorry for any inconvenience...
Free fishing kit from Paul in The Fisherman, Tavistock
Today I had a long talk with Paul from The Fisherman in Tavistock. A great shop for all your fishing and tackle needs. In his opinion, "there should be a minimum zone around the coastline of between half and one mile which trawlers are simply not allowed to go". Paul knows, from first hand experience, that sometimes the trawlers, "British and foreign", come right into the deep water off Slapton, Devon. They come so close they are damaging the sea-floor which in turn is seriously affecting the fish count.On Lundy they have managed to bring sea-life back because it is protected, in his opinion the "entire coastline should be protected". Damage from scallop fishing in places like Berryhead takes decades to be repaired.
"All we have to do is look at the increase in salmon and sea trout which we are getting in the South West. With protection in their feeding areas on the other side of the Atlantic and the ban on netting in rivers and other regulations, they are coming back in full force."
Give nature a chance and it will come good, we just have to change the way we do things. It is in all our interests.
Paul then very kindly offered me a FREE fishing rod, reel, feathers, spinners and hooks for my journey so that I can fish some mackerel to fill my belly or to offer to people who are putting me up. Many thanks to you Paul, much appreciated and I will let you know how I get on.
Check out Paul's website: http://www.thefishermanintavistock.co.uk/
or find him at: The Fisherman, 2 King Street, Tavistock PL19 0DS
or telephone him on: 01822 611 148
Give nature a chance and it will come good, we just have to change the way we do things. It is in all our interests.
Paul then very kindly offered me a FREE fishing rod, reel, feathers, spinners and hooks for my journey so that I can fish some mackerel to fill my belly or to offer to people who are putting me up. Many thanks to you Paul, much appreciated and I will let you know how I get on.
Check out Paul's website: http://www.thefishermanintavistock.co.uk/
or find him at: The Fisherman, 2 King Street, Tavistock PL19 0DS
or telephone him on: 01822 611 148
Journal - Friday 19 June 2009
3 weeks to go...
Boots being broken in. Cake eaten. Generally organising. Chen style Laojia form finished. Ready? Almost.
BTCV and waterpilgrim are arranging a beach clean and bbq on Friday 21 Aug somewhere near Wembury, Devon. Should be an excellent opportunity to meet some great volunteers and get the place tidied up a bit.
National Trust are getting back to me soon about some ideas they have. They are taking the water topic very seriously. 43% of land in England and Wales drains to the boundary of National Trust land and 2000 of their buildings are at high risk of flooding.
The organiser of the Exit Kernow Festival which is taking place in Helston, Cornwall on Saturday 4 July is working closely with WaterAid and they are hoping to feature waterpilgrim. Watch this space...
Walk and Talk
(Charlie Dimmock and Tim Smit at the Eden Project to launch Coast Along for WaterAid.
Photo credit: Chris Saville)
Recent invites for the waterpilgrim Walk and Talk have gone out to Tim Smit (Eden Project, Cornwall) and Rick Stein (Chef, Padstow).
Ray Mears supports the venture but unfortunately cannot make it due to prior arrangements.
When Davi Kopenawa Yanomami leaves home, you know the world is in trouble
The waters of the the Amazon rainforest are being destroyed by mining and logging companies. Thousands of miles away from us in the UK, people are doing things which will have a direct impact on our way of life, not to mention on the indigenous people living there.
"When Davi Kopenawa Yanomami leaves home you know something's wrong. He's a shaman, or traditional healer, from one of the world's largest largest groups of isolated peoples. Home is Watoriki, a village in the northern Amazon, deep in the forests and mountains near the Brazilian border with Venezuela." (Guardian.co.uk)
Click here to see the video and read the rest of the article from Guardian.co.uk.
"When Davi Kopenawa Yanomami leaves home you know something's wrong. He's a shaman, or traditional healer, from one of the world's largest largest groups of isolated peoples. Home is Watoriki, a village in the northern Amazon, deep in the forests and mountains near the Brazilian border with Venezuela." (Guardian.co.uk)
Click here to see the video and read the rest of the article from Guardian.co.uk.
Journal - Wed 10 June 2009
Preparation for the walk is a combination of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. The later of which is perfectly illustrated with this extract from Everyday Tao by Deng Ming-Dao:
(p.9) Water
When the ancients and their students stopped to rest by a pure flowing stream, the teachers compared Tao to water.
Water is flowing. Every drop is made of the same substance. Water never fears being divided, because it knows it will flow back together in time. It is eternal.
Water is powerful. Although it can be soothing, comforting, and cleansing, it can be enormous, mighty, and overpowering. Its nature is constant. It is true to itself at any extreme.
Water is profound. In the depths of the lakes, in the darkness of the oceans, it holds secrets. It is dangerous. It is mysterious. Yet life came from those depths.
Water is unafraid. From any height, it will plunge fearlessly down. It will fall and not be injured.
Water is balanced. No matter what the situation is, water will seek its own level as soon as it is left alone. Water will always flow downward to the most stable level. It conforms to any situation in a balance way.
Water is nourishing. Without water, no plant and no living creature could survive.
Water is still. It can be completely still, and in its stillness, mirror heaven perfectly.
Water is pure. It is transparent, clear, needing neither adornment nor augmentation.
For all these features - to be flowing, powerful, profound, unafraid, balanced, nourishing, still, and pure - one who would follow Tao need only emulate water in every way.
Ming-Dao D (1996) Everyday Tao, Harper Collins, New York)
When the ancients and their students stopped to rest by a pure flowing stream, the teachers compared Tao to water.
Water is flowing. Every drop is made of the same substance. Water never fears being divided, because it knows it will flow back together in time. It is eternal.
Water is powerful. Although it can be soothing, comforting, and cleansing, it can be enormous, mighty, and overpowering. Its nature is constant. It is true to itself at any extreme.
Water is profound. In the depths of the lakes, in the darkness of the oceans, it holds secrets. It is dangerous. It is mysterious. Yet life came from those depths.
Water is unafraid. From any height, it will plunge fearlessly down. It will fall and not be injured.
Water is balanced. No matter what the situation is, water will seek its own level as soon as it is left alone. Water will always flow downward to the most stable level. It conforms to any situation in a balance way.
Water is nourishing. Without water, no plant and no living creature could survive.
Water is still. It can be completely still, and in its stillness, mirror heaven perfectly.
Water is pure. It is transparent, clear, needing neither adornment nor augmentation.
For all these features - to be flowing, powerful, profound, unafraid, balanced, nourishing, still, and pure - one who would follow Tao need only emulate water in every way.
Ming-Dao D (1996) Everyday Tao, Harper Collins, New York)
Friends of waterpilgrim (FOW)
The following are the very kind individuals and organisations who have offered help to the waterpilgrim or are useful links:
Offered food and/or accomodation:
Fernside Hotel, Exmouth, Devon - Simon, Jane, Giles and Katie Wood
Paul at The Fisherman, 2 King Street, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0DS, T:01822 611 148 http://www.thefishermanintavistock.co.uk/ - offered free fishing kit
Helena Graham and Dion Star, Penzance, Cornwall
Lee Dauny, Padstow, Cornwall
Jackie Pearce, Widemouth Bay, Devon
Jim de Bertrand, Weymouth, Dorset
Rohan Inglis, Praa Sands, Cornwall
Satish Kumar, Hartland, Devon
Wesley House Gallery, Polperro, Cornwall - Wendy Carr
Youth Hostel Association, The (YHA) - offered free YHA membership
Supporting organisations:
Offered food and/or accomodation:
Fernside Hotel, Exmouth, Devon - Simon, Jane, Giles and Katie Wood
Paul at The Fisherman, 2 King Street, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0DS, T:01822 611 148 http://www.thefishermanintavistock.co.uk/ - offered free fishing kit
Helena Graham and Dion Star, Penzance, Cornwall
Lee Dauny, Padstow, Cornwall
Jackie Pearce, Widemouth Bay, Devon
Jim de Bertrand, Weymouth, Dorset
Rohan Inglis, Praa Sands, Cornwall
Satish Kumar, Hartland, Devon
Wesley House Gallery, Polperro, Cornwall - Wendy Carr
Youth Hostel Association, The (YHA) - offered free YHA membership
Supporting organisations:
WaterAid UK - Lucie Martin
WestDen
Information and Events Resources:
BTCV - Chris Avent
DEFRA - Mark Tollitt
National Trust, The - Sarah O'Brien
South West Coast Path Association (SWCPA) - Liz Wallis
Waterwise - Chris Philpot
Useful Links:
Eden Project - www.edenproject.com
Landshare - www.channel4.com/landshare
Ranulph Fiennes - www.ranulphfiennes.co.uk
Resurgence Magazine - www.resurgence.co.uk
Save Water, Save Money - www.savewatersavemoney.co.uk
Schumacher College - www.schumachercollege.co.uk
South West Water - www.southwestwater.co.uk
Surfers Against Sewage - www.sas.org.uk
The Web of Hope - www.thewebofhope.org
Transition Culture/Rob Hopkins - www.transitionculture.org
Transition Towns - www.transitiontowns.org
The Challenge
I, Maxim Laithwaite, will walk 1014 kms (630 miles), including ascents of 35000m (4x height of Everest) along the South West Coast Path (UK) in order to raise awareness for local and global water issues.WHY?: Water permeates every facet of our lives. It is essential for life and we use it every day, at home and work, in cities and in the countryside. We use it for drinking, washing, cooking, heating, producing food, running industries and even having fun in. We are actually made up of 50-70% water. We don't just need water, we are water!
Yet we so often take it for granted. The issues are far reaching and range from climate change, sea-levels and flooding, to poverty, pollution, clean drinking water and sanitation.
CARRY NO MONEY!: The poorest in the world do not know where their next meal is coming from and so I will walk WITHOUT MONEY and will rely on the kindness of strangers for simple 'hellos', a little snack and perhaps a place to spend the night.
DONATIONS: All funds raised will be donated to WATERAID, an excellent charity working on the cutting edge of the world's water problems. For a gift of just £15, WaterAid can provide one person in Africa or Asia with a lasting supply of safe, clean water, sanitation and hygiene education. You can donate online at www.justgiving.com/waterpilgrim .
WHERE AND WHEN: I will be leaving Minehead, Somerset on Friday 10 July and finishing along with the CoastAlong team at South Haven Point in Poole, Dorset on 12 September 2009.
Why not come and join me for a 'Walk and Talk' somewhere along the route to get some fresh air and stretch the legs. You could even get involved with CoastAlong on 12 September 2009.
Walk and Talk invites continue...
Today I sent out some more invitations for my idea of a 'Walk and Talk' during the journey:
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
http://www.ranulph-fiennes.com/
Ray Mears
http://www.raymears.com/
Rob Hopkins
http://transitionculture.org/about/
and I have sent all the info to Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2...
As ever, watch this space...
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
http://www.ranulph-fiennes.com/
Ray Mears
http://www.raymears.com/
Rob Hopkins
http://transitionculture.org/about/
and I have sent all the info to Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2...
As ever, watch this space...
DEFRA - Watersaving Tips & Why
We can make a difference
Water is one of life’s essentials, yet in the UK every day millions of litres of water disappear down the drain unnecessarily.
There is less water available per person in some parts of the country than in the Sudan(1) and new pressures caused by climate change and population growth are likely to stretch water resources even further.
But cutting the amount of water we lose this way is easy to do, and it doesn’t mean settling for lower standards of living.
Did you know?
• Running the tap can use six litres of water a minute. If the entire adult population of England and Wales turned off the tap while brushing their teeth, we could save 12.8 million buckets(2) a day. That’s enough to fill 72 Olympic sized swimming pools.(3)
• Almost one third of all the drinkable water we use in our homes literally goes down the pan – around 50 litres every day for each one of us or enough per person to fill 1,300 buckets a year.
• A dripping tap is more than just annoying - it can waste up to 15 litres of water a day, or almost 5,500 litres a year. That’s the equivalent of 8 buckets of water in a week, and 416 in a year.
• Hosepipes are one of the greatest water guzzlers using up to a mighty 18 litres a
minute. That’s 78 buckets of water in an hour! Washing your car with a hosepipe can
take more water than the average family uses in a whole day. If every car(4) in the UK was washed for 30 minutes using a hosepipe(5), it would use enough water to fill 13 Wembley Stadiums(6) or a colossal 1 billion buckets.
Did you know?
More information on saving water is available from DirectGov at
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving
(1) Waterwise 2008
(2) Based on a bucket volume of 14 litres
(3) Volume of an Olympic size swimming pool volume 2500m3 (50m x 25m x 2m)
(4) Based on assumption of 28 million cars in the UK (based on Dft and DRDNI transport statistics, 2006)
(5) Based on a hosepipe flow rate of 18 litres per minute
(6) Wembley Stadium bowl volume 1,139,100m3
Top tips for saving water
• Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth.
• Replace worn washers in dripping taps.
• Fitting a cistern displacement device such as a ‘hippo’ in the WC cistern helps reduce the flush volume.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles; that way you’ll save energy as well as water.
• Collecting rainwater in water butts and using a watering can instead of a hose
can really make a difference. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle
to control the flow.
• Wait until you have a full load before switching on dishwashers and washing
machines.
• Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl rather than under a running tap. The water collected could be used for watering pot plants.
• Lag water pipes and external taps to prevent bursts in cold weather.
• Wash your car with a bucket and sponge, rinsing off the suds with a watering
(March 2008)
Water is one of life’s essentials, yet in the UK every day millions of litres of water disappear down the drain unnecessarily.
There is less water available per person in some parts of the country than in the Sudan(1) and new pressures caused by climate change and population growth are likely to stretch water resources even further.
But cutting the amount of water we lose this way is easy to do, and it doesn’t mean settling for lower standards of living.
Did you know?
• Running the tap can use six litres of water a minute. If the entire adult population of England and Wales turned off the tap while brushing their teeth, we could save 12.8 million buckets(2) a day. That’s enough to fill 72 Olympic sized swimming pools.(3)
• Almost one third of all the drinkable water we use in our homes literally goes down the pan – around 50 litres every day for each one of us or enough per person to fill 1,300 buckets a year.
• A dripping tap is more than just annoying - it can waste up to 15 litres of water a day, or almost 5,500 litres a year. That’s the equivalent of 8 buckets of water in a week, and 416 in a year.
• Hosepipes are one of the greatest water guzzlers using up to a mighty 18 litres a
minute. That’s 78 buckets of water in an hour! Washing your car with a hosepipe can
take more water than the average family uses in a whole day. If every car(4) in the UK was washed for 30 minutes using a hosepipe(5), it would use enough water to fill 13 Wembley Stadiums(6) or a colossal 1 billion buckets.
Did you know?
More information on saving water is available from DirectGov at
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving
(1) Waterwise 2008
(2) Based on a bucket volume of 14 litres
(3) Volume of an Olympic size swimming pool volume 2500m3 (50m x 25m x 2m)
(4) Based on assumption of 28 million cars in the UK (based on Dft and DRDNI transport statistics, 2006)
(5) Based on a hosepipe flow rate of 18 litres per minute
(6) Wembley Stadium bowl volume 1,139,100m3
Top tips for saving water
• Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth.
• Replace worn washers in dripping taps.
• Fitting a cistern displacement device such as a ‘hippo’ in the WC cistern helps reduce the flush volume.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles; that way you’ll save energy as well as water.
• Collecting rainwater in water butts and using a watering can instead of a hose
can really make a difference. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle
to control the flow.
• Wait until you have a full load before switching on dishwashers and washing
machines.
• Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl rather than under a running tap. The water collected could be used for watering pot plants.
• Lag water pipes and external taps to prevent bursts in cold weather.
• Wash your car with a bucket and sponge, rinsing off the suds with a watering
(March 2008)
Journal - Friday 5 June 2009
In 5 weeks time I should have completed the first day of the walk and staying somewhere in Porlock or Porlock Weir. Or, I will be sleeping on the beach. Eitherway, I will have had breakfast at least!
Everybody keeps telling me how steep the path is in some places. Someone even said the words "shin shattering". Pleasant. Very pleasant.
With regard to the 'kindness of strangers', I spoke with my first 'stranger' today who has offered me a free room in her B&B in Widemouth Bay including dinner with the family. She even said if I needed to rest there for a day I could stay two nights. That was my first offer which was not through a friend and I am very touched with her enthusiasm. I very much look forward to meeting her in July and if she gives me permission I will be publishing her B&B details too.
I have been contacting some of the big agencies and NGOs this week with some very interesting feedback. Today I spoke with DEFRA, The Environment Agency, Waterwise (Blueprint for Water) and the National Trust. I will be giving the individual feedback as we go but so far everybody seems very positive.
We are all agreed that fundamental behaviour changes have to occur if, as a society, we are going to change our 'water habits', if I can call them that. The most important thing is that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet and I now have a massive pile of documents and reports to read. Although the larger, governmental agencies cannot be seen as supporting individual movements, they all seem very keen to share their data and have the themes they are working on promoted. I just may not get a DEFRA T-shirt to wear on the walk, that's all!
More anon.
Everybody keeps telling me how steep the path is in some places. Someone even said the words "shin shattering". Pleasant. Very pleasant.
With regard to the 'kindness of strangers', I spoke with my first 'stranger' today who has offered me a free room in her B&B in Widemouth Bay including dinner with the family. She even said if I needed to rest there for a day I could stay two nights. That was my first offer which was not through a friend and I am very touched with her enthusiasm. I very much look forward to meeting her in July and if she gives me permission I will be publishing her B&B details too.
I have been contacting some of the big agencies and NGOs this week with some very interesting feedback. Today I spoke with DEFRA, The Environment Agency, Waterwise (Blueprint for Water) and the National Trust. I will be giving the individual feedback as we go but so far everybody seems very positive.
We are all agreed that fundamental behaviour changes have to occur if, as a society, we are going to change our 'water habits', if I can call them that. The most important thing is that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet and I now have a massive pile of documents and reports to read. Although the larger, governmental agencies cannot be seen as supporting individual movements, they all seem very keen to share their data and have the themes they are working on promoted. I just may not get a DEFRA T-shirt to wear on the walk, that's all!
More anon.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
.jpg){kind=link}