So! How do you recycle polystyrene (Styrofoam)? Well first it is shredded, then subjected to heat and pressure to reduce it’s volume by 90%, this is then cooled into blocks called ingots.
Or! Just shred it and compact it into convenient blocks. This method only reduces the volume by 50%.
However, Mr. Sony from Japan uses a liquid hydrocarbon called ‘Limonene’ – yes you’ve guessed it! Extracted from Lemons, to dissolve the foam.
But then there’s these – no not the car- the single use plastic cup. can be recycled but has to be clean and separated into colours /clear. when it is recycled it can be used for – Yes you’ve guessed it – single use plastic! Most end up in landfill!
Meanwhile back in the natural world we have a delicious treat called ‘Chuoi Hap’ – a pink flavoured Banana clad in sweet sticky rice containing green mung beans (which turn dark brown) and the odd raisin. It is wrapped and then steamed in a Banana leaf, so no oil or plastic was used in the preparation or packaging of this food! And of course the packaging is biodegradable!
So! International Women’s Day is big in Vietnam! Woe betide any husband/boyfriend/partner that goes home without some kind of ‘floral’ offering.
OK! Pay attention and look closely! This is a real rose within a clear plastic balloon. How on earth do they do that? I’ve no idea! Floral displays – usually in a a small basket, are beautifully presented on the pavements of Saigon. the display is most definitely ‘of the moment’ and after 24 hours it wilts to a sad memento of drooping colour. They cost anywhere between 6 – 10 UK pounds.
Maybe International Women’s Day is the great great granddaughter of the Women’s Suffragette movement, which actually wasn’t the altruistic movement it’s made out to be.
The ‘Suffragette’ movement was led by the three Pankhurst sisters and if it was today it would probably be classified as a ‘Domestic Terrorist’ organisation. To set the scene, voting rights at the time were still controlled by the 1832 Reform act and it’s amendments. This increased the number of men eligible to vote from 400,00 to 650,000. To be eligible you had to be a man of property or business or paying at least ten pounds a year in rent so only one in five men in England could vote. Set against this the ‘Suffragette’ movement set about challenging ‘The noxious character of male sexuality’. They attacked property, smashing windows and train carriages, trampled flower beds, and slashed paintings in galleries of nude women. They worked in gangs attacking, stripping and horse whipping their male victims. Poured tar and acid through letter boxes and sent a package of Sulphuric Acid to Lloyd George before attempting to burn his house down. They assaulted men who looked like the then Prime Minister Herbert Asquith.
Of course all this is made all the more poignant and relevant with the events surrounding the tragic death of Sarah Everard and the unrest at Clapham Common.
The bottom line being that you cannot legislate against a ‘state of mind’.
‘Head-em up, Move -em out Rawhide! A small herd of cows wandering through the village of Cua Can – Phu Quoc Island — who remembers Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates? What was the name of the cook with the beard?? Or was that ‘Wagon Train’?
And relax!
So on we go, his welfare is my concern, no burden is he to bear – We’ll get there!
Love and peace John.
John, I so love your use of lyrics in your themes. Please keep writing.
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