What do we want?...Rubbish!...When do we want it?....Now!

Hello my friends...i do apologise for being away for so long....as some of you know, the the typist had an operation on his eye in the summer and we have been a bit slow getting back to our little blog...

...anyhoo, this week we are turning our blog over to a very excellent idea given to us by our good friend @inspectorjapp ...

...the Inspector...crime fighter, squirrel-botherer...

...the Inspector brought to our attention a furry interesting website called TerraCycle...(pssst...if you click the name the link will take you there...)....the idea is to use your rubbish (trash, my American friends) to raise money for charity...

....preparing to join in.....

.the website says this: "Today, TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. TerraCycle is widely considered the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable, post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with more than 100 major brands in the U.S. and 22 countries overseas to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new, innovative materials and products that are available online and through major retailers.

..so, for example, you go to TerraCycle and join the McVities brigade ...then you collect McVities biscuit wrappers, or biscuit wrappers from other brands...then, when you have collected a set amount of rubbish or perhaps once every six months you send them the rubbish and they convert this into ££££ for the charity of your choice....

..prepared to do his bit for charity....

Lets let Terra Cycle explain again..."TerraCycle® and McVitie’s® are working together to give a second life to biscuit wrappers. As an eco-friendly innovator, TerraCycle converts biscuit wrappers into innovative products from plastic lumber and pavers to tote bags and pencil cases!

The McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade® allows schools, organisations, or individuals to save biscuit wrappers from ending up in UK landfills. Each wrapper has an average weight of 2.4g. For each unit you send in, your collection location will be awarded two TerraCycle points for each unit sent in (one unit = 2.4 grammes). These points can be redeemed for a variety of charitable gifts or for a payment of £0.01 per point to the non-profit organisation or school of your choice. "....

Ahem...you could use your £ to send to Border Terrier Welfare for example...like the Inspector does..

....always glad to receive help....

and best of all...."Participating in a TerraCycle Brigade is totally free! There are no signup or participation fees, and the shipping is covered by the programme. Once you have joined the McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade®, simply follow the steps below to receive your TerraCycle points:

1. Collect enough approved biscuit wrapper packaging in a box or envelope. 
2. Download a pre-paid shipping label from terracycle.co.uk. To acquire a pre-paid label, simply access your TerraCycle account online, and click “CREATE FREE POSTAGE LABEL”.
3. Post the box or envelope to TerraCycle by affixing the pre-paid postage label and dropping it off at a post office". 

It does sound very simple does it!! There is even a handy video to show you how...

...even the intellectually-challenged can master Terra Cycle...

...I am going to sign up now....and don't forget it does not have to be the McVities Brigade and biscuit wrappers...there are lots of alternatives....even cigarette waste....blech!

...."haz eated too menee biskits"....

Clapton...woof

p.s. sign-up took about 90 seconds!

The Hills Are Alive...Switzerland Part 2

Hello again my friends...I hope you enjoyed the first part of my report on the BT HQ holiday....

...morning 3...more modern "art"...pfffft.....

...I insisted we took the typist outside for the good of his mental and physical health...here we are by the Rhine again...

....we decided to take the ferry to the other side...the ferry is very clever..it is attached to a long rope across the river and the speed of the current pulls it across....

.....here I am in the middle of the river....we were heading for that tall building in the background because it was near a museum of funny machines ....but we did not end up in that museum because we wanted to have lunch nearby first but could not find anything to suit...so we walked back along the river in to the centre of town and went for a nap...and then the typist went for a run along the river and over the bridges...he got to see more of the city than the rest of us did I think...

....and then afterwards mum took him for a "vegan feast"....*whipser* he won't confess it here but it was actually rather delicious...they made nice iced-tea with grapefruit too...

....to keep him happy we went for espresso and dessert in the cathedral square afterwards....

...the next day we four them selling this in the market square by the tram stop...that's quite a word isn't it?...gotta love the Germans.....(8we were in the German part of Switzerland)

...after this we caught a bus to Germany (..not actually that far away...)...no one checked our passports ...in fact no one even checked our tickets....

...we went to the design museum called Vitra....this fancy place was selling coffee and ice cream in the grounds....

...designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry....the building, not me...

...i took quite a bit of interest in the design...comfy chairs...useful table...

....mega-comfy chair!...actually an Eames chair and costing about €5,000!!...

...and I simply had to share this with you...it was mum's lunch at Vitra...any guesses?....watermelon and pumpkin soup...with a pesto thingy in it...

...i took the opportunity to leave a few ideas of my own for them to work on....

...in the morning we left Basel by train and went to see some reeeeeeallly old friends of the family who live in a small village called Grellingen...pop 2,000......

...OMD...the weather had changed by the time we reached Grellingen....there was an enormous thunderstorm....

...uh oh...leaves in the pool...

...we did a super walk round the village in the morning.....

....thankfully the storm had cleared.....

...we even met some of the locals...

...i rather like Grellingen....

..in the evening we alkyd over the big hill to get dinner and admire the view....

...but all good things come to an end and before we knew it we were back in Basel at the station and waiting to catch our train back to Paris and on to England...

...we had some suitable reading on the train...we arrived in Paris a couple of hours ahead of the Tour de France but we could not stay to watch the cyclists as our train was due to leave at exactly the time they were due to arrive....

......Miss Lola was delighted to see us....she had spent the week at the farm and they had finished the haircut she had had the week before we left...much smarter I think

...so that is my report my friends....we did enjoy Switzerland and can recommend Basel for a break...just member to empty your piggy bank before you go....


Woof...Herr Clapton....

Sweeeeeeeeetzerland (part 1)

Hello my friends...we have returned from our exciting trip across Europe by train....

.....here I am at Ebbsfleet...ready to catch the train to France....nice sunny start to the day.....*yawn*...but we had been up since 3.45am because William was also going off on a music tour to France and we had to get him to a very early coach....we were looking forward to relaxing for a couple of hours and maybe catching up on naps on the way to Paris....

.....of the hilarity...humour in the WC on the train.....

....after our naps I helped the typist pass the time by doing the crossword...we only had to cheat on the final clue...we had never heard of "niobium" before....its a metallic element...

....we took a train from Paris all the way to Switzerland and we arrived just in time to take a relaxing stroll around Basel before dinner and bed....but OMD..look at this ....all the crazy Swiss people were leaping into the river and being carried at high speed by the current .....it was  great way to cool off they said (it was about 100 degrees when we arrived)...they carry their clots in waterproof bags which blow up in the water and act like floats...there were hundreds of them doing it...

....I opted to cool off by finding a shady spot for some quiet contemplation.....Basel has these little fountains and pools in every nook and cranny....the water is nice to drink because it just flows straight out of the mountains into the city.....perhaps I should try a few laps...

....I attended to my normal duties in the morning....an espresso to wake up the tired troops before breakfast.....

....we wandered down to a nice cafe in MarktPlatz and had some Bircher Mueseli...a Swiss speciality...its basically muesli and fresh fruit...plus more coffee......

...and we spent the morning at the Beyeler Foundation....a very nice modern art museum in Basel....no cameras allowed inside sadly....

....we enjoyed it very much...and also enjoyed our nice lunch in their cafe....(*more coffee)

....it was fun travelling around Basel by tram....they go everywhere and run strictly to timetable...there are almost no cars in the city....we saw plenty of real dogs on the trams by the way

...look...a tram is due and there it it is.....

...in the afternoon we went to the museum dedicated to paper making and book printing...the whole thing is powered by the river which flows past its door and this big water wheel....

.....wow, they are literally sewing a book!.....

...we did this with a real Quill!....BOL..we even made the paper its written on!...

....look...no cars...

...to end our afternoon we went to see the cathedral...in German it is called the Munster and lives in Munster Platz...

....and it was nice and cool inside....

...on our second morning we walked around Basel some more....bit cooler today thank the dog....

...some old bits with pretty cobbly streets....

....some modern bits with street art.....

...and lots and lots of uppy and downy bits.....

...bikes everywhere.....we stopped to admire this one because it had a very nice old leather Brooks saddle made in England...but fancy new carbon wheels...

....Basel is such an interesting town...

...we call this "Rooftops of Basel"...I think perhaps we have been seeing too much art on this trip....

....I shall bring you more from the rest of our holiday tomorrow my friends.....