Rowan Remedies

Capitalism. I went to see the protestors sat outside St. Pauls today. As I walked around I started reflecting and it went something like this.

I felt anger. I don’t think this way my own but the emotions emanating from the camp. I wondered to myself, these activists must be very angry with the world but is this really doing any good? It certainly has brought issues to the table but these protestors are a minority and they are operating outside of the system to change it. I believe the politicians will simply engage for publicity stunts if at all. I don’t think they will be taken seriously for they are one extreme of so many in a democracy. I believe that if a majority didn’t like capitalism it simply would not be able to survive.

But you may say, people aren’t well informed enough to make a knowledgeable decision. But, i ask you this: who is happier? The protestor on the street fighting against the system or the ignorant lay man operating within it?

The answer to this may be painful and inspire passion but isn’t happiness what life is all about?

I actually think that the st.pauls protest pushes the boundaries. By presenting the issue in a way that is so alien to most they don’t engage but alienate themselves. It is so much easier to comprehend unusual behaviour if we say to ourselves, ‘that murderer is a madman’ rather than face the reality that we all, as humans, potentially have the ability to do such things. In a similar way I believe the majority will see the protests and box those people in a way which explains their behaviour without having to reflect on a part of themselves.

I also think that if this subject is handled poorly by the protestors they may find themselves being cornered with legislation and creating more laws against their behaviour than they already had thereby decreasing our freedoms.

In England the law is that we can do anything we want unless otherwise stated. This freedom will be degraded the more we push our luck.

Maybe I’m a whimp, maybe I hate confrontation, maybe I am the ultimate pacifist.

The funny thing is my morals are not very different to these protestors but I don’t go making a big deal out of it because I don’t wanna cause trouble for myself, or attract attention.

Every time I pick herbs I am giving a massive middle finger to the pharmaceuticals and every time I forage for food im giving another to the supermarkets ripping off farmers. But I don’t think everyone is crap or stupid for not doing what I do. I am happy living the way i do and this is the only thing I can control. The way I feel.

You can remove my rights, bind me with laws, take away my freedoms but you can never take away my ability to be happy. If the world falls down around me, you’ll find me on a mountain laughing, and there’s nothing the system can do about it!

Welcome to the ultimate freedom.

I’ve been out picking and have found things in season long before we would expect. Everyone beware, nature is racing ahead this year. I have already picked hawthorn tops and they are drying as we speak. I found them at perfection a week before May even began! Perhaps we should start calling them April-blossom? If you are one for foraging keep your eyes pealed and make sure you are out in nature as regularly as possible as things are popping up rather quickly and unexpectedly. I have begun to see elderflowers out already and will be keeping an eye on this. If you wish to make elderflower champagne you need to ensure you spot the flowers before the rain gets to it or most of the natural yeast on the flowers will be washed away.

I find a lot of pleasure in the fact the weather changes require us to be even more observant than usual. I have calendars which guide me as to what to forage for in what month but they are useless this year. I enjoy my herbal medicine life so much because it requires a harmony with nature, a bond which is created and maintained by constant observation, Stephen Buhner says this ultimately creates biophilia; a love for nature.

On another note, I’ve been watching Super Scrimpers on 4oD lately. I didn’t realise I was a superscrimper untill I saw this program and it opened my eyes to how much other people waste. A superscrimper is someone which refuses to waste anything which leads to money saving as well as resource saving. These people are usually those which grew up in world war two when everything was scarce and reducing and reusing was a necessity.

I, on the other hand, did not begin scrimping for money reasons. I scrimp for the sake of the environment. I realise that everything I throw away ends up in a landfill where it has to naturaly biodegrade. This takes up space and usually releases toxins into the atmosphere. I found this interesting quote from an article concerning how long it takes a plastic bag to biodegrade (it’s worse than I thought): “Although standard polyethylene bags don’t biodegrade, they do photodegrade. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, polyethylene’s polymer chains become brittle and start to crack. This suggests that plastic bags will eventually fragment into microscopic granules. As of yet, however, scientists aren’t sure how many centuries it takes for the sun to work its magic.”- By Juliet Lapidos. For this reason I try to not buy anything that dosen’t either save me money or make me money and is recyclable as well. Natural/biodegradable science-made materials are a must.

My aim would be to create a complete waste to resource cycle (cradle to grave) within my house in which all waste becomes a resource for something else. However, at present I rent and next year I will start pushing the boundaries as to how much can be achieved when renting. Especially when it is difficult to plant and harvest with enough time when renting. More on this in the future.

If you would like to be shown around the Nottingham area as to what is ready to be harvested already this year I will be giving a herb walk on the 21st this month at Woodthorpe Park Grange in Nottingham for £5. For more information see Facebook or the Upcoming Events page.

I had a great time out picking today and uncovering another bit of nottinghams allotments. It happened to be open so I managed to get in and have an exploration, plus I dropped off some business cards tehe. I love advertising in unexpected places; I once left some cards on a piece of art work at a festival.

I found loads of herbs on the way there; vervain, yarrow, hawthorn, elder, plantain. I picked loads of elderberry because it is so good for treating colds and flus. It’s high in vitamin c and it makes sense to have a lot in stock for winter; nature is so clever to provide us with medicine at the right times for things that ail us.

I also collected lots of hawthorn berry which is great for high and low blood pressure alike as it strengthens the heart muscle. I have found that when I make it with vodka it tastes quite sweet but when I taste other preparations made with ethanol this sweetness isn’t present.

I managed to find some beautiful big leaves of plantain as well in this area by the tram line of untouched grass land. I doubt anyone takes dogs for walks back there as when a tram approached from behind me, it stopped, beeped at me and the driver asked me to move along over a loud speaker! It seems that foraging is a new anarchic behaviour a little too audacious for society now-a-days.