Organic Supermarket goes online.

Last year I visited the Organic Supermarket in Blackrock and wrote a review of it for Organic Yum-Yum. I was very impressed with the place and the range of organic produce, I was particularly impressed that all the food was organic and that Darren Grant, the owner, had gone to the extra effort of getting the premises certified organic.

The one disadvantage was that it was in Blackrock. Living in Kildare this meant I was unable to do my weekly shop there. It is rarely that I have had the chance to pop in since but I do make it my mission every time that I am in the vicinity.

As you can imagine I was delighted when I heard that the Organic Supermarket was moving online offering over 3000 products for home delivery.

The website is well laid out with weekly specials, managers picks and easy to navigate product groups. Delivery costs €6.50 to anywhere in Ireland.

I have yet to place my first order, probably because I still like to buy from the Farmers markets and I would imagine this will be the strongest competition the site will face. I am sure however that I will be availing of the service, particularly on those weeks where it is just impossible for me to make it to the market. It is good to know that there is somewhere that I can shop and know I am getting good quality organic produce. When I do get my first delivery I will be sure to write about it here.

Foraging and a country walk with the Athy Toastmasters

The River bed
Wood Sorrel
Martin Chanders with Wild Garlic
The WaterfallThe Wheels on the bus go round and round.

I am a member of public speaking group Athy Toastmasters. The group shuts down for the Summer months but the idea of meeting up for an informal day in the countryside appealed to us all. We decided to take a trip into the Slieve Bloom mountains where the Barrow river, which flows through Athy, rises. Although we didn't go all the way to the source it was a novelty to be able to paddle in the stream that a few miles downstream becomes the wide river that we are so familiar with. One of the things that most attracted me to the walk was the promise of wild garlic that I was told grows in abundance up there.

Being on the summer trip reminded me of school days out, we were all loaded onto a minibus, packed lunches in hand, giggling with excitement. Some of us could hardly wait to tuck into the sandwiches and salads we had prepared that morning but our more sensible adult side restrained us from polishing them off before we reached our destination.

We were blessed with a beautiful day, rays of sunshine penetrated the trees illuminating our woodland path. Our first view of the Barrow, a glint amongst the trees was met with much excitement and hurried us along our way. Martin Chanders (pictured above) stopped me as we got deeper into the woods to show me wood sorrel growing near the roots of the trees. Bitter in taste and shaped like a shamrock it can be used in salads, although some internet research has suggested that it shouldn't be eaten in large amounts. I picked some to add to the salad I had brought with me. Our new president, Mary found some wild strawberry leaves but unfortunately they weren't yielding any fruit yet. As we got closer to the river we finally discovered the wild garlic. The unmistakable scent reaches you before you see it, a mild garlicy smell that leads you to the plants. It is the leaves that are edible, I added some of these to my bounty to be used in the salad.

Finally reaching the bank of the river we discovered a bed of flat stones that appeared to be carved over time by the current. This led us to a small waterfall. After some clambering over rocks I was able to get close enough to feel the spray on my face. It was at the top of this waterfall that we stopped for our packed lunches and I was finally able to taste the food I had scavenged, they added good flavor to the salad, the Sorrel was quite bitter in taste and the garlic was peppery with a mild garlic flavor.

It was such a fine day we didn't want to leave, we wandered back to the bus and sat under the trees talking and exchanging stories until it was absolutely time to go. I'm hoping to make another trip up there to collect more wild food, it looks like the perfect place to gather mushrooms in the autumn.

Slug Control the social network way.

When ever I talk to other gardeners the conversation inevitably turns to slugs. Even when the veg garden was just a twinkle in my eye I was warned constantly of the slug threat. So now that my plants are beginning to grow and I have noticed that some of them seem to be depreciating due to slug attack I decided it was time to take action.

I've also been using social networking sites for a while to promote my business. We have a Facebook page where people can become fans of Feelgood Organic Hampers and we have two twitter accounts, one purely business and one personal where I generally talk about the everyday comings and goings in the office, the garden and the Kitchen. So I decided to ask my social networks for assistance in slug control.

The response was great. On Twitter @elainerogers was by far the most prolific with bundles of suggestions including beer traps, Vaseline around flower pots: '...they can't slime over slime.', companion planting with Allysum, Begoinia, Cosmos, Geranium, Lobelia and Nasturtiums, and going out at twilight to gather and rehouse them. @helentreacy suggested crushed egg shells around the base of the plants @scottbert suggested stamping on them, but I don't see me doing that... plus if I stamped on them I'd probably crush the plants too!

On Facebook Rochelle Harris mentioned that in his book 'A Short History of Almost Everything' Bill Bryson suggests that slugs were or are a form of plant life. The only evidence I could find to support this was on a sea slug forum which suggests that these aren't slugs in the sense that we think of them.

Pauline Price suggested digging the ground with a copper spade and this wasn't the only time that copper was mentioned, Carla Knight and Jeff Jenkins both suggested making copper wire fences. Jeff did also suggest attempting to train the slugs with slug treats and whistles but this sounds like a lot of work! Sian Maloney also suggested beer traps and Elaine Rogers (yes the same one from Twitter) gave me directions on how to make the beer trap safe for beetles. Lesley Emerson thought I should cut them up with scissors... I don't think I could bring myself to do this though, I'd rather think they died happy swimming in a beer lake or a Bulmers lake as suggested by Rosy Days. Beverly Martin suggested hair and Ian Vince suggested making collars for the plants out of empty plastic bottles.

Armed with all this knowledge I began to assemble my arsenal. I had been collecting egg shells for a while as I had been told they were a powerful deterrent, I had also been collecting coffee grinds as a gardening friend had suggested them to me last year. I raided my recycling bin for empty plastic bottles and began to turn them into spiky collars. These were going to form part one of my assault against the slugs.

In the garden I surrounded different plants with different methods, some were too big for the collars so I used these to protect the smallest and most venerable plants, the bigger ones were surrounded by circles of crushed egg shells and coffee. The only problem I could see with the egg shells is that when I watered the some of them washed away. I'd want to be eating a lot of eggs to keep the area covered.

I'm going in with the phase two 'beer traps' soon. Watch this space....

Organic Recipe - Nettle Pesto

Although I have managed to cultivate a small portion of my garden most of it is still wild. I love looking at it at this time of year, there are so many different grasses, wild flowers and edible treats growing I am always looking for new things to do with them. When I went out this afternoon to seek some young nettles for this pesto I discovered wild chamomile, elderflower and plenty of dandelions. Somebody also suggested that I look for Borage in the garden but as yet I've been able to spot any.

At the weekend I attended a cookery course at Ryland House Cookery School and this recipe is inspired by our host Anne Neary. It can be stirred through warm pasta or diluted with lemon juice and used as a salad dressing.

Ingredients

• 1 large fistful of young nettles
• 1 tbsp of pine nuts
• 1 large clove of garlic crushed
• 150ml Olive oil
• 25g Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Remove the stems from the nettles (wear rubber gloves for this part!).
• Blanche in boiling water for 1 minute to calm down the sting.
• Drain well and dry with kitchen towel.
• Put all the ingredients except the cheese into a blender and blend until smooth.
• Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Free Organic Seeds!

As all long term readers of Organic Yum-Yum will know I've long been a big fan of Glenisk. It was almost two years ago, just after I started writing my blog that I reviewed their re-branded yogurts. Since then I've seen their product range expand and I've seen them partner up with other Irish organic businesses.

Their latest offering has massive appeal to me, as a novice gardener I'm delighted to see that they are encouraging people across Ireland to grow their own too. They are giving away 10,000 free packs of organic French Bean seeds. All you need to do is sign up for the offer on their website. Not only will you receive the seeds but, in order to ensure your crop is successful, you will get email updates and instructions from the Organic Centre. What's more, if you use the special organic yum-yum promotion code (organicyumyum01) in your application you will be entered into a draw for a goody bag containing a months worth of organic yogurts.

So if you are inspired by my tentative steps towards growing your own and want to make your first attempt at growing something sign up now and don't forget to use the code: organicyumyum01.

Organic Product Review - Organic Choice Date & Stem Ginger Oatie

I was sent the most lovely surprise by Marian from Organic Choice. A box full of cake bars. It is hard to review them because they were all lovely, but after some humming and hawing I have decided that the Date & Stem Ginger Oatie was my favourite.

Made without wheat these cakes don't have the chalky consistency that spelt based baking tends to. They are all moist, not just the oaties but the fruit cake melts in your mouth and the chocolate almond cake is divine if a little bit bold. I'm a bit of a sucker for ginger though and that's why the Date and Ginger stands out. It's best described as a chewy flapjack sandwich. Layered in between two slices of oats is a lovely gooey filling. The oatie flapjakey bit is sweet but not so sweet as to overpower the other flavours. There is a touch of extra naughtiness on the top, a swirl of dark chocolate. Beautifully filling it took me two coffee breaks to finish the 96g bar. As it is oat based it really banishes hunger quite effectively and if it wasn't so tasty you could almost believe it was a healthy snack.

It is great to see new businesses like Organic Choice emerging in Ireland and I hope to be able to stock Marian's Christmas cakes this Christmas.

To find out more about Organic Choice and where you can get your hands on these cakes contact Marian direct on 01 2068034 or 087 2419646. And keep an eye on the website which is still under development.

Organic Choice is certified organic by IOGFA.

Planting the vegetable patch.

Last weekend I gathered some help from friends and attempted to plant some of my seedlings out in the big wide world.

The beans and peas were still doing the best, the plants were pretty huge now and even after being exposed to the elements for a week or so they seemed to survive. The two girls helping me; Orla and Tamsen, have an allotment in Brighton so were able to give me some good pointers.

Amongst some of the junk that has accumulated in our shed over the last year I found some wire mesh which when attached to the fence looked to be the perfect support for my beans to climb up. After securing it in place we took individual bean shoots and planted them about 2 feet apart leaning against the structure. For the peas we built a series of A frames from bamboo canes to encourage the peas to grow.

The rest of the seedlings were still a little small to plant but I had been given some lettuce plants and some herbs. We planted the lettuce, again spaced at approximately 2ft intervals in a new section of the plot. I am worried about the slugs getting at them so may have to protect this area with egg shells that I have been collecting for the last few months.

The parsley and the chives that I planted into the garden at our first garden party have been doing really well, they looked almost dead when we first planted them but they have thrived in the ground. Today I added mint, rosemary and some more parsley. The bay leaf plant seems to have taken quite a battering since it has been exposed to the outside world but there are still some good leaves on it so hopefully it will survive.

The best part of the day was burying the sprouting potatoes that had been growing in our kitchen for quite some time. I was quite excited at the prospect of turning unused veg into new veg. We removed most of the sprouts from each potato leaving just 2 or 3 on each one. With these pointing upwards we placed them in deep trenches and covered them. Apparently as the shoots begin to show the soil needs to be built up around them to avoid rot.

All I can do now is water them (although with the amount of rain we've had recently I haven't had to do much watering recently!) and hope for the best.

Paperless office - how did we do?

Our paperless office experiment has been finished for just over two weeks now, so how did we do? Am I still managing to keep the office paper free?

As much as I have tried not to let paper back into my life a bit seems to have snuck in. There is a pile of invoices that need to be dealt with on my desk, which annoyingly takes up some of the lovely space I have become accustomed to. The book keeping side of the business was always going to be the hardest part of this task. Not everyone has got on board with email invoicing yet. I am however delighted with the receipt wallet software which we bought that enables us to combine the filing of paper and paper free invoices.

The white boards have been the best purchase ever. It's so easy to brainstorm on them and there is always one handy to take down a phone message, an order or just a crazy idea when I have one. I certainly won't be trying to live without them and they have continued to completely remove the need for post it notes.

My iPod has been invaluable too, although at times I'm sure people mistook my note taking for tweeting or texting. I haven't been so organised as to write up my notes instantly when I come home but it has certainly cut down on the clutter that would usually accumulate in my bag. I'm getting used to pulling out my iPod to make a note rather than my notebook which was in constant use before the experiment. Being paper free has also made me a lot more organised, working with the iCal programme which syncs with my iPod has kept me on top of all the meetings and events I have scheduled better than a paper diary could. My computer even emails me reminders the day before so I have no excuse for forgetting anything.

Seedlings and our first harvest.

A month on from planting our first seeds and some of them looked to be doing really well. We've been dyeing to plant them out but according to my gardening advisers it's still too cold at night to do this full time. The beans in particular are getting way too big for the tray. It was suggested to me that we could start putting the trays out during the day so that they would begin to get accustomed to the outside world.

They were looking gorgeous in their trays, big sprouts everywhere. So out they went for their first view of the sun. By the end of the day they didn't look quite so happy, some of them seemed to have dried out altogether, others just collapsed back into the compost. Next day we kept them out of the Sun but still outside in the shade, they fared slightly better. Now at the end of the week that lovely sunshine and warmth seems like a distant memory yet our seeds seem to be recovering a bit. Two of the Beetroot stems have thrived looking stronger and hardier than ever and the beans are still rocketing in height. Some of the seeds will have to be started again from scratch, but there is still plenty of time. In the mean time if anyone has any suggestions on how to make the leap from indoor to outdoor without all the casualties please leave a comment.

To make up for the disappointment I decided to take the first harvest from the garden. One of the things that thrives in our garden, and probably in most gardens is Nettles. They are young at the moment so there is no better time to be gathering some for nettle soup. So out I went in my yellow marigold gloves and clipped the new growth from all the nettles I could find. An hour later my carrier bag was bursting with free food. I have to admit to being a little apprehensive at the idea of eating nettles, would they taste good? would they sting? It also seemed a little strange to be cooking whilst wearing washing up gloves but it did help me get through the whole experience sting free.

I now have enough soup to feed me for at least a week! I'm going to be sending the recipe to my recipe of the month subscribers so if you want to know how to make your own free food sign up on the right hand side of this page. Next on the agenda is Dandelion Wine!

Our Night at the Carlow Chamber of Commerce Awards

Friday night was awards night in Carlow. So I donned a pretty frock and headed out to the Talbot Hotel where the big event was taking place.

We had been shortlisted for the Corporate Social Responsibility award but since I had found out that Carlow based charity store Chic & Cheerful had also been shortlisted I knew we had no chance of winning. More on Chic & Cheerful later.

As soon as we arrived I knew that this was the poshest event that I had ever attended. There were pipers to greet us on our arrival, then we were ushered into the drinks reception upstairs where the buzz of conversation was accompanied by the honey tones of a classical singer. Looking around there were very few familiar faces, and I thought I knew everyone in Carlow!! Waiters circulated with trays of wine and punch... I thought that only happened in movies.

After a breath of fresh air we followed the crowds into the ball room and to our table. Table 22. We were very lucky with our seating arrangements. Joined by Paul Savage and his wife Jenny, from Classic Drinks who not only sponsored the 'best licenced premisis' award also sponsored the very tasty wine that we had been sipping at the reception. Also at our table was Tara Connaghan who is the co-ordinator of the Eigse Carlow Arts Festival.

After the speeches and Grace? we were served a really good meal. I have to hand it to the Talbot hotel for accommodating my vegetarian diet, not only an alternate main course but an alternate starter and a joyfully chicken stock free soup. Well done to the Talbot!

After dinner the awards ceremony started. Although I was convinced that Chic & Cheerful had my category sewn up I couldn't help but get a little bit excited when our company logo appeared on the big screen. And the winners are... Chic & Cheerful.

So who are Chic & Cheerful and why did I think they deserved to win?

I first came across Sam & Emma, the two women behind Chic & Cheerful at an International Womens Day event run by the Kildare Network. Their energy was infectious and although the shop was still in the planning stages at the time I knew they were on to something. The shop opened a couple of months later and it's not just another stuffy charity shop. It supports two charities The Love Shack in Kenya and the Vincentian Lay Missionaries in Ethiopia which both Sam and Emma have been personally involved with. It stocks nearly new boutique fashion and is completely volunteer led. Because no one takes a wage, not even the founders, all the money raised can be ploughed into the charities it supports.

I would urge anyone who happens to be in Carlow to visit, they have some really good stuff at really good prices so not only will you be going home with some money left in your pocket, you will know that what you have spent has gone to a good cause. Buying second hand or nearly new clothes in this way is a guilt free way of shopping.

By the end of the night, after some dancing and drumming we rolled into a taxi feeling proud of our company but feeling even better that such a deserving business had taken the award. Next year we have to hope that the competition isn't quite as strong!!

Feelgood Organic Hampers Shortlisted for CSR award

I'm delighted to announce that Feelgood Organic Hampers have been shortlisted for a Carlow Chamber of Commerce Business Award for their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.

The awards will be announced at the gala dinner taking place in Carlow on Friday 17th of April.

It may sound corny but it really is an honor to have been nominated, this blog and our readership was part of our submission so the nomination is also partly for all the people who read, comment and take action here.

We all have our fingers crossed and I'm off to find a posh frock to wear on the night.

Paper Diary

I've been rather sporadic with my paper diary for the last few weeks. It's hard to find something new to write about keeping paper out of my life. So please excuse the big gap...

Day 15
Wednesday 11th March
I was in training today, a course on PR and media which was great. The usual sheet of paper and pen greeted me when I got in the door but I pushed it out of temptations way. I am getting slightly behind with taking the notes from my iPod but it still beats finding wadges of paper in the bottom of bags and in cars weeks or months later.

In the evening I went to a Speed Networking event, like speed dating but without the kissing! I have been allowing myself business cards during this fast which is just as well because speed networking is all about business cards. I met some great people and managed not to pick up any extra bits of paper during the evening. Maybe one day there will be some sort of virtual business card that we can just send by Bluetooth to someones PDA or iPhone but for now we’re going to have to stick to the physical type.

Day 16
Thursday 12th March
Today I started to follow some paperless office people on Twitter, a quick search for the term ‘paperless office’ turned up several results. I’ve found some interesting articles too through Twitter all of which have me wanting to explore more technological solutions to working without paper. I need to find out more about electronic signatures and how to use them.

Follow Feelgood Organic Hampers on Twitter
Follow Hamperlady (that's me!) on Twitter

Day 30
Thursday 26th of March
Feelgood Organic Hampers has decided to enter the Carlow Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, a process that involves much filling of application forms. Thankfully the Chamber sent us out email copies without us even having to ask so we have been able to submit our application without the use of paper. This is especially pertinant in this case as we are going for the 'Corporate Social Responsibility' award and part of our submission mentiones our lenten paper fast. I have found using the white wipe boards invaluable in this process. They are a great brainstorming tool and not as easy to loose as scraps of paper. You will see in my picture the amount of scrawling that was done!

My desk still remains resonably empty. I can't stress how much this has helped my productivity I don't think you realise how much clutter slows you down until you get rid of it.

Day 36
Wednesday 1st April
I am going to London to the Natural & Organic Products trade show this weekend. It's the show where I pretty much decide o which products I'm going to buy for the next season. This could be one of the biggest challenge yet. Flying without a paper boarding card is impossible. I have two options, check in online and print my own ticket or check in at the airport and get a boarding card printed there. I can't work out which is best or worst for the environment. I suppose if I print it at home at least it will be printed on 100% post consumer waste paper.

I always seem to come home from this show with bags and bags of paper, wherever you go there are people virtually throwing the stuff at you and sometimes you just take it in order to escape an over zealous salesperson. It's good to be going in with the strong resolution not to accept it this time. If there is a product I'm interested in I will make a note on my iPod and ask them to email me their marketing material. This will of course mean that my inbox will be jammed in the weeks following the show but when I bring home a bag of paper, the truth is I rarely look through it.

The Garden Party

We had our first garden party this weekend. Not the sort with tea and cakes but the sort where your friends come over to help you in the garden in return for food and beer.

The big job this weekend was to clear all the branches from the trees we cut down last year. The foliage piled in our garden virtually covered the entire space. Our guests tackled this with a wood chipper hired from Diggers.ie reducing the pile into a somewhat smaller mountain of wood chips. Looking at the back of my garden from the front for the first time in ages, I had forgotten how vast the space was. It still looks unkempt but with the trees out of the way you can see the potential of the space.

On Sunday we started the digging, marking out an area of land that was to be our veggie patch. My final plan is to have half of the garden devoted to vegetables but to start with we dug one large bed. It's a great feeling to bury your hands in the soil for the first time. It's so full of life; worms, roots and organic matter just crumbling in your hands readying itself to release it's goodness into the food we grow. It didn't take too long to dig the patch, three of us with shovels and spades lifting the sods, leveling out the ground and turning the soil. Within 30 minutes we were all leaning on our spades looking at the brown square of land now ready to accept plants.

On Monday we planted our first seeds, filling improvised seed trays with a variety of vegetables and flowers: carrots, lettuce, beetroot, onions, squash courgettes and sunflowers. We also planted marigolds which, according to our guest gardening expert Laura keep the pests away.

I was dying to put something into the new bed straight away, so I took my wilting herbs from the kitchen windowsill and planted them out in the new patch. Apparently I don't have long to wait until I will see the first few shoots in my seed trays. Three to four days... at the moment I feel like checking them every few minutes like an impatient child I can't wait to see them grow.

A big thank-you to everyone who came and helped us out this weekend.
To Barry who loved the machinery and sawing.
To Graham for his energy.
To Laura for being an expert and giving me knowledge.
Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing you again for our first feast from the homegrown veggies.

Organic Product Review - Flourish Organics Hemp & Macadamia Face Cream

Flourish Organics is a small company based in Killarney Co. Kerry. I first encountered them at a trade fair last year and was impressed by their range of skincare products.

I have been suffering from dry skin recently, probably due to central heating over the winter months. I always find it pays to alternate between moisturisers so that the skin doesn't get too used to one. So I was delighted to try out the Hemp and Macadamia face cream. It has a mild scent which is great, no heavy perfume just the smell of it's constituent parts. It sinks into the skin quickly which means it doesn't leave that sticky greasy feeling. It seems rich enough to be used as either a night or a day cream. As a bonus, my skin seems to love it, the dry patches have almost been eliminated and my skin feels beautifully soft, it glows now and it is possible for me to go without make up without needing to hide behind my hair. On their website Flourish say that one of the ingredients is said to have anti ageing properties so I guess it must be good for 'mature' skin like mine.

You can buy Flourish online at their website. I'm going to have to check out the vanilla and white chocolate lip balm next.

The product range is not yet certified organic but they do contain a large quantity of organic ingredients, the ingredients that aren't certified organic are natural and safe.

Paper Diary Week Two

Day 6
Monday 2nd March

I’m sitting here staring at a PDF form that I am supposed to print out, fill in and sign. How on earth am I going to manage this??? I’ve attempted to copy and paste it into a word document but this just results in the formatting going mad and in no way solves how to sign it without printing it. I really can’t see a solution but it seems so early in my pledge to do this. I guess I shall just have to placate myself by thinking that if I had got the company to send me a hard copy it would be even worse, not only would there be the paper of the form its self but also two envelopes. With luck, they might take a scanned version of this form which would mean only using one sheet of paper and no envelope at all.

Day 7
Tuesday 3rd March

The post keeps coming in. Why is it some companies seem to spew out an endless amount of material. We are a Mac based office, we have never allowed a PC to darken our doors, yet I find myself on the Dell mailing list . How do you unsubscribe from the torrents of post that they and others send? It seems to be a lot harder than unsubscribing from an email list and infinitely more annoying, imagine the cost to the environment of all this unsolicited paper being sent out everyday.


Day 9
Thursday 5th March

I’ve signed up to the free trial of a programme called ‘Receipt Wallet’ and have been really enjoying playing with it this afternoon. The general gist of it is that you can scan receipts and invoices and also import others as PDF files, this should eliminate any need to print them. You then add information to each of the scanned documents such as the date, how much the invoice is for and what tax is due on it. The programme then files it for you. It’s just a very clever very straight forward way of ordering your receipts and should make the book keepers job a lot easier. The one disadvantage so far is that it doesn’t recognise word files or web archives so it can be a bit of a pain converting everything to PDF or… even worse for my PayPal receipts copying and pasting them into word and then converting to a PDF. I have to say though you do feel ultra organised when you can see each receipt in it’s place with all the information relevant easy to access. I was worried that once I had scanned the files they would be in some weird format that I wouldn’t be able to get at after the trial had ended but to my delight, they were all there in a nice folder partitioned by date. Surprisingly, to me at least, the software only costs 40 dollars so I am tempted to make the investment. I’ve another 15 days to think about it though.

Other than that it’s been quite uneventful, my desk still looks lovely and neat although a coffee pot, a mug and a digital camera are strewn across it now, it seems I have a need to clutter up the space one way or another. I also seem to have put the ‘In tray’ on the long finger as well as inputting info from the index cards… I guess I’ll just have to save them for another day that seems to be unremarkable in a paper sort of way.

Day 10
Friday 6th March
No post today so I managed a completely paper free day in every way. Tomorrow I am attending BizCamp Dublin, I have downloaded the schedule onto my iPod so I can avoid having to pick up a paper one when I arrive. I’m hoping that the slow typing speed on the iPod will be just quick enough to make good notes during the day.

Paper Diary Week One

Day 1 Wednesday 25th February (Ash Wednesday)

Today I walked into the office and looked at the piles of paper for the last time. For the next 47 days we shall be attempting to keep it paper free.

The first thing I did was break the fast. There was an article in the local paper about Feelgood Organic Hampers and our pledge and I wanted to scan it for the Facebook page so it had to be bought, but this with any luck will be my first and last slip on this journey.

We set about emptying our desks of paper, of ridding every nook and cranny of the office of the stuff. There was a lot more work involved in this than I had anticipated. The pile of paper to be dealt with swallowed the floor space before being laid to rest in the recycle bin, which began to grow beyond it's own structure. Eventually we were free of it, no loose receipt or post it note was left. The desks seemed empty and vast. Suddenly there was space and the space left room for clear thinking.

We have replaced post it notes with white boards and notepads with iPods but there is of course some paper we need to keep hold of for the time being. The index card file will need to be added to our computer address book but this will happen slowly over the next few weeks. The biggest challenge ahead is to not allow any new paper in and, more importantly, not to create any paperwork.

I think there may even be enough room for a plant on my desk now, tomorrow I may go and steal one from our hallway.

Day 2
Thursday 26th Feb

I’m beginning to wonder how I managed this last year without my iPod. Software solutions certainly seem to be a big part of living with out paper. Mix this with some more traditional tools such as whiteboards, blackboards and chalk and almost all bases are covered. I guess it could work out quite expensive if you threw yourself into software entirely. My computer, only 2 years old already creaks and grinds when it has to cope with the many programmes I keep open in order to deal with our Lenten pledge.

What I would love at the moment is a pocket sized wetwipe board. I am really missing my little moleskin notebook and there are times when I just want to scribble something down and using the iPod can seem like a chore. If anyone has one or wants to invent one you’ve got a customer here!

I have managed to use no paper at all today, although there is still some in my in tray to dispense with. I’m about to outsource my book keeping and I’m wondering how they will react to me insisting on either emailing them everything or submitting it on CD. I’m a bit torn over the idea of burning stuff to CD which could potentially be far worse from the environment than the paper alternative.

Day 3
Friday 27th of Feb
My first challenge of the day arrived in the post. A price list and brochure of new products from one of our suppliers. We do need this piece of paper but there must be an alternative. The solution was to set up a standard email response so that in future we can respond immediately, asking suppliers to send information by email. Of course the trick is to nip it in the bud before they send it, so I shall have to put it on my to do list to contact all my suppliers regarding this.

We also received a paper invoice today. We are new customers to the company involved so we will ensure that all future invoices come by email. We already pay all our suppliers by bank transfer or Direct Debit to avoid the unnecessary use of cheques, envelopes and stamps.

One question that still needs to be addressed is how we are to deal with our Farmers Market pricelist. This document not only allows us to keep tabs on stock but is also a tool to help calculate how much VAT we have collected at the different rates.

This week we are simply using last weeks pricelist, marking up our sales in a different colour. A better solution does need to be found however, the one pricelist can only last so long!

Farmer Gobshite?

This may seem like old news but I've been waiting for an update, waiting to hear that the corporation that owns the patent on the seeds that this farmer used was going to sue him. After all we know the biotech companies are very litigious and are happy to sue even those using their seeds through accidental contamination.

But I'm still waiting. For those of you who don't know what on earth I am talking about, I am referring to the recent case of the Welsh farmer Jonathan Harrington who took it upon himself to procure and then plant GM strains of maize on his farm in Wales. Even more worryingly he claims to have fed livestock with the maize and passed on seeds to other farmers. This means that GMO's are in the food chain and not labeled correctly as required by law. Also, as he has refused to name the farmers he has passed his seed onto it is impossible to trace where some of the crop could have ended up. All this means that Harrington can and should be prosecuted by the British government for what he has done.

Wales, like Ireland is a GM free zone. That means that no GM crops can be planted within it's borders. Unfortunately although this is a strict farming policy they are unable to uphold it by law.

There are two main issues here as I see it:

Firstly, Wales is now contaminated with GMOs, even if Harrington declared to whom he had distributed the seed it is impossible in unsupervised sites to guarantee that there is no contamination into neighboring land. There is no going back from this point, it is doubtful that Wales will ever be able to declare itself GM free again. This exact problem has surfaced across Northern and Southern America causing the integrity of organic produce there to constantly be undermined.

Secondly, corporations such as Monsanto have a history of suing farmers for breaching the patent on their seeds. Monsanto explain the reasoning behind this on their website. As director of a small business I would see what Harrington has done as be detrimental to the reputation of the product. It is for this reason that I would expect to see him being sued by the company involved.

It is sad to see Wales loose it's GM free status due to the irresponsible actions of this one individual. As GMOs are not allowed in organic farming I can only hope that farmers in the vicinity will not have their livelihoods threatened by the potential loss of their organic status.

Whatever your view on GM food Farmer Harrington's actions have to be seen as damaging. Not only does he undermine the arguments of the pro GMO campaigners but he heightens the fears and reservations that the public already have about Genetically modified foods.

UPDATE: There's a postcard campaign, just a bit of fun aimed at this farmer to join in here:

Further reading
Jonathon Harrington:
Check Biotech
BBC
The Guardian - Harrington's reasoning

GM Contamination:
The CS Monitor
Organic Processing Magazine
Reuters

Giving up paper for Lent again.

For the second year running the staff at Feelgood Organic Hampers are going to be giving up paper for lent. So come Ash Wednesday we are going to be once again clearing our desk of paper and striving to keep it that way until Easter Sunday.

Although I have seen some important improvements since we first attempted to run a paperless office last year there still seems to be a large amount of unnecessary paper that builds up over time. Every task and every meeting adds to the piles that congregate on desks or get pinned to walls.

Feelgood Organic Hampers by its very nature has a commitment to the environment and by giving up paper I believe we are taking one step further to becoming a truly sustainable business. Although we recycle, our long term aim is to significantly reduce the amount we use. It’s not until you attempt an experiment like this that you realise how much we rely on paper.

In the past year we have implemented several changes. Including eliminating cheques by paying suppliers online, making use of wipe clean customisable calendars and using software solutions for managing our diary. We have even started to use virtual sticky notes.

This year I hope to take things one step further. We may have changed the way we think about paper but we are still surrounded by it every day. Our biggest challenge is our accounting and over Lent I will be investigating several solutions to make this a paperless process.

So we're getting geared up for our challenge starting on the 25th of February. I'm going to be keeping a paper diary, posting updates here.

My night in a haunted house.

Headless Santa in attic


Me and my organic biscuits
Spooky K2 device

So many people have been in touch wanting to know what happened on Friday night in Old Carlow Gaol that I figured I better blog about it.

16 of us met at the cafe in the Carlow shopping centre at 7pm. The 'Old Gaol' and the 'Governor's House' are still pretty much intact and serve as the shell within which the shopping centre is housed. The last two people to be hanged at Carlow Gaol were killed on March the 30th 1835. Lucinda Sly aged 60 and her 21 year old lover John Dempsey were executed for the murder of Lucinda's husband. A massive crowd assembled to watch their last moments, some accounts describe Lucinda pulling up her skirt and shouting abuse at the heckling crowd. Some people believe that it is the ghost of Lucinda that haunts the old Gaol now. But if it was her roaming the Carlow shopping centre on Friday night she was playing tricks on us.

Our party consisted of 13 amateur ghost hunters, a producer from KCLR and two paranormal experts; Danny and Cormac from Leinster Paranormal. Our experts were armed with recording devices and a 'K2' which picks up EMF signals emitted by the supernatural. It was this K2 which provided the majority of the entertainment for the night. Danny and Cormac had investigated the Carlow Shopping Centre on several other occasions and had even succeeded in recording some strange chilling whispers. You can hear some of Leinster Paranormals recordings on their website.

We split into groups and investigated some of the paranormal hotspots within the centre. The holding cells were an obvious choice. Now populated by whirring computer equipment and office furniture they no longer seem sinister but are perfectly preserved. It was easy to imagine what they would have been like when in use. The holding cell itself was very oppressive, only one tiny window allowed natural light in and a metal door that fitted tightly to the frame kept the airflow to a minimum. The room itself had no sharp corners and this, according to Danny, was designed to keep detainees in a state of distress after interrogation.

The basement of the Governor's House with it's low ceilings and strange well is another centre of paranormal activity, many people have felt there shoulders and arms being touched whilst staking out the area. Upstairs the attic also has a history of unexplained incidents. On our return to the gym area where we were to sleep that night we found Stephen, one of the staff from KCLR in the changing room area looking quite uncomfortable. He had felt a bad vibe in the room, particularly the sauna. Whilst we had been out investigating other areas he and another member of the station had heard the sound of a metal door slam. I sat alone in the sauna for a few minutes and soaked up the unnerving atmosphere that remained there. It was agreed that we would take a break and then return to this room with the K2 device.

Just to explain what the K2 looks like. It is a small handheld electronic device, it has a trigger mechanism which we kept held down by a coin. At the top there are a series of lights which light when EMF (electro magnetic force) is detected. All power to the gym area had been cut and we had to find our way around with flashlights. The only power in the room came from the sprinkler system so interference from electrical impulses was unlikely, this made this set of rooms perfect for detecting EMF emitted by... and it seems strange to be typing this... ghosts.

Our entire group went to the sauna / changing rooms with the K2 device, which was placed on a bench in the centre of the room. We each introduced ourselves, it was also the first time we had formally introduced ourselves to each other which made it an even more surreal experience. The idea was that we should direct questions at the ghost and if the ghost wished to answer it would light the lights on the K2. If the lights began flicker the person that asked the question would persist. The first few questions met with no change in the device, four or five questions in we started to get a response. At first just 2 green lights lit but as we continued the signal got stronger. Being nervous, and many of us slightly cynical the questioning inevitably became light hearted, one of my colleagues from the Carlow Business Club, remembering that she had forgotten to bring any milk to go with the flasks of tea and coffee asked would the ghost mind popping downstairs and getting a pint of milk. To our surprise the lights on the meter bounced up and down from one to four lights. We then asked was the presence a servant? again the lights flickered all the way to the top, next 'are you a child?' a positive response again... then with the only 16 people in the shopping centre in this room we heard the sound of a metal door slam and echo around the building. The lights died down and we got very little response to our questioning in the next couple of minutes. Cormac from Leinster paranormal went down into the shopping centre and slammed every door he could find but there was none but the condemned prisoners cell that made a sound like the one we had all heard.

We rambled around the shopping centre, my group took a digital recording device with us as we tested each area for atmosphere or experience. I spent 10 minutes or so holed up in the condemned prisoners cell with no result, it seemed that all action tonight was to happen in the Gym. When we got back from our wandering we found Stephen in an even more distressed state, his group had remained in the changing room area with the K2 and he had heard a whisper, felt something touch him and seen something move out of the corner of his eye. When he followed the path of the apparition he had seen an outline of something in the sauna. He was visibly unnerved by this experience. The K2 had been 'lighting up like a Christmas tree' during this experience. As Stephen's group left we decided to sit in the sauna for a while. We started the digital recorder and sat in the dark and waited. Nothing obvious happened but after sitting there for just a few minutes I got a very strong urge to leave as did the others.

We took another break before returning with the whole group. I was given a mic and sent to the sauna to record what I felt inside, but sitting inside there by myself I no longer felt anything. Outside in the changing rooms the K2 was responding again so I joined the group there. By now we had established that the entity was a female child servant, Danny was persuading the ghost to light up as many lights on the K2 as she could, it was at this point that Kim one of my fellow ghost hunters felt a cold touch to the side of her body and a whispering. She felt a wave of empathy for the entity and asked Danny to stop pushing the child so hard. She moved position and felt the cold touch again. We resumed our questioning, the lights on the K2 continued to flicker up and down, at times remaining lit on 3 strong lights for 3 or 4 seconds at a time. At one point, although I can't remember quite when, we heard the metal door slam again.

Finally I asked 'Do you want us to go away?... if you want us to go away light up the lights and we will leave you alone.' 3 lights on the meter lit up and stayed lit for a number of seconds. Everyone looked around, no one wanted to leave, we were all intrigued by what was happening but if it was the ghosts wish we had to. Danny asked the ghost to confirm that it wanted us to leave... nothing. He asked again... nothing.

That was the end of our experience. We did a bit more wandering around but nothing else was reported so we finally sank into our sleeping bags and waited for the security guard to let us out.

So has my experience changed my mind? do I now believe in ghosts and the paranormal? Sadly I have to say no, I feel that I need more than the unexplained banging of a metal door and flashing lights on a electronic device to persuade me that ghosts exist. I am disappointed, I almost wanted to believe but nothing I experienced that night pushed my belief far enough. Would I spend another night in a haunted house? I'd love to, if anyone has one that they want me to check out feel free to get in touch!!!

Feelgood Organic Hampers goes ghosthunting.

I am representing Feelgood Organic Hampers on a ghost hunt tonight Friday 13th of February at Carlow Old Gaol which is apparently 'officially haunted'. The Gaol which now forms part of the Carlow shopping centre is said to be haunted by Lucy Slye, the last person to be hung in the Gaol.

I am a cynic and certainly don't believe in ghosts but am willing to be proven wrong. I'm going to bring in some of my favorite organic treats, that way if Lucy does show up I'll be able to keep her happy with an organic biscuit and a cup of tea, maybe she'll even let me into the secrets of the Gaol!! I'm also going to bring in my wind up torch if I can find it, the whirr it makes when I charge it could be enough to put the fear into my ghost hunting colleagues.

I'm going in with 12 other volunteers consisting of other local business people and staff and listeners from KCLR radio. KCLR will be broadcasting live at 9pm with updates every hour after that. You can listen on line here.

If I survive the night it's business as usual at the Naas Farmers Market tomorrow.