I hope you enjoyed Cowspiracy. It was a revelation to me but then I saw Irene, one of my regular readers. She'd heard the same message way back in the '70s from Delia Smith and Colin Spencer. I didn't know whether to be delighted or disappointed. Either way, we are still keen to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy and increase our intake of plant-based food.
The Universe must have approved of our decision because it coincided with Vegfestuk in Brighton. Vegfest organises the largest Vegan Festivals in Europe and I popped in last Saturday. It was like walking through the wardrobe to Narnia. Everyone, apart from me, seemed committed and well informed. I played catch up by attending a talk on how milk can leach calcium from bones, and sampling the wares in the food court. They were surprisingly good, so our aim will be easier to achieve than anticipated.
Turning to Shoreham Beach matters. Did you go to Saturday's meeting at the Church of the Good Shepherd? I missed it, (because I was at Vegfest), but apparently 200 people turned up to discuss the proposed redevelopment of Beach Green.
Beach Green is our only publicly owned green space. It has a large concrete toilet block in the middle and over the years, various proposals have been submitted for its' redevelopment. Another proposal has now been received from Wilbo's Restaurants Ltd. It would like to demolish the toilet block and some adjacent beach huts and build on the entire green and part of the adjoining Nature Reserve. It would then like to construct:-
- a three storey restaurant,
- an ice-cream and milkshake bar,
- a skate park,
- a volley-ball court,
- a children's play area,
- a pitch-and-putt golf course and
- a bike hire.
I think it's too ambitious and hiring bikes beside a Broadwalk upon which cycling is prohibited, is asking for trouble. Opinions for and against the proposal are being sought, so if you would like to add yours, contact Shoreham Beach Residents' Association.
Turning to more personal matters, I'm preparing to pitch William Earl's war memoirs at this years' London Book Fair. Regulars will know that I've spent the last seven years researching and writing about this 100-year-old's war experience as a Nursing Orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corps. William served in North Africa and Italy and his extraordinary story records his transformation from a unremarkable chemist's assistant to a heroic medic who helped to recover the injured from the front line, evacuate them under fire and bury those they couldn't save. No first-hand accounts of a Nursing Orderly have been published before so I'm honoured to be the first to re-tell the story of these extraordinary men.
I'll let you know how I get on, but in the meantime thanks for dropping by and see you soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment