AUDIOBLOG: Sandy McCutcheon

Every Monday, an interview heard on PASSION for the PLANET.

This week author & broadcaster Sandy McCutcheon talks about the city of Fes.

For more Views from Fes, read Sandy's blog.

You can hear more interviews on air and on demand at www.passionfortheplanet.com

The Wild West is alive and well – in Canada.

If you thought the cowboy was dead then take a trip to Alberta in Canada.

I was lucky enough to do just that recently and stayed at Anchor D ranch, about an hour outside Calgary. It’s run by Dewy and Jan Matthews and Dewy looks every bit the sort of cowboy you’d see in a Hollywood movie.

The ranch has around a hundred horses and each morning the wranglers are up early bringing in the herd from the pastures and galloping them into the coral for the day.

Watching the different personalities of the horses is fascinating. There is a very clear hierarchy to the herd. Bug-eyed Pete (one of the least attractive horses I have ever seen!) is the head of the herd. He’s very laid back about it and you’d never guess he was boss – until someone gets out of line, then he’s on them with an iron hoof.

When all the horses arrive at the coral they queue up for water and depending on their position in the herd, depends on when they are allowed to drink. We spent nearly an hour watching three horses hog the water butt, having had their fill they refused to move, and a long queue formed behind them. But no one dared to push them aside, they waited patiently while the three demonstrated their power. Holly, a bubbly dynamo of a woman decided that this was unfair and strode into the coral to get the three bullies to move. After lots of shooing and pushing they moved aside, but those waiting in the queue refused to move forward; they knew they hadn’t been given permission yet, so they stayed put. In the end Holly gave up. Eventually the three got bored and moved on and the rest of the herd got their drink.

Being a wrangler is a long day with hard physical work, but according to Shona Duff a straight talking Glaswegian with a love and deep understanding of horses, she’s never had it so good. For Shona, now a Canadian resident with no plans to return home, the lifestyle in Canada and the rugged beauty give her a work-life balance that’s easy to envy.

Anchor D offers a variety of riding experiences, from a short two-hour ride into Kananaskis Country to a longer week long trip into the Canadian Rockies with a covered wagon.

“Over the Edge” is ride that’s not for the faint hearted. It was a wet day and I was kitted out with cowboy hat and slickers (the big coats that keep both you and the horse’s bottom dry!) and with my camera fixed firmly in a saddle bag we set off in a small group, riding our sturdy quarter horses up into the foothills. All I could see was rolling hills and greenery – not a building or road in site. After a couple of hours of climbing we were perched high above a rushing creek on a hill with such steep sides it looked as though getting down would be impossible. Now it was time to go “over the edge”.

The key on a trail that steep is to let the horse have its head, lean back in the saddle as far as you can go and pray. So that’s what I did. The horse, of course, doesn’t want to fall any more than you do, so with a surprising surefootedness it weaves its way down and out into the rushing water. Due to an unseasonably wet summer the water was deeper and faster than we had expected. Carefully we made our way up river, being sure to keep the horses side-on to the torrent so they wouldn’t get knocked off their feet. The water kept rising until it was half way up my calves and lapping at the horse’s belly.

It was a ride that I’ll never forget on a trip that will stay with me a long time.
I found spending time around horses and riding out into stunning countryside where I didn’t see another person all day was a truly reviving experience. I may only have spent four days at Anchor D but my mind felt as though it had spent a month on retreat.

Alberta is a stunning province and if you like fresh air, scenery and being close to nature then you can’t beat it. It’s also interesting economically as the Oil Sands in the north are bringing massive wealth (and unfortunately environmental damage too) to the area. House prices in Calgary have shot up as more and more people arrive for the oil rush. So if you like your creature comforts Calgary caters for that too.

Senator Edward Kennedy

Three days of ceremonies to commemorate US Senator Edward Kennedy begins with a family Mass at the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts.

Senator Kennedy died at home in Massachusetts aged 77 after battling a brain tumour.

People have been lining up all over the world to pay tribute to the elder statesman of the Democratic Party, and onetime potential President of the United States.

James Rowley at Bloomberg says he'll be hard to replace in the US Senate.

The Washington Post calls him 'one of the most powerful and influential senators in American history'.

Dan Kennedy writes in the Guardian that 'Depending on your point of view, Kennedy was either an icon of progressivism or an avatar of evil.'

Politics.co.uk reports on Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's tributes to Senator Kennedy here.

AP have compiled excerpts from some of his most notable speeches here.

And below, the emotional speech he gave to the Democratic Convention in Denver last year. FSN was there in force to cover the Convention and it was a remarkable moment.

FSN is PASSION for the PLANET's award winning news partner, providing global news from bureaus worldwide.

You'll find more from world news stories, plus analysis from FSN at FSN REPORTERS BLOG .

How to create an Abundance Mentality

When I showed my Mother in Law an article I wrote a few years ago, about having an abundance mentality versus a scarcity mentality, she asked me where Scar City was.

And that is actually exactly what it is. If you live with an attitude of scarcity, you do live in Scar City! There are little scars all over your abundance mentality. However, you can ensure that they heal!

Here are a few little pointers that will help you create an Abundance Mentality:

1) Focus on what you already have. That means that you must look at what is already present in your life in the way of finances, health, wealth, relationships, and people. Focus on what you can do versus on what you cannot do.

I had a terrific triathlon trainer and coach for many years of my triathlon career, and he always asked me to tell him what I could do versus what I could not do.

In my coaching practice, I ask my clients what they have been doing versus what they have not been doing (of course if there is a persistent pattern of not doing, we do address that in our sessions).

2) Be generous. That means in the first place to yourself and about yourself. And then to others.

3) Believe in yourself and your dreams. Again, a matter of focus. You must envision yourself having already made your dream come true. This counts for any area of your life.

4) Compare yourself to those worse off than you. Realize that we in the Western world really live in abundance. An abundance of material things, opportunities, chances to do most anything we want to do and be in life.

5) Live in a constant state of gratitude. Realise at all times what you are grateful for. And the small things in life are just as important.

6) Declutter your space. When we hang on to material things and have not used them for at least two years just in case we may need them in the future, we may send out the message that we feel we could not afford to buy a new, up to date version in the future!

GUEST BLOGGER: Brigitte Sumner, Coach and Feng Shui Expert

www.brigittesumner.com

Bees need your sugar!

Bees are at their busiest at this time of year. So busy that sometimes they become exhausted and lie on the ground, seemingly dead, as they rest a while.

You can give them a helping had though – mix two tablespoons of white sugar with one tablespoon of water and stir, place it in a small container, like an egg cup, and put it amongst the bees’ favourite flowers. Bees love it and it will give them extra energy as they buzz around pollinating our plants. Remember – without bees we’d all be going hungry as many of our crops would fail, so it only seems fair to give them a helping hand when they need it.

Only put out a small amount at a time (so they don’t have excess sugar) and be sure to put it in a very small container so birds don’t dive in for a sugary bath! Strangely enough it’s not a good idea to give them honey. Much of our UK honey is imported and could actually be bad for our native bees.

Another way to help bees is by becoming a bee-keeper. My brother has just taken up this unusual hobby and is loving it. He’s out there in his strange gear carefully tending the hive and making sure the Queen and other bees have all they need. You should see his face light up as he watches his hive develop and the bees fill up the honey comb with help from the sugar syrup he’s feeding them in their first year.

There’s lots of information about getting started at www.britishbee.org.uk The British Beekeepers Association. If you don’t fancy doing all the work yourself, and you have some space in your garden, you can let a local beekeeper put their hive in your garden. They will do all the work and you can sit back in the knowledge that you’re doing your bit to help the British Bee population. I expect you’ll even get a jar of your own garden honey.

British Bees are under threat due to habitat loss and the use of pesticides. Three of our species have already gone extinct and several more are severely threatened, including the wild honey bee, the short-haired bumblebee and the large, noisy and very cute looking bumble bee.If beekeeping is not your thing you can still help by planting flowering plants in your garden, allotment or window box. These plants provide vital nectar and pollen for bees and other insects.

Knapweeds, sunflowers, purple loosestrife and buddleia are just some of the plants that bees like.

And if you have a garden try to leave a patch of bare earth in a lawn or border as solitary bees like to burrow into this.

Don't be a News Sponge.

Wherever you get your news, remember it's being filtered. Someone is deciding what news you get, and how that news is presented.

So?

Providing a news service is a huge responsibility. News shapes your world. And unconciously or deliberately, someone else is shaping your news.

Journalists are flawed. They're just people. With the best will in the world, even those most dedicated to the loftiest journalistic ideals can't prevent their own views, feelings, ambitions, weaknesses etc, colouring their work in some way. It can't be helped. Just choosing a running order betrays a bias, and initiates influence. Is story A, really more important than story B or story Z? The answer is, it depends. On you.

Take these three stories:
use of homeopathy ... undermines traditional medicine, or works for some people
release of the Lockerbie bomber ... a blow to justice, or a step towards a better world
Afghan elections ... beginning of a fresh start, or new faces, same old corruption

Which story is most important, and which view is closest to your own?

Or are better questions ...
How important are these stories to you?
Did the order I put them in influence you?
Are there other stories that are more important to you?

Be your own news filter. Shape your own world.

How you discover the work you were born to do

Your desire to discover the work you were born to do is not a selfish act but a spiritual impulse, and is actually one of the most generous things you can do for yourself. The question most people ask is how do I find mine? Over the past 15 years I have found nine particular ways that people come to find what they’d love to do. Sometimes the answers are on the surface, other times they are buried, needing excavation.

1. Through your inspiration, joy and a sense of calling
It is the work that would inspire you, you feel called to and your heart calls you to. It is what you are naturally drawn to and curious about. It is what you would most love to do. Many people want their work to be a source of inspiration to them.

2. Behind your greatest resistance
The twin soul of inspiration is resistance, and often the work you’d most love to do is what you spend most time and energy procrastinating about, avoiding, making excuses why you haven’t done it and talking yourself out of. Many people are beaten by their resistance and never reach their full potential.

3. In your shadow life
The talents you have disowned become your unlived life, which you can only see in others. You can be close to the work you’d love, but you are more comfortable seeing other people’s creativity and talent – afraid to acknowledge your own. Begin to put own your talents out there and move them towards the centre of your life. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

4. Under the statement “I don’t know”
Often we genuinely don’t know, but with good questions and coaching, we can reach clarity. I don’t know also masks I am afraid to know because then I’d have to change, and that scares me even more. We can confuse I don’t know what with I don’t know how. Don’t deny what you know you’d love to do because you don’t know how you could do it and succeed with it. You can learn.

5. Through your naturalness, seen in the eyes of others
A great blind spot most of us have is to our natural abilities and talents. We value struggle, not ease, so don’t value or even see what comes easily to us, and can easily dismiss it, missing our own unique brilliance. Notice how others acknowledge and appreciate you.

6. Behind the words if only someone would pay me to do it
We believe we can pursue our dreams once we have been successful and have made our money, and don’t realise that we can support ourselves financially by pursuing our dreams. It stems from the belief that we either work for love or money, but not both. There is practically nothing today that you can’t get paid for. Think about what you would most like to be paid for doing or being.

7. In your lost dreams and your under-utilised talent
Often, as children, we do know what we’d love to do, but we can be actively discouraged from it, criticised for it or somehow abandon our passions to join the grown up world of working for money. You can go back and reconnect with what you loved, and sometimes this can be painful but poignant.

8. Behind a wake up call or even a crisis
A refusal to listen to our intuition and deeper self could precipitate a full-blown crisis. Things fall apart and we can feel awful, but so many people speak in retrospect about their illness/redundancy/bankruptcy being the best thing that ever happened to them. It got them back on track to a greater and more authentic life, but they needed to be broken open, allowing the phoenix to rise from the ashes.

9. In a greater sense of yourself and an expanded sense of your identity
You have probably experienced a comprehensive conditioning in littleness – being told you are nothing special and that you shouldn’t think too highly of yourself, or at worst you are flawed or bad. Your spirit is limitless, and your inspired dreams may seem too big, but you are called to grow, not shrink away.

OVERCOMING YOUR RESISTANCE

If it were as easy as that, we’d all be doing it, but the more important something is to you the more likely you are to experience resistance and not move forward.

So here are some tips for overcoming your resistance.
• Commitment to turn up and take some action, even baby steps – the tiniest of steps build your momentum and bring your dreams to life
• Develop your courage – feel the fear, guilt, doubt or unworthiness but act in the face of them; don’t wait for them to subside. Engage with your fear to grow bigger than it.
• Learn the how to information and strategies – educate yourself and learn what you don’t know so you can move forward.
• Don’t try and solve problems you don’t have yet – you can waste so much energy worrying about what might happen in the future. Act now, and deal with the future when you are there. • Get higher quality problems – we all have problems so focus on problems you’d love to have, like “I have too many clients to be able to service!”
• Surround yourself with positive people – isolation is the biggest dream killer, and the belief, love and encouragement of others helps you bust through. Step into your greater power, keep your focus on contribution; you have unique gifts and the world needs what you have, so give us what you’ve got.

Click here for more inspiration: Inspired Entrepreneur

GUEST BLOGGER: Nick Williams, best selling author and founder of Inspired Entrepreneur.

PRS says give us your money

This was an article in Radio Today (www.radiotoday.co.uk) and I think it sums up how PRS just don’t get how to make money for their musicians and why we would all (including musicians) be better off if they thought things through a bit more….


Give us your money or turn your radio off

That's the line PRS says on a regular basis. Maybe not quite as harsh as that but that's what it boils down to.

The whole saga of whether it's right or wrong for PRS to charge work-places a fee to listen to the radio has raged on and on over the years, and this weekend it hit the police force in Hampshire.

Imagine being the person who had to ring up the police and tell them they were breaking the law?

Excuse me officer, do you listen to the radio at work? Well I'm placing you under arrest until you turn it off or hand over a large bag of used notes. How much PC Plod has to pay to listen to the radio depends on, and I quote, "the number of days in the year music is played in the workplace, canteens or staff rooms; the number of half-hour units per day music is played in the workplace, the number of employees in the workplace to whom the music is audible and the number of employees to whom the canteen/room is available."

Simples, then.

But all they need to do is ring up PRS for Music and ask them how much money they would like. And that's not all. A simple browse on the PRS website tells me there is a cost involved in playing the radio in Churches, Cinemas, Clubs, Schools, Hairdressers, Health Centres, Hotels, Gyms, Cafes, Shops and even on the phone. I guess we already knew most of that, but over the past few years PRS have been raising their game and actively visiting and calling these places to make sure they pay up or turn US off.

Commercial Radio, now more than ever, needs people listening. It doesn't matter how many people listen to the BBC, they get their money to operate regardless, but if PRS are going around making people turn OFF their radio sets in places where we enjoy a large audience, it makes PRS yet another obstacle for radio to overcome.

It puts PRS right up there with other potential future radio killers.

As for Hampshire Police, will they pay up and continue to listen to Play Radio, BBC Radio Solent or thisisheart, or will they just switch off, like so many other establishments? Dep Chief Con Cole told the local newspaper: “Hampshire Constabulary does not believe taxpayers would approve of the expenditure of public money for this purpose in police offices. Therefore, the use of radio and television is not allowed within the constabulary, except in those rare cases where access to broadcast material is essential for operational reasons.”

Great. Let’s hope any police staff in Hampshire aren’t currently filling in a RAJAR diary.



Published in Radio Today on 17th August 2009.

You can’t live by organic bread alone

You can't live by organic bread alone.

This is something we believe in strongly at Passion for the Planet.

Passionate as we are about the planet, its people and its flora and fauna, we love other stuff too.Passion for the Planet has been criticised for broadcasting interviews and features that aren’t strictly environmental. This blog has been criticised for including postings that aren’t about green issues.

But there’s a reason we choose to include other issues in both our programming and this blog – it’s because we believe “you can’t live by organic bread alone”.

For example, my life includes a number of very green behaviours and a number of not so green ones! And I’d guess that everyone in the UK is the same, some have more green behaviours than I do, some have less. The point is, it’s a mixture. I am passionate about environmental issues, wildlife and nature and I also enjoy the cinema, reading science fiction and travelling. Again, a mixture.

Even the most dedicated environmentalist doesn’t want to be immersed in green to the exclusion of all else – and let’s face it, most of us are part time eco warriors, not full time. And Passion for the Planet is a reflection of this. We all have other interests, other concerns, other passions.

Passion for the Planet’s aim is to help change the world for the better. I say “help” because we believe we all have a role to play in making the world a better place, none of us are going to do it single-handedly. So how do we feel Passion for the Planet can help?

By providing information and inspiration to help us all make informed choices. Choices that will help us live a greener, healthier, more ethical life.

If all we did was bang on about being environmentally responsible we might fulfil the information part of our chosen remit, but we’d fail miserably on the inspiration (and entertainment) front!

So, just like the radio station, a number of different people, with different views contribute to this blog, and just like the radio station this blog will not be exclusively green. It can’t be. Our environment doesn’t exist in isolation and the minute we forget that, we are doomed.

The Not So Glorious Twelfth

Today - the 'Glorious Twelfth' - marks the start of the red grouse shooting season.

The attendant media coverage that this once-a-year festival generates also spurs a lot of people to ask the RSPB what it thinks about shooting. At first, it might be tough to see what shooting and conservation have in common. After all, one is interested in killing birds, while the other wants to protect them - right?

But the truth is that the two interests have a lot more in common than you might think. Responsible shooters have a basic love of nature, as do conservationists. At a more practical level, both shooting and conservation rely on well-managed habitats to thrive, something which can benefit a wide range of wildlife.

It's not all plain sailing though. It's true that many areas managed mainly for shooting are also good for other wildlife. But there are some cases where shooting management overly favours the species being shot at the expense of all others. And this simply stores up environmental problems for the future.

The biggest problem, however, both for both shooters and conservationists, is the minority who choose to break the law and kill birds of prey in an attempt to boost the number of game-birds.

One hundred years ago, Victorian approaches to shooting made persecution like this the norm for birds of prey - dark days, which saw four raptor species driven to extinction in the UK: marsh harriers, goshawks, white-tailed eagles and ospreys. Happily, all four are now back in our skies, and wildfowlers along with most lowland shoots now live and work alongside birds
of prey.

But the story isn't so rosy everywhere. Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Government's wildlife authority, has stated that persecution associated with grouse moors is the main factor affecting the conservation status of the golden eagle. In England, hen harrier numbers are restricted to only a handful of pairs every year, when there is room in our uplands for hundreds.

The illegal killing and disturbance of birds of prey remains an unacceptable throwback to an out-dated way of managing the countryside. The fact that there are more peregrines nesting in our city centres than there are in the Peak District speaks volumes. Unfortunately, as birds of prey are by their very nature rare, it only takes a few illegal acts to wreak disproportionate damage - just as it only takes a few lawless individuals to bring the whole shooting community into disrepute. This simply serves to drive a wedge between the shooting and conservation communities.

It's therefore in everyone's interest - shooters, conservationists and the general public - that these selfish few are found out and brought to book.

The RSPB's bird of prey campaign aims to do just that, demanding an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey. It's very encouraging that several shooting organisations, including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the National Gamekeepers Organisation, have signed the pledge, as well as over 140,000 concerned individuals.

Please, help us root out the few bad apples and save birds of prey, by adding your voice (click here).

GUEST BLOGGER: Sue Armstrong-Brown, Head of Countryside and Species Conservation at the RSPB.

Images: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Shoes that are good for you

Shoes are a weakness for many women. There is something about shoe shops that causes otherwise practical and sensible women to go weak at the knees, forget where they were going and what they were doing, and end up struggling dazedly home with several large shopping bags sometime later. These are then often stealthily concealed at the back of wardrobes and cupboards, away from the eyes of long suffering husbands and boyfriends.




If this sounds familiar then don’t worry! I recently purchased a pair of shoes which, although probably a bit more expensive than I could afford, I can justify owning for a number of reasons beyond the fact that they are elegant, beautiful, I love them; they make me feel good…

For a start they are shoes with heels that are really comfortable. They are also really well made and therefore likely to last the test of time.

However the really interesting thing about them is the variety of recycled items that has gone into the making of them. They come from a company called Terra Plana which endeavours to use eco-friendly materials, including recycled memory foam, old quilts from Pakistan, and re-used mesh, with as little glue as possible when making its shoes. And some even come in a compostable coconut box that can be re-used as a seed tray (once you’ve taken the shoes out of course).



Although my particular shoes are just simple, black, mid-heeled work shoes, Terra Plana stock a whole host of fashionable smart and casual shoes, boots, sandals and trainers.

The brand offers proof that ethical and sustainable clothing doesn’t have to come in varying degrees of beige or be made from hemp. It can be fashionable, desirable and good for you.

Why radio is stronger than ever

Despite the iPod and MP3 players, more people than ever before are listening to the radio.

The latest audience research, released today by RAJAR, shows that 46.3million (90.3% of the population) people tune into radio every week.

And much of this is thanks to digital radio.

Digital radio listening hours are up this quarter by 19% and DAB ownership is up 22% year-on-year.

Internet listening is still at the bottom of the pile with a 2.2% share.


And the commercial radio sector is outperforming the BBC. Two of the BBC's five digital-only stations saw big quarterly drops in their audiences despite the continued growth of digital platforms.

Whereas Commercial Radio has attracted more listeners this quarter, with 42.7% share of the listening population tuning in.

Despite the doomsayers and “glass half empty” brigade, radio is stronger than ever with DAB continuing to grow with no sign of a slow down in sight.

Walking and Cycling

Getting ourselves from A to B can often have a negative impact on the planet. We all know that we should fly less, reduce our car use and use public transport wherever possible. The trouble is that most of these actions involve sacrificing something, and that doesn’t sound like much fun to anybody.

It can be hard to visualise actually enjoying and benefitting from reducing your personal transport emissions when you are being made to feel guilty. However, if we did all walk or cycle a bit more, we would be healthier and better off, the planet would benefit, and we’d probably be a whole lot happier as a result.

With this in mind I’d like to recommend some websites and ideas that aim to make cycling and walking both more accessible and more desirable (and do it pretty well in my opinion).
The first website is all about walking. Walkit.com is like a journey planner for walking. You input your starting point and destination and the site will generate a route for you, complete with map and instructions. You can see how far the journey is, how long it should take for fast, medium and slow walkers, how many calories you’ll burn and the carbon emissions you will save when compared with making the same journey using another form of transport. Best of all you can choose between direct, less busy or less polluted routes. The latter will avoid main roads and go through parks and along rivers, giving you a more pleasant and healthier option for your journey. Walkit currently covers a variety of UK cities and there are plans to launch it in many more over the coming months. Check it out; you’ll be surprised at how quickly and easily you could get to your destination without spending a penny and both doing something healthy and benefiting the planet in the process.

Moving on to cycling (and I’m afraid this is specifically London based – apologies to any non-Londoners), transport for London has recently launched the new cycling section of its website and it’s packed full of useful information for cyclists of any proficiency. You can access information on cycle routes (including green routes), cycle training, equipment, safety and when you can take your bike on public transport. It’s a great resource and one that will expand as new routes are added. If you are the kind of person who likes the idea of cycling more but lacks the confidence to bite the bullet and do it, then you will find loads of tips to get you excited about getting on your bike. More experienced cyclists will benefit from the cycle journey planner and alternative routes that are available.

Sticking with cycling (and also with London again – sorry!), I wanted to draw attention to a couple of future developments that have got me really excited. The first is the 12 ‘cycling superhighways’, planned for completion by 2012. These will be dedicated cycle ways from the outer boroughs into the centre of London. The new routes will by clearly marked with continuous cycle lanes at junctions to help keep cyclists safe. I’m sure that these routes will make a lot of people feel much more confident about cycling in London.

The second is the Cycle Hire scheme planned for launch in May next year. This is similar to the Vélib scheme in Paris and will allow people to pick up a bike from a docking station and return it to another docking station at their destination. This will be really useful to both commuters and tourists. Initially there will be around 6,000 bikes in Central London and I suspect that this number will increase quickly as the scheme grows in popularity.

So there you have it. Just a few helping hands to make walking and cycling seem like more desirable options. Leading a healthier and more sustainable life is about increasing your quality of life, rather than simply sacrificing the things you need, want and enjoy.