Erin and I travelled a little further afield on my last day off then we normally do. We found ourselves on the 8.45 am train to London. It was our first blogging event and I was a little apprehensive on several levels. Firstly keeping Erin happy on the train – and exactly how would I manage to go to the toilet as and when I needed! Secondly – would I be able to navigate London by myself with a buggy, as most people who know me in real life know that my sense of direction and geography is err rather lacking. Thirdly I was going to walk into a room of people I didn’t know. Again I do this with work when I am on training courses and it doesn’t faze me as I am confident about my abilities as a teacher – but this blogging lark is still new in my eyes and I wasn’t sure if the day out would be all cliquey etc. Well it wasn’t – the day was great.
We mastered the train – no drinking of coffee, meant I wouldn’t need the loo! We jumped in a cab (that was the only hiccup as my London cab driver couldn’t find the restuarant so we ended up 15mins late!) Unfortunately this meant that I missed the pre meal socialising time as they were all but ready to start the presentation when I arrived – ahh well hopefully I’ll get invited to more this year and be able to socialise then (plus there is always CM).
The event was held in The Walnut Restuarant which is a sustainable restuarant and the venue was chosen carefully as the event was to mark the launch of Sainsbury’s and British Gas teaming up to deliver a one stop shop for customers who want to embrace a more sustainable way of living. The presentation was engaging and challenging helping us to focus on changes we can make and why we should. However we were certainly not lectured at and Lucy did not tell us what we should be doing more giving us prompts. I very much liked this style. I learnt so interesting facts and was surprised to learn that using my tumble drier uses four times more energy than it did to actually wash the clothes. Now I am terrible at this time of year for just chucking all the washing in the drier. Lee is much better at hanging it up to dry and if he gets their first this is his approach – maybe its time for me to follow suit.
I also learnt that Sainsbury’s is the leader in terms of sustainable activity of all the supermarkets. They are setting up energy centres in stores and also having mobile units for others. This will help get the message out Sainsbury’s is a one stop shop for information and products designed to help us save energy.
We thought about some practical solutions that we as families can embrace for example composting and using a water butt. I am pleased to say that The Bradley’s do this. Afterall Lee has taken his school through the first two eco awards and has set up eco warriars at his school – therefore he is encouraging our little brood to do the same.
Sainbury’s and British Gas are bringing solar power and panels to the high street making it much easier for consumers to understand and use this type of technology. I left with the simple understanding that we all need to stand up and make a difference.
After the presentation we had a lovely meal and a chance to quiz the representatives from Sainsbury’s and British Gas. Thankfully Erin remained on best behaviour all day – I took the opportunity when at the restaurant to go to the loo – knowing I then had to last all the way home again- has anyone mastered the art of train toilets and baby???
Erin polished off my Risotto and wolfed down the cheesecake before heading back to Paddington to catch our train.
We really enjoyed our day out, met some lovely people and learnt that we all need to do our bit. Since arriving home our energy monitor has been activated and the older children think its a great game to try and get the cost of our dialy tarrif down. Suddenly they are turning lights off when they leave the room!
