Bike Lights in the Fruit Bowl

Little signs of hope: family cycling in East London

"There's a baby in there, right? Stop cycling with your baby in that f**king chair!" he shouted out the window of his sports car as I cycled (actually without a baby on this occasion) down a quiet street on my way home from work a few weeks ago.  

 

I've been sworn at a few times over the years for cycling.  "F**king weirdo" was another nice one I had whilst on my way to work one morning in suburban Birmingham.  Just because cycling was a bit, err, unusual from what I can gather (either that or my fluorescent tabard!).  I didn't quite catch which expletive I inspired from another motorist who sped across my path at some traffic lights one day.  Apparently enraged at even the slighted suggestion that I might want exercise my right of way at the junction. I felt wronged for the rest of my journey - I almost wished I had jumped a red light to justify such as outburst!

 

My experience a few weeks back reminded me of two things.  Firstly that cycling with a family in tow is rare.  I cycle around in my East London bubble feeling like I'm quite normal (for my cycling behaviour at least!).  I frequently see other cyclists with rear mounted child bike seats like ours. I'd say there are usually 5 or 6 families at our childrens' nursery using them most days - more than 10%.  Increasingly I'm seeing a range of other set ups for more than one child. Pics of three of the bikes I've spotted recently are below - one day I'll get a picture of the semi-recumbant tandem with an extra rear-mounted seat (!) that I've seen on my way to work a few times.  It makes sense really.  Apparently I live in the place with the most people regularly cycling to work in the country…people who are also referred to as the 'three-wheeled buggy brigade'. Plenty of cyclists,  plenty of small children and hey presto a burgeoning family cycling scene.  

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly the outburst reminded me that, actually, cycling in London, particularly with a family is far from ideal.  However offensive the comment from the sports car driver, it was motivated by concern for my child's safety - arguably an understandable reaction.  Plenty of people, particularly those from outside London who haven't become accustomed to the hoards of commuting cyclists, look aghast at the idea of cycling in London without children in tow.  There are plenty of places I won't cycle with my children.  I didn't, for example, take our bike trailer on a theatre trip a few weeks back, despite an annoying part closure of our local train line, because I didn't know the route well enough to be comfortable that it was safe.

 

But I still have hope.  Cycling is becoming more normal, less weirdo-like behaviour.  Yes, we need more space for family cycling in cities and yes, some people are always going to think this is crazy idea.  But I take hope from seeing lots of families enjoying cycling around the streets of Hackney. I take hope from seeing lots of people experimenting with different family bikes, and I'm sure inspiring others to do the same.  I get quite a lot of interest in our bike trailer from other parents and saw someone with the same model taking what appeared to be an inaugural spin around or local park the other day. And I take hope from the local cycle routes that I love. There are some great routes from my home to parks, to fun activities for kids and to shopping destinations all through quiet streets and off-road cycle paths.  Without these family friendly cycle routes I would not have been lucky enough to spend most of last summer cycling around listening to my children singing songs in a trailer behind me.  

 

 

Family cycling in London, and other cities, can work if we get out of the mind set of thinking it's crazy.  We need to start helping people find routes that do work for families and create a lot more so we can safely explore a bit further afield!  I guess I should play my part in that by finding time to blog a bit more!

 

Recent Saharan dust (and…ahem…transport pollution) debacle reminds me of the hopeless lack of ambition our government seems to have when it comes to rethinking how we get about our cities and protecting the health of a generation of children.  I have to take hope that people can lead where the government is failing to and show that there is another way.

 

If you're unhappy that the government thinks 2025 is an appropriate date to meet EU air quality standards in London you can send a message to the government via 38 degrees campaigning website.

 

You could also add your voice to Healthy Air UK campaign and support the brilliant London Cycle Campaign as they keep the pressure on government to create more #spaceforcycling.

 

Little signs of hope: one billion rising

I love the 'it's the little things' posts that some blogging mums do - a brilliant reminder to treasure precious moments and find a little bit of enjoyment when you're having a tough day.  Big things are important too.  There are some pretty big bad things afoot in our society and happening to our planet.  I wouldn't have had children if I believed that 'we're all doomed' (a common refrain around the office where I work, said in jest to lighten the mood when things seem bleak!), but sometimes I need to look quite hard for signs of hope.  I'll write blog posts about things that give me hope for the future - perhaps not every week but I'm hoping the more I look the more I'll find! 

I think I might have to rename my little signs of hope posts - this little sign of hope is MASSIVE!  In a meme recently I posed some pretty big questions - what most excites you and what most scares you about the future world your children will grow up in?  I was thinking about how I'd answer those questions myself recently.  I realised that it's not the HUGE environmental challenges, like the potential for runaway climate change, that scare me most (although they certainly play on my mind a little!).  I'm more anxious, as a mother to two girls, about what it will be like to be a girl and a woman.  

I worry about the prevalance of sexual violence, the ingrained gender inequality, and sexualisation of young girls as they are bombarded with skewed signals shaping their self-image - scantily clad perfume models; 'grown-up' clothes to fit their tiny, barely co-ordinated bodies; ridiculously segregated toys; and out-dated fairy tales.  I'm more keenly aware than ever, walking around with a curious little M in tow, of the sexual imagery that surrounds us all the time.  "Why is that lady [in a poster] wearing her pants and looking like that mummy?!"   "Err..."

One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime! What!!

How many more will have their confidence undermined by far less horrific behaviour?  Or will be shepherded into making second-rate life choices by other people in their lives, by companies, by ill-thought government policies?

When I'm having a really pessimistic day I ponder whether, if important stuff like er...water...fuel...start to become scarce, gender equality will start to look like unnecessary icing on the cake.  Governments might be a teeny bit too preoccupied with making sure their citizens have food, clean water, and electricity to put their full weight behind further progressing womens' empowerment.  I'm optimistic that the ingenuity of the human race means we can tackle environmental problems that threaten us.  Less optimistic of that if women continue to be sidelined, stereo-typed, prevented from getting an education or expected to spend more time taming their cuticles than keeping up with current affairs.  We need all hands on deck!

Good job this is a MASSIVE sign of hope then, eh?

This Valentines day, in more than 200 countries, women walked-out, danced, rose up and demanded an end to violence against women.  One Billion Rising gives me huge hope for the future of women.  It makes me count mine, and my daughters' blessings and value our immense freedom to choose how we live.  Freedom that many, many women around the globe don't share.

I wish we didn't need One Billion Rising...but I'm so glad we have.  

I'm also excited that there are some other amazing campaigns and resources out there fighting for the type of future I really, really want my girls to grow up into.

A website including 80 books about independent princesses anyone?

How about a 'fluff free and Bieberless' online magazine for pre-teen girls?

Or a campaign to stop ridiculous and out-dated stereo-typing of girls and boys toys?  A doctors dressing up outfit categorised as a boys toy!!  This campaign helped change that!

Should 1.6 million children escape to the country?

 

Where are these 1.6 million children?  In East Beijing which has been in the news this week for air pollution levels soaring to 40 times what the World Health Organisation considers safe?  Children there undoubtably need a breath of fresh air.  But I'm actually writing about the 1.6 million children who live in London.  London is not Beijing but the air here is definitely nothing to be proud of, in fact some types of pollution are similar here to Beijing! And it is affecting the health of the children who live here.

I love London and in many ways it's a great place to bring up children.  Plenty of facilities and interesting things to do on the doorstep, brilliant parks everywhere you turn, and a cultural melting pot that must surely help prepare kids for a world that's getting 'smaller' by the day.  But the air quality stinks.  

When I wrote before about London's stinky air I felt pretty angry and powerless.  I'm no less angry now.  Comments by the Clean Air in London campaign like "The Government is misleading the public, cheating on legal standards and covering-up the biggest public health risk after smoking and perhaps chronic dietary problems.” make sure of that!  I've been reminded that diesel fumes cause cancer, and alerted to the fact that in at least one part of London, just three days into 2013, there have been more serious air pollution incidents than they should have in a whole year.  That's pretty embarrassing.

On the up side we haven't ended up in A&E with a wheezy little M in the last few months, keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't have asthma as we've feared.  I'm discovering some lovely new, fume free walking routes and hoping to hear little L's first words anytime now without them being drowned out by roaring traffic.  And I'm looking forward to taking her on her first bike ride...and figuring out the best way to commute by bike with two children.  A bit more space for bikes and child-carrying kit would make it a lot easier!  And Londoners are apparently driving less and so helping to clean up the air.  Perhaps the fossil fuel juggernaut is slowly turning!  Hey Boris!  Fancy grabbing the wheel to make it turn a bit faster? I'm pretty sure that's in your job decsription.

I do still fret about little M's health and find it hard to shake the nagging feeling that London's air isn't going to do her any good as she grows up.  I don't particularly want to escape to the country.  But I sometimes feel perhaps I should, for her sake.  What about the other 1.6 million children?

So for my children, and all the others in London, I've decided to channel some of my anger into action recently.  Last week I went out filming with Healthy Air UK - great organisation campaigning in London, and elsewhere, to clean up our air and help families find ways to protect their health from crappy air quality.  I'm looking forward to doing a local pollution monitoring workshop with them and some other local parents next month.  I could do more.  I've just been looking at the 10 steps for Clean Air in London...plenty more I can do! How about you?

Across the world, more and more people are living in cities.  City living needs to work for families. Clean air to breath would be a good start!  

Little signs of hope: the Octonauts save the Arctic

I love the 'it's the little things' posts that some blogging mums do - a brilliant reminder to treasure precious moments and find a little bit of enjoyment when you're having a tough day.  Big things are important too.  There are some pretty big bad things afoot in our society and happening to our planet.  I wouldn't have had children if I believed that 'we're all doomed' (a common refrain around the office where I work, said in jest to lighten the mood when things seem bleak!), but sometimes I need to look quite hard for signs of hope.  I'll write blog posts about things that give me hope for the future - perhaps not every week but I'm hoping the more I look the more I'll find! 

We're in the full grip of an Octonaut obsession right now.  Little M will watch virtually nothing else on TV.   On a week where she has mostly been curled up on the sofa feeling poorly, that's a lot of Octonauts!  

She also really, really wants a new magazine. And she know's she's not getting a new one until she finishes a few more of the activities in many, many  magazines that she already has.  So we've also busy with stickers, spelling, mazes and costume making from Octonauts magazines dredged from the back of the 'half-finished-magazine' box. The double page spread Arctic Zone sticker scene has been a favourite.

Who wouldn't love the Octonauts?  They spend their days swimming around exotic locations, looking after the oceans and each other, and having a lot of laughs along the way. Life as an Octonaut would be great!

Whilst little M was busy painting a toilet roll to make herself an Octonaut torch, Greenpeace came knocking on the door.  I'm not signing any new charity direct debits whilst I'm on maternity leave so, picturing the kitchen turning Octonaut-torch-grey whilst my back was turned, I quickly blurted out my standard response "I won't set up a direct debit but tell me what you want me to sign up to and I'll check out your website later". As little L started crying the well practiced fundraiser equally quickly blurted out "have you heard Shell want to drill for oil in the Arctic? Sign the petition to turn it into a global sanctury at www.savethearctic.org" And so, true to my word, I have.

Will the Octonauts save the Arctic?  Maybe not.  But Greenpeace just might! If you help them...and the Octonauts help create the next generation of passionate and plucky environmental campaigners.

Perhaps when faced with decisions we should ask ourselves "What would the Octonauts do?".  Would the Octonauts sign the petition to save the Arctic?  Hell yeah!  Would they buy their own magazine with plastic tat on the front?  Perhaps only occasionally.

Today I'm hopeful because kids love the Octonauts and because Greenpeace keep on being Greenpeace.