Recycling ~

Daisy and I co-run Strange Fascination Theatre Company (as you might be aware by now) and are always looking for ways to not only save money in this very draconian society, but recycle for the sake of the environment.

The human race has caused untold damage to the planet with industrial activity and the future looks bleak: by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish and already we are seeing the extinction of many species of insect and animal caused by human industry.

With these overwhelming prospects we can all continue to conduct our daily lives in ways that help the world around us. At home we recycle everything we can. Daisy is very much of the 'make do and mend' philosophy, and our clothes come solely from charity shops. These establishments are thriving as more and more people are finding that they can clothe themselves fashionably and cheaply.

Daisy hand makes our show costumes too. The materials she uses range from curtains to appropriating already made costumes to suit her needs. On the rare occassion she cannot make something that we might need specifically, then we plan a jaunt to a charity shop. Props for shows are either mostly made too from discarded foam mats, thrown away materials and from items once used for something else entirely.

Of course, now spring is in full flow most of the regions fabulous car boot sales are happening again and we are definite rummage connoisseurs. Our blue mini is a familiar sight at the huge car boots that run at Alysham and on the coast and we have sourced a lot of props and other items from the rummage on offer: it's amazing the deals and the items you can find not only for a production but for your personal collection.

My study, affectionately known as 'The Cwtch' ( a welsh word pronounced 'Kutch' and meaning 'hug' or 'safe place') is a haven for the numerous things I collect; from first edition books, boxes, taxidermy, books, badges, toys, books, figurines, plants, books and books...all found at car boot sales and antique fairs.

In the wonderful rural area where we live, the many walks we go on yield a lot of results too. We are very enthusiastic 'skip divers' ~ there is a farm near to us where a builder deposits most of his unused materials from the various jobs he undertakes. We advise knocking on a door and asking if the items are indeed to be thrown away, as some people can become quite unnerved seeing two people digging through a skip, getting excited over unused boxes of nails and sections of wood... It saves money and is certainly helping by recycling things that otherwise would have ended in land fill.

A good skip dive can produce a lot of results and it is amazing what you will find: to date, skip diving has yielded:

~ a human skeleton (model!!)
~ a water butt for the garden.
~ a stereo
~ furniture
~ boxes and packing materials
~ resin, paints and plaster
~ screws, bolts, nails and stationery
~ costumes bits
~ a coffin
~ enough building materials to help build our last set!

so you see, it's always worth putting one's dignity to one side for half and hour and getting headfirst into a skip: you really don't know what you will find.

In this day and age,  in a disposable culture where even people are sometimes thrown away, it is our human duty to 'make do and mend', to take things that have been used before and use them again. The planet deserves it after all, an organism that protects and nurtures us, as do the future generations that hope to live on Earth. After all, when you mend something, you enrich the object. When you begin to see things in this manner, you appreciate the synergy we have with all living things and with our environment. That can only be a good thing and a healthy thing for all of us.