My email inbox is full to bursting with press releases containing statistics on everything from what most people want for Valentine’s day (dinner, apparently) to the number of people who find their washing machine too noisy (33%). I don’t hold much truck with surveys but this one I couldn’t resist.
Remember that chewing gum ad with the rocking soundtrack by Free and the implausible love story? Well, new survey results have demonstrated that it could be closer to truth than fiction. Buses are now recognised as one of the best places to find romance! A poll by First Bus, which surveyed 3,000 people in the UK, has found that in many UK cities more people find love on the bus than through online dating sites or on holiday. Topping the lists of places where a bus ride is likely to lead to love is Wolverhampton with 13% of people finding a partner on public transport. Passengers on the buses in Belfast, Newcastle, Brighton and Bristol are also likely to get lucky.
Notably, of those surveyed, 59% of men (34% women) said they’d previously spotted someone they fancied on a bus, with 36% of men (19% women) saying they had flirted with a member of the opposite sex during a journey (that figure can also be taken as 15% of women getting cheesed off at unwanted attention from the opposite sex). And for those who went on to ask someone out (23% men, 9% women) 4% of those tentative travelling enquiries led to marriage. Marriage hotspots (percentage of people who married following a meeting on a bus/at a bus stop) are: Aberystwyth, Norwich, Glasgow, Oxford and Wolverhampton.
So if you are looking for love, take the environment into consideration, get on the bus and you might just meet the fellow greenie of your dreams. Happy travelling!
When making plans for the coming year it is common to think of our resolutions from a negative point of view – what we are going to give up or stop doing. We reckon that approaching things from a positive mindset makes plans much easier to carry out. So we have come up with a year’s worth of fun green things that you can do as a family and will unveil a new action you can take every month.
Taking positive action is a great way to involve the whole family in the quest to reduce your environmental footprint. Try incorporating our monthly ideas into everyday life and at the end of 2009 we reckon you’ll be happier, healthier and greener!
Get Involved
We’ll start with something nice and simple and for January we recommend joining forces with others. Living a clean, green life is much easier, more fun and definitely more effective when practised as a community. Working within a group you can share your experiences with others and find out what works, and what doesn’t, quicker, it gives the opportunity to forge links with others, share skills and learn new ones and also encourages new friendships to blossom out of common interests.
Start Small
Find out about local initatives at the library or through friends and neighbours. If there isn’t anything locally then you might be inspired to start up your own group. This needn’t be a huge undertaking – many successful groups have started off small, meeting fortnightly or monthly in a member’s sitting room. Some issues that you could tackle are; council’s recycling facilities, setting up a food co-op or greening up an area of wasteland locally. Organisations such as Friends of the Earth, Wildlife Trusts and Greenpeace also have local groups. Green Drinks is a network of like-minded folk who work in the environmental sector who get together regularly to catch up and make new contacts. Or get busy outside through your local green gym, organised by the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers. Of course, often the easiest and most sustainable place to start is with your own neighbours – perhaps you could set up a car share or recycling rota.
Good luck and be sure to share your success stories with us!
Just wanted to share a quick post on today’s new moon which is in the sign of Sagittarius. Both the sun and the new moon are in the same sign so it will be a warm fiery time with plenty of optimism floating around. It’s a great time to begin projects that are focused on spiritual or educational endeavours.
However, it is also a time to shine a light on the truth as Sagittarius embraces honesty. It provides the chance to listen to our own truth and to hear what others have to say without judgement. The power of Sagittarius can help us see past our own limitations, let down defences that block the light and help us to realise new adventures and explore new pastures. It is after all the sign of travel and exploration. At this time of year I plan to use this as a focus for inner travel and exploration as the wheel of the year is in its darkest phase.
Today I have done some really useful emotional clearing and felt really in tune with my need to look after myself during the new moon. I sought and found solace in a large mug of peppermint tea, a big blanket and the chance to sew tiny chicken finger puppets as gifts. Bliss!
Wishing you a joyful and optimistic exploration of your inner truth
Welcome to the new blog from the Green Parent office. Here we'll talk about what's going on in the small and quite leafy headquarters of the UK's leading green lifestyle magazine. We'll share news that interests us and talk about green issues and natural parenting. We'll share advice and information from our own experiences of living a green lifestyle. And we'll even tell you what we are reading, eating, drinking and thinking. Hope you get plenty of food for thought here.
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