Lessons of the cat commune

Much to my unhappiness I discovered yesterday that the fluffy-scruffy-looking cat in my block of flats is just skin and bones. I had noticed a while ago that this once much-protected luxurious cat was no longer anything special to its owners. It now shuffles around outside and has serious problems trying to fit in with the other cats who only remember seeing it as kitten being walked on a lead.

This cat Pippa, is starving. And as any concerned citizen of this local community I simply cannot let it starve. So it's going to get food from me as long as I live there. What choice do I have? How could I carry on living there with my cats all fat and happy and this unfortuante creature dying a slow death?

This makes me think of all the unhappy people out there suffering the same fate. Surely it is the responsibility of those who have food to help those who don't?
Yet I know I would struggle to become so personally involved. Perhaps it's because cats' problems are much simpler to fix than people's? Perhaps it's because the situation of poverty is so overwhelming and much too large for one person to tackle?

My ration of food for Pippa however could be compared to a minimum income given to all people no matter who they are or what their circumstances. (Stuart enlightned me to this idea.) Why should a person have to prove that they are unemployed and cannot find work before being given much needed money? The beaurocracy behind this is often so intense, demanding and time-consuming that the poor don't get their money before they are already on their hands and knees, if at all. The minimum income would come from taxes and not really make a difference to the rich, but to the poor it would. I don't know about the financial and logistical issues surrounding this, but it could be a good idea. What do you think?

My webpage has been updated

Finally I have updated my webpage on vegetarianism. It includes a little more new information on the Environment and Vegetarian resources and a new layout which I think is very pretty. A beautiful photo provided by our project botanist, Rupert Koopman inspired the layout (which still needs a little work, I admit). in fact it all needs work and revising, but hey, I'm a working girl!

You can check it out here .

By the way http://www.freewebs.com is quite a nice place to host your website for free.

I've discovered Diane Fossey

I'm housesitting in Scarborough (it's amazing) and discovered in it's bookshelves, "Woman in the Mist". The title is similar to "Gorilla's in the Mist", a book written by Dian Fossey and a movie about her life and is in fact about the passionate Dian

I never really paid attention to the movie, but I was intrigued by this book and once I started reading it, I've been engrossed in another world full of passion, tragedy, discovery and war. Dian is truly a remarkable woman and though some may have called her unstable and crazy, she was driven by a great love and compassion for her fellow creatures. she lived life to the full, with passion and honestly.

This strange bushwoman was also not a stranger to love of and from men. Men of all ages would fall passionately in love with this headstrong woman. Sadly none of these relationships were fated for success (or so far, I'm still reading).

It's set in an interesting place, the jungle-covered mountains between Congo and Rawanda during a time of conflict and uprising in Congo (Zaire), which is providing some fascinating background to my current perception of these countries.

The story is also disturbing and sad. Dian was fighting a losing battle against the most gruesome and persistant poaching of all the animals in the mountains where she lived, a supposed protected area. Gorillas hands and heads were chopped off in the most brutal way. Reading the book, it's easy to see what intelligent and beautiful animals, gorillas are and the connection between us and them. It's also easy to understand why Dian went to such great lengths (at her own personal risk) to try protect them. But very few people cared like her.

I only wonder what has happened to the gorillas now...

Beautiful bulbs!

Beautiful bulbs!
Originally uploaded by Tracy Leigh.

This is just one of the many many species of flowers found in Nieuwoudtville which is rapidly becoming grazed by sheep or ploughed for Rooibos.

This amazing photo was taken by Rupert. Thanks Rupert!

Nieuwoudtville paradise

I just spent a wonderful, informative and allergic 3 days in the bulb paradise of the world. This small area has an extremely high biodiversity of beautiful bulbs. Flowers of every shape and size. You also don't have to drive far to see the awesome plataeus stretching into the Karoo, roaring waterfalls and mysterious Kookeboom trees.

It's also baie Afrikaans! No vegetarian food for me. Well they tried but a vegetarian option simply meant added peas and carrots. I suppose I was vegetarianism is pretty unheard of in this sheep territory. Though rapidly turning into rooibos monoculture.

I will attach photos soon! Keep watching.