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The Effects of Coronavirus- Good and Bad

Six months on, whilst I truly hope the worse effects of coronavirus are over and that some sense of normal life can return. It has to be said that life may never be quite the same as before. Now, I’m asking about the effects of the virus on our life’s both, good and bad. Now I realise that for many people it does seem all bad. With job cuts, worries about future loss of work and businesses closing, there is much too worry about. But I always feel that from bad situations some good must come too.

This was such a huge wake-up call for us all. Having to stay in our homes with our partners and families for months was a challenge, as was not shopping or going out. But how many of us, have become closer to our loved ones, having spent more time with them. Parents tried home-schooling and many of us had a go at new and old hobbies. Rather than just watching The Great British Bake-off we actually started baking ourselves. And to help us keep active Mr Motivator came out of retirement and back on TV to keep us moving. Joe Wicks kept your children active and let’s face it, cheered up a few mothers too. Gardening, decorating and all those unfinished tasks were finally done. We all got to meet up with family and friends via Zoom or Messager. My family has been having weekly quizzes on Zoom, which has been fun as well as educational. Puzzles, jigsaws and reading became cool again.

Oddly enough despite the restrictions many of us ate a healthier diet and got more exercise. Families cooked and ate together. Younger generations were forced to stay in and actually interact with their families. We found ourselves time rich rather than time poor. Socializing outside the home ceased. We have been forced to spend less, travel was impossible and we mostly could only spend on food. Its been a time to reconsider what is essential, to reappraise life and decide if we needed to spend as much as we did? Are we living to work or working to life?

Some industries were able to adapt to home-working and this may become a more flexible way for people to work in the future which may benefit working mothers and reduce long commutes to work. We have seen how different ways to work can succeed. Even our Queen has been using Zoom. Unable to source goods from China, British factories produced what was needed. Will we continue to manufacture our own goods instead of importing?

Communities have come together to help those less fortunate than themselves. Many have volunteered, or shopped for those that couldn’t leave their homes or have helped to make extra uniforms and masks for our hospitals. Businesses, both local and national have donated to the health service and to those that needed the help most. Despite the restrictions incredible individuals still continued to raise valuable funds for charities. Our wonderful National Health service has been honoured every week when whole streets around the country came out of their homes to clap for them together.

I do hope that the renewed sense of community can continue as this will surely aid our recovery.

Now for the bad, the stock piling of food and essential cleaning products was shocking, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic. I had to go to eight different supermarkets to find cleaning products to clean my shop, whist it was open for business and as the shelves were all empty I had to take my own cleaning products to work. Essential workers like nurses and doctors were unable to get food for themselves and their families, the older members of the population also had to go without because of stockpiling which was a downright disgrace. Particularly as this only happened in the UK and not in other countries.

Over-eating, drinking too much, over sleeping and spending too much time gaming or watching TV and not getting exercise at all was the new normal for some. My heart does go out to anyone having to go into isolation on their own or to anyone who found the situation caused great anxiety, fear and depression. I do hope than this has now improved a little for you.

Moving on, slowly things are returning if not to normality then to the new normal. Perhaps our values have changed, we can see what is more important to us. Many lost loved ones. The most precious thing of all is to spend time with the ones we love.

The virus lockdown has suspended life and in the return to our everyday life’s have we been through too much to return to our old habits?

Brain Power As You Age

health

I love the idea of living a long life, but it has to be with a good degree of health and fitness and an active brain. Now, unless I have a fairy godmother, that I know nothing about the only way this is going to happen is with a fair amount of effort on my part. I have been amazed at all the incredible folk in their eighties, nineties and even over a hundred like the inspirational Sir Tom, who have appearing recently up on various TV programmes. These are the generations that have survived war-time, recessions, national strikes and quite a few ups and downs, but their strength, resilience and good humour still shows through.

Now we know that our brain’s volume gradually shrinks as you get older. When this occurs, some of the nerve cells in your brain can shrink or lose connections with other nerve cells. Blood flow within your brain also slows as you age. These age-related changes are thought to be behind the differences in cognitive function many people notice as they age. However, myths about ageing can contribute to a failing memory. Middle-aged and older learners do worse on memory tasks when they’re exposed to negative stereotypes about an ageing memory and better when given positive messages about memory preservation into old age. Therefore, if you believe you can improve your brainpower and put this into practice, you have a much better chance of keeping your mind sharp. My seventy-six-year-old mother has just starting learning Spanish on Duolingo and after 3 days was at the top of the leader board, so age is no obstacle to learning a new skill.

A higher level of education is associated with better mental functioning in old age. Experts think that advanced education may help keep memory strong by getting a person into the habit of being and staying mentally active. Challenging your brain with mental exercise is believed to activate processes that help maintain individual brain cells and stimulate communication among them. Work can keep us mentally active and when you retire pursuing a hobby or learning a new skill can help maintain brain power. The belief that exercising our brains through mentally stimulating activities like puzzles, makes a lot of sense, if we want our brain to stay in peak condition, we should always use it. Other activities like; reading, playing chess or bridge, writing, learning a language, art and music not only stimulate the brain but keep life interesting and worthwhile. My neighbour who is in her late nineties plays bridge daily and is as bright and alert as she was decades ago.

My family throughout the lock-down has had a weekly quiz night on Zoom which we all love and hopefully will continue. Jigsaws and board games have been taken out of the loft and families across the country have been playing these together. If we all kept doing this and not spending hours on social media and mindless gaming, we would notice the difference.

Studies of cognitive ageing often ask people in older age to complete tests of their thinking skills and provide details about activities they do. Almost all of those studies find that the people who carry out much more stimulating mental activities have better thinking skills in older age.

There has been a growing market for so-called brain- training products. These are often computer-based games or tasks specifically designed to be mentally stimulating. These products are popular but there is controversy over whether brain- training really does protect thinking skills in later life. A group of leading research experts has argued that evidence that brain training can help combat cognitive decline as we grow older is limited. Their view was that people who play these games get better at them but might not see improvements in their thinking skills more broadly. One of the biggest companies selling these products was fined in 2016, by the US government Federal Trade Commission for making claims that weren’t supported by evidence and that in the Commission’s words;

Preyed on consumers fears about age-related cognitive decline.

Personality I think that although the evidence on the benefits is still incomplete, there are many great reasons for taking up new activities in later life. Doing hobbies and activities that we enjoy are important to maintaining a good quality of life and well-being in older age. I would mention that you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money, the internet provides free quizzes etc and you may be able to join classes at a reduced rate or even for free. Mixing with a younger age group is important and staying engaged and interested in the world around you can help to keep your minds sharp. I have been learning three languages online. It’s challenging at times but also rewarding, great fun and free.

There is promising research that indicates that taking the following steps may help preserve your memory and thinking skills as you age: controlling cholesterol and blood pressure, not smoking or drinking excessively, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, getting a good education, stimulating your brain, socializing and staying active in old age.

A new study suggests that in fact, older people who were physically active kept their minds sharper as well as having better health. I thing all these steps are achievable for us all. Now I am middle-aged, I realise just how important it is to be healthy both physically and mentally. No amount of success or wealth matters if we are not in good health and cannot still do tasks or have the ability to think.

So just by making some simple changes now can affect the quality of life in your later years….

Sustainable, Ethical and Fair-Trade Fashion Brands Making a Difference

fashion, Lifestyle

The latest fashion trend to hit the catwalk isn’t a seasonal colour or a must-have style, it’s the concept of sustainable fashion and ethical clothing and it’s actually not that new either. This has been happening quietly in the background for some time and is only just going mainstream. Many different brands have been focusing on combating various issues in the fashion industry. As I said in my last blog post, this will not happen overnight but as Safia Minney says if we all bought only one piece of ethical clothing, life’s all over the world would be transformed.

Finding fair trade and ethical companies is not always easy, which can sometimes be a deterrent in shifting your buying habits, but companies like Good On You and Buy Me Once are making it easier. The positive impact of spending time researching what you are buying can have on the environment and third world communities is absolutely worth it. There was a time when sustainable clothing would conjure up images of unflattering and suspiciously scratchy styles. Thankfully, there are now a wide number of fashion brands that are changing that perception.

In addition to its implications for the environment and ethical practices surrounding the production of garments, one of the major benefits to purchasing ethical, sustainable, and fair-trade clothing is that it is almost always of a higher quality. This means garments last longer, and when they do show signs of wear, companies encourage you to repair, rather than replacing it. Some businesses even recycle clothing. I send my old cashmere sweaters to a UK company who use the yarn to make new products.

One of the leading lights in ethical clothing is Safia Minney, with her company People Tree. A pioneer in sustainable fair-trade fashion, her story started in 1991. The core mission has stayed the same over the past three decades since award-winning social entrepreneur Safia Minney founded the company. Every product is made to the highest ethical and environmental standards from start to finish, yet the ranges are still contemporary, versatile, affordable and look great while respecting people and the planet. The fashion collections feature organic cotton, Lyocell and responsible wool and are made using traditional artisan skills such as hand weaving, hand knitting, hand embroidery and hand block printing. Employment is created in rural areas where work is often scarce. All clothes are dyed using low impact dyes so are free from harmful azo chemicals which are frequently used in clothing manufacture. Natural materials are used where possible, avoiding plastic and toxic substances.

When Safia ordered a Tradicraft mail-order catalogue herself to buy fair-trade clothing, she realised how much power her money had when you shopped ethically. Like many people she felt that fair-trade shopping at times, conjured up images of macrame potholders and soapstone elephants. Recognising that: most people were happy to buy something that was fair-trade as long as it looked good, they don’t want shoddy goods. If she was going to offer a lifeline to Third world artisans their products had to be saleable and that meant stylish. Whilst living in Japan, she published an organic directory, which evolved into a catalogue. Sourcing not just from other fair-trade organisations but actually dealing directly with the producers; weavers, dyers, jewellers and other craftspeople. By dealing directly, more money could go back into the community as there were no middle-men, like importers. Their first fashion range in 2006 met the Global Organic Textile Standard certified by the Soil Association and People Tree was also the first fashion company to be awarded the World Fair Trade Organisation product label. These certifications guarantee their dedication and compliance to the principles of fair trade, covering fair wages, good working conditions, transparency, environmental best practices and gender equality. This UK brand sells everything you need for your wardrobe from tops and dresses to underwear, sleepwear and active-wear. http://www.peopletree.co.uk

Now, there is a distinction between ethical and fair-trade clothing. Fair-trade fashion must be certified, and specifically focuses on the compensation for workers and farmers associated with its production, while ethical fashion aims to reduce the negative impact on the environment. But I think that both are about sustainable clothing and about the money we spend been for the greater good.

The Patagonia clothing company is definitely setting the bar very high for other outdoor clothing manufacturers. Patagonia, allow you to re-cycle in store and provide guides for repairing and caring for other items. All of the cotton garments from this brand are certified organic by GOTS, so you know the entire manufacturing process follows organic guidelines. They’re also fair-trade certified. The clothes themselves are mostly comfortable, simple ever-day staples for men, women and children. Their website has a lot of great content and information. eu.patagonia.com

Now, some very well-known names have started to join the movement for ethical and sustainable fashion. One of the biggest names in fashion is Ralph Lauren. This is a great example of a large brand making a simple change, yet it has the ability to make a significant impact on the environment because of its sales volume. The Earth Polo, also available in men’s and children’s variations, is made of recycled water bottles and uses dyes that don’t require water in the application process. Even though it’s just a shirt, Polo Ralph Lauren estimates that it will save the equivalent of 170 million plastic bottles from landfills by 2025.

One of my favourite designer companies is New York-based brand Theory. They have been committed to sustainability since the launch of its Good Initiative in 2017. Theory for Good spotlights the supply chain with the brand’s aim to make us, the customers, aware of where our clothing comes from and whose skills contribute to making our clothing. Originally focusing on wool sourced responsibly in Tasmania and South America and linen consciously crafted in Italy. The brand has now upped its sustainable credentials with Good Cotton, a newly launched capsule collection.

One of the UK’s most successful knitwear companies is Pringle. For over two centuries this brand has embraced the traditional, the innovative and the unexpected. They have been using recycled fibres to creating limited- edition jumpers. This knitwear shows a commitment to the environment in more than one way as it featuring a graphic earth print and the word Re-Loved. No new raw materials were used in the production of the two jumpers made with 100% recycled fibres even the garment tags are recycled. Whilst not cheap, you can count on the brand’s knits to stay in style and the quality to last for years so consider these sweaters a long-term investment.

Now, these are all high- priced brands, but high-street brands and stores are still making changes. The fashion chain H&M has a Conscious collection, in which each item in the range has an aspect that lessens its environmental impact, like been made of organic cotton or recycled polyester. The prices start quite low so you don’t have to spend a fortune on sustainable fashion. I have bought items myself from this range and was impressed by the quality too. You can also recycle your unwanted clothing at H&M stores for a discount, even if it’s torn up and can’t be re-worn, the brand makes sure the clothes are used for something else and won’t end up in a landfill.

If you prefer to shop by mail-order, British brand- Boden is sustainable. The company, which was founded more than 25 years ago, is renowned for its clothing collections which are both ethical and expansive. Customers locally and abroad can shop for the whole family, as the brand offers expedited worldwide shipping options for its sustainable and affordable clothing for adults, children and babies. The clothes are shipped in recycled and recyclable packaging too.

We can try and make our wardrobes more planet-friendly in non-shopping ways by organising clothes swaps with friends, which could also be a fun way to spend an evening. There are also a number of high street initiatives that allow us to recycle our well-loved clothes when we no longer need them.

If we can direct our conscious spending towards clothing habits that make us feel and look good, without breaking the bank but also can contribute to others then we are all playing our part in the larger scheme of things. Remember as consumers you do have the power to change the way goods are made!

Sustainable and Ethical Fashion- Just Another Trend?

fashion

Even before COVID-19, fashion insiders were claiming that the fashion system was broken and had been for some time. The sheer speed of the fashion circle, heavy discounting, ethical problems and environmental issues had bought it to its knees. The fashion industry, causes more pollution than international flights and maritime combined. According to WRAP (waste and resources action programme) every year 350,00 tonnes of used clothing ends up in landfill. High-street fashion, is coming under more and more scrutiny. Shoppers are becoming more considered in their approach, now they know about the far greater costs of cheap labour, poor working conditions and the damage to the environment. More and more consumers want to become sustainable. However, the clothing industry is now the most unsustainable that it has ever been. For the health of the planet does this have to change once and for all?

Sustainable fashion is the movement and process of fostering change to the fashion industry and towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Concerning more than just addressing fashion textiles or garments. It comprises of addressing the whole infrastructure of fashion. While fast fashion describes clothing that is cheaply made and intended for short-term use, sustainable or ethical fashion is the pole opposite and is sometimes referred to as slow fashion. This takes into account the full life-cycle of the product from the design, sourcing and production processes. looking at everyone and everything it affects such as; the environment, the workers, their communities and even the consumer.

The textiles industry is wreaking havoc on the environment between the processes to make clothing and the waste when it gets thrown away. Both brands and consumers have been taking a much-needed interest in improving these issues. And while there’s no such thing as Eco-friendly clothing as all garments have at least some negative impact on the environment, there are brands, some very well- known, working diligently to help make a difference. It’s a complex issue and there isn’t one brand on the market that’s currently capable of tackling everything on its own. I will write about some of these in my next blog.

There are five main issues being addressed in the fashion industry:

Water usage: The demands for fresh water for drinking and agriculture is far surpassing what’s available. As a result, some brands are now looking at their supply chains to see how they can cut back on how much water they’re using.

Hazardous chemicals: Dyes and finishes from the production processes are dangerous for the workers, and can pollute community water sources. These chemicals may not affect the consumers, but they can be a problem for the workers and the people who live in the same areas as the factories. Fashion brands are now tasked with coming up with new ways to address the damage caused by dyes and finishes.

Short lifecycle: Stores are constantly launching new designs and consumers are regularly updating their wardrobes. The biggest goal in sustainable fashion is to buy less, use things for longer and to make clothes last. Second-hand, used clothing is been promoted. Buying something used is more sustainable than anything new, so it’s automatically going to cost you less. The fashion industry calls it recommence and its totally on-trend.

Waste: On top of having a short lifecycle, there needs to be a way to create less rubbish by re-using and re-making products. One opportunity is using recycled materials in new clothing.

Agriculture: Natural fibres like cotton are often grown using pesticides and treatments that are harmful to the farmers, workers and wildlife in the area. There are now more options available for organic cotton, linen and other fibres which use less water than the conventional growing methods. Brands are looking at being organic throughout the production process not just by using organic fabric.

It requires, both a shift in what you buy and where you buy it from, when you want to be ethical and sustainable. Fast fashion is easy for consumers because it’s inexpensive, lasting for only a season and in some cases clothes that only last a few wears. With ethical fashion, the price tags for quality pieces can be daunting. A survey by the UK magazine Cosmopolitan on Instagram found 70% of their followers asked didn’t buy from sustainable fashion brands because they were too expensive. There is an argument for all or nothing calling for companies to become 100% sustainable. In truth, the only piece of clothing which is a 100% sustainable is the one already in your wardrobe. High street brands that are at least trying to go down a more ethical route have been accused of Green-washing and just trying to be seen as doing the right thing to sell more clothes. Its certainly hard to come up with the best solution and it is too easy to just say companies should do more.

The most sustainable fabric is one that’s been used previously, anything new regardless of the material, has a negative impact on the environment. More companies are looking at fabrics made with recycled material, most commonly you’ll find polyester made from recycled water bottles. The labels should show details like 100% recycled polyester or made with partially recycled materials.

There has been a return to the pre-loved and second-hand market, with many great re-sale apps and websites. Charity shops are a gold-mine for interesting bits and pieces and better still, you may find something that no-one else has and you are helping the charity to raise money. Well-known celebrities, like Professor Green have been in TV advertisements talking about looking after clothes and having the same jacket for 15 years. Going back to my minimalist blogpost having clothing that you love, look after and wear all the time is a practical, affordable way to follow fashion in your own personal style in 2020.

Is sustainable fashion and ethical clothing the latest fashion trend? Or is the fashion industry talking steps towards doing the right thing or has it been forced into a corner by consumers who are no longer accepting throwaway fashion? When I grew up in the 1970s, I saved up for months, from my weekend job, to buy some jeans, admittedly from a designer brand, then I wore and wore them for ages and I really treasured them. This doesn’t happen much now, perhaps it should!

Clothes Shopping Like a Minimalist

fashion

Now I like to shop, I have always liked to shop. However, more recently I have started to question why I do shop as frequently as I do. Did you know that the average person only wears 20% of their wardrobe on a regular basis? That means 80% of those clothing items we simply couldn’t live without spend the majority of the time on a hanger, while we reach for the same well-loved jeans or top again and again. If you’ve ever looked in your wardrobe and thought, I have nothing to wear, that probably isn’t really true. Most likely, the more choices you have to make the harder it is to make a decision.

Sometimes, even a lot of the time, we buy for the wrong reasons. Beginning to shop like a minimalist, is about being honest with yourself about your motivation for wanting to buy something. We usually think very carefully about our bigger purchases before making them. But it’s often the little things we purchase here and there, that add up over time, both in monetary terms and in adding to our clutter. Minimalists are intentional about what they buy, carefully considering the value the item will add to their life. They are much less likely to buy things impulsively or without thought. Sometimes if they buy something new, they get rid of an item, one in, one out. Also, they only replace an item when it gets old or damaged. We don’t really need six of the same things, so I think that in theory this is a good thing to do. However, don’t use throw your unwanted stuff in the rubbish as that just adds to landfill, if you can find a better use.

Although the idea of minimalism is choosing to live with less in order to simplify your life, even minimalists have to go shopping sometimes, but they have shopping strategies and do their research first before buying. These strategies and questions are to help you become more deliberate and intentional with your buying behaviour;

Honestly, assess why you want to buy it in the first place?

Do you really need what you are buying?

Do you truly love the item you are buying?

Can I afford the item I am buying?

Are you just bored and want something new?

Are you trying to make yourself feel better by buying something new?

Are you buying it to impress someone else?

Am I addicted to shopping?

We all have clothing in our wardrobes with the tags still on. We buy highly reduced sale items, that don’t actually fit, but were just too good a bargain to miss! By making a list of what you intend to buy and then sticking to your list, it can help you to avoid impulse purchases! It can be all to easy to become addicted to shopping. If you have the urge to buy something new, look for an experience or something consumable to buy rather than a physical object. Flowers are inexpensive but are a real pick-me-up or a bath or body product that will make you feel and look better. This also curbs emotional spending after a bad day, for instance. It can be exciting to have something new, think about children wanting to put their new shoes on straight away. I do still feel like this, if I don’t then usually, it’s because I like rather than love the item, so I don’t purchase. Try not to settle for items less than perfect because you want or need to buy something. We tend as a society, to live beyond our means and you can change that by being more conscious about your spending habits and focusing on buying things that actually serve a real purpose. When you need to make a purchase, such as buying a gift, what about trying to find an experience rather than a physical thing or an item with health benefits.

If you have read my previous blog posts, then you have read about de-cluttering your home. So, I ‘m going to jump to the stage, after you have de-cluttered your wardrobe and can see everything you already have. (This helps eliminate duplicates). Once de-cluttered, you can start to identify and develop your personal style. This helps you to shop with a more intentional mindset. Your aim is a wardrobe that fits your lifestyle, and is filled with high-quality pieces you absolutely love that will, hopefully, last for many years. Shop for quality clothing items rather than buying in quantity. Over the last several years, clothing has changed from being something you invest in and hold onto for as long as possible as to being something as cheap and disposable as the food we buy. I read a great quote that said Your clothing should not cost less than your coffee. Buying less helps to reduce landfill which has to be a good reason. The end goal isn’t about getting your dresses or shoes down to single digits or about only wearing two colours. (Which would be very dull) it’s about wearing what you have, if you don’t use something, give it to someone that will!

True minimalists have capsule wardrobes, which is a compact wardrobe that only holds a bare minimum of pieces (less than 30) that all perfectly match each other. Now you don’t have to go to this extreme but the principal is a good one and will save you time, choosing what to wear.

Developing a wish list can stop you feeling overwhelmed when you’re shopping. It means you have a specific plan for what you looking for, which makes finding items that will work well with what you already have in your wardrobe much easier. When I travel, I always do this, if a piece of clothing cannot be worn several ways and with the other items packed it stays at home. Don’t feel you need to buy into branded, named designer fashion or the latest trends. If you have the basics in place with a little style, which I’m sure you have, you can still look on-trend. Websites like Pinterest show some great ways to update your look without spending more than you can afford. I hope this gives you some helpful shopping tips.

A Minimalist lifestyle- Good or Bad

Lifestyle

I wrote about de-cluttering a short while ago, having worked in the past for a de-cluttering guru. When people talk about minimalism and having a minimalist lifestyle what springs to my mind, is a white room, with the minimum of furniture and only a few well-chosen pieces like a single flower in a simple vase or a lone plant. Like many, I viewed this movement, wrongly, as merely a design statement. Followers of this trend, say that it’s something deeply life -changing. You could define a minimalist as someone who chooses to be intentional with what they allow in their life. Most often, this refers to physical possessions but it can refer to people, tasks and even ideas. The purpose of a minimalist life appears to be about having more of what matters to you and less of what doesn’t. Well that sounds like a great idea but just how practical is it to achieve?

People get minimalism and de-cluttering confused a lot because they are often mentioned together, but they are not really the same thing. De-cluttering is a vital part of a minimalist lifestyle. Some minimalists, say you don’t need to have a clutter-free home, but personally I don’t agree. I can see that having a minimalism lifestyle is much more complex than simply getting rid of as many things as possible. When we de-clutter, unnecessary items are removed from a room. De-cluttering is an action which has been taken, it doesn’t have to involve any changes in our mindsets. Minimalism, then, is not just about getting rid of stuff, it’s a mental shift in the way that we think about things which could, in turn, impact the decision- making in all areas of our life. Over the past few years many have jumped on the minimalism bandwagon not truly understanding the deeper meaning.

The minimalist gospel is the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, the celebrity de-cluttering guru, which has sold more than ten million copies. Which views minimalism, as a focus on self-improvement. The KonMari Method is not just been about transforming your space.

Once you have your house in order you will find that your whole life will change. You can feel more confident, you can become more successful, and you can have the energy and motivation to create the life you want. You will also have the courage to move on from the negative aspects of your life: you can recognise and finish a bad relationship; you can stop feeling anxious; you can finally lose weight.

A lot of claims to make, but this book has sold in 30 countries with great reviews, so for many it works!

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known as the minimalists, help over 20 million people live meaningful lives with less through their website, books and podcasts. Rather than less is more, they write that been a minimalist is about more; more time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment and more freedom. Clearing the clutter from life’s path helps make that room. Minimalists say that by keeping expenses low and purchases to a minimum it creates a life that is clear and streamlined. This could also lead you to the conclusion that not only is there too much stuff in your own home but too much stuff in the world. We are facing an epidemic of over-production, over- consumerism and over-spending. For some, minimalism offers psychological self-help to cope with the over-supply of modern times. For others it’s the need to contribute to more sustainability in society through changing their own consumer habits.

When researching, I found many contradictory statements about the movement, finding some in favour and some against minimalism.

The opposition states that the trend towards post-modern minimalism is primarily a phenomenon of our prosperity culture and can therefore only be understood by those who live with too much. You have to have been experiencing a highly consumed life in order to consciously decide in favour of rejecting this and accepting less. Simply put it’s a middle-class movement. Ever with the current world changes and shortages,most of us live in abundance. Never before in human history has there been such an abundance and variety of food and goods at our disposal. Should we only consume what we need. A large part of our consumption is based on the social pressures of having to have the latest model rather than the actual need to replace something. For several months, we have all had a decreased ability to consume as many businesses closed temporarily. We managed to survive this hardship with no ill-effects. Its too early to tell whether this is will impact our future spending habits. Will materialism matter less?

Minimalism is said to be life-changing, but there are downsides, especially if you are starting from a place of less. If you don’t have that much to begin with how can you justify getting rid of things. Minimalism says, Get rid of it! If you really need it, you can always buy a new one later. Here’s the dilemma, what do you do when you don’t have the income to do this? I think it is important to remember that minimalism comes in different forms, it isn’t own the least amount possible which is often how the message comes across but about valuing what you have and become more intentional with what you buy. You have to apply some common sense; minimalism for a single person will not look the same as for a family of four. Those in support of minimalism would argue that a clutter-free environment and home decreases stress and reduces the time spent maintaining your belongings. This benefits everyone, whatever your financial status may be.

So, it seems that minimalism is about living more simply, with less and to enjoy more of what you really value. Minimalism can impact our choices at home, in our careers and in the way that we choose to our life’s. It has been likened to a form of meditation with more opportunity for a clearer mind than someone whose space and mind are both over-cluttered in thoughts and things. Minimalism involves intention, enabling you to focus and achieve better mental clarity and determine your goals.

I don’t live a minimalism lifestyle, although I can see many aspects that would improve my life. Honestly assessing the value and meaning of things in your life and deciding what you love, sounds a very positive thing to do. Getting rid of the rest of my stuff, does seem a bit of a challenge to me. But then life is about taking challenges……

https://www.theminimalists.com/ for more information.

Paul Noble and Collins Books

Reading and Books

If I need a dictionary or phase book then I always turn to Collins books. They have now joined forces with Paul Noble, the highly acclaimed English linguist with a language school in London.

Collins has been publishing educational and informative books for 200 years. Throughout this rich heritage they have held an impressive record in creating market-leading products across various sectors. With a database of over 4.5 billion words, they constantly monitor text from publications, websites and transcripts around the world to ensure their dictionaries are up-to-date. There is a free online dictionary at http://www.Collinsdictionary.com which provides a snapshot of world languages. Collins is the home to bilingual dictionaries and language learning products and now the Paul Noble audio courses.

Paul Noble acts as the instructor on his products, which are published through Collins. the languages are: Spanish, French, German and Italian- Chinese has now been introduced to the range.

My friend has tried the Paul Noble method to learn French and has found this a great way to learn quickly, the reviews are also very good. I saw Paul Noble on TV a while ago, where he was showing people how to learn languages and I was impressed by how easy and fun he made it look. I learnt French at school and have attended a couple of classes as an adult, which were a bit disappointing to be honest. I have also listened to various discs including linguaphone. I am not quite a beginner, but I am certainly no linguist and I would love to be better at these. Learning a language is also supposed to be good for your brain power, which is an added bonus.

Now is it possible to learn a language in just one day? The Express newspaper sent a reporter along to meet Paul Noble to see if this was possible.

This is a short summary of the interview:

Paul shows himself to be as friendly, approachable and entertaining a genius as you could ever want to meet. The Collins people might say he’s a genius but no, he chuckles, it’s actually just not teaching language in a ridiculous way. That is all it is, just doing it in a sensible way. Why wouldn’t you do things so people understand it? Why wouldn’t you teach them the more useful stuff, rather than the less useful stuff?

So, what is he referring to exactly? I always had the feeling that it would be incredibly cool to be able to speak a foreign language, he admits. When we did have any language classes in school, I was never any good. I did history at university but I actually spent most of my time studying languages at home by myself. Paul confesses that he became obsessed with the idea of being able to speak a language and consumed as many different courses as he possibly could. In doing so, he discovered that traditional ways of learning a language just didn’t suit him. Most language courses are terrible, he says. So how does he do it? Well, rather than spending an age learning the nuts and bolts of a foreign language, such as the grammatical terms that we all remember with a groan, Paul’s argument is that if you want to speak a language then you need to do just that. If you want a course that makes you better at speaking the language then the course should be making you speak the language, he argues and after just five minutes, I have to say that he’s right.

I would agree with this myself; it sounds a lot like the courses I tried, I much prefer the sound of his classes!

When asked why he started his training school, Paul says that the most commonly used phrase, uttered in foreign language classrooms across the entire English- speaking world is: I’m no good at languages also frequently expressed as I’m not gifted at languages. Curiously, this is a phrase which is especially common, to the experience of language learning. I don’t think, for instance, that I have personally ever heard it used by anyone learning to drive a car. Whenever I’ve met people who are having trouble learning to drive, very often their response is: I suppose it’ll just take time. Rarely do they suggest that they are simply not gifted at driving.

Having said this, I have never considered myself to be especially gifted at languages. As a teenager, although I was successful academically, I was totally lost with languages, bemused and frustrated by them. I found them so difficult in fact that I probably would never have given them another thought, except for the chance coinciding of my initial failures at language learning and my passing of the MENSA entry test. When I gained entry into MENSA, I did ask myself why it was that I could have a high IQ and yet be appallingly bad at languages. Was there a connection? Or was it just a question of not being gifted as one might or might not be in music, for example?

I did try to learn a language again later but I always met with failure and utter frustration. The explanations given to me by teachers and grammar books bamboozled me and progress seemed impossible. One day, I was wandering through a second-hand book shop, when I came across a very old and extremely tatty French textbook. Glancing inside, I came across a quote, which struck me at the time and which was to change the whole direction of my life. It was by the eighteenth-century French writer, Antoine de Rivarol

Grammar is the art of lifting the difficulties out of a language; the lever must not be heavier than the burden

I was very much affected and inspired by this idea, that grammar should actually remove the difficulties from a language, rather than being a troublesome subject in itself. I thought long and hard about what de Rivarol had said and with this basic idea in mind I set about self-instructing myself, both in French and German, all the time being guided by this basic notion. I deliberated a great deal about how the difficulties from typical textbook and grammar book explanations could be removed. So as to give myself and others a more usable understanding of foreign languages. During my initial period of self-instruction, I also began to seek out any course or book that was easier for me to understand and to learn the language from, I found very few. Most courses offered much the same as that which I had experienced at school. So were of little help.

A small minority of authors and teachers did exist, however, who had produced books, audio-tapes and CDs that at least hinted at better ways to teach like: Alphonse Chérel, Jacques Roston, Lewis Robins, Charles Duff, Margarita Madrigal and Michel Thomas. Looking back, I can honestly say that each of them changed my life and helped me drag myself those initial steps along the path towards being able to speak a foreign language properly. In spite of this, I was nevertheless acutely aware that they each still suffered from serious weaknesses. Nonetheless, they did each help me to take some of those first steps. On top of this, however, these courses were perhaps most valuable in that they acted as an aid in prompting me to try out some aspects of the instructional viewpoints employed by them, with the hope that they would make instruction easier and more effective. These provoked me into asking the most important question: why it was that, if courses could be fleetingly insightful and useful, they couldn’t be insightful, useful and use real language from beginning to end. This in turn led me into thinking long and hard about what it was that allowed each of their methodologies to work but then, ultimately, to fail at certain points.

Considerable time passed as I considered this during which I came across the works of various authors, each of whom exerted a significant influence on the way I thought about languages or about learning in general. Spurred in part by this realisation ,I decided to try writing a course of my own, one which would be guided by the belief that there was nothing so complicated in foreign languages that it could not be made simple and with the intention that this principle would be sustained throughout the entirety of the course. It would be a course where students got everything they were taught and where everything they were taught was useful, real language, which would allow them to hold a normal conversation with another human being. Finally, it would also be a course where, by its end, each student would actually be able to remember what they had been taught. Eventually, I did write several courses based on this principle. They took a long time to develop and each had to be trial tested for many months just to make certain that they were heading in the right direction.

I found that I was able to get the results I desired and they were quite remarkable. Whereas students might normally spend several years studying languages at school and come out unable to communicate in that language, students were leaving my classes after the first few hours, able to construct complex sentences and to begin communicating in the language they had been taught. Based on the great success of these courses, I eventually founded a private language college. The Paul Noble Language Institute, as it came to be known. The French, Spanish and Italian courses I developed at the Institute were subsequently published by Collins. Since their publication, I have gone on to work exclusively with East Asian languages.

Paul gives 5 tips on learning a new language;

Study at least a little every day. Learning a language is like building a fire, if you don’t tend to it, it will go out. It doesn’t have to be for a long time though. Just 5 or 10 minutes each day will be enough.

Stop while you’re still enjoying it. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that the key to his body building success was that he stopped his work- out each day just before it started to get boring.

Use your hidden moments. The famous American linguist, Barry Farber, learnt a great part of the languages he spoke during the hidden moments he found in everyday life. Such hidden moments might include the time he would spend waiting for a train to arrive or for the traffic to get moving in the morning. These hidden moments could include lunch breaks.

Forget what you were taught at school. Many of us were told at school that we did not have an aptitude for languages, that we didn’t have a knack or a gift for them.

Choose the right language. If you’re going to learn a foreign language, make sure you choose a language that you’re going to have a chance to use. Like going on holiday. Could a particular foreign language be useful at work?

To find out more information, the website is below and the Collins books and audio courses are available through the Collins website or Amazon. I hope you have chance to give it a try!

http://www.paulnoblelanguages.com

Global Trending in Beauty

Beauty and Bathing

So, I have talked about de-cluttering and I think we are all in agreement less is more. The beauty industry has always been centred on multi-selling and buying the full range of products. The industry average sale per transaction is three, so they hope to sell at least 3 items per customer. We have all thought that to get great results, we had to buy every product. (Many of which we never use) Major changes are now occurring, people are becoming overwhelmed by having so much stuff. Now it’s the age of low-effort beauty. As awareness grows of the impact that the sheer amount of our purchases have on the planet, it is clear that conscious consumerism is here to stay. Trends such as slow beauty and minimalist beauty point the same way, shoppers are not only drawn to buying less, they can see the beauty benefits of using fewer products. Whilst buying less for themselves consumers are still expecting products to deliver all of the results they want. There is a shift towards purposeful beauty that will only become more pronounced in the future.

In the year 2020 and the decade ahead, beauty brands must go beyond product, and contribute positively to the world– Cosmetic Business Report 2019.

What are the global trends and how will these affect the environmentally – minded consumer? As young consumers gain more spending power, they have different expectations of the beauty world. They fully expect brands to prove that there is a reason for their existence, one that contributes in some way positively to the environment, to society and to supporting individual expression.

According to Mintel, over the next 10 years, two distinct forces of change will disrupt the beauty consumer landscape. The brand to consumer relationship will shift in a more seismic manner, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (the blurring of boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds) goes mainstream. At the same time, consumer behaviour will become increasingly polarising and fluctuate across a spectrum driven by information and emotion. Consumers will explore the push-pull between nature and science; each must support the other to expand beauty consumption.

The three main trends are below:

Water– The new luxury Water is set to become a precious commodity as consumption outstrips supply. The more consumers become aware of this, the more beauty brands will need to change how they manufacture and formulate products to limit their dependence on water.

Power Play- Consumers are facing an energy crisis as the pace of modern life catches up with them. Aware of consumers’ need to make long-term lifestyle changes to address falling energy levels, beauty brands are delivering products that put energy claims at the forefront of their message.

Gastronomia – ‘it’s what’s on the inside that counts. The interest in natural ingredients is on the rise as more people dare to push up their sleeves and get involved in the process of creating beauty products.

In layman terms what does this all mean? Consumers will increasingly seek out brands whose values align with their own, 90% of consumers believe that companies and brands have a responsibility to take care of the planet and its people. Ethical and sustainable beauty will continue to dominate the industry. Brands will be required to display greater honesty and transparency about their products, which will include the ingredients, some of which have been guarded secrets.

“Looking ahead to the new decade, brands will begin their shift away from misleading buzzwords and hyped ingredients towards a more sustainable industry that considers tomorrow’s ecosystem,” says Jessica Smith, Senior Creative Researcher at The Future Laboratory.

I have worked with a few, independent beauty companies, packaging is always a huge problem to resolve, striking the balance between using less, but packing safety and causing less harm environmentally. Smaller companies who want to do The Right Thing may be limited financially in adapting to the changing market. However, as the industry continues to be spotlighted for its environmental impact and waste, all brands, large or small, need to look at reducing waste by removing unnecessary packaging. During Zero Waste Week, it was reported that the cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging per year. Which means that 18 million acres of forest is annually lost in part due to the cardboard used for beauty products. I met a small artisan company who had come up with some ingenious ways of packing sustainably on a tight budget.

The bring-back loyalty-based recycling schemes for bottles and jars, are a further way for brands to help consumers tread more lightly on the planet. Started by the Body shop. Anita Roddick, the founder of ethical beauty consumerism, I am sure would have had some great ideas!

We were all shocked at the plastic pollution in the scenes shown in the 2018’s Blue Planet TV show. Most businesses are actively trying to replace plastic with glass and aluminium which can be fully recycled and where possible using recycled packaging. Refillable and reusable packaging initiatives have been adopted, the larger refills, cut down on packaging and are cost- effective to the customer, these are appearing more and more in the mainstream market. Fully recyclable products will become a baseline and compostable packaging will be introduced more widely according to plastics provider Eastman, which recently announced three recycling technology loops using landfill-bound waste, bio-content, and consumer take-back materials to produce plastic packaging. The future could see plastic waste used as feed-stock and transformed into uncompromising luxury packaging that is indistinguishable from packaging made from fossil-based raw materials.

The luxury skin- care brand Haeckel’s, bio-contributing mycelium and seed paper packaging can be planted in the garden to add nutrients as it biodegrades and brings new plant live when the seeds germinate. Haeckel’s founder Dom Bridges says: “If shopping as a concept is to continue it must on all levels create at least no waste, but in order to create true sustainability, every product we make needs to contribute back to the ecosystem.

But beyond packaging, consumers are starting to question the sustainability of natural ingredients used in their beauty products and just how natural ‘natural’ products really are. Brands will need to have the confidence to explain exactly why they are using naturals or synthetics, particularly if the latter is more sustainable or long lasting. Over the past year, dozens of brands across the board have gained certification according to ethical standards, with cruelty-free and 100% vegan claims becoming increasingly common within the industry. While the beauty industry has traditionally been viewed as a culture of vanity and luxury, now characteristics such as health, ethics and positively impacting the environment, are the new status symbol. The bar has been raised for everything from efficacy to ethics, and in the years ahead, the consumer demands for ethical purchasing will evolve even further. The challenge will be how brands can innovate sustainably, develop alternative ‘greener’ packaging and adapt to the consumer-led changes.

The beauty industry has seen an influx of multi-task products hitting the market recently and there seems to be a fresh new buzz surrounding the reasons why these products are becoming such an integral part of our daily regimes. Men’s products, particularly those geared around sports, have often been multi-purpose, by that I mean a hair and body wash or a 2 in 1, shampoo and conditioner. In the 1980’s high volume, mass- produced products were made this way and promoted as a way of saving money, today the companies prompting these 2 in 1 products are more about saving the planet. The US brand, Illuum, with its you deserve less philosophy has fewer products, fewer ingredients and less skin stress. This skin care brand offers only six products, many of which contain just two or three ingredients each, which are designed to equip skin with the tools it needs to perform the job it was designed to do. Beauty experts have admitted that using too many products is worse for your skin that using too little, and have openly encouraged a pared-back beauty routine.

If we buy into using multi-benefit products and the movement of less is more, by having 5 products in our bathroom instead of 15, is a positive step we can all take towards softening our environmental footprint.

I am going to try it, after I have de-cluttered my over-flowing bathroom cabinet. Will you too?

The Teenage Global Climate Protest.

History

Things are really changing now, even from only a few years ago, we couldn’t have predicted both the changes in our beliefs and the teenage global climate protests with Greta Thunberg at the helm. In the city where I live teenagers took to the streets to join the worldwide protests. I feel proud of them for standing up and speaking their minds. Now teenagers in general get a bad rapt, but on this, they are correct, we all know this is a major problem but right now they are the ones who are making a difference.

Anxious about their future on a hotter planet and angry at world leaders for failing to arrest the crisis, masses of young people poured into the streets on every continent for a day of global climate protests. Organisers estimated the turnout to be around four million in thousands of cities and towns worldwide. Whether this global action solved the problem that the protesters have identified: arresting greenhouse gas emissions to stave off a climate catastrophe, who knows at this point? It depends on how effectively climate advocates can turn the momentum of the protest marches into sustained political pressure on governments and companies that produce those emissions. But surly, one of the biggest environmental protests the world has ever seen cannot be ignored by those in positions of power.

There is growing scientific concern. A slew of recent reports has warned that oceans are heating and the poles melting faster than expected. In the USA and Europe, politicians are considering green deals and policies that would ramp up the transition to renewable energy but with increasing emissions it could be said that more focus is needed and quickly.

Young people have a distinctive and valuable perspective. They deserve to be heard. Teenagers can already join British political parties, most of which grant full membership rights to mid-teens. In Scotland, 16-year-olds can vote in some elections and this should be extended to all elections across the UK. The damage that is occurring now will affect them more than us, so they should have a say. There are sensible questions to be asked about the influence exerted by parents and other adults on children professing strong opinions. But we should respect and welcome efforts by children and teenagers to make their voices heard and influence decision-making. After all, they will be living with the consequences for far longer than the rest of us. The accelerating climate crisis, with figures from the UK Met Office suggesting that 1.5C of warming could be reached in as little as five years, shows it is the time to demand tougher action to avert disaster.

There have been suggestions that someone older had put them up to it. The Flemish environment minister, Joke Schauvliege, took the stance that the recent school strikes across Belgium were a “set-up and that security services knew who was really “behind this movement”. However, the Belgian security services issued a rare denial and Ms Schauvliege resigned her position.

Greta Thunberg was a lonely figure, a painfully introverted, slightly built teenage girl, when she started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish parliament building in Stockholm in 2018. Her parents tried to dissuade her and her classmates declined to join her. Pity and bemusement were expressed by passers-by at the sight of a 15-year-old sitting on the cobblestones with a hand-painted banner. Now the picture could not be more different. The pig-tailed teenager is feted across the world as a model of determination, inspiration, and positive action. As a climate activist, her one-person strikes in Stockholm helped ignite a global movement and she is known as a figurehead for this vast and growing movement. A handful of fossil fuel lobbyists, politicians, and journalists have argued Thunberg is not what she seems, that she was propelled into prominence by environmental groups and sustainable-business interests. The entrepreneur who first tweeted about the climate strike, Ingmar Rentzhog, used Thunberg’s name to raise investment for his company but this was done without her permission. She has now cut all links with the company and has since vowed never to be associated with commercial interests. She has also been withering about leaders in the USA, UK, and Australia who either ignore the strikers or admonish them for skipping classes.

Greta says “They are desperately trying to change the subject whenever the school strikes come up. They know they can’t win this fight because they haven’t done anything”

Such blunt talk has found a broad audience among people jaded by empty promises and eager to find a climate leader willing to ramp up ambition. Greta Thunberg is brutally honest and for this some people consider this a threat.

She has told demonstrators “If no one else will take action, then we will”

I personally think we should listen to our children on this one. There is an old Yorkshire saying “Out of the mouths of Babes”, which roughly means sometimes children have some clever ideas and know and see more clearly than adults. So, I will leave you with this thought!

The Soul of the Rose

Perfume and Scent

I came across a TV documentary on BBC i-player called the Soul of The Rose which aired several years ago and found it a very moving story. One of my favourite scents is Rose Damask in its essential oil form, the high cost means this is a rare treat for me. Roses have been favoured for hundreds of years particularly in India. Rosewater showers are used in weddings and religious ceremonies.

For 400 hundred years in the Indian city of Kannauj, rose flowers have been distilled to make perfume. However due to the popularity of synthetic perfumes many distilleries have closed or are near to closing due to the decline in this industry. Twenty years ago, there were 700 perfume distilleries reducing to less than 100 in 2017. These distilleries produce oil-based perfumes from rose petals through steam-distillation, a traditional way of extracting fragrance in the perfume industry.

A visitor to Kannauj could easily miss the signs of what was once the city’s main industry. But among the cars, lorries and street vendors, occasionally a cart passes by laden with flower baskets and turns through a large gate into the stone-paved alleyways of the old city. Damask roses have to be picked by hand before sunrise and distilled on the same day. This intense but subtle scent requires 4 tonnes of hand-picked roses to make 1kg of rose alter. The rose petals are tipped into large copper pots called dhegs with a small amount of cold water. Under the pot, a fire is made with wood or dung and the water boiled for four to six hours. The hot steam releases the essential oils of the flower, which condenses and flows down bamboo pipes to a receiver pot. The perfumer’s job is a complex one. If the dheg overheats, the resulting scent will be too smoky. Judging how long to heat the dheg is also critical. The skills of a perfumer are many and have often been passed down through generations from father to son.

However, it has become no longer cost-effective as the skill and intensive labour involved has meant that the cost of the finished article is too expensive. Most people don’t understand this or appreciate the value. One reason for the high price is the increasing scarcity of sandalwood. Sandalwood oil can be used as a perfume by itself, but it is traditionally mixed with the rose oil that emerges from the dheg’s bamboo pipe. The deforestation of the sandalwood trees means the wood has become “practically unaffordable. However, this has prompted the Indian government to ban the felling of sandalwood trees. Many companies now use a cheaper paraffin-based product as the base for its attars, but it alters the scent which is less appealing to customers who knew and loved the authentic sandalwood version.

The purest and most expensive rose oil is called Ruh al Gulab, which is an exclusive product for a limited market like the very wealthy. This is made by distilling the rose oil a number of times, increasing the concentration making a very potent oil. Making this requires double the amount of rose petals. Emperor Jahangr, 1569-1627, said of Ruh al Gulab, there is no other scent of equal excellence, it lifts the soul.

Outside India, one of the biggest markets is in the Middle East, where dheg-produced attars have long been highly valued and there are still plenty of customers who can afford to buy them. In 2014, fragrance sales in Saudi Arabia were valued at $1.4bn; an average Saudi consumer was estimated to spend $700 per month on attars alone. Hussah al-Tamimi, a Kuwaiti woman, describes Ruh al Gulab as smelling like you have walked into a garden of roses or that fresh smell you get when you’ve walked past a bouquet of fresh flowers. In the Gulf region rose attars increase in value the older they are. As a result, they have historically been offered as presents to brides at their wedding, along with incense and gold. In fact, rose oil has traditionally been considered a masculine scent and has only recently begun to be worn by women too. Today, perfume shops have flooded the Souq. Rose attars from Bulgaria and Turkey are highly esteemed, but the Ruh al Gulab from Kannauj is still recognised as something unique. The more difficult it is to obtain it, the more valuable the perfume is seen to be.

One reason rose attars are valued by Muslims, both in India and the Middle East, is that they are made entirely from natural substances that can be applied directly to the body, without the addition of alcohol. In this respect they differ from modern scents that are mixed with solvents and sprayed through an atomiser.

How long Kannauj will be able to continue supplying traditional attars and ruh al gulab, is unclear. Pushpraj Jain, owner of the Pragmati Aroma Distillery says, demand for dheg-based perfumes is next to nothing, today’s generation is only interested in modern perfumes

Ousman a perfumer at Muna Lal and Sons distillery, has no doubt about the superiority of the product he makes he says, the difference between a synthetic perfume and a natural one is like the difference between food cooked in a microwave and food cooked in a wood-fired oven. And yet he fears the industry is slowly dying. He persuaded his children to take up a different trade.

Visible evidence of a struggling industry is not hard to find in Kannauj. The distilleries still operating often look starved of investment, one still uses a boiler taken from a Victorian-era paddle steamer. The soul of the rose lingers in these places, but how much longer will you be able to smell it? As the market for synthetic perfumes pushes the distilleries towards closure will these exquisite scents may soon be lost forever. I do hope not.