On Saturday afternoon, I went for a ride around Brussels using Villo! bicycles. I was looking for some street art by Muga. After I had found the piece I was looking for, I continued exploring the back streets by bike. After ending up at Place Jourdain, I decided the best way to get back up to the top of Ixelles was via the European Parliament. Here I found the prow of a beached trawler and was intrigued to see that it was for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign,commonly known as Hugh’s Fish fight. It is the follow up to the Channel 4 TV series, in which he publicised the crazy practices carried out on the seas and oceans around Europe.

As an individual, we often feel powerless to get big political institutions to change their course, but what we buy or refuse to buy has a bigger influence than our vote in many instances. The plight of the oceans is dire, with little projected to thrive in them other than jelly fish by 2030. Hugh’s Fish Fight is a campaign aimed at highlighting the shocking waste caused by the Common Fisheries Policies.

Hugh’s Fish Fight

Signing up for the petition is an easy move, but looking carefully at the fish and seafood we buy at home or on our travels can also make a huge difference. Much of the seafood on sale today is not from sustainable sources. One thing we can do is look for the MSC’s (Marine Stewardship Council) logo, to certify that the fish was from a sustainable fishing process. Even farmed fish are fed on unsustainably fished anchovies and the like.

On a positive note, on the Sunday I was in Diksmuide, Flanders, Belgium. Looking for somewhere to eat our evening meal and we decided to dine on a canal barge . We were pleasantly surprised to find that they took great care to only provide sustainably fished seafood. They did not use tuna and had an excellent vegetarian / vegan choice on their menu.   I’ll probably mention them in future post on Diksmuide, but in the meantime they can be found by the IJzer Tower. They are called Water en vuur (Water and Fire). The point is that some restaurants now do consider how sustainable the food they offer is. Supporting them is doing our bit, for the change we would like to see in the world.

More information on Hugh’s Fish Fight: http://www.fishfight.net/

I’m very conscious of the fact that Earth Day is misused for all sorts of purposes, from selling cheap flights to “eco-resorts”, to celebrities greening their image for a day. I gave some thought to how I would celebrate Earth Day. In the end I decided to share “La Belle Verte” (The Green Beautiful), a film I enjoyed very much for its funny look at how an advanced civilisation might view us, but with some deep messages within. It even includes Marion Cotillard before she starred in “Taxi” and went on to get an Oscar for her role in “La vie en rose”. It was filmed in some beautiful locations in Languedoc-Roussillon, Australia as well as Paris .

The film has not received much exposure since it was first aired in 1995. The Green Beautiful’s Channel on You Tube enables this film to be viewed in nine parts. A poorer quality version is available on Google Videos until May

Have you seen the Green Beautiful? If so, what did you think of it?
Enjoy Earth Day!

Each November, in Wallonia and Brussels OXFAM Magasins du Monde host breakfasts at school canteens and cafeterias. Last Saturday and Sunday the 20th and 21st November, we were among the 39,200 diners. The event has been run for the last nineteen years now, but this was only my second OXFAM breakfast. It raises money for the charity as well as showcases the high quality range of foods the shops sell here in Belgium.

We regularly purchase their fruit juices, coffee, chocolates and the like. It was good to discover some of their breakfast cereals as well. I was very impressed by the baguettes with quinoa, unfortunately bread is not normally sold in the shops.

OXFAM Breakfast

Revised 18 February 2011, for #FriFotos on Twitter.

Restaurants during Earth Hour

On Saturday evening I made my way to Poelaert, by the Palais du Justice in Brussels. I waited until 8:30 pm and watched as the lights of Grand Place in the near distance and the Atomium on the horizon, were extinguished for Earth Hour. I was in a position to see many houses and blocks of flats switch off their lights and use candle power for an hour.

I then walked over to Grand Place. The area of Brussels I passed through has numerous Art Shops, bars and restaurants. All lt up to display their wares and appeared to have made no effort to turn the lights off for Earth Hour. Upon arrival at Grand Place, the lack of lighting was instantly apparent. Once my eyes had become accustomed to the low light, the Hotel de Ville with its tall fine spire stood out against a dark navy blue sky across which dramatic clouds passed slowly. It looked more imposing than if it had been floodlit. Of course there were two or three bars and restaurants open in Grand Place, all using electric lights. It seems that when it comes to preventing catastrophic Climate Change businesses just don’t get it.

I had looked for bars and restaurants that were celebrating Earth Hour with an Earth Hour function, but to no avail. While Earth Hour was taking place, I walked in vain trying to find a candle lit bar or restaurant to have a drink, but instead passed establishments lit up like Christmas. What a shame, that a restaurant or bar couldn’t join in the vote for a sustainable future while simultaneously providing a wonderful ambience for an hour.