We haven't made a lot of fuss about the Book Campaign for a while, but it's been slowly simmering in the background and the results have been pretty impressive. Publishers have been keen to adopt forest friendly policies so they use more recycled paper and paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and to date over 40 per cent of UK publishers are on the road to going green.

Big names such as Random House, Bloomsbury, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Egmont are all on board and browsing through the shelves you'll see a growing number of bestsellers printed on well-sourced paper.

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Posted by Jamie at 2:33 PM | Permalink

It's the same every year - each time Christmas comes around, your shelves become littered with cards featuring bedraggled robins and mawkish fireside scenes until they go into the recycling bin. But not this year, because we've cooked up something a little bit different.

It's an e-card, but not just any old e-card. With the help of Her Royal Highness Queen E (or at least, someone who looks very much like her), you can send friends and family alike the Queen's Alternative Christmas Speech, a customised message full of Christmas cheer that's eco-friendly in two ways. First, no trees will have been harmed in making it, and secondly Queen E has plenty of practical advice to impart that will help one and all have a greener Christmas. If you know someone who could improve their ways, this is the card for you.

So go on and do a forest a favour. She's waiting for you...

Posted by Jamie at 2:51 PM | Permalink

One of the hundreds of citizens inspecting Aldermaston earlier this week was the artist Kurt Jackson. He’s best known for his paintings of the Cornish landscape, but it turns out he’s also a dab hand at sketching nuclear weapons facilities. In the rain. Under the scrutiny of nosy police officers.

Here's are a few of his sketches of the weapons inspectors outside Aldermaston, done in pencil, ink and charcoal (click on the thumbnails for to see them full sized):

    

© Kurt Jackson

Posted by rebecca at 4:48 PM | Permalink