Veronika Wild

I have just signed the AAVEZ petition in support of the people occupying Wall Street. It’s happening all over the world. Click here and you can too http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_world_vs_wall_st/?vl But I do feel such a hypocrite as I am still supporting Phillip Morris and Nescafe, so rather than just sign, I am looking really hard at the alternatives. I am going through my grocery list to see if there is anything I can change for the better. The main thing is not to be disheartened or expect to achieve perfection at once, but simply to begin. If you want a product list or loads of information  on ethical companies and things you can actually DO, do check out  some of the suggestions on http://www.ethical.org.au 10 things you can do 10 things you can do online Use our website , book or iPhone app to switch brands in the supermarket Shop at a farmers market or food co-op Switch to Fairtrade at your workplace or community group Buy ou...

  Apart from the washing machine debacle, had a rather nice day. Called into a discount shop to buy a few things for the van and was absolutely delighted with some of the weird and wonderful products on display. It's like entering Aladdin's cave and you just never know what you 'll find. No disrespect to my American friends, but I couldn’t resist the Barack and Michelle Paper Dress Up Dolls. Someone is going to get those for Christmas, so don’t say you haven’t been warned. Then there was the Placental Shampoo. I thought it was one of those unfortunate marketing failures, where manufacturers don’t know what something means in another country, but on reading the labels, it did actually contain placental extract to replenish damaged hair. The question now is whose?  I put that one back, also the drinking hat. At least this isn't false advertising I have been after a safety helmet for a while as you now need them to go caving. It really irks me having to buy one, ...

My washing machine developed incontinence this morning. I've just mopped up another two buckets of water and my floors are exceptionally clean. Yesterday the pump stopped working and I was exceedingly proud of myself for having run the diagnostics and cleaned it out. Previously I had only been acquainted with the On and Off switch but was finally compelled to read the manual because my clothes were trapped inside and I honestly didn’t have a thing to wear. I couldn't get the door open while there was water in it, so there was nothing for it but to pull off the inspection panel, empty the thing manually and pull apart the pump housing. It wasn't entirely without its rewards. Apart from being able to get my clothes out, I found two $2 coins, two buttons and a whole lot of wet black stringy stuff inside the pump. For a moment I thought I had finally discovered that parallel universe where all the odd socks go, but it just turned out to be fluff from the bathmats that I' ...

By the way, if you enjoy the photos of the Tasmanian bush, be sure to see the movie “The Hunter” with Willem Dafoe. I haven’t seen it myself yet, but I understand that the scenery plays a starring role. It doesn’t start here until today, but here is the trailer : I went down to our venerable State Cinema -the oldest in Australia, on Tightarse Tuesday (I believe the polite term is Thrifty Tuesday) to see it and ended up watching “The Whistleblower” instead. It is brilliant and a real shocker. We don't need fantasy stories about vampires. They are right here among us and traffic in humans. The question is, what can we do about it? It doesn’t seem as if the UN is going to do anything, toothless tiger that it is. I certainly hope none of us have shares in DynCorp or other companies like them who either actively take part or turn a blind eye to such activities and use diplomatic immunity and whitewash to deflect blame. There should be an immediate investigation and full protection for...

Is nothing sacred?  Not that I like beer. It’s the principle.  Belatedly catching up with the news, I have just heard that possibly Australia’s best -known brand of beer -Fosters, has just been sold to South African brewing giant SABMiller and even worse, that Tasmania’s  very own Cascades Brewery which I was raving about last week, has quietly been owned by Fosters since about 1983 and will likely fall into their hands as well. So much for our national icons. Our famous chocolate factory is owned by Cadbury- Schweppes and even Vegemite is no longer Australian, being owned by Kraft, although it is still made here, unlike most of our other manufacturing which went offshore years ago.  We don’t own much of our farmland any more, nor many of our mines.  Not too much of our infrastructure belongs to us either – not the airports, not the ports, nor the toll roads and probably not too many of our malls and resorts. It looks like the Chinese will be building the high ...

If you have been wondering why I have been uncharacteristically silent, it’s because I used my entire month’s data allowance streaming the final of that naughty program At Home with Julia.  I am so glad we live in a country where we are allowed to poke a little light-hearted fun at our elected leaders. It also reflected some of the difficulties of having to live in the public gaze, especially for female office holders ( I mean, do they ever comment on what Bob Katter is wearing apart from his hat, or whether he has offspring or not?). It also highlights the problem of the modern family where she earns more than he and men may have to look after the household.  For all that, this series also showed the soft side of Australia and the wonderful dry sense of humour that Australians have. Long may it endure.  It’s far more important than an over -zealous nationalism which could get you sent to Gitmo for having a little fun with the national flag. Same goes for having a littl...

A bit drizzly - view from the top of the hill Cape Raoul These were always regarded as the highest sea cliffs in the world, but someone in South Africa  recently pointed out that theirs were  a few centimetres higher, so we’ll just say they are still among the highest and pretty spectacular all the same. Although the guide book says it’s easy, don’t do this walk if you don’t have a head for heights and this is another one where you probably shouldn’t bring the children because the path runs along unfenced cliffs in several places. I am getting quite blasé about wandering around on cliff tops by now, but I’ m glad there isn’t a southerly gale. While any sensible person would run for cover when that happens, surfers with a death wish rush here to catch the waves. Check them out here . The walk to the Cape is officially around five hours, but adding time for lunch, getting lost here and there and the odd stop to admire the view, it’s best to leave yourself a bit longer. It’...