This Weekend ...

On Saturday I attended the 2014 Global Aware Conference.  The highlight of the day was listening to Ruth Valerio, who describes herself as a 'community activist, Christian, academic, eco-warrior, mum, author, veg grower, wife and pig keeper rolled into one'.  She inspired me with her passion for food and her recipe for virtuous eating (humility, frugality, generosity, justice, hope & patience and love).  I was particularly struck by a quote from Wendell Berry "The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition.  One reason to eat responsibly is to live free".  I came away resolved to make changes to my food habits, more of which later.

On Sunday I saw 12 Years a Slave.  It was a hard film to watch, and the exquisitely beautiful lingering shots of Louisiana only served to highlight the brutal injustice of the subject matter.  I was struck by the dehumanising effect that the system had on the slaves, stripping them of their natural instinct to come to the aid of their fellows, and the overwhelming feeling of utter hopelessness.