Today Jo and I went in to Newbury to go and see an exhibition on at the Corn exchange called “The Best of Newbury”. It’s basically a collection of photos of local people who are well known in the community.
As I’m quite new here I didn’t know many of the people, but there were a few including David Rendel. It seems like quite a good idea, although I wouldn’t want to decide who is ‘important’ enough to get in the gallery!
On the way back we went though the Kennet shopping centre. It is getting quite full of Christmas decorations now, and a good job too - only 45 days to go! [/sarcasm].
The main display is a almost surreal, mechanised polar bear family with some seal cubs sleeping next to them. It didn’t full me with Christmas cheer at all, but then seeing as it was in a shopping centre in the middle of Newbury, I’m not sure what would have. It got me thinking about polar bears, and how they are quickly becoming extinct. After a while, I thought I’d write to the local paper:
Sir, I have just seen this years Christmas center piece in the Kennet center, featuring a Polar bear family inexplicably mixing with some seal cubs.
I think it is a nice display that adds to the premature Christmas feeling of the centre. However, I think the addition of an information board explaining that there is a high chance that the species personified will be extinct by the time the children seeing it today are in their 60s would add to the display and help educate young and old people about the need to act on global warming issues now.
For a start, the energy wasted by leaving the lights in the Kennet centre and the shops in it over night is no doubt leading to the very global warming issues that threaten the bears. It is this level of hypocrisy that makes it easy to ignore the very real issues facing our relationship with the planet. I am not trying to say that the enjoyment gained from the display is wrong, but the chance is there to educate people.
This is something we should all think about in the lead up to Christmas: Can we buy gifts for loved ones that are ‘green’? Can we be more responsible by buying local produce with less food miles? There are too many simple things that we can do to care more for the earth to list here, so my advice is to research the products you are buying to find out where they come form and what the effect on the environment is.
I’m going to send it off in the morning. I will post any updates and a photo of the display later on!