Time to ease into a slower lifestyle

Published on Thursday 26 June 2008 09:21

I'VE never been the sort of person who does things in a hurry. It took my husband and I ten years to finally get hitched and we've been in our new house for a year and can't yet decide on what paint should go on the walls.

I've also never indulged in the fast fashion of Primark, but that was more to do with lethargy at the thought of traipsing through to Glasgow outweighing the desire for a 5 top. I didn't have any great ethical reason against its "throwaway" clothing – indeed I was one of the first queuing up when What Every Woman Wants opened up on South Bridge in the 1980s.

Now it's easy to feel smug about not being caught up in the Primark frenzy as it's been revealed that many of the high street chain's garments are being made by Indian children working for the grand sum of 52p a day.

Yet despite its shocking nature, the C4 programme tracing the origins of Primark's clothes will probably have little overall effect on shop sales. "Yes, yes – it's all a shame, but catwalk copies for less than a 10? – let me at 'em," seems to be the consumer vibe.

Where does the desire come from to have the latest "It" piece of clothing in our wardrobes faster than it takes a model to change backstage? Why can't we wear last week's clothes for a bit longer, buy styles which will outlast fashion or perhaps, even buy a pattern and some material?

It's the same with the fuel crisis. Oil is running out, prices are going up, but instead of trying to reduce car trips, go a bit easier on the accelerator or maybe open a window rather than hit the AC button, people want more of the black gold to be pumped out the ground. Speeding up the process of planetary death.

And food too seems to be produced, bought and occasionally consumed at greater and greater rates. Who said we needed to eat fat-suffused chicken every day (their short, sedentary lives doesn't allow for their meat to turn from fat to protein). Who said we needed to cook and consume our food in seconds flat – while watching the TV of course – rather than taking pleasure from preparing a meal and eating together?

Where are we rushing to? Perhaps it's to take our children to yet another extra-curricular activity in our gas-guzzling car. The brakes need to be put on our consumer demands. The world we live in seems to be spinning at faster and faster rates – it's time we all took a breather and just slowed down.

The economic downturn may well force us all to do just that, and while I'm not advocating a puritan approach to life, surely it is time we all took a hard look at the speed at which we live our lives and the fact that we're surrounded by too much choice, and too much blandness.

Ironically it's the oil problem which could help do just that, ultimately changing the way we eat as well as drive and use energy in our homes.

Local organic food is likely to become the cheaper option because it doesn't use the nitrogen fertilisers and pesticides which are made from oil, nor take so much energy to reach the shops. That will mean taking time to peruse the fruit and veg properly as it won't be all the same shiny size.

That's likely to encourage more people to take time to cook at home, which should also mean the amount of food discarded is reduced – we currently bin 30 per cent of the food we buy.

Growing-your-own costs even less, but does involve taking time to tend your garden. But that shift is already happening with seed sales up this year, according to the Soil Association, 60 per cent sold being vegetables.

A growing number of people are also joining The Slow Movement – at the last count more than six million worldwide – to encourage people to seize control of time rather than being dictated by it. While technology can speed up working and eating, the movement says the most important things in life should not be rushed.

Advocates of the Slow Movement – including Edinburgh-born author of In Praise of Slow, Carl Honore, say it's not about rejecting technology or changing modern life completely, but rather about keeping it all in balance.

As Honore says: "Slowing down doesn't have to mean living in a converted barn in Somerset and growing carrots. It's about a state of mind."

So go on. Put your feet up with a cup of tea – made with water boiled on the hob rather than in the electric kettle, it may take longer but it'll use less fuel – and as the Cadbury's Caramel bunny used to say, take it easy.

Pity Leslie's family

I FIND it odd that it's taken John Leslie's latest accuser 13 years to go to the police with her tale of sexual assault against the former Blue Peter presenter.

Now I'm no fan of Leslie – there are far too many anecdotes about his behaviour towards women which make my skin crawl – but I do feel sorry for his family, and in particular his brother Grant who, given his own public profile, is always called upon to defend him.

But to go through one legal battle which left him with a ruined reputation and career despite being acquitted, to now have more mud slung at him can't be easy.

The time lapse makes me think there are ulterior motives at play but in the meantime Leslie and his family are in the spotlight again. Any chance he had of living a normal life back in Edinburgh is as remote as Abi Titmuss going back to nursing.