Hunts will open their gates to newcomers in October for “Hunting Newcomers Week” (10-17th October). Newcomers to hunting will get a taste of hunting, entirely free of charge, when hunts nationwide will open their doors to those with an interest in finding out more. Packs of all descriptions are giving people the opportunity to try exempt hunting, to learn more about the way hunts work and the role they play in the British countryside. Hunting Newcomers’ week has been very well supported countrywide by hunts, with packs in all areas taking part. Hunts will give both people who ride — and those who don’t — the opportunity to hunt and see what it’s all about.
The Grumpy Vegan looks forward to lessons in raping for free, pillaging for free, war for free, imperialism for free, racism for free and other goodies.
This is a fascinating but disturbing Al Jazeera report on descendants of famous Soviet monkeys. They were launched into space during the 1980s and now live in a run-down research center in Abkhazia, a rebel region of Georgia. The prospect of this center becoming a functioning animal research laboratory is considered.
Often, the best ideas are the simplest and most creative. The Grumpy Vegan likes living in Hastings, East Sussex, England. It is for no other reason that it heaves with creative and innovative people, including artists, film makers, writers, painters. Throw in a healthy number of misfits, bohemians and what-have-you’s and, well, you get the picture. In short, the Grumpy Vegan fits in. Anyway, two arts festivals are currently underway in a crowded annual calendar of many events of different types.
Now in its 4th year, The Hastings Film Challenge is an exciting opportunity for everyone (of any age or background) to make a short 3minute film against the clock in an atmosphere of fun, creativity and good-hearted competition. You have 5 days to script, film, edit, and master onto Mini DV or DVD a completed film.
Participants are arbitrarily given a title, a genre and a prop which has to be part of the film you make. There were about 24 entrants this year. The Grumpy Vegan was part of Tim and Georgia’s team. Our designated title was “The Inebriate.” The obligatory prop was a table. It had to be a romantic comedy. Our efforts started late Saturday afternoon in our local, The Jenny Lind. After much throwing around (and away) ideas we settled on the concept of a woman who speed dates in a pub. She meets a series of awful men and gets drunk in the process. She eventually collapses on the pub table (aka the obligatory prop). She starts the film by listing the qualities she looks for in men: dependable, reliable, sturdy and so on. The film concludes with her in bed, with a glass of wine and looking very happy. The camera pans across to reveal she’s in bed with the pub table! Yes, we knew it’s stupid. But you try making a 3-minute romantic comedy in less than five days featuring a table!
Last night the Grumpy Vegan watched more the 20 submissions at the Hastings Film Challenge awards ceremony. The range and creativity were amazing. Our team won “Best Prop” prize. Other prize winners were deserving. Above all, we had tremendous fun and hadn’t laughed so much in ages doing it.
The other festival is Coastal Currents which takes place in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill.
This year’s festival focuses on contemporary visual arts with the theme ‘hidden Hastings’, revealing new and exciting work by local artists, in unusual locations all over the town. There are a wide range of events and activities to appeal to all – from families, community groups, and visitors to the area; to arts enthusiasts and specialists. These include exhibitions; film screenings; open-air theatre productions; art trails; sonic art and live music; storytelling and spoken word evenings; an art car boot sale; book art bibliotherapy and even guerrilla gardening. Many of these are free of charge. In addition, Coastal Currents provides an opportunity for local artists to create bold and innovative new work, visible to a large audience; and the chance to critically engage with other artists and organisations through a carefully coordinated series of free talks and events. It is through the commitment of artists that this festival has become the popular and successful event it is today.
The diversity and number of events taking place is incredible. One taking place near the Grumpy Vegan’s seat is “Bread Bird Houses” by Nathan Burr.
Burr’s intervention among the trees in Hastings Memorial Garden is “a desire to overcome alienation in an ecstatic embracing of nature and community”. The bird houses are literally fabricated from loaves of bread and bread sticks. Bread Birdhouses can be used by the bird population as a home or a food source. The latter choice suggests a Hansel and Gretel like scenario with the birds eating themselves out of house and home. Members of the public who discover Burr’s project are transformed into amateur twitchers and will walk away with a heightened awareness of the local feathered wildlife.
Tyson Fresh Meats, the world’s largest beef and pork supplier, will pay $2 million for pumping animal waste into the Missouri River, the Justice Department said Thursday. Justice said the company, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, Ark., violated a 2002 agreement with the government to limit its discharges into the river from a beef processing facility in Dakota City, Neb. The government said the company did not adequately treat the wastewater it discharges into the river, and as a result, fecal coliform and nitrates were discharged. Officials said the discharges caused high levels of toxicity to aquatic life in the river. Regulators said Tyson discharges an average of 5 million gallons of treated wastewater from the facility into the river each day.
Clarissa demonstrates how to quaff and dress in the field.IFAW UK bring successful prosecution of TV chef and ‘Fat Lady’ Clarissa Dickson-Wright and race horse trainer Sir Mark Prescott for attending illegal hare coursing events on March 2-3, 2007. But don’t look for anything about this on the Countryside Alliance Web site. The Grumpy Vegan searched “Dickson-Wright” and 18 hits were found but nothing about the prosecution. We should be told why.
Kim Stallwood is an independent scholar and author on animal rights. His forthcoming book, Animal Dharma, explores what it means to care deeply about animals. Starting in 1976, he has held leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost organisations in the UK and US, including CIWF, BUAV, PETA, The Animals’ Agenda, Animals and Society Institute and Minding Animals International. A vegetarian since 1974 when as a student he worked in a chicken slaughterhouse. A vegan since 1976. His evil twin is the Grumpy Vegan.
New Book!
Kim Stallwood's forthcoming book explores what it means to care deeply about animals and discovers how we can live peacefully with ourselves and others by proposing four key values: truth, compassion, nonviolence and interbeing.
