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FIND IT FIX IT FLAUNT IT Let’s bring back the attitude of make do and mend December 2021| Issue 1
What’s occurin’?
Making the social media trend of pumpkin picking sustainable Picked and carved pumpkin lanterns can be repurposed into meals, bird food or nutrients for the soil, according to pumpkin patch owner
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umpkin picking is a popular activity, but after the lanterns go out, it is important to use them in other ways to avoid food waste. That is the message from a pick-your-own pumpkin farm this autumn. Picking Patch runs a pumpkin patch near Cardiff, where locals enjoy a seasonal day out, choose pumpkins for Halloween or take some Instagrammable photos. With many people buying barrows full of pumpkins, it is vital to promote sustainability to stop alarming levels of food waste. Niall Smith, managing director of Picking Patch, said they encouraged eating pumpkins or using them as food for wild birds, and at the patch, the pumpkins decompose over winter and ploughed back into the ground after winter, giving nutrients to the soil. Food waste has a detrimental impact on the environment. In Wales every year 4.4 million tonnes of avoidable household food waste are thrown away,
Take your pick of the pumpkins. Image by Megan Gaen
producing 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. With Halloween being a seasonal event and social media trends coming and going, pumpkin wastage contributes to this issue. After a recent visit to the patch, Cardiff food blogger Lauren Musinguzi said it felt more organic than choosing a pumpkin in a supermarket. However, she said food waste is a big problem, but she doesn’t want to see this tradition die out. “I think a middle ground does need to be found,” said Lauren, “and there needs to be more recipes and ideas readily available to help people know what to do with pumpkin as a food.” Local chef Shane Davies-Nilsson has many pumpkin recipes, like soup, curry, and cake. Minimising food waste is extremely important to him and he said, “I find it disgusting that so much is wasted and thrown away, especially when there’s people who are struggling.”
Cardiff’s pantomime returns and includes accessible performances (Oh yes it does!) The pantomime of Aladdin at the New Theatre will begin in December and accessible performances will feature in the month-long run. The four accessible performances on offer will feature audio description or British Sign Language, as well as a captioned performance and a relaxed performance being available. Safyan Iqbal is deaf and said that performances like these would benefit him. “As a deaf person…it means I am able to follow and it can be enjoyable,” he said.
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Women’s community cafe returns, giving visitors a warm welcome and a hot meal After lockdown stopped the ladies in Riverside meeting face-to-face, the Wales World Cafe has reopened and is serving lunch every Friday. The cafe attracts women from over 20 different ethnicities to eat together, talk to each other and support one another. “These women were forced by the job centre to find a job and they were always unsuccessful because of language barriers, selfconfidence, experience,” explained project manager Amal Beyrouty, “but they are very good cooks…this grew their interest to start a cafe.” Changes have been made to how the cafe is run. At the moment, attendees must pre-book an hour-long time slot, in which they sit and eat a three course meal.
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Cardiff Character
‘We’ll clap you every Thursday night, but I can’t pay back my student loan from that’ Words and images by Megan Gaen
Newly qualified nurse Ffion Nugent was a student nurse deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the highest praise she received was a round of applause
The Covid-19 call-up
Life ground to a halt in March 2020, as the UK entered its first national lockdown, but for healthcare workers their lives got busier than ever. Ffion Nugent was one of Cardiff University’s student nurses called up to work in the NHS. However, the pandemic was a particularly complex time for all NHS staff, let alone the students who were working full-time for the first time ever. The student nurses were paid, but this didn’t make up for the fact that they lost their university education during this time, yet still must pay for it.
The 21-year-old explained she became a part of the NHS staff, taking on her own patients and receiving a wage. She worked on the acute medical ward in a Newport hospital. But despite wearing her student scrubs, she explainedw there wasn’t any normal teaching going on. “You weren’t really treated as a student, despite coming in as a student. It was a very complicated situation,” she said. The healthcare services faced immense pressure, but Ffion felt there were positives to take from the challenging situation. “I was able to manage my own caseload for the first time, so I was able to delegate. “My organisation and timing skills were greatly improved, and my confidence really improved as well because I was forced into that role with that extra responsibility,” she said.
Ffion Nugent:
Praise from the public
The heroic efforts of the emergency services have been celebrated across social media, in the press and on our doorsteps. Ffion said she loved the clapping on our doorsteps as it brought the nation together, but she thought the government needed to do more. “They were giving this on the surface ‘You’re lovely, there’s lots of praise for you but we’re not going to give you a pay rise’,” said Ffion. The Roath resident explained how the government using clapping as recognition affected her as a student. “‘We’ll clap you every Thursday night’, but I can’t pay back my student loan from that,” she said. Praise from the public was enjoyed by nurses, but Ffion felt there is more pressure on nurses to be perfect. She also said many nurses are still struggling. She explained, “Although we are trying to support each other, it’s still going to take a while for us to fully recover mentally.”
Taking nursing online
To share her experience as a nurse, Ffion has created the @TheWelshNurse_ Instagram account. She said she wanted to create a community to support others through a challenging degree and profession. On her page, she informs her followers about neurosurgery, shares her experience on the ward, and gives tips on how to wind down after a stressful shift. Reflecting on how her life has changed, the newly qualified nurse said, “Pre-pandemic Ffion and post-pandemic Ffion are like two different people. “I’ve grown in confidence in myself, I know what I want and I’m more assertive. I’m definitely going to carry that through my nursing career and beyond.”
Follow @TheWelshNurse_ on Instagram
“They were giving this on the surface ‘You’re lovely, there’s lots of praise for you but we’re not going to give you a pay rise’” 3
Spotlight
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Spotlight
Taking on How Cardiff the fast F businesses arefashion taking industry on the one “We need to stop fast fashion resources stitch at wasting industry on things we do not actually need” a time one stitch at a time
ast fashion is causing a vicious cycle of buying clothes, wearing them once, then discarding them, which contributes to the climate crisis we are living in. But in Cardiff there are businesses are fighting against this toxic pattern of overconsumption. This has been highlighted in the recent COP26 summit, where world leaders discussed how to reduce global emissions. There was a whole day dedicated to how the fashion world is impacting the global community; it contributes up to 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now with Christmas on its way and the inevitable parties in the city, buying an outfit from a fast fashion brand is easy, quick and cheap, but the impact is long-lasting, overwhelming and devastating.
Sophie Anderson
Promoting slow fashion Promoting slow fashion or repairing clothes or repairing clothes we we already own are the of aims already own are the aims of various businesses various businesses in the in the Welsh capital, Welsh capital, especially especially during the during the festive period festive period
Climate activist Sophie Anderson said she doesn’t support the industry due to the lack of ethical and sustainable practice within it. She explained, “The mass consumption of clothing is unnecessary; to buy and throw away clothes in an endless cycle is unsustainable, and at a crucial point in the fight against the climate crisis, we need to stop wasting resources on things we do not actually need.” Particularly with the festive season in full swing, which is a time where excess takes place in life, this is when fast fashion businesses can profit. However, the environmental situation has recently been defined as an emergency. How can fast fashion continue to be the norm with this crisis becoming overwhelming?
Words by Megan Gaen Image by congerdesign via Pixabay
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Spotlight
Find it, Fix it, Flaunt it
Cardiff offers people alternatives to fast fashion brands. From vintage stores to charity shops, secondhand sales to clothes swaps, the city offers something for all savvy sustainable shoppers. But with lockdown giving us the chance to shop our own wardrobes and get creative, the attitude of make do and mend returned. Businesses like Twin Made and Repair Cafe Wales are now helping the public to rework their wardrobes, saving them money, and reducing waste. Twin Made was set up in 2014 and runs workshops in Canton to help Cardiffians make their own garments. Head of creativity Charlotte Peacock explained the business prompts sustainable practices by trying to use every scrap of fabric and produce no waste, and the materials sourced are predominantly secondhand. She also said how Twin Made is a Cardiff business tackling fast fashion. “I teach people how to make their own clothes. You can’t get much slower fashion than that!” she said. Apart from making your own clothes from scratch out of secondhand fabric, another way you can reduce the impact your clothes are having on the environment is by fixing up garments you already own. This therefore saves money, and gives you a new skill, which can be used again and again, unlike the clothes bought from a fast fashion website. Repair Cafe Wales runs drop-in sessions for the public throughout Wales to bring their possessions that need fixing, including clothes, handbags, and jewellery. Director Phoebe Brown explained volunteers will then fix the clothes for free, which is preventing them from being thrown away and adding to the huge levels of waste. She said, “Each year the UK alone sends 350,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill and the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world so it’s hugely important for us to rethink our levels of overconsumption when it comes to clothing.” The community interest company said its mission is to empower society to come together to reduce waste, share skills, and strengthen our communities. Phoebe said having a needle and thread is a good place to start to do basic repairs and having a sewing machine is also a great resource. “Our volunteers are able to teach you how to use your sewing machine and how to repair it, if necessary. You could also consider borrowing a sewing machine from your local Benthyg Cymru Library of Things rather than buying one,” she said.
“It’s hugely important for us to rethink our levels of overconsumption when it comes to clothing”
Phoebe Brown
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Fashion for the future
Dungarees that Charlotte made from a pair of retro curtains from Re-create. Images by Charlotte Peacock
Looking to the future of fashion, fast fashion should not be included. There’s no need for it in this city, or in fact the world. The damage caused is not worth it for the short time the item is worn. Especially as there are so many alternatives, fast fashion is redundant in today’s society and beyond. Dr Alida Payson of Cardiff University, whose research interests include everyday life and material culture, explains the alternatives available to Cardiff customers. She said, “I think secondhand clothing can be a powerful part of the way forward – as well as charity shops, there are really exciting projects out there working on clothing swaps, for example, or projects that repair and repurpose clothes.” She also said how showing our clothes love will make us appreciate them more. Dr Alida said, “Clothes can be so emotional, too, so full of memories, and in going back to clothes, spending time mending, patching, or altering them to work, I have found myself deepening my attachment to the garments I already have.” This type of memory cannot be attached to every new item from a fast fashion brand, especially as they notoriously don’t last very long or are worn more than once. Fast fashion comes and goes as quickly as the Christmas holidays, but its global impact will be seen for generations to come. Cardiff businesses are fighting back though and creating a new cycle of rework, repair, and restyle.