Finding Food on Hampstead Heath

On Saturday night I cooked dinner for three friends. Nothing very unusual about that except that much of the menu consisted of plants I had foraged that day from Hampstead Heath. Very few people know just how much of the plants that grow wild, and which are sometimes called weeds, are actually really good for you. We spent about four hours on the Heath and learnt about 28 different types of edible plant.

The foraging workshop was organised by the Gaia Foundation and led by Miles Irving, Director of Forager Ltd. We had a great time and my guests and I had a great dinner. Here's Saturday night's menu with the foraged items in bold:

- Mackerel sauteed in olive oil and Wild Sorrel
- Potato mash with Wild Chervil (left)
- "Chicken in the Wood" tree mushroom cooked in garlic, butter and lime juice (see below for a picture of Miles harvesting this!)
- Lesser Celandine (see above for a photo of me filling up my rucksack), Lime leaves and orange salad

All washed down with copious quantities of Elderflower Cordial. I fully intend to go out foraging at least once a week from now on.

The Lib Dems elected Boris!

It's taken me ten days to recover from the shock of Boris Johnson winning the London mayoral election. I can't think of anyone less appropriate for high office. He's a joker, he's not a leader and he's an extreme right winger. It beggars belief.

But what really shocks me is that he was only elected thanks to Lib Dem second preferences. When first preferences were counted Boris was ahead of Ken by 150,000 votes. The Lib Dems had 236,685 second preference votes to redistribute after Brian Paddick was knocked out. The Greens presumably all voted for Ken as they were told to. And the BNP - well who knows but I guess more of them voted for Boris than Ken. The other candidates polled too few votes to influence the final result.

In other words the Lib Dems could have stopped Boris but most of them either voted for him or voted for someone else or didn't register a second preference. That's really depressing. I'm not a big fan of Ken's but I think he's been good on the environmental agenda and I think Lib Dems have more in common with his progressive values than they do with Boris's extreme right wing views.

The only consolation is that Conservative Central Office are putting their brightest and best in to City Hall to try to make sure Boris doesn't screw up David Cameron's chances of winning the general election in 2010. Presumably they know that they need to present City Hall not as a bastion of hard right ideas but as a centrist, liberal, progressive institution much as David Cameron has tried to present himself. So now we'll see if it's all a facade or whether he really believes it. Don't hold your breath.

Greens Win Highgate - Tories Fall To Third

An amazing result in the Highgate by-election. The Green candidate won convincingly with 1482 votes. Labour came second with 1185. The Tories went from first to third (on 1180 votes) so no Boris effect there. And the Lib Dems, who were in fourth, went up the most in percentage terms. All in all a complete disaster for the Tories. Much food for thought.

Ten Reasons Not To Vote For Boris

I’m increasingly concerned about the prospect of Boris Johnson being elected Mayor of London, the most important directly elected post in Britain. Here are ten reasons why I believe he should not be Mayor:

1. The Mayor of London is one of the most powerful jobs in the UK. The only thing Boris Johnson has run in his life is The Spectator magazine and that became a byword for sleaze during his watch as editor, as The Economist pointed out recently.

2. He opposed the Kyoto protocol on climate change, and the congestion charge, and he opposes the proposed £25 charge on the largest engines coming in to London, which would tax those who create the most carbon dioxide.

3. He was a fanatical supporter of the Iraq War, and he campaigned for George W. Bush to win the US elections in both 2000 and 2004

4. He opposed the introduction of the minimum wage and paternity leave.

5. He supported rail privatisation.

6. He was dismissed from the Conservative front bench in November 2004 because he lied to the then party leader Michael Howard, and he was fired from job as a columnist at The Times for making up quotes.

7. He also once colluded in a plan to have a journalist – Stuart Collier - beaten up. He was recorded planning the act with convicted fraudster Darius Guppy. The resulting story was splashed in the Daily Mail. He was reprimanded but not fired by his then editor at the Telegraph, Max Hastings.

8. After the inquiry into the racially motivated Stephen Lawrence murder, he claimed that the recommendation to change the law to allow prosecution for racist language or behaviour was “akin to Ceausescu’s Romania.” Here’s a quote from an editorial he wrote in the Spectator in 2002: "it is said the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies". He has also expressed the belief that South Africa under Nelson Mandela represented “the majority tyranny of black rule”.

9. He supported Section 28, a nasty piece of Conservative legislation which made it illegal for teachers to say anything positive about being gay and lesbian. Furthermore he opposed civil partnerships for gays and lesbians, saying we “might as well legalise partnerships between three men and a dog".

10. In April 2007 he infuriated residents of Portsmouth by writing in GQ that the city was "one of the most depressed towns in southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs". In October 2004 he wrote an editorial in the Spectator claiming the inhabitants of Liverpool were wallowing in “vicarious victimhood” over the British hostage Ken Bigley and that many Liverpudlians had a “deeply unattractive psyche”.

Ask yourselves – is this what you believe in? Are these the qualities you want in the Mayor of London?

If you’re as concerned as I am, then please do not put Boris 1 or 2 on the ballot.

Ken To "Save Post Office & Work With LibDems"

Ken Livingstone was recently quoted in the Ham& High newspaper as saying that he would save our threatened post offices if he were to be re-elected. But nothing appeared on his website or in his campaign literature confirming that pledge. So I wrote to him asking for confirmation. Here's what he said in reply:

Dear Alexis,

Many thanks for your e-mail. I believe that the proposal to close 171 post offices in London is totally unacceptable. Post offices are a vital part of the life of every local community, especially for the most disadvantaged Londoners.

That is why I am mounting a legal challenge to the post office closures in the High Court. My legal advice is that we have strong grounds to challenge the totally inadequate consultation on this issue.

If the legal challenge is unsuccessful, as Mayor, I have wide powers under the Greater London Authority Act to promote economic and social development in our city and I intend to use them fully to do everything in my power, if re-elected, to make sure that vital post offices stay open.

Thank you for writing in.

Yours sincerely, Ken Livingstone

If he wins, we certainly shouldn't let him forget this pledge.

He's also now reached out to Lib Dems as I told him he had to when I bumped into him on the Kilburn High Road recently. Read Ken's Open Letter to Lib Dems here.

Camden's Health Chief Doesn't Meat The Grade

Executive Member for Health, Cllr Martin Davies, recently wrote to the Camden New Journal berating me for trying to convert everyone into vegetarians. He clearly hasn't read the Camden Sustainability Task Force’s draft Report on Food.

The Task Force is recommending a reduction in the amount of meat and dairy available on sites controlled directly or indirectly by Camden Council. If you read my quotes in the press, or listen to my TV and radio interviews, none of which Cllr Davies appears to have done, you will see that we are not advocating vegetarianism; we are arguing for less meat and dairy for environmental and health reasons.

In 2006 the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimated the carbon emissions associated with the livestock industry to be 18% of global emissions. That’s partly because cows burp methane (and cows in the US industrialised meat industry that are fed processed feedcake burp more methane than those that eat grass), but also because of the fossil fuels that are used to grow grain to feed to cattle, to make processed feedcake for cattle to eat, to pump water for cattle to drink, to refrigerate meat, to transport refrigerated meat and to sell meat in supermarkets in open fridges and freezers.

The government’s own website www.direct.gov.uk says: “the production of meat and dairy products has a much bigger effect on climate change and other environmental impacts than that of most grains, pulses and outdoor fruit and vegetables.”

Of course some meat production creates higher greenhouse gases than others. If you eat meat products from grass fed cattle from your local farm, then the associated greenhouse gases are likely to be lower than those of the globalised, industrialised, chemicalised meat industry. A Cornell University study concluded that animal protein production requires more than eight times as much fossil-fuel energy than production of the equivalent amount of plant protein. It would be a far better use of resources if we humans simply ate some of the vegetable protein directly.

But what really worries me about Cllr Davies's letter is that the Executive Member for Health appears to have little grasp over the health implications of what’s come to be known as the Western Diet – that is large amounts of meat and dairy. This is a key factor in the obesity epidemic, particularly when the meat is fried. On present trends half of all British children will be clinically obese by 2020 because they eat too many poor quality burgers and other junk food, and because they do not do enough exercise.

There are other health issues to consider as well as obesity. A recent report by the World Cancer Research Fund argued that eating red meat and processed meat are “convincing or probable causes of some cancers.” The largest ever epidemiological study of older women - the Harvard Nurses Study - concluded that women drinking two glasses of whole milk a day had 67% more risk of heart disease than those drinking no whole milk.

Vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, grains and pulses can provide all the protein, vitamins and nutrients that humans need. Indeed for most of their existence humans have primarily lived off this sort of diet. It’s only in the last 50 years that we have massively increased the quantity of meat and dairy we consume. And of course we now eat poor quality meat, often stuffed with antibiotics, growth promoters and other chemicals, and we prepare it badly as well. There’s no getting away from it – large quantities of cheese burgers and pepperoni pizzas are simply not good for you, and on present trends half of all children in the UK in 2020 will be clinically obese. That is one of the main reasons why in 1990 the World Health Organisation recommended a change in agricultural practices away from meat and dairy and towards plant foods.

I am not a vegetarian but the more I investigate this issue the more I see that eating less meat, and making sure that when I do eat meat it is better quality meat, will help both the planet and my health. That’s why our final recommendation says we should provide less meat and dairy, and that when we do provide meat it should be better quality, less carbon-intensive meat, subject to higher animal welfare standards.

Happy Birthday Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre

I was one of thousands of lucky residents that celebrated the second birthday of the Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre with a free swim last weekend. The whole centre was packed and buzzing which was a joy to see So thanks for that and happy birthday.

I just have two gripes:
1) The outdoor football pitch is too expensive for local kids which is a real shame.
2) Instead of selling bottled water, which has travelled thousands of miles and is no beter than tap water, could we please have some water fountains?

Perhaps we could have some movement on these in time to celebrate the centre's third birthday.

I'm Voting For Brian Paddick Next Week

Tired of the Boris and Ken Punch and Judy show? Looking for a real alternative? Someone who has the experience to run London? Someone who understands policing? Someone honest? Someone you can trust? Then vote Brian Paddick for Mayor on May 1st and watch this to see why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mAIgMAOlII

Ken Needs To Reach Out To Lib Dems

Ken Livingstone needs to make more effort to reach out to Lib Dems if he wants their second preference votes in the London Mayoral contest. And that's what I told him in no uncertain terms in a dramatic face to face confrontation on the Kilburn High Road last weekend (see photo).

A recent Ipsos Mori poll put Ken Livingstone slightly ahead of Boris Johnson when second preferences are counted, but only by 2%. If the election is that close, then the second preferences of Lib Dem voters will be crucial. An earlier ICM poll suggested Livingstone and Johnson were neck and neck, but that a majority of Londoners planning to vote for Lib Dem candidate Brian Paddick would give their second preference vote to Johnson.

Livingstone was campaigning in Kilburn when he bumped into a group of Camden Lib Dem councillors taking part in a memorial walk for our late colleague Jane Schopflin to raise money for her favourite charity Shelter. I persuaded the Mayor to make a donation to the housing charity and then attacked him for not doing enough to win over Lib Dem second preferences.

I think it's fair to say that onlookers watched amazed as I took on one of Britain’s most formidable politicians. “It would be a disaster if Boris Johnson was elected because you are not reaching out to Lib Dems,” said I, “and it would be particularly disastrous for the environment.” “I’ve tried,” replied Livingstone, “We – Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens – have much more in common than any of us do with the Tories.” “Well you need to try harder,” I told him.

I’m horrified by the thought that an extreme right winger like Boris Johnson might be elected. But the fact is that at the moment there are too many Lib Dems who don’t trust Ken and who think he’s been Mayor long enough. I’m voting for Brian Paddick because I think he’s the best candidate, but I’ll be voting for Ken second because he’s done so much to make London a more environmentally friendly city.

Boris Johnson opposed the Kyoto Treaty on climate change, and he opposes the £25 charge on large engines coming into London. He’s been a vociferous supporter of the Iraq War and George W Bush. He opposed paternity leave, the minimum wage and supported rail privatisation. The Mayor of London is one of the most powerful jobs in the UK, but the only thing Johnson has run in his life is The Spectator magazine and that became a byword for sleaze during his watch as editor. He was fired from the Tory front bench for lying and from The Times for making up quotes in his columns. When you look at Johnson’s shameful record and his appalling views I really think Lib Dems have a duty to hold their noses and put Ken second on the ballot behind Brian Paddick.

Crazy Queues at Finchley Rd Post Office

I recently tested the post office in the Finchley Road, one of the possible alternatives to my threatened local sub post office in England’s Lane. The queue stretched out of the door and down the pavement (see photo). One more reason to add to my list of why our post office should be saved:

1) We had three sub post offices in Belsize until recently all of which were much loved and much used.
2) The Post Office was negotiating with the newsagent on Haverstock Hill to re-open a sub post office there, but that negotiation was summarily ended on the day the “consultation” was announced.
3) There is no public transport to the two alternatives the Post Office has suggested – Queens Crescent and Regent’s Park Road.
4) Anyone wishing to walk to the Regent’s Park Road post office would need to climb over Primrose Hill.
5) Hampstead Post Office, which is seen by many as the next closest facility, is a long walk up a steep hill.
6) Businesses in England’s Lane that need to send parcels will now have to drive elsewhere causing carbon emissions and pollution.
7) In Belsize ward there are 660 under-5s, 1524 people with limiting long term illness, 763 lone pensioner households and 50.5% households with no car or van.
8) 18.3% of households within 1 km of the England’s Lane sub post office, that is 317 households, are within the ‘welfare borderline’ category typified by their reliance on post offices as somewhere to pay bills and obtain benefits.
9) Within 200 yards of the England’s Lane sub post office there is an older people’s sheltered housing block whose residents will be disadvantaged by closure and lack of an easily accessible alternative.
10) Around 150 young families are resident in England’s Lane Hostel nearby with many dependent on this branch for access to benefit payments through their Post Office Card Accounts.

In all my adult life I’ve only known two policies as unpopular as this Labour government’s death by a thousand cuts approach to the Post Office network. They were the Poll Tax, which destroyed Margaret Thatcher, and the Iraq War, which finished off Tony Blair. Gordon Brown beware!