September 22, 2006

Sawday: Green places to pay
Alastair Sawday's latest guide book covers eco-lodges round the world. If his previous books are any judge, each listing will be of superior quality and well worth a visit, but remember they do pay to be included, and standards can go down as well as up.
(Just out and highly recommended -
Organic Places to Stay in the UK -- buy it from Amazon UK
No-fly zones
Trericket Mill Vegetarian Guesthouse, Powys
Part guesthouse, part bunk house, part campsite - all Grade II* listed. The dining room has been created amid a jumble of corn-milling machinery: B&B guests, campers and bunkers pile in together for delicious and plentiful veggie food - fair-trade, wholefood and free-range - from a chalkboard menu. Stoves throw out the heat in the flagstoned living rooms; the bedrooms are simple pine affairs, well insulated and efficiently lit. On an SSSI - Skithwen brook runs through the property - the mill hosts a breeding colony of bats in the roof each summer, quite a sight at dusk.
· £56. Singles £38. trericket.co.uk, 01982 560312.
Trelowarren, Cornwall
Cornwall without the crush. Deep in woodland, a mile from any road, 13 eco-cottages sit in a Celtic land of coves and sun-dappled creeks. Paints are organic and high-spec showers and baths are fed with reclaimed rainwater.
· From £425 per week for 2. trelowarren.com, 01326 221224.
Ecocabin, Shropshire
It looks like a vast garden shed. Within, splashes of colour (bright red sofas and armchairs, chunky blue checks on the bedcovers) set off white lime-plastered walls and ash floors. Tiles are hand-made, fabrics are natural and organic, toiletries biodegradable, the cooker "slow". It is light, earthy, fun and refreshing. There is even an "honesty" store for your shopping.
· £90-£105. £420-£575pw ecocabin.co.uk, 01547 530183.
»Keep reading 'Green places to stay'
September 21, 2006

Works too hardAuthor Tom Hodgkinson is a mass of contradictions – famously lazy, he still finds time to write a book a year. He moves in café society but never misses an opportunity to denounce smart metropolitan living, white middle classes rushing about their business – himself included.
“How to be free” contains his latest clarion call to down-shifting, as he expounds both the philosophy and lifestyle of slacking. His code could be summed up as Freedom through Merriment.
“Light a Candle” he implores readers at one point – electric light is so harsh, and ugly and it shows the dirt, thereby inducing feelings of guilt. “Stop voting. Stop working. Grow vegetables. Play an Instrument. Make Compost. Bake Bread. His list of injunctions become longer and more demanding as the book proceeds. The irony is that there is no way this champion idler would ever follow his own advice.
»Keep reading 'How to be Free'