Day ?: penguins and jam

Some minor failures this week...

I was at the Hollywood-themed Mersea Island Festival in Essex, accompanying a group of young people from KEEN. One long bus journey later, we arrived, only to be given plastic wristbands, which I couldn't refuse! We slept in canvas tents which we closed using rope - and after pegging them down properly, there were no leaks, and not much wind... There were plastic ground sheets (but that doesn't break the rules of the challenge).

Breakfast on the first morning (and lunch on the final day) was served on polystyrene plates with plastic cutlary - but all was well as I'd brought my own. I was really pleased to see that instead of individual plastic servings of ketchup, jam, butter they used bottles, jars and plates of butter on each table. I imagine this was cost-saving rather than environmental in origin.

A few deserts were in plastic containers, but they were easily refused. However, we were provided with a packed lunch on the Colchester Zoo trip with rolls wrapped in plastic, crisps and a (chocolate) penguin. Then we fed the elephants.

The absolute most dispointing 'error' was in the arts and crafts tent. I was helping out / participating in some clay modelling. And only after the second session did I read the packet and realise that the clay was reinforced with nylon.

Today, I travel to Cambridge for a two-week summer school in theoretical particle physics...