Plastic Free July

Hello to all my readers and I hope you are enjoying the cool conditions. I have always loved the distinct seasons in Adelaide and looking around there are already buds swelling on the pear trees near my home. Maybe a promise of an early Spring?

Isn’t nature amazing – and talking of nature I was interested to read recently that July is Plastic Free July. I have no doubt you will ask what is this all about and why is this related to nature.

Plastics were developed in the early 20^th century and were environmentally important, replacing ivory, tortoisehell, horn, bone and other plant and animal products. By the 1960s, plastic had gone from being used in durable items to more widespread use including disposable plastic goods.

Every piece of plastic ever produced still remains in some form somewhere in the earth today.

In the first half of the 20^th century, over 1 billion tonnes of plastic was produced. This figure has already doubled in the first ten years of this century. In one week we go through 10 billion plastic bags worldwide and on average in the United States 2.5 million plastic bottles are used every hour. Plastic free July focuses on refusing, reducing and reusing.

Plastic Free July involves over 70 countries and many thousands of people who are saying no to single use plastic items like plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway cups and drinking straws to name a few.

Plastic is designed to last forever yet every day we use items lasting a few minutes and then throw them away. Most is in landfill, some are recycled and some ends up in the environment. It is estimated that 8 million tonnes enter the oceans per year.

The challenge is to attempt to refuse single use plastic during the month of July and imagine if this is possible why just do it for July? Make it a life choice. You only have to view the vortex of the ‘soup of plastic’ created in the Pacific Ocean to realize that we have to try to make a change now.  I think it is so important especially when you see the poor sea life strangled and choking on dumped plastic! It is shocking. Make a difference!

For more information go to www.plasticfreejuly.org

On to cheerier things!

PIKE Jewellers has celebrated its first birthday and we are celebrating by having a wonderful dinner in our home. The menu Helen and I have chosen looks mouth watering to say the least and the list of cocktails to start the evening off will guarantee a good time for all! I have talked about my love of deserts … well, our guests will not be disappointed!

For those of you who love red, and I don’t necessarily mean Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby is the birthstone for July…. .and WOW you should see the recent prices! Good quality rubies have nearly doubled in the last year or so and the mines producing the high quality gems are struggling to keep up with the demand. There is more information in our Ruby section.

We have had an amazing response to our monthly newsletter and I want to thank those who have responded directly. For those of you who would like us to answer any questions about topics we haven’t covered, please email your requests and we will endeavour to include these in our future newsletters.

Keep warm and dry.

Cheers for now, Nicholas.