New Site Launch…. and a Naked Chocolate GIVEAWAY!

Today marks the official launch date of my new blog site!  And since there is no drastic difference in the ‘look and feel’ of the site, I’m going to mark the launch with a fantastic giveaway instead!

I know most people launch their new sites with a new header, and I did contemplate this.  However, in the end, I chose to keep the existing header as it means so much to me.  You see, the image is of the beautiful Bathampton Meadows, located just outside Bath city.  It is also the view that I have from my office window.  Yes, I know, I’m very, very lucky.

Snowy Bathampton Meadows

These meadows characterise the Bath Valley and they are greatly appreciated and admired by residents and visitors alike.  So, you can imagine our utter shock and dismay when, back in the summer of 2008, we received a leaflet through the door stating that the local council were planning to turn these meadows into a huge car park!

The meadows are situated next to the River Avon and frequently flood. The proposed car park would be situated right next to a designated flood plain! Crazy!

Not prepared to stand by and let this happen without a fight, a group of residents (M & I included) set up a campaign called ‘Save Bathampton Meadows’.  We set up a website, an online petition, held protests on the meadows and outside the Guildhall in Bath, and did whatever we could to try and reverse the council’s decision.

Our first protect on the meadows, October 2008
A very ‘Lil’ L at his first protest!

We’ve been fighting the plans for 3 years now.  Fortunately, the council’s plans got so delayed that they failed to commence building the car park before the local elections in May 2011.  We’ve now got a new council and, due to public opposition, they have taken the Bathampton Meadows car park off the agenda.  However, who knows what will happen in the future?  Our local elections are held every 4 years, so before we know it, the plans could return.

“Lake Bathampton” The meadows in flood again (c) Tripod Ape

So, you can understand why this image holds so much meaning for me.  Not only does it give me a daily reminder to stand up for what I believe in, but it also represents the urgent need to protect our beautiful environment for future generations and stop the politicians from destroying it for short term gain.  For now, the politicians haven’t found their pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.  Let’s hope they never do!

Moving onto the GIVEAWAY…

Sorry guys to keep you hanging on while I’ve been wittering on about the Meadows, but I  promise it’s been worth the wait as I’ve got something so much better than a new header to mark the launch of my new site 😉  I’ve got a copy of the amazingly fantastic NAKED Chocolate!  This book is packed with information on the wonderful raw cacao bean (another passion of mine 😉 ), as well as over 60 original raw chocolate recipes, all written in the authors’ unique style.

… And, to make it even more special, the book has been signed by both David Wolfe and Shazzie!!

I’m a huge fan of Shazzie and her team at Detox Your World.  For a number of years now, Shazzie has been energetically promoting the benefits of eating a raw food diet.  If you’re interested in incorporating more raw foods into your diet, Shazzie has produced a fantastic download course called ‘New To Raw’ which she is currently offering at the reduced price of $47.  You can find out more here.

There are 3 ways to enter the giveaway for the signed edition of Shazzie & David Wolfe’s Naked Chocolate:

1. Leave me a comment below telling me one thing that you’re passionate about.
2. ‘Like me’ on Facebook and leave me a comment below to let me know.
3. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook page or blog, and leave me a comment below to let me know.

If you like, you can enter all 3 ways to maximise your chances of winning the book 🙂

The winner will be selected at random on Monday 21st November at 9pm GMT.

Good luck everybody!!

27 thoughts on “New Site Launch…. and a Naked Chocolate GIVEAWAY!

  1. I am passionate about food. As I become more and more educated about food I just can’t turn a blind eye and consume whatever I want. I make choices now for myself, and my family, to help make us as healthy as possible (of course with a little bit of chocolate).

  2. I am glad you all put your activism power together and were able to save such a beautiful piece of property. Here is to keeping the car park off the table for years to come.

  3. My word I can not believe they were planning on putting a car park there, that would have been such a crime! I’m passionate about a lot of things, healthy food and exercise of course, but another thing is working with the community and the voluntary and community sector (I’m a project manager for a CVS) and empowering people! Great giveaway!

  4. Great offer and congrats on saving the meadow…. Seeing the photo of it flooded, you do have to ask why on earth they would want to build anything on a flood plain!

    1. One word… money 🙁 They were bidding for government funding and couldn’t find a site to put the park and ride on. They own Bathampton Meadows so it was the easiest option for them… even though it was in the wrong location to make any difference to congestion; was too small a site for the amount of parking spaces that they’d calculated that they needed (site size restricted by the flood plain); 2 independent studies that they’d commissioned themselves concluding that it WASN’T a viable site, AND the fact that over 80% of residents had voted AGAINST their plans. That’s ‘evidence-based decision-making’ for you lol!
      The scary thing is the fact that this whole saga could come back if the Tories get back in at the next elections. This is at least the second time that they’ve tried to build on the Meadows. I really hope we can get the Meadows awarded some sort of status that will protect them against these short-sighted, money grabbing politicians.

  5. I’ve posted the giveaway and liked you on facebook! I’ve also just finished reading your about section (and you know exactly why it’s taken me so long!), and I am very, very jealous (perhaps I’m passionate about honesty?).

    Happy Official Launch!!! 🙂

    1. Thanks Galit. I know what you mean about my ‘About Me’ page… its WAY too long! Sorry you had to endure reading it 🙁 I just wanted to recall for myself the reasons why I ended up where I am today. In January I’ll write an update and I’ll make sure it’s brief and to the point 😉

      1. Oh dear! Didn’t mean that your About page is too long, only that, between work and child, it just took me a while to have enough spare time to browse your site!

        1. No, it seriously is way too long! I don’t think anyone has enough spare time to read it, let alone busy people with kids and work! Trouble is… I haven’t found the time to shorten it yet 😉 Definitely something I’ll work on next year!

  6. Those photographs are so beautiful – you are very lucky to have such a stunning view from your office. I can’t believe that they wanted to put a horrid concrete car park on there!
    I’m passionate about geography – I know that’s kind of a general statement and maybe a bit wierd, but it’s what I did my degree in a loved every second!

  7. Those are great photos. I’m a little jealous I can’t see them in person. I’m passionate about getting outside to see all the world’s beauty.

    1. Thank you! It’s really important that we protect our beautiful countryside before it all gets turned into car parks and shopping malls 🙁
      I really appreciate the world’s natural beauty too and love exploring it!

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