NorthDownMuse

Global Progress Report

I was on a call today for Climate Action 100+ in which signatories around the world reported on progress with the companies with which they are engaging. We had people on the call from Australia, Hong Kong, London, the U.S. talking about engagements with an oil company, a tech

Bringing the joy

Tonight I went to hear the Belfast Community Gospel Choir. First I went to The Merchant for a G&T because--it’s Christmas! The Merchant does Christmas right. Apparently my phone is crap at indoor phots. But it captured one of the owls in the tree. Entrance to The

Bad Timing

The Friends of the Earth had an event today called Beautiful Trouble. It was about creative forms of resistance to the government-sanctioned destruction of NI’s environment. It was advertised as being from 10-5. I figured it was an open house kind of thing because who has an all day

Pantomime

My days now go back and forth between working for Climate Action and entertaining a small puppy. I walk Paddy three times a day and try to fit in 7-8 hours of work in between the walks. Friday night’s treat was to go with friends to a pantomime at

Samosas for breakfast

I now have a favourite Balti curry house on Brick Lane. On the way to the Air BnB last night I got two big veggie samosas and a dish of breaded eggplant in a spicy sauce--so tender, I don’t know how they get it that way. I had half

Anne Simpson

I made it to the PRI office by noon, only just. Anne Simpson, head of CalPERS’ sustainable investment programme, was right behind. Our lunch covered some of the issues facing the steering committee of Climate Action 100+. Anne is chair of he committee and I’m coordinator. The chairmanship is

Being towed down the towpath

Paddy and I went for a long walk down the Lagan Towpath. We stopped to talk to a lot of people--Paddy is pretty irresistible. And we had breakfast at the Lock Keeper’s Inn--I had an egg sandwich and himself had his first sausage. He pulled at the leash pretty

Duke Special

Today was errands, Christmas shopping, trip to post office to mail packages to the US--a 46-minute wait in line. The irony here is part of my TenX9 talk was about how people don’t worship efficiency here like they do in the US--and that’s a good thing. They have

On the road again

I got the 8 am bus to Belfast then a cab to the house--saves time vs. the city bus. At some point I got an email from Anne Simpson, the head of sustainable investing at CalPERS (largest public pension plan in the US) asking whether I could be in London

TenX9

Today was nuts. I worked for two hours in the morning and then to the dentist in Holywood for a 10:30 a.m. appointment. Then into Belfast city centre, rushing to catch the noon bus to Derry. I worked at the library in Derry for a few hours then

Show Time

Today I had a conference call with one person in California (the woman who has been temporarily filling my role), one guy in Boston (the facilitator for the steering committee) and my London manager. My job was to take the minutes of this, my orientation meeting. Let’s say the

Equal Time

I’m adjusting to full-time work. PRI has given me space to just read up on a variety of publications and troll through databases (collaboration platform, Salesforce, Sharepoint--all kinds of toys). The main impediment to progress is this bundle of fur. I sat on the edge of this wooden chair

Morning magic

I ran this morning for the first time in nearly two weeks and, because of the new job and Mr. Paddy puppy, I ran really early, just before sunrise (which actually isn’t that early here this time of year). I couldn’t get over the gorgeous hues of blue.

Crafty buggers

This weekend I went to an arts and crafts show in Dundonald on Saturday and East Belfast on Sunday. The quality of the wares on sale were similar to a curated art exhibit, but the prices were low. I bought all sorts of goodies. The only picture I took was

I have no pride

Carrying a heavy bag up and down stairs in the Underground on Sunday caused some kind of tear in a muscle that goes across my sternum or breastbone. The right side of my chest was very tender to touch and very painful, especially at night. I wondered if I was

Back in the fold

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Lots of org charts. Learning my way around the structure and the many initiatives underway at the PRI. Same for ClimateAction100+. I’m trying to get my head around two large, complex organisations. I’m impressed by all the young people I’m meeting, and they are

Climate Forum

I spent the first day at the new job at a Climate Forum organised by PRI, my new employer--Principles for Responsible Investment. It hosted one last week in Amsterdam, today in London, next week in Frankfurt and Zurich. The PRI has more than 2,000 signatories around the world and

Joe’s Tour of London

I took the bus from Luton to Victoria then the District Line to South Kensington, where I met Joe and Carlos. We went to St. Pancras, which is what you do when you are with an architect. Then the Coal Drops Yard, which was designed by a firm that Joe’

Last day

I leave tomorrow for London and the first week of my new job. Today was a day of reckoning. I haven’t worked since May -- perfect opportunity to cross things off the to-do list. But you can only get so far when there is so much competition for my

Transience

I was trying to activate a credit card and I faced a wall of security that I could not scale. One of the questions was who was my childhood friend? Would that be from age 4-8 in Texas? Age 8 in Delaware (for nine months)? Age 8 to 12 in

YouTube Debut

Remember that talk I gave at the Green Party event a few weeks ago? One of the Green Party members made a video, so you can see how I did. I now regret organising my talk chronologically (the Achilles heel of linear people). I was told one of the other

Palm House

As promised, I went back to the Palm House today to try to capture some of the lovely plants. One wing is devoted to coleus hybrids. Lots of varieties. The purple ones looked like velvet. Victorian venting in the floor. The other wing was mostly bromeliads. This photo does not

Freddie

The political misery aside, the social aspect of living in Northern Ireland is paying dividends. I went to choir yesterday and then had a lovely dinner with the book club. Today I went out for tea with Jenny, where we talked about Green politics, my new job, and books. As

Seven Deadly Sins

While I am overall very happy with my decision to move to Northern Ireland, I sometimes succumb to a sense of dread that I have done the wrong thing. Then I remember who is president in America. Why the dread? Brexit is part of it. The product of xenophobic, inward

RUA2

David was taking a painting class today from 10:30-4:30. After I took him into the city this morning (with his painting gear--not bus friendly), I had a walk through the Victorian Palm House in Botanic Garden. The flowers and plants I saw were so exotic and so weird