The life and times of Remi O

Mars starts using animal products - WTF?

Now I'm no vegetarian...

But I have been in the past (Boarding school will do that to ya, believe me)...

And I suspect that with the way my body reacts to foods (particularly red meat and fish) and adding that to how deeply I feel about the way in which food is made / slaughtered and put to market....

I know in my heart or hearts... That I should revert to vegetarianism...
I just have yet to find a way to make it work for my lifestyle...

My sister is a staunch Vegan.

Anyway - the reason for my rant on this.... Well I've just read an article on the BBC website about certain CHOCOLATE BARS that are now going to have chemicals added to them - chemicals retrieved from animals stomachs! AY??

Now Firstly why use such a ridiculous product when there are so many alternatives
And Secondly why would you go and do that to CHOCOLATE?
That's just so wrong and unfair.

Morally now, I won't be able to buy these products.
In the past i've had to stop using products that contained animal fat in them.

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Here is the article.. Very bad news indeed!

Mars starts using animal products

Masterfoods' brands are household names Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.

Also affecting brands such as Snickers and Maltesers, owner Masterfoods said it had started to use animal product rennet to make its chocolate products.

Masterfoods said the change was due to it switching the sourcing of its ingredients and the admission was a "principled decision" on its part.

The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible".
'Extremely disappointed'

Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October.

Masterfoods' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step .

Rennet, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs, is used in the production of whey.

It will now also be found in Bounty, Minstrels and Milky Way products, and the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars.

"If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable, but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods.

The Vegetarian Society said it was "extremely disappointed".

"At a time when more and more consumers are concerned about the provenance of their food, Masterfoods' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step," it said in a statement.
"Mars products are very popular with young people and many will be shocked to discover that their manufacture now relies on the extraction of rennet from the stomach lining of young calves," it added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6653175.stm

Dorothy from the hood... Who needs Kansas?

I shall start by saying.... That only a person truly comfortable with themselves would display publicly what I’m about to...

I shall take great comfort in that.

I dare you to keep a straight face whilst looking at these pictures..

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Let me formally introduce 'Ghetto Dorothy'
AKA: Dorothy from Kensal Green (not Kansas)
AKA: Dotty Dot (shizzle my nizzle)

I'm sure you are dying to know that I did infact accessorise this outfit with:
1) A wicker basket
2) A toy dog impersonata AKA Toto
3) I also carried in my wicker basket little chocolate brownies...
and I took great delight in feeding random drunk people through out the night. Twas fun.

I don't care what you say - I'M CUTE DAMNIT!

I might also add that my mate Leafy – now has this picture on his phone as a screensaver. Lovely.

This was me actually departing via the power of Oz...
I had just clicked my heels together 3 times...
And who would've believed it... I actually teleported away...

No, Seriously... It really did happen.

.. .THIS dorothy ate all the pies...

The grand masterpeice of this outfit... and what really brought 'Ghetto Dorothy' to life - were the amped up Red Nike trainers.

No Ghetto Dorothy could possibly be comfortable without them.

I believe the term is that I "pimped my ride"...
NB: Glitter glue is fun :-)

My mate Lucy Knocked up the outfit for me cos she is a little star...
When I find the link to her jewllery designs page - I'll add it here innit.

Running update - wk2 Day 2

I think that maybe I should not have ran today – and actually had a day off (as per training plan advises).

I think I have over ran my legs a bit this week.... As today, my knee hurt, my calves were super tight and I had tingling in both my feet after about 20 mins!

So I cut it a bit short.

Instead of doing the planned: Run 2mins &Walk 2-4 mins X 5

I did: Run 2mins & Walk 2-4 mins X 3

With warm up and warm down I was on Machine for 23 mins and covered 2.6km.
With the ipod dying half way through - there was no motivation to go on whatsoever.

I wont be visiting the gym (during the day tomorrow) as I have 2 hours of basketball tomorrow evening…

The running shall continue….

That 10K run is my new target and I have it locked firmly in sight!

Cute Letter from a Regular customer

Ok.. So this isn't from one of my customers... It was sent to my sisters company!
But I loved this letter and thought it was cute - so i'm blogging it...

You can check out my sis's website here.. http://www.inkylovesnature.com
The products are FANTASTIC!! My fave is the chocolate/peppermint showery skin stuff... It's yummy. Anywhoo... Here's the letter she got today from a customer, just adorable!

"My little princess likes the Warrior QueenCleanser sooo much, over the weekend she got hold ofthe Peppermint Flavor Warrior Cleanser and washed "allof her baby dolls" with it! By the time I found out what she had done, she had used most of the cleanser. She explained to Iya she used it "because she wantedher dolls to smell sweet like her and I," I had tolaugh, seen! I explained to her that the Cleanser was not for the doll babies but a special treat for her and I. She went straight to her little piggy bank and gave meenought to purchase another bottle of the WarriorQueen Peppermint Chocolate Cleanser! One Love Sista!"

Dogs are not fucking accessories

I have to say nothing pisses me off more these days than seeing young black boys bopping around with dogs as accessories… Correction: Add to that chavs and thugs as well.
They seem to think it makes them look cool and tough in front of their mates.

No, in actual fact it makes you look like a fucking dick (I sometimes want to say to them).

Is this just a Lewisham Syndrome I wonder?

Just group after group of young men with dogs I see day after day – like they are at some ghetto version of the crufts dog show, showcasing their wonder.
They even take the dogs into smoky pubs :-(.

The only exercise these poor dogs get – is after school when these eejits return home and decide to walk their pet to the local KFC to hang outside it, with more eejits with dogs.

It really annoys the hell out of me. And they know by my face that I actually hate them all.

THEY ARE KIDS WITH DOGS!

They can't even look after themselves properly.
Dogs feel thing, have emotions, need to be trained, need to be looked after and need to be loved and I know they are not getting this.

One 'Youf' told me not to stroke his beautiful puppy pitbull dog because he wanted her to be tough and he didn't want people to touch her as it'd make her soft.

What a cock.

Sometimes I really wish that dogs were not so loyal.
I wish they were able to run away from their knob head owners… but they never would.
Even abused dogs go back to the same owners that hurt them and it’s just so sad.

I sincerely get upset by it.

I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to report someone if I knew an animal was being abused!
But this whole craze of rappers and celebrities on TV – sporting their dogs, ‘Pitbulls’ and ‘Staffs’ only adds fuel to the fire. It makes the numbskulls think ‘if I get a dog like that I’ll look really cool, I can be a gangster’.

But dogs are not toys.

Furthermore, who the fuck is selling these dogs to these little chavs?

I can’t wait for this ridiculous phase/craze to be over with.
Bring back the bottle tops on shoes, or the really cool high top sneakers that are a must have or even bring back the stupid hats (with tags still on) craze…

But please can we move on from this ‘dogs are accessories phase’… It sucks, royally.

Running update - wk2 bupa plan

Today was pretty tough in the gym for me.

I put this down to:
1) Not having a proper run on the treadmill for 3 whole days
2) Playing basketball on monday night (heavy legs)
3) The packet of crisps I ate in my car right before entering the gym

I'm a genius... I know it.

Anywhoo...

Here's my update so y'all know i'm not slacking (too much).

Treadmill for 3.33km
Which was a mash up of (Run x 1min & walk 1 min X 10 times)

With a warm up and warm down I was actually on the treadmill for 32mins.

That's a whopping time on the treadmill FOR ME!

I am aware however that running just over 3k in 30 mins is pretty poo - but you know what...
I'm a beginner... And thats the nearest i've got to getting close to 5k at any one time!
And this WILL get better if i just follow the plan.

She says optimistically!!

Anyways, them be the numbers.

My mate Louise told me the other day, that on her warm up before her run home...
She had a cigarette as part of her warm up as she was gagging for one.

Update over.

The London Aquarium visit.. Tres Bon.

Me and my friend Jitka went to the London Aquarium over the weekend...
As I'd never been there before.. I was like a proper kid... in a candy store for the first time.

It was really beautiful. Peaceful. Serene. Refreshing and engaging.
And it was a great place to be on a wet and windy day outside in London.

We were lucky enough to be there at the Sharks feeding time.. It was all very exciting I must confess. I was glad to see i had overcome my 'Jaws' inflicted bad thoughts of sharks. The Tiger sharks are really pretty.

They had: Sharks, Octopus, Jellyfish, Seahorses, Clownfish, Piranhas, Rays and lots of little Nemo lookalike fish :-)
Here are some of my fave pics... And video.. If i can get it to work :-)

Enjoy x