Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

Did you know that plasterboard and breeze blocks are made from the waste products of coal-fired power stations? Their production diverts thousands of tonnes of material from landfill. Breeze blocks are made from the ‘clinker’ and fly ash which are what is left after the burning of the coal dust.

Plasterboard is made of gypsum which is the by-product of the removal of the acid from the power stations smoke. The lime to remove the sulphur often arrives by train, then the gypsum is used in a nearby factory to make plasterboard.

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I was travelling up to London a few days ago on the classic commuter train, it was busy and full and I was concentrating on work and reading a document. 

Suddenly the sky outside the train was brighter, which cought my eye, and I looked out from the hussle and bussle of the train to see a young woman walking her dog through a field. There was a narrow path stretching across the huge expanse of long grass, and the tiny figures of woman and dog seemed so content!

It made me stop and think, and reminded me just how much pleasure you can get sometimes from doing something so simple….

Hello again!

Well it’s been a really exciting few days out in Marseille for the iShares Cup. It’s been hot and windy, and certainly pretty fun sailing! The boats, the Extreme 40’s are amazing to sail, and with wind and waves, that excitement is just incredible. The racing is fast, I mean really fast, and furious, and having spent the last race onboard Groupama I was reminded of the speed and the brutality of the Grand Prix races I used to do onboard the ORMA 60’s. It felt quite odd not being part of the team who were out there racing each day, quite odd waking each morning not thinking of the race course. But for once it did give me the time to be out there watching, soaking in all that was going on onboard the boats, and the differences between the teams. It’s full on racing, and at those speeds there is no time to make decisions. It’s all on, all physical and all quick thinking from the moment you cross the start line to the moment you cross the finish line!

ellen

Wednesday was a fantastic day as I switched off from work and spent all day with the Kids! We began in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight which is where the boats had spent the night before. There were 13 kids spread between three boats, from places as far away as Scotland to London, and all of various ages. It’s always incredible to get to know the kids and spend time amongst their incredible smiling faces! They are always so much fun and it’s a lesson for anyone out there in motivation to see their passion for just getting on with life.

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On another topic - which also coincides with dog walking (her name is Floss by the way!) I stumbled upon a pheasant tail feather… It just made me think how lucky I was to grow up in the country, and how lucky I was to have Dad to teach me all sorts of things when I was little. There have been a few times whilst out in the country recently where I’ve seen something and made a connection from my childhood. It’s that funny feeling of just knowing that you know something, but you’re not really sure where it’s come from. Then you re-connect the neurones in your brain and realise that you’ve not thought about that since you were young; It’s been a good 14 years since I roamed the hills with Mac.

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