PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY July 27 2009 to August 2 2009 Monday July 27 Red Light for Green Gathering Next weekend, I was supposed to be speaking at The Big Green Gathering in Somerset. Sadly, despite granting a full license to this eco-awareness event, the local council got cold feet. What if the organisers had ordered the wrong kind of yellow traffic signs? What if they hadn't requisitioned enough road cones? Despite the fact that the event had been run on the same land, by the same people, for 6 years without incident or accident, the council served notice of a high court injunction. Terrified by the cost of fighting this, the event directors decided to cancel. Over the next few weeks, I will be speaking at these events.... Tuesday July 28 Cut and Wax Hi Jonathan, Why do they say you should cut your hair at new moon? Laura Dear Laura, In theory, if you cut your hair when the moon is 'waxing' from new to full, it grows quicker. So if you want a long interval between your next haircut and the one after, don't go this week! I mentioned yesterday how Mendip Council forced the Big Green Gathering to cancel because they feared the use of non-regulation road signs. Apparently they also felt the organisers had been late in requistioning road cones. Oddly, though, hundreds of cones are now being used to keep people away. How did they get them at such short notice? Wednesday July 29 Green Scene Forced to Reconvene If you have been following this page lately, you will know that a British "Green Gathering" has been cancelled at the last minute due to pressure from the local authorities. The reasons given all related to trivial breaches of the licence. The organisers insist they complied with all requirements and have a more sinister interpretation of events. They wonder if the local council see Green campaigners as 'subversive' types... the kind of folk who camp out in trees to stop motorways being built or who hold protests outside nuclear power stations. Perhaps they were trying to prevent these 'undesirables' from networking and planning new 'actions'. In my experience though, the Big Green Gathering is much more a lighthearted celebration of low impact living than a breeding ground for revolutionaries.  There's also a rumour about a firm who advise the local council on how to licence such events. Allegedly, this firm wanted to charge the organisers a substantial fee for helping them comply with their licence. It was when the Gathering realised they could save money by giving this job to a cheaper but equally reputable firm,that the council "lost confidence" in the gathering and pressured them to cancel.  If that's true, while it's hardly edifying, it's more encouraging than the idea that a 'Green backlash' may have begun!   Thursday July 30 Little Red Courgette A new study has declared there is no health advantage to eating organic food. I wonder how many long-term experiments were included and whether the research looked at psychological benefits? What if, over years of eating produce treated with pesticides or preservatives, our bodies suffer a cumulative disadvantage? Cars go just as fast, and far, with leaded fuel, but the world is certainly a better place since it was banned. I predict this debate is far from over! Friday July 31 'Unleaded Leader Misleading' says Reader I have been well and truly told off for my comments yesterday comparing organic food production to the use of unleaded petrol. Several readers have pointed out that in its own way, such fuel is far from green or safe and hardly makes the world a better place. Others have insisted that a study that finds 'no nutritional benefit' is not the same as proof of no benefit whatsoever. The environmental advantages of organic farming are immense. I stand corrected on the first point and am comforted, on the second, to know so many people doubt 'the official word'. Saturday August 1 Your Month Ahead In August, Saturn and Uranus edge a little further towards their next opposition - while Jupiter and Neptune slip a little further away from their last conjunction. The world gets a 'breathing space' in between all the intense astrological activity that has characterised the year so far... and that will yet dominate the remaining months. That's not to say that all is quiet. The usual dramas will rumble on and the usual opportunities will arise too. But there'll be a sense of calm and confidence that has been missing for too long lately. And we'll all see new hope on the horizon. Sunday August 2 Celebrity Sunday We don't have a birth time for Leona Lewis. We do know, though, that no matter what hour she came into this world on April 3, 1985, in Islington, she would have had the Moon in Virgo. And we know, too, that Moon in Virgo people are (to borrow a phrase from Simon Cowell) 'natural born worriers'. Read the rest of this article... Back to Index   Click here for Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts