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Yan Cohen

Community

Power Out in Alabama,Georgia, Tennessee after Tornadoes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — At least seven people were killed on Thursday as severe storms and tornadoes left a trail of damage across the South, officials said. “Tens of thousands of homes” were without power across three States, as well as countless public buildings and private businesses.

By early Friday, tornado watches issued Thursday had expired and the extreme weather had passed, but homes and businesses were still without power as repair crews worked .

In Selma, Ala., videos and images that circulated on social media on Thursday showed damaged buildings, fallen trees and vehicles with broken windows. The Weather Service office in nearby Birmingham, Ala., said on Twitter that there had been “confirmed damage” in Selma.

The Selma mayor’s office said in a statement that the city had “received significant damage from the tornado.” It urged residents to refrain from driving and to avoid downed power lines.

Thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Central and South Florida on Friday, along with some possible snow in northern Alabama. More than 500,000 people living along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina were under a winter storm warning as of 3 a.m. on the East Coast.

“A lot of the worst of the weather, it appears, is over,” Mr. Oravec said.

More than 6.8 million people across Alabama and Georgia had been under a tornado watch on Thursday, and the governors of both states declared states of emergency.

Alabama’s order applied to six counties, including Autauga, which has a population of just under 60,000 people and lies in the Appalachian foothills. In 2011, it was struck by a punishing storm system that killed three people.

Gary Weaver, deputy director of Autauga County’s Emergency Management Agency, said on Thursday that there were reports of injuries and damage, including downed power lines, throughout the county. Mr. Weaver said that his office had received reports of some injuries, but that it was not clear how many people had been hurt, or how badly.

And in the county seat, Griffin, violent winds had torn apart buildings and felled trees, according to Jessica Diane Pitts, a resident. “You could hear stuff being ripped to pieces and people screaming in fear!” Ms. Pitts said in a Facebook message. “I hope I never experience something like this again!”

In Mississippi, the state’s emergency management agency shared a video on Twitter that showed a home in Monroe County that had been essentially flattened. Other houses nearby sustained roof damage, with debris littering the area.

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Community

Vegan Land Blueprint for Activists

The Vegan Land Movement in the UK provides a model for others to follow – anywhere in the world – to link up and secure bare land for working and living purposes.  The London Times covered a recent purchase of 6.8 acres of grazing fields in South-West England.  A £44,000 bid from the group of vegans, secured the plot.

Using the Landbuddy map – off-gridders can adopt the same  strategy – and form groups of like-minded people to acquire land quickly and easily.

The Vegan Land Movement (VLM) is a community interest company, aiming to impede industrial farming and increase biodiversity. Between 1970 and 2013 the UK lost 56 per cent of its wild species. VLM raises money through its crowdfunding website, and in two years it has won four plots of land, losing two auctions.

“A lot of people think action is about standing on a street with a banner,” says Gina Bates, 60, the founder of VLM. “Obviously that plays a part but not many people are actually trying to create alternative systems.”

Veganism is growing in popularity. According to YouGov, 2 per cent of the population was vegan in 2021, rising to 3 per cent last year. Veganuary is celebrating its tenth year of campaigning with the number of people pledging a month of veganism growing year on year.

Meanwhile, vegan organisation GenV has challenged Rishi Sunak to adopt a plant-based diet for a month for a donation of £1 million to a charity of his choice and has taken over every inch of advertising space in Westminster Tube station to get its message to him. Founded in 2019 by Matthew Glover, who also established the Veganuary group, GenV has previously issued the same challenge to the Pope and to Donald Trump.

GenV doesn’t take public donations and is funded entirely by a private trust, which is supported by a number of philanthropists

A section on its website headlined “Supporters past and present” features pictures of Joanna Lumley, Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Harrelson. “In the case of this particular million pounds, this is being offered by an anonymous donor,” says GenV.

VLM comprises three core members and about 20 volunteers, and no one takes a salary. All of the four sites it owns are in Somerset, a region it has honed in on for a few reasons. “One is because it’s one of the most depleted areas in Europe for biodiversity,” Bates says. “It’s also the biggest region for dairy farms in the country, so there’s a lot more pollution per acre there than there is anywhere else in the UK.”

Bates, who used to work as a print designer for Liberty in London, but who now lives in the Highlands and has planted a “veganic” nut orchard, wanted to “think of solutions.”

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Energy

Florida Energy Bills Rocket

Power companies in Florida are warning residents of another major increase in your electricity bill.
A request sent by FPL and Duke energy in December to raise rates by over 10% has been approved by the state regulators, stating that even the power companies are struggling with the fuel prices.
The average monthly bill will be increased by up to $5 according to FPL, but for Duke energy consumers, it will be raised by almost $20.
With this news, the energy companies are providing tips for customers on how to save power through their websites, as well as payment plans for those who are struggling financially.
Small businesses are cutting back the best they can, but with the current prices being the highest in more than 10 years, the uncertainty is also rising. Local residents talk of dreading the months ahead, and ideas of moving over to solar energy are being raised.
See more on this story here

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Community

US energy grid buckles – but who is to blame?

 

Tennessee 205,982
North Carolina 184,920
Virginia 140,331
Maine 104,068
Pennsylvania 98,101

 

Over 1.5 million Americans were without power today as storms and sub-zero weather gripped the country.  The ageing electrical grid is expected to come under further pressure by nightfall, leading to questions about how companies like National Grid, PG&E and ConEdison are policed, and fined, when foreseeable events lead to major outages.

The energy companies will be lining up their excuses, but as a vital part of national infrastructure, their obligation is to predict and prepare for weather events.

Check out our short video history of the US Grid for the full background

 

 

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Care-and-Cleaning-of-Natural-Stone—16pages.pdf

AGuide
to the Care & Cleaning
of Natural Stone
Apublication from the Marble Institute of America Marble Institute of America
28901 Clemens Road, Suite 100 • Cleveland, Ohio 44145 Phone: 4402509222 • Fax: 4402509223 www.marbleinstitute.com
©2004 Marble Institute of America
The Marble Institute of America (MIA) is the leading
resource for
information and education for the natural
stone industry.
MIA Members, numbering over 1,200
worldwide, include marble, granite, limestone, sand
stone, and
other natural stone producers and quarriers,
fabricators,
installers, distributors, and contractors.
The association’s mission is to promote the use
of natural stone and be the authoritative source of
information on standards of workmanship and practice
and suitable application of stone products. MIA publishes
a
monthly newsletter, markets a range of
technical publications and consumer pamphlets on
natural stone, sponsors business and technical meet
ings and seminars on industryrelated topics, and pro
vides educational programming for architects
and con
struction specification professionals. MIA also
honors
outstanding natural stone projects worldwide through
its annual Pinnacle Awards competition.
For more information,
contact MIA at 4402509222,
email MIAinfo@marbleinstitute.com,
or visit www.marbleinstitute.com.
About the Marble Institute of America
Fur ther Reading
Suggestions
ASTM International. ASTM C151 5: Cleaning of Exterior
Dimension Stone,
Vertical and Horizontal Surfaces, New
or Existing. West Conshohocken: ASTM Int ernational.
Cleaning Masonry Review of the Literature,
by Grimm, Clayford T., P.E.Construction Research Center,
U
niversity of Texas at Arlington, 1988.
Cleaning Stone and Masonry, Clifton, James R., Editor,
AS TM Special Technical Publication 935, American
Socie

ty for Testing and Materials, 1983.
Keeping It Clean, by Grimmer, Anne E.,
U

.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988.
“Cleaning of Masonry Interiors of Public Buildings,” Cleaning
Stone and Masonr

y, by Roth, J.W.,
AS

TM STP 935, 1986. “Chemical Cleaning of Historical Structures A Practical
Approach,”
Cleaning Stone and Masonry, by Rudder, T.H.,
AS

TM STP 935, 1986.
“A Case Study of the Cleaning of Marble at the Schenectady,
New York, City Hall,” Cleaning Stone and Masonry,
by Waite, J.C. and R.J. Chen, ASTM STP 935, 1
986.
“A Macrosteriogrammetric Technique for Measuring Surface
Er osion Losses on Stone,” Cleaning Stone and Masonr y,
by Winkler, E.M., ASTM STP 935, 1986.
Stain Removal Guide for Stone and Masonry, by Hueston,
F

rederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc.
Historic Stone & Tile Restoration Manual,
b y Hueston,
Frederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc., 1998.
Stone Maintenance Manual for Professional Cleaning
Contractors, byHuest
on, Frederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc.,
1996. Contents
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Know Your Stone . . …

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Community

In Israel, a failed town finds new hope – off-grid

A disused factory that once symbolized the dismal economic failure of Dimona in southern Israel’s Negev desert, has metamorphosed into a 21st century manufacturing hub for the country’s first off-the-grid neighborhood.

Since the spring, the Ayalim Association, known for the student villages it has established throughout the country over the past 18 years, has been producing parts for prefabricated homes that are then put together in a new temporary neighborhood that is already housing 18 families and 10 single people — the first residents of Ayalim’s new and ambitious green, urban initiative.

Benny Biton, mayor of this remote, largely working-class city — best known for the nuclear reactor on its outskirts — has enthusiastically embraced the idea of offering well-educated young people from within and outside of Dimona the chance to realize their sustainable dreams .

The first residents of the still barren-looking neighborhood due to be renamed Shahak Heights, after the late former army chief of staff and politician, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, are paying a subsidized, monthly rent of NIS 1,800 ($560) for small, boxy homes with one or two bedrooms and balconies that look out over spectacular views of the rolling desert hills.

“In America, people pay millions of dollars for views like these,” Biton chuckled.m

Eco-villages: Pioneering, 21st century style

Shahak Heights — to be formally opened by President Reuven Rivlin in mid-January — is the first of a series of planned temporary neighborhoods that are not connected to the urban infrastructure that provides water, sewage and electricity, instead relying on eco-friendly solutions where possible. Not only is this increasingly feasible thanks to advances in green technology. It is also far cheaper.

The whole community of Shahak Heights, into which residents began to move a couple of months ago, cost only NIS 3 million ($930,000) to build, slightly more than the average cost of a single apartment in Tel Aviv.

“It’s sustainable, limits the damage to nature and is affordable for young families,” said Matan Dahan, who co-founded Ayalim in 2002 with the goal of reviving the Zionist spirit of community building while bolstering underserved areas of the country.

All the prefab structures’ roofs are covered in solar panels, which supply electricity during the day. Computers designed by US electric car and clean energy company Tesla measure the amount of excess energy produced and channel it to batteries, which supply electricity at night — but only according to each house’s need.

A diesel-run generator has been installed to charge the batteries if they fall below 20% and the expectation is that the generator will run for an average of 15 to 40 minutes per day during the winter, using around three liters of diesel.

Solar energy system supplies 250kw

To help cut down on electricity usage, cooking ovens, stoves, and heating/air-conditioning systems are being run on gas supplied in canisters.

Water is currently being transported into storage containers …

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Community

5 Off-Grid Capitals of Britain

The growing interest in living off the grid is a global phenomenon – hundreds of thousands every year are moving off-grid – either because they want to live a cleaner greener life, or because it is a less expensive way to live and allows them more financial freedom – or out of a fear of social and economic collapse, or combination of these factors.

But by the nature of this lifestyle it is low profile to the point of invisibility.

Using online research tools, Off-Grid.Net scraped the Internet and found the 5 UK centres of interest in this lifestyle.

The parishes (the smallest unit of local government in the UK) are in Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Cheshire, Dorset, and Northumberland. These are the places where people take the most about living off-grid, and therefore can be assumed to to be the most interested in living off-grid.

Wolverstone, Suffolk has a huge Marina and as a result many boat-dwellers and van-dwellers are there all the year round. Marina charges are low, and local farmers will allow camper vans or buses to park behind a hedge for extended periods.

Ord in Northumberland is near the Lindisfarne Nature Reserve, so it combines bountiful natural produce with the plants found near the sea, as well as the possibility of sea fishing. It is near the River Tweed which also affords opportunity for living on a boat moored in one of the many tributaries, such as Whiteadder Water.

Henbury, Cheshire is near Macclesfield, with a very low population, and plenty of lakes and small rivers. It is a wealthy area so neighbours might oppose off-grid living if they happened to come across it, and it is home to the world famous Jodrell Bank telescope, so there is top quality internet bandwidth in the area.

Leigh in Dorset is also a very wealthy area, where the local working class cannot find any affordable housing. The landscape is gently undulating and predominantly agricultural, with good quality pasture; cheese and cider are a common product of the area, with at one time every farm possessing an orchard. The small Wriggle River passes through the parish.

Tewin, Hertfordshire is the most densely populated of the 5 off-grid centres. Quintessentially English, with pubs, woods, footpaths and meadows, the parish has 1400 residents of whom over half are in the village of Tewin, a commuter village with a thriving cricket club.

Although it would be a stretch to conclude that there were actually a higher proportion living off-grid in these places, that is also possible. Further research would be needed to prove it. Any academics or others willing to sponsor the research please get in touch at news@off-grid.net

We know of off-grid communities all across the country – but this is the first reliable evidence that interest in concentrated in specific communities.

lt can be hard to find an off-grid community when you …

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Community

Reuters Foundation turns on to off-grid

Here is a recent Reuters Foundation report on off-grid real estate:

Often called survivalists or “preppers”, many escapees twin an expectation of impending doom – or outright social collapse – with a deep disbelief in the government’s ability to cope.

Buying land — or “bugout” property, derived from military slang for a retreat — is a priority, with real estate networks compiling national lists of “prepper lands”.

Most survivalist land purchases are in the mountains of the U.S. northwest, primarily Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

In 2011, a blogger and former U.S. Army intelligence officer named James Wesley, Rawles – he includes the comma in his name – wrote a widely circulated post urging “freedom-loving Christians” to move to the region as a safe haven.

He dubbed the area the American Redoubt and urged followers to “buy land that will maximise your self-sufficiency.”

It is unclear how many heeded his call, but the Economist magazine estimated they numbered in the “thousands of families”.

Idaho in particular recorded a big influx, says Reuters Foundation.

The state had one of the top U.S. growth rates in 2015-16, driven in part by escapees from California and neighbouring Washington state, according to Boise State assistant professor Jeffrey Lyons.

Disaffected Californians make up a substantial number of clients for Black Rifle Real Estate, which says online that it helps people “Flee the City to the freedom and safety of Rural America and the famed American Redoubt.”

Broker Todd Savage said his business is at an all-time high, driven by frustration with how many U.S. cities are governed.

“Most of our clients are now looking to sell their postage-stamp size properties … and make what we call a ‘Strategic Relocation’ to a free state,” Savage said in an email.

Driven by new demand, the company is expanding outside of the so-called Redoubt — to Arizona, which Savage said enjoys lower taxes and far looser gun controls than liberal California.

“Arizona is the new Idaho for many seeking relief from the tyranny in California,” he said.

EMBRACE LAND

Conservatives are not alone in the new land rush.

Haynes said his clients in North Carolina are evenly split between survivalists and “homesteaders” — young, liberal, less affluent families seeking peace, quiet and a sustainable life.

“When I started out in 1973, the big thing then was the ‘back to the land’ movement,” said Neil Shelton with the Ozark Land Company, a developer active in Missouri and Arkansas.

What he is seeing now is a “new iteration” of that movement, he said, and one driven by innovation: the pre-built ‘tiny home’, typically 400-600 square feet.

Small structures have made home ownership more affordable, he said, for some accelerating the new mood of escapism.

“This tiny-house movement is the biggest thing I’ve seen since” the 1970s, Shelton said.

Kim Moore, 63, said she and her husband had bought nearly 60 acres …

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Water

Should I live on a boat?

WHATis it really like living on a canal boat or on the river? So many of us have wondered if it would be a way of avoiding a huge rent bill and staying closer to nature, while holding down a job in the city. The one pictured is a concrete-hulled structure near Shoreham. There is a busy chat going on in The Guardian newspaper.

Here are some of the comments:

buddysparadigm 2h ago
The most important thing that I can’t stress enough: you absolutely have to WANT to live on the water. Secondly, read today’s article on decluttering, boats DON’T have a lot of space, especially narrowboats. Thirdly, be prepared to live frugally, by that i mean not necessarily financially but possession wise. There will be times when money or more importantly, time and in some cases, actual ability to get to where you need to be to get what you need will be severly hampered or in some cases, actually curtailed, eg the floods of 2012/3 winter. Trailing along a very muddy footpath dragging a 20 litre container of water – or worse, poo – can be soul destroying and even if you have a holding tank it needs to be emptied periodically and if you’re stuck somewhere, better have a Porta-potti on standby. Cooking with gas? Oh you will be 99% of the time, got a spare cylinder, is it freezing, hmm, might not give any gas and no, you CANNOT keep it in the warm, it just becomes a waiting fuel air gas bomb.
Okay, the upsides…..see previous comments. I’m in the process of refitting my 24ft 40 year old boat to allow me to spend the occasional period on board and I’m having to draft in help to do this, luckily he’s my brother so cheaper than a professional. This is just for the odd trip, if I had to live onboard full time I’d be looking at a LOT more expense. Finally, did I mention that you have to really, really want to live on the water. Look carefully, DON’T buy from a well known marina up north (W******s) who make a nice living selling overpriced rust buckets to people with a dream of living the boating life as they make their way down to an idyllic life on London’s waterways, all white painted panelling and 3 bits of “artful” furniture, see canalworld forums for unhappy tales of disaster. This missive is not here to put you off, just to prepare you not to be done over by tales of the river bank. Good luck whatever you do.

carolineford 6h ago
My son lived on a boat for a while but boat life wasn’t for him. He missed home comforts – a flushing loo, a shower (he joined a gym), a decent kitchen. He had a boat on a mooring so had to row across …

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Community

Visiting Outback Prepper + Budget Prepping links

With one phone call, I’ve accidentally ended up in a survival caravan fit out for a nuclear holocaust. But within days, I’m converted, and perhaps you should be too.

It’s pitch dark in a way you only get in the bush as I arrive at the property of a man I met an hour ago.

“This is my base”, he says. “I have everything you need.”

Peering through the darkness, I realise he means it. There’s chickens, a veggie garden that’d put WholeFoods Market to shame, solar panels and septic tanks. And then, “what’s in the basement?”

“Six months of fuel and some basic weapons.”

“Weapons?!”

“Just basic ones.”

Suddenly, I realise what this charming bush cottage actually is.

It’s a “bug out” — a well-equipped base that survivalists keep ready for when “TSHTF” (the shit hits the fan).

And this man? He’s a “prepper” — someone who’s turned “prepping” for disaster into a way of life.

He had needed someone to drive his second car from Perth to the desert, where he lived, deep in a national park, for half of each year — a friend asked could I help him?

I couldn’t resist the lure of a new escapade — my flight (and shower) would have to wait a little longer.

Now, I’m faced with the vehicle we’ll drive 17 hours into the outback tomorrow: a floral-patterned 1970s caravan, full of supplies for a nuclear holocaust.

And I’ll be living out of this caravan-cross-bunker for the next 10 days.

I lift the bed to stash my bags underneath. There’s two months of tinned food and an axe.

I open a cupboard beside the bed. An avalanche of toothbrushes and dental floss rains down on me.

Crouched on the caravan floor, gathering up the toothbrushes like an apocalyptic “pick-up sticks”, I stare up at the prepper, waiting for an explanation.

“Gum health and heart disease are linked,” he says. “No-one ever thinks about dental floss. You’re holding apocalypse gold there.”

In my Gollum-crouch, I grab the floss and try to imagine a world where that could be “my precious”.

I’m not convinced it’s a world I want to live in. But in a few days, that all changes.

Aussies are getting ‘prepped’

“Doomsday prepping”, or “survivalism”, is on the rise.

This is despite “preppers” being widely met with ridicule or fear (as the , prepping reality TV shows “are full of people lovingly cradling their weaponry, which in many cases is frighteningly extensive”).

Preppers make themselves easy targets, between the YouTube tutorials on how to make a crossbow from a ski, and the graded sequence of Mary-Poppins-meets-Bear-Grylls survival bags.

If you’re a minimalist prepper who’s just read Marie Kondo, you might get by with just the BOB (“) and the INCH (“). And yes, preppers have more acronyms than the public service.

As we dragged our catastrophe-caravan to the …

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Land

Tiny British island seeks new warden

If you always wanted to be a hermit but never dared to make the move, now is your chance.

The remote island of Lihou, part of the self-governing British Crown dependency of Guernsey, is looking for a new Warden.

Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands in the English Channel very near the French coast, and after Brexit the new Warden could expect the island to be invaded one day by a desperate French President looking for a way to appease the Giletes Jaune.

It’s known for beach resorts like Cobo Bay and the scenery of its coastal cliffs. Castle Cornet, a 13th-century harbor fortification in the capital of St. Peter Port, now contains history and military museums.

The tiny isle sits 500 metres off the Guernsey coast, in the English Channel between Britain and only a few kilometres from FFrance. The new warden will oversee its 36-acres from the rent-free farmhouse.

Applicants must be happy to live off-grid, drive a tractor and co-habit with the island’s protected wildlife, including 150 different species of birds. you apply by writing to: info@lihouisland.com.

In return, you can while away the days taking a dip in the natural swimming pool, exploring the derelict priory (and remains of the island’s 12th century monastery) and taking in the views from the shingle beach.

Guided tours and school trips often pass through, but this isn’t a place for someone who craves company – access is via a causeway at low tide. Stormy weather can cut off the little island for days at a time.

Interested? Current warden Richard Curtis, who is leaving the island after 13 years, said his replacement needs to have ‘fresh ideas’, be looking for a new challenge and hail from Guernsey.

‘We need to find the right person. Someone who wants to work with children, who can proactively work by themselves and who likes driving a tractor as their company car,’ he told Guernsey Press.

Richard is leaving his role in September 2019 but it is hoped a new warden will be appointed by Easter next year so they can get support for their first season. Email info@lihouisland.com if interested.

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Mobile

Artist Within a World

This amazing 360 degree work (only a part shown) by van-dwelling artist Emily Lamb is the product of her time in jungles and mountains around the planet.  She calls it  “My wake-up call to re-invent ourselves in nature and our relationships with all sentient beings on this planet.”

Having thrown herself into the monumental work for months – “Now I want to backpack — go with a little money in my pocket and see how people are living,” she said after her recent show ended.

“We charge as a species into a consumer driven and frenetic future.  It takes a silent and new army of the common folk, the new brave folk, the new outspoken folk, to protect whats left and what can still become. This is what i believe in, and this is how each brush stroke bled it’s colour, and each image came to life. ”

Emily, grand-daughter of the legendary wildlife conservationist and artist David Shepherd created the installation consisting of 10 x 80 foot painted canvasses, depicting scenes of wildlife and humanity around the world.  Her late grandfather described her as “…someone who lives and breathes nature and who inspires others to become advocates for conservation.”

She had hired a huge industrial space to make the work  “I always wanted a big space — gas heaters and two pairs of gloves and down jackets…… If am I a snug cosy place I just fall asleep.”

Now Emily is moving on – out of her space in Cornwall next week to go on the road in her van, a VW Transporter.   She is not entirely happy with her accommodation.

“I cant stand in it and I cant cook properly, “ she told me.  Later this year she hopes to customise a much larger vehicle for a tour of Europe. She wants a 3.5 tonne Mercedes Vario – the biggest vehicle you can drive “without having to get a truck license”

“I am nomadic by nature,” said the 32 year old who grew up in Surrey but broke free from the suburban lifestyle.

“it all made sense to slot in. But now I have done my last exhibition in that traditional space and I’m taking walks on the cliff and thinking where am I going to next – if you are open then things come your way.

“Artists by nature scavenge and gather.”

You can see more of Emily’s work here – https://www.emilylamb.co.uk/paintings/

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