Never assume

Back today from a two week Social Switch Off. What bliss. A chance to reconnect and reenergise. In part the social switch off was to take a break from posting, and in part the social switch off was a chance to totally disconnect from everything online.

Online we can live in a bubble, inspired by like-minded plastic and disposable warriors on the incredible progress that is being made. And there is progress. On holiday, in the offline world, the progress does not seem so swift and sometimes feels non-existent. Arriving at a lovely cafe, after a 10km hike on the South West Coast Path, I ordered a cup of tea to 'drink-in'. My reusable cup was snug in my backpack, however with some lovely ceramic mugs in full view I assumed that 'drink-in' meant that the tea would arrive in a 'proper mug'. Never assume, you know the saying.

Suddenly (to my horror) tea in a disposable cup appeared. It sparked a conversation and the lovely girl at the cafe said sorry at busy times everything is served in disposable. It was my first disposable cup fail in a year and a reminder to never assume.

There are so many cafés who are getting this right, more on these another day. We need more real-world conversations about making the switch, and more people to refuse disposables. Both 'Drink-in' and 'take-away' should always be a 'proper cup', something reusable again and again. Whether that is a ceramic mug or a re-usable 'To Go' cup. It is time to make the change, let's keep the conversation going.