Day 4

May 1, 2014

 

Today has been a great test of will-power as a group of friends came to our house and were treated to tea and biscuits whilst I had water.  But being for such a fabulous cause, and it leading to more conversations about the whole food and money issue made it all worth-while; it’s amazing what temptations one can resist!  Later today was a little more difficult as we visited a friend who had birthday cake – the boys enjoyed it whilst my eldest son kicked my glass of water over said friend’s lounge carpet!

The thing is, I still have half a tin of peaches to eat today, and only have one more day to go.  I can then return to my “normal” life where in reality I can buy whatever I want from the shop, get as fat as a house, and still not be worrying about the bailiffs knocking at the door.  What an enormous privilege and one of which I am very much aware.  The reality for over a billion people around the world, and for hundreds of thousands in the UK is that THIS WEEK is their “normal” life.  If this challenge not only raises money for charity partners who are working in the poorest countries of the world to bring people permanently out of poverty, but also gets people like me talking about the impact of how food, money and financial choices (or lack of choices) affect all of us in the UK too, then it’s been a worthwhile week.  If it helps with our understanding of the national and international issue and perhaps as a result increases our compassion, who could complain at that?

I write this tonight with a full tummy – boy, a tin of potatoes is REALLY filling!  But I am also aware how tired I am and how thirsty I’ve been, suggesting that whilst I haven’t been hungry, the overall “diet” this week, whilst affordable is not as ideal as it usually is; I have drunk over 5 pints of water each day, which is great, but I have had at most 2 portions of fruit/veg per day, nothing vitamin and mineral-fortified such as breakfast cereal or bread, and no milk.  I take all of these for granted, because I can afford to.  Once again, this has been a humbling and eye-opening experience.

So, what have I eaten on Day 4?

Carried-over from Day 3 £0.23, making today’s available spend £1.23 

Sainsbury’s Basics Tinned Peaches £0.35

Basics Chicken Flavoured Instant Noodles £0.20

Basics Meatballs in Tomato Sauce £0.40, mixed with Basics Tinned Potatoes £0.15

Total £1.10

 Carry-over to Day 5 £0.13

 If you would like to sponsor my efforts, I am raising money on behalf of Tearfund.  You can donate off-line directly with me, or on-line at https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/teamwhiten

 Once again I thank you so much for your donations, encouragement and support and for taking the time to read this Blog.




Related Posts

Day 5
Day 5
Uncategorized
  Well here we are then, the end of the 5 days of Live Below the Line.  It’s been an over-whelming week both in terms of encouragement and in...
Day 3
Uncategorized
I am seriously trying to rationalise that if the last Mini Egg stays in Sebastian’s bowl for too much longer without getting eaten, is this the...
Day 2
Day 2
Uncategorized
  Day 2 started with thanks for thriftiness on Day 1!  Having decided on today’s meals I was gutted to find the intended breakfast item,...
Day 1
Day 1
Uncategorized
So today was the day, the first of the 5-day long Live Below the Line challenge.  An initiative conceived by The Global Poverty Project, the idea is...

Comments are closed.