NfCG Seminar
British Standards & Survey Techniques
Saturday March 20th - Our hosts for the next NfCG Members Meeting in London are the British Standards Institution (BSI) at their premises at 389 Chiswick High Road, directly above Gunnersbury Underground station on the District line. The day will start with coffee at 10.30 am. At 11.00 am an interactive discussion with the BSI Head of Consumer Policy will consider consumer issues which have to be addressed to ensure that products and services are safe.
A light lunch will be served at 1.00 p.m. (£4). In the afternoon, there will be a workshop on survey techniques (in the consumer sense of the word) led by David Horton of Mercator Ltd., a firm which produces "snap" survey computer software. As this meeting incorporates training, NfCG will help with travel costs for some Group and IM delegates attending both sessions. Margaret Williams asks that those attending should let her know as soon as possible and by March 11th at the latest, and send cheques, payable to NfCG, for lunches with the same urgency. Send cheques and bookings to Margaret Williamsat 14 Gospelgate, Louth, LN11 9JX.
NfCG goes into Europe!
NfCG nominated Alma Williams (an NfCG Past President) to the Government, who in turn nominated her to the European Union Council of Ministers as a member of the Council's Economic and Social Committee - Europe's consultative assembly of 222 individuals from the 15 Member States. Only 18% are women! She took her seat last month and has asked Bob Gale (our most recent Past Chairman) to be her alternate so that he can peruse lots of draft proposals from the Commission in his new-found leisure time.
Financial Services Authority
NfCG Vice President and IM Gerry Lanchin has been appointed to the Consumer Panel of the new Financial Services Authority.
Triskaidekaphobiacs
Certainly a phobia to conjure with - are to be congratulated; they have, we hope, survived the third and last Friday the Thirteenth of 1998. It is possible, I am relieved to learn, that there can be no more than three in any one year. What I would like to know is - is it possible to have a year in which there are none?
A Chicken in from the Cold
All the cook books and advisers on avoiding food problems tell us that frozen poultry must be thoroughly thawed out before cooking. With Christmas in the offing this applies particularly to frozen turkeys which, if large, might take several days to be ready to cook.
Imagine my surprise, therefore, to find that Iceland is selling chickens that they recommend should be cooked from frozen! I have not been brave enough to try one of these but I am tempted to do so because on the pack are the words "probably the most succulent chicken you will ever taste." It occurs to me, however, that it must be very difficult to stuff a frozen chicken!
Ethical Coffee
Coincidental with the PANOS article (page 5) in which Martin Kimani explains the problems for farmers who cease growing the traditional range of crops and concentrate, perhaps with Government direction, on a single cash crop - coffee was one example - comes a press release from coffee seller Percol. In this they announce their partnership with "Coffee Kids"™ to sell the UK's first mainstream 'ethical' (their emphasis) instant coffee.
Percol will donate 10p from every 100g jar from their new range to "Coffee Kids"™ - a non-profit-making organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and families in coffee-growing areas, particularly Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. Many families in these areas are extremely dependent on their coffee crops for a living, which is exactly the point made by Martin Kimani.
However, I have in front of me a jar of "cafédirect" instant coffee, described as fair trade coffee. This is widely available. The label tells us that more of the money you pay for this coffee goes to the small-scale coffee farmers of Latin America and Africa enabling them to invest in health care, education and agriculture. Four fair-trade organisations -Equal Exchange, Twin Trading, Oxfam Trading and Tradecraft - have worked with coffee farmers to make this possible.
One wonders whether Percol's claim is correct. I suppose it hinges on how you interpret "mainstream
Train Tickets by Phone
I did not know that you could actually book rail tickets over the phone until very recently. I wanted to travel to Wilmslow and then on to Manchester and decided to let the train take the strain. By phoning Central Inquiries 0345 48 49 50 I found out all the information needed including the booking office phone number for virgin Rail. The booking clerk was most helpful and found some remarkably cheap fares, which reduced by more than half the normal return fare.
New members for NfCG
Two new Corporate Associates have recently joined NfCG: Midland Bank and British Standards Institution; and one new Associate: Gloucestershire County Council.
Contributions to the Editor
Please send contributions to: John Brown:
6 Priory Gardens, Dartford, Kent. DAl 2BE.
Telephone or fax 01322 280673.
Copyright
The material contained in Consumer News may only be reproduced by federated groups unless otherwise indicated. The articles do not necessarily represent the views of the National Federation of Consumer Groups, its Groups or its members. © 1998 NfCG
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