Contribution

Great song that ... Contribution - Mica Paris. She was my first introduction to the wonders of modern british soul. Well that's a bit misleading; it's not as if she came round my house one evening, took hold of my hand and in the morning I woke up a soul man.

No those sort of things don't happen to me. Nevertheless, after discovering the delights of Ms. Paris's sultry yet funky voice, I got on the right side of the tracks in CD terms. And what better way than to start with the song that broke Mica in the Uk:

Contribution
One world united
All shapes invited
We all have a contribution
To the ways of the world
A revolution
We all have a contribution
So get on out
Say Hey!
Make no excuses

Great song, great sentiments. And in same mood I read the notice in the Earth Centre - an ecological showcase near Doncaster: Make a contribution. No simple request for cash here: this was something a bit deeper. Something more personal.

This request was on the wall of the toilet. Make a contribution and feed the plants. Yes, you've guessed it: the contribution was in the form of the byproduct of your Sunday lunch, and it went to fuel the Earth Centre's centrepiece: a fully functioning bio-sewage system.

Mmmm ... from the slight tension appearing in your face, I can sense that your thinking: I didn't slog through Men are from Mars and Women from Venus to become a psychosexually balanced individual just blow it all by reading this web page and regress to the anal development stage.

... or perhaps you don't watch Frasier ...

Well Tough titty as Freud said to one of his clients as she was asking for her money back. This area of our life may be unpleasant, but you've got to get to grips with it if you want to become a fully balanced individual in tune with the planet... or perhaps like me, you just find it fascinating.

The system itself was very ingenious: the usual preperation as per normal, but then nature takes over with Algae Walls (fences in the form of green pipes containing living algae). The water then empties into tanks containing ginger plants (exotic but most likely indedible), from there into reed beds and out as 100% pure water. No chemicals, nature in balance.

The rest of the Earth Centre followed the same pattern, by trying to present the world as a living organism. The place is littered with things to let you fully experience the living environment with all the senses: giant ear trumpets, scented gardens, tactile surfaces for hands and feet.

And, as you'd expect, there was an eco-payload, which was delivered in the form of a walk through of displays of how the earth was, is and what it will become if we carry on polluting etc. Yes, very worthy, you're thinking - and as I thought at first - but fair do's we've all got to make a contribution.

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