View allAll Photos Tagged lunchboxes
… the rat in there didn’t stand a chance. The next few shots in this series are a bit too graphic to publish :-)
It’s nice to know Priscilla still hunts. She’s better known for preying on lunchboxes and sandwiches these days :-)
found myself in the back-to-school aisles yet again. each year i seem to meander my way down looking at notebooks and pencils and new lunchboxes. such a treat-- wait, wait, i think i wrote a poem about that ~grin~
Not so much about food here but the Asian containers / lunchboxes that are used to hold the food for deliveries. These ones here are purely for decorative use only in a restaurant.
Here's the Wikipedia article about them :-
Day four dawned, and after a hearty breakfast at Refugio Paine Grande, the receptionist offered a little detour that piqued my interest. Instead of heading straight to Grey Refuge, north on the main W Trail, they suggested a shorter southern loop: Paine Grande to Las Carretas. Just 5.2 kilometers (3.2 miles) there and back in a breezy 2 hours and 20 minutes? Sign me up!
This little jaunt took me right past the Pehoé Lake lookout, where I feasted my eyes on a panorama fit for a king. There was the mighty Cerro Paine Grande, all spiky peaks and glaciers, its highest point a dizzying 3,030 meters (10,006 feet) above sea level. And nestled between them, the gateway to the French Valley, its horned brother, Cerro Cuernos del Paine, stood guard, its highest horn, Cuerno Central, reaching 2,600 meters (8,530 feet). And nestled between them, like a turquoise jewel, lay Peho Lake, a massive 22 square kilometers (8.5 square miles) fed by the Paine and Nordenskjöld Rivers.
Let me tell you, that detour was worth every step. And guess what? I had the whole trail to myself! The rest of the crew opted for the Grey Refuge after breakfast, lunchboxes in tow. Smart move for them, because what awaited me next was a doozy.
The trek from Refugio Paine Grande to Grey Refuge was a whole different beast: 16.77 kilometers (10.4 miles) of pure Patagonian adventure, clocking in at a solid 7 hours and 30 minutes (with plenty of photo breaks, of course!). Think setting up and breaking down my tripod more times than I care to admit, all to capture the mind-blowing scenery. The elevation gain wasn't too crazy, just 427 meters (1,401 feet), but the real challenge came in the form of climbs, descents, and one particularly…memorable…section.
Imagine this: a super steep climb followed by a blissful plateau with jaw-dropping views. Then, bam! The descent. Not just any descent, mind you, but a slippery rock slide disguised as a waterfall stream. Here's where things got real – hands and feet all came into play to navigate this treacherous terrain. Honestly, the first day on the W Trail, which everyone hypes as super difficult, didn't even require this much manual labor!
After that heart-pounding scramble, the rest of the hike was a (relatively) gentle series of ups and downs. Sure, it was long, but the scenery was pure triumph. Two nights at Grey Refuge awaited, and let me tell you, after that slippery slope surprise, I was more than ready for a well-deserved rest. Stay tuned for what awaits on Day 5 and 6!
***
With its four peaks, Cerro Paine Grande is a stunner, easily one of the most gorgeous mountains on the planet. The tallest peak reaches a whopping 3,050 meters (10,000 feet), making it the highest in the Macizo Paine Massif and the technically most challenging climb in all of Torres del Paine National Park.
The Wastelands Ghoul next to me is Lunesta Matova. You should own one of her Wasteland Lunchboxes....really
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hambone%20Slough/238/18/66
Roleplay event
EPIA movie Screen
Our local vole and mouse population must have taken a hammering this Winter.
Two shorties, at least four kestrels, a barn owl - not to mention the stoats and weasels - all keep these lunchboxes on legs on their toes. Sadly this one wasn't quick enough to escape the attention of the kestrel, who gulped it down in a matter of seconds.
Fen Drayton Lakes, Cambs
LEGO hands you a Lunchbox, you make Lunchbox-aide.
As part of LEGO Canada's celebration for Canada's 150th birthday they sent out some of these cool lunchboxes, so of course I built what I thought what Toronto in the future could look like!
Check out lynk.to/HP4C2 for chances to win some cool LEGO prizes, and they'll be some in store fun this weekend at Toys R Us (April 8+9)
#LEGOCityofTomorrow
#LEGOCity150
A decent and delicious Saturday dinner for two plus two lunchboxes for around $ 6.
Based on stuff found in the fridge, more or less.
DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Collection
DFS has a beautiful collection of new lunch boxes for you that you can buy in its store.
* 01 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Hot Drink Sweet Eats
* 02 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - You're My Cookie
* 03 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Love Muffin
* 04 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Be My Honey
* 05 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Butter Believe I love you!
* 06 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - You're the Only Bun For Me
* 07 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - We're Better Together
* 08 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Taco Bout Love
* 09 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - You Make My Heart Pop
* 10 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - You Mac Me So Happy
* 11 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - Don't Go Bacon My Heart
* 12 - DFS Food Lover Lunchboxes - You're the Milk To My Cereal
Do not delay in going for them!
They were the worst of times and than the even worst of times for old Po. Rising to the top of his HS drama class, earning a partial scholarship to Jean-Claude Van Damme Online School of the Arts with all of his hopes and dreams focused on Hollywood. Having saved just enough scratch from his part-time job luring women to try skin care products at a mall kiosk he was able to purchase his ticket out West. Unfortunately his flight had a layover in the UK (It was a REALLY inexpensive ticket). Offering to carry a woman's bags in exchange for a bottom shelf drink of his choice would change his life forever. This chance encounter with a failed day care operator who fancied herself a television writer would send his career skyward as part of the cast of the popular children's show "Teletubbies".
For 5 years Po ruled the Children's airwaves with such memorable quotes like "Eh-Oh" and the laughable "Eh-oh" and of course the old classic "Eh-oh" which could be found on T-shirts and lunchboxes across the globe. Life came crashing to an end when fellow cast mate and good friend Tinky Winky was found frozen to death in the streets of Liverpool after bouts of alcoholism. In a 2008 Highlights Magazine interview he stated, "I had no idea he was so sick. We were all just there for the party man. Women, drugs, booze and excess just became part of the 24/7 circus. Than we'd just show up at work, learned our lines which was actually really &@$# easy. Dude, I can't say enough how bad the writing was on that show despite it's success."
Unfortunately even today Po still struggles to reign in his demons. He remains living on-set of the old classic in an abandoned cave, hiding from the public eye. TMZ caught this rare shot of Po early this week. When asked for a comment, he only flicked off the camera, threw up on his tattered red costume and mumbled something about a baby hurting his eyes, zipping away into the hills.
This week I hadn't the time to a picture for the weekly theme.
In the morning i was really hungry and decides to cook porridge.
Just before i started eating, I realize I have now something that starts with P.
So i quickly took the picture since i still had to eat and pack the lunchboxes for the kids before heading to the kindergarten and work.
So not the best I could do, but the best for this week
Have a great week HMM
Great service of delivering lunchboxes to offices and shops all over the city via this delivery vans.
Elephant Road, Dhaka.
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tralala's Diner located in beautiful downtown Fort Stygian the Wastelands. My motto is.."Meat's Meat and We All Gotta Eat".
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fort%20Stygian/147/19/71
Wearing:
RO Scissorhands
[ContraptioN] Mad Taxidermy: The Hog
[CX] Implant Revived-Trashed Steel (shoes)
Baiastice_Danika dress-brown
Diner Stuff:
Toxian City Grunge Diner Condiments & Napkins
{what next} Sugar Shaker
24 - 8f8 - Green Grocers - Dial Scales
::Yellow JesteR:: Butcher's Bar
-VD- The lost bag of donuts
{what next} Box of Doughnuts
Lunchboxes - Lunesta Matova
=Sloppy Seconds= Coke Vending Machine
xin. desk fan + black
A sack of many Stoneseeds - Emmy Rumble
Diner - flopsie McArdle
My collections are located inside my graphic design studio near Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, I've got 412 Pez dispensers and 165 metal lunchboxes on display.
Sculpture titled: Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch: Batman, Swanston And Hoddle
*Sculpture is situated on the corner of Swanston and Bourke Streets.
By Alison Weaver and Paul Quinn
Bronze sculpture
1993
"This whimsical, life-size sculpture of three businessmen carrying lunchboxes is located in the heart of Melbourne. Artist Alison Weaver claims that while the men are named and motionless, they are also intended to be anonymous and to represent being 'trapped in the perpetual motion of consumerism'. Weaver figures these three Melbourne pioneers as 'pedestrians of vast time' who have returned to the city streets, and says her interpretation of them is driven by humor rather than by iconoclasm."
"Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch was commissioned in 1993 as part of the Swanston Street Art Works Program, and was a gift to the City of Melbourne from the Republic of Nauru to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary."
Camera: Leica Camera AG M9
Lens used: Leica 90mm Summicron f2.0. This is the 1960's Silver version lens, "Beater" as it is known by.
Photograph by: Rouben Dickranian
** I am really impressed by this lens, in the way it captured those very subtle colors which is barely visible to the eye.
Lucy Van Pelt is in campaign mode!
She's had a hankering to get into political office. It seems a perfect fit for her. She knows more than anyone else. She loves to tell other people what to do and how to do it. She's a take-charge girl!
So, without much study on the political landscape Lucy has gone ahead and printed up some buttons and signs.
Surely, once people know that Lucy is available, they'd never vote for anyone else! 😊
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Westland
Snoopy and Woodstock Stroll
Item No. 8345
NOS from the 90's.
Another of our favorite vendors from our days of our collectibles store is Vandor. They had many amazing lines of licensed products that were quite fun.
Vandor was particularly known for their metal items such as signs, lunchboxes and these metal boxes featuring Lucy, thinking, "I'd make a perfect First Lady!"
We agree, Lucy! A very fussy First Lady too. 😊
One of my passions --vintage picnic tins and plaid metal lunch boxes are fun to hunt for, great to look at and perfect for storage.
So super cute & so super new @ Epic OUT RIGHT NOW!
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
New Mesh Kawaii.Hentai.69 Backpack & Lunchbox Sets in 16 colors! AND for The Saturday Sale, new Sweetheart.Denim Rompers for Omega in 9 colors only 75L each now through the weekend!
Backpacks come with particle sparklies and a resize script, and lunchboxes also come with particle sparklies, a resize script and holding animation!
Get these cute sets right now ONLY @ the main store!
-♥-
Click here for style info!
Click here to Like Epic on Facebook!
Click here for a taxi to Epic's NEW store!
This metal lunch box was made by Thermos in 1980. It has a yellow plastic snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible, yellow plastic handle. The box is decorated with colorful animated scenes of the television show Mork & Mindy. Mork & Mindy was a spinoff of Happy Days and helped launch Robin Williams to stardom. It ran from 1978-1982 on ABC and featured the adventures of the alien Mork living alongside a human companion Mindy, trying to learn the ways of humans.
LOCATION
Currently not on view
OBJECT NAME
lunch box
DATE MADE
1980
MAKER
King Seeley Thermos
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
metal (overall material)
plastic (handle material)
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 22.5 cm x 11 cm x 19 cm; 8 7/8 in x 4 5/16 in x 7 1/2 in
ID NUMBER
2004.3009.29
NONACCESSION NUMBER
2004.3009
CATALOG NUMBER
2004.3009.29
SUBJECT
Lunch Boxes
Popular Entertainment
Family & Social Life
Television
SEE MORE ITEMS IN
Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
Lunch Boxes
DATA SOURCE
National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New & exclusive for The Saturday Sale! Animated Living.Dead Girl Backpacks & Lunchboxes in 6 colors with spinning gears, all in a mini gatcha!
Backpacks come with a resize script, and lunchboxes come with a resize script and holding animation.
Get them in the main store lobby on Saturday @ 50L in try! (I'll be keeping this out all weekend so you'll have time to grab them!)
-♥-
Click here for style info!
Click here to Like Epic on Facebook!
Click here for a taxi to Epic!
I had to get this set (OK, 2 sets) because of the lunchboxes & thermoses, they are just too cute. The cookies would have been better with some texture, & I can live without the Snoopy head sandwiches.
Tasmanian Black Currawong (Strepera fuliginosa). This particular individual incorporated the parapet of the Gordon River Dam into its domain for a while and earned itself the nickname of 'Curry'.
Body of water behind the bird (and the dam) is Lake Gordon.
Currawongs (sometimes called black jays) are cunning, fearless, omnivorous opportunists. Curry probably did well fairly well out of tourist lunchboxes.
Sony A7Rii, Contax Zeiss N 24-85/3.5-5.6, 1/200th sec, f/10, ISO 250 ~85mm
NEW: I NOW CREATE MUSIC, JOIN ME ON SOUNDCLOUD!
SHOP: www.icanvas.com/canvas-art-prints/artist/ben-heine
Mad world... This is an older sketch I made in 2007
_______________________________________________
For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
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Globalization of McDonalds
A person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others is defined as having power (dictionary.com). In the minds of most it is the political leaders and governments have power over the people. However, many institutions and business corporations we may not think of also hold a lot of the world’s power. Unfortunately, through globalization corporations such as McDonalds are attempting to Americanize the whole world. Human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contacts over many centuries, but recently the pace has dramatically increased. Jet airplanes, cheap telephone service, email, computers, huge oceangoing vessels, instant capital flows, all these have made the world more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials continually move across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies, and social movements are forming at the international level. Many politicians, academics, and journalists treat these trends as both inevitable and welcomed. But for billions of the world’s people, business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures. The global social justice movement, itself a product of globalization, proposes an alternative path, more responsive to public needs. Intense political disputes will continue over globalization’s meaning and its future direction. (www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/define/index.htm)
The biggest multinational companies are very rich. Of the 100 biggest economies in the world, just over half are companies rather than whole countries. The 200 biggest companies control a quarter of all the world’s trade. These 200 companies have more than half the economic power over four billion people. Multinational companies, like all companies, want to make profits. Their profits will be affected by the level of taxes in a country, how well skilled the workforce is, how easy it is to find sites to build factories, and even how strong a country's currency is. This means governments will think carefully about their economic policies. For example, a multinational may decide to close a factory in one country because it is cheaper to make its products in another. This can mean hundreds or thousands of jobs will be lost. It can mean that countries have a tendency to weaken rules about working conditions in order to attract multinational investment. In less developed countries dependence on multinational companies for investment and jobs is proportionately even greater. In these countries employees often work harder, for less money and in poorer conditions. Because of the importance of the companies, governments in these countries may be less willing to press for better wages and working conditions for their workers.
In poor countries vast areas of land are used for cash crops or for cattle ranching, or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the West. This is at the expense of local food needs. McDonald's continually promote meat products, encouraging people to eat meat more often, which waste more and more food resources. According to the London Green Peace Group some 'Third World' countries, where most children are undernourished, are actually exporting their staple crops as animal feed to fatten the cattle being into burgers in the 'First World'. Millions of acres of the best farmland in poor countries are being used for United State’s benefit by means of tea, coffee, and tobacco, while people there are starving. McDonald's is directly involved in this economic imperialism, which keeps 7 million tons of grain fed to livestock produces only 1 million tons of meat and by-products. On a plant-based diet and with land shared fairly, almost every region could be self-sufficient in food (www.animalfrontline.nl/macdonalds-eng.php). McDonalds not only effects the economic position of people in foreign countries, but it also affects American ranches and McDonald’s employees economically.
McDonald's comes in, saying that the brand will bring many jobs. Beef producers, flourishing for years, now have McDonald's as their only market. In 1968, McDonald’s bought ground beef from 175 local suppliers. A few years later, seeking to achieve greater product uniformity as it expanded, McDonalds reduced the number of beef suppliers to five. In the United States many ranchers now argue that few large corporations have gained stranglehold on the market using unfair tactics to drive down the price of cattle (Schlosser, 134). The four major meatpacking companies now control about 20 percent of the live cattle in the US through “captive supplies” cattle that are either maintained in company owned feedlots or purchased in advance. When cattle prices start to rise, the large meatpackers can flood the market with their own captive supplies driving prices back down. The suicide rate among ranchers and farmers in the United States is now about three times higher than the national average. A 1996 USDA investigation of concentration in the beef industry found that many ranchers were afraid to testify against the large meatpacking companies, fearing retaliation and “economic ruin.” When Mike Callicrate, a cattleman from St. Francis Kansas, decided to speak out against corporate behavior before the USDA committee, the large meatpackers promptly stopped bidding on his cattle (Schlosser, 143)
Outside the United States, Jamaicans not allowed to use cancer-causing agents in their burgers. McDonald's imports the beef from a country or free zone where cancer can legally go into the food. Therefore Jamaican beef producers have no market, and cannot export so the business dies. People line up at McDonald's for cancer, driven by global advertising. No native farming, no native products, nothing left but McDonald's.
According to George Ritzer, “The fundamental problem with McDonaldisation is that it's other people in the system structuring our lives for us, rather than us structuring our lives for ourselves…You don't want a creative person at the counter - that's why they are scripted. You don't want a creative hamburger cook - you want somebody who simply follows routines or follows scripts. No, you take all creativity out of work and turn it into a series of routine procedures that are imposed by some external force. That's the reason why it's dehumanizing... it turns human beings into human robots"
Not surprisingly staff turnover at McDonald's is high, making it virtually impossible to unionize and fight for a better deal, which suits McDonald's who have always been opposed to Unions. A recent survey of workers in burger-restaurants found that 80% said they needed union help over pay and conditions. McDonald's have a policy of preventing unionization by getting rid of pro-union workers. So far this has succeeded everywhere in the world except Sweden, and in Dublin after a long struggle Green Pease Group). In February of 1997 workers at a McDonald’s in St Hubert, Canada, applied to join the Teamsters union. More than three quarter of the crewmembers signed union cards, hoping to create the only unionized McDonalds in North America. Tom and mike Cappelli closed the McDonalds just weeks before the union was certified. This was not the first time this happened, during the early 1970s workers in Lansing Michigan were organizing a union. All the crewmembers were fired and the restaurant was shut down, a new McDonalds was build down the block and the unionizing workers were not rehired (Schlosser, 77)
As a global and national economic power, McDonalds negatively affects the lives of people in foreign countries as well as people in the United States. Because multinational companies want trade across the world to be free from restrictions as much as possible they are likely to use their influence with the World Trade Organization to get restrictions on manufacturing and trade reduced to a minimum. Is McDonalds so powerful that nothing can restrain the terror it forces upon the world’s people?
Globalization is political in the sense that the dominant powers insist on the adoption of certain versions of their policies and values for example, the adoption of liberal democracy and opening up of economies. This meant national states increasingly restructuring their position and their responsibilities in relation to both the global capitalism and to the local economies and societies. This tendency towards homogenization of politics seeks to form a world government with singular security, army, and judiciary branches with most of its important institutions located in the west. Globalization in this sense is referred to as hegemonisation (www.sidamaconcern.com/articles/globalisation.html).
Behind the smiling face of Ronald McDonald lurks a self-important and singularly determined multi-national corporation that wields serious power over national governments. McDonalds doesn't only convert its influence into political clout. It uses its dollars and donations to target the most vulnerable people in society. Ronald McDonald has a proven policy of suing the ass off of you or your employer, if you, as they put it, "tell lies about the company". McDonalds has even threatened to sue perfectly credible media institutions such as the BBC and the Guardian. This indicates that they are trying to stop the expression of free speech, a civil liberty, at least insofar as it affects their commercial operations. The list of media organizations that have been suppressed or pulped is growing (www.i-resign.com/uk/workinglife/viewarticle_33.asp).
In 1986, the London Green Peace group published a leaflet titled, "What's wrong with McDonalds". When the leaflet came to their attention, McDonalds demanded they retract the leaflet and its allegations or face court with the obvious possibility of a huge costs, they were denied legal aid, incurred by facing some of the top legal players money can buy. Two individuals from the group, Dave Morris, a postman, and Helen Steel, a gardener, felt they had no choice but to face McDonalds in court. On the 28th June 1994 the libel trial began in London and ended up becoming the longest ever seen in a British court. It's now known as the "McLibel" trial. The defendant's legal costs of £35,000 were met by generous donations by members of the public. On the 19th June 1997 McDonalds were awarded damages of £90,000 for certain items in the leaflet concerning the health implications of eating at a McDonalds restaurant and its role in Third World starvation and environmental damage, which remained 'not proven'. The Judge agreed that "McDonalds advertisements, promotions and booklets have pretended to a positive nutritional benefit which McDonald's food did not match" and that the firm "paid its workers low wages, thereby helping to depress wages for workers in the catering trade".
The current government is happy to let McDonalds participate in the education of the country's schoolchildren. In 1998, David Blunkett and Steven Byers, Ministers of State for education and industry, permitted the corporation to be a partner in the North Somerset Education action zone. In 1999, the National Year of Reading Received support in the form of branded lunchboxes. During the McLibel trial Dave Morris, claimed in court that the firm sees schoolchildren as the next generation of cheap labor as well as consumers. In summing up, the judge agreed that McDonalds influence on the young was remarkable, commenting that the fast food chain targets "susceptible young children to bring in custom, both their own and that of their parents".
McDonalds is so politically powerful that it can sue anyone and get away with it even if the information that they are suing over is true. Just because the information in the London Green Peace Group leaflet wasn’t proven true doesn’t mean it couldn’t be proven true. But the little people can never be correct when going up against the huge capital of the McDonalds Corporation.
Globalization also impacts cultures. It tends to promote homogeneity towards western and American values and influences. In this sense, some see globalization as westernization or even Americanization. They cite, among others, instances of expansion of coca cola, McDonalds, and the rock-and-roll music relayed by adverts, radio, and global satellite television. Such expansion, they argue, happens at the expense of local cultures that are the sources of diversities.
George Ritzer say, “I think that McDonald's has a profound effect on the way people do a lot of things I mean it leads people to want everything fast, to have, you know, a limited attention span so that kind of thing spills over onto, let's say, television viewing or newspaper reading, and so you have a short attention span, you want everything fast, so you don't have patience to read the New York Times and so you read McPaper, you read USA today. You don't have patience to watch a lengthy newscast on a particular issue so you watch CNN News and their little news McNugget kinds of things so it creates a kind of mindset, which seeks the same kind of thing in one setting after another. I see it in education where you have, in a sense, a generation of students who've been raised in a McDonaldised society, they want things fast, they want idealic nuggets from Professors, they don't want sort of slow build up of ideas, you gotta keep them amused, you gotta come in with the Ronald McDonald costume and quip a series of brilliant theoretical points or else they're going to turn you off” (www.mcspotlight.org/people/interviews/ritzer_george.html).
According to George Ritzer in other countries when going into a McDonalds, it's not just that you are buying a product, but you are buying into a system. In the 1940s there was a big flap in France over what was called a Coca Colonization. The French were very upset about the coming of Coca Cola to France. They felt it threatened the French wine industry and French way of life. But that was just the influx of an American product. Now, with McDonalds, we have the influx of an American way of life, which is to trivialize eating, to make it something that is fast, make it something that's to get done and over with. But it's striking to me that the last time I was in Paris the Parisians appeared to have embraced this kind of fast food phenomenon. You have developments of fast food croissanteries where this model French way of life and the croissanterie has been reduced to fast food. French bread is more and more treated on a fast basis rather than lots of local bakeries baking their own distinctive kind, so if the French succumb to this in the realm of food there is little that is safe from the expansion of this process.
Within this world, however, McDonalds has sufficient influence to actually change established dietary practices across whole regions. For example, according to "Behind the Arches", a book authorized by McDonalds in 1987, McDonalds in Japan faced a fundamental challenge of establishing beef as a common food. Their president Den Fujita stated “the reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years, if we eat McDonalds hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blonde.” McDonalds also changed eating habits in Australia, Peter Ritchie, at the time McDonalds Australian president has stated he attributes “that change to the influence McDonalds has on children.” "Behind the Arches" concludes that rather than adapt to local tastes and preferences, “McDonalds’ foreign partners made major changes in marketing in order to sell the American system. Indeed, McDonalds is prepared to support such means as are necessary to sell the American system, the company supplies symbolic practical support and important ideological support to the military imperialism necessary for the onward march of mono-culture. For example, they provided food to US troops as a token of support for the genocide about to be perpetrated against the people of Iraq. (www.mwr.org.uk/justanother.htm)
McDonalds told Scottish sandwich bar owner, Mary Blair, that her shop in Fenny Stratford near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, can no longer go by the name McMunchies because McDonald's is the registered user of the 'Mc' prefix, it emerged yesterday. Mrs. Blair, a 36 year-old Scot, who does not sell burgers or chips, said she chose the name because she liked the word "munchies" and wanted to add a taste of Scotland. The sign bears a Scottish thistle and a St Andrew's flag. But in a statement to Mrs. Blair's solicitors, said if someone, "either deliberately or unintentionally," used their trademark, they were “in effect using something that does not belong to them." The company that has quietly set about taking over the world ensuring that there is not a high street which does not feature its red and white sign and its golden arches, also the property of McDonald's, now wants to take over Britain's heritage. Telling the Scots that they cannot use the prefix Mc is like someone registering the name Singh and then ban its use in India. Where do they think Mc originated, Illinois? McDonald's say that the "unauthorized" use of the 'Mc' prefix may confuse the public." (www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/ind_24sep96.html)
McDonald's also affects culture in promoting their food as 'nutritious', but the reality is that it is junk food. It is high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fiber and vitamins. A diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Their food also contains many chemical additives, some of which may cause ill health, and hyperactivity in children. Meat is also the cause of the majority of food poisoning incidents. In 1991 McDonald's were responsible for an outbreak of food poisoning in the UK, in which people suffered serious kidney failure. With modern intensive farming methods, other diseases, linked to chemical residues or unnatural practices have also become a danger to people too.
As a global power McDonalds has negatively affected the world’s people economically, politically, and culturally. Criticism of McDonald's has come from a huge number of people and organizations over a wide range of issues. In the mid-1980's, London Greenpeace drew together many of those strands of criticism and called for an annual World Day of Action against McDonald's. This takes place every year on 16th October, with pickets and demonstrations all over the world. McDonald's, who spend a fortune every year on advertising, are trying to silence worldwide criticism by threatening legal action against those who speak out. Many have been forced to back down because they lacked the money to fight a case. Protests against the $30 billion a year fast-food giant continue to grow. It's vital to stand up to intimidation and to defend free speech. (www.animalfrontline.nl/macdonalds-eng.php) “Nobody in the United States is forced to buy fast food. The first step toward meaningful change is by far the easiest which is to stop buying it. They executives who run the fast food industry are not bad mean. They are business mean. They will sell free-range, organic, grass fed hamburgers is you demand it. They will sell whatever makes a profit” (Schlosser 269)
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References:
www.animalfrontline.nl/macdonalds-eng.php
www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/ind_24sep96.html
www.mwr.org.uk/justanother.htm
www.mcspotlight.org/people/interviews/ritzer_george.html
www.sidamaconcern.com/articles/globalisation.html
www.i-resign.com/uk/workinglife/viewarticle_33.asp
195.102.188.55/xsp/xsc.asp?uri=/home/zone/uk-guide/intern...
www.asianguy.com/activism.html
www.bigpicturesmallworld.com/Global Inc 2/pgs/repcorp/mcd/mcds.html
www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/define/index.htm
Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation". Haroer Collins Publishers, 2002.
-----------------------
--> The above analysis appeared on honors.rit.edu/
The dabbawalas getting the lunch boxes ready outside Churchgate Station in Mumbai.
"Since 1890, dressed in white outfit and traditional Gandhi Cap, a Mumbai Army of 5,000 Dabbawalas fulfill the hunger of almost 200,000 Mumbaikar with home-cooked food that is carried between home and office daily. For more than a century our team have been part of this grime-ridden metropolis-of-dreams.
About 125 years back, a Parsi banker wanted to have home cooked food in office and gave this responsibility to the first ever Dabbawala. Many people liked the idea and the demand for Dabba delivery soared. It was all informal and individual effort in the beginning, but visionary Mahadeo Havaji Bachche saw the opportunity and started the lunch delivery service in its present team-delivery format with 100 Dabbawalas"
Research into the world of sweets can never be bad!!!!!!! All sweets from www.handycandy.co.uk
Blogged here.. kittypinkstars-kitty-kittypinkstars.blogspot.com/
Hallmark - Mini Reproduction Lunchboxes
Star Trek, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Retrun of the Jedi
Sculpture titled: Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch: Batman, Swanston And Hoddle
*Sculpture is situated on the corner of Swanston and Bourke Streets.
By Alison Weaver and Paul Quinn
Bronze sculpture
1993
"This whimsical, life-size sculpture of three businessmen carrying lunchboxes is located in the heart of Melbourne. Artist Alison Weaver claims that while the men are named and motionless, they are also intended to be anonymous and to represent being 'trapped in the perpetual motion of consumerism'. Weaver figures these three Melbourne pioneers as 'pedestrians of vast time' who have returned to the city streets, and says her interpretation of them is driven by humor rather than by iconoclasm."
"Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch was commissioned in 1993 as part of the Swanston Street Art Works Program, and was a gift to the City of Melbourne from the Republic of Nauru to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary."
Camera: Leica Camera AG M9
Lens used: Leica 50mm Noctilux f/1.0
Photograph by: Rouben Dickranian
A cab with the rough in the background.
Overspray on the equipment of the paint and baking shops at automotive plants was chipped off by workers and taken out in their lunchboxes. Layers and layers of automotive paint and primer created this specimen.
The man who cut the cab said it took about 3 minutes to do so - very soft.
Vintage Star Wars Lunchboxes, Sigma Statues, and Burger King Glasses
(Now with a Battlestar Galactica Lunchbox)
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/newportwetlands/index.as...
This nature reserve offers a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city, but is a great place for people too with a new RSPB visitor centre, a café, shop and children's play area.
Cetti's warblers and bearded tits can be seen and heard in the reedbeds, and ducks, geese and swans visit the reserve in large numbers during the winter. You'll enjoy spectacular views of the Severn estuary all year round.
Newport Wetlands is a partnership between Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB.
Opening times
Open every day (closed Christmas Day), 9 am to 5 pm (Coffee Shop open 10 am to 4 pm). On Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the centre will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and the coffee shop will be open 10 am to 3.30 pm. Please note that the carpark also closes at 5:30pm.
Entrance charges
None
If you are new to birdwatching...
Autumn/winter is the best time of year for birdwatching at Newport Wetlands when migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay.
Information for families
Newport Wetlands visitor centre is ideal for children and families. Guided walks and children's activities are available on the reserve, drinks and a bite to eat can be enjoyed in the coffee shop afterwards, followed by a browse in the retail area. Children will find the outdoor children's activity area with its 4 m high simulation of the East Usk Lighthouse very entertaining. We can offer a variety of fun environmental activity and exploration days for a wide range of local interest groups.
Information for dog owners
Some access for dogs - marked footpaths on perimeter of reserve. For more information, please contact the NRW enquiry line.
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Bearded tit
You will often hear bearded tits before you see them. Listen for their bell-like 'pinging' calls, then watch them whizzing across the tops of the reeds. They perch up on the stems in calm weather and feed on fallen seeds on the mud at the base of the reeds.
Dunlin
Dunlins can be seen at Newport Wetlands at almost any time. They breed further north, including in the Arctic, but migrating birds pass through in spring and autumn and some also spend winter here. Watch for them probing their beaks into the mud as they feed.
Little egret
These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Newport. You can see them fishing, stirring up fish fry from the muddy bottom with their feet.
Little grebe
Listen for little grebes 'whinnying' in spring as part of their courtship displays. They are small, round birds, and remarkably buoyant despite their fluffy feathers.
Shoveler
Shovelers are commonest here in winter, but are also a regular breeding bird. Watch them using their beaks like sieves to sift out microscopic aquatic life from the water.
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Spring is the start of the breeding season and is an active and exciting time of year at Newport Wetlands, as birds set about finding their mates and building nests. Breeding waders at the reserve include lapwings and oystercatchers. Bearded tits begin to nest in the reedbeds. During late April and early May, swallows and swifts begin arriving from Africa, and can be seen flying overhead. This is a great time of year to listen out for the distinctive call of the cuckoo and many plants, including orchids, will begin to burst into colourful flower.
Summer
Grass snakes can sometimes be seen soaking up the sun or skimming expertly through the water among the reeds. Around sixteen species of dragonflies, twenty-three species of butterfly and two hundred species of moth are found at Newport Wetlands. After dark is the best time for moth spotting, but visitors are likely to see species like cinnabar moths and scarlet tiger moths during the daytime. The reserve is also home to badgers, moles and wood mice. Otters live here too, but are notoriously shy of humans and can be difficult to spot. Their droppings, or ‘spraint’, are the most commonly spotted clue to their presence.
Autumn
In autumn, the reeds turn from a vibrant lush green to yellowing brown. Groups of goldfinches can be seen flitting around the reserve and are particularly visible along Perry Lane, using their long beaks to extract seeds from the teasels. Autumn is another extremely active season at Newport Wetlands, as migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay. Curlews, redshanks, dunlins and oystercatchers feed on the estuary at low tide using their long, pointy beaks to sift through the nutritious mud for worms and grubs.
Winter
The starling roost at the reserve is a not-to-be-missed wildlife experience. From October onwards, large groups of starlings gather at dusk in great black clouds. At its peak, around 50,000 birds swoop and soar overhead, chattering noisily. After a breathtaking display, the birds drop dramatically into the reedbeds where they settle for the night. Another winter treat at Newport Wetlands is a single bittern, which has been seen here most winters since 2001. Bitterns are rare and extremely secretive, moving silently through the reeds looking for fish. Parts of the reserve provide a winter home for nationally important numbers of black-tailed godwits, shovelers and dunlins.
Facilities
Information centre
Car park
Toilets
Disabled toilets
Baby-changing facilities
Group bookings accepted
Guided walks available
Good for walking
Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Viewing screens are available.
Nature trails
There are a number of nature trails around the reserve of various lengths with easy accessibility for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Tearoom
Coffee shop serving triple-certified organic Fairtrade coffee, fairtrade tea, Fairtrade hot chocolate, and a selection of organic cold drinks, sandwiches, baguettes, locally-produced cakes and cookies.
Refreshments available
Hot drinks
Cold drinks
Snacks
Confectionery
Shop
A retail outlet for all your bird food and bird care accessories with a wide selection of binoculars and telescopes. There is also a fantastic selection of gifts and children's items.
The shop stocks:
Binoculars and telescopes
Bird food
Bird feeders
Gifts
Cafe
Our cafe in the visitor centre has large, panoramic windows overlooking the reserve and surrounding countryside. There is a large outdoor decking area providing additional seating with the same relaxing views. We provide organic Fairtrade tea and hot chocolate, and locally-produced cakes and ice cream.
We serve our own exclusive coffee that is grown, imported and roasted by us. It's Fairtrade, organic and certified bird-friendly by the Smithsonian Institute, so now you can help save nature simply by enjoying a great cup of coffee!
We are proud to hold a Level 5 Food Hygiene rating enabling our customers to have full confidence in the food and service that we provide.
Opening hours
10 am to 4 pm daily (closed Christmas Day)
Highlights from our menu
Triple-certified coffee including cappuccinos, lattes and Americanos, all freshly-made
We are known for our Bara Brith, Welsh cakes and hot toasted teacakes
From autumn through to spring we sell steaming tasty soups which are gluten-free
We provide a variety of sandwiches and rolls made with bread from a family baker
Pole-and-line-caught skipjack tuna is used to fill delicious sandwiches or rolls
Good variety of sandwiches and cakes. Coffee excellent
Access to the cafe
The coffee shop is in the visitor centre which has wheelchair-friendly ramps into the centre and out onto the reserve.
Children welcome
There are highchairs for babies and toddlers. We provide children's lunchboxes containing a sandwich, two-finger Kitkat, apple or orange juice and a choice of wildlife face mask.
We use local ingredients
We use Welsh meats, cheeses and free-range organic eggs.
Dietary requirements
We sell vegetarian and vegan food, some wheat-free snacks and soup, and some organic food.
Accessibility
8 August 2013
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page.
Before you visit
Clear print site leaflet available from reception
Visitor Centre open 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Christmas Day. coffee shop open 10 am to 4 pm
Entry to the reserve is free of charge
Car park open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm daily
Three mobility scooters and two wheelchairs available to hire out free of charge. Telephone for details
Registered assistance dogs welcome (please do not be offended if we ask for evidence of registration)
A dog walking route map is available from the visitor centre. Tethering rings and drinking bowl at the visitor centre entrance
Check events and activities for accessibility,
How to get here
Newport Railway Station (5 miles/8 km). Taxis usually available
Bus stop in the reserve car park, Number 63
Car parking
Free parking, 180 m/197 yds from the visitor centre
10 blue badge spaces
85 parking spaces
Drop-off at visitor centre arranged by telephone 01633 636363
Tarmac surface, path to visitor centre compacted limestone chippings and dust
Visitor centre and shop
Entrance by wooden walkway with a maximum gradient of 1:40. Manually operated doors. Non-slip tiled surface. Low section on service counter. Hearing loop system is installed at the service counter and in the education rooms. Good natural and artificial lighting. Staff can give assistance and read out any literature if required. Binoculars are available for hire (£3.50 for the day).
Nature trails
Four main trails. All level on compacted with one incline using a zig-zag. Floating walkways have been used by wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs but caution should be taken due to buoyancy.
Viewing facilities
Natural viewing opportunities throughout the reserve. A wheelchair accessible viewing screens overlooking the reedbeds.
Toilets
Unisex accessible toilet along with separate ladies and gents available on ground floor of Visitor Centre. Level step free access. Baby changing table and a second baby facility in ladies toilets.
Catering
Step-free level access. Outside deck viewing area. Tables are well spaced apart. Good natural and overhead lighting. Non slip tiles. Accessible WC in the visitor centre.
Shop
Shop is located in the visitor centre. Level entry step free with no doors. There is step free, level access throughout. Non-slip tiled surface. Ample room. Well lit with daylight and fluorescent lighting. Promotional video usually playing with subtitles. Staff can provide assistance.
Classrooms
Two classrooms available as one room if required. Step-free, level access throughout. Non-slip flooring. Artificial even lighting. Portable hearing loop system available. Two raised ponds nearby.
Picnic area
Four picnic tables with wheelchair access outside visitor centre. Visitors free to bring their own refreshments for picnics.
Help us improve accessibility by sending feedback to the Site Manager.
For more information
Newport Wetlands
E-mail: newport-wetlands@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636363
How to get here
By bicycle (Sustrans cycle route)
Sustrans National Cycle Network route 4 has a branch to Newport Wetlands using existing roads. The car park has a covered cycle stand. Please note that cycling on the reserve is restricted to a designated route.
By train
The nearest railway station is Newport - which is five miles from the reserve. There is a taxi rank at the station and Newport bus station is just a few minutes walk away. For train times to and from Newport visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457 484950.
By bus
From the Kingsway Bus Station in Newport, the Number 63 bus leaves at 7.30 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1.30 pm, 3 pm, 4.50 pm and 6 pm and stops at the bus stop in the reserve car park. Alternatively, contact Newport Bus 01633 670563.
By road
Join the A48 at either junction 24 or 28 of the M4. Follow the A48 until you come to the Spytty Retail Park roundabout. Exit onto the A4810 Queensway Meadows. At the first roundabout take the third exit onto Meadows Road and follow the brown tourist signs to the reserve.
Our partners
The Newport Wetlands project is funded by the European Union's Objective Two programme supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and secured via the Newport European Partnership, Newport City Council's allocation of the Welsh Assembly Government's Local Regeneration Fund, Newport City Council's Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, the Environment Agency Wales and Visit Wales – the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB would like to thank the communities of Newport and the volunteers who have supported Newport Wetlands.
Newport Wetlands Conference and Meeting Rooms
Set in the tranquil surroundings of a peaceful nature reserve, our excellent conference facilities offer a superb location for a great getaway from the office and provide a wonderful setting for a variety of corporate events. You will receive a warm welcome from the staff at the Visitor Centre, providing a professional and efficient service.
We can provide facilities for the following
Conferences
Board Meetings
Seminars
Training Courses
Presentations
Away days
Rooms can be arranged in boardroom, theatre style or in any other format to suit your event. We also have a range of equipment for hire including a digital projector and smart board facilities.
Your booking fee includes free car parking, access to the Reserve as well as the Visitor Centre, Shop and Café. The Reserve comprises of a series of lagoons and reed beds from reclaimed industrial land, which is now home to a wealth of wildlife.
A tour of the Reserve can be arranged as an unusual and revitalising break during a meeting or away day.
Catering
Fairtrade coffee and tea, biscuits or homemade cakes can be served throughout the day, and we can provide a freshly prepared buffet to suit your dietary requirements including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. Buffets include a selection of classic sandwiches, a selection of savoury items, fresh fruit and a selection of freshly baked homemade cakes.
Alternatively, delegates can stroll across to the café themselves and appreciate inspirational views of the reserve from the veranda.
The Lakeside Suite
A purpose built meeting room, which caters for 12 people boardroom style or 25 people theatre style.
The Education Facilities
Set in a tranquil environment, overlooking the waters edge the Education Rooms offers the perfect environment for larger events and conferences. The room can be organised in various styles and caters for up to 80 people theatre style.
For more information or to make a provisional booking, please contact Adrianne Jones using the details below.
For more information
Adrianne Jones
Centre Co-ordinator
E-mail: adrianne.jones@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636355
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/newportwetlands/index.as...
This nature reserve offers a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city, but is a great place for people too with a new RSPB visitor centre, a café, shop and children's play area.
Cetti's warblers and bearded tits can be seen and heard in the reedbeds, and ducks, geese and swans visit the reserve in large numbers during the winter. You'll enjoy spectacular views of the Severn estuary all year round.
Newport Wetlands is a partnership between Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB.
Opening times
Open every day (closed Christmas Day), 9 am to 5 pm (Coffee Shop open 10 am to 4 pm). On Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the centre will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and the coffee shop will be open 10 am to 3.30 pm. Please note that the carpark also closes at 5:30pm.
Entrance charges
None
If you are new to birdwatching...
Autumn/winter is the best time of year for birdwatching at Newport Wetlands when migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay.
Information for families
Newport Wetlands visitor centre is ideal for children and families. Guided walks and children's activities are available on the reserve, drinks and a bite to eat can be enjoyed in the coffee shop afterwards, followed by a browse in the retail area. Children will find the outdoor children's activity area with its 4 m high simulation of the East Usk Lighthouse very entertaining. We can offer a variety of fun environmental activity and exploration days for a wide range of local interest groups.
Information for dog owners
Some access for dogs - marked footpaths on perimeter of reserve. For more information, please contact the NRW enquiry line.
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Bearded tit
You will often hear bearded tits before you see them. Listen for their bell-like 'pinging' calls, then watch them whizzing across the tops of the reeds. They perch up on the stems in calm weather and feed on fallen seeds on the mud at the base of the reeds.
Dunlin
Dunlins can be seen at Newport Wetlands at almost any time. They breed further north, including in the Arctic, but migrating birds pass through in spring and autumn and some also spend winter here. Watch for them probing their beaks into the mud as they feed.
Little egret
These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Newport. You can see them fishing, stirring up fish fry from the muddy bottom with their feet.
Little grebe
Listen for little grebes 'whinnying' in spring as part of their courtship displays. They are small, round birds, and remarkably buoyant despite their fluffy feathers.
Shoveler
Shovelers are commonest here in winter, but are also a regular breeding bird. Watch them using their beaks like sieves to sift out microscopic aquatic life from the water.
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Spring is the start of the breeding season and is an active and exciting time of year at Newport Wetlands, as birds set about finding their mates and building nests. Breeding waders at the reserve include lapwings and oystercatchers. Bearded tits begin to nest in the reedbeds. During late April and early May, swallows and swifts begin arriving from Africa, and can be seen flying overhead. This is a great time of year to listen out for the distinctive call of the cuckoo and many plants, including orchids, will begin to burst into colourful flower.
Summer
Grass snakes can sometimes be seen soaking up the sun or skimming expertly through the water among the reeds. Around sixteen species of dragonflies, twenty-three species of butterfly and two hundred species of moth are found at Newport Wetlands. After dark is the best time for moth spotting, but visitors are likely to see species like cinnabar moths and scarlet tiger moths during the daytime. The reserve is also home to badgers, moles and wood mice. Otters live here too, but are notoriously shy of humans and can be difficult to spot. Their droppings, or ‘spraint’, are the most commonly spotted clue to their presence.
Autumn
In autumn, the reeds turn from a vibrant lush green to yellowing brown. Groups of goldfinches can be seen flitting around the reserve and are particularly visible along Perry Lane, using their long beaks to extract seeds from the teasels. Autumn is another extremely active season at Newport Wetlands, as migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay. Curlews, redshanks, dunlins and oystercatchers feed on the estuary at low tide using their long, pointy beaks to sift through the nutritious mud for worms and grubs.
Winter
The starling roost at the reserve is a not-to-be-missed wildlife experience. From October onwards, large groups of starlings gather at dusk in great black clouds. At its peak, around 50,000 birds swoop and soar overhead, chattering noisily. After a breathtaking display, the birds drop dramatically into the reedbeds where they settle for the night. Another winter treat at Newport Wetlands is a single bittern, which has been seen here most winters since 2001. Bitterns are rare and extremely secretive, moving silently through the reeds looking for fish. Parts of the reserve provide a winter home for nationally important numbers of black-tailed godwits, shovelers and dunlins.
Facilities
Information centre
Car park
Toilets
Disabled toilets
Baby-changing facilities
Group bookings accepted
Guided walks available
Good for walking
Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Viewing screens are available.
Nature trails
There are a number of nature trails around the reserve of various lengths with easy accessibility for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Tearoom
Coffee shop serving triple-certified organic Fairtrade coffee, fairtrade tea, Fairtrade hot chocolate, and a selection of organic cold drinks, sandwiches, baguettes, locally-produced cakes and cookies.
Refreshments available
Hot drinks
Cold drinks
Snacks
Confectionery
Shop
A retail outlet for all your bird food and bird care accessories with a wide selection of binoculars and telescopes. There is also a fantastic selection of gifts and children's items.
The shop stocks:
Binoculars and telescopes
Bird food
Bird feeders
Gifts
Cafe
Our cafe in the visitor centre has large, panoramic windows overlooking the reserve and surrounding countryside. There is a large outdoor decking area providing additional seating with the same relaxing views. We provide organic Fairtrade tea and hot chocolate, and locally-produced cakes and ice cream.
We serve our own exclusive coffee that is grown, imported and roasted by us. It's Fairtrade, organic and certified bird-friendly by the Smithsonian Institute, so now you can help save nature simply by enjoying a great cup of coffee!
We are proud to hold a Level 5 Food Hygiene rating enabling our customers to have full confidence in the food and service that we provide.
Opening hours
10 am to 4 pm daily (closed Christmas Day)
Highlights from our menu
Triple-certified coffee including cappuccinos, lattes and Americanos, all freshly-made
We are known for our Bara Brith, Welsh cakes and hot toasted teacakes
From autumn through to spring we sell steaming tasty soups which are gluten-free
We provide a variety of sandwiches and rolls made with bread from a family baker
Pole-and-line-caught skipjack tuna is used to fill delicious sandwiches or rolls
Good variety of sandwiches and cakes. Coffee excellent
Access to the cafe
The coffee shop is in the visitor centre which has wheelchair-friendly ramps into the centre and out onto the reserve.
Children welcome
There are highchairs for babies and toddlers. We provide children's lunchboxes containing a sandwich, two-finger Kitkat, apple or orange juice and a choice of wildlife face mask.
We use local ingredients
We use Welsh meats, cheeses and free-range organic eggs.
Dietary requirements
We sell vegetarian and vegan food, some wheat-free snacks and soup, and some organic food.
Accessibility
8 August 2013
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page.
Before you visit
Clear print site leaflet available from reception
Visitor Centre open 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Christmas Day. coffee shop open 10 am to 4 pm
Entry to the reserve is free of charge
Car park open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm daily
Three mobility scooters and two wheelchairs available to hire out free of charge. Telephone for details
Registered assistance dogs welcome (please do not be offended if we ask for evidence of registration)
A dog walking route map is available from the visitor centre. Tethering rings and drinking bowl at the visitor centre entrance
Check events and activities for accessibility,
How to get here
Newport Railway Station (5 miles/8 km). Taxis usually available
Bus stop in the reserve car park, Number 63
Car parking
Free parking, 180 m/197 yds from the visitor centre
10 blue badge spaces
85 parking spaces
Drop-off at visitor centre arranged by telephone 01633 636363
Tarmac surface, path to visitor centre compacted limestone chippings and dust
Visitor centre and shop
Entrance by wooden walkway with a maximum gradient of 1:40. Manually operated doors. Non-slip tiled surface. Low section on service counter. Hearing loop system is installed at the service counter and in the education rooms. Good natural and artificial lighting. Staff can give assistance and read out any literature if required. Binoculars are available for hire (£3.50 for the day).
Nature trails
Four main trails. All level on compacted with one incline using a zig-zag. Floating walkways have been used by wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs but caution should be taken due to buoyancy.
Viewing facilities
Natural viewing opportunities throughout the reserve. A wheelchair accessible viewing screens overlooking the reedbeds.
Toilets
Unisex accessible toilet along with separate ladies and gents available on ground floor of Visitor Centre. Level step free access. Baby changing table and a second baby facility in ladies toilets.
Catering
Step-free level access. Outside deck viewing area. Tables are well spaced apart. Good natural and overhead lighting. Non slip tiles. Accessible WC in the visitor centre.
Shop
Shop is located in the visitor centre. Level entry step free with no doors. There is step free, level access throughout. Non-slip tiled surface. Ample room. Well lit with daylight and fluorescent lighting. Promotional video usually playing with subtitles. Staff can provide assistance.
Classrooms
Two classrooms available as one room if required. Step-free, level access throughout. Non-slip flooring. Artificial even lighting. Portable hearing loop system available. Two raised ponds nearby.
Picnic area
Four picnic tables with wheelchair access outside visitor centre. Visitors free to bring their own refreshments for picnics.
Help us improve accessibility by sending feedback to the Site Manager.
For more information
Newport Wetlands
E-mail: newport-wetlands@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636363
How to get here
By bicycle (Sustrans cycle route)
Sustrans National Cycle Network route 4 has a branch to Newport Wetlands using existing roads. The car park has a covered cycle stand. Please note that cycling on the reserve is restricted to a designated route.
By train
The nearest railway station is Newport - which is five miles from the reserve. There is a taxi rank at the station and Newport bus station is just a few minutes walk away. For train times to and from Newport visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457 484950.
By bus
From the Kingsway Bus Station in Newport, the Number 63 bus leaves at 7.30 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1.30 pm, 3 pm, 4.50 pm and 6 pm and stops at the bus stop in the reserve car park. Alternatively, contact Newport Bus 01633 670563.
By road
Join the A48 at either junction 24 or 28 of the M4. Follow the A48 until you come to the Spytty Retail Park roundabout. Exit onto the A4810 Queensway Meadows. At the first roundabout take the third exit onto Meadows Road and follow the brown tourist signs to the reserve.
Our partners
The Newport Wetlands project is funded by the European Union's Objective Two programme supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and secured via the Newport European Partnership, Newport City Council's allocation of the Welsh Assembly Government's Local Regeneration Fund, Newport City Council's Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, the Environment Agency Wales and Visit Wales – the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB would like to thank the communities of Newport and the volunteers who have supported Newport Wetlands.
Newport Wetlands Conference and Meeting Rooms
Set in the tranquil surroundings of a peaceful nature reserve, our excellent conference facilities offer a superb location for a great getaway from the office and provide a wonderful setting for a variety of corporate events. You will receive a warm welcome from the staff at the Visitor Centre, providing a professional and efficient service.
We can provide facilities for the following
Conferences
Board Meetings
Seminars
Training Courses
Presentations
Away days
Rooms can be arranged in boardroom, theatre style or in any other format to suit your event. We also have a range of equipment for hire including a digital projector and smart board facilities.
Your booking fee includes free car parking, access to the Reserve as well as the Visitor Centre, Shop and Café. The Reserve comprises of a series of lagoons and reed beds from reclaimed industrial land, which is now home to a wealth of wildlife.
A tour of the Reserve can be arranged as an unusual and revitalising break during a meeting or away day.
Catering
Fairtrade coffee and tea, biscuits or homemade cakes can be served throughout the day, and we can provide a freshly prepared buffet to suit your dietary requirements including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. Buffets include a selection of classic sandwiches, a selection of savoury items, fresh fruit and a selection of freshly baked homemade cakes.
Alternatively, delegates can stroll across to the café themselves and appreciate inspirational views of the reserve from the veranda.
The Lakeside Suite
A purpose built meeting room, which caters for 12 people boardroom style or 25 people theatre style.
The Education Facilities
Set in a tranquil environment, overlooking the waters edge the Education Rooms offers the perfect environment for larger events and conferences. The room can be organised in various styles and caters for up to 80 people theatre style.
For more information or to make a provisional booking, please contact Adrianne Jones using the details below.
For more information
Adrianne Jones
Centre Co-ordinator
E-mail: adrianne.jones@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636355
Melbourne with grandson on a very cold day. One of the Bronze sculptures by Alison Weaver and Paul Quinn..
Corner of Swanston and Bourke Streets.
This whimsical, life-size sculpture of three businessmen carrying lunchboxes is located in the heart of Melbourne. Artist Alison Weaver claims that while the men are named and motionless, they are also intended to be anonymous and to represent being 'trapped in the perpetual motion of consumerism'. Weaver figures these three Melbourne pioneers as 'pedestrians of vast time' who have returned to the city streets, and says her interpretation of them is driven by humour rather than by iconoclasm..
Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch was commissioned in 1993 as part of the Swanston Street Art Works Program, and was a gift to the City of Melbourne from the Republic of Nauru to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary.
Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
Two assembly line workers at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company enjoy a well-earned lunch period, Long Beach, Calif. Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber form the background
1942 Oct.
1 transparency : color.
Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.
Subjects:
Douglas Aircraft Company
Airplane industry
Women--Employment
World War, 1939-1945
United States--California--Long Beach
Format: Transparencies--Color
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 12002-39 (DLC) 93845501
General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a35342
Call Number: LC-USW36-111
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/newportwetlands/index.as...
This nature reserve offers a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city, but is a great place for people too with a new RSPB visitor centre, a café, shop and children's play area.
Cetti's warblers and bearded tits can be seen and heard in the reedbeds, and ducks, geese and swans visit the reserve in large numbers during the winter. You'll enjoy spectacular views of the Severn estuary all year round.
Newport Wetlands is a partnership between Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB.
Opening times
Open every day (closed Christmas Day), 9 am to 5 pm (Coffee Shop open 10 am to 4 pm). On Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the centre will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and the coffee shop will be open 10 am to 3.30 pm. Please note that the carpark also closes at 5:30pm.
Entrance charges
None
If you are new to birdwatching...
Autumn/winter is the best time of year for birdwatching at Newport Wetlands when migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay.
Information for families
Newport Wetlands visitor centre is ideal for children and families. Guided walks and children's activities are available on the reserve, drinks and a bite to eat can be enjoyed in the coffee shop afterwards, followed by a browse in the retail area. Children will find the outdoor children's activity area with its 4 m high simulation of the East Usk Lighthouse very entertaining. We can offer a variety of fun environmental activity and exploration days for a wide range of local interest groups.
Information for dog owners
Some access for dogs - marked footpaths on perimeter of reserve. For more information, please contact the NRW enquiry line.
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Bearded tit
You will often hear bearded tits before you see them. Listen for their bell-like 'pinging' calls, then watch them whizzing across the tops of the reeds. They perch up on the stems in calm weather and feed on fallen seeds on the mud at the base of the reeds.
Dunlin
Dunlins can be seen at Newport Wetlands at almost any time. They breed further north, including in the Arctic, but migrating birds pass through in spring and autumn and some also spend winter here. Watch for them probing their beaks into the mud as they feed.
Little egret
These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Newport. You can see them fishing, stirring up fish fry from the muddy bottom with their feet.
Little grebe
Listen for little grebes 'whinnying' in spring as part of their courtship displays. They are small, round birds, and remarkably buoyant despite their fluffy feathers.
Shoveler
Shovelers are commonest here in winter, but are also a regular breeding bird. Watch them using their beaks like sieves to sift out microscopic aquatic life from the water.
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Spring is the start of the breeding season and is an active and exciting time of year at Newport Wetlands, as birds set about finding their mates and building nests. Breeding waders at the reserve include lapwings and oystercatchers. Bearded tits begin to nest in the reedbeds. During late April and early May, swallows and swifts begin arriving from Africa, and can be seen flying overhead. This is a great time of year to listen out for the distinctive call of the cuckoo and many plants, including orchids, will begin to burst into colourful flower.
Summer
Grass snakes can sometimes be seen soaking up the sun or skimming expertly through the water among the reeds. Around sixteen species of dragonflies, twenty-three species of butterfly and two hundred species of moth are found at Newport Wetlands. After dark is the best time for moth spotting, but visitors are likely to see species like cinnabar moths and scarlet tiger moths during the daytime. The reserve is also home to badgers, moles and wood mice. Otters live here too, but are notoriously shy of humans and can be difficult to spot. Their droppings, or ‘spraint’, are the most commonly spotted clue to their presence.
Autumn
In autumn, the reeds turn from a vibrant lush green to yellowing brown. Groups of goldfinches can be seen flitting around the reserve and are particularly visible along Perry Lane, using their long beaks to extract seeds from the teasels. Autumn is another extremely active season at Newport Wetlands, as migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay. Curlews, redshanks, dunlins and oystercatchers feed on the estuary at low tide using their long, pointy beaks to sift through the nutritious mud for worms and grubs.
Winter
The starling roost at the reserve is a not-to-be-missed wildlife experience. From October onwards, large groups of starlings gather at dusk in great black clouds. At its peak, around 50,000 birds swoop and soar overhead, chattering noisily. After a breathtaking display, the birds drop dramatically into the reedbeds where they settle for the night. Another winter treat at Newport Wetlands is a single bittern, which has been seen here most winters since 2001. Bitterns are rare and extremely secretive, moving silently through the reeds looking for fish. Parts of the reserve provide a winter home for nationally important numbers of black-tailed godwits, shovelers and dunlins.
Facilities
Information centre
Car park
Toilets
Disabled toilets
Baby-changing facilities
Group bookings accepted
Guided walks available
Good for walking
Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Viewing screens are available.
Nature trails
There are a number of nature trails around the reserve of various lengths with easy accessibility for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Tearoom
Coffee shop serving triple-certified organic Fairtrade coffee, fairtrade tea, Fairtrade hot chocolate, and a selection of organic cold drinks, sandwiches, baguettes, locally-produced cakes and cookies.
Refreshments available
Hot drinks
Cold drinks
Snacks
Confectionery
Shop
A retail outlet for all your bird food and bird care accessories with a wide selection of binoculars and telescopes. There is also a fantastic selection of gifts and children's items.
The shop stocks:
Binoculars and telescopes
Bird food
Bird feeders
Gifts
Cafe
Our cafe in the visitor centre has large, panoramic windows overlooking the reserve and surrounding countryside. There is a large outdoor decking area providing additional seating with the same relaxing views. We provide organic Fairtrade tea and hot chocolate, and locally-produced cakes and ice cream.
We serve our own exclusive coffee that is grown, imported and roasted by us. It's Fairtrade, organic and certified bird-friendly by the Smithsonian Institute, so now you can help save nature simply by enjoying a great cup of coffee!
We are proud to hold a Level 5 Food Hygiene rating enabling our customers to have full confidence in the food and service that we provide.
Opening hours
10 am to 4 pm daily (closed Christmas Day)
Highlights from our menu
Triple-certified coffee including cappuccinos, lattes and Americanos, all freshly-made
We are known for our Bara Brith, Welsh cakes and hot toasted teacakes
From autumn through to spring we sell steaming tasty soups which are gluten-free
We provide a variety of sandwiches and rolls made with bread from a family baker
Pole-and-line-caught skipjack tuna is used to fill delicious sandwiches or rolls
Good variety of sandwiches and cakes. Coffee excellent
Access to the cafe
The coffee shop is in the visitor centre which has wheelchair-friendly ramps into the centre and out onto the reserve.
Children welcome
There are highchairs for babies and toddlers. We provide children's lunchboxes containing a sandwich, two-finger Kitkat, apple or orange juice and a choice of wildlife face mask.
We use local ingredients
We use Welsh meats, cheeses and free-range organic eggs.
Dietary requirements
We sell vegetarian and vegan food, some wheat-free snacks and soup, and some organic food.
Accessibility
8 August 2013
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page.
Before you visit
Clear print site leaflet available from reception
Visitor Centre open 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Christmas Day. coffee shop open 10 am to 4 pm
Entry to the reserve is free of charge
Car park open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm daily
Three mobility scooters and two wheelchairs available to hire out free of charge. Telephone for details
Registered assistance dogs welcome (please do not be offended if we ask for evidence of registration)
A dog walking route map is available from the visitor centre. Tethering rings and drinking bowl at the visitor centre entrance
Check events and activities for accessibility,
How to get here
Newport Railway Station (5 miles/8 km). Taxis usually available
Bus stop in the reserve car park, Number 63
Car parking
Free parking, 180 m/197 yds from the visitor centre
10 blue badge spaces
85 parking spaces
Drop-off at visitor centre arranged by telephone 01633 636363
Tarmac surface, path to visitor centre compacted limestone chippings and dust
Visitor centre and shop
Entrance by wooden walkway with a maximum gradient of 1:40. Manually operated doors. Non-slip tiled surface. Low section on service counter. Hearing loop system is installed at the service counter and in the education rooms. Good natural and artificial lighting. Staff can give assistance and read out any literature if required. Binoculars are available for hire (£3.50 for the day).
Nature trails
Four main trails. All level on compacted with one incline using a zig-zag. Floating walkways have been used by wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs but caution should be taken due to buoyancy.
Viewing facilities
Natural viewing opportunities throughout the reserve. A wheelchair accessible viewing screens overlooking the reedbeds.
Toilets
Unisex accessible toilet along with separate ladies and gents available on ground floor of Visitor Centre. Level step free access. Baby changing table and a second baby facility in ladies toilets.
Catering
Step-free level access. Outside deck viewing area. Tables are well spaced apart. Good natural and overhead lighting. Non slip tiles. Accessible WC in the visitor centre.
Shop
Shop is located in the visitor centre. Level entry step free with no doors. There is step free, level access throughout. Non-slip tiled surface. Ample room. Well lit with daylight and fluorescent lighting. Promotional video usually playing with subtitles. Staff can provide assistance.
Classrooms
Two classrooms available as one room if required. Step-free, level access throughout. Non-slip flooring. Artificial even lighting. Portable hearing loop system available. Two raised ponds nearby.
Picnic area
Four picnic tables with wheelchair access outside visitor centre. Visitors free to bring their own refreshments for picnics.
Help us improve accessibility by sending feedback to the Site Manager.
For more information
Newport Wetlands
E-mail: newport-wetlands@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636363
How to get here
By bicycle (Sustrans cycle route)
Sustrans National Cycle Network route 4 has a branch to Newport Wetlands using existing roads. The car park has a covered cycle stand. Please note that cycling on the reserve is restricted to a designated route.
By train
The nearest railway station is Newport - which is five miles from the reserve. There is a taxi rank at the station and Newport bus station is just a few minutes walk away. For train times to and from Newport visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457 484950.
By bus
From the Kingsway Bus Station in Newport, the Number 63 bus leaves at 7.30 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1.30 pm, 3 pm, 4.50 pm and 6 pm and stops at the bus stop in the reserve car park. Alternatively, contact Newport Bus 01633 670563.
By road
Join the A48 at either junction 24 or 28 of the M4. Follow the A48 until you come to the Spytty Retail Park roundabout. Exit onto the A4810 Queensway Meadows. At the first roundabout take the third exit onto Meadows Road and follow the brown tourist signs to the reserve.
Our partners
The Newport Wetlands project is funded by the European Union's Objective Two programme supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and secured via the Newport European Partnership, Newport City Council's allocation of the Welsh Assembly Government's Local Regeneration Fund, Newport City Council's Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, the Environment Agency Wales and Visit Wales – the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB would like to thank the communities of Newport and the volunteers who have supported Newport Wetlands.
Newport Wetlands Conference and Meeting Rooms
Set in the tranquil surroundings of a peaceful nature reserve, our excellent conference facilities offer a superb location for a great getaway from the office and provide a wonderful setting for a variety of corporate events. You will receive a warm welcome from the staff at the Visitor Centre, providing a professional and efficient service.
We can provide facilities for the following
Conferences
Board Meetings
Seminars
Training Courses
Presentations
Away days
Rooms can be arranged in boardroom, theatre style or in any other format to suit your event. We also have a range of equipment for hire including a digital projector and smart board facilities.
Your booking fee includes free car parking, access to the Reserve as well as the Visitor Centre, Shop and Café. The Reserve comprises of a series of lagoons and reed beds from reclaimed industrial land, which is now home to a wealth of wildlife.
A tour of the Reserve can be arranged as an unusual and revitalising break during a meeting or away day.
Catering
Fairtrade coffee and tea, biscuits or homemade cakes can be served throughout the day, and we can provide a freshly prepared buffet to suit your dietary requirements including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. Buffets include a selection of classic sandwiches, a selection of savoury items, fresh fruit and a selection of freshly baked homemade cakes.
Alternatively, delegates can stroll across to the café themselves and appreciate inspirational views of the reserve from the veranda.
The Lakeside Suite
A purpose built meeting room, which caters for 12 people boardroom style or 25 people theatre style.
The Education Facilities
Set in a tranquil environment, overlooking the waters edge the Education Rooms offers the perfect environment for larger events and conferences. The room can be organised in various styles and caters for up to 80 people theatre style.
For more information or to make a provisional booking, please contact Adrianne Jones using the details below.
For more information
Adrianne Jones
Centre Co-ordinator
E-mail: adrianne.jones@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636355
Bet you've never seen this one before. In all my years of collecting I've never encountered another. It's a very early Hitachi 4 tube portable with a tube compliment consisting of a 1U5, 1T4, 1R5 and 3S4. My guess is it dates back to 1958, maybe 1957? I'm not sure if this radio was ever exported out of Japan. That would account for its rarity here in North America.
Perhaps borrowing from Toshiba's more formal "lace grille" radio design, Hitachi opted to go with a more casual attire. Underneath the clear acrylic speaker cover is multi colored tartan/plaid cloth. I wonder what inspired them to feature a Scottish motif into the design of this radio? In North America plaid was certainly in style. Plaid clothing, plaid lunchboxes, kitchenware, wallpaper etc....Whether you like it or hate it it sure does command attention.
The compact cabinet is 6 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall. It features a large reverse painted tuning dial with the old style Hitachi "H" logo in the middle. The carry strap is plastic. Hitachi chose not to use a leather strap for this set. Perhaps a money saving decision? Fortunately this strap is undamaged.
To see an example of one of the famous Toshiba "Lace Grille" radios click on the link below....
www.flickr.com/photos/transistor_radios/8137209439/in/pho...
Mozzarella is the leader of the Moofia, a gang assembled to extort milk from the lunchboxes of schoolyard bullies. Mozzarella is loving and kind to good kids, but ruthless and feared by those who harass the innocent.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/newportwetlands/index.as...
This nature reserve offers a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city, but is a great place for people too with a new RSPB visitor centre, a café, shop and children's play area.
Cetti's warblers and bearded tits can be seen and heard in the reedbeds, and ducks, geese and swans visit the reserve in large numbers during the winter. You'll enjoy spectacular views of the Severn estuary all year round.
Newport Wetlands is a partnership between Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB.
Opening times
Open every day (closed Christmas Day), 9 am to 5 pm (Coffee Shop open 10 am to 4 pm). On Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the centre will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and the coffee shop will be open 10 am to 3.30 pm. Please note that the carpark also closes at 5:30pm.
Entrance charges
None
If you are new to birdwatching...
Autumn/winter is the best time of year for birdwatching at Newport Wetlands when migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay.
Information for families
Newport Wetlands visitor centre is ideal for children and families. Guided walks and children's activities are available on the reserve, drinks and a bite to eat can be enjoyed in the coffee shop afterwards, followed by a browse in the retail area. Children will find the outdoor children's activity area with its 4 m high simulation of the East Usk Lighthouse very entertaining. We can offer a variety of fun environmental activity and exploration days for a wide range of local interest groups.
Information for dog owners
Some access for dogs - marked footpaths on perimeter of reserve. For more information, please contact the NRW enquiry line.
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Bearded tit
You will often hear bearded tits before you see them. Listen for their bell-like 'pinging' calls, then watch them whizzing across the tops of the reeds. They perch up on the stems in calm weather and feed on fallen seeds on the mud at the base of the reeds.
Dunlin
Dunlins can be seen at Newport Wetlands at almost any time. They breed further north, including in the Arctic, but migrating birds pass through in spring and autumn and some also spend winter here. Watch for them probing their beaks into the mud as they feed.
Little egret
These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Newport. You can see them fishing, stirring up fish fry from the muddy bottom with their feet.
Little grebe
Listen for little grebes 'whinnying' in spring as part of their courtship displays. They are small, round birds, and remarkably buoyant despite their fluffy feathers.
Shoveler
Shovelers are commonest here in winter, but are also a regular breeding bird. Watch them using their beaks like sieves to sift out microscopic aquatic life from the water.
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Spring is the start of the breeding season and is an active and exciting time of year at Newport Wetlands, as birds set about finding their mates and building nests. Breeding waders at the reserve include lapwings and oystercatchers. Bearded tits begin to nest in the reedbeds. During late April and early May, swallows and swifts begin arriving from Africa, and can be seen flying overhead. This is a great time of year to listen out for the distinctive call of the cuckoo and many plants, including orchids, will begin to burst into colourful flower.
Summer
Grass snakes can sometimes be seen soaking up the sun or skimming expertly through the water among the reeds. Around sixteen species of dragonflies, twenty-three species of butterfly and two hundred species of moth are found at Newport Wetlands. After dark is the best time for moth spotting, but visitors are likely to see species like cinnabar moths and scarlet tiger moths during the daytime. The reserve is also home to badgers, moles and wood mice. Otters live here too, but are notoriously shy of humans and can be difficult to spot. Their droppings, or ‘spraint’, are the most commonly spotted clue to their presence.
Autumn
In autumn, the reeds turn from a vibrant lush green to yellowing brown. Groups of goldfinches can be seen flitting around the reserve and are particularly visible along Perry Lane, using their long beaks to extract seeds from the teasels. Autumn is another extremely active season at Newport Wetlands, as migratory wildfowl and wading birds begin to arrive ready for their winter stay. Curlews, redshanks, dunlins and oystercatchers feed on the estuary at low tide using their long, pointy beaks to sift through the nutritious mud for worms and grubs.
Winter
The starling roost at the reserve is a not-to-be-missed wildlife experience. From October onwards, large groups of starlings gather at dusk in great black clouds. At its peak, around 50,000 birds swoop and soar overhead, chattering noisily. After a breathtaking display, the birds drop dramatically into the reedbeds where they settle for the night. Another winter treat at Newport Wetlands is a single bittern, which has been seen here most winters since 2001. Bitterns are rare and extremely secretive, moving silently through the reeds looking for fish. Parts of the reserve provide a winter home for nationally important numbers of black-tailed godwits, shovelers and dunlins.
Facilities
Information centre
Car park
Toilets
Disabled toilets
Baby-changing facilities
Group bookings accepted
Guided walks available
Good for walking
Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Viewing screens are available.
Nature trails
There are a number of nature trails around the reserve of various lengths with easy accessibility for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Tearoom
Coffee shop serving triple-certified organic Fairtrade coffee, fairtrade tea, Fairtrade hot chocolate, and a selection of organic cold drinks, sandwiches, baguettes, locally-produced cakes and cookies.
Refreshments available
Hot drinks
Cold drinks
Snacks
Confectionery
Shop
A retail outlet for all your bird food and bird care accessories with a wide selection of binoculars and telescopes. There is also a fantastic selection of gifts and children's items.
The shop stocks:
Binoculars and telescopes
Bird food
Bird feeders
Gifts
Cafe
Our cafe in the visitor centre has large, panoramic windows overlooking the reserve and surrounding countryside. There is a large outdoor decking area providing additional seating with the same relaxing views. We provide organic Fairtrade tea and hot chocolate, and locally-produced cakes and ice cream.
We serve our own exclusive coffee that is grown, imported and roasted by us. It's Fairtrade, organic and certified bird-friendly by the Smithsonian Institute, so now you can help save nature simply by enjoying a great cup of coffee!
We are proud to hold a Level 5 Food Hygiene rating enabling our customers to have full confidence in the food and service that we provide.
Opening hours
10 am to 4 pm daily (closed Christmas Day)
Highlights from our menu
Triple-certified coffee including cappuccinos, lattes and Americanos, all freshly-made
We are known for our Bara Brith, Welsh cakes and hot toasted teacakes
From autumn through to spring we sell steaming tasty soups which are gluten-free
We provide a variety of sandwiches and rolls made with bread from a family baker
Pole-and-line-caught skipjack tuna is used to fill delicious sandwiches or rolls
Good variety of sandwiches and cakes. Coffee excellent
Access to the cafe
The coffee shop is in the visitor centre which has wheelchair-friendly ramps into the centre and out onto the reserve.
Children welcome
There are highchairs for babies and toddlers. We provide children's lunchboxes containing a sandwich, two-finger Kitkat, apple or orange juice and a choice of wildlife face mask.
We use local ingredients
We use Welsh meats, cheeses and free-range organic eggs.
Dietary requirements
We sell vegetarian and vegan food, some wheat-free snacks and soup, and some organic food.
Accessibility
8 August 2013
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page.
Before you visit
Clear print site leaflet available from reception
Visitor Centre open 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Christmas Day. coffee shop open 10 am to 4 pm
Entry to the reserve is free of charge
Car park open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm daily
Three mobility scooters and two wheelchairs available to hire out free of charge. Telephone for details
Registered assistance dogs welcome (please do not be offended if we ask for evidence of registration)
A dog walking route map is available from the visitor centre. Tethering rings and drinking bowl at the visitor centre entrance
Check events and activities for accessibility,
How to get here
Newport Railway Station (5 miles/8 km). Taxis usually available
Bus stop in the reserve car park, Number 63
Car parking
Free parking, 180 m/197 yds from the visitor centre
10 blue badge spaces
85 parking spaces
Drop-off at visitor centre arranged by telephone 01633 636363
Tarmac surface, path to visitor centre compacted limestone chippings and dust
Visitor centre and shop
Entrance by wooden walkway with a maximum gradient of 1:40. Manually operated doors. Non-slip tiled surface. Low section on service counter. Hearing loop system is installed at the service counter and in the education rooms. Good natural and artificial lighting. Staff can give assistance and read out any literature if required. Binoculars are available for hire (£3.50 for the day).
Nature trails
Four main trails. All level on compacted with one incline using a zig-zag. Floating walkways have been used by wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs but caution should be taken due to buoyancy.
Viewing facilities
Natural viewing opportunities throughout the reserve. A wheelchair accessible viewing screens overlooking the reedbeds.
Toilets
Unisex accessible toilet along with separate ladies and gents available on ground floor of Visitor Centre. Level step free access. Baby changing table and a second baby facility in ladies toilets.
Catering
Step-free level access. Outside deck viewing area. Tables are well spaced apart. Good natural and overhead lighting. Non slip tiles. Accessible WC in the visitor centre.
Shop
Shop is located in the visitor centre. Level entry step free with no doors. There is step free, level access throughout. Non-slip tiled surface. Ample room. Well lit with daylight and fluorescent lighting. Promotional video usually playing with subtitles. Staff can provide assistance.
Classrooms
Two classrooms available as one room if required. Step-free, level access throughout. Non-slip flooring. Artificial even lighting. Portable hearing loop system available. Two raised ponds nearby.
Picnic area
Four picnic tables with wheelchair access outside visitor centre. Visitors free to bring their own refreshments for picnics.
Help us improve accessibility by sending feedback to the Site Manager.
For more information
Newport Wetlands
E-mail: newport-wetlands@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636363
How to get here
By bicycle (Sustrans cycle route)
Sustrans National Cycle Network route 4 has a branch to Newport Wetlands using existing roads. The car park has a covered cycle stand. Please note that cycling on the reserve is restricted to a designated route.
By train
The nearest railway station is Newport - which is five miles from the reserve. There is a taxi rank at the station and Newport bus station is just a few minutes walk away. For train times to and from Newport visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457 484950.
By bus
From the Kingsway Bus Station in Newport, the Number 63 bus leaves at 7.30 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1.30 pm, 3 pm, 4.50 pm and 6 pm and stops at the bus stop in the reserve car park. Alternatively, contact Newport Bus 01633 670563.
By road
Join the A48 at either junction 24 or 28 of the M4. Follow the A48 until you come to the Spytty Retail Park roundabout. Exit onto the A4810 Queensway Meadows. At the first roundabout take the third exit onto Meadows Road and follow the brown tourist signs to the reserve.
Our partners
The Newport Wetlands project is funded by the European Union's Objective Two programme supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and secured via the Newport European Partnership, Newport City Council's allocation of the Welsh Assembly Government's Local Regeneration Fund, Newport City Council's Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, the Environment Agency Wales and Visit Wales – the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.
Natural Resources Wales, Newport City Council and the RSPB would like to thank the communities of Newport and the volunteers who have supported Newport Wetlands.
Newport Wetlands Conference and Meeting Rooms
Set in the tranquil surroundings of a peaceful nature reserve, our excellent conference facilities offer a superb location for a great getaway from the office and provide a wonderful setting for a variety of corporate events. You will receive a warm welcome from the staff at the Visitor Centre, providing a professional and efficient service.
We can provide facilities for the following
Conferences
Board Meetings
Seminars
Training Courses
Presentations
Away days
Rooms can be arranged in boardroom, theatre style or in any other format to suit your event. We also have a range of equipment for hire including a digital projector and smart board facilities.
Your booking fee includes free car parking, access to the Reserve as well as the Visitor Centre, Shop and Café. The Reserve comprises of a series of lagoons and reed beds from reclaimed industrial land, which is now home to a wealth of wildlife.
A tour of the Reserve can be arranged as an unusual and revitalising break during a meeting or away day.
Catering
Fairtrade coffee and tea, biscuits or homemade cakes can be served throughout the day, and we can provide a freshly prepared buffet to suit your dietary requirements including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. Buffets include a selection of classic sandwiches, a selection of savoury items, fresh fruit and a selection of freshly baked homemade cakes.
Alternatively, delegates can stroll across to the café themselves and appreciate inspirational views of the reserve from the veranda.
The Lakeside Suite
A purpose built meeting room, which caters for 12 people boardroom style or 25 people theatre style.
The Education Facilities
Set in a tranquil environment, overlooking the waters edge the Education Rooms offers the perfect environment for larger events and conferences. The room can be organised in various styles and caters for up to 80 people theatre style.
For more information or to make a provisional booking, please contact Adrianne Jones using the details below.
For more information
Adrianne Jones
Centre Co-ordinator
E-mail: adrianne.jones@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01633 636355