Mr Thrifty made up a couple of jpg files with info on e-numbers that you can download to your mobile phone/cell phone. That way, if you’re shopping and wondering if an e-number is vegan and/or if it is considered “safe” from a health point-of-view, you’ll be able to find out right then and there. Your phone will have to have to ability to view jpgs to use these files.

The information is from two sources:

E-number safety: EarthWays

Vegan e-numbers: Vegetarian Society

Here are the JPG files with the above information:

JPG of e-number safety

R = red – most dangerous

A = amber – medium risk

G = green – least harmful

JPG of vegan e-numbers

Today is World Vegan Day.

The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?
- Jeremy Bentham, philosopher and animal rights activist (1748 – 1832)

Now Air is hush’d, save where the weak-ey’d Bat,
With short shrill Shriek flits by on leathern Wing.

- William Collins (1721-1759), British poet. Ode to Evening

I love charity shops. Our town has five, and my favourites are those run by the RSPCA and Break; both have that desirable combination of good prices plus good stock. I’ve had luck at St Peters Hospice shop as well, though they’re usually more pricey.

Today I’m going to share with you some of my charity shop finds, specifically pictures! You will note a theme…

First up, a set of watercolours by Danish artist Mads Stage.

Now are those little critters cute or what? When I bought these, I spent some time puzzling over the artist’s name, which I couldn’t quite make out. Never mind, they were adorable. I can’t remember exactly what I paid for them, I think it was around £1.50 each. That was about a year ago.

Then three months (-ish) ago, I found the two on the left, a hare and a hedgehog:

They are also by Mads Stage. I think they have been butchered (cut down to fit a frame), particularly the hedgehog, as there is no signature on that one. The hare and hedgehog may even have been part of one painting which was cut apart (sacrilege, all). They were only around 75p each, if I recall.

About a month ago, I found the picture on the right above. (Anyone know what the creature is? I don’t.) It is a stoat (thanks, Koos!). Guess what, it’s by Mads Stage too! It was £1.50. I think it was trimmed as well, as the edges of the picture extend underneath the frame. I want to reframe those last three and put mats around them.

I actually didn’t realise until after I had bought all of them, that they were all by the same artist. So now I am officially a Mads Stage groupie.

Here is one more find. This was the most expensive at £5, but it’s an original by Cheng Yan. (Ya, I know, Cheng who? But he’s got his own web page and everything.)

Hahaha, that one makes me laugh.

Would love to hear about others’ charity shop bargains (hint, hint).

I’ve decided to move those blog entries which were dealt with “news and information” to a sub-blog — Thrifty Living News — instead of keeping them here in my main blog. You can access those articles by clicking the link found below the blog header.