Author: Rachel M
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Daniel’s first school trip and vegan egg
Daniel went away on his first school camping trip this week. It’s the first time he’s ever spent a night away from us and we were a bit nervous about how he’d manage. It turns out he managed splendidly and it was me who struggled. I missed him so much and am already dreading the…
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Can bike paths save the high street?
High streets in Britain are in decline. People say this is due to online shopping and this is undoubtedly part of the cause. It’s so easy to buy goods on the internet and have them delivered to your home that there’s no need to go out to the shops. You can even get your groceries…
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Dresses, gardening, cycling, and lectures
I got a magnificent gown at the charity shop yesterday. I have no idea when or where I’ll ever wear this but it was too lovely to resist and fits me perfectly. Today I’ve been gardening mostly. There’s so much to do both at home and at the allotment. I’m so far behind this year…
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Fibre to my door and another doggy
Gigabit fibre is currently being rolled out onto our street. I’ve been impressed with the speed and efficiency with which it has been installed. They did the pavement outside our house in less than a day – lifting paving slabs, digging, installing cable, then putting everything back again. They were all standing around when I…
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A vision for King Street, Aberdeen
Earlier this year I applied for and received funding for the Aberdeen Cycle Forum to commission two visualisations of streets in Aberdeen with a bike path. One of them has just been released. It’s for King Street and extends the King Street Design Competition we held by taking the winning designs and turning them into…
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Decadent choc marshmallow biscuits
We saw a video online the other day about making your own chocolate marshmallow biscuits and we decided to give it a try today. It’s very easy and requires only digestive biscuits, jam, marshmallows, and chocolate. Take two digestive biscuits. Spread one biscuit with jam then put some marshmallows on top. Put the other digestive…
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Australia worst country for electric car charging points
I just watched an interesting program on Australia’s tardiness in addressing the climate emergency. It was published in April this year along with an article outlining Australia’s efforts. There’s positive stuff in it that I didn’t know, like the boom in renewable energy generation over the last year. But there’s also much that’s concerning and…
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We did not reckon with the power that coal has upon Australian hearts
I’m still so depressed about the Australian election result. It’s Donald Trump all over again only worse because this time it’s the country I grew up in and the people I know voting for tax cuts in favour of clean air; tax cuts in favour of halting the warming planet; tax cuts in favour of…
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Faith-based leadership and a climate emergency
I was going to write a post about faith-based leadership when I came across this article – Faith without works: Why the Prime Minister’s call to pray for rain is offensive It was written by a Pastor and is very good. The author, Byron Smith, writes about a speech the Australian Prime Minister gave last…
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Scotland’s renewable energy industry employs more than 17,000 people
Scotland’s renewable energy industry employs more than 17,000 people and had a turnover of £5.5 billion in 2017. Among the exporters are renewable energy consultancyfirm Green Cat Renewables, based in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, which opened an office in Alberta, Canada, in 2017. Technology developed by Glasgow software company Smarter Grid Solutions is being used in Germany, the…
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Australia needs a new gig
January 2019 was Australia’s hottest January on record. March was its hottest March on record. February was its 5th hottest February. 2018 was its third hottest year on record. The temperature records are tumbling with no signs of abating and yet Australians yesterday voted for a party who want to build one of the largest…
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Tern GSD – electric cargo bike review
I’ve had the very great pleasure of testing a Tern GSD – an electric cargo bike – for a couple of days. I picked it up from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative on Thursday evening and then flew home like I’ve never done before. Indeed on the way home I cycled up to some traffic lights where…
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I’m going on a permanent shaving strike
I’ve decided to stop shaving my legs. Living in a cold climate where I wear tights or trousers for 8 months of the year has made me realise what a pointless waste of time shaving is. I started shaving as a teenager because this is what society told me I had to do. I never…
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Ticks and messy plots
The Loch Ness Tickular is still alive. Now that it has shrunk in size I can quite clearly see it’s a tick. When I first yanked it out it was round like a tiny balloon filled with my blood. After several days of starvation it has shrunk and all the limbs are clearly visible now.…
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The Loch Ness Tickular
At some point over the weekend in Fort Augustus I got a tick. I found it in the shower last night. It was a tiny speck buried in amongst the black hairs of my bikini line which hasn’t been shaved in months and months so it was somewhat surprising that I saw it at all.…
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Vegan scones and cream
The Brits are known for their scones but unless you go to a vegan cafe they’re always packed full of butter and cream. It’s a shame because vegan ones are easy to make and delicious. You can even make the whipped cream without using any cow’s milk. I used coconut cream. Here’s the recipe: 2…
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The Highland Club, Fort Augustus
We have spent a wonderful few days staying at The Highland Club in Fort Augustus. The Highland Club is a complex of holiday apartments in what was once a Benedictine monastery on the shores of Loch Ness. It was constructed in 1880 and home to monks and a private school for boys right up until…
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Caledonian Canal, Fort Augustus
Started in 1803 and completed 12 years late in 1822, the Caledonian Canal connects the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of 29 locks (not to be confused with lochs), 35km of man-made channel, and four natural lochs. It’s a feat of Scottish engineering, designed and built by Thomas Telford from Dumfries. Over…
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Aberlour
After the hottest Easter weekend ever a little bit of winter has returned and we saw patches of snow on the ground as we drove to Aberlour yesterday. It made me happy. I love the feeling of cold air against my cheeks and we didn’t get a lot of that this past winter. We drove…
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Living a low carbon life
Last week the BBC came to our house and filmed us for a story on a low carbon family that aired on the news last night. It also went on the web at The Aberdeen family embracing a low-carbon lifestyle. In some ways I feel like a bit of a fraud because I feel there’s…
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