Category: Journal
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On eating roadkill
George Monbiot has written an article about how he recently ate roadkill: a grey squirrel. I think that if we must eat animals then roadkill is probably the most ethical of all the options since the animal is dead anyway. But in his article he describes how he was admonished for doing this by people…
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The Rocket Bike
We’ve been thinking about getting a new cargo bike lately because our kids are getting a bit small for the bakfiets. The main problem is that Daniel is too tall when the rain tent is on – which is all the time – and so the kids have to sit on the floor of the…
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Is Jeremy Corbyn sexy?
Of course he is! He has integrity and he’s kind and you won’t find sexier qualities than these. If I were a member of the Labour party, which I am not, I would be voting for Jeremy Corbyn. I hope he wins! I found this video of him from 1984 and any 35-year-old man who proudly wears his…
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An update on the nonhuman rights project
A little while ago I wrote about the litigation in progress to try to free two chimpanzees being held captive for experimentation in a University laboratory. Lawyers for the chimps (Hercules and Leo) argued on the basis of habeus corpus, a writ in common law which provides a way for detainees to end unlawful imprisonment.…
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Mediaeval battles at Drum Castle
We went to Drum Castle today. I have been itching to visit this castle again ever since our cycle ride from Banchory to Aberdeen via Drum Castle. It was so hot that day and we were so exhausted by the time we arrived at Drum Castle that I took one look at the tower with all its…
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Sex education in schools
I was rather surprised to read yesterday that there’s no sex education in British schools. I think this should be a compulsory part of the curriculum. I went through school more than 20 years ago now and it was a part of my schooling way back then. And that was 20 years ago and before…
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Turning 40
I’m turning 40 next month. If anyone wants to send me a present I like flowers and chocolate. The gym I signed up with for the purposes of teaching my kids how to swim offered to do a free MOT so I thought I’d do it given that I’m about to pass the threshold into…
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Can you lick your foot?
Elizabeth has a wart on her foot, probably picked up at the swimming pool. Last night we caught her licking it in the bath. Grossness of licking one’s wart aside, Ben said, “If only we could still lick our feet”. To which I said, “Speak for yourself. I can still lick mine,” and then I…
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Surviving a haircut and learning to swim
I took Daniel to get a haircut today at the first barber’s I came to on our way to swimming. The hairdresser was a short and muscular middle-eastern-looking man with tattoos up and down each arm. It all seemed to be going fairly well except that Daniel kept moving his head. He’s not the easiest customer and indeed for…
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Pedal boats at Duthie Park
The kids have been nagging me to take them on the pedal boats at Duthie Park for some time now. We finally did it this afternoon and it was really nice. The tiny bit of walking we did to get there and back was fraught with difficulty for Daniel who is engaged in an ongoing…
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Skip showers for beef
I’ve been meaning to share the Skip Showers for Beef video which is very funny but has an important message. They’ve also got a website at: http://www.skipshowersforbeef.com A friend sent me a link to the Cowspiracy movie this morning and I’ve just been watching it. Most of it I am already aware of and indeed…
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Scary movies and the boogeyman
I feel like I haven’t written a blog post for ages. It’s just me and the kids here at the moment because Ben has disappeared off on one of his spy trips. I took them to see another film on the weekend. This time we went to Inside Out. It was supposed to be a funny…
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My work space
I just got one of those sit/stand desks. I was planning to get myself a desk after moving into our new home because the rental already has a desk and with all of our furniture here + rental house furniture it feels a bit like we’re living in a furniture store. However it’s school holidays at the moment…
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Allan Park and Newton Dee
Ben is away in Germany doing some maths at a maths institute in the Black Forest and so the three of us caught up with some friends today and went cycling. We cycled out to Newton Dee which is about 5 miles from Duthie Park along the Deeside Cycleway. Newton Dee is a village for adults with…
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My kids’ views on war
Daniel has been asking me questions about the world wars. We’ve been reading the Chronicles of Narnia and the children in the story were evacuated to the country from London at the start of World War II. I’m pretty sure this is what sparked his interest. I’ve had questions ranging from why did the wars start and…
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First-world kid problems, owls, and cargo bikes
This morning I found Daniel sitting on his bed looking very forlorn and crying to himself. I immediately asked him what was wrong and he said, “I can’t find a good mod”. A mod is an add-on for the computer game, Minecraft. This is definitely a first-world kid problem 🙂 There was an event on…
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Hair cut just outside the red zone
Originally posted on rachel.blog: We ventured into South City yesterday so that I could have a hair cut. South City is in the CBD just outside the cordoned off area, otherwise known as the red zone. I’ve never seen this part of town so quiet. My hair-dresser has been busy she says but one thing…
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A new cycle path for Aberdeen
A new cycle route opened up in Aberdeen this week. It’s a shared walking/cycling path which runs right next to the River Dee. I went and checked it out today and it was just lovely. It’s hard to believe this is in a big city (maybe big is not the best word for Aberdeen?) because it’s…
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Teenage boys and lacy knickers
Ben’s mum and partner left this morning which was sad as we all had a great time last week and enjoyed their visit very much. Elizabeth in particular was very upset and even a bit teary as they departed. Then Ben left for Cambridge so I decided to take the kids to the movies to lift their spirits. We…
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