insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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A great place to live
There’s a nice opinion piece in the Guardian this week, written by an Australian who thinks Britain is wonderful. I 100% agree and can relate to all the things she says. I love living here and can’t think of anywhere else on Earth I’d rather live. The people are friendly and polite. They will apologise when you…
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Why isn’t Israel Folau selling his possessions to give to the poor?
An Australian football player lost his job with Rugby Australia recently because of comments he made on Instagram. Before I disclose what these comments were, it’s worth pointing out that an employer is free to dismiss employees who break their employment contract provided the contract is legal and I would be surprised if Rugby Australia’s…
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Scottish education, doggies, and Brexit
The Scottish state-funded education system is brilliant. Daniel will be starting secondary school in August and they have a transitioning program for pupils that starts in primary 6, two years before they leave primary school. This began with short visits to the secondary school and has culminated this week with pupils getting to spend two…
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A walk in the woods
I always get a bit nervous when I go to the allotment now – will more plants have been pulled out? Will the slugs have eaten all my beans? With slight trepidation, I ventured there this morning and my plants were all still there but the slugs have eaten my beans. There’s nothing but the…
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Cyclist has to pay pedestrian who walked out in front while looking at phone
I’m pleased to see this fellow’s GoFundMe page doing so well. It’s nearly up to £40,000 after just a couple of days. For those who don’t know the story, Robert Hazeldean was cycling in London when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him and the two collided. The pedestrian was looking at her phone…
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I despair when I see these people cheer
Last week the West London Borough of Chelsea and Kensington, one of the wealthiest in the country, voted against a Transport for London proposal for segregated cycling infrastructure. Although I don’t live there and it doesn’t affect me directly, I felt despair when I saw the applause after the council announced the decision. Rapturous applause…
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Willows Animal Sanctuary
It has been a while since we went out into the country for a Sunday outing because our weekends have been full of gardening, allotmenting, and kid activities. Today we had a free day and I decided to skip the allotment this weekend. I have had a helper sharing my plot and although she’s done…
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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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