insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Recap of the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen
I had a great day at the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen yesterday. I was there with Hoss, my new e-cargo-trike, and lots of literature from Cycling UK. The very lovely Fiona from Cycling UK also came to lend a hand. I was amazed by how many people had not heard about the campaign for a…
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Aberdeen Sustainability Festival
I’m representing Cycling UK at the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen on Saturday. The festival is a celebration of sustainable living and a first for Aberdeen so I’m not 100% sure what to expect. There’ll be lots of wonderful produce from local farmers and also green community organisations like Aberdeen Climate Action and Cycling UK. I’ll…
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Why I dislike weed matting
I dislike weed matting and here’s why. The following photo is one I took at my allotment on the weekend. As you can see, a previous plot holder as put down weed matting at some point and then placed stones on top. I’m sure the weed matting held back the weeds initially but eventually they…
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Surrey Police supporting cycling on Twitter
I was really happy to see this Tweet from Surrey Police on Twitter. https://twitter.com/SurreyRoadCops/status/1012659090391273473 I went for a bike ride today and I was thinking about how the act of sitting on a bike and pedalling makes some people hate me. For no rational reason other than being on a bike, I am hated. What…
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Vegan BBQ
Argos are selling a vegan BBQ. The vegan industry is growing rapidly in the UK and I guess there’s money to be made by using the v-word. Obviously vegans can use any type of BBQ because all BBQs are vegan. Maybe I should start selling a vegan bike? The supermarkets here are ramping up their…
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Prioritising people over cars
Have you ever wondered why pedestrians have to push a button and then wait at intersections before crossing the road? Why isn’t it the other way around with cars having to push a button and then waiting before driving through the intersection? It was a question that popped into my head after reading a recent…
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The Highland dancer and inside Hoss
Elizabeth had a Highland Dance performance on Sunday afternoon. She was wonderful! I enjoyed watching this show immensely. Highland Dancing is so different to the dancing I’m used to and I love that they get to dance with swords. Luckily the swords are not sharp otherwise a few of the children would be missing toes…
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Crying through My Fair Lady and Hoss
I think I have a name for my new bike: Hoss. People under 40 probably won’t understand the reference. It’s even old for me except that I watched too much TV as a child. I blame my older sister: she was a TV addict and refused to play with me. We couldn’t have survived without…
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The Beast
A few months ago I bought another bike but didn’t tell anyone because I’ve been too scared to ride it. However necessity prevailed today because we had to be on the other side of the city centre in a time too narrow for walking and so with trepidation I took the Beast out. The Beast…
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Sustrans Cymru criticised for active travel scheme
This appeared in my Twitter feed yesterday: Great to see new @WG_Economy funded #activetravel schemes in #aberystwyth @CeredigionCC pic.twitter.com/faLRnRIcbW — Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Cymru (@WWCTrustCymru) June 20, 2018 It generated a lot of discussion on Twitter. Can you see what’s wrong with the photo and the accompanying text? Sustrans is a national sustainable transport…
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Desk cycling
I recently noticed that my scales are telling me I’m heavier than I really am. It’s like the problem of clothes shrinking while hanging in the wardrobe. I think it’s because I’m not cycling as much as I used to. The kids are too big for Busby and we walk most places now. This is…
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Aquafaba
I learnt a new word on the weekend: aquafaba. It’s the leftover liquid from cooked legumes which, when whisked, becomes white and fluffy just like egg whites. I tried it on the weekend with the liquid from a can of chickpeas. Instead of tipping it down the sink, which is what I normally do, I…
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Meet Rambo
I just finished Rambo, the latest addition to our household. He’ll be proudly joining Wishart on one of our walls.
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The pleasures of gardening and composting
I never thought I’d be excited about a compost bin but I am. He arrived today and he is a Hotbin. I haven’t given him a name yet but he’ll apparently reach temperatures inside of 60C, even in winter! Some people keep them in their glasshouse as a source of heat over winter. He’ll make…
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It’s not all or nothing
I’ve recently started drinking oat milk drink. I usually drink soya but Ben recently went dairy-free at home and prefers oat drink so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s delicious. I’m addicted and prefer it to soya now. I like that oats are grown widely in Scotland and so I feel virtuous buying…
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The Last Kingdom
Men fight over women, money, and land and have been doing so since the beginning of time. I suppose money and land are essentially the same thing and we can simply say men fight over women and money. This is exactly how season 2 of The Last Kingdom panned out. The two Viking brothers, Erik…
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Worst invention ever
I’ve heard designers say the customer is not always right because if Henry Ford had asked his customers what they wanted they’d have replied with, “A faster horse.” I disagree. The car is the worst invention in the history of all humankind. Some 3,287 people die every day in road crashes and more than half…
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Mince lemons and how not to die
My favourite cookbook right now is the How Not to Die Cookbook by Dr Greger. The recipes are delicious, fairly easy, and very nutritious. They are also kid-friendly. I will share some on my blog in due course however right now I want to post a tip from the book which I can’t believe I…
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A plant-based diet and the protein myth
Some people have missed the memo because I still hear the myth that meat consumption is necessary for protein. It’s like the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Despite evidence to the contrary it continues to spread around the blogosphere, like a zombie that never dies. At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy…
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The interminable battle with slugs and weeds
I’ve been struggling with the slugs at the allotment this year. Most of the seedlings I’ve planted have completely vanished, presumably eaten by slugs. Last month I applied nematodes to the soil and put out a heap of beer traps. There seem to be fewer slugs now and although I’d like to take the credit…
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