insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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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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If you want to eat less soya, then you should eat soya
There’s a great quote from George Monbiot in the Guardian this week. Part of the reason [why a plant-based diet is better for the environment] is the extreme inefficiency of feeding livestock on grain: most of its nutritional value is lost in conversion from plant protein to animal protein. This reinforces my contention that if…
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Sustainability
I’ve been thinking a lot about sustainability recently both through my work at Award Force and also on a more personal level. It has become fashionable for corporations to talk about sustainability and I think, when done sincerely, it represents the best of humanity. I know there’s a certain level of green-washing where corporations will…
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Bikes and mikes
I gave a talk at the monthly climate cafe last night about my petition for a bike path on Union St. It started badly. The microphone was too short and in my attempt to adjust it I dropped the clicker to advance my slides. When it hit the floor the back came off and the…
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A pear tree in a whisky barrel
The local school was selling fruit trees for fund-raising and I bought a pear tree. They were meant to be dwarf/patio varieties which appealed to me because although I have a large garden, it’s full of established shrubs and trees already and I don’t have space for another large tree. I already have two plum…
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Blue poppy
The Himalayan blue poppy is flowering in my garden again. I always love watching the garden spring into life after winter. The changes are so pronounced and so quick. Every week there’s something new.
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GDPR aftermath
May 25th has now come and gone and I’m hoping this will bring an end to all the emails I’ve been receiving on a daily basis. I’m a little shocked by how many mailing lists I’m subscribed to and have taken the opportunity to unsubscribe from lots of them. For many businesses it’s the culmination…
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A bit of wind at Loch Muick
My father is visiting and as a day trip today we decided to check out Loch Muick. It’s a large fresh water loch bordering the Balmoral estate, just south of Ballater. We have never been there before despite making countless trips to Ballater. The loch is surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs with lots…
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How to add images to the comment box on WordPress.com
It is possible to add comments to the comment box on WordPress.com but not through drag-and-drop and the image needs to be hosted elsewhere. If you have your own WordPress.com site you can upload the image to your Media Library by clicking the Add button next to Media. Upload your image, then select it, and…
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Throwback Thursday
Me after eating chocolate cake: Share your own photo from the past to the comments. It doesn’t have to be a baby photo. It just has to be before today. Update I posted some instructions on how to upload images to the comment box on WordPress.com Or you can post the image to your own…
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Akashinga – the female anti-poaching unit
I love this short BBC video about the all-women anti-poaching unit in Zimbabwe. It brings tears to my eyes to watch, not just for the elephants they’re protecting, but for the women and how the job has transformed their lives. They are the Akashinga – the brave ones. It’s part of the International Anti-poaching Foundation,…
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The loo awards
Before I started working for Award Force I never knew how many award programs there were in the world and for things you never expected like the The Loo of the Year Awards and The National Fish and Chip Awards. It’s also heart-warming to see how much an award means to the people who receive them like…
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Vegan junk food
It’s easy to be an unhealthy vegan with more and more vegan junk food options to choose from at the supermarket. Recently Sainsbury’s added Goodfella’s vegan pizza and vegan Cornetto. The vegan pizza is so good. Even the very discerning Daniel likes it. It’s probably reasonably healthy for a frozen pizza. The Cornetto was also…
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Keith Brewery and mystery beer
Someone sent me a box of beers from Keith Brewery. I have no idea who sent it but the one I’m drinking right now is delicious. Thank you! The Keith Brewery website was designed by someone with a sense of humour. Hello, we’re Keith. And we spend more time brewing beer than designing websites. Too…
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