insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Cultural blindness
The following excerpt is from an article in The Times this week, Richard Dawkins: ‘When I see cattle lorries, I think of the railway wagons to Auschwitz‘. Is this what it was like, Richard Dawkins wonders, for ordinary people in Nazi Germany? “There’s a kind of laziness if you live in a society where things…
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Why does the Aberdeen city council think it’s acceptable for children to cycle in the bus lane?
This is the expectation on Union St because there is no cycle path. Children are wobbly on bicycles and do not always cycle in a straight line. Buses are huge compared to bicycles, especially children’s bicycles. Visibility is also poor for bus drivers. Children are slow cyclists and cannot keep up with traffic. Children on…
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A crochet hat
Our recent glamping holiday on a luxury bus was on an alpaca farm (pics here and here). I bought a couple of balls of the lovely yarn from the Bankrugg Boys and made myself a hat over the weekend. My hat: The yarn is a lovely natural colour and I’m so happy with how the it turned out. It’s much better…
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Single-function devices and other things
You know those times when you have a brilliant idea that you’re convinced everyone will love? But when you pitch it no-one else is remotely interested? Or those times you learn something new and it feels like you’ve always known it and that everyone else should also know it but you forget that most other people…
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The inconsistency of eating meat while objecting to abortion
For any woman having an abortion is a serious decision that she will only do if she has something quite important at stake. Whereas people who are prepared to go into the supermarket and buy some ham don’t need to do that at all. They could easily eat something else. They are supporting the pain…
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Hodmedod’s
Recently I discovered lentils and soya beans are grown in the UK and in the process I stumbled upon Hodmedod’s, an online store selling British grown beans and other products. I decided to give it a try and bought the big vegan box: Apparently carlin peas make a good replacement for chickpeas. I will whip…
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Stick insect abortions
I’m a murderer. I killed dozens of our pet stick insects yesterday with my bare hands, squishing them into green slime. I felt pretty awful about this and had nightmares last night about mistreating pets. I realise this self-imposed guilt is irrational because I frequently squish insects in my greenhouse. Why do I feel guilty…
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Vegan menus, radio programs, and strip clubs
Last night we went out for a pub meal at The Justice Mill on Union St in Aberdeen. It’s part of a pub chain in the UK called Wetherspoon; I like it because there are several options for me to eat and it’s cheap. They even have a menu especially for vegans and vegetarians – eat…
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A wood-fired hot tub
The wood-fired hot tub at the glamping bus is an absolute treasure. It’s made entirely of wood and looks a little bit like a giant whisky barrel. On one side is a log burner immersed in water. It takes several hours to heat up the tub but once hot it retains the heat for a…
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Glamping in a bus
I’ve got lots of bus photos to share today. First, the chicken bus again because I think it’s ingenious. Just inside the front door is a gate to stop the chickens from escaping. Also up front and where the driver sat is a good storage area for food and straw which provides handy access and protection from the elements.…
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Peeing in the driver’s seat
We are glamping in a bus and it’s heaven. We have our own wood-fired hot tub in a peaceful rural setting of wheat fields and rolling hills. It doesn’t get much better than this. Teetotal me even enjoyed a South African organic red with no added sulphur. This is my kind of camping. Here’s our bus:…
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La Dispute from Amélie
When I was in Madrid I stayed in an apartment with a Yamaha grand piano – what a luxury! I played it several times and when I returned home I found my own piano, which was previously a luxury for me, somewhat lacking. Everything is relative, I guess. Here’s my rendition of Yann Tiersen’s La…
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We’ve got an allotment!
About a year ago I applied for an allotment and just this week got the call to say there’s one available. Allotments are a very British thing. They have been around for hundreds of years, since Anglo-Saxon times, according to The National Allotment Society. In Victorian times they were handed over to poor people as a…
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Street art Aberdeen
Last night we went for a walk around Aberdeen to look at some street art. The Nuart Festival was on in Aberdeen over Easter and 11 international street artists added some colour to our city. That was very nice of them. Here are some pics.
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Ethics into Action
I’m reading this terrific book about the life of Henry Spira, a New Yorker who challenged large corporations over their abuse of animals, and he did so effectively, without money and with no large organisation behind him. The book is not so much a biography but a book about Henry’s strategy and why he was so successful.…
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Pedal on Parliament 2017 Aberdeen
We gathered on the Beach Esplanade at 11am this morning for the Aberdeen Pedal on Parliament ride. This is the third year running for Aberdeen and the sixth year for Pedal on Parliament in Scotland. We were an energetic, cheerful, and brave crowd hoping to convince the Aberdeen City Council to give some road space…
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Pedal on Parliament 2017
On the 22nd April mums, dads, sons, daughters, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and friends will be cycling in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness (Glasgow on the 23rd April) to urge our politicians to improve cycling infrastructure all over Scotland. That’s this coming Saturday! Tomorrow! We need as many people as possible to have the…
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No-sulphur organic red wine
I bought a mixed case of no sulphur organic wines from Vintage Roots and they arrived today so I’m trying the first bottle which is a French red called Mas des Tannes. The grapes were organically grown in the south of France. It’s delicious! I love the smell of red wine. I think I would be happy…
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A rainbow in Duthie Park
I took this photo of a rainbow in Duthie Park last night at around 7pm.
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Mystery person
At Madrid airport the other day I was waiting at a shop for them to heat up my lunch (which turned out to be disgusting but more on that later) and I thought I saw someone famous. Who is this dude with the curly locks? Should I know who he is? He looks familiar. A…
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