Category: Garden / Allotment

The Easter Bunny Cometh… (Quick Links 117)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, work

Easter Sunday today, for us this is very much about family time and my Mum is coming for a Sunday roast a bit later (the joint is already in the oven cooking), and I’ve made another batch of hot-cross buns (that I actually managed to put the crosses on this time).

It’s been a mixed week, I was out on Monday for a work meeting, but I’ve been working from home for most of the rest of the week and it’s pretty much rained everyday  and our dog walks have been pretty soggy affairs.

It was Wilson’s birthday on Wednesday, and I wrote a quick post about it here.

The council came and took away our old three-piece suite, we’d tried finding someone who would take it and recycle it, but it was just to old and worn. It’s still odd to be sitting on garden furniture indoors, but by this time next week I should be sitting on our new sofa, it’s due to be delivered on Friday.

Wind River 

I watched this yesterday, and would thoroughly recommend it. It’s written and directed by Taylor Sheridan who also wrote Hell or High Water [LINK] which is also an excellent film.

Wind River [LINK] stars Jeremy Renner (Avengers) as a wildlife warden who comes across the body of a dead woman whilst tracking mountain lions that have been killing cattle on the Wind River Indian reservation in a Winter Wyoming. The tribal police chief, played by Graham Greene (Longmire) calls in the FBI and Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: Age of Ultron) arrives, under-equipped and agrees that the circumstances are suspicous, and asks Renner to help her with the investigation.

It’s a good movie and I really enjoyed it. The acting is good, and the winter scenery is just stunning. At around 90 minutes it’s a short film but well worth it. If you have seen Hell or High Water you’ll likely enjoy this too.

Work – As mentioned above I was at meetings on Monday, and that pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the week workwise as I had some follow-up work to do based on those meetings.

I’m also waiting on some tender deadlines to find out if submissions have been successful.

Allotment – Heavy rain again this week has meant little work on the plot again. I was hoping that I could get my potatoes in but I’ve had to postpone that.

Currently Reading – I read Neil Ansell’s “Deer Island” [LINK] and Chris Riddell’s “Travels with my Sketchbook” [LINK] the latter is based on the drawings made by the children’s laureate during his two year tenure as he was travelling.

The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

 

That’s all follks, a short one this week.

Glamping in the Lounge (Quick Links 116)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, work2 Comments

I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon, from a garden chair in my lounge. We’re making way for some new furniture and our old suite is in the front garden, waiting for the Council to collect it. We might be in a state of flux for a week or so.

Works been keeping me busy this week, and things seem to have settled back into a bit more of a routine, although we still had snow around at the beginning of the week.

I baked some hot-cross buns during the week. They didn’t last more than a couple of days, and in the end didn’t even end up getting the crosses applied to them. They were good eating though. I’ll be making some more ahead of Easter, just as soon as I get some more supplies!

I also watched IT, and wrote some thoughts about it here.

 

Work – A busy week with phone calls, meetings and some preparation for upcoming meetings and tender responses.

Allotment – First time in a couple of weeks that I’ve actually been able to get on to the plot. It’s still too wet and cold to do much, but I did manage to get some weeding done ahead of hopefully planting in a week or two.

Currently Reading – Another week where I’ve hardly picked up a book or my kindle or when I have I’ve fallen asleep quickly and read very little.

Sudan – The last male Northern White Rhino has died [LINK]. This species is nearing extinction (only two females remain, Sudan’s daughter and granddaughter) and scientists are planning to use IVF and other technologies to revive the species [LINK]. I have mixed feelings about this. Largely we humans have driven this species to this point, mostly through poaching and demand for rhino horn, so maybe we humans should try and do something about it. Actually I feel we should have done this years ago and not reached this point, and maybe our lesson is to prevent this happening with other species. These are deeply philosophical points I know, but I’m not sure trying to use science in this way is the right answer.

France’s Bird Population Collapses Due To PesticidesLINK – [] Not wishing to labour a point above, but when are we going to learn the lessons of what we have done and are continuing to do to this planet under the guise of “progress” and “growth”?

Citizen Science – Really enjoyed reading this story [LINK] about how local birders were able to provide the evidence against a developers claims, but will it be enough. All to often I read similar stories were the “tame” ecologists of a developer produce reports that are fundamentally flawed or even false.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Neil Ansell – Deep Country  I finished reading this book [GoodReads] early in the year, this week I came across this video trailer for it.

That’s all follks. Catch you next week.

Return of the Beast… (Quick Links 115)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, Wildlife/Nature, work

As you might have gathered from the title of this post and the photo above, the snow is back. It’s Sunday morning as I write this and when I went to bed last night there was very little snow and hardly any had settled. When I got up this morning, I’d guess we’ve had between one and two inches overnight, definitely more than a couple of weeks ago, however it is not as cold this time. Have to wait and see what happens I guess, there’s a little more forecast during the day and overnight tonight and then it looks like it’s set to get a bit warmer.

I’ve finished the decorating in the lounge this week, there’s still a little more sorting to do as we put things back in place. We’ve also ordered a new 3-piece suite, which should be here just after Easter. We tried to donate our old one to a charity, but sadly it’s too old and worn for them to be able to do anything with, so the Council will be coming to collect it a week Monday.

I’ve also been sorting through a lot of my old books and dvds and donating some to charity, and also selling a few via Amazon marketplace. I sold two within 12 hours of listing them.

It would have been my Dad’s 81st birthday this week, I took Mum out for breakfast on the day as a mark of remembrance.

I’ve been trying to get a decent picture of a heron that’s been eating the frogs in the damp patch of my local recreation ground for a while now. I finally managed to get something half-decent earlier this week. I suspect both the heron and the frogs have been snowed off for the time being!

 

Customer Loyalty – Had an interesting conversation this week when I tried to cancel a magazine subscription. I had the renewal notice and the price and gone up nearly 22%, whilst I like the magazine and I know that production costs do rise, I don’t like it that much and decided to cancel it. When I rang up, as I expected they tried to talk me out of cancelling, claiming that they could offer me a “customer loyalty discount”, meaning that the price would actually hardly rise. Tempting. However why wasn’t I offered this on the renewal? I didn’t feel like I was being treated like a loyal customer at all. End result, subscription cancelled. Charge customers whatever you like, but if you’re not offering your best price to your loyal customers first time, don’t expect their loyalty to last long.

Work – In between decorating and other things, I’ve been catching up on a few conversations that were postponed because of the last snow fall. Will be working on a couple of things this week ahead of meetings the following week.

Allotment – Sadly snowed off again. Had some broccoli plants, which I ordered last year arrive on Saturday. There’s no way they can go in the ground yet, so I’ve potted them up for now, and will plant them out when the weather is a little more cooperative. It looks as though things will be a bit later this year.

Currently Reading – Still not really settled into a new book yet, but I did have a belated birthday present arrive (see pic below). These puzzle books are a lot of fun so far, although I think they start out easy and get harder as you progress through the book. They both also contain a little bit of interesting background information to the history of Bletchley Park and GCHQ

Dr Stephen Hawking (1942 – 2018) – 

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Cambridge Analytica –  I expect that there’ll be a lot of coverage of this over the coming days [LINK], but it’s pretty scary just what can be done with all that data that we seem all to willing to give companies with no moral or ethical compass. I might well be deleting my Facebook account (again).

Falcon Heavy

Two Days In Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – [LINK]

If you don’t already subscribe to @documentally’s newsletter then you should [LINK]

I’ll be hunkering down for the rest of the day, trying to keep warm and hoping that this latest batch of snow if short lived. Wherever you are in the world I hope your weather is a little more clement, but if not stay safe. Catch you next week.

Birthday Boy (Quick Links 114)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, Wildlife/Nature, work

Busy, busy, busy this week. I’ve been doing more decorating and moving bookcases in the lounge to allow me to hopefully finish the decorating in the lounge in the coming week. This has mostly been in between other things: work, appointments with my Mum and my birthday on Friday. Today is also Mothering Sunday in the UK, so we’re having a lunch with my Mum later on.

Work – Mostly this has been rearranging things that were postponed due to the snow, and catching up with a couple of meetings that were in the diary already for this week. I’ve got a few development things to do in the next week as well as preparing for a pitch meeting in a couple of weeks time.

Allotment – The plot seems to have borne the weather pretty well, and wasn’t as badly effected as I had feared, the broad beans certainly seem to have held up well. The weather this week though (mostly rain) has meant that the ground is very wet again, so not much happening. There are a couple of photos below taken last week in the snow, and a comparable image now that the snow has gone to see the contrast.

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Currently Reading – I haven’t had much reading time this week, but did get a couple of new ones for my birthday, so expect to get in to one of those in the week ahead.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

When Twenty-Six Thousand Stinkbugs Invade Your Home – [LINK]

A Map of Radical Bewilderment – On the liberation cartography of Henry David Thoreau – [LINK]

The Wreckage of the USS Lexington Found in the Coral Sea – 

More decorating in the week ahead and a couple of other things, but for now that’s all folks! Stay safe out there and I’ll catch you next week.

The Bacon Will Get You In The End (Quick Links 113)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, Wildlife/Nature, work

Luckily I’ve been able to completely avoid going anywhere other than to walk the dogs, and instead busied myself wall papering in the lounge and progressing the decorating there.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Although I don’ think we got the worst of the “Beast From The East” by any means we did get some snow this week, although not until quite late in week. We had a light dusting overnight on Wednesday / Thursday and then a bit more overnight Thursday / Friday (see above). Overall I don’t think we’re had much more than a couple of centimetres. It’s the first snow that Ruby has seen in her nearly four years, and she was quite intrigued. Our other dog was not really bothered as he’s a bit of an old hand at the snow thing. By Saturday lunchtime it was pretty much all gone, and by the time of writing this on Sunday morning you wouldn’t know it had been there at all.

Elsewhere in the UK it’s been a bit more full  on and as is the norm for this country we’ve failed to cope very well. One lady from Canada who spent the night on a train when it broke down was quoted in the Evening Standard as saying:

“I’m kind of shocked that for a country as populus and built up as England that a tiny, tiny little bit of snow is able to bring an entire country to a standstill.

“I’m Canadian so I’m used to very intense winters but sitting on a broken down train and looking out the window and realising I could still see the grass through the snow… I don’t understand how in 2018 a major, major train company is not set up to deal with a tiny bit of snow. It’s utterly mind-blowing to me.

“There were moments where I was reduced to tears,” she added. “There were definitely some pretty scary moments.

“For the first few hours I was very annoyed and then about four hours in, I was really, really angry, and then after that I just didn’t have it in me to be angry anymore. I was just exhausted and upset and wanted to be at home.”

I think that pretty much sums up how we deal with snow in the Country and because in most places we get it so rarely nobody knows what to do.

Luckily I’ve been able to completely avoid going anywhere other than to walk the dogs, and instead busied myself wall papering in the lounge and progressing the decorating there. There’s still a bit of painting on the other walls to do, but a trip to the DIY store is needed for more paint.

Work – Fortunately no  meetings this week, and although I had a few phone calls booked, I managed to fit those in around my decorating. A quieter week than I was expecting but probably a reflection of the impact of the weather across the Country.

Allotment – Other than a visit to check how the plot dealt with the snow I’ve not been down there this week. Physically things look okay, and there doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage, however it does look as though my broad beans have had a nasty case of frost / snow damage. Normally they would survive pretty well, and had the snow been a bit deeper they probably would have been fine. However they’re looking like they might not recover. We’ll have to see.

Currently Reading – I read “The Galapagos” by Henry Nicholls [GoodReads] this week. It was a very readable book, and for me a bit like going back in time to when I studied biology, as this is one of the most quoted Charles Darwin studies for evolution.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

If The Snow Didn’t Get You Then Bacon Will – [LINK]

I’m outta here for now. The coming week is looking fairly busy, mostly with family related stuff. If you’re still somewhere that’s snowed in, I hope you thaw out soon too. Take care.

The Beast From The East…(Quick Links 112)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, Wildlife/Nature, work

This week has absolutely flown by. I’ve been looking at a lot of wallpaper (in DIY stores – we’re planning the next stage of decorating our lounge), and a lot of PowerPoint (see work below). I’ve been repairing an arbor at my Mum’s house, and reconnecting with my basic carpentry skills.

The weather forecast for the week ahead includes snow warnings for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when “The Beast From The East” is due to arrive. We’ve had these warnings a couple of times during the winter but never actually had any snow – so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this time. I have to admit to thinking whoever comes up with the nicknames for these things needs their bumps felt, as really all it makes me want to do is shrug my shoulders and sigh, rather than potentially taking it more seriously. I’m pretty sure professional journalism is all-but dead in this country.  It will probably be the end for those few flowers that had started to appear thinking Spring had arrived too, which I feel more sad about than the headlines.

I’ve been thinking a bit about my routine this week. It’s going to be three years this year since I left my permanent job and went freelance, taking voluntary redundancy. Interestingly though I still seem to wake at the same time each morning, as I did when I used to have to leave the house to catch a train. I guess all those years doing that have left their mark even if now there’s no train and different things to do.

I’m hoping to restart on the decorating this coming week. In fact that is why this post is a little bit later than usual, as I’ve been clearing the decks to give me the space to get started. We’ve settled on the paper above – and before anyone comments, yes we will be pasting it to the walls and not hanging it from bulldog clips. It’s taken a couple of months to reach a decision, but hopefully it will look good when it’s finished. If the aforementioned beast from the east arrives I hope he’ll pick up a wallpaper brush and lend me a hand.

Work – As mentioned above PowerPoint has been a big chunk of work this week. I co-hosted a presentation on Thursday evening to a group from the local chamber of commerce, and the preparation for that has taken up a lot of time. We had a dry run of Tuesday, and that helped as my skills were a little rusty. I enjoyed doing it and am hoping something more might come from it, but only time will tell.

Allotment – Finally managed to get onto the plot and do some work this last week. I took down the netting and supports over the late brassicas, and dug the spot they were on. This is going to be the area where the potatoes will go this year. I’ve also recorded a short update video, first one in a while.

Currently Reading – I read Stephen King’s “Finders Keepers” [GoodReads] this week. It’s the middle book in the Bill Hodges trilogy (“Mr Mercedes” is the first, and “End of Watch”, the last). I was a little disappointed with it, in that the tale spent a long time building up to what was ultimately a fairly short ending. It’s one of those books that is slightly better than the 3 stars I’ve given on GoodReads, but the site doesn’t allow for half-stars, as it is worthy of a higher rating but not quite the 4 stars which would be the other option.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Troy – I mentioned this last week. It’s a while since I’ve been comprehensively disappointed in a TV show, but I really didn’t enjoy this. Shame. Not even going to bother watching the second episode.

Stephen Fry’s Announcement –

So that’s it for this week. Hopefully I’ll be a little bit more timely next week (although possibly I might be under a pile of wallpaper or snow, we’ll see. Take care and stay away from The Beast From The East, I hear he’s a bit of a cold chap.

Never Feed Them After Midnight (Quick Links 111)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Film, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, Wildlife/Nature, work

It’s been a fairly busy week. I’ve had a couple of appointments to attend with my Mum, and a couple of others for myself. Around that I’ve managed to fit in a haircut, pancakes and of course Valentines Day.

It’s interesting that Shrove Tuesday has become more of a culinary event than the start of Lent, and I’m not sure whether the fact that it is still observed in at least that way is good or not. An acquaintance of mine has decided to observe the period as plastic free, and is recording her adventures here. I admire her, but don’t envy the task. In my own way I’ve been trying to cut down on single use plastics in the home, and it’s not easy. Just too much comes ready packaged in plastic or you are encouraged to use a plastic bag or container of some kind.

We don’t go too mad for Valentines, exchanging just small gifts. For mine this year I received a book (see more below) and a glass hummingbird ornament. I’ve left the latter wrapped up for the time being as I don’t want to break it, and as yet I’m not sure where I can safely put it.

A couple of times this week I nearly wrote an extra post or two, but in the end didn’t and those thoughts ended up getting lost, so I think I might pick up the frequency again, if the mood takes me.

 

Work – I’ve been  finalising next weeks presentation, it sounds good in my head, and I hope it will turn out the same when I come to do it in real life!

Allotment – Sorry to sound like a stuck record here but the ground down there is still too wet to do very much.

Currently Reading – I’ve finished a couple of books this week that I started some time ago and put to one side for various reasons. Not quite sure why I did at the time because both were pretty good and one I really enjoyed. The first is “Spirits of Place” which is an anthology [GoodReads], and the second “Deep Country” by Neil Ansell [GoodReads].

The latter is the authors story of five years in an isolated off-grid cabin in the Welsh hills, and it is this book that really got under my skin. I’m not quite sure why it didn’t when i first started it, although I do remember it was when my Mum was having her knee replaced and I was reading it on the bus going to and from the hospital. I guess I just got too busy after that. However I did finish it this time, and found it rather magical, although the author didn’t hold back about how some of his time in the cabin was quite hard where he was effectively isolated from the rest of the world for long periods. The descriptions of the wildlife and the landscape were particularly captivating, and I was both happy to have finally finished it, although also a little sad.

I also received a copy of “Icebreaker” by Horatio Clare [GoodReads] as a Valentines gift, which I devoured in a couple of evenings (it’s only a short book, but very good). Again another magical book. I didn’t really appreciate the role of the icebreaking ships, but I certainly do now, and the author managed to capture his time on one icebreaker, and weave in stories of the crew and Finland throughout.

Furby Organ – We’ve got a few of these things around the house. I’m not tempted to make my own, but this guys done the job so we don’t have too. I would have liked it more if they had sung in unison and what have you, but it’s still an amazing bit of kit.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Ant Man & The Wasp – I really enjoyed the first Ant Man movie, so I’m looking forward to watching the sequel too.

Troy: Fall of a City – I heard an interview with the writer of this when I was in the car the other day. I’m not sure how this will translate to screen but the writers knowledge of his subject alone really demand that this be brilliant. Fingers-crossed!

So that’s me out for this week – although if the mood takes me there might be something before next Sunday, who knows. Have a good week everyone.

Nothing Much To See Here – Move Along (Quick Links 110)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, work

This week seems to have flown by, but looking back I’m not quite sure what I’ve actually been doing. I know I’ve been busy with lots of little things, which I guess add up. I’ve had a couple of personal appointments as well as work things but that’s about it.

Work – A couple of meetings this week, I’ve got a presentation and a pitch coming up so I’ve been working on the presentations for both of those events.

Allotment – Still too wet to actually get on the plot again, so only a couple of quick visits just to check everything is okay.

Currently Reading – I finished reading “The Long Walk” by Stephen King or rather Richard Bachman [GoodReads]. I also caught up on the excellent “Injection” graphic novels as written by Warren Ellis [GoodReads].

I hear that Donald Trump wants a military parade. Here it is as portrayed in this New Yorker cartoon

Strike – looks like there’s a new series coming. If you haven’t watched it before the first two were really good, so hopefully this will continue. Worth watching.

I’ve been meaning to mention  The Aimless Walker for a couple of weeks. It’s walked & written by Joe Minihane who wrote “Floating” [GoodReads] which I read last year. I enjoy the simple premise.

I’ve been doing my own aimless walking too recently. I read an article about exploring you local area more, so I’ve been doing just that on my afternoon dog walks – trying to walk new routes each afternoon.

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

I hope the week ahead  is good for you. See you next week.

Sick Dog In The Nighttime (Quick Links 109)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, work1 Comment

Well after finally seeming to have shaken off my lurgy we’ve had a sick dog to start the week off. Monday night / Tuesday morning was the urgent rush to the garden with an upset stomach on two separate occasions. All is better now, but the lack of sleep was telling at the beginning of the week. I have had a couple of work related meetings this week (see below) and I’ve been doing a few other things.

I spent some time at my Mum’s – I went to just sit and have a cup of tea and a chat – and ended up having to make some repairs to broken glass in one of her greenhouses. The storms of the last couple of weeks had blown out a couple of panels. I had to make the repair temporary however as although I found some glass which was suitable for the repair (greenhouse glass is often thinner than regular window glass), it needed to be cut, and despite searching high and low in my Dad’s shed I couldn’t find a glass cutting tool. I’m sure that there’s one in there somewhere, but it eluded me. I did find an old fountain pen though which I bought home, cleaned and got working again. Not quite sure why that was in the shed, but then I’m not surprised.

Work – This week has been a continuation of the prep-work from last week. A couple of meetings that have seen some progression with a couple of related projects, and potentially another one either next week or the following week to pitch for some work. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much but this is progress in the right direction (I think).

Allotment – Still pretty wet out there at the moment so not much to report. The broad beans that I sowed a few weeks ago have now all germinated, so I’ll bring them along and plant them out when they’ve got a bit bigger.

Currently Reading – I’ve been reading “The Wrong Side of Goodbye” by Michael Connelly [GoodReads] this week.

I also started reading The Long Walk by Stephen King or rather Richard Bachman [GoodReads]. This was one of the books that was amongst the list [LINK] I mentioned last week as being unfamiliar. I haven’t read it before, but I did have a copy in an omnibus of Bachman books, which was in our attic. I bought it, plus Skeleton Crew and Firestarter down to read again.

I used to read a lot of Stephen King when I was about thirty years younger than I am now, and have kept most of them, although they are in boxes in the attic. I’m planning to maybe work my way back through them slowly again. Some real treasures up there that I purchased for a few pence each when ever I came across them, and some that my Mum spotted (Skeleton Crew – above – is a UK first edition that she found in a charity shop).

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The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Nigel the Gannet’s story is a little sad [LINK] one of those to make you go ah. It’s a sad tale no doubt, but you have to wonder why as the concrete decoys have been so unsuccessful they are still being used?

My diary is pretty empty for the week ahead, so if you’re looking for some help on an environmental project let me know.

Have a good week.

Days of Wet Dog Walks (Quick Links 108)

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, Quick Links, work1 Comment

Feeling better this week but not 100%, so I’ve been easing back gently. This virus has really knocked me for six, but I think I’m over the worst of it, although not pushing too hard.

Although it’s been a quiet week, I’ve been doing a couple of things for my Mum. I still have some odd jobs to do for her, but the weather hasn’t been co-operating so they’re waiting for drier  days.

We’ve had a couple of pretty stormy days and it seems that my coat barely has a chance to dry out from my morning dog walk to the one in the afternoon. They’re not really fans of the bad weather either, but I’ve never known them say know.

Work – Been a bit busier this week, although mostly this has been preparing for meetings that I have in this coming week.

Allotment – Total wash out with the weather  this week. I’ve been down a couple of times to check that nothing’s blown away in the strong winds we’ve had this week, and to harvest veg for dinner but that’s about it.

Currently Reading – My reading has slowed down again, as I’ve been a bit more active again this week. I have however read Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant [GoodReads] over the course of the  week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not sure what will be up next as yet.

The Week In Wildlife In Pictures – [LINK]

Do What You Say You Are Going To Do – Over the years this is something that I’ve said time and again to members of staff, friends, colleagues, people I’ve coached and to myself. If you say you are going to do something, actually do it. If for some reason you no longer can then let people know.

It would seem however that the UK government, within only a few weeks of promising to reduce plastic pollution as part of it’s 25 Year Environment Plan, is about to take a different course, and oppose new recycling targets [LINK]. Now of course these are EU targets and I can already hear all the Brexiteers saying that this is exactly what we should be doing – charting our own course, being masters of our own destiny etc. etc. – but seriously our recycling is already inadequate. The ability to recycle varies depending on where you live, particularly with kerbside collections, but the proposals for 65% of urban waste recycled by 2035 is achievable, but it requires better infrastructure, markets for materials and many things to make it a reality, and obviously this is more than just plastic recycling, but it feels that if the government is simply going to say it can’t support this, it  won’t actually be meaningful target set. It’s not going to wash saying that we’ll set a tougher target – if you were going to do that why don’t you sign up and exceed the EU proposal, that is after all something that you could boast about.

Is This The End Of Civilisation? We Could Take A Different Path – Interesting commentary by George Monbiot [LINK] and I look forward to reading what his proposals are. I am struck by just how selfish we have become as a race, and how governments across the globe seemingly driven by capitalism are continuing to take us down this route, rather than showing true leadership.

I enjoyed reading this  Twitter stream about Tokyo by @craigmod.

So YouTube have written to all of their “creators” – of which I am one – telling them that if they don’t reach new criteria for monetisation then the ability to monetise their videos will be removed [LINK]. I note that they don’t actually say that there won’t still be ads placed before or during their videos, just that they won’t be able to make any money from them. Now I do monetise most of my videos already, but I don’t receive any income from them because I don’t currently meet the criteria either (min. 500 subscribers). The new criteria (min. 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours/year), I won’t meet on subscribers numbers obviously but I do get the minimum watch hours (by quite some margin).

On the face of it, this makes little difference to me (unless I can magically find c.700 more subscribers before the cut off date of 20th February), but what annoys me is this is (allegedly) in response to some fairly high profile failings of YouTube in managing the creators who are making an income from less than savoury videos i.e. ones that don’t meet their eligibility criteria for monetisation. Some of these are creators who have massive followings and are able to make a living from their videos. These new criteria won’t actually affect them one bit.

So instead of properly enforcing their existing criteria YouTube are simply doing something for the sake of doing something and not actually tackling the problem. They claim that they have consulted creators like me in arriving at this decision, and whilst I can only say that I haven’t personally been contacted, if I had been I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to this sort of proposal. It would be a little bit like turkeys voting for Christmas.

Anyway as it won’t make any difference to me, I’ll still be making the occasional allotment video, which I will no longer be able to monetise, but as I’ve said above I suspect there will still be adverts placed on it. If there are then I will be moving to a different platform. The alternative is to try and reach 1000 subscribers by Feb 20th. If you fancy subscribing to me channel you can find it here.

This Stephen King Book List [LINK] is an interesting take. On such a large body of work it must be really difficult just to pick one or even a small selection. I’d add Firestarter and IT – I wonder if the latter wasn’t included simply because of the recent film release, but it is one I vividly remember reading long before it was a TV movie let alone a blockbuster.

I’m pleased to see Skeleton Crew on there though, my favourite collection of his short stories. There’s also a couple that I haven’t read (Revival and The Long Walk), so I might have to keep an eye out for those.

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Have a good week and I’ll be back soon.