A short update on what’s happening on the allotment, plus talking through some plans for the winter months.
Quick Links 31st October 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
A Wolf Dies [Last Word on Nothing Blog]
Currently Reading
Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer: 2 (The Journals of Thomas Merton) by Thomas Merton [GoodReads].
The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower Book 2) by Stephen King [GoodReads] – I’m reading this as part of an online discussion, although it’s really a reread for me as I did read it years ago.
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
I’d certainly look forward to this sort of camping.
There’s been plenty of coverage of the proposed new third runway at Heathrow, but I can’t say that I’m particularly in favour of it. It seems like the wrong decision, and yet another government white infrastructure elephant like HS2 & Hinkley Point C, costing the tax payer billions but not returning on the investment.
Halloween
Just because it’s Halloween, here are a couple of Simon’s Cat videos for your enjoyment…
Quick Links 24th October 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
I’ve been a bit under the weather this last week, so this post will probably be a bit shorter than usual.
Currently Reading
Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer: 2 (The Journals of Thomas Merton) by Thomas Merton [GoodReads].
The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower Book 2) by Stephen King [GoodReads] – I’m reading this as part of an online discussion, although it’s really a reread for me as I did read it years ago.
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures – Two words Pygmy Anteater
Quick Links 17th October 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
Much as I love gadgets and things, I would have returned this kettle and just bought one that you actually have to go and switch on. After all you still need to put the tea / coffee in the cup, pour the water etc.
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
Currently Reading
Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer: 2 (The Journals of Thomas Merton) by Thomas Merton [GoodReads].
Dogging Steinbeck by Bob Steigerwald [GoodReads]
I didn’t have any luck growing pumpkins this year – although the slugs really enjoyed those that I did – so I bought a medium sized one from our local farm shop this week. My plan is to make pumpkin soup and possibly a few other things, depending on how much flesh I get from it. I then saw this video (one of my favourite TV chefs), so I’ll be giving this a try too!
Quick Links 10th October 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
It’s been party conference season and their is all sorts of rhetoric flying around about what is best for the country and what each political party will do (or would if they were in power). I’m not going to link to any of it, however the one bit that did really grate on me was a Tory minister saying that all the promises / statements made during the EU referendum were meaningless and had no impact on the overall result. Whilst I accept that no one can be held to those promises, to say they had no impact on the result is one of the most naive and stupid things I’ve heard in a long time. This is the minister who is responsible for negotiating our exit from the EU. We’re all screwed.
Still on the subject of Brexit this article in The Guardian and this one by author Charles Stross talk about some of the potential stark realities if the Government get the negotiations wrong. Both mention potential crisis with food, and the possible future cost of food imports. We currently import 40% of our food, and although I don’t agree completely with the comment in one of the articles about our ability to “grow our own” – and I mean this on a commercial scale, not a domestic self-sufficiency one – I think we could do much better and with the right education about seasonal foods, waste reduction and other areas where we are currently weak and mean that we don’t maximise our current production levels; the picture is a worrying one. I have no confidence in those in charge of this set of negotiations and their ability to deliver the best deal possible.
Currently Reading
Nigel: my family and other dogs by Monty Don [GoodReads] I finished this just before I posted, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, savouring it.
Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer: 2 (The Journals of Thomas Merton) by Thomas Merton [GoodReads]. Having finished the first volume of journals not that long ago, I started the second volume more or less straight away.
Wildscreen Witness – In Pictures
A Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
Here’s a short piece I wrote somewhere else – mostly to get the thoughts off my chest:
Yesterday it was fracking, a few weeks ago nuclear power. From an energy perspective Theresa May’s government has been the government of missed opportunities so far. Each time an opportunity to respond in a sustainable manner to current and future energy needs, and restart the mistakes made by successive previous governments it’s been passed over for something “easier”.
In truth we know very little about the true economic costs of fracking in the UK. If exploration in Lancashire does go ahead – there are still hurdles to be overcome before it can start – then perhaps the one thing that might come out of it is a proper economic assessment of it. Widely touted as a boon of cheap gas, I think the reality will be somewhat different, unlikely to be cheaper than imported gas and renewables, it may well turn out to be another expensive white elephant.
The same with Hinkley Point and it’s strike price (although perhaps it will take so long to build that this might be cheap?) There are viable renewable solutions here and now that could be deployed for the same cost and produce the same amount of energy.
When Theresa May announced her Cabinet she erased DECC and formed BEIS, many people commented that the loss of “Climate Change” from a department title was a bad thing. At the time I was willing to sit on the fence about this, but it seems that those people were right. Another missed opportunity to put a response to climate change at the heart of government and in doing so push it to the back of Minister’s minds.
Quick Links 3rd October 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
Currently Reading
I finally finished reading Run To The Mountain by Thomas Merton [GoodReads] at the end of last week! It’s taken me well over a month to get through, but I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s the first of seven (I think) volumes of his journals, of which I have the next one already, so might start reading that soon.
In the meantime I’ve been reading Nigel: my family and other dogs by Monty Don [GoodReads] and also The Coroner by M. R. Hall [GoodReads].
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
Third Quarter Review 2016
Each year for the past few years I’ve been doing a year end review; books I’ve read, films/tv programmes I’ve watched and other things related to work and the allotment. You can read the end of 2015 here, if you’re interested.
This year I’m trying something a little different, and am splitting my year into quarters and trying to do a review at the end of the quarter. It helps me remember stuff more easily, and is more up to the minute than waiting to until December and trying to do the whole year in one go, or at least that’s the theory. The first quarter review is here, and the second quarter review here.
Work
This quarter marks the anniversary in my change of employment, going from being and employee to self-employed. Looking across those 12 months I’d say it’s been pretty productive, although things have slowed down a bit over the summer. There are a couple of things on the horizon, but as ever they rely on things outside my control, so it’s a little difficult to say at this stage how things might pan out. Having said that I currently have a close family member in hospital, so having the time to be able to visit has been a bonus, and something I can’t ever see that I would have been allowed to do (quite rightly) when I was an employee, so things seem to work out.
I am hoping that things will pick up, as I do like being my own boss, but if they don’t I will have to look for alternatives.
Allotment
It’s been a very good year on the allotment so far, we’ve spent most of this quarter not having to buy any fresh produce from the supermarket, as we’ve been able to provide our own from the plot. This has started to ease off a little now, and I am having to buy odd things – either as crops have started to slow down their production with the shortening days or because things aren’t quite ready yet. In some areas though e.g. potatoes, onions, garlic, we have lots stored that will see us forward for many weeks yet.
I’ve also been trying to do regular update videos on my YouTube channel, and often embedding them here too.
Books
I’ve been reading pretty consistently and have gotten through a number of books this quarter including a couple of “biggies”. I’ve started adding a “currently reading” item to my Quick Links entry each week (when I remember too!).
There are a few that I’d like to mention specifically, and in no particular order they are:
“Normal” by Warren Ellis – This was actually a novella released in 4-parts, one a week over a month. What I liked about it the most was how it told the story in that weekly pattern and how well this worked. Whether or not that was intentional I don’t know, but I don’t think it would have worked as well as just a single book. It reminded me a lot of one of those weekly black and white serials that used to be shown in cinemas e.g. King of the Rocket Men, when I get time, I’m going to sit and reread all four – hopefully in a single sitting.
“Joyland” by Stephen King – I’ve had a copy of this for quite some time, but had never gotten around to reading it until recently. What I liked about it the most, was that it reminded me of some of the early Stephen King books, which I enjoyed far more than some of from the late ’90s / early 2000s. I’d stopped reading his books not long after Geralds Game and The Tommyknockers, so can’t speak for other ones he may have written more recently, but I did think that Joyland was more of the old King.
“Seveneves” – Neal Stephenson – This was one of the biggies and took me a while to get through, but it was worth it. Although it is a work of science fiction, it has a very believable story and characters and despite it’s size held my interest throughout.
“The Book of Yaak” – Rick Bass – Rick Bass has had a mention in both of the previous quarter reviews, and I still have a number of his books that I haven’t read yet, so may well feature again. I really enjoy his writing, both fiction and non-fiction. This is a work of non-fiction and brings to the fore another area of this writers passions. As an environmental activist this book highlights the issues in the Yaak Valley in Montana and the tensions between preserving the old growth forest, the nature and wildlife that it supports and other areas that are important for their nature conservation and the pressures of development and modern intensive forestry. It’s a treatise to the area and the issues, and a fascinating read. It stirred the passion in me for some of the environmental issues that I feel are important.
Films & TV
It’s been a bit of a summer of sport with Euro football and the Olympics and Paralympics. I don’t generally watch much sport, so we’ve been watching a lot of reruns or turning it off. Outside of that there isn’t much to report. We’ve watched a few DVDs but nothing that really inspired me enough that I want to mention it here.
Life In General
Pretty good. As always there are areas I’d like to work on. I’d like to be writing more, and I’d like my business to grow a little, but for the reasons mentioned above I’ve been occupied in other areas and am grateful to have had the time to be able to do those things.
Quick Links 26th September 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
I haven’t seen many swifts this year, quite a few swallows and house martins but their high flying cousins have been a little conspicuous in their absence. It goes like that some years – I seem to miss a bird, even though it was probably around. I was pleased to read this article though about the changes planned in Oxford.
Something else that I haven’t seen in this Country yet, and I hope not too, are Asian Hornets, which have been spotted for the first time. Another article on it here.
I don’t think I’ve linked to this before, but apologies if I have, however I do often write about white elephants here, e.g. Hinkley Point. Another one is the HS2 or High Speed 2 Railway line. Here’s an interesting (quite long) piece about the land it will cross (if it’s ever built).
Back in April one of Googles Street View Cars passed me when I was walking the dogs – seems that I’ve now been immortalised on Google Maps! I notice however that although my face has been blurred, unlike these cows the dogs have not had their identities protected!
Currently Reading
Run To The Mountain by Thomas Merton [GoodReads] – Still on the reading pile and still enjoying it!
Nigel: my family and other dogs by Monty Don [GoodReads] Only recently started so a bit early to pass comment, but am enjoying it so far.
A Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
Allotment Update (17th September 2016)
Things are slowing down a little on the allotment now, courgettes that were producing one fruit a day, are now producing about one a week. Other summer crops are coming to the end of their season. It’s now however the end of work on the allotment – I’m already thinking about next year – the planting of over-wintering crops like onions and garlic is just starting as well as broad beans. I’m a little later than I was last year with my broad beans, and they haven’t gone in yet, but the onions and garlic went in last weekend. Here’s a quick video:
Quick Links 19th September 2016
Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures (w/e 09/09/16)
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures (w/e 16/09/16)
One in 10 UK wildlife species faces extinction, major report shows [The Guardian]
There are so many articles on the approval of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant that I’m not going to link to any, they’re easy enough to find if you want to read them. There is a running theme though – bad decision. Not necessarily because it’s nuclear power, or the fact that renewable energy could deliver the same for the cost, but that this is an opportunity missed to renegotiate an expensive white elephant, that may actually never come into being anyway, and either way will cost the taxpayer a fortune. I think my views are fairly well known, so I won’t rehash them, but it does seem that yet again the government has made an error in judgement that will have repercussions for generations to come.
We (the human race – and I am generalising here) seem to care more about having the latest gadget or how much money we can earn than what is going on around us. Currently our health service in this country is in crisis, with hospitals and social care unable to cope; our environment and the planet upon which we are living is being driven to destruction; wars around the world are killing innocent civilians and yet it seems that in general the average person doesn’t care.
Increasingly I feel that we have lost our values about what is actually important, and it most certainly isn’t the latest iPhone.
Currently Reading
“Run to the Mountain” by Thomas Merton [GoodReads] – If you’re a regular here, you’ll know this one has been appearing for a while. I was also reading Neal Stephenson’s “Seveneves” but that has now made it to the read pile, so I’ve been able to give “Run to the Mountain” more attention. I’m enjoying it a lot, but I also have a close relative in the hospital at the moment, so my free time has been limited. Mostly I’m reading before bed, and my eyes don’t stay open all that long, so I’m only getting through a few pages each night. I did also come across this piece about reading more productively.
Electronic Scrapbook 