The Wood Mouse’s Diary

Amnesty International at Fifty

2011-05-30T00:38:00.002+01:00

In the news there have been three stories that have been dominating the headlines recently. The first has been the abuse by the press, the “Phone Hacking” of celebrities and other well known people.

Personally, I have absolutely no interest in the sex lives of anyone who happens to be on television, in films, or happens to be well know for singing or such like. Quite simply when there are real issues regarding the abuse of power by political and industrial leaders, stories of celebrity shenanigans seem to be much more designed to distract from what is really happening. Just as a conjurer distracts attention from what he is really doing.

The second story, is the attempt by News International to buy the sixty one percent of BSB (Sky Television) that it does not already own. The same people that own Fox News in America. Personally, I do not feel it is right that so much media is owned and controlled by one person, or one company. It has nothing to do with me disagreeing with Murdoch point of view, but with anyone having that level of control. Add to this the fact that the comic that they call a newspaper, News of the World, deeply involved in the illegal “Phone Hacking”, is owned by News International, and to be honest they do not appear to be a company fit to be trusted to hold that much media power.

The third story that was linked to News International that was hitting the headlines was the “Footballer” who took out an Injunction to stop the press reporting on an alleged sexual liaison.

Personally I could not have cared less about the substance of the story, as it was just another case of a News International title wanting to report on what the public want to know rather than what is in the public interest.

I would have ignored all this nonsense had it not been that this footballer was granted a court order that ordered “Twitter” to name the people who were naming him. As they (“Twitter”) are in the US, they would have to get a court order there and with the constitutional enshrinement of freedom of speech, I would think the footballer has as much chance as a snowball in hades.

However, this all started to take a more sinister twist as one newspaper columnist, who apparently named the footballer in a tweet, was at risk of arrest and imprisonment and under the terms of the injunction, we the public could not know why Giles Coren had been imprisoned.

This was something that disturbed me, and I was trying to think out a way of posting here about this, when an MP used parliamentary privilege to name the footballer. Even though I had no interest in who he was, I had known the footballers name for about three weeks as other people were talking in the pub about this and about him. The general consensus is that he is making himself (the Footballer) look really stupid.

This is the real point of this posting, as within a democracy people should never be imprisoned without a public trial. As it is fifty years since the founding of Amnesty International, an organisation founded to prevent the imprisonment without due and just process. In fact it was the case of two people being imprisoned unjustly in Portugal that provided the impetus for the founding of the organisation. In fact it was a campaign by the Observer Newspaper that led to the formation of Amnesty International.

The contrast to the media today who are obsessed with the cult of celebrity and ignore real news is quite striking. It is doubtful that if the situation were the same today, that most newspapers would ignore or even denigrate the fledgling efforts of Amnesty if they were formed today. But Amnesty International has done great work over the years.

To illustrate the point, as I was writing that last paragraph, and I was listening to one of the podcasts that I get via I Tunes, came one from the BBC World Service that highlights the very real impact that Amnesty International really has. I will put a link here so that others can here it too, but I will forewarn my reader, that it had me in tears and it is not a comfortable listen.

If only the media, the press, were not so self obsessed and actually started carrying out some real journalism instead of obsessing about the sex lives of third rate celebrities, then they could reverse the decline in newspaper sales. So often when asked about why they cover these (non) stories about celebrities, they always say “Well if people did not want to read them they would not buy the papers” The media owners like Murdoch should actually look at the falling sales and realise that we are not buying their trash because they publish this rubbish all the time.

When they start carrying out real campaigning, intelligent and investigative journalism, then the public will start spending their money on good journalism.

I would like to end by saying that I wish Amnesty International well for the last fifty years of work, especially all the volunteers who quietly work away and make the difference. I would also love to hear that they are no longer needed, but until that happens, I hope that Amnesty is around to for a long while, especially as the majority of the press ignores Human Rights.

Place Names and Heron

2011-05-07T20:46:00.004+01:00

When I moved here, I was curious about some of the names of the towns close by. The closest on, and within walking distance, as long as you like walking, is called Tow Law. I did some research and quite simply it appears to mean “Settlement on the Hill” or “Town on the Hill” As there has been a settlement there since pre Roman times, the name appears to be derived from very old English.

It is interesting to note that while this is south of the Roman Wall, Hadrian's Wall, it was never fully under Roman Control. Not least because the people were miners, and traded the lead, zinc and copper, with the Romans but never allowed them to rule them. There is a still a degree of this independence in the local area too. However it was the question of the name that had me puzzled, and finally I had it cracked, Tow Law means “Settlement on the Hill” while the word Tow developed to the word Town.

The next nearest Town is a Market Town called Crook. That name does not mean its full of villainous criminals, but is derived from it being built in a “Crook” of the River Wear. The spacing of Market Towns within the landscape are a useful way of measuring distances as they are more or less spaced twelve miles apart. This was decided upon during the Dark Ages, as it meant that it was close enough for a peasant to walk to and back in a day and meant that each market was not creating unfair competition. Wisdom we could learn from today, but that’s a whole other posting.

Crook is the Closest Market Town to where I live, and its also the main hub for transport for and to other towns including Durham City. Last weekend when going into Durham, I noticed that on one of the buildings there were a number of birds that were going back and forth with nesting material. Today, I was able to take a closer look, and the building has been constructed with nesting spaces just under the eaves of this modern bank building. I have heard of this happening, and it doesn’t require any greater expense or effort but ensures that birds don’t loose nesting spots as we make buildings more energy efficient. It probably the first time I have felt good about a bank for the last few years.

The picture was taken last week when I was in Durham.

Durham City

2011-05-01T16:11:00.001+01:00

As my better half is returning to university for the last month of this academic year, we arranged to meet up in Durham. It was a rather spur of the moment thing, as with the bank holidays and that wedding, I really needed to get some food shopping, mainly green groceries, therefore when I knew that she was going into Durham, I suggested we could meet up.

The weather could not have been better, as the sunshine made an already beautiful city, fantastic. As I was there about an hour before I could get to see my better half, I had decided to stop for a light lunch. I went to a café that is right on the river and was sitting on the terrace outside. My cell phone rang and K was able to meet me earlier than had been expected. The amusing thing was that she was just leaving another café that I had nearly gone into and I had passed to try the one that I had eventually settled on. So she was just minutes away and she was able to sit with me while I had my lunch.

From where we were, we were able to stroll along the river. Durham really is a delightful city anyway, and the sun was dancing on the river creating a firework display of reflections. Also as its spring there is the wild garlic flowering and this aroma added to the freshness of the day.

Unfortunately we had to part all to early, as my better half had to return home by train and pack and I still had to get the shopping I needed. Because of previous visits I knew there was a good market in Durham, and I was pleased to find that the quality was better than the average as well as finding items that are not always easy to find, such as Jerusalem Artichokes, and I got some of these. Also in the indoor market is the best fishmonger I personally have ever encountered.

With my wallet much lighter, I headed back home and I will make time to visit Durham again soon, and looking forward to cooking some great fish dishes for my better half once her exams are over.

Wounded Earth

2011-04-13T00:14:00.001+01:00

While I could have made the posting regarding the Fukushima Nuclear plant at any time, I wanted to get my facts right. The fact that the severity level of the accident has been raised to the equivalent of Chernobyl, unfortunately shows that I have got my fact right.

Part of the point I was making was that in this case the company and the Japanese government have down played the severity of the incident. Just as the British Government did when there was a reactor fire here in the 1950s. So it does not matter that we have democracy, but at least because of that freedom the media have been able to expose the true extent of the disaster and there was not the attempt to cover it up as happened in soviet times when Chernobyl had its meltdown.

The simple fact is that Nuclear power is just not safe, no matter what the supporters say. The only reason why Britain wanted Nuclear Power was to create the isotopes for nuclear weapons, and as a side issue its why Iran to name just one nation, should not be allowed to develop Nuclear Power. The legacy we are leaving our children is the cleaning up of deadly pollution for centuries.

The other point is it really does not matter how well the safety systems are designed, there will always be something unknown, unexpected that will happen that will prevent these plants from being safe. With Fukushima it has been a series of breakdowns of the safety systems that has made the disaster escalate. Additionally because the reactors shut themselves down when the Earth quake first struck, a sense of complacency ensured that people failed to see the problems that subsequently developed.

This is not based upon some uneducated irrational fear of anything Nuclear, there are many medical treatments and diagnostic processes that safely use Nuclear isotopes Equally when Radon peculates up from granite rocks, there are ways of reducing these risks. When a leak of nuclear Isotopes happens at a power station, it contaminates a wide area. The strange fact is that for the past ten years or so we have been told by the media that we should fear this happening if terrorists were to let off a “Dirty Bomb”, yet when this happens as the result of a “Nuclear Accident” its nothing to worry about.

We pollute the planet with gay abandon and wonder why natural systems Break Down and why it ends up costing us all a fortune to clean the mess up.

Nuclear Power was not and never has been the solution to our energy needs, nor will it ever be the solution to “Man Made Climate Change” as there will never be enough uranium around the planet to fuel the reactors if we were to replace all the fossil fuelled generation. Additionally and more importantly, Nuclear power would just add to the contamination of fresh drinking water, our most precious and at risk natural resource.

This is not a dystopian perspective, but unless we wake up to these problems now, we will wake up to a Wounded Earth.

What a legacy we are leaving our children

2011-04-10T14:22:00.002+01:00

I, like everyone else, have watched with alarm the unfolding disaster in Japan following the Earthquake and Tidal Wave at the Nuclear Plant. However, I was left confused by the claims that were being made by the authorities regarding safety. Was it simply a case of incompetence or a cover up? Well it looks like there was and has been a decent measure of both.

Here in Britain we know about that, as we have seen a series of accidents within the Nuclear Industry from back in the 1950s and onwards where the seriousness was never fully admitted at the time. The other two serious incidents, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were equally serious and it was only the design of the safety systems at Three Mile Island that prevented it being as devastating as Chernobyl was.

Even before this disaster in Japan, I was thinking of posting about the Nuclear Industry, especially in relations to de-carbonising the energy system. Further, here in Britain we are still feeling the effects of Chernobyl as there are still locations where the sheep farmers can not sell the lambs that are farmed because of contamination from Chernobyl. It was while researching this that I discovered that there is now published research that shows that the brains of wildlife within the exclusion zone around Chernobyl are smaller.

Before I move on to the events in Japan, the defenders of the Nuclear Industry, often say that we are all subject to some “natural” radioactivity from the environment anyway. While this is true, and a sense of proportion is needed, equally no one rational would willingly and recklessly expose themselves to life damaging pollution. So while explaining the real risks are important and keeping a sense of proportion are important, the defenders of the Nuclear Industry often play down the risks. They make it easier for governments and authorities to down play the effects of a disaster.

When I woke up to the news of the Earthquake and Tsunami my initial thoughts were with the victims. While there was also mention of the problems and “Slight Damage” at a nuclear power station, the first reports made it sound as though all the safety systems had worked. However, as we all now know, the cooling systems were knocked out. Even when it was admitted that the problems were more serious than first admitted, the media reports were saying that Buildings, the reactor and containment were all undamaged.

I knew that if, as was also being reported, the fuel was no longer covered by water, there had to be a leak of that water.

As the reactor is a hot steam design, when I tried to get answers to the questions and concerns I had from people here in the UK, my concerns were dismissed. I was told I did not know what I was talking about. But as was trying to improve my understanding, I persisted. Events actually showed that my concerns were not unfounded. As the fuel pellets are enclosed within tubes of Zirconium, these are the fuel rods, and in steam, Zirconium reacts to produce Hydrogen in an exothermic reaction, heat producing. The Hydrogen explosions showed that even with my basic knowledge my concerns were not unfounded.

In addition to this was the delays in getting the power reconnected to the cooling systems. While would have been damage from the earthquake, tsunami and hydrogen explosions only radioactivity leaks via the cooling water could explain why it took so long to reconnect the power.

As soon as the power was connected there were radiation leaks into the sea that were a million times higher than normal background levels.

The simple point is that the authorities just were not honest or open about what had really happened. Had they been, perhaps people with knowledge and experience could have helped to resolve the problems and made the reactors safer sooner.

Not that Nuclear power is ever going to be safe. Trying to look on the bright side, perhaps the public reaction will make it far harder for anyone to build new Nuclear Generation within a democracy now.

As no matter what safety systems are put onto Nuclear power, there will always be something that Nature throws at us that will knock those systems out.

Even with the current nuclear power generation sites, there will be a serious problem with decommissioning, safety and costs for generations to come. Our children will have some serious problems to deal with for the next couple of centuries.

What a legacy we are leaving our children.

The Delights of Spring

2011-04-10T11:51:00.002+01:00

While there was a hard winter, March and spring has been a good one thus far. The last week has been delightful. I have been seeing the signs of Spring bursting out all over. From Daffodils flowering to catkins appearing and the leaves bursting from dormant trees and hedges. As I am now living in Sheep country, the lambs too.

Therefore with the combination of some great weather and my need to travel into Consett twice this week, I had the delight of seeing how spring is developing on the Dales. The journey to and from Consett is a wonderful little bus trip across the high fells of Durham making you feel that you are moving through a living painting. This is however a living and working landscape, hard upland farming country, where sheep farming is the way that the land is used and farmed. While there is also some cattle here too, the traditional hardy breeds, the winters are to hard and the wind to brisk for anything other than sheep.

That also makes it a very good habitat for upland species of birds, and Lapwings are the bird that I see most frequently. During the winter they were flocking together scratching a living on the fields and fells, but now they are pairing and nesting. As a ground nesting bird, the isolation of the location means they are left undisturbed. Hence from the bus, the road, it is possible to see them sitting on the nest.

Further, it is possible to see other birds such as Curlew, Skylarks, Red Grouse and Partridge. During the late winter I even saw a Great Grey Shrike, a first for me, and a small flock of Snow Buntings.

However the sightings that has been most remarkable is of the hares. While I have seen hares before, they have been rare and often at a distance. Here, I have been seeing them more often than I have rabbits. While I was not expecting it though, I have discovered that there is a Badger sett near to me too. It was a pleasant surprise to find that and I may latter in the year go looking and watching, but it takes time to get to understand the layout and dynamics of a Badger Social Group, and it could be that they are more cautious of humans than were the ones I was watching before I moved.

The last sighting that I have had that is worthy of note was possibly an Osprey. I say possibly as I really did not expect to see her and it was at a distance and in poor light. I had gone out before sunrise to watch the passage of the International Space Station. Something had reminded me to look up sighting opportunities and while I had missed one good one, there was an even better one coming up. So I went out and I was in luck as the sky was as clear as a bell, and yes I did see the ISS. I had walked to a hill top close by to view the ISS and I was feeling cold but elated. As the sun cast its early light in the sky I spotted what looked like an Eagle. In the early light I initially thought that it could be a Golden Eagle.

But the more I thought about the location and situation, a Golden Eagle just did not seem likely. The more I thought about the situation, the geography and the likely hood was it would be an Osprey. Even at this distance, I could see she looked like an Osprey. It would have been a female as they are normally the first to migrate and while it seemed a little early, she appeared to be flying between two reservoirs that for her would have been feeding stations. Where was she heading? I just don’t know, but to see one in Early April was remarkable.

The Logic of Hygiene Regulations

2011-04-04T01:23:00.001+01:00

As my regular reader, if that person is still there, I was without any real computer connectivity for over five months. Further as I was subscribed to various podcasts via itunes, when I did finally get back online I had stacks of stuff to down load. Including eight thousand emails! But that’s another story.

It was via one of these podcasts that I heard that in the US there was a bill going through the senate that could have effectively killed off small holders (small farmers, homesteaders) selling their produce. With having no access to the net, I was unable to research if this was true or what the facts were. Fortunately, while the bill is now law in the US, it seems that this time the government did listen to the people. As only business with a turn over of half a million Dollars will be effected.

Here in the UK regulations and the way they are implemented, make it increasingly difficult for small farmers and growers to sell excess produce, or make food products.

When I was a child, I lived on a street where there was a regular street market. Current regulations would have prevented many of the then stall holders from trading. It was not that there was anything wrong with the way they sold the food, it was just that the customers knew that the fish from the fishmonger had to be washed, as you would have to do with the fruit. Now often unless the foods are encased in plastic of some form, the sellers at markets, particularly Farmers Markets, just can not sell. Therefore, it adds extra costs upon the framers and growers.

While there has to be regulations regarding food hygiene, there also has to be common sense applied too. At least in the US that appears to have happened. Here I am not so sure, as the local pub wanted to cook and prepare meals for the senior residents in the village but the local environmental health people said that they could not. Even though they were going to be packaging the meals in a way that’s better than most take aways do. There is no sense or logic to this.

Well as I have said before, in my experience Sense is just not common.

Health Guidelines and Food

2011-04-02T16:07:00.001+01:00

While health guidance from government health departments can be useful, the messages are often very confusing. Most people take them with a pinch of salt, that's if we are allowed salt this week.

Last month the UK government recommended that we should only eat 70g of Red Meat per day to reduce the risk of Bowel Cancer. While that's a worthy aim, that amount of meat is just one, thin two ounce burger, or one sausage.

The simple fact is that nutritional messages are complex and we being given overly simplified messages. Further, the messages will change from week to week, depending upon the health advice being issued. The perfect example is Red Wine. In moderation it helps, yet as with all foods it has effects upon the body and health. So for someone very fit that moderate drink will do no harm and may even help, but for someone with other risk factors that same moderate drink may trigger or contribute to a problem.

That is the problem as health messages need to be given to individuals not always to the nation as a whole. After all any person who is normal, healthy and eats a good balanced diet can indulge in foods that are officially deemed to be unhealthy without any effect, while someone that has a poor, unbalanced diet will have some effect from eating greater than guidelines say is wise.

While it is very true that there is a serious problem from obesity and the poor diet of some folks, confusing them with unclear and unrealistic messages just does not help. In fact often the way that the health message is delivered often makes people reject or turn off to the messages. Put simply people just don’t like being lectured and criticised.

But also the health messages are just not always as straight forward as the media would like. Take the “Health Message” regarding saturated fats. For years we have been told that saturated fats are bad. However if you exclude all saturated fats from the diet, your health will suffer as the body needs some to function well. An example of this is that there has been a growth in semi skimmed and skimmed milk here in the UK and Europe. It was a message that I even took on myself. However, new research is showing that if you drink raw milk, unpasteurised milk, in Europe known as green top, the fats, saturated fats, are in the right form to benefit the body. Therefore its the processing of the milk that has been changing the fats to make them less beneficial. In my own case it was a degree of lactose intolerance that has been resolved by drinking, using, raw milk.

Interestingly it is why goats milk is has often been recommended to resolve the problem of lacto-intolerance, as often recommended by natural foods advocates. It is the unprocessed nature of the milk that really matters not the species. So while pasteurisation and homogenisation were introduced for reasons of improving health and hygiene, the effect has been to reduce the nutritional value in a very subtle way and a way that is virtually unmeasurable. The difficulty is that when it comes to health messages, there are real vested interests involved. Milk processes like to maintain the status quo as it maintains their profit margins.

Equally, the valid health messages are frequently undermined by the vested interests of the multinational food retailers and manufacturers. The products that are most heavily marketed and promoted by these companies are the high fat, high sugar, calorific foods that the majority of people should be avoiding or reducing their consumption of. It is no coincidence that these foods are the ones that earn the greatest profits. That is why, in the UK, it really defies logic that the current government has turned to these food giants for advice on healthy eating, health and food policy.

It is just one further example of the fundamental lack of understanding that all governments have regarding food and health. After all the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, had to hector the then government to improve the quality and nutritional value of the food served to children in schools. There have also been similar campaigns to improve the quality and nutritional value of the food served within hospitals, yet even health professionals fail to see or understand that food can help with the healing process.

The major part of this prejudice comes from the lobbying from the pharmaceutical multinationals, who repeatedly reject and systemically “Rubbish” any evidence that shows health benefits for particular types of foods. The main reason always seems to be that the pharmaceutical companies can not patent or otherwise control the use of these natural botanicals.

Therefore the health messages regarding foods are often directly contradictory. On the one hand we are warned that eating to much of one food will cause us some harm. Yet if anyone discovers evidence that a particular food, herb or spice will aid health, these messages are blocked or suppressed. Most often saying that: “You cant say that as it has not been scientifically proved”

In fact in Europe and the US, there are laws in place to prevent anyone from making health claims regarding foods, in particular herbs and spices. Well not for human use, but you can if its for animal treatment and use.

If we really want to get realistic health messages out to people, the vested interests need to be ignored. While we protect the commercial interests of the food and pharmaceutical multinationals, we will all pay much more for good food and directly as well as indirectly for health care.

We really are what we eat.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-13T17:39:00.000Z

Yesterday I had the need to travel down to Bishop Auckland and when I say down, that is very literal as it entails a drop in altitude. I had been expecting a sprinkling of snow as that had been forecast, but there was none. The aspect that surprised me was seeing a few lambs in the fields just outside the town. I know that the lambing season is very close to starting soon, locally around the village, therefore seeing some early lambs was a very pleasant surprise.

After I had done what I had to do, having just missed a bus, I had half an hour to wait. While there, I noticed this male blackbird that was brining food back to a female. They have built their nest just behind the bus shelter. It is nicely concealed but from where I was standing I could observe the bird dutifully coming and going. It helped the time pass very quickly.

Some days just make you feel good and yesterday was one of them.

Curlew and Lapwing

2011-03-11T17:42:00.002Z

There is something very satisfying in making a prediction and it coming true. Even when I first came to see the new house, I was predicting a few of the bird spices that I could encounter. Because I already knew that about 12 miles away there were Lapwing, that was a safe bet. Equally, I guessed that I might see Buzzards about too. The one that was potentially more testing was thinking that I could see Curlew.

Then on Tuesday, while walking home from getting some milk and bread from the next village, there are no shops in my village, I heard the call of a Curlew. Its quite a plaintive almost mournful call. I was strongly tempted to report it that night here, but I wanted to be sure. I checked the guides I have for bird song (Calls), and I was very sure I had heard the bird, but I really wanted to see it first.

As yesterday and today I had to travel to Consett via a bus route that covers the high moors, I kept my ears and eyes open when going to catch that bus. But with no further sightings. However, on the relatively brief but picaresque journey yesterday, I saw a number of Lapwings clearly preparing for the breeding season. Then today, having to make the same journey, while looking out onto the fields, I saw a long beaked bird probing the mud. A Curlew. I have seen one before, but at a distance. This one was close, thirty five feet away, and undisturbed by the traffic on the road.

Therefore I have heard one bird and seen another. It makes having to put up with the wind and the cold, worthwhile.

The Arms Trade & The Arab Uprisings

2011-03-06T12:00:00.001Z

To paraphrase Chekhov, the writer not the Star Trek character, all dictators exercise their authoritarian rule in unique ways. When the popular uprisings started in Tunisia, it was remarkable that it happened relatively peacefully. In Egypt, there was violence from the state, but eventually the Army, who hold the real power, capitulated and the nation could be moving towards a more democratic system. However, the next state that the media have focused on is Libya where a real despot has ruled for many decades. Here as we all know, Gaddafi has used the military to try and repress the population.

While the media are calling this the Arab Spring, each of these popular uprisings have occurred for different reasons. While there are common factors in each, the price of food, employment, in each state it is the way that their dictator represses personal freedoms.

In Egypt one of the key demands was the disbandment of the secret police, something that still has not happened. However it is the details of the way that Gaddafi has sown fear in the population of Libya that has been most shocking. In a news report that I heard yesterday on BBC radio, a few details were given. While I was tempted to repeat them here, as even thinking about them made me feel physically sick, I felt that it was not fair to inflict them upon folks here. But what is most sickening is the revelation that Britain has been supplying the equipment to enable the repression and torture of the people in North Africa and Arabia.

In Britain and in the West in general we are very good at talking democracy, but in reality we have been supporting and propping up these despots and dictators. While engagement with any state, no matter how bad it is, must be better than engaging in conflict that harms the people. Supplying them with the means of repressing its people is vile.

I feel real shame that my governments, of all flavours as it was the previous Labour one as well as the current Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, have seen fit to allow the export of the equipment that is being used to kill, injure and torture these oppressed people. Oh it may earn Britain export income, but just as the majority of people reject the products of slavery, or the “Blood Diamonds” of African wars, this is blood money.

Democracy is not perfect, but stopping others from seeking the freedoms we enjoy while profiting from highly immoral states beyond understanding. In the run up to the second Gulf war, there was a joke doing the rounds: How do we know that Saddam has weapons of Mass Destruction? Answer: Here are the receipts!

Stopping the Arms Trade will do more to end repression and wars than any single action.

Finally Back on Line

2011-03-05T15:16:00.002Z

I finally have the internet back on. As I moved on the first of November last year, I am wondering if this is a record? Over four full months is diabolical service from my previous supplier, Talk Talk. It was supposed to be a simple house move. I really did give them every chance to sort this out, but finally I just had to change supplier. On the day promised, the new supplier, British Telecommunications, activated the line and provided the broadband. It was that simple. While it now allows me to finally get online, I just hope that anyone who has bought shares in Talk Talk, should be seriously worried about their investment as the company is just going straight down the pan.

Also this week has given me full heating and finally hot water. Again it has taken four months to get this sorted out. While I had heating from the open fire, The back-boiler central heating did not work properly therefore I had no hot water either. I could have just moved, again, but a problem that the landlord had lied about would have still been there for any other tenant to suffer from.

Well finally the system has been re-piped, and a new tank fitted, and I have hot water and heating. As the property is on an exposed fell top, that's a hill to non native speakers, having adequate heating is essential, after all this is 2011 not 1911.

That has not been the only problem that I have had to get fixed and sorted out, but today I can finally sit here and write without feeling cold and worrying about my personal hygiene. Not being able to bath in your own home is not only decidedly Dickensian, it is also unlawful. It must seem odd that I did not just leave, but these problems would never have been fixed if the landlord had not been forced to.

Even though I have had many problems that I have had to sort out, I really do like where I am living. Even the house has many merits, but it really is the location that makes it a place worth fighting for. For example the other day while walking to the next village I saw a Kestrel flying along the fence line as I crested the hill. Then on the walk back I saw a Buzzard near the same point. During the time when the snow was blanketing the ground I saw paw prints that could have been a fox. Well while in the back bedroom I saw the fox sniffing around. The following day I put out some food for him and he fed happily while I watched.

Equally, I find that I seem to be getting on well with most of the folks in the village. While this first winter is not fully over yet and there will be other challenges that living here will throw at me, it has been an interesting first four months.

Joining In Village Life

2011-02-18T02:16:00.001Z

As well as delighting in the ever changing landscape here, I am discovering new wildlife viewing opportunities. A couple of weeks ago while on the bus, I spotted a Hare just metres from the road side. As the elevation of where I now live is so close to the fell tops, on some of the journeys I have to take, the roads are just a fields breath from the heather clad fells. Therefore with the changing light from the ever changing weather, these journeys can be like travelling through a post card.

Also with the isolation from human interference, I have had the chance of seeing Buzzards scouring the fells. One day I saw two, they appeared to be display flying, Courtship behaviour? I could observe for long enough to be sure.

I have also been getting involved in village life. I knew that it would have to happen one day, but I even ended up rounding up sheep from off the road. Its Like the Archers, But Real!

Further, I have been getting to know the locals via the local pub. This has even included getting involved in a sill drinking game. I did think before it started; “Is this wise?” so that told me I was still sensible enough to realise that this was not really wise. At least it meant that when I called my better half, who is down at University, we were both hung over as she had been to a fancy dress party the same night. At least, now we have been together for 18 months, we can both enjoy going out all be it separately. I had wanted to be with her and had we been here, I think she would have been encouraging me to get involved even more.

Well once I get my telephone and Internet on, I hope I will be able to post more frequently.

Location

2010-12-29T03:05:00.002Z

As my long suffering readers know, I do have taste when it comes to choosing the places where I live. As this picture taken before the snows shows.

Meet the Neighbours

2010-12-28T01:28:00.001Z

Thanks to the talking tree for the welcome back, and when the snows here first started, I did think of you. Then after making that posting last night I heard of the snow storms over there, and just like an American you have to do it bigger. Well at least I now know what its like to have four feet of snow, temperatures of minus 18 and to be snowed in for four days.

As I hope to show with a few more images, it is actually a really nice place to be living in. When I moved to the previous village I was in, people would ask why have I moved there? But here, people say “Oh that's a nice place to live” They also add that it can be difficult in the winter as the snow can (and does) drift cutting off the road. But all and all, people have said its a great location.

The village itself is actually in the fold of a hill, just two hundred metres from a high peak. Thus the poor cellular reception, but I do get great TV reception as I can see the TV mast from the back of the house. As I am antisocial and don’t like talking on the phone that much, at least I can blame reception for that.

Also the people seem to be reasonably nice here too. And even though its a small village of only 240 people, there are two pubs. One is my neighbour, so I don’t have far to stagger for a drink. Additionally there are great food shops within easy reach. Well as long as the public transport is running. Although I can easily walk into the next village and back for the shops there. Even though I have returned frozen to the bone and found it warmer in the fridge than outside at times.

But in spite of my moans, its great to be back.

Back after the Move

2010-12-27T00:08:00.002Z

I am finally back to torment my long suffering reader. It has now been two months since moving, and I am finally able to get back on line. Not with any help from the useless company that is supposed to be supplying my telecommunications, Talk Talk. I will still have to wait another four weeks before they will get me online. Even before then, I may see if I can get service from another supplier. Well if Talk Talk just don't care about retaining customers, customer care or keeping promises, then I do not care to support their business.

To get online I have had to buy one of these mobile dongles. This also entailed me moving the computer to the second bedroom, from the living room. As where the new house is, in the second highest location in County Durham, I get very poor signal on cellular devices, all networks, and where I have the computer is the only place where I can get a reasonable connection.

Well apart from that moan about telecommunications companies, I really like the location that I have moved to. Even though Britain has suffered the earliest snows for a generation, I had four feet here at one point, it was something I was preparing for. It came sooner than I expected, but it was something that I had expected to happen eventually. I will be posting more on the snows at a latter date.

Moving here could be somewhat short lived, not because of the snow or the location as I only have to walk into the next village where the shops are, there are none at all in my village, and the way the landscape unfolds to reveal the views just lifts my spirits. The only reason I may not stay is because of the number of serious and previously known faults with the house. As I write, I have no hot water except what I can heat in pans. While I could see problems when I looked at the property, I was given reassurances regarding these. However, the examples of the workmanship thus far exhibited as well as the clear attempts to cover and conceal the problems has left me less than happy.

Had the property been only suffering minor problems, I would have been very happy here. But these combined with a request from my better half that I move closer to her place of study so we can see more of each other, and well I am considering that.

It will take me time to catch up with all that’s going on in net-land, I had over one thousand emails to work though when I finally got back online, but its great to be back.

Lapwings

2010-10-29T23:45:00.000+01:00

Having had my old (current at time of writing) Landlord advertised on the BBC Panorama programme and my new landlord worrying about the pipes freezing and bursting before I move in, I made a journey to check that everything was okay, and it was. As my old Landlord flooded the place when I moved in, having the new one taking an interest that the property does not deteriorate at least looks promising.

The only difficulty is that it meant I lost time packing. But I did use it as an opportunity to take the most delicate items with me. Further, having discovered that there is a small bus company that provides a service to the large village next to the hamlet I am moving to from Consett, the trip was less arduous than previous ones. Additionally, as it went through other remote countryside I was delighted to discover the hidden beauty. Once I have the time and opportunity, I will go back and get images that may show these undiscovered delights.

One part that I had not expected was to see large flocks of Lapwings feeding in the fields along with the sheep. As its upland hill farming country, it has to be sheep. However, what was remarkable about these Lapwings was simply that they were so close to the roadside. Often when they can be seen from the roadside they are near the middle or away from where people are or could be. Its the isolation and lack of disturbance that means the Lapwings feel safe with only the sheep and traffic for company.

The weather and wind will cause me problems, I am realistic about that, but given some fair weather, the early morning sun and early starts, I am sure that I will discover the delights hidden in the folds of the landscape.

Autumn Sunshine

2010-10-27T21:29:00.000+01:00

As anyone that has moved house will know, packing your worldly goods into boxes takes time. Further, while the boxes pile up it really does seem as though I was making no progress. The difficulties are simply that I have a significant number of books and unless they are packed in small boxes, they become impossible to lift and carry. Well I finally got the shelves cleared and dismantled.

Additionally just to show how exciting my life is at the moment, I also got all the dirty washing down to the laundry. At least when I do move, I will not have anything but clean belongings.

It meant that I was able to enjoy the bus journey and the autumn colours in the low bright morning sunshine. Also, I have been savouring the sightings of the Red Kites. While the hamlet I am moving to is only twenty miles away, I don't know if they are ever sighted there. But I understand that there has been an occasional sighting of a harrier there, an even more rare bird.

Things I will Miss

2010-10-25T00:18:00.000+01:00

It is rather strange that it has taken the news that I am leaving the village to get other people that I have known here by sight, to start talking to me. I have always tried to be friendly and open, but others seemed rather cautious and closed. Yet just trying to go about my normal activities I have people coming up to me telling me they are sorry to hear I am leaving.

While I really like the village I am moving from, especially the woods that surround it, and it always the people that make a place, there is a lack of community spirit lodged with a minority here. There are still people that have that spirit, but there is a rather negative attitude that has become rather draining. So while I will miss many of the people here when I do move, there will also be a few that I will not miss.

The person that has prompted this posting though is a story of hope though. As when I first moved to this village, there were various people who were involved in drugs. I was even offered drugs the first time I went to one of the local pubs. I even met a young woman who initially got on with, but I disassociated myself from as she was a drug user. I did say to her that she was unwise to be using and she would be better off not using them.

Yesterday, while waiting for the bus to return home from getting food shopping, she spotted me and came over to say hello. Now I had not seen her for almost three years, but she had heard I was moving. Well the gossip is better than the telephone system. Anyway she was saying she was sorry to see me leaving and that I had been instrumental in her seeking treatment so she is now drug free.

As I told her it was her efforts not mine that enabled her to obtain that goal. I also made it clear that I had someone in my life and she too had met someone. I was glad to hear that as it concerned me that she may have still held a candle for me. However, it is good to hear that she has got her life back in control.

As well as some of the people that I will miss, I will miss the local countryside and the wildlife. It will not surprise my long suffering reader that I will miss seeing the Red Kites. However, it is likely that I will see other wildlife where I am moving to.

Community Spirit

2010-10-23T00:12:00.000+01:00

As I had to be at the new house early to accept a delivery of coal, I had to be up at four in the morning, as the only way to get there from nine in the morning, was to catch the first transport from my village at quarter past five. It is actually ironic as the hamlet that I am moving to is in fact less than twenty miles away by the most direct route, but there is no direct public transport. Therefore, I had four buses to catch.

I was in fact really lucky as I was able arrive with plenty of time to spare with each connection and I made it to the house well ahead of the delivery. In fact I had to wait for a while until the delivery arrived. I had brought a camping stove and other items so I could at least make a cup of tea. Also having taken a can of soup too, I was able to stay refreshed.

On the two previous visits, it has been overcast and raining, but today for the morning at least it was bright with a good sustained period of sunshine. This meant that when I had to walk into the main village or small town where the shops and facilities are, I got to appreciate the landscape and view.

It occurred to me while travelling down on the buses this morning that had the place I been moving to been as popular as the North Yorkshire Moors or the Lake District it would better accessible and I would not have been able to afford to live here either.

Had I not had other things to bring and I not been feeling in such a “I really wanted to stay in bed” frame of mind this morning, I would have remembered to bring the camera. Well it will give me something to do when I do move.

As the property I am moving to has a prepayment meter fitted, I had to walk into town to get the key charged. In my old place I have a credit meter and pay by direct debit. When I asked about getting this changed in the new place, I was told it would cost me over fifty pounds to have this done. An extra cost that I can not afford to pay at the moment. Therefore, I will have to pay more for my electricity for now. It is an aspect of the way that the power and utilities companies operate that I find annoying and unfair. As the people who have the least money, the poorest in society have to pay the most for Heating, Lighting and Power. With the current Con Dem (my name for the coalition government), cutting resources for the poor, well I am not happy about such unfairness. However, as this has been a day of good things, I don't want to go there at the moment.

On the day that I had signed the lease, I had visited Tow Law and stopped for a drink and a bite to eat in a café there. It was rather nice that they remembered me when I went in today. I was also able to get the numbers for a couple of folks supplying logs too.

As I was standing at the bus stop waiting to leave my new village, this elderly chap pulls up and asks if I want a lift. As I needed to go further than he was going and I already had my ticket, I did not accept the offer, but it was very heart warming to have received the offer. I get the impression that there is a real community spirit in the village. I just hope that I can offer at least as much as I will receive living there.

Old King Coal

2010-10-21T00:19:00.000+01:00

There are some aspects of moving house that should be and are really simple. Getting the electricity account on in my name was simple. The gas was even more simple as all I have to do is give the final reading when I move out, and once that bill is paid, in the new house the gas will be free. Well until they actually supply gas to the village. Until then I need to use solid fuel, Coal or Wood.

The day that I went to sign the lease and get the keys, I stayed on the bus to the main habitation, a large village or small town. I am not sure how the locals would describe it, but its only a fifteen minute walk from my new habitation. However its where the community facilities are and while looking at what there was there, I noticed in two shops numbers for people supplying logs, so once there I will be placing an order. However, as the heating is an open fire with a back boiler for central heating and hot water, I also needed to get an order of coal. Now never having ordered coal before, I was a little lost about how much or how little I needed to get. But one of the two local coal merchants was very helpful and I will be getting just 100kg to start with. That's two sacks, and as half a tonne is twenty sacks I am glad that I did not need to buy in that volume just yet. So I need to go down on Friday to accept that delivery. That way I will have heating and hot water for when I move in.

However, of all the services that I will most need, was the most difficult to arrange, that of the telephone. I was after all just transferring my existing service to a new address. Oh no not to them, I was having to set up a new account, and I will be charged over one hundred pounds for the privilege of them allowing me to have a telephone. Not only that, but with my existing contract I get the Broadband as part of the package, not any more, I will now have to pay extra for this.

While in some ways I will end up with a better service an average speed of 6MBS, currently I am lucky to get 2MBS, I do feel rather cheated by the way that these costs and charges have been imposed upon me for something that is a necessity. Also it was ironic that it took over two hours to get them to fully explain how and why the charges were calculated. For a communications company, they don't like to communicate. Well not with their customers.

It was rather interesting to see that last night where I am moving to was minus four C. I will be taking the talking trees advice and moving the sofa by the fire and curling up with a close friend. When she comes up to visit that is.

Although I think I will avoid trying the head in the oven trick, unless I have icicles in the hair.

Good things come

2010-10-20T01:26:00.001+01:00

Occasionally good things happen to you and occasionally you see good deeds done. Well today, I was blessed with both.

On the final leg of a long journey home after having signed the tenancy for a new home, I was on the bus when the driver helped a senior lady. She needed to get back to Consett but the bus was going the wrong way for her needs. After checking he realised that he would be the next bus returning, so suggested that she got on to get out of the cold. Now while the bus company does get paid for carrying passengers with concession travel tickets, it was what happened next that showed it was no cynical act. As he got to a point where she could have got off and waited for another bus, at least getting her home quicker, he gave her the choice. She chose to remain in the warm and seeing this just made me feel warm inside.

As I said at the start, I was returning from having just signed the lease on a new house. It has not been easy to get, as so many Agents are trying to play games with the market and are trying to artificially keep, or maintain the illusion, that rents are still rising.

But I now have the place and will be moving soon. It has a much larger kitchen, and will enable me to be creative there, but also and more importantly it has the elements that both I and my better half want and need too.

As for the location, well it is in a rather isolated village, high on the Durham Fells. In fact I am all but looking down on wind turbines. Therefore, I am expecting this to be an interesting first winter!As there is no gas to the village, the heating will be with Coal or Logs, so both you dear reader and I can expect some interesting times. I made the agents representative laugh as he described it as a one horse place, however I had to correct him on that as I am sure the horses out number the people.

When I got back the first thing I did was call my better half and tell her that we now have a home for her when she needs to escape university. Hopefully she will approve or this mouse is in trouble.

Baked with Love

2010-08-22T23:12:00.000+01:00

As I have reported here before, my better half is using a low carb diet to loose weight. And while she is loosing it, it really is the exercise that is helping her to shed the pounds. That said, I am still being fully supportive of her efforts and as well as looking better she says she feels better too. Although, as a direct result of the diet she has had moments when she has become giddy. This will be a result of the lack of carbohydrates.

So this weekend, we decided to try and bake some Low Carb Cookies. It was a recipe from a book, and one that I had not tried before. There were aspects of the recipe that I could understand, but with it using unusual ingredients, there were aspects that to my mind made less sense. But the author claimed they were good. We carefully followed the recipe, and as I am helping to teach my better half how to cook, it was really good fun to.

However, this book as I had discovered from previous experience, is not written by a cook. It lacks some details that you really need to know when trying to cook. But we followed the recipe carefully, but the cooking times were just wrong. They took twice as long to bake. But as with any cooking or baking, it really is the taste that matters.

Well, I will not be eating them, nor will my better half as they were not good tasting. I could see ways of improving the taste, but no way would they be low carbohydrate cookies if that was done.

I am just glad that I am not on this diet as it would be torture having to eat rubbish like that.

Well we had fun baking them, and my better half cooked dinner afterwards and that was a good recipe, from another book I should add.

Slaley Show

2010-08-15T06:49:00.001+01:00

About four weeks ago, my better half spotted signs for the village fair at Slaley. After making enquires about exhibiting there, I was informed it was full. However, last weekend while at the market I had mentioned in previous posts, a message had been left that some folks had dropped out and space was available. While it was short notice, I decided that it was worth taking the opportunity and attending.

While the village is in a much more affluent location than my village, as I don’t believe it is ever wise to stereotype, there was a good chance that I could do reasonably well there. The main reason for my thinking was simply that there were likely to be more people than at the markets I had attend thus far. This assumption proved to be correct.

However, before going there, I had several days of preparation to make, blending and bagging up the herbs and spices. All this went well, and while it can be slow at times, as I have to be very careful about hygiene, I actually got all the preparation done and still have time to relax the night before. Now relax does not mean going out and getting drunk, but a relaxing bath and nice cooked meal knowing that everything is prepared.

Come the morning, I am up just before the alarm goes off, and the bus was on time, making the connection all in good time. So what could go wrong. Well overnight there had been heavy rain, but even that was not a real problem, as the ground was still firm and I was undercover. My only problem was that my better half had offered to print off my price lists. This she did, but had failed to actually bring them.

This is where some quick thinking and being flexible pays off. As while folks will buy on the day especially if they see something they know they want to try or just need, most people are overwhelmed by the array of spices and need time to think about what they want to buy. So I offered to email them a copy of the list. Now while I can not know until or if people order, I seemed to be getting a very positive reaction from most of the people I spoke to. While there are some people who will not give out their email address, and I can fully understand why, as so many of the items I sell are not easy to obtain, I actually found some folks that were saying please don’t forget to mail them the copy.

Therefore while it was something that went a little bit array, engaging with people made for something that was more positive. In terms of cash taken on the day, I failed to sell as much as I would have liked, it is possible that I will have won some loyal customers. While I was beginning to loose my voice by the end, it was a lot of fun too. After all, apart from eating it, talking with other people who are passionate about food too is always good fun.

Also by the end of the day, the sun had come out too. I had intended to take my camera, but my better half said she would be bringing hers. Well that was with the price lists. I still love her.

Farmers Markets

2010-08-11T00:33:00.001+01:00

Following on from my previous posting a bit and the comments made by Tonya, got me thinking about the way that some folks react to competition. In my Village there is an Independent store and when I first moved to the village, it was very good. It was then sold and the new owner seemed to lack the understanding of what made it work. Dropping many of the lines and services that drew customers in. So now it is just like any corner shop that you can find anywhere.

But the one action that really perplexed me was when the newsagent was taken under new ownership too and started selling a few grocery items. The owner of the village store took the silly action of starting to sell newspapers. Now both are likely to fail as businesses as all they have done is split the trade.

At markets, craft fairs and farmers markets (over here), I so often see this “me too” attitude where traders see someone doing well and starting to do the same things. Why? I personally think it would be better to do a few things well, than trying to copy what everyone else is doing.

Equally, I do not fear competition, even if others came along selling herbs and spices, it is the service and quality that helps me win customers. Additionally as I mix my own blends, even if someone were to copy me, I doubt that they would match what I am doing. Often though I have seen folks at fairs and markets just complaining about competition.

Now it may well be that the reason their stuff is not selling is that it is not appealing to the customer. Often at craft fairs in particular, crafter's produce items that they seem to think will earn money because they have seen similar items in shops that are made cheaply in China. An example is door number plaques. I see them so often that there must be two for every house in Britain.

Equally, at Farmers markets I see organic vegetables that are over priced and not the best quality. The sellers often fall back on the old mantra of “Its Organic”. Well organic they may be, but poor quality vegetables are still poor quality, organic or not. And I say this as a fan of organic produce, and good organic Vegetables are better than chemically grown ones. Put simply they do taste better, and I am not talking about appearance either. As a sometimes gardener, I can see what is good quality and what should have gone for compost.

However, at the best markets, there is not these problems as the quality is good, there is diversity and specialists crate great items. I love good farmers markets for discovering something different and some great food. If I had the money, I would love to buy my furniture from the great makers that you can find.

I think often with markets it is the attitude of the sellers that makes folks want to return and buy. If the sellers have a good positive attitude the potential customers pick up on that feeling.

I know that markets, of any type, are hard work. I also know that if a seller is not making sales it can be dispiriting, but personally I often see the lack of sales as a way of understanding what people don’t want as much what customers do want. So I wish good luck to Tonya and anyone else trying to sell at farmers markets or any other market.

Craft Markets

2010-08-10T00:06:00.002+01:00

As my long suffering reader will know, Last year I met my better half. Well on Saturday it was our first anniversary of being together. However, while this post is not about that, it is relevant as on Saturday night Sunday morning I did not get to get to bed until three in the morning.

Therefore, on the Sunday when I had to get up at seven in the morning, it may be a revelation to some that seven O’Clock occurs twice in a day, I think I must have left my brain in bed. I was doing another market with my herbs and spices. Fortunately, it is a down hill walk and as there are no buses at that time on a Sunday, they are still asleep like any sensible folks, I was grateful when one of the other regulars spotted me and gave me a lift for the last half mile. Carrying forty kilos of spices is still 40 kilos even when divided between many packets.

In the hall the tables are set out with the names of the folks who are allocated the spaces, mine was marked with the legend “The Ever so Fragrant Wood Mouse” It was a reference to the incident where some less than enlightened person was offended by the smell of the spices. And even on Sunday, I had someone tell me that they heard I was going to be there with the spices and they were expecting an “Indian gentleman”. It seems that folks will always want to stereotype. At least this time it was not done in an offensive manner.

I had been placed in the entrance area, of the hall. Initially I had wondered if it was to avoid the aroma causing offence to others, but actually I think I was really being rewarded with a prime position. Not least because I am so positive about the way I conduct myself at these sorts of events. I know that the footfall at this venue is not great, and Sunday was the last there, but I see no point in just sitting there being miserable nor standing around moaning as that puts people off. Additionally, I don't go in for the hard sell.

An example of this was while talking to a young woman who had cycled to the venue, was accosted by one stallholders who threatened to let down her tyres unless she bought something. It was meant as a joke, but not well taken or given. With my best diplomacy (not something I am always good at) I was able to calm the situation and ensure the stall holder was aware of my disapproval.

While I understand that the fairs have not been that well attended with customers, the main difficulty is that there are just to many folks selling (or trying to sell) cards, or jewellery. Equally, if folks just sit there frowning rather than smiling at people, folks will not want to stop and browse. I do understand that it is difficult to be positive when you have not sold anything, but equally if the stall holders were to think about the image they project, they may start to think and project something more positive. Anyway, a new venue has been found that should be a better location with more people about, so who knows more folks may sell.

I know that what I am doing is rather unique and I do attract a lot of attention and a reasonable number of sales, but it is one of the things that I have never understood about people that do many crafts, is why they seem to copy what everyone else does? Why not try and do something a bit different? The standard of the work at the markets has on the whole been rather better than most fairs, yet so many of the stalls are doing the same things.

I do wish the folks well, and there are some very talented people there, but cheap jewellery and cards have a limited market. And if people were actually carrying out there craft in some form of demonstration way, I am sure it would have attracted more people too. While not everyone likes the aroma of my spices, on Sunday I actually saw one woman stop, sniff and turn around to come in because of the fragrance of them, and yes she did buy too.

I know the organisers were worried about the footfall at the old venue, and that is why a new one has been found. Yet there is a limit to how much folks will spend on items that have limited use and value. If only more people actually made items that have use like cushions, or children’s clothes, or something that people might actually need, I personally have never needed a fridge magnet, then the crafter too would benefit.

Even in my somnambulism state on Sunday, I managed to do well, and I even have been doing my homework set by a customer who wants a particular blend of spices. But on the whole while I really enjoy doing the markets, I will try and avoid doing them when I have been out celebrating the night before.

A New Start

2010-07-31T18:08:00.003+01:00

As I said in my previous posting, I have been very busy, but what I hear my long suffering reader asking. Well I have been setting up a new business.

In my dim and distant past, I had a whole food shop. My regular reader will know, that food issues are very important to me. Not just the environmental aspects, but the issues of fair trade as well as affordability and quality. One of the lessons I learnt from having the shop was that no matter how much people will say they want to support small businesses and that they want quality, many people will still go to the supermarket anyway. The silly thing is that often I was cheaper than the supermarkets and if not better, at least the same quality.

I did have my loyal customers, and while it did work, it was very hard work and there was no flexibility. Thus when rents started to rise then, it became unsustainable. However, there were aspect of what I did then that I reasoned could still work now.

Having suffered from the fall out of the banking collapse even though I had done my best to avoid doing the very things that I was predicting could happen before the credit crunch, I still had the fallout from others foolishness. Therefore, I have been seriously looking and thinking about ways that I could earn my living.

While I was making plans a couple of potential opportunities came up. The first was the discovery of a the makers market in the next village. As well as the possibility of taking a stall, there was also the need apparently for someone to carry out some catering. As I had just had my kitchen inspected and passed, I could offer to help and it could be a good opportunity to see if any of my ideas had real legs. Additionally, a shop unit became available in another near by village. This shop I had even written about here, as it was a greengrocers that seemed better than most. Also it had a small café area in the back that on the couple of occasions I had visited, I really felt was much under used.

However, even though I went to the shop just two days before it closed down, the people running it just said nothing about their plans to close. Therefore, I was concerned that if I took it over I would have had people chasing me for their debts. So the delay in checking out the legal position and getting the finance in place meant that the unit went. While other shops are empty in and around the area, it really does matter about the location when it comes to business, and I just could not justify the rent on other shop units.

Therefore, I would use the Makers market as a useful way of testing the market with some of the ideas. As my previous experience has taught me, there is a big difference between what people say they want and what they are prepared to actually do. Therefore, I made plans so that I could deliver fresh Fruit and Vegetables and bake fresh bread. As I could also bake cakes, I made lists and went to one of the markets with the bread. I had been up all night baking and even then I was only just ready in time to get down to the market.

The bread all but sold out, but while there was interest in folks getting their veg delivered, not one person was willing to make an order. It was not that they doubted the quality, it was simply that they were spoilt for choice. If I had just said this is what I am willing to sell you, rather than you can choose what you get, I think I would have had orders. Equally, I was offering to bake fresh bread and deliver it, but the majority wanted the pap that supermarkets sell us that they call bread.

However, I had also taken lists of various herbs and spices that I could obtain along with some fresh juicy fat vanilla pods. These generated quite a bit of interest. When I had previously had the shop the herbs and spices were a real point of interest and generated a good income stream. Not least because they were so fresh. As I still had the contacts with some of my previous suppliers, I knew I could trust the quality too.

I had planned to attend the following market, but as I have epilepsy and I can recognise the warning signs of a big attack, I had to postpone going to that one. Not least because I knew that if I were to stay up all night again to do the baking, I would make it more likely that I would trigger one.

So I rethought my ideas, and decided that as there just was not the level of interest in the Bread or the Fruit and Vegetables, I would concentrate upon the Herbs and Spices. Also as I knew they were items that it are ideal for mail order, I also set up to sell them on Ebay too.

That part I was not completely sure would work, as there are already folks selling similar. But, as I could see that people attending the market might not want to buy straight away, having a simple ordering system was essential as well. As anyone that has sold on Ebay will know, it is not a cheap way of selling, especially to start with. As you need a track record with them to use the cheaper options, and while I already had a private account there, I needed to keep the business activity separate from that. Not least so that I could see if it was really working and not just appearing to be from me selling off unwanted books and DVDs.

With the items listed and many kilos of different herbs and spices adding a wonderful aroma to my home, I then had the task of putting together some blends as well as packing them. This takes longer when I am dealing with small volumes as I have to ensure good hygiene and avoid cross contamination, but I made it to the next market with a very good range. Equally I was making a number of small steady sales via Ebay.

My assumptions were quite good and I made some significant sales at the market. Although, there was one of the fellow stallholders who complained about the smell of the spices and demanded to be moved. If it had not been so funny I would have felt offended, but every other seller thought that she was just being really silly. In fact, it was only after she realised I was white that she came and apologised. Well need I say more.

Since I was a child, or at least one old enough to understand, I have known that using herbs and spices can lift relatively bland ingredients, and have long used them in cooking. While I know that I will never become rich from what I am doing, if I can develop a living from selling these wonderful seasoning’s then I will be happy.

As will my better half, who loves that she gets cooked for.

Catching Up

2010-07-31T14:22:00.000+01:00

Because I have been busy, I have not had time to make any postings here, but I have read the comments made regarding the loss of my cat, and I thank the kind folks for them. I also note the comments on the Oil spill. Although that is the wrong term to use, as its the way that everyone thinks about it, its the way I will continue to describe it.

While most of the comments were generally supportive of what I was saying, there was one person in particular, who said that I had the facts wrong. This was relating to oil potentially coming ashore in Britain. At the time I made the posting, it was still unclear of exactly how much oil was escaping the well, and while there is good knowledge of the currents, it was and remains a theoretical risk. Therefore I am justified is calling it a possibility.

In the Niger delta (Africa) more oil that was released in Gulf is spilt each and every year and this does not reach Britain, nor America. It does cause great damage to the environment, but does not get the publicity that the spill in the Gulf of Mexico gets.

As someone that doesn't drive, I could be sanctimonious, but the reality is that we still need oil until we change to greener and cleaner technologies and there is also a change in attitude. There are very few people that are willing to give up their car or driving fewer miles.

But the aspect of the response that I found most offensive was the way the anonymous poster tried to bring their god into it. As my regular reader will know, I personally do not belie in any supernatural being, however while I respect the right for others to believe what ever nonsense they like, don’t use your religious nonsense to attack me for trying to get the facts right and to blame me for the actions of others.

These people always hide behind anonymity and are never prepared to have other correct their ill informed prejudice.

Cat Euthanasia

2010-06-23T21:37:00.002+01:00

There are times when we all have to make difficult decisions, but for me the most difficult is and always will be, making the decision to have euthanasia on an animal. This was the decision I had to make this weekend regarding my cat Trouble.

As my long suffering reader will know, I have had her for over fifteen years and she was about two years old when I got her, and she has had very good health. But over the last couple of years she has developed Alzheimer's and has to be shown where the water and food is. Fortunately she never seemed to forget where her litter try was. Therefore when she would occasionally suffer from vomiting, I never knew if it was just that she had tried to over eat having allowed herself to get hungry or if she was really unwell.

Well it became clear that she really was becoming very unwell and was starting to suffer. It was this aspect that made me decide to have her put to sleep. I had tried to make her last days as comfortable as I could, but it was clear that this could not be put off any longer, as trying to keep her alive was adding to her suffering.

So on Monday I took her to the vets and she was put to sleep. I was able to stay with her while it was done too. Not something I enjoyed, but I could keep stroking and fussing her and I got to see for myself that it was genuinely painless and quick.

I got her from an animal rescue charity and it was in fact another cat that I was being shown but she started rubbing herself against my proffered hand. It surprised the staff as she had clearly been abused and normally would cower away from people. Well I took her on and while she had her moments when she would show the effect of that earlier abuse, she thrived with me.

I took her on knowing that she would be with me for many years, and fifteen years plus two or three, is a good age for a cat. We parted with me rubbing her face just as she had done when we first met.

I will miss the little pest too.

Follow up to previous posting

2010-06-16T13:35:00.001+01:00

As this issue is far to important to remain hidden, I am responding to the comment Ms Tree made to my previous posting with a follow up posting.

I am aware that the oil could reach British shores. The simple fact is that this has already become the largest oil spill in US history, and the larger the volume of oil from any spill, the greater the chance that it will impact other shores. That could include Britain. Such is the nature of environmental pollution. Pollution does not respect the political boundaries, it just follows the wind or sea currents.

Also I am aware that people cleaning up the oil need to be trained. After all if they don't know what they are doing they may cause more harm and may damage themselves if they are not trained. The point I was trying to make was that BP were trying to keep independent eyes from seeing what was really happening. When Exxon dealt with the spill in Alaska, they steam cleaned the beach and the rocks. This created the illusion that the beach was free of oil but in fact the steam drove the tars under the surface. Therefore creating the illusion of a good clean beach, rocks, shore while sterilising the shore of all life and hiding the problem. This is exactly what BP was trying to do.

If no independent eyes were there to see oiled and dead birds, BP could try and claim that the impact was far less than had been feared. Just the same as BP tried to do regarding the out flowing of the oil. BP claimed that it was five thousand barrels per day. Yet the US Geological survey says its forty thousand barrels per day. To put that into context that's two million litres per day, every day for three months.

I fully agree with Ms Tree that this is a travesty and I have equally avoided posting about this as too feel extremely angry about this. It has taken me a while before I felt that I had enough accurate information so I could post something meaningful.

One aspect that should not go without being commented on, the area of the spill is the breading ground for the Blue Fin Tuna. This is a species that is already seriously endangered, and over fishing of immature fish (By Europe and Japan) is already preventing breeding of the fish. The spill has occurred just as the Tuna had been laying their eggs. The oil will kill at least seventy percent of the eggs and fry. What is most upsetting about this is the efforts of the US within the Gulf of Mexico was really the last and only hope that the Blue Fin Tuna and the Yellow Fin Tuna would not become extinct. It appears that we can say good bye to sushi as a direct result of this spill.

As I write I am now hearing on the radio that the oil leaking from the well head is in fact sixty thousand barrels per day. And while I do understand that the costs of sorting out this mess will impact the pensions of normal people, especially if the costs drain BP of cash. But had more people been much more concerned about ethics then they would never have invested in companies that abuse people and human rights, as BP does in Nigeria. And regularly pollutes, again as happens regularly in places like Nigeria. Therefore BP has to pay for the cost of cleaning this mess up.

This accident was predictable, and had it been a terrorist action I doubt that people would be any less angry. BP actions across the globe shows that they have a very poor attitude to safety and the environment and had it not been that America is a developed country would have happened much sooner.

While BP is supposed to be a British company, half the shareholders are in fact American. But in reality it is a global company that has no loyalty to any state or nation and only cares about making money. It was this attitude to making money at all costs that caused this, so if BP falls I will not be shedding any tears for it.

Oil, Lies and Videotape

2010-06-13T12:31:00.002+01:00

When the explosion occurred on the Deep water Horizon rig in the gulf of Mexico, I was shocked and saddened by the loss of life. Even at that time I nearly posted regarding this event as I could foresee the environmental disaster that has subsequently unfolded.

However, as I always try and check the facts, I quickly realised that accurate information was very thin on the ground. Unlike the oil on the water.

As well as the three companies involved playing the blame game and acting like five year olds in the school yard, the main question was just how much oil was escaping this well head. That actually should have been an easy question to answer as BP, the company has not been called British Petroleum for years, pays royalties for the oil that flows out. Therefore both BP and the US government knew what the flow rate was, and this would tell the Coast guard et al what volume of oil was escaping. But I could not get that information as I was told it was commercially confidential.

It was clear that the PR (the P stands for Propaganda) machine was in full swing. With neither BP or the federal authorities in charge of oversight telling it the way it is but trying to spin the facts to make the situation appear less serious than it is. Because of this lack of openness, the Coast guard was forced to try and calculate the volume of the oil escape by measuring the volume of surface oil.

This was in part why BP used the dispersant's at the well head as this visibly reduced the amount of oil that would appear at the surface. Just like PR its about making things look better than it really is, and not about being truly honest.

Then while following the situation, the political fall out meant that the president and the US government were getting blamed for not doing more. What can the do? They do not have the technology nor the expertises to shut off this well head. I personally had visions of the president donning a wet suit and swimming down to turn some shut off valve. Well had it been that simple BP would have done this already. This is actually a major part of the problem, BP had never even considered a blow out of this type could ever happen thus they had no plans to deal with the eventuality. That is not just my opinion but a quote from someone who used to work for BP.

Further, even before the oil started coming ashore, BP were telling volunteers that wanted to help stop the environmental damage to stay away. They said that people had to be trained and they had enough people. Now you can call me cynical but to me it sounded like BP saying “stay away so we can keep the real environmental damage quiet”.

The point is, that BP have spent as much effort on trying to spin the news as they have on trying to stop the leak. Take for example the futile effort to use shredded golf balls etc to plug the well. Now only a company that creates pollution could have dreamed that on up. How to stop pollution use more pollution. Anyone that had a basic understanding of physics could have told them that would not work, but it looked good for the media!

With the internet age it is possible to see and read the different ways that the media on both sides of the Atlantic are reporting this. While I don't much like the rants that seemed to have filled the American media, here the reporting has been down playing the level of the disaster. Over here you can clearly see the hand of PR guiding the media to downplay the situation.

Then this weekend, as the share price of BP tumbles, the emphasis has been spun saying; “that the US president is damaging a British company” and this was effecting ordinary people as most pension funds have invested in BP.

This puzzles me as it is not the US President or the US government that caused this disaster it was BP. The cost of the clean up will have to be born by BP, so it is the actions of BP that have caused the share price to fall. As the share holders are the owners of BP, they have a responsibility to make sure that BP operates in a way that the company is not cutting the corners that could lead to the company having to pay out billions to clean up their own mess.

While I understand that the individual folks that have invested in pensions have no real control, the pension fund managers do. Cutting corners to increase profits may look good on paper, but the effects of this are happening in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the owners of BP who have to pay the cost, not the US tax payer. If the situation were reversed and it was a US company that had caused a major spill in the North Sea, would US investors be calling for the UK tax payer to meet the costs to protect their investment?

The oil industry along with the coal industry, especially the ones that are involved in mountain topping, always argue that its the jobs and wealth creation that matters. Yet it is often the other industries and people that suffer as a result. The oil from this major spill will effect the tourist industry for years costing billions. The fishing industry in the US will suffer for decades. The impact upon wildlife will also have a serious economic impact. For example, each of the wolves in Yellowstone generates over one million dollars in direct tourist income. So if the wildlife is lost from the Gulf coast how many billions of dollars will not be spent by visitors that will have no reason to come?

If BP put more effort into sorting out the problem instead of spreading propaganda, then I could understand the investors complaining. But BP has caused this problem and it is up to BP and its investors to pay the bill.

In Praise of the Slow Life

2010-06-01T23:14:00.000+01:00

Having today been to Hexham with my better half, I found myself having to walk for a half an hour along the road from Ebchester to Blackhall Mill. Not extraordinary in its self, but as the traffic was far lighter than normal, I was able to think and muse on the environment that I was walking through.

The mat blossom was out, the blueberries were there in full fruit in the hedgerow and in the early evening the birds nesting were going about their business of feeding and raising their various broods. It made the inconvenience of the bus connections far more bearable. We all are pushed to lead such hectic lives that had I been driving I would have missed the beauty of seeing a Blackbird
carry a worm back to the nest, or the coal tit that was wooing a mate and being rather successful about it as he appeared to mate with her.

Even during the journey in to Hexham I had the joy of seeing Lapwings nesting on fields that are still traditionally grazed by sheep. Even as we walked together down to the bus stop this morning we saw a Red Kite seeking, searching for food.

None of these delights would have been observed from a car, or trying to live at a hectic pace.

Gateshead Race For Life Heroes Part Three

2010-05-17T17:39:00.003+01:00

Gateshead Race For Life Heroes Part Two

2010-05-17T14:21:00.016+01:00

Gateshead Race For Life Heroes - part one

2010-05-17T14:12:00.003+01:00

As I said I would post some, if not all the pictures from the race for life in Gateshead

Gateshead Race for Life in Saltwell Park

2010-05-17T13:29:00.002+01:00

As I have said here before, my better half is very patient with me and my interests. However this is far from a one way street, as I have gone along to events and such to support her too. From the moment we met, we discovered that we shared many interests, beliefs and perspectives. Thus while we do have minor disagreements, on most issues we tend to agree.

Therefore when she told me that she was going to be a volunteer at the Race for Life in Gateshead I said that I would be willing to come with her and offer her some support. I had no real idea of what I would do while there, and the picture in the previous posting I took shortly after we arrived and my better half had registered where she was made a marshal.

After making sure we had both visited the toilets, I went with her to her marshalling point. It was actually a rather nice location as is Saltwell Park, and I stayed with her while she waited for the race to start. I had already by then decided that I would take a few pictures and I could see myself blogging about the event.

When the race started, as my better half was at marshal point two, I was effectively trapped there, as I could only have moved away by disrupting the event. So I used this to my advantage and just started taking pictures. While I know that I never got pictures of everyone, I just took lots and lots of pictures. These I will post here in subsequent postings.

The Race for life started as a fund-raising and awareness building event for breast cancer. However it has grown to be about all cancers but remains a race for women. Yet to call it a race, is a misnomer as it is not about finishing first, but about personal achievement and fund-raising for Cancer Research. So this event is not about being fastest or first but participation.

Personally I thank my better half for having volunteered and drawn me into this race, but my biggest thank you goes to all the women who took part in the race for life.

Out with the Family

2010-05-17T12:22:00.001+01:00

Here is a rather nice image that I thought I would share. I will let you know how I came to take the picture in the next posting here.

Another Osprey

2010-05-09T10:19:00.001+01:00

The Ospreys that are nesting at Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake district did produce a third egg and are happily incubating them all. What is rather interesting is that a third Osprey has appeared. Its a young male who is looking for a territory. The Nesting male has chased him off, but he appears to be remaining in the area. At this stage it can not be confirmed that this new young male is the same bird every time, but it seems likely. This is actually good news as there is room for further nests and if he can gain a territory and a nest site, then next year there could be another nest.

The other bit of news from the site is that, the Nesting Male has successfully driven off Buzzards who would feed on the osprey eggs, given the opportunity. But the eggs are safe and the Male is keeping the Female fed and protected.

Shopping Bags

2010-05-06T22:51:00.000+01:00

For years now, I have carried a shopping bag in my pocket. It sits there ready for use, and until recently I had a battle with shop staff to stop them giving me more bags. However, now you are frequently asked if you really need a bag. Particularly when just in the village shops, I will refuse by joking “I have enough to carry”

While it has taken a few years to happen, I don't think that any retailer will ever return to the situation where bags are dished out like confetti. But it shows that a change in attitude is possible and the majority of people do take their own shopping bags with them to the supermarket or shops.

Yet when I was a child, that was the normal situation and the supermarkets would charge for each bag you used. Therefore the situation is returning to what was and should be normal. This normality has already had other effects, as I have noticed fewer discarded bags littering the countryside. It does still happen, people are careless about discarding bags, but reducing the volume that are doled out reduces this problem.

The lesson is that attitudes can be changed. While there are still some folks who cant be bothered to reuse bags, and will toss out rubbish without regard over the past two years, there really has been a switch from these folks being in the majority to being the minority. That said, today at Tesco the woman on the till still packed some of my shopping into plastic bags even though I had my own jute bags. Well it was simply that I was not advertising their store.

Nightingale Song by Starling

2010-04-30T00:08:00.000+01:00

When out with my better half the other day, I stopped and raised my hand to stop the conversation we were having, fortunately she knows me well enough to know that its not intended to be rude. There was a bird singing that just seemed odd. Or at least out of place. It was one that I thought I recognised but I needed to listen to my bird song CDs to see if I could identify it.

Then the following day, as the BBC has a programme on the radio called Saving Species, there was the call again. It appeared that I/We had heard a Nightingale. However, it was late afternoon, and Nightingales don't normally sing at that time. So while I was sure that was the song I heard, was it really a Nightingale?

Locally there are few people I can turn to regarding bird song, as while some people know the common birds, there are not many that know some of the rarer species. Additionally as I did not have a recording of the song we had heard, I had no record to get someone to verify.

But, going for another walk today, after a long day, I saw a chap with binoculars. I vaguely recognise him, yet greeting him he pointed out a starling that had been singing. Not his own song but that of a Nightingale. Starlings are good mimics and it had fooled him too, so the mystery solved, but as we talked we agreed that it had to have learnt that from a Nightingale so could there be one in the woods? Well if I can find the time, perhaps I will find out.

Tadpoles and Nests

2010-04-27T23:31:00.002+01:00

As I have been very busy with other things this year, I have not had the time or opportunity to chart the was that the changing seasons bring new or different life to my local woods and surrounding areas. Well not as much as I have in previous years. However, I have my contacts, and that means that while I have not yet been to see the ospreys nest in Cumbria this year, I can bring you folks updates as and when I get them. Equally, while I may not have been able to get out to see other areas of wildlife activity, I do get to hear of some of them.

However, there is nothing better than going out and taking a peek for yourself, and this is what I did with my better half on Monday. This was more a stroll than one of my expeditions, and as such I was not laden down with equipment. So while it was possible to see and hear much, it was more a matter of just enjoying what was there. Like seeing an Orange Tip Butterfly. Had I been on my own, I may have gone chasing off to try and get a picture, but I know that my better half does not have the same passion that I do and she would get bored.

It is also amusing that she doesn't like creepy crawlies and while on my own I would go off and scrutinise many of the small creatures, such behaviour by me gets her feeling upset as she really doesn't like spiders et al. So when I got on my belly to try and photograph the tadpoles in the pond, it was a mixture of amusement and “don't pick up any insects” attitude. But just as I adjust my way of interacting with the natural world when with her, she has learnt to trust that I will not be childish and make her interact with creatures she does not feel happy being about.

That said, I have often joked with her that one day I will grow up, as I have long recognised that I am rather childlike when it comes to the natural world. She can recognise and respects that passion I have.

While out on Monday, we heard a call that was one of the Red Kites. That told me that near by was likely to be a Red Kite nesting. It was close to an area where a Pair of Kites have tried to nest before. This year they appear to have been successful. As in past years the nest was disturbed, deliberately it has to be said, I am keeping quiet about this one. But I hope like the Ospreys there will be chicks successfully reared this year.

There be Eggs

2010-04-25T17:08:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday, the Osprey pair in Cumbria laid their first egg. Followed by another on Wednesday, and this time the female did sit on the first and start its incubation. As this information came to me on Thursday, and there are expectations that a third will be laid, it looks like there will be another brood of Cumbrian Ospreys this year.

Flying Resumes

2010-04-21T00:43:00.001+01:00

While I am pleased to hear that the people who have been stranded by the Volcanic Ash, will be able to return, I personally am very concerned that the reasons for this is financial and that it is actually safe.

In Europe, if there had been an incident where an aircraft had crashed, the responsibility would have been on the civil air authorities. While in America, the safety is legally with the individual airlines. Thus, the relatives could ultimately sue the Airline. Here it would be the civil air authorities that could be sued. However, while there are many volcanic eruptions across the planet, this is the first time that one has, whilst spewing ash into the most crowded airspace in the world.

I genuinely hope that there is not a crash, nor a incident where a plane has suffered serious engine failure and has to make an emergency landing somewhere.

I have never been so exasperated but to hear some of the stupid comments by the people saying that the shut down of air space was an over reaction. While a single aircraft can make manoeuvres to get out of trouble if during a flight it encounters the ash cloud, but with more than a thousand aircraft over the Atlantic at any one moment, would that aircraft have the safe space to move into? This even assumes that the pilot and the instruments can detect the ash. As the ash is not detectable on radar.

I strongly suspect that there will be an incident sooner or latter. As the ash is highly abrasives and damages engines, I can see that an aircraft could become damaged and then suffer a catastrophic failure well away from the area of concern.

Personally I just will not be flying in the near future myself as while I don't think that it is totally unsafe, for financial reasons, the aviation industry has been prepared to compromise safety.

Sound of Silence

2010-04-18T10:18:00.000+01:00

When I first heard about the volcanic ash cloud grounding civil air traffic, it occurred to me that with spring starting and that the prevailing wind would normally be flowing from west to east, that it would last longer than a day or two. As my better half's farther was travelling back from America, my initial priority was to let her know as this would impact her directly.

However, while it has caused inconvenience and real distress for some people, it has real real benefits too. Not least the sound of silence that has given people a taste of what life would be like without the relentless sounds of aircraft.

The longer this ash cloud grounds aircraft the harder it will be for people to accept that pollution again once flights resume. If we take a location like Heathrow in London where there is an aircraft movement every ninety seconds from half past five in the morning, this sudden silence will have only served to highlight what millions have lost because of air travel.

As with a lot of adverse effects, as the volume of air traffic has built up over a long time, several decades, many people will not know or remember what life was like without that constant sound pollution. Therefore this reminder of what life could be like could well boost the opposition to the third runway at Heathrow.

A major problem is simply that far to many aircraft leave half full. This was how the low cost airlines started, by lowering fairs to get people in those empty seats. But even now there can be aircraft movements where the aircraft has only one passenger, or worse with none. As simply to retain their landing or take off slot, the airline has to move that aircraft. Fail to use their allocated and valuable slot they loose it.

I have no idea how long this ash cloud will prevent aircraft to fly, but the longer that aircraft are grounded, the less people will tolerate a return to the status quo. Further, the longer this continues the more likely that airlines, already struggling because of the recession, will go bust. While the loss of jobs will have a negative personal effect, overall it is likely to dramatically change the way that we allow air travel to exist.

This could and should include not allowing aircraft to fly near empty. That would reduce the number of aircraft movements needed with a potential of reducing carbon emissions by at least a third, and eliminating the need for a third runway at Heathrow. Additionally if the ash cloud does persist for many months it would mean that there will be political pressure for better internal transport links within the UK, predominantly rail, and the high speed rail link.

Often much business travel is unnecessary, and with the good information technology links that exist, video conferencing is actually a better option. But often business people see business travel as one of the perks of the job. Even though it has a dubious economic benefit for the business. But like so many aspects of air travelling people have accepted so much in an unquestioning manner.

It is bizarre that we allow ourselves to be treated like bovine creatures, packed into cramped seats, and herded around in an abusive way at airports. Yes it is fast and convenient, but as the blissful silence that many millions are experiencing, shows that the pollution and inconvenience of many is for the benefit of the minority.

I am well aware that I don't make myself popular for saying this, but I really do expect the ash cloud to disrupt air travel for the next few months at least and hope that this disruption changes the attitude to air travel. I for one am just enjoying hearing the birds sing.

Egg Incubation in Raptors

2010-04-17T11:54:00.001+01:00

In the update on the Ospreys, I mentioned that last year the hen osprey failed to sit on her first egg. Typically, Ospreys will sit on her first egg, and while it may take two or three days then lay the second and so on until a clutch of three and rarely four are laid. As they are incubated for the same time, they will hatch at different times. Well that is what typically happens.

But as this young bird doesn't seem to have read the text books, last year she failed to incubate her first egg when laid. While that chick hatched, only two birds fledged as one died. It is likely that it was this chick from the first egg that failed to thrive.

It raises an interesting question; as this pair are an isolated young pair, could it be that without others to learn from they made mistakes?

While it is good news that the Osprey population is growing and expanding, it is where isolated pairs, like this pair in Cumbria, where the birds seem to lack the skills that they would learn from others. There was a similar situation with the Red Kites when a pair tried to nest a year before they were old enough to breed and the result was a failed season.

Thus, with these Ospreys it may well be that they will do better this year, having had the experience from last year.

The comment that Ms Tree asks is interesting as, the smaller the egg the faster it looses heat. So as a good rule of thumb, the smaller the egg is then the hen has to keep the egg warm straight from laying. With Raptors in particular they will space out laying to cope with any possible scarcity of food. As simply as the chicks grow their food demands increase, thus if the chicks were all the same size the parents just could not catch enough fish to feed a full clutch of pre fledged chicks and feed themselves. This is one of the reasons why Ospreys migrate from Africa to northern latitudes to breed. As the longer daylight hours mean that they have more time to hunt. Experienced Ospreys, will often adjust the time they sit on eggs to space out the hatching to match the food supply.

Personally I am just happy to see the birds have returned and are trying to breed again. I have also been informed that local to me, an Osprey was seen, it was likely to have been on route to Scotland.

Osprey Update

2010-04-16T20:18:00.000+01:00

There is some good news regarding the Ospreys in Cumbria. The birds are mating and it looks as though the female is being a bit of tease. Initiating mating but biting the male when he tries, they are mating. At this point, no eggs have been produced, but that could change in days. With any luck there will be three, as there were last year. Unlike last year, lets hope she sits on the first egg. She failed to start sitting until the second was laid.

Volcano Closes Air Space

2010-04-16T17:55:00.000+01:00

Even before British airspace was closed down Newcastle University released a press release saying that the volcanic eruption in Iceland had the potential to seriously disrupt air travel. This yesterday I did not know, while out the first that I realised was the absence of aircraft. Sitting below the flight path of Newcastle airport, hearing nothing but natural sounds raised worries in my mind. I had visions of something akin to September eleventh, so I was greatly relieved to discover that there had been no disaster and that actions were taken to avoid any loss of life.

While I do feel for the people caught up in the situation, not able to complete a journey or even start a holiday, it really is not the end of the world. Although to hear some of the people who have not been able to take a holiday, they seem to want to blame someone. Equally, there appear to be others that blame over caution. Would they feel the same way if several aircraft had crashed?

But while so far the volcano has just caused some inconvenience, it shows how fragile our economic systems are. For as well as passenger travel, there will also be no air freight into north-western Europe. While this will stop some of the fresh produce appearing on the supermarket shelves, it will effect all imported manufactured items such as pharmaceuticals that are regularly air freighted.

It has long been a bone of contention for me is the way that multinational companies export jobs and move manufacturing to cheaper locations. This to has also been something that I have long cautioned about, as simply the weak link was always having the ability to air freighted goods across the world. While if we run out of green beans or prawns will not be the end of the world, shortages of life saving drugs will.

The experts all say that the effects of this volcano will impact air travel for at least six months, and may even last two or three years. While there are other means of transporting vital goods, had we retained manufacturing capacity in Britain, or even Europe, the effects would be far less. We will learn to adapt to this new situation, and the grounding of all these aircraft will dramatical reduce the CO2 pollution from Europe. Also the gasses from the volcano will reduce the greenhouse effect of the man made carbon dioxide.

Perhaps we will learn lessons from this, but I doubt it.

Markets and Walks

2010-04-13T00:59:00.000+01:00

Because the weather was good on Sunday, I dragged my better half out for a walk in the woods. First thing in the morning I had already been out to get some bread for toast and I had delighted in the number of birds that I had seen singing their hearts out. So when the light cloud cleared and the sun came out, we really had to get out in the air.

For the most part, many of the observations were routine to me, but when I showed her a definite track of a fox on its regular route, she told me of seeing a fox recently near her home. So slowly she is growing to appreciate the natural world. We stopped and sat by the river near the end of the walk, and were happily content there, but our peace was disturbed by a fisherman who clearly wanted to fish from the spot we were enjoying the tranquillity of the river. So we decide to wander a little further. Thus we headed into the village of Blackhall Mill. I pointed out the places where I have seen Otters, as well as other wildlife. Then we spotted a banner that told of a market in the village. At the angle, I had read it as a farmers market, but it was in fact a “Makers” Market (Craft Market).

It was an interesting market and I was actually quite good quality. It is one of the aspects of craft markets that can be frustrating is that the quality can be rather poor, yet here were some true makers trying to sell their own products. There were a couple of the makers that we took cards for, as my better half like her fun earrings. While talking to one stall holder, I discover she lives in my street in my village.

It is one of the aspects that disappoints me about some of the people in my village that they will complain about many aspects of the village (that I live in), yet expect others to resolve them. Yet in the two villages either side of mine, the folks actually get off their bums and try and make improvements for themselves. As with this Makers Market in Blackhall Mill, and other projects such as the HOP garden in High Spen, people at least try to help themselves. I genuinely wish that there was at least some of that spirit in Chopwell, but sadly it really seems that in my village it is always someone else's job to do something constructive.

Ospreys Return To Cumbria

2010-04-12T05:54:00.001+01:00

First I have to report a wonderful sighting of one of the Red Kites. To the North of my village there is some fields that are owned and managed by the Local Authority for wildlife. Therefore I often see the Red Kites quartering this searching for Voles, Beetles and other tasty (to a Kite) items. However on Saturday I saw one of the Kites that had landed taking off from the ground. It was being dive bombed by a Jackdaw, just a single individual, and the harassment continued as the Kite flew in my direction. What fascinated me was the adapt flying skills of the Kite as it avoided direct contact. Then almost forgetting myself I suddenly realised that the Kite had a Frog or Toad in its Talons. As the Kite was just twenty feet above me as it passed over, as it avoided the Jackdaw, I could see it clearly.

As Corvids and the Kites often utilise the same food sources, the Kites often have to run the gauntlet of the Crows etc. Most of the time the Kites do avoid the attacks, but in a film that I shot last year, I caught a crow pulling at the tail feathers of the Kite I was filming.

It was also good to hear that the Ospreys that nested over the other side of the Pennines in Cumbria, last year, have returned. I hope that I can keep folks informed of them too.

Surprise Election Called

2010-04-11T17:44:00.001+01:00

Well this week the shock news is that there is going to be a General Election on 6th of May. I don't think anyone saw that coming.

Already I am sick of the election coverage in the media and seeing a bunch of grown men, and sorry female personages but it is mainly men, acting like over grown school children. Thus far the political slogans can be summed up as “My Dad can beat up your Dad”

The problem is simply that the two main parties, Conservatives and Labour, are just not being honest. While the economic crash would have happened no matter what party was in power, either have been equally to blame as their central economic policies are the same.

Therefore the so called row about an increase in a tax, is really irrelevant. One side, the Conservatives, are saying it will be a tax on jobs. At the margins any tax increase will effect jobs. Equally the Labour party are saying that taking £12 billion out of the economy will effect the recovery. The point is both are true, but the real question is changing the economy so we can deal with the deficit The deficit last year cost each of us £2800 and this financial year it is expected to £2700. That is like each person in the UK having a credit card that we have borrowed £2800 on then rather than paying that off, we get another and we plan to spend £2700 on that. While the £100 per person raised by the tax increase, will barely pay off the interest.

The reality is that both the Conservatives and Labour would have bailed out the banks. While the details would have been different, the effect would have been the same. As both the main parties seek to perpetuate the myth that property is not overvalued. As what ever party gets into power, they want and need the tax income from property sales (based upon a percentage of the price paid) and the taxes that the banks pay in corporate tax as well as the income tax on the bonuses. Thus the very economic activities that caused the problems in the first place will be repeated.

This election I personally will be voting Liberal Democrat. My rational is actually quite simple, Vince Cable the Liberal Democrat spokesman that shadows the Chancellor was warning of a banking crisis before it happened. Further when Northern Rock went belly up he called for that Bank to be nationalised. Something that had to happen but only after the government had wasted fifty billion trying to prop the bank up.

Had Northern Rock been nationalised from the start, then when the rest of the banks started to fall, the government would not have needed to bail out the banks as they would have owned an institution that would have been able to keep the banking system working. Without spending over a trillion pounds supporting failing businesses.

Further, while the property market would have collapsed, and this would have been very unpleasant for many, the current bank bailout has only delayed the collapse in housing prices. Had we as a nation been following Liberal Democrat economic policies then we would not be as bad as it currently is. It would still be a bad economic situation but not as bad as is currently is.

I know that there will be plenty of people that will say that I am wasting my vote by voting for the third party. Well if everyone who thought about voting for the Liberal Democrat actually did then there could be a real change in politics in this country. That is not to say that I trust the Liberal Democrats more than any other politician, but economically they really do seem to make sense. Further, while members of the other parties were dipping their hands in the expenses pot that looked corrupt, they on the whole were not. Equally, there are many other polices that I tend to agree with the Liberal Democrats on.

So apart from the half a forest of propaganda that is landing on my doorstep, I will be ignoring the whole shambles.

Loss of Village Resources

2010-04-09T12:58:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I dragged my better half along to the organic community garden in the next village. I had been flicking through some recipes as I had some haddock that I was going to cook for lunch to make a soup with. This had reminded me that I had wanted to go there to see if I could get some artichokes. As I knew they were growing them, I thought I could buy some there. Well my timing was off as just last week they had harvested them and made a large batch of soup. Just what I was planning too. There were still a few so I was not leaving empty handed, but a few more would have been better.

Also while there, I asked about the local greengrocers. I had visited this just two weeks ago and I had been surprised to see that it was closed when I went by on Wednesday. I discovered that it had closed down.

I had only visited the place twice myself as it requires a walk through the wood to get there, or an expensive bus ride. Short journeys on the buses are expensive here. But I had wanted to use and support the place. What surprised me though, was that they couple running the place said nothing about closing the place down. Yet while I was there it was clear they were packing and leaving. I have discovered today that they have walked away leaving debts etc, so perhaps they did not want to say anything to me for fear of getting caught. There was I talking to them about returning regularly and even asking if they were willing to order for me some of the more unusual items.

Twenty years ago in my village there were many little shops, now half of them have been converted to housing units, and remain empty, while the remaining shop units are empty and boarded up. It makes the village feel run down. But the problem is that the owners of these properties have killed much of the businesses by demanding rents that are unsustainable.

I have often spoken about the silly rents that some of the landlords are trying to charge for homes here, and that they remain empty as a result. Well its even worse for retail and commercial property. While there will always be companies and businesses that can make it work in prime city centre locations, in small communities where the where the level of trade is limited by the size of the community, small businesses can not afford to pay rents similar to that of the city centre.

that has the effect of making communities moribund and run down. While it is possible to go and visit towns and cities for food shopping etc, it takes money out of the community and when there are difficulties like the harsh winter we have just had, where it was difficult to get supplies, how are small communities supposed to cope then?

All of the local shops in and around my village survive by by selling alcohol, in vast quantities and to under age drinkers, creating other problems. But often it is only because of the high rents and overinflated property values that these problems occur in the first place.

A Sky Full of Kites

2010-04-08T22:17:00.001+01:00

For several weeks now, I have seen Red Kites every day. Today though the skies have been full of them. While my better half was ironing the top she was planning to wear, I saw one out of the window and pointed it out to her. A nice shared moment and a clear sighting of this magnificent bird. Then as we were going out while at the bus stand, we saw two different Kites. Then as we returned, there was other shared sighting. I know that my partner does not share my fascination for these raptors, but she is amused by my childlike attitude to them.

Then after I had cook us both lunch, and she had departed to meet a friend, I headed into Consett and I saw yet another of the Kites as I waited for the bus. As I watched, I realised that there were two young girls watching me and laughing at the strange man that was watching the skies. I was so absorbed with watching the birds that I nearly missed seeing that the bus was coming. This left two children laughing at the (supposed) adult.

It really is a great conservation success story as Red Kites were absent from the area until reintroduced by the RSPB. Now it is a rare day that I do not see one of them. Yet no matter how often I see them, I am never failed to be impressed by them or their behaviour. An example of this happened just two days ago. I suddenly became aware of the Jackdaws together in a large flock calling and wheeling over the roofs near by. I could not see what they were reacting to, but it was focused on something hidden behind one of the chimney stack. It could have been food that was eliciting this reaction, but it was the numbers that made me doubt that as the flock was about seventy or eighty in number.

I had to wait only a few minutes to see a Red Kite stretch its wings and take to the air. My best guess was that it had stopped to feed, but can not be sure. However, it was actually a real surprise to see the Kite there as while I had suspected it was likely to be a raptor the Jackdaws were mobbing. But as the previous day I had seen a Peregrine Falcon hunting, I had expected to see the Falcon and not the Red Kite.

It had been early in the morning, in the early full light I had been watching the pigeons wheeling and tumbling in the sky. As pigeons have a characteristic way of folding their wings to slow and tumble, it was a rather small dot high in the sky that caught my eye as is was alone. When it folded its wings it looked different and I saw it drop like a stone. It was only experience of observing birds that told me what it was, and remarkably I saw the falcon enter the pigeon flock and emerge with one in its talons. This was not close, about one hundred and fifty yards away but close enough to see the kill and the falcon clearly.

Therefore it was the falcon I had thought that had elicited the wrath of the Jackdaws and not the Red Kite. While Kite prefer to stay airborne and will feed on the wing, as I have oft observed, the will come to the ground occasionally. Thus while on the bus today with my better half, when I saw a Red Kite on the ground, on the golf course, I knew it had found food and was covering it with its wings.

All going to make the day a real Red Kite day.

Kites and Kestrels

2010-04-02T13:45:00.000+01:00

Over the past week or so, I have been lucky enough to have seen at least one Red Kite every day from my office window. It is not that I have been spending all my time in the office, it is just that I have been lucky. I have been keeping a camera at my side too, but as happened yesterday, the Kite appeared really quickly just over the roof tops and while very close, between twenty to thirty feet from my window, it was not in view for that long. Still a great view and sighting and while I could have gone chasing after it to try and get a picture, sometimes it is just nice to sit back and appreciate seeing the bird flying free.

There really are some very good signs that spring is upon us. Just the other day while in bed, I heard a vixen bark. Not that I needed to prove it, my better half is now convinced that I am mad, as I got up and did go searching to see if I could photograph her, or at least locate her. I think I discovered where she was out hunting, but I lost track of where she headed. Therefore, I don't know where the foxes den will be. Further while I did not get a clear view of the fox, I could at times see a shadow, a silhouette and the fox, if that is what I was seeing, could have been heavily pregnant. Thus there could be cubs about soon. I will have to look into this, but it seems rather early for the fox to be giving birth, but equally it may just be that as this winter has been harder and more normal that it just feels early.

Today, I saw another Red Kite as I first sat at my computer, and as I was writing I saw that there were two Kites. I looked up again, and in the same part of the sky, over some traditional grass meadow owned and managed by the council for wildlife, I saw a Kestrel. I went to make a cup of tea, and when I returned I looked again and the Kestrel was gone and there were four Red Kites in the air. So this has been a good Friday.

MPs For Sale

2010-03-23T23:31:00.000Z

Late on Sunday night I spotted the headlines and over the following day the story grew. But as the MPs for sale story was based upon a TV programme had not yet aired, I really wanted to see the documentary first.

I am rather to cynical to expect that our Members of Parliament are putting the interests of the nation first, and not feathering their own nests, especially after the expenses debark. Nor did it surprise me that many of the MPs caught out are leaving parliament over their abuse of the expenses system.

However, it is three of the claimed influences that were claimed by the MPs that are really disturbing.

Case one; Stephen Byers, the former transport minister, claims that he helped National Express get out of a rail franchise that was loosing them money while retaining two others that were making them a profit. At the time this was going on, I nearly wrote about this, not least as it effects my local railway and transport links, but I was to busy getting delayed by poor rail services. Thus I did not have the time. My opinion was then that the company should have lost all their franchises, but they only lost the one that was not making them money. Further, this cost the taxpayers five hundred million pounds in revenue from fees. The fees that Nation Express had bid to run the most profitable line in the rail network.

Case Two; Again Stephen Byers, claims to have helped water down food labelling regulations, something that I have been arguing needed to change for the better for ages. But Stephen Byers claims that for Tesco, he helped reduce the impact upon the largest retailer in Britain regulations that would have given the consumer real and accurate information.

Now what is interesting about these claims made in the programme is that even before the programme was broadcast Stephen Byers was saying that he had lied. What an assertion to make! I don't know if he was telling lies in the film or is telling lies now, but in both cases the effect of decisions made was against the public interest.

The third example was another MP who claims to have helped water down environmental regulations regarding pollution for another company.

It is more than just lobbying that is going on here, as each claim to have been paid to alter policy and laws in the interests of their paymasters. If they were doing this just because it was what they genuinely thought was the right thing to do, then I would have no problem, but it is the admission that they have done this for money that makes it corruption. Even though all this is apparently within the rules of what MPs can do.

As worrying as that is, it is the fact that in a time when as a nation, as well as globally, we need to be more environmentally aware and our government has made various announcements regarding lowering the nations carbon emissions. I am left wondering if the vested interests have bought the influence that has delayed many of the actions that are needed.

Well as we seem to have the best government that money can buy, can I ask has anyone got the receipt? As it looks like we should be trying to get our money back.

Jon Venables

2010-03-22T18:18:00.001Z

Like most of the British population, I was sickened by the actions of the two children who killed Jamie Bulger. However, unlike most of the population, I could also understand that the children who tortured and killed the toddler were children themselves.

While at the age of ten, had they had the loving caring and supportive family life they should have had they would have known and understood what they were doing was very wrong, it is also clear that they did not have a good upbringing otherwise they would not have committed such an awful crime.

Therefore, as well as needing to be punished by having their liberty taken away, they also needed to be rehabilitated. As even if they were retained in prison, they had to be educated that abuse and bullying was not civilised. However, as they had been re-civilised by the time they were 18, it was probably the correct decision to release them, on licence, where they can be monitored, while keeping they away from the influence of other hardened criminals as would have happened had they entered an adult prison.

While I can understand the desire for revenge in the victims of crime, these were children that committed this horrific murder and even had there been the death penalty here in Britain, as children they would not have been executed. Therefore, it is doubtful that anything different would have happened to them regarding their release on licence.

Equally the vitriol thrown towards them by the populist press meant that it was right that they were given new identities. Not least to prevent two new murders taking place.

This was all old news until one of the trashy tabloids learnt that one of the boys, now a man of 27, had been recalled to prison under the terms of his licence. Thus the Ministry of Justice released a press release to the media. Probably in an attempt to prevent the media speculation that has unfortunately ensued. One of the effects of the media speculation could be that, if Jon Venables has committed a further crime, as the speculation says, any victim may not be able to get justice as Jon Venables may not be able to get a fair trial.

However, this is not just about the media over reacting and reporting speculation as facts, but about the way society has reacted. Although staying with the media for a moment, in a live interview on BBC radio, one former editor all but called for the public to take revenge by killing the young men as they are now. I was shocked to hear that, as no matter how heinous the crime, we must not have mob rule, or mob justice.

Then a few days latter there was a report that an innocent man has been driven into hiding as he resembles one of the boys. Fortunately, there are no pictures of them as young men, as wiser heads than me imposed an injunction preventing the media from publishing anything from that will identify them, their new identities nor where they live. Given the reaction from sections of the public, its a good job too.

The point is that, the system seems to have worked. Whatever Jon Venables has done to breach his licence, the monitoring picked up that breach and he was recalled to prison. As for the details, we have to wait for any court case when the facts will be revealed. Having the trashy tabloid media stirring up emotions and all but inciting people to murder, is a poor reflection upon our society.

Further, as there have been a series of stories in the media, regarding the lack of intervention by social services, often resulting in the children either being harmed or harming others, we should actually be calling for more children to get the help and rehabilitation that Jon Venables and Robert Thompson have had. As that way we really would reduce the cycle of learning to abuse that happens in society.

I am fully aware that my opinion here is a minority one, but compassion and protection has to be the norm within children's policy including the justice system.

Chemicals, Food and Hygiene

2010-03-21T14:59:00.001Z

There was a time when among friends and talking about food or cooking that I would say; “One day I will make someone a great Husband” While said rather tongue in cheek, it is rather ironic that my better half now says that she always said that she; “Would always find a boy friend who could cook”

Now I tell you folks this as there are moments when my better half is less than practical and needs reminding and guiding to ensure she gets to appointments. Thus I was up earlier than I would have normally planed so that I could call her to keep her on track. As she had a train to catch and an appointment to meet.

Therefore, I was sitting in the living room when I noticed that in the Chestnut Tree was a single bird. It is one of the trees that the Jackdaws gather in before going off to roost. But the size looked wrong. I picked up the binoculars and saw it was a sparrow hawk. I did not have the camera to hand as it was upstairs in my office. I had dashed up to get it, and the bird was still there. But the camera kept on focusing on the window glass. I saw it lift its body and stretch its wings and gracefully, slowly and powerful take flight. What a delight.

Another reason for me needing to to be up early was that I needed to get some shopping from the village shop. On Friday I had not been able to do the shopping I needed as I had builders turning up. They were supposed to have been here at between eight and half past. Well, it was quarter past eleven before they turned up. Well I don't call them Bodgit and Legit for nothing. I would not care but it was to benefit my neighbour as they have damp penetrating and the work was to stop this. I was left feeling like a ref at a sporting event as both the builders and my neighbours seemed to be unhappy. Seconds out, round two. Well after an exchange of telephone calls, both the builders and my neighbours seemed to be reasonably content.

Even though I moved all my herb plants out of the way, well out of the way, I will not be able to use use them as they got covered in a waterproof sealant that was sprayed on the wall. The builders really did not have any regard for their own safety or the safety of others as this sealant was applied with them not using any safety equipment. I just shut my back door and left them to it, but I could see clouds of this chemical getting blown everywhere. That's how I knew that my herbs would not be safe to eat. It was just before this happened (the spraying) that my better half had arrived. Even with the doors and windows closed, she suffered a coughing fit from the smell of the chemical on the air. I am just glad that I had had the good sense not to try to cook, or leave any food out as it too may have been contaminated.

It is often the defence of the chemical industry and the users of the chemicals that they are safe when used correctly. While this may well be true, the reality is that people often don't use them correctly or safely. While the people may know the safety requirements, they see these as a burden and as such an extra cost in time and money. Thus, as in this example, the chemical gets dispersed into the atmosphere and spreads. Also as the wind was rather breezy, the sealant spray was blown away from the area that it was being applied to. I am just glad that I have high walls around the yard as this contained most of it.

The operator did not even wear a mask nor goggles so must have breathed in a mass of the chemical as from my place or relative safety I could see he was enveloped in the cloud of spray. When he was finished, I even joked with him that at least his glasses were now waterproof as he cleaned the film of the chemical off them.

Well at least that is nearly finished now as all that the builders need to do now is return and finish the painting.

The following day I still needed to get some shopping done, and after having sent my better half off to complete her work, as she calls it, of shopping and then going to look after a relative with alzheimer's. I refer you to my comments regarding her practical and organisational ability and well...

As I still had to finish cleaning the kitchen following the builders visit, and the previous nights cooking, I was rather surprised to hear that finally the landlords agent had finally organised the gas safety check. It was only six months late. I think that the threat of prosecution by the local authority may have had an effect there. Therefore, I had to stay at home until the gas fitter turned up. Well it was gone four in the afternoon before he did. Therefore, I missed the opportunity to get the shopping on Saturday too.

However, while I was waiting there was a knock on the door. In previous weeks there had been a couple of men that had been knocking on the doors selling fish. Previously, I had not had the cash available, but today I did have some. Therefore I was interested to see what they had and the prices. But when I asked to see the fish, more to see what they had than for any other reason, I was told that was not possible for health and safety reasons. Well as I know more than a bit about health and hygiene, I knew that was bull, but I persisted and asked if they had a price list, or a list of some sort at least? No list, nothing with any indication of who they were, no business name or trading address, as required by law. Therefore I was rather annoyed that they had wasted my time. It was likely that the fish was just sitting in packets or bags on the back seat of a car. No refrigeration, none of the hygiene requirements fulfilled.

While often the local authorities who have to police these matters are rather over zealous at times regarding food hygiene, there are times when you can see there are reasons why the regulations need to be enforced. While I admire the enterprise of brining fish to the villages, this pair were take great lengths to prevent people, customers and potential customers from finding out who they were and where they were from. Also while I had concerns about how they were storing and transporting the fish, how long had it been away from the chiller and in ambient temperatures? My main concern was were they being truthful about where the fish was from.

Had I been the seller, I would be doing all I could to reassure a potential customer and to provide some kind of product list so that at least that customer could order, stock and catch permitting, that you could get definite sales.

Well, had there not been so many question marks, they could have had a regular customer, especially if what they were claiming regarding the sustainability was accurate, but they lost that when they failed to do or say anything that reassured me. The last thing I wanted to do was end up with making myself, or my better half, ill through eating fish (or any food) where I don't know where it has come from.

Therefore, it was not until this morning that I could get out to get the shopping I needed. As I desperately needed food for the cat and litter for her too, I had to get the shopping this morning no matter what. Therefore when I saw the Sparrow Hawk this morning I really did want to see if I could follow, film and or photograph the bird but I just could not. However as I headed for the village store, I went past a location where I know that a pair of Jackdaw's have nested previously. I had been keeping a look out for when they returned, and today I saw one of the birds flying out of the nest with debris in its beak. He, as the behaviour was more typical of the male, was cleaning out the nest in preparation for the breeding season.

Well perhaps the two sightings are a sign that I need to be building my nest here. Now the builders are all but done, I can start doing the spring cleaning.

Signs of Spring

2010-03-19T17:30:00.002Z

The normal first signs of spring have been delayed this year, not least because of the hard winter. That said, one of the first signs that I heard rather than saw, was a Chaffinch that was singing to attract a mate in February, on valentines day to be exact. Who says romance is dead.

Then about a week latter, I started to notice that the Red Kites were hunting for food in pairs. Now this may just be that they are more successful finding food this way, but it may be that they were pairing up ready for spring.

As Jackdaws use the chimneys as nesting sites and the trees that fringe the village as winter roosts, they are the most numerous birds closest to my home. Thus it is the Jackdaws, that I have noticed most starting to make pair bonds. As they often seem to take to the air just to enjoy the freedom of flight, it is not unusual to see them just flying about in loose flocks. However at this time of year, it is possible to see pairs flying together, even within the flock, that stay in close formation flight, as they build pair bonds.

Today I noticed one pair that was gathering nesting material and adding to a nest that would have been in use for years now. As when the village fifteen years ago first had gas piped to the community, the village changed from using coal for heating. This suddenly provided nesting opportunities for the Jackdaws in particular. Therefore many of these nests have been built up over the intervening years. The change in the way that this village heats its homes has enabled numbers of Jackdaws to increase, as simply there are now many more nesting sites.

Two other promising signs is that the House Sparrows are returning to the feeders in the yard in numbers and in pairs. Also the regular blackbird and his mate have returned. As he has patches of white feathers on his head that make him easy to identify, it is great to see him back. Not least because of the hard winter.

Otter and Woodpecker

2010-03-14T22:57:00.000Z

As Saturday was the anniversary of my better halves birth, I found myself on an early evening bus going in to Newcastle. As I was all polished up and ready for polite company, I had none of the items I often carry. No camera, no binoculars, so when the bus passes close to the Derwent, I could not be sure if the shape I saw in the river was an Otter.

There are times when wishful thinking could overtake the reality of what was actually there. With this still on my mind, when the bus passed the point where the Derwent empties into the Tyne, I saw another shape on the mud. I will often assume that my eyes are playing tricks. Therefore, I tried to see if it was a cormorant rather than another otter. But watching carefully as the bus moved past the point, I could see clearly that it was an Otter and she was feeding on a fish. As she moved I was able to see her clearly and to determine the sex.

So while I may have seen two, I made one positive sighting of an Otter. I wished that my better half had been with me to share the sighting.

The following day we were able to go out for a walk in the woods. I was able to point out a location where I have seen a barn owl regularly and I was able to show her a couple of nests, from last year, but likely to be used again this year. As we walked further I was able to show her signs of woodpeckers. Then as I was showing her another tree that had another nest hole in it, I spotted a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. She failed to see it though. But as the hole looked really new and there was a bird close by, it is possible that the bird was preparing the nest. It will be worth keeping an eye on the place.

I was also able to show her signs of voles in the fields beyond the wood, as we walked back home.

While I realise that better half does not have quite the same passion that I do, it is nice that she will tolerate my strange behaviour when out in the countryside.

One last matter, I never reveal a woman's age.

The Co-operative

2010-03-13T14:45:00.001Z

When my better half and I went to the supermarket, she was surprised and amused by the pile of compacted snow that still remains. Now I know there are some American friends for whom this sight is normal, but here in England that is relatively unusual. However, it was the snow and the harsh winter that got me thinking. As during the period when the snow was making travelling difficult the local co-operative started stocking baking products. Not least because when I could get no bread, I reacted by saying that I would bake my own.

However, just a couple of weeks ago I saw that these items were now being discontinued. This enabled me to buy a few items so that I can make some nice cakes. But it was the fact that they stocked a whole range of baking ingredients that were for cake making when the demand was clearly for bread making ingredients. Now I don't know if it was a local decision to stock the cake making items, or one taken regionally or even nationally, but it did seem rather odd when they appeared. Now because of the very limited demand they are being de-stocked.

This is where local knowledge really could have been of help here. Far to often the major retailers impose what foods they want to sell rather than what people want and need. I had an example of this when I wanted to buy some decent Assam Tea from the co-operative I was told that they could only stock the Assam if they carried the whole range. This is why I suspect that decisions are made by others in a remote office rather than a manager who is matching customer demands to the food items stocked.

This is just one of the ways that the major retailers control the food and health of the nation.

When the co-operative first started, it was because there was a need for cheaper good quality food for the poor and the working people. Also when they first started they would only sell wholemeal bread. Now while there will be folks that will baulk at the lack of choice in them doing that, but it helped to improve the health of working people. Further they explained why they refused to carry foods that were unhealthy.

There was a time when the co-operative were the largest retailer in Britain. But as often happens, large organisations loose sight of there core values. Thus with competition from the new players like Tesco et al, they moved away from their core values and started doing all the “me too” products so that now their range carries all the same unhealthy options that all the supermarkets carry.

The one major redeeming feature of the co-operatives current policy is that they are leaders in fair trade foods and wines. I just wish that their ethical policy extended further to ensure that they acted ethically across the board. For example; I have written often about the bellow production cost that the supermarkets pay for milk. The co-operative pays the lowest price for milk. Something that is clearly profitable but unethical.

Its a shame that an organisation that was founded upon ethics, fairness and healthy food, should have lost its way so much.

Return To Bread

2010-03-11T23:14:00.001Z

My better half returned from India this week, and we have been able to share some quality time together. On the bus journey back to mine, we saw one of the Red Kites. Always a good oman. This, lead to a discussion about some of the birds she saw there and that she wished she knew more about the birds she had seen. Oh it looks like that I will have to corrupt this mind.

Additionally as I had some rather mundane tasks to do like shopping and she accompanied me. Now she will be the first to admit that she is no cook and while she does not really know what to do with food other than eat it, she does know what she likes. So it actually makes shopping less of a chore as I can bounce ideas off her for meals.

There is an irony about her going to India as she does not like food that is overly spiced. Or to be more precise she does not like food that is smothered in chillies. As she does not mind food that is delicately spiced, as do I. One of the problems is that there is an assumption that spicy foods mean hot spices, when really the spices can be used to enhance flavours. Thus, going to a country where the food is often drenched in chillies has rather put her off overly spiced foods. Thus, I tried to think of meals and dishes that she would enjoy and were a contrast to the spicy foods she has spent a month consuming.

It had not taken long to do the shopping, although I had nearly forgotten to get the bread. I had to go back for it just as we were heading for the checkout. It was a basic wholemeal loaf from the supermarkets baked in store range. However, when we had some latter, it was rather bland and not particularly appetising. It is really nice though to have my opinion confirmed by another's pallet that the bread is really bland. There are times when I worry that am just being pedantic and picky about food sometimes, as these products that I find so bland are so popular with other people. Is it that so many people are prepared to accept mediocre food? Or is it that I expect higher standards when it comes to the food I buy and consume? Or is it a mixture of both?

In the couple of dishes I cooked for my better half, she really enjoyed. As did I, not least because I have been playing with ideas for dishes that I knew she would enjoy. Not recipes from books, but ones created from knowing what flavours work alongside each other.

Then today, while going into Newcastle as she had to collect the results of resitting an exam, we got some bread from Waitrose. The bread was wonderful, and went well with the Broccoli and Stilton soup, made with a smoked Stilton.

The point is though; it really does seem that you do get what you pay for when it comes to food, in this case bread. The bulk standard loaf from a leading supermarket was really bland and flavourless, yet the specialist bread from a supermarket that has a reputation for being expensive was full of flavour. The irony is the bulk bread was one pound sterling, yet the bread from the supposedly expensive supermarket was eighty five pence.

Now I know my regular reader will be wanting to know what my better halves exam results were. Well she got an A. I had gone into Newcastle with her, in case she had failed to get the grade she needed so that I could reassure her that all was not lost. Well that was not needed, and we went to a place that we call our café in Newcastle for tea and cake. I was pleased to see her happy about the result and she will now be going off to study for the degree she wants.

However staying on the food topic, the café that we call our own, we saw has been voted by its customers, as one of the top five Organic Restaurants/Cafés by readers of the Guardian newspaper here. While it may pigeon hole me in a particular stereotype, I would rather agree with the opinion of the fellow readers and the paper.

Palm Oil & Food Labels

2010-03-01T14:36:00.001Z

Last week on television there was an investigative documentary about the Palm Oil industry and the fact that it is destroying Indonesian Rain Forest and killing the Orang-utans As Palm Oil is the most frequently used vegetable oil in foods and cosmetics therefore it is virtually impossible to avoid. But with less than two percent from sustainable plantations, it is impossible to use your spending power to send signals to the major manufacturers.

Additionally even if you are a inveterate label reader like me, you can not tell what products actually contain Palm Oil as the label will only say Vegetable Oil. There are technical reasons why this happens, as often it is a blend of oils, thus if the percentage was marked it would require reprinting labels every three or four weeks. However, manufacturers know that Palm Oil is contentious and environmentally damaging but they still use it as it is the cheapest vegetable oil in the market.

The point is that the labels fail to contain any information that would inform the consumer. If it were something that the consumer would approve of, they would make sure there labels showed this.

Additionally, last year there was another television programme that highlighted that most of the chocolate made in Britain contains Palm Oil. Further while organisation that are supposed to be supporting conservation to protect the Orang-utans rain forest habitat by certifying the Coca production from sustainable sources, they endorse products that are made from Palm Oil that is destroying the very rain forest that they are supposed to be protecting. I personally can not name the products, as I am being threatened with legal action if I do. Well this Wood Mouse is not intimidated by big business bullying.

Thus, labels on food often show only what the manufacturer or retails want to show. Even with the legal requirements the manufacturers, processors and major retailers will often be economical with the truth. This has been most frequently been the case with meat especially pork that is imported and just from the process of cutting it up, are calling in British.

The real problem is that we the consumer can not make informed choices. Manufacturers and Retailers always claim that they have to look after their shareholders and their customers. I that order. Well deliberately misleading labels damage your shareholders interests and does not help the customer.

Water Voles, Otters and Polecat

2010-02-28T12:07:00.001Z

Before my better half went to India, I loaned her one of my cameras. However more importantly, I gave her the largest of my memory cards. Thus yesterday when out trying to observe water voles, I did not even have a memory card in the camera with me. All my own fault, but it meant that I could not take any pictures.

With all the snow and rain over the last couple of months, the Derwent has been flowing high and swift. The holes in the bank that the Water Voles normally use are underwater and hence unused. As the voles are used to this they translocate themselves to other shelter. It was these winter holes that I was trying to locate. I had stumbled upon signs of Water Vole activity via the laying snow. Further while looking for the voles I spotted a reed that was defying the flow of the river. I realised that it was some mammal swimming with it grasped in its mouth, but I did not have a clear view of the Vole. For I knew that it would be a vole.

The location is a place on the bank that is difficult for humans to get to or even near, thus they are free from disturbance. Well I made the effort to get as close as I safely could and waited to observe any activity. I will not describe the waiting, but cold and wet will describe my state. While I was not able to get any pictures I did see the voles. Although I heard them more than saw them.

While I was sitting huddled in my cover, I had my attention grabbed by a sharp whistle call. It sounded like a bird. But my memory was telling me that it was not a bird. As I heard the call repeat, excitement filled me but I could not see what was making the call. I had to move if I wanted to see if I was correct, but I would have to move slowly and carefully. I did not want to disturb the Water Voles nor did I want to disturb the other Mammal that was calling from near by.

More by luck than judgement, the breeze was in my favour, if the Otter was where I thought it was, but it was sound that was my greatest enemy now. I had to crawl over rocks and mud to get to a point where I could see where the sound had been coming from. As it took time I really was just expecting to see nothing. Then I saw signs of an otter in the water. Just the head, and under it went. It was less than a second of sighting.

I assumed that it was the otter that had been calling that I had seen. I scanned carefully, dark brown fur against brown rocks makes spotting a shy and elusive creature difficult at the best of times, and I was not in a good position still. Further crawling, and I crested the small mound. I knew I was close as I could smell the Otter, but I just could not see it.

I waited quietly, and every movement I saw appeared to be a false signal. I was just about ready to give up, when from behind some mud covered rocks came three Otters. A mother and two well grown cubs, about eleven months old. It was for only 45-50 seconds that I was able to see them make their way back to the river and disappear into the flow, but I was the happiest mouse on the planet at that point.

Then today as I sat at the computer ready to write this posting, and booting up the computer, I saw a Polecat enter my back yard. As my long suffering reader knows my office (back bedroom) overlooks the yard. I really wanted to get a picture of it, but sitting on my desk was the memory card from the camera and the camera was down stairs.

However I was able to spend a reasonable amount of time observing this rapidly darting creature to see that it was not a pure Polecat but a Ferret polecat, one that has resulted from breeding a wild polecat with a domestic Ferret. Therefore, while there will be folks that will say that I have not really seen a Polecat, it shows that there are Polecats in the area.

Well I am pleased to have seen it anyway.

Climate Change and the Heavy Snow

2010-02-23T13:50:00.000Z

When just before the Copenhagen climate change conference began there was a media row regarding hacked emails from the University of East Anglia, my initial concern was actually it did sound as though data had been manipulated. However, as I have dug into this further, I could see that there was no altering of the data to get results that only supported climate change.

I was also concerned that mail and correspondence that I had had with this institution was part of what had been hacked. As I had given contact details for various people that I have garnered together over the years myself. I am careful about my data and I am especially careful of others details as often these people have trusted me not to share stuff like email addresses and telephone numbers. Fortunately in all the cases that I had shared details, I had express permission to do this. However I am annoyed that the “theft” had caused me worries and potentially jeopardised friendships and contact that have taken years to build up. Fortunately too none of my mails were published, probably as they were far to boring to be of interest.

While there were aspects of the internal emails that were revealing of the backstabbing within academia, for the most part the stolen data revealed nothing about climate change. It did however muddy the waters and create doubts about the validity of the science. But one aspect the situation did reveal is the one billion dollars US that the coal and oil industry spends each year, collectively, to cast doubt upon climate change. Now these are the same people that accuse us rational and reasonable folks of... Well it changes but often of trying to destroy the economy and western civilisation. Personally you only need to look at the oil companies, the mining companies and the bankers to see that they are already doing a bloody good job already.

There can be no argument that climate change is happening, where there is room for a rational debate is exactly when the harms as a result of our changing climate will happen. I have made no secret that I genuinely think that we are likely to see a rapacious and dramatic rise in sea levels in a few years, by the end of the decade at the latest. This has nothing to do with the so called end of the world in 2012, but is based upon the science. However, I know that there are plenty of people who don't believe that any of the worse effects will happen for decades.

The effect of this controversial was to get me to rethink and re-examine the science. I have always had an open mind regarding Man made Climate Change, and if the science showed that there was another credible reason why we are seeing the climatic and weather events that are effecting the planet, then I have always been willing to say that I was wrong. However imperfect the theory that human activity is causing climate change is, the scientific data is conclusive. While there may be some small effects from other factors that influence the climate, it is the impact of billions of tons of CO2 going into the atmosphere from ancient carbon that is resulting in the global temperature change.

Where there is room for disagreement is the timing of the effects of the changes to global climate and localised weather patterns.

Over the last decade there has not been the increase in the global average temperature that was expected. This is something that the so called sceptics point to to say that Climate change is not happening. However, it has increased in bands, just as the weather systems circle the globe. That is why in the Arctic average temperatures have risen by ten degrees or more. The same is happening in the Antarctic too.

A major part of this lack of temperature increase can be explained by the effects of clouds. We all know that clouds can help trap the heat in. But equally clouds can reflect the sunlight and solar radiation back out into space. Thus clouds can have a warming and cooling effect. Therefore the question was was there more water vapour in the atmosphere?

Normally about one thousandth of all the water on the planet is in the atmosphere. While that may not sound like a lot, you only have to think of the volume of water that are in all the oceans and seas and you realise just how much that represents. I then discover that measurements show that global climate change has increased this volume of water vapour by four percent. Therefore the heavy snow events that have hit America, in particular, are a direct result of climate change.

While it is true that it is normally impossible to say that any weather event is the result of our changing global climate, the evidence is actually here that this was as a direct result of climate change. The extra snow only happened because of the extra moisture in the atmosphere. In many ways we should all be grateful that it fell as snow and not as rain as the flooding and damage that would have caused if it had been rain would have been devastating.

While I am willing to accept that there can and will be disagreements over the timing of when events will occur as a result of Climate Change, the fact of Human induced climate change is here and real.

Airport Food

2010-02-07T15:11:00.003Z

I am convinced that life is a series of song titles, the lyric that is buzzing around in my head is; “She's leaving on a jet plane...”

As yesterday I took my better half off to the Airport to wish her Bon Voyage as for the next month she is in India. I will have put up with being able to get in to the bathroom and cooking for one for over a month.

There was one aspect that struck me though, the most prominent food concession at Newcastle airport was, Greggs. Now for those that don't know, this is a bakers that has grown very large making and selling calorie rich Pies, Pasties and pastries. They dominate the North East High streets. Whenever someone tells me they are going on a diet I will often quip that I should sell my shares in Greggs then. If the Airport were really trying to promote the region, then having this food concession does not really help.

As we were there on time and there were no delays on the check in, we were able to go and have a relaxing cup of tea. Visiting one of the other concessions, Starbucks. While Greggs is not really the image of the North East that it is wise to promote, at least it is a local company. I would have thought that it was possible to find a local business that could have operated the coffee shop. And judging by the taste of the tea, and done it better.

When my better half went to catch her flight, we said our goodbyes, leaving not a dry eye in sight. I stood and watched as she disappeared into the throng of expectant travellers. My journey back home was via the metro, the light rail transit system in Newcastle. It has been a while since I have needed to use it and it remains very good. However catching the bus back to the village was more problematic as I had to wait and wait. There is only one direct bus and when one or more is cancelled it makes for a long wait. I eventually went for a coffee, a decent one in Newcastle city centre as I was so cold.

It is ironic that by the time I got home, my better half was well on her way to the change at Dubai. Well that's modern transport for you.

The Picture is my better half packing her case and covering the floor with the contents as she checks she has not forgotten anything.

An Economic Sword of Damocles

2010-02-05T10:59:00.001Z

Last month, officially, the recession ended in Britain. With less than a 0.01 percent growth in the economy. While there has been plenty of comment about how fragile this growth is, and that it will be a while before we really notice the improvement. Not least because of the level of government borrowing.

However, no one seems prepared to see, understand, or confront the very reason why the recession happened in the first place.

While it was the collapse of the banks that threw the worlds economies into recession, it was the bursting of the property bubble that triggered this. Therefore, while the banks still do need to be sorted out, it is the over inflated property values that no one is prepared to confront.

I realise that for the many people who have paid more than there home is worth, this will be hard to accept. But until property values regain a realistic value, it will be like an economic sword of Damocles hanging over all of us.

If it were not for the government deficit then this would be less important, as it would only really effect the people who had over paid for their homes. But because of the loans from the government made to the banks as well as buying out some of the banks, the state needs to conspire in the myth that housing is really worth the values that people paid. One of the aspects that caused the banks here so much difficulty and many of the banks losses was the collapse of commercial property values. They fell by eighty and ninety percent. While domestic property values fell by only fifteen percent during the recession. That means domestic property is fifty to sixty percent overvalued still.

The media and the government are celebrating that house prices appear to be going up again, and while having that appearance of ever rising house prices does make people feel richer, it is a dream that will turn out to be a nightmare of a further recession.

Clare Short at the Iraq Enquiry

2010-02-03T00:03:00.001Z

For the benefit of my overseas reader, here in Britain there is an investigation going on into the Iraq war. I tell folks this as I don't know if this is even being reported beyond our shores.

While Tony Blair has already been called as a witness, and the media made a big fuss of this here, there was nothing new that emerged. While in my dreams he would have turned up with a full written confession, already dressed in his prison clothes, that was just a dream. The other witnesses have not said anything really surprising, with the exception of some of the senior military staff, who were rather critical of the political planning.

However today, the former overseas development minister appeared. Clare Short won my admiration when she resigned because of the non existent planning for the aftermath of the war.

To go off on a slight tangent though, it is one of the problems with politics that no matter how much an individual disagrees with a policy, sometimes it is only by staying in post can you really influence anything. Thus, I was not surprised to hear that she, Clare Short, was against the war, even though she was in the government.

It is however her assertion that the former prime minister misled the cabinet and more importantly the house of commons, that is the real news.

I will not speculate about the real motives behind the war, but as the saying goes: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” The war had a dubious legal basis, and hundreds of thousands of people died. Has it made our planet safer? Not that I can see. Has it improved the lives of the Iraqis? Not that I can see.

The Iraq war distracted attention from Afghanistan where at least there could be a genuine case could be made for war there. But by fighting a (illegal?) war in Iraq there is now greater danger from international terrorism than before. Had the US and the UK concentrated on Afghanistan perhaps we would have now been safer and not mired in an unwinnable war.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

2010-02-01T13:57:00.000Z

No matter how careful we all are, we can all have mishaps. Don't worry dear reader, I have not injured myself. I always thought that if I did anything foolish it would be when outside somewhere, but no, it was a mistake in the kitchen that generated the mishap.

However, before I explain what happened, I need to tell my long suffering reader that my better half has just retaken an exam. It was rather heart warming that she choose to come here to study and do her revision as she felt there fewer distractions, and it was a calm relaxed atmosphere. I also think that keeping her supplied with tea and chocolate helped as well.

Therefore when she had resat the exam, she was doing it to made up the eight marks to get the highest grade, I decided to get something that she really liked to cook for her. So I took her to the fishmonger in Newcastle and suggested a couple of dishes she enjoy. The final dishes were Spaghetti alle Vongole and Chilli prawns. Both quick and easy to cook and as we were heading out the following day after the meal, I wanted to ensure that it was something she would love.

I was using razor clams for the Spaghetti dish and I checked they were all fresh and healthy. With everything else prepared, cooking was to be simplicity itself. As anyone who knows, shellfish don't take long to cook and if you over cook them they become rubbery. So I got the timing spot on and the Spaghetti alle Vongole was ready to serve. As the meat comes free from razor clams when cooked, the shells can be removed as you serve. However I also needed to put the griddle on to heat while we ate so I could cook the giant king prawns once the first course was done. While I would have preferred to serve both together, there is just no space to do this.

This lack of space is also why I put the empty pan back on the stove with the wooden spoons I had used to serve the dish with. But I had not turned the heat off of that ring.

As we were eating I could smell something charring and I did go and check the griddle in case it was that, but I thought it must be my imagination. I could not see a problem there. Then smoke started to fill the room, that is when I went back and noticed the pan that was cooking and charring the wooden spoons. Straight under the tap it went. It is a good job that I use decent pans otherwise I would have lost that one. I had however cremated two wooden spoons.

I do have smoke alarms fitted in the house, and until that point they had remained silent. I already had the situation under control when they activated. It took opening the doors and windows to clear the smoke to silence these. Well they were tested and work well, if ever there is a fire there is no danger of sleeping through that din.

It has taken many hours of soaking and scrubbing to fully clean the pan but that is no longer blacked and shines almost like new again.

The meal was a success and we went out and had a great evening in the pub we had had Sunday lunch at previously.

I am not sure what the moral of this tale is. But let it serve as a warning to keep me away from the kitchen, sometimes.

Great Bird Photos

2010-01-31T21:15:00.000Z

As I have been busy, cooking, writing and doing what my better half needs doing... I have been rather slack about posting here. I can hear my long suffering reader cheering.

However I just had to share this that I found on the BBC news site. Well the pictures tell there own story.

Vaux Swift

2010-01-26T12:43:00.001Z

As my better half and I were waiting to catch the bus to have our Sunday dinner out, I spotted one of the Red Kites. We were able to share the delight at seeing this magnificent bird. I knew that I had chosen the right partner.

Following a really good meal, I stepped outside for a cigarette. While outside the pub, one that had been owned by Vaux a local brewery, before the brewery was closed down. A complex situation where the company that owned the brewery closed down the business as the land that the brewery occupied was more valuable as building land than as a brewery The land is still undeveloped.

It was a shame as the beers they brewed were very good and I miss them. The company though had a logo that had a pair of birds on them. I had tried to identify the birds but had concluded that they were stylised birds rather than genuine ones. But as I looked up at the sign on the pub building I realised what they were. Vaux Swifts.

As my regular and long suffering reader will know, I get a number of podcasts relating to wildlife and natural history matters. Via one Terra Life on Earth was a film in four parts about the Vaux Swift and a school in Portland where they roosted. The decent into the chimney has become a spectator sport.

I had thought about posting about the film at the time, as it was wonderful to see and hear a community looking after the birds in this way. However, I was to busy when the videos were podcast and it took me a while to watch the film. Then I heard via a podcast of another US radio programme that the film was being shown on PBS. And again it did make me wonder if there was a connection between the man who had named the bird and the brewing family.

This I still don't know for sure, but it seems there is and the Vaux Swift became the logo for the brewery. As the Vaux swift is an American chimney swift, and Vaux is not a common name, logic tells me that there is a connection. So perhaps its not so much hands across the Atlantic but wings.

Sunday Lunch

2010-01-25T00:39:00.001Z

Last Sunday my better half and I went out for Sunday Lunch to one of the pubs in the village. While it was okay, it really was nothing to write home about. While I have no interest in writing about bad eating experiences, that meal was just bland. I could see so many ways that the meal could have been improved, using fresh vegetables instead of frozen was just one aspect that would have improved the meal.

Therefore with last weeks experience still promoting my taste buds to fall asleep at the mention of eating out again, I was a little unenthused by the idea of going out again for Sunday Lunch suggested by my better half. This was partly due to where she was thinking we should try. I had lived near the place when I first moved to the North East and while it was likely to be better food, it was likely to be a football obsessed place. Therefore, were the patrons likely to be the football crowed?

I am not being a snob here as some sports obsessed places can still be good pubs, but equally my other half and I both feel less than comfortable with the excessive drinking and passions that sports arouse in some people. So I suggested we try a place that I have been passed many times, but had never ventured into thus far. Therefore we were both virgins to this hostelry.

One of the first things that I noticed that pleased me was the blazing open fire. There is nothing like an open fire that says welcome and come in. Additionally in pubs, and especially pubs serving food, the atmosphere it equally important and we both felt comfortable about the place. As a dipsomaniac, grand master, I do have a lot of experience of pubs, and it really is the traditional style of public house that I feel most comfortable with. And this was a genuine traditional pub. It was not a fake recreation of this but the genuine article. Further, the locals in there were friendly as was the staff.

The food though was the real revelation, as we both tucked into a very tasty and well cooked meal. While this may seem obvious, we could taste all the separate vegetables. But this is not always the case, last weeks was a prime example. Each had been well cooked. We had both opted for the pork, had I even thought that I would be writing this review when ordering, I would have chosen the Beef or Chicken to make a comparison, but that was not the reason for the visit. Well it was succulent melt in the mouth pork that actually tasted the way pork should. The Yorkshire puddings were better than most I have had in other pub meals, but it was the only part of the meal where I could say could have been better. I know that I am perhaps being harsh there, but it was the one part that failed to hit the spot the way the rest had.

As my better half could tell you folks, I have a healthy appetite and when I cook for her, I often dish up more than she can eat. Thus I was surprised when she too cleared her plate. I personally was well stuffed and could have stood in as stunt double for a Paxo chicken.

We were both very impressed with the pub and the meal, and for me the best endorsement that I can make is, we will be returning there to eat again. Further, we will be returning to the pub for a drink too.

Going back to the atmosphere of the place, we had gone in together as strangers, we left having been included in the banter of the place. I personally have been fairly lucky with the locations where I have lived, as normally there has always been a really decent pub close by, within staggering distance. When I moved to the village I am now in, I was disappointed especially at first. I did latter find a couple of places that were worth visiting. However, none were as good as places where there is the feeling that you are in a second home and amongst friends. This place was just like that.

From when my better half and I became entwined, we have developed places that we like going to. We call them “our café” or “our pub” in that particular location and this we have both agreed is likely to become our local.

Agriculture Twenty Years On

2010-01-20T18:17:00.001Z

The British government has launched a blueprint for how we need to develop agriculture and grow more food in the face of an increasing population. The document is long on rhetoric but short on detail. However, there are three key details that is supposed to the future of farming for the next twenty years. More of the same regarding intensive agriculture. The use of GM. Importing foods that we lack.

While intensive factory farming has produced more grains, beef, milk in each and every case, there have been serious environmental impacts, but equally and perhaps more importantly intensification has reduced the nutrition value of our food. While beef may now be a relatively cheap meat there is a real taste difference between intensive and extensively reared cattle. Further there seems to be a serious failure to learn the lessons of BSE, as BSE would never have occurred without intensive agriculture. Equally, with milk production there are problems with the health of the Holstein milking machines that means that mastitis is a real problem and we have to check each tanker load, from each farm to ensure its safe. With grain farming the chemicals used in arable farming are getting into the water supply and we are having to spend millions trying to keep the water safe. Therefore is further intensification along the same failed model really the way to go?

While GM, Genetic Modification, may be a part of the answer to the problem of feeding the world, so far GM has failed to deliver the extra yield that was promised and claimed. The yield increase has only been a one percent increase in yield. This could have been gained with non GM crops. The impact of GM in places like India has actually been a fall in yield as GM needs greater water use than non GM crops. The question is when the world is facing a water shortage, where will the extra water come from?

With the importing of foods that we cant grow, or where we have shortfalls in yield, where will this extra food come from? Already in Britain we are only producing fifty-nine percent of the foods we use in the UK. This could show that there are real opportunities for farmers and growers in Britain to sell more, but as it is more profitable to exploit the poverty in other nations British farmers are being forced to accept prices that are uneconomic. As the world population grows, will there be the surpluses available for us to buy and import?

The other part of this equation is simply that this plan fails to even acknowledge that we have a climate that is changing. The government of Britain is basing its Climate Change policy upon the assumption that the globe can tolerate a 2ºC rise in temperature. Yet laboratory tests have shown that each 1ºC rise in temperature will, I repeat will, cause a fall in crop yields of between 4% and 16% across a range of crops. Thus with a two degree rise we will loose 32% of our current yields. Add into this complex mixing pot the fact that we will loose growing space as a result of rising sea levels, and agricultural yields will be reduced even further.

While all governments need to plan for the future, and no one can know for sure what the shape of things to come will be, but in this case, the one aspect that we can be sure of is that the climate is changing. And while the exact level where the global temperature will settle is unknown, the fact that it is rising is undisputed. Even the climate sceptic's do not deny that fact, they just say that its not humans that are causing it. Thus more of the same in agriculture will only serve to increase the increase the environmental impacts that are driving climate change.

With the known and expected impacts of climate change already here, will we really ever have a global population of nine or ten billion people? The shortages of water and food logically say that these levels of population growth can not happen. As simply poor nutrition in any population will slow and often stop reproductive cycles. Further, if we assume that the birth rate will match predictions, the shortages of water and food will prevent most of these children reaching adulthood. That I know is a shocking statement to make, but this is the reality of where the policies of most nations are leading. This is where some intelligent thinking needs to be applied. So that we create policies that manage birthrates so that we retain human rights while enabling a reduction in the global population via natural cycles of lifespan.

As I was writing this I took a break and looked at the BBC News website and I found this story about South Korea. There people are being encouraged to create more children, just when globally we need fewer. When will governments stop being selfish and realise that we are part of a global community.

Devils Food Follow up

2010-01-19T00:52:00.001Z

Following my previous posting, my good friend the talking tree, made a couple of good points. The first is simply that packet mixes don't really save time. In the past I have tried them, but found that I could make from scratch most cakes as quickly as a packet mix. However understand what Ms Tree means about waiting for the butter to soften, but here is a neat trick I learnt years ago. You can use butter straight from the fridge and if you cut it into cubes say half an inch dice, it softens in your hands, in minutes.

I do use butter rather than margarines unless I am making something that is for a vegan. However when I was a child, butter was being made demonic and as being bad for the heart. This data was being pushed out by the manufacturers of spreads. While the statistics were not incorrect regarding butter, it was not the whole story. As simply what was making butter unhealthy was the way that cows were being intensively reared. As in 2009 work at a British university discovered that traditional grass fed cows produced milk and butter that was more nutritious and healthy than even the health spreads.

Therefore the real problem was and is intensive farming. Just as the other point that Ms Tree raised. In her comment she made the point that the chemicals in cake mixes were causing a woman who was measuring her blood sugar to spike in a way that cakes made from scratch did not. And this highlights one of the problems with the safety testing of these additives in food. They are tested on very healthy people. Thus, if everyone was very healthy and fully fit, they are fully safe. But in the real world we all have minor health problems, and these chemicals effect the different conditions in different people. Additionally, each it tested separately, yet several will be used in a single product. They are never safety tested as a combination. Further, there is no safety testing system that looks at what the cocktail of chemicals we are all subjected to. This is all a good reason to avoid overly processed food if you can.

Well as I have tempted my long suffering reader, here is a link to the recipe for Devils Food on my new Food and Cooking Blog

Cooking the Devils Food

2010-01-18T14:38:00.003Z

As I have previously mentioned, my better half is not really a cook. While I can and do wax lyrical about her talents, being a domestic goddess is not one of them. Thus we have delineated domestic duties quite well. Therefore, when the anniversary of my birth came along, she wanted to maintain her family tradition of cooking a particular cake. As her mother is American, although now naturalised British, this was an American cake that she wanted to introduce me to.

Having been on the internet for many years now, I know and understand how important these traditions are to American families. Thus while I normally do not celebrate my birthday, its how I have stayed twenty one for all these centuries, I was ready to accept that I would need to allow my better half to have her way. Also as she is rather busy at the moment, it was decided that the cremation, sorry cooking, would happen at my place.

I had no real knowledge of what was to be cooked, but I was willing to help in what ever way possible. Even if it was just going to get the ingredients. However, all instructions I got was did I have, and all bar the icing sugar, I had in already. So I said I would get this when I went to the supermarket on Friday. As I was not going to the supermarket until that afternoon, when I got a call from She who must be obeyed, I was shocked that the cake was a cake mix and could I get a packet.

Well after picking myself up off the floor, I devised a cunning plan. While I had not yet tried the recipe, I had the recipe for Devils Food. A quick search of the ingredients in the cupboard and I only needed to get a couple of items to bake the cake. Therefore when I got back from the supermarket and put the shopping away, I baked the cake. My timing was good as I had just pulled the cakes from the oven to cool on the cooling tray when I had to help my better half from the bus. While I do love her, she needs to learn how to travel light, or at least lighter.

Fortunately the aroma of baking and the sight of the two cake halves did not disappoint her. Phew, as if I had got this wrong, I would have been typing this in my grave. However, I had to accept her recipe for the icing. This we made together. The peace treaty was signed... only joking!

So while we have been able to continue her family tradition, it has become adjusted to meet our needs.

There is though a serious point here, while I have no doubt that the packet mix would have been fine, as I work on the principal that I will not use items in the kitchen that have ingredients that look better placed in a chemistry set, I did not feel comfortable using the mix. Also personally I think my recipe will have tasted better. I am sorry if that sounds big-headed, but I know that when I previously tried packet mixes, years ago, I was getting better results baking from scratch. While I know that not everyone has the time, but cooking or baking from scratch is just so much better than relying upon packets from others chemistry sets.

Another aspect of this tale though, is the delight at sharing foods from other nations, and learning new recipes. The only problem is that I can see that I will have to watch my waistline. Or is that my better half's job?

Snow Damage

2010-01-14T17:02:00.002Z

Yesterday was the first time since the snow started that I ventured into Consett to do any shopping. As I try to keep a well stocked larder, I was able to buy perishables in the village, combined with travelling to the supermarket at the Metrocentre, in the opposite direction, I could have survived for several weeks had the snowy weather continued. As Consett is in the Pennines and a further thousand feet of elevation from my village, when it snows there it really does snow.

While there I was talking to one of the locals, who told me that the roads were very bad during the worse time of the snow and walking around was traitorous. While I doubt that walking around was planning to overthrow the government, I could understand that it could not have been easy there.

Then I noticed that outside one store there was an area that had been taped off. Initially I thought that it was because of the snow sliding off the glass roof. However I realised that the cordoned off area was actually under the canopy. It would have remained an enigma to me had I not had to walk past latter as I returned. The snow had seriously cracked the glass of the canopy.

The building is relatively new and it has been more than twenty years since we last had significant snow. Thus the builder and possibly the architect had failed to use materials that could withstand snow. Even though it has been several years since there was significant snowfall, any building erected in a town just above the foot hills of the mountains of the Pennines will have to withstand snow. But cost cutting will occur and now the canopy of this building is dangerous.

Equally the picture with this posting tells its own story. I was sitting writing when I saw the snow slide off that roof bringing down the gutter. This has only happened where the wooden fascia boards have been replaced with plastic ones. Again cost cutting, not necessarily by the house owner, that creates costs latter. Looking at the newer buildings though it is possible to see that some of the modern building techniques have added to the problems that people have suffered. Most of the older buildings have what are called snow boards on the roofs. These hold the snow on the roof so that it does not slip off and can melt off. This prevents the sliding snow pulling off loose tiles and slates. This also saves the guttering. The problem is that some of these skills have been lost and most modern builders and roofers just do not know how to create or repair such a roof.

A major part of the problem is that modern properties are all built to a standard design so while it makes them quick and easy to build, at the very least they lack any sort of character. However, it is the lack of building design to match the environmental conditions of the area. In parts of Wales the roofs have a lime plaster render coated on them. This enables the buildings to cope with the winds that prevail off the Atlantic. There were other unique features that enabled a building to survive and last in different areas. But to maximise profits and reduce costs in new build, the major house builders make tacky little boxes. You can look at pictures of new and recent build homes in any part of the UK on the internet and they look identical. These dwelling units are exactly the ones that have suffered the most in the recent snow.

But older buildings have suffered less damage and its almost as though they have just sloughed off the snow.

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

2010-01-13T16:44:00.000Z

There persists a misunderstanding perpetuated by misinformation that Climate Change only means weather impacts that are related to higher temperatures. This is compounded by the media, even the responsible media, saying that no single weather event can be blamed upon Climate Change. While as a general rule this is the correct way to look at the weather, the effects of Climate Change can be seen in the extreme weather that is occurring throughout the world. This includes the extreme snow in Britain and North America this winter.

Even a slightly warmer climate means that there is more energy and more moisture in the weather systems. Therefore, heavy and sudden rainfall, especially in places where it is not expected, will be a direct result of Climate Change. Climate Change effects the speed and depth of weather systems and this does not only apply to summer systems but to winter ones too.

As snow is frozen water, the greater moisture capacity of a warmer weather system as a result of climate change will be one of the effects of the changing climate resulting from greenhouse gases. These are effects that are predicted within the climate models. But just as the timing of the loss of Arctic sea ice was not expected to happen until the middle of this century, these severe snow storms were not expected until the same period.

While there are many positive actions being taken to remove the pollution from our activities, it really is far to little far to late.

In a century from now, the people that are left behind will have a greatly damaged world to heal.

The Farming Future

2010-01-11T16:20:00.002Z

Following my posting yesterday regarding the propaganda by the BBC of industrial agriculture, I was contacted by someone I know defending the BBC. While I accept that the broadcaster needs to provide balanced reporting and programming, but the programmes I was criticising were unashamedly bias.

In so many other aspects of life the media is much more questioning regarding what is done in our name. Be this by politicians or big business, but when it comes to food and farming there really does seem to be a lack questions asked. Personally I think that when it comes to industrial farming the media likes to see all the big machines and high tech kit and this blinds them to the effects of industrial farming.

Further, while farming of all scales needs to provide food for the nation and export, often the media fails to question what is really going on in agriculture. In this desire to see the high tech kit over the years when the media has reported on the growing of grains it has been the really big combines that get the attention. Yet to use these in Britain, many thousands of miles of hedgerow has been removed. As well as destroying habitat, the farmers and agricultural businesses also increase the level of soil erosion. This increases the need for petro chemical fertilisers just to maintain the fertility.

Equally arable farmers have grown more and more grains not because of need, in this country or even for export demand, but because of subsidies that rewards the largest farmers even more. Often resulting in a surpluses that has to be stored as there is no market for the wheat, or Barley or Oats. Yet because the varieties of wheat grown are not suitable for bread flour, the majority has been for the commodity market rather than wheat's and grains for human food.

While farming is a business and one that this nation needs, agriculture should never have been allowed to be owned by a few large companies. While there are always economies of scale, having a few mega businesses controlling large parts of the food production is never wise. Just following the example of the mega tonnes of wheat that British agri-industry produces, this industry is not producing human food but animal feed. Real farmers feed people not just generate profits by growing crops that are not needed.

This is one of the core problems with Farming, Agriculture and Horticulture at the moment. Measuring efficiency based just upon the profits generated is disguising just how inefficient the system has become. In Britain, the smallest farms, here called Small Holdings, generate six times more income per acre than do the large industrial farms. Also they grow the food that people (their customers) want. Further small holders do this with far less environmental impact than do larger farmers. Therefore the question in my mind is simply just how efficient is agriculture really?

Subsidies were needed to enable farmers to modernise following the second world war, here in Europe. This was effective as a starving Europe became one that was able to feed itself. But that was over sixty years ago, we face different challenges now. By retaining a system that was needed then, allowed the big business interests to take control of our food. By creating massive surplices of low value food commodities, enabled the major food processors to create the products that are of low nutritional value, known as junk food. Retailers like these as they are easy to sell when combined with cleaver marketing.

To use an example from another industry, the Oil and Coal industry spend one billion Dollars US each year to cast doubt on Climate Change. The food giants spend even more, ten times more, marketing products that they describe as food. Now as good food actually sells itself, why would they waste money marketing this stuff if it was good nutritional food?

While all businesses and industries are self serving and there priority is perpetuating what works for them, but food has to be regarded in a different way to electronics or any other manufacturing industry. For far to long the largest farmers, the major food processors and the major retailers have dictated what foods were available in the shops. Further as just selling the individual ingredients gains the food supply chain the least profit, there has been pressure on us as consumers to buy the heavily processed prepared foods. In business speak this is called value added products. That is not added value to us but to them. When you can find examples of chicken with added water, and with marketing nonsense saying to make it more succulent, the food industry and factory farming does not need promotion by the BBC.

Because of the need to feed an ever growing world population, the major agricultural businesses and interests are pressing for more of the same as well as all the practices that have already been shown to be seriously damaging the planet. Especially the new technologies that consumers have already rejected, like GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). And it is the way that sections of the media seem to uncritically accept the big business line on food and food production, that is most disturbing.

Had the media been doing their job back in the 1960s and 70s when animal protein was first added to cattle feed, and allowed to be added by changing the regulations, we would never have had the problem of BSE. Equally, had the media looked critically at the way that vegetables for Europe and North America is grown in water poor areas of the world, shipped here causing food shortages in the growing nations as well as reducing availability of water, some of the conflicts and development problems would have been reduced if not avoided.

There is not currently a shortage of food, but every night over one billion people go to sleep hungry. Over a fifth of the people on the planet are undernourished. Big businesses answer is to just push the junk food that is high in fat, high in salt, and low in nutritional value. But only for those that can pay. Equally these industrial scale farmers that farm massive areas of land may be growing export earning crops like soya in places like Brazil, but often the land was already supporting whole populations of subsistence farmers. But as they were not generating export dollars they are ignored and having their rights completely abused. Further, these people that are pushed off the land then end up being the people that form a drain upon the their nation.

There are no simple solutions to the food and farming crisis that a growing world population faces. However having the BBC pushing what is in effect the governments policy as though it is the only answer remains a shameful act of propaganda by the BBC.

Birds in the Snow

2010-01-10T11:53:00.000Z

With the duvet of snow covering the ground, roofs, well everything, I have seen more birds visiting my bird feeders. Further I have been throwing more seeds and nuts into the snow, particularly on to the roof of what was the outside toilet back in the dark days when we had to freeze to go. Anyway, while some of this seed was getting covered with fresh falls, enough was being found by the birds.

It did create some rather interesting effects, as when the snows first started there was some melting and the foot prints of sparrows looked like I had Eagles feeding in the back yard. I wish! However, it did spark the question in my mind of how are the Red Kites coping? I had not seen them for several weeks, then yesterday I spotted one soaring and searching for food. I have no idea if the bird found any, but hope that the raptor did.

That was not the only exciting bird that I saw yesterday, as I spotted a Jay that was feeding on the peanuts I had scattered about. It was the cawing of the Jackdaws that alerted me to the bird, but while I only saw it once, it shows that feeding the birds really benefits the birds.

Unfortunately I did not see them myself, but apparently there was a flock of what sounds like goldfinches seen rising from my back yard. The funny part is that the person who informed me of this finally understood why I feed the birds.

I was also putting water out for the birds, but the dog bowl that I use as their bird bath is now lost under the snow. Well I will have to wait for the thaw to find it now. As today it is above freezing and there is some melting happening, perhaps that will not be too long.

Propaganda on the BBC

2010-01-08T14:57:00.002Z

In my previous posting I said that there was a report on national radio about a local store, in a near by village, that had run out of bread. This was the result of panic buying and that may have been why I had difficulties myself buying bread in my village too. However my solution was to bake my own. I know that I am lucky to have that skill, and the ingredients so that I could do this, but it was not that long ago that most people would bake their own bread, or at least have the skills to do so.

It really is something that I do not understand, as cooking skills are so fundamental, I just don't understand how people can have lost the skill to cook so quickly. It was this aspect of modern life that I was already working on with a new Blog, Ye Olde Cookbook, as a way of trying to help folks discover the joy of cooking and the pleasure of real food, therefore baking bread had to be a good starting point for this.

I wanted to keep the postings separate from these postings, so that I could keep this much more on topics related to environmental and natural history matters. I know that over the years, I have covered my other topics here too. But often that can mean that folks looking for postings on one topic get lost trying to find what they want. So by keeping them separate hopefully will stop that.

Anyway getting back to the issue of bread, my significant other said something yesterday that really warmed my heart when I asked her what she wanted to break her fast, she said she preferred my bread and just buttered. Well if she keeps on saying things like that she will remain hired as girl friend.

However, the main reason for this posting is that on the BBC recently there have been a couple of series that have been little more than propaganda for the industrialised food industry. When the first was on, I was tempted to post something about this. However, it would have just looked as though I was just complaining as I did not like the series. Yet my real reason for being concerned about that one was that it seemed to be trying to promote the over processed food that we have forced upon us. In that programme they looked at the science behind the way that food (pseudo Food) is produced. Therefore, any criticism of the series would have looked as though I was anti science or against education.

But my main problem was simply that the programmes were just so unquestioning of why these processes were allowed? With a slightly different emphasis, the question could have been asked why are governments and statutory bodies allowing our food to be mucked about with in such an adverse way?

Had the programmes been on a commercial channel most people would have seen it as food industry propaganda. But on the BBC where there is supposedly no commercial influences, it seems to have got under the radar.

And this is something that really puzzles me in relation to food. In so many ways society has become really cynical and will not take on trust most of what it is told. Yet when it comes to the highly processed foods we are forced to buy, people will eat them unquestioningly?

There seems to be more propaganda being delivered by the BBC in a new series that started last night, or the way that industrialised farming can feed an ever growing population. Even though the environment was mentioned several times, it was more or less dismissed as well we need the food so the environment will have to suffer.

All the examples shown were of mega business and Agri-industry. And the location in the first programme was Brazil where vast areas of rainforest and natural savannah has been cleared for this agricultural revolution. In all the cases and examples shown, it was by liberal use of chemicals that this was achieved. Even though mention was made that the chemicals can pollute water sources, it was dismissed by saying care was taken.

Last year industrial farmers were complaining that several agricultural chemicals were banned in Europe. They were banned as they were discovered to be harmful to health. This year, on the first of January, Europe changed the way that chemicals are licensed. Previously a chemicals was deemed safe unless it was proved otherwise. Now the chemicals have to be proved safe before they are licensed. This has happened as far to often chemicals used for years have been shown to be seriously damaging.

I am not against the use of chemicals in Farming and Agriculture, there are times when are needs for them. However, if they were used carefully and sparingly, there would be much less problems with them. But farmers and especially industrial agriculture will use them much more liberally than is needed. Often using pesticides as a prophylactic even when there is no sign or indication that the chemicals are needed.

While there is a problem with food supply looming, for the BBC to become a propaganda mouth piece for the industrial food industry is really shameful.

The Snow and Climate Change

2010-01-08T11:49:00.003Z

Last nigh was the coldest night in Britain for a number of years. While it was not a record breaking cold, it and the snow has remained at the top of the news. As Homer would say, Doh, its winter. The one thing that we can normally expect to happen in winter is that it will snow. While I realise that news and information is needed in any adverse weather, the way the snow is being reported you would think that snow has never fallen in Britain before. Yet on the other hand, especially in the way statutory bodies have reacted, you would think that we have these conditions every year. And why have these statutory bodies not coped or planned better.

As I posted previously, local councils have been criticised in the media regarding gritting the roads. Particularly the minor roads. All through this snowy weather the main roads have been kept open. However, now there is rationing of the rock salt and only the main routes will be salted. The problem has been an irresponsible media putting pressure on local authorities to do more than was reasonable.

Yesterday I heard a report on national radio that mentioned a local shop where people panic bought all the bread and left the shelves empty. It really does seem that people are very selfish, as I could only think of the older folks in that village, Rolands Gill, who were not able to get out to shop easily. But clearly the media has contributed to this.

Even the BBC were carrying a report that people could make “a claim” against local authorities if the slip and fall in the snow. While if there really has been negligence then perhaps there may be a few genuine claims, but in reality the question should be asked what was the faller doing out in adverse conditions in the first place. I normally have a high respect for the BBC as a news source but my reaction to this was to wonder if some tabloid editor had taken over the news room.

That was bad enough, but last night the BBC were even questioning if Climate Change was real as we are suffering a cold winter. Now I have grown rather frustrated with the BBC over the reporting of Climate change as they seem to think that it has to be reported as a balanced political view. Climate change is a scientific fact, not a political view and giving people who doubt that climate change is happening when the facts show that it is, only hinders efforts to combat the problem.

Weather is what happens now, climate is the weather that happens over a number of years. Even this cold event is likely to be part of the way that the climate is changing as a result of Climate change. Therefore the BBC reports were misleading and very ill informed.

Snow and the Media

2010-01-06T17:19:00.001Z

Another eight to ten inches of snow fall last night and guess what the media are obsessed with the story. Now having worked in the media industry, anything where they can get either pretty pictures or shocking images will run and often lead the news. And while in recent years three weeks of snow is relatively rare, in the winter in Britain it will snow. That is not news.

While information is needed to plan activities, having half of each national broadcast showing pictures of snow, and the reporter standing in the snow, telling us that it has been snowing is not helping inform anyone.

I realise that the snow has caused some disruption, but the way the media has reported this, makes you think that the whole country expects everything to function perfectly normally. We don't Just less than a week ago the media were complaining that not all the minor roads had been gritted in some places. Yet last night there were reports saying that because all the minor roads had been gritted some councils were at risk of running out of rock salt. The implication being that this was poor planning. But had councils not gritted the minor roads and enabled access to smaller communities there would have been reports of people stranded and apparently abandoned by heartless local authorities. Talk about making a story out of nothing.

There is one rather interesting aspect to this weather event. As my significant other has needed me to look up bus times over the holiday period, I have discovered that my bus company has a face-book page where they post updates regarding delays and diversions, and this has proved invaluable in helping discover if a service is just delayed or has had to be cancelled.

At least today when I went to the village store for supplies, the drivers were navigating the roads with care. Unlike on the eve of the decade when most seemed to not want to see the new year arrive. Incidentally when I got to the store, they were just receiving their delivery and the shelves were empty of everything I wanted and needed. But unlike another woman who seemed to think that it was “a jolly bad show”, (translated for a family audience) I just took a philosophical approach and said I would return latter. After all the staff in the shop can not be held responsible for the weather conditions? Or will that be the news story tonight?

Foxy Fox

2010-01-05T00:11:00.001Z

Last night as I was writing my previous posting and catching up on friends web logs, I spotted a small fox squeezing itself under the back gate. I have long suspected that a fox was visiting the yard, but even the footprints in the snow were not clear evidence. As all the neighbourhood cats also come in, only a positive sighting would really do.

So a made dash for the camera, it takes a while for the flash to charge, and I got a picture of its escape route.

Kitchen Gadgets

2010-01-04T02:19:00.001Z

Following my posting yesterday, my long suffering reader made a comment that was very pertinent to what I was already planing to write about. I mentioned that my better half and I had bought a toaster and it will be far more energy efficient than using the grill setting in the oven. Previously as I needed to toast bread so infrequently, when I was on my own it was a balance of the cost of an appliance that I would rarely use against the energy cost. Often if I needed to grill something, I would do it after having used the oven anyway. It was all just down to planing and trying to be as energy efficient as I could. As well as being an old miser.

Talking about energy efficiency, like my talking Tree, I too prefer a gas hob as I find it much easier to control the heat with gas. However, I have learned over the years of using an electric hob that often you can turn the ring off and that residual heat in the element is enough to finish the cooking. Therefore when used properly an electric hob is fractionally more energy efficient than gas. However, with a gas hob you can use the flame to char grill peppers to remove the skin and a wok works better on a gas flame too. So while each has its benefits, we all have to make do with what we have and I see no point in wishing for something I do not have and can not afford. Where would I put two cookers anyway?

This was the issue that I wanted to talk about, that of gadgets and gizmo's in the kitchen. Like most cooks I have been suckered into getting gadgets that are supposed to make life easier in the kitchen. But even back in the 1980s I had reached the conclusion that the time saved with labour saving gadgets was then spent washing them up.

My own mother loved these labour saving devices and they would get used for a while, then would get placed in a cupboard to gather dust. Even when I was younger and discovering cooking and learning cooking skills, I often found that doing it by hand would yield better results. That said there are some gadgets that are really useful. I love my stick blender as I often make quick soups using leftovers or the odds and ends that would otherwise fester in the bottom of the fridge generating cultures. Well my hovel is a culture free zone.

Therefore most people do not need a kitchen that is full of gadgets and gizmo's What you need is good quality equipment and utensils that will aid you and not hinder you. With my ex, one of the aspects of her kitchen that I found frustrating was that her cooking knives were very blunt. It was no so much chopping food that you did with them but hack at them. She was not unique as I have other friends who don't like sharp knives and this prejudice stems from what their parents taught them. But you are more likely to injure yourself with a blunt knife than with a sharp one. Yes care needs to be taken, and even experienced cooks can cut themselves occasionally, but a cut or nick with a sharp knife heals quickly and cleanly should it happen.

Then the next item that you really need is some good quality cooking pans. While I personally prefer stainless steel, as long as they are a reasonably heavy gauge base you will get good results. A thicker base to the pan means you get a more even heat and that means you get even cooking. If the pan is to thin you get hot spots, no matter what type of hob you are using, and that is the most common cause for people thinking they can not cook.

Another essential is a selection of wooden spoons. When, I was first teaching myself to cook I used one of mothers wooden spoons. I had needed to wash it first as she never ever used them. However after using it and rewashing it after use, in the draw where is was kept the wood shrank and split. I got told off and was told that they were just for display not for use. I nearly retorted that they were well displayed in a draw, but thought better of that. My family made the Simpson's look like the Walton's. Well I bought a couple of them then and I have used wooden spoons ever since. As well as not scratching the surface of coated pans, they don't conduct the heat either.

Equally you will need other tools like a slotted spoon, a ladle, a metal spoon and a masher, but most other items will depend upon the cooking you do. The other essential is a pair of food tongs. One of the items that I frequently wasted my money on was garlic crushers. I have had a couple off very good ones, but to be honest I find that a mortar and pestle that I bought when I was 17 works far better than even the best garlic crusher.

Just before Christmas, and it happens every year, I see stacks of roasting pans. These are often the cheap and thin ones that will not last. I too have been seduced by these cheep pans but they are so thin that the fats and the food gets burnt on, even after a few times of use. Thus just as with thin based pans, they are a false economy and after having had to discard yet another that had buckled under the weight of a small goose, I got one that was thicker and was coated in vitalised enamel. I still have it and it has lasted more than twenty years and when cleaned it still looks like new. Now while at current prices one like this will cost about seven or eight pounds, even at current prices it will only take the cost of four of the cheap trays that will have to be replaced every year at least, and the better quality has fully paid for itself.

The same principal applies to other metal cookware. If you like to bake cakes getting good quality tins is essential for example. Other essentials will be bowls and jugs to measure and mix ingredients, but unless you are baking often if you are working on a budget, you do not need even scales. This may surprise some, but often you know how much is in a packet and you can judge the volume of a dry ingredient based upon what's in the packet in the first place. While I do find them essential for some of the cooking I personally do, for every day cooking I don't need them.

The items in each and every cooks kitchen will be different and I can only tell you what I have and more importantly what I use. It is one of the aspects of the celebrity cooks on TV that I often find amusing and frustrating is that they often seem to be using gadgets just for commercial reasons. Buy this gadget as I use it. When really most people do not need them, can not afford them, and will not use them even if they do have them.

So while most people will make do with what they have, I hope that anyone reading this person prospective will avoid wasting money on gadgets they don't need and spend the money on getting the best quality essentials that will genuinely last.

New Year New Plans

2010-01-03T20:07:00.000Z

As my long suffering reader already knows, last year I acquired a better half. I was not really looking for a partner in crime but a wonderful whirlwind came crashing into my life. So while there are aspects of the last year that I am glad to see the back off, this addition to my life is the one aspect that I am most happy to carry forth into this year.

There had to be changes to my life as a result of this, and some of these changes have been and will be reflected in what I post here. Also, towards the latter third of the year, I suffered from the effects of the recession. As many will have already worked out, much of the postings here are made on the back off the economic activity I was doing. But no matter how careful I was, it is often the folks you deal with who let you down. There were indications of the problems ahead off my publisher going bust, but I took people at their word when they reassured me that everything was fine. Equally, the recession has clearly effected my landlord. As repairs and services that they are legally obliged to carry out they have constantly failed to do.

Therefore my better half and I have taken these aspects into mind as we plan what what we want for our future. While this is not set in stone, one of the changes that could happen in this coming year is that I may be moving. Part of the rational here is that while I like the location of this cottage, and it worked while I was single, even before I met K, I could see that it would not be ideal for two. When we are together those aspects become manifest. For example the kitchen is so small and badly laid out that only one person can be in there at a time. Even before my better half and I were an item, opening the oven blocked half the kitchen. That makes it actually quite dangerous.

So we are looking and while there have been a couple of interesting possibilities, nothing has yet grabbed us as feeling like a home we can make together. There is no rush, but at some point in the coming year you could expect me to be posting about a change that will require exploring new land.

Even if we don't move just yet, we have started getting furniture and appliances together. You can tell that its serious when a couple do that. As the cottage is small, we needed a table that would allow us to share a meal in a civilised and comfortable way. We did find one that we could afford and was small enough to fit in without dominating the room, but in the time we debated getting it, it went. While there are advantages about sharing these decisions, it can lead to a lack of decisiveness. However, as we do share similar tastes, when I found another one, although slightly larger, it was one that we both liked. That was fortunate as I got it before my better half could see it. Phew!

As well as a new, pre loved, table, I had to replace the kettle too. I don't replace items like that to match the décor nor do I just get something new just because it is getting old. My old kettle was a good energy efficient appliance, but had stared leaking from the water level indicator window. As it was just a trace it was not urgent. However, when it started dripping water on my better half's bare feet, I had visions of scalded feet that occurred to one of my readers. Therefore, we made choices and decided to wait for the post Christmas sales. And we are really pleased with the choice we have made. It is even more energy efficient then the one it replaces as it needs less water to work. Also as it is a fast boil, it takes no time to boil. Not only that it looks good too. I would hope that it will last for many years as well. While not expensive, at less than twenty five pounds, it really does pay off in the long term to get the best quality you can afford so that items last.

Additionally as K likes her toast in the morning, we bought a toaster. I can grill and toast bread in the oven, but as I have already said, having the oven door open, blocks the kitchen so it makes trying to make toast a tricky prospect. While it is a task that I have mastered, as my better half has Dyspraxia, the eccentricities of my kitchen makes it even more difficult for her. So while I perhaps would not have bothered with getting a toaster if I were not in this wonderful relationship, I could see the need. While I doubt that no matter how good the toaster is, it will not last as long, it has already shown its worth.

Therefore my plans for the coming year are intimately linked to my better half and her needs. There have been several times when I have cooked for her that she has said that she always said that she needed to find a boy friend who can cook, well most of the time it is a pleasure cooking so we are well matched there. However as food and food issues are a major concern of mine, I will be devoting a lot of my time on these issues in my cooking web log.

Partly because of her needs to avoid some of the foods she dislikes and utilising the foods she does, I have been doing new things in the kitchen as well as rediscovering some of the old recipes that I have not cooked for years. So while I hope the new stuff I will be doing will entertain and inform you, my poor long suffering reader, I hope you will stick with me as my life and this blog evolves.

Snow, Snow everywhere

2010-01-02T16:13:00.001Z

Yesterday my better half and I were able to spend the whole day together. This is something that is quite rare for us as while we see each other frequently, these are often snatched hours within our busy schedules. Therefore, it was a really nice change to be able to just be together as a couple and share being together. Part of the reason why this occurred was simply as a result of there being no public transport and because of the snow. Had it not been for these factors she would have dashed off so she could get to work this morning.

However, a quick check on the bus and train times showed that she could still make it to work without having to spend hours, and I mean hours, travelling. Effectively the snow yesterday had cut off my village yesterday anyway.

This illustrates a problem that occurs as an attitude problem that people have with adverse weather conditions. Even when there is moderate amount of snow, the majority of people assume that they can do every thing that they normally do where there is no snow. When I know there is snow, or that travelling conditions may be difficult, I allow extra time and change my plans should I need to. Therefore people create their own problems by trying to do things that are not sensible in adverse weather.

In the not to distant past, I am talking about within living memory, people would stock up for winter and would be prepared to cope with these situations. It was one of my first actions when I first moved to the village was to prepare for the occasional loss of power and weather conditions where travelling would be impossible. By keeping a reasonably well stocked cupboard and even getting a camping stove so that I can cook and boil water. I have had need to use it too, not often fortunately, but its there when I need it.

I realise that people have to get to work and get on with their lives, but in the heavy snow as has been falling recently, it is the unnecessary journeys that really cause the problems. This is where people assume they can still drive to the pub or visit friends when the road conditions are not sensible to be driving in. Every time there is snow, the media carries reports of people that get caught in the snow where they are ill prepared. We are not talking about people having to be equipped for a major expedition, but folks going out in the snow as though it were a summer drive. People that don't even take a coat with them as example.

It was alarming to see on New years eve that cars travelling through the village were speeding. In the short walk to the village shop and back, I saw more than ten cars that nearly crashed as a result of their speed.

Well personally, I will stay in hibernation as much as I can while the snow persists.

Birds on Feeders and the New Year

2010-01-01T17:13:00.002Z

First let me start by wishing you all, a happy and peaceful new year. I know that I have been rather tardy about posting of late, but as well as being busy, the topics that I could have posted on, I would only have been adding to the noise rather than have been adding anything constructive. In particular I am thinking of the Copenhagen climate fiasco. At the start I drafted a posting, but I just felt it sounded rather pessimistic. And while it would have accurately reflected the events that actually happened, I really don't want this place on the Internet to be a location of Doom and Gloom.

Therefore I decided to follow an old adage; “Unless you can say something Good, it is better to say nothing”

So I hope my loyal reader can understand that I just did not want to depress everyone by saying lots of negative stuff about the environment and especially the climate.

It is Ironic that damaging global warming should be being discussed when severe old weather should hit both the US and Europe. And while in the future I will continue making postings about climate change and the environment here, unless I can say something new, informative or interesting, I really don't see the point in repeating myself. Also, I really want to keep my posts here positive. Further, I want to try and use this particular blog for the wildlife observations.

In this vain I want to recount that a couple of weeks ago, just after the first snows, I was coming back from a supermarket run when I saw a fox travelling in the snow. He, it was a big old dog fox, visible genitalia being the dead give away, was scavenging in a farm yard and it was the white backdrop that enabled such a clear sighting. Of the people sitting around me, no one else saw him. It shows just how unobservant some folks are.

One of other observations that the snow has enabled regards the birds on my feeders.

While most people realise and understand that some birds migrate, it is only a recent discovery that even resident populations of birds move their territories with the seasons too. Therefore your winter robin is unlikely to be the same robin that was around and breeding in the spring and Summer. While it is not a hard and fast rule, it does appear to be a general truth. This is why often in the Autumn birds will stop visiting the feeders we put out.

It used to be thought that it was that the birds went into an Autumn moult and that was why the feeders would grow quiet. That combined with the natural abundance of natures harvest, the birds had less reason to visit feeders. However, over the years I questioned this preconceived wisdom as I would sometimes see birds that were in moult on the feeders or about. Also it did not explain why the juveniles who would not need to moult also would cease visiting feeders as well.

Then by using miniature satellite tags, the ranges of birds could be definitively discovered. It surprised Ornithologists and naturalists that most birds would move to a winter territory. While this may even be just ten miles from their summer breeding territory, the discovery started answering many of the questions that the previous theory had not explained.

As the main reason that some people see an absence on there feeders is that they have moved away. It then can take a little while for the incomers to discover or rediscover that food is regularly there. Often as there is an abundance of natural foods in my local area with berries and seeds in the woods and hedgerows it is normally the snows that enable the birds to discover my feeders.

While there will be differences in each location, and some people will never notice an absence of birds on their feeders, the new discoveries from the application of new technology is answering questions that have remained a puzzle for decades.

Anyway one of the plans that I have been making while I was not posting was to start making expanded observational posts about the wildlife I see in my area. While there will be fewer posts here as a result, I hope they will keep my poor suffering reader entertained and informed.

Further, I have been putting other plans in motion and will be writing more on food and farming issues. While I have often spoken of these ideas, and the issues, it has taken time and effort to enable me to get in to a position where I can do some of what I want and still ensure that I have bread on the table.

So I hope dear reader that you like the changes that I will be making, and that the folks that thought I had deserted blogging, well the rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Have good year, I know that I will and pop by and share the fun too.

A Flock Of Red Kites

2009-12-06T15:15:00.000Z

Yesterday, I had the need to go into Consett to do some shopping and I was just leaving the village when I spotted one of the Red Kites. As there are roadworks being undertaken, the bus had to halt at the right spot so that I was able to observe the Kite for three minutes as it circled in its search for food. In the low winter sun the Red Kite was beautifully illuminated. A delight that made the job of doing the shopping much more pleasant.

Then today while writing the previous post, I saw a pair of Red Kites on the horizon. I stopped to drink in the spectacle and my delight was increased as further Kites appeared. A small group of five Red Kites were out foraging together. I was able to watch for more than two minutes as they came closer and flew almost overhead in their search for food.

While there are many problems associated with living here, it is the wildlife and the natural history that really makes it worthwhile.

A Mindless Act

2009-12-06T15:11:00.001Z

As I started writing this posting I don't know when I will be able to post it. As this morning, Sunday, I was taking my better half to the bus stop so she could catch the bus home. On the route walking to the Bus stop we pass the Telecoms switching box that handles most if not all the telecoms traffic for the village. It had been vandalised and was covered with a protective canvas cover and police tape. As we had approached the location, a telecoms van was just pulling away and obviously all work that could be done to restore service had been carried out, but it still took another couple of hours before I had telephone or Internet.

As an act of mindless vandalism this really does stand out as being particularly stupid, as it disabled the telephone system for a number of people. In my village there are a number of elderly residents who need the telephone for their safety and security. It is not infrequent that I see an ambulance speeding to the locations where the elderly folks live. Therefore this mindless action could have seriously endangered life.

While there are some things that happen in life that I can get into the mind of the people that do stupid things, there are other times when I just really can not. This is one of the latter. Why anyone would want to destroy such a vital part of the infrastructure is just beyond my comprehension. There has to be a serious cancer at the heart of our society for this to happen. At least from the enquires I have made so far, no one was harmed by this, but who knows what hidden harm has happened as a result of this mindless act.

The Right To Take Pictures

2009-12-01T11:12:00.001Z

Had it not been for the wonderful, informed and insightful response to my posting on the Tawny Owls and my wish to follow up on that, I would have been posting on this issue yesterday. As the first news story that I found on the BBC news website was this issue of a BBC News Photographer who was stopped from taking pictures.

As I recounted, when watching the Owls I had probably been seen by the police, and they had started to look for me. As they saw the Fox and possibly assumed that was the movement they saw, I did not suffer the interference that can happen. While I have recounted a couple of the instances where I have been stopped by the police while out watching wildlife, I get stopped on a depressingly regular basis.

While I realise that anyone roaming about in unusual places and at strange times could be suspicious and needs to be checked, it has reached the stage were I feel as though I am living in a police state akin to Eastern Europe of twenty years ago. In fact I was considering posting on this very issue for the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

There is crime and criminal behaviour that the police need to prevent and detect crime, but police are abusing their powers under the anti terrorist act. If they have no other reasonable excuse they will cite section 44 and stop you anyway. Often the rational for the police stopping me is simply that I am on foot and carrying photographic equipment. It seems that if I had been in a car I would not have been harassed

However, the issue goes far wider than my inconveniences. While I realise that the terrorist threat is real, there is no sense in stopping and harrying people who are going about their lawful business. The most disturbing aspect of the way the government have reacted to the terrorist threat is the way the very freedoms the terrorists want to deprive us of, the government has taken away.

There is a culture that has developed in the police that treats the general public as, if not the enemy, something to be controlled. In interviews with senior police and politicians about policing issues, the answers that the authorities give create images in my minds eye of the footage we see of places like North Korea.

There is a lack of logic behind the police actions in stopping people from taking photographs. As in the press reports of terrorist trials, often one of the supporting aspects of the evidence is the film and photographs of the intended target. Therefore by stopping people from taking pictures the police will reduce the evidence base that can be used to convict these thugs.

Fortunately we don't yet live in a police state. No matter how much the police may think this would solve crime, it did not stop crime in Eastern Europe where there were police states. Also the more the police alienate themselves with the public, the less support and help the police will get. Just yesterday something happened that illustrates this.

My better half and I had been able to spend the day together. As part of this we went into Consett to do a little shopping. I really know how to treat a girl! Just as we were getting ready to get the bus back, I wanted to have a smoke. I was standing around outside the covered shopping market while my better half went back into a shop we had previously been in. While I was waiting I witnessed a child of about 11 or 12 dealing drugs. With the first transaction I was not totally sure that I had really seen what I knew I had seen. But the second one was blatant and clear.

I did consider calling the police but as I was concerned for my safety and that of my GF, I did not. Could I or should I have called the police latter? I don't know, I did not call or inform the police. I can justify this in my own mind as even if I had informed the police latter it was likely that I would have been identified by the dealers as the likely informant.

As much as I detest drugs and the harm they cause, I feel so dissatisfied with the police that I don't want to have contact with them if I can avoid it. It is the way the police are abusing their powers that is creating this situation, and in the past I would have considered it my civic duty to help prevent crime.

A link to the BBC Story

Owls Follow Up

2009-12-01T01:01:00.000Z

This is where the Inter-Web thing is so amazing, following my posting on the owls I have a real expert responding. Thanks Romillyh.

The behaviour that I witnessed is unusual, not least because Tawny Owls do have a strong pair bond and the normally mate for life and more importantly hunt together as a pair. While out watching Badgers I have seen this in action where if one bird fails to make contact with the hunted prey, the second bird has made the kill. The first time I saw this I thought it was competition for prey, so it shows how careful an observer has to be basing interpretation upon one or a few observations.

This is why I recounted my observations as well as adding my speculations. As the new juvenile is not banded or marked, I can not know for sure that the “new” female is not one of the offspring of the established pair. However, as normally the parent birds do drive off all their brood, it is a reasonable assumption to make.

That said I also voiced some of my speculations as to what is happening. Is the new bird an insurance for a hard winter? The honest answer is I do not know, yet when I was much younger and talking to senior birders in the past this was an observed occurrence. It appeared to decrease as winters in Britain became less severe. Therefore while it may not have been recorded scientifically, older amateur observers recounted this happening. While this may be behaviour that was lost in the populations in the South East of England, it could be that in areas like the North East where winters are harder, this aspect of behaviour is retained. I fully realise that at the moment I am speculating. However based upon anecdotes and others observations and some educated guess work, it could be that I have seen something rare and seen only in populations where conditions create this behaviour.

Also while I have not heard reports of a male mating with more than one female in Tawny Owls, I have heard of Barn Owls. Also there are many species of birds that do this. It would only be likely if there is sufficient resources to keep two families. Again I am speculating and trying to ask questions that could explain the behaviour, but it could be that local conditions have ensured plentiful prey. This in turn may make it possible for the male to support two females.

It is one of the delights of observing wildlife that there is always something new to learn. In time further observations may help answer some of the questions I have. Other peoples observations also help in gaining a clear picture too. It may be that time will show that my speculations are incorrect, but at the very least the observations have sparked my curiosity and I may be able to answer some or all of my questions in time. Equally I may never get to know or understand what was happening. Either way these Owls provided a wonderful night of wildlife watching.

Owls

2009-11-30T00:57:00.001Z

While talking to my neighbour on Saturday, I heard that a Tawny Owl was perched on the roof line a few days before. A couple of days earlier I too had briefly seen a Tawny Owl sitting perched on the crosspiece of my back gate. I had rushed to grab the camera but it was gone when I got back. It appeared to have been hunting a Robin that was hiding in the yard.

Well the Wood Mouse being the adventuresome sort, you can read that as being mad, set out on Saturday night to track where the Tawny Owl was ranging. In the Autumn it is often easier to find them as the young raised this year will be looking for their own territories and while this brings them into conflict with existing territory holders and resident pairs, by tracking the calls it is possible to discover where the residents are as well as track the juveniles as they look for suitable hunting grounds.

So that is what I did, or at least set out to do. It was just that Owls don't like flying in rain and when it really stared raining all three of the owls were caught out away from their perches and roosts. Two were females with one being a juvenile and the male who is the established territory holder. In the natural world it is normally the territory holder that retains a territory. Therefore had the juvenile been a male it would have been driven off. This juvenile female was obviously not one of their offspring as the male appeared to be encouraging her to stay. At one point even bringing her a mouse or a vole. All this in sight of the established female. This feeding of the juvenile female prompted some intense calling by the established female. Was this jealousy? Was the male likely to have been in the owls equivalent of the dog house? To be honest I could not tell. Its far to easy to project human emotions onto this but the behaviour was extraordinary.

The rain may have played its part in calming the situation, as soon after the male had fed the new female and there had been the intense fifteen minutes of calling by the old female, the heavens opened and all the owls hunkered down to escape the torrent. All the while, this Wood Mouse acted like a sponge.

Eventually in a gap in the rain the new female flew off and while I think I know where she went to roost I could not be sure. Not least because I stayed with the established pair and tracked them back to their roost.

If in the spring the other female is still around will the male be trying to mate with her too, only time will tell. It may be that the male goes off with the new female. It may be that the male is ensuring that he has the choice of two mates should one not make it through the winter. A rather damp night of observations has raised more questions than provided answers. I had set out to discover the roost site and I did find it. But this little interaction has provided a rather unique glimpse into the behaviour of owls.

While watching the owls was the main reason I was out, three times I a fox, I think it was a dog fox, out patrolling and hunting. Because of a knick in his left ear I was sure it was the same one. What ever he had found, he was returning to take more of this food. Each time he would eat some and then carry off some of what ever it was he had scavenged or killed. At the distance and in the dark I could not see what it was, but while I think it was scavenged, each time he dove onto the food as though he was hunting. This is rather typical fox behaviour as they do this as if they are trying to say I am a proper hunter! It was during the foxes last visit that I noticed a police car stop and the officer used a torch to scan the area. I had seen it go past twice and I did wonder if the officer(s) had seen me from the road. I was about one hundred and fifty or so yards from it, and while I was keeping concealed from the wildlife, I had no reason to keep out of the view of people. Well the beam of the torch found the fox and he scampered, but I did wonder if the police officer had seen me and had thought I was up to no good. It would not be the first time that has happened, nor I doubt will it be the last, but the intense beam of the torch did disturb the fox and the owls too. The dominant pair moved from their sheltering spots and I did think I was going to loose contact with them. But fortunately the rain was so intense they returned as soon as the police car moved off.

While it did not happen this time, people with flash lights are a real bane and bug bare of mine. My night vision is quite good and better than most folks, but this can be ruined by the careless use of a torch. Police officers are the worst offenders for this. Instead of directing the beam towards the ground, they will always direct the beam into the face. This the police are trained to do as it destroys the night vision and it will take several hours to regain. While I can understand that it can be a useful tool when dealing with a suspect, the intentional incapacitating of a persons night vision is extremely annoying.

I was rather tired and wet when I got back home, but a warm cat and a hot cup of tea works wonders. It was getting light before I got to bed and I was looking forward to a good few hours sleep. However, at about ten I heard the phone ring, I ignored it. Big mistake as it was my better half and the mobile rang. She must have thought that I was being very lazy still being in bed. I explained that I had been up and out all night. Well I had warned her that I kept odd hours sometimes and it has caused some minor tensions as there are times when I really can not be disturbed. But as we just laugh it off latter, it never really becomes a problem. I need to educate her to avoid calling the cell unless it is essential. While I could turn it off at times, there are occasions when I need it for emergencies.

It is a shame that on three occasions that I have had to call the fire brigade out to fires that people have started in the woods, unlawfully I should point out. Also I have several times needed to call the police to deal with poaching or some other act of stupidity.

In the main though it is nights like this that make all those minor hassles become insignificant and the delights of seeing and discovering new and unusual behaviour of the wildlife that secretly share our space.

Food Labels and Ethical Buying

2009-11-29T15:27:00.000Z

Last week when out on a supermarket run, something happened that made me feel that people really do care once they have the information. My better half really loves fish, as do I. However because of issues of sustainability I am really careful about what I buy. Not just the species but how its caught and often the company involved.

Therefore when I was looking at the frozen fish in the supermarket, I was looking carefully at what was there. One of my fellow villagers made a comment along the lines of you wont find any bargains there. Then she said that a particular product from Youngs, the biggest fish processor in Britain, was reasonable. I explained that I would not buy from them as a few years ago they closed a factory in Scotland and started shipping the Scampi (also known as Dublin Bay Prawns or Langenstein's) to Thailand to be peeled then shipped back to the UK. Well her reaction was to put back what she was going to buy and she chose another brand.

A small victory, but once armed with information people will make ethical and environmental choices. While one person will not effect much change, yesterday (Saturday) I learnt that several of the senior shoppers have stopped buying the fish from this brand as well. How many are doing this I don't know, nor how long this will happen I can not tell either, but it shows that people don't like the way that multi national companies operate.

For older folks it must be difficult to realise that brands that you previously trusted are not the ethical or trusted company you thought them to be. Also it is actually quite hard work to source foods that are sustainably sourced or from ethical companies. However, part of this problem of misleading food labels may change. In European Parliament MEPs and the commission will be looking at the problem in the coming week.

While the food labelling rules stem from an European agreement and rules, in Britain, Europe (the EU) is frequently blamed for rules that appear silly or stupid. But the reality is that Britain was at the forefront of getting these rules implemented in the way that the food industry wanted.

The purpose of these rules was supposed to make it simpler, easier and for food producers to use ingredients from across the single market of the European Union without having have a complex country of origin label on the packet. However, food processors and the major retailers realised that they could abuse these rules and mislead the public.

The problem is most prevalent with meat sold in packages in the supermarkets, where meat reared in another country can be imported into Britain and just cutting the carcase into joints in a British processing plant entitles it to be labelled as British. Therefore people think they are buying British but in fact the meat comes from anywhere in the EU.

As frequently Britain has adopted higher welfare standards for the care of livestock, these (deliberately) misleadingly labelled packs fool the public into buying meat (or other products) that is not of the welfare standard or sustainability that the consumer thinks it is. Even I who is aware of the scams the supermarkets are playing, have been fooled on occasion.

In the supermarkets defence, they say that most of their customers buy based upon price and I can understand that and consumers do and should have that choice. However, if they (the supermarkets) were to label the products with the actual country of origin rather than the deliberately hiding this, would they sell as much?

That question is quite important as the supermarkets make a greater margin on meat and other products that are imported, especially where they can obfuscate the real country of origin.

As my regular reader will know, I have been talking about this issue for several years now, and while looking into the matter I had an informal chat with a trading standards officer. I was told that in many examples of misleading labels from all the major supermarkets could well be more than misleading but illegal. The problem is that even if the local authorities were to prosecute, the cost is prohibitive (about a quarter a million pounds) and the fines are so small that it would do little or nothing to stop the supermarkets from repeating the offence.

People do want to support British farming, and often think they are in the choices they make. The supermarkets know this and it is why they do this. Yet this issue is not just a question of allowing people to make ethical choices, deliberately misleading labels are a public health issue.

If there was a problem with meat becoming contaminated in some part of Europe so that it was unsafe to eat, unless people can look at the label and check the country of origin clearly, people could end up consuming that meat unknowingly. I could see this happening and it seriously damaging the business reputation of one or more of the supermarkets.

This is what I don't understand about the shareholders, who are the owners, of the major retailers. As unethical practices like this may increase profits in the short term, whenever these practices emerge they damage the profitability of the business. Add to this potential for a food scare as a result of this particular immorality and the investors, the shareholders, the owners could loose their money.

While it will take a while for the labelling rule to be changed to ensure that this deception ends, the majority of the supermarkets customers want the major retailers to start being honest with them. So why not give the customers what they want as you say you do?

Secret Loans

2009-11-28T14:40:00.001Z

It was revealed this week that during the banking crisis when the banks were collapsing that the Bank of England, the British central bank, secretly loaned two of the worse banks sixty two billion pounds. This was all done in secret and this is what most disturbs me.

At the time, I was reluctantly agreeing and accepting that this had to be done not to save the banks but to save the economy. However, as more details and facts have become disclosed the less in favour of the actions that governments and the central banks took.

As Lloyd's bank took over one of these banks, in what was effectively a shotgun wedding with the government holding the shotgun, if I had been a shareholder (owner) of Lloyd's then I would be very peeved to discover this as HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) was in such a poor state and the shareholders were being asked to buy a “Pig and a Poke”

Taking just an economic prospective, asking shareholders to buy an asset or a business when there has not been full disclosure of the poor financial state of that business is unethical to say the least and may well be unlawful. However, it was the rational behind the governments actions that really needs to be questioned.

In Britain before the collapse of the banking system house prices were on steep upward trajectory. I know that in the US house prices had already started to fall, as was happening in other parts of the world, but here property prices were still rising, even though it was clear that they were already overvalued. Further as the government here in Britain were reaping substantial tax revenues from property sales. As were the estate agents garnering greater and greater fees from sales, plus this over heated housing market was supporting a major part of the retail sector as well as all the builders that were re-refurbishing these homes. Finally it was in the banks interest to keep the illusion that property prices would never fall. As simply all the loans provided would have looked stupid if house prices fell.

It was this rather cosy system that governments were trying to save. The illusion that the economy was doing well was only made possible by everyone pretending that property prices were reasonable and justified. Even before the recession started, I was pointing out that house prices were extremely overvalued, so I am not jumping on some band wagon here. But while high property values may appear to be a good thing, especially for those that already own their home, but any form of inflation damages the economy.

However, the real problem was and is that the British government via the central bank made massive loans to support two failing and bankrupt banks with the aim of maintaining the over inflated property market. For more than ten years government ministers have made statements that there is a shortage of housing stock. In most cases this has been untrue as there are more than one million empty homes in Britain. So we now have the situation where via government loans to the banks and equity stakes in some banks, the state is now extremely over borrowed.

Had the banks and the government been honest about the true state of the banks and the banking system the global economy would by now have been in a much better condition. This matters as there needs to be a massive investment into de-carbonising the global economy. But the worlds governments have bailed out the very institutions and businesses that created the banking crisis and the recession and whose unethical business practices are destroying the bio-dome of plant earth.

The future needed to change and we have allowed governments to maintain the status quo of allowing and encouraging greed, when we could have used the situation to genuinely save the world and not just save the bankers.

I just wonder what else the government has done in our name without telling us?