Enjoy the summer - go mad in your garden

Hello again,

It is the middle of summer, so get outside and enjoy your garden.

Spruce up your garden by cutting the grass and doing a bit of weeding. Now is the perfect time to trim your box plants and add a bit of seasonal colour to the garden by planting some summer bedding. Then to make sure it all thrives, make sure your garden watering system is working efficiently, adjust the timing for high summer and sit back and watch it grow.

If you still have some energy then fill your fridge with easy food, buy some beers, wine and soft drinks and then invite your friends, family or work colleagues around for lunch or dinner in the garden.

Don't wait, get on with it...

Until next time

Fowl language seems to be the order of the day

Hello again

It seems that we are all reverting to nature, discarding the excesses of the last decade or two, moving away from conspicuous consumption towards a more natural, considerate way of life. Recycling, buying cars with smaller engines, using farmers' markets, buying local, buying seasonal, growing your own fruit & veg and now, chickens.

It seems that having your own micro, egg production facility at the bottom of the garden is the must have accessory of the middle classes. It's easy to scoff though, but actually, having chickens and producing your own eggs is great fun, tasty and provides a good message to children - apparently eggs don't come from Sainsbury's, they come from chickens!!

My mother is an old hand at keeping chickens. She has lots of breeds: Frizzles, Polish, Light Sussex, Seabright & Black Rock amongst others. Some are more relable egg layers and some are more ornament but collectively they are rather charming. My daughters love feeding them, giving them some water and most of all, collecting the eggs. This is a joy to the children and to adults alike. There is nothing quite like opening the coup and finding four or five fresh eggs - one never tires of this.

Try it, I am going to.

Unitl next time

Mo[w]ped - geddit?

Blair Witch or what?

Hello again,

When I was on the Black Isle recently I happened across a strange thing in a small woodland at the side of a road. In the wood it seemed that every twig & branch of every tree had fragments of clothing attached to it. Somewhat freaked out by the slightly scary sight I knew I had to satisfy my curiosity and find out what it was all about.

It turns out that it is called the Clootie Well and the use of clothing is based around a pagan tradition that dates back to AD620. The Clootie Well is basically a healing place used by pilgrims to heal the sick.

The tradition involves circling the well three times at sunrise before splashing some of its water on the ground before making a prayer. They would then tie a "cloot" or piece of clothing (that had been in contact with the sick person) to a nearby tree. The theory is that as the cloth rotted away, the illness would leave the sick person.

Although it looks quite alarming, it is actually rather touching.

Unitl next time...

Spring really has sprung

Hello again

In my view, there is no better time of year than the first flush of spring. Plants and gardens are bursting with life, the birds are busy nesting, the sun is warm, the air is cool and everyone feels a little more optimistic.

We have been through a long, cold winter; both meteorologically and economically and finally we can see the first signs of hope and positivity. Winter clothes are put away, the evenings are lighter and the barbecue can be dragged out of the shed and set up for the coming months. I run a garden irrigation and garden lighting business and we are finally into the spring and are busy visiting and maintaining around 550 gardens that have a watering system and/or garden lights.

Individually, we might not be able to do much about the recession (apparently, it's a global issue that was made in the USA!) but collectively we can make our worlds a better place. It's the little things that everyone can do that can make the biggest difference. It's about creating and reinforcing communities. Imagine the difference there would be if everyone said good morning to each other, smiled at each other a bit more, looked out for their neighbours, picked up a bit of litter, planted a tree in their front garden. These are all things that we can do that will improve our lives and the lives of the people that live around us. We all get bogged down in the day-to-day "busyness" of life but all we can do is try to make an extra effort.

Planting a tree in ones front garden (if you have one) is a good example of a minor effort producing a huge reward over many years. A single tree in a front garden will improve the look of your house, prevent wall-to-wall paving of front gardens, soften the architecture, provide shelter for birds, convert CO2 to oxygen and reduce particulate pollution. A tree in every front garden in a road will completely change the atmosphere from being a street to being an avenue or boulevard, provide shade from the harshest sun, slow the windspeed and take the visual emphasis away from hard surfaces to a softer, more natural feel. It's no coincidence that the most desirable streets are those that are lined with trees.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to preach at anyone, I just think the recession has changed the rules for ever. It is no longer acceptable for us to behave in the way we have for the last decade or so; consumerism, conspicuous consumption, greed and turning a blind eye to the environment is unsustainable. It is apparent that we will all have to change our behaviour over the coming years. Changing the global environment is probably best achieved via the ballot box but your your local environment can be positively influenced you, now. So, don't wait for everyone else, do something.

Until later

Welcome to the C21st confessional

Hello again,

This is another observation about rubbish and hopefully not a rubbish observation.

It seems to me that the recycle box has now become a C21st confessional or a window on the soul. You can now tell so much about a person by their recycling, I don't mean rummaging through people's recycle bins - just what you can see as you walk on by.

You can tell their politics from their newspapers. You can see their interests and aspirations by their magazine choices. You can assess how afluent they might be by seeing which supermarket they shop in. Do they buy "Basics" value offering, the standard range or the premium "Taste the Difference" range. You can see how many ready meals they buy. You can see what they like to drink, whether its wine, beer or a drop of the hard stuff. You can see how much they drink and whether it is good quality or not. You can see if they are watching their weight with healthy choices and diet drinks.

Self conciousness will soon take hold and Soon people will start to hide the things that they might be embarrassed about.

What next?, maybe the government or local council will begin inspections of your recycle bins and then lecture you on how they believe you should be living your life.

It's probably not as far fetched as you might think.

Until next time

Recycling in the "community"

Hello again

The issue of recycling is something that has occupied my mind of late.

In principal, most people agree that recycling is a good thing. It is certainly not as good as minimisation ie use less packaging in the first place but, as a response to consumerism it is ok. It is how recycling is implemented that has got everyone's goat.

Firstly, it is the Local Councils that are charged (by the government) with having to recycle; they must meet their targets to reduce landfill. To our credit, there is a willing and enthusiastic public out there who are happy to assist for the greater good, but it is not the legal duty for the public to recycle (as far as I know). That being the case the Councils need to adopt an inclusive, helpful and co-operative approach to recycling and not become bullies. Rather than use a carrot, the Councils have adopted a stick approach. The whole recycling thing has rapidly evolved from being the the Councils responsibility, to being our responsibility, to us being policed by the Council.

When I say responsibility I want to be clear that I mean legal responsibility and not the moral imperitive, I accept it is everyone's moral responsibility to recycle.

It has now got to the point where the public are punished if the binmen ajudge that someone might have broken the rules. Since when did the binmen become the arbiters of such matters? This is wrong, if the Government and the Councils want recycling to be a success then they should/must reverse this trend and start working with the electorate or they will find that the electorate won't want to work with them.

I shall get off my soapbox now.

Until next time