This week the UK government further eased restrictions on the lockdown in England that has been in place for almost three months (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are subject to slightly different, and generally more cautious, restrictions). Curious to see how the populace would respond, I must confess to a feeling of deep depression at the sight of long queues of cars at fast food drive-throughs and of people lining […]
The UK held its most recent general election on 12 December 2019, just seven months ago. In its manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged that in post-Brexit trade talks it “would not compromise” on animal welfare or food standards. That pledge was backed up by statements in the House of Commons. “We will not be importing chlorinated chicken. We will not be importing hormone-treated beef”, we were told just five months […]
The glorious British strawberry season is upon us. If, like me, you grow your own strawberries you’ll be starting to enjoy harvesting these lovely summer fruits. I grow seven different varieties, most of them in hanging baskets, to maximise growing space in my garden for other fruit and vegetables (growing them this way also helps keep slugs at bay). If you choose to buy some of these juicy seasonal fruits, […]
Our attention has been focused intently for the last few months on the Covid-19 pandemic. A huge amount of money has been spent trying to stem the spread of the virus and in shoring up the floundering world economy. Where has all this money come from? After all, it was only a few months ago that the UK Prime Minister resorted to crowdfunding to try to pay for Big Ben […]
Over these strange past few weeks I have returned to bread baking, something I have done episodically for years, but which I am now doing routinely. I create my sourdough loaves and rolls using a sourdough starter, along with flour, salt and water. My bread has no other ingredients. It takes a long time to ferment and prove until it is ready to go into the oven – typically around […]
Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread. It takes much longer to ferment than most commercial UK bread but it produces a much superior loaf, both in flavour and texture. I’ve had several people ask me to share my sourdough recipe after I recently posted a picture of a couple of my sourdough loaves on Instagram, so I’ve decided to do so. But, first things first. The base component […]
Covid-19 is what is known as a zoonotic disease, that is one which is passed on to humans from animals. As such, it is merely the latest in a growing number of zoonotic diseases that have – quite literally – plagued us in recent years. Others include HIV, ebola, zika virus, SARS and bird flu. It is simply too easy, as President Trump is trying to do, to lay the […]
It was a giant meteor which did for the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Measuring several kilometers across, the meteor crashed into planet Earth near the area we now know as Mexico. The impact was catastrophic, causing a huge tsunami and sending tons of rubble into the atmosphere, blocking out much of the sunlight for months. In the absence of sunlight, plants began to die. Herbivores, which were dependent on […]
I am writing this post in my garden on a warm, sunny afternoon as the UK prepares for a fourth week in lockdown. I am surrounded by birdsong and buzzing insects. The usual distant hum of traffic is absent. Right now, I feel blissfully calm and contented. I know that I am privileged compared to many. I am fortunate to have a garden to sit in, I do not live […]
As we came to the end of a second week of virtual lockdown here in the UK, I found myself drawn to a little reported item of news about a group of Cuban doctors and nurses arriving in Italy to help tackle the Coronavirus outbreak there. It took me back to just over a year ago when I was fortunate enough to explore the island of Cuba. As well as […]