Quantumly awful (Nov08)
I’m not planning see a James Bond film again unless it’s radically different from Quantum of Solace. It was awful from beginning to end, starting with a car chase that was impossible to fathom. Which car was Bond in? Who was chasing him? What was happening? Nothing was clear. Part of the problem was the […]
Turning on the heat… (Nov08)
My eldest son sent me a text ‘demanding’ that I put on the heating for half term. I resisted because I’d decided to hold out until November – and even then only when it was really needed……….. Five-and-a-half per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions comes from home heating. I don’t recommend that everyone […]
Dog Bite and Hospital Waste (Nov08)
My son Rollo was bitten by a dog. He was lucky to be wearing a glove because he ended up with a nasty gash between his thumb and his fingers, as well as having a number of puncture holes from the dog’s teeth. The dog had been playing happily with a number of children who […]
Biogas potential (Oct08)
A couple of weeks ago I went to visit one of the few emerging biogas plants in the country. At Biogen (www.biogen.co.uk), near Bedford, they take in 30,000 tonnes of food waste and put it in large anaerobic digestors (ADs). Actually, they have to remove the packaging first, but the principle is pretty simple. The […]
Eat Dorset Food Fair (Oct08)
Another sunny weekend for the Eat Dorset Food Fair. Set in the magnificent park at Parnham House near Beaminster, this is an annual event I really enjoy. The last couple of years I spent some time over the weekend selling books with Sara Villiers from the Bailey Hill Book Shop in Castle Cary. It’s one […]
Printer Horrors (Oct08)
I’ve been having problems with my printer. Actually, it’s been annoying me for quite some time. The gremlin inside it gets particularly difficult when I’m trying to print something off before rushing out of the door to catch a train. Perhaps I should admit to be partly to blame for my problems. Having bought my inkjet printer […]
Recycling Dreamland (Oct08)
Chris Dow at Closed Loop recycling in Dagenham was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. He describes the new plant – it won’t be fully operational until December – as a ‘recycling dreamland’. When it’s running at full pelt, this brand new factory will make it possible for a plastic drinks bottle to be chucked away at […]
Autumn pleasures… (Sept08)
Picking apples and blackberries in the beautiful autumn sun has only been surpassed listening to the sound of bagpipes whilst watching kites waving around against a deep blue sky. The last couple of weekends have been truly magical. The Dorset Kite Festival is annual event on Eggardon Hill near Powerstock. It’s truly spectacular even when […]
Supermarkets vs french markets…. (Sept08)
Even with the wind and rain lashing around our beach hut on the Dorset coast, we had a great couple of days. There were sunny spells and we had lots of visitors. Somehow the weather didn’t matter that much. We stocked up for supplies from the large supermarket in Bridport – but this was more […]
Yeovil to Naples by train (Aug08)
Up to Waterloo and across to St Pancras, we caught the Eurostar to Paris. But most exciting was the sleeper from Paris to Rome. Just my eldest son, Connor and I – we had a cabin to ourselves. And in old-fashioned style had our evening meal in the dining car. The waiter came round with […]
