Blog RSS

The Daily Mail has once again highlighted the plight of the British Farmer. This time it is our Christmas Turkeys, being imported frozen from Brazil. Farmers have reacted (quite rightly) with fury after the shameful betrayal of British agriculture by Asda emerged. They complain that it is a huge waste of energy to buy, freeze and ship thousands of turkeys from 6000 miles away, when they could offer locally reared birds. The South American origin of the turkey is noted in the small print on the back of the packs, where most supermarket shoppers will fail to check, assuming that supermarket turkeys...

It is the time of year when we think of the traditions of the holly, ivy and the mistletoe – all from many ages past. Quite a number of my holly bushes are covered in berries this year. The one at the front southwestern corner of my house usually carries berries, of gradually deepening hues for 365 days of the year – it is truly amazing. Holly is a tree which is useful for its compact wood, much prized by cabinet-makers for inlay work.  It has a history of legend right back to pagan times. The Romans sent gifts decorated...

Guys, if you aren’t into shopping but you want to score highly with your girlfriend this Christmas here are 5 sure-fire winning gift ideas – and something for every budget, from a Goldman Sachs “big swinger’s” to a first year undergrad’s. Each one of these items will show her that you have done some serious research and sought to please. Five Winners 1. Apple I POD Nano 8 GB in Pink – Stunning design: a brilliant polished anodised aluminium finish in girlie pink. And the 2.2-inch colour display for her viewing pleasure. Genius Mixes - a new feature that acts as her personal DJ,...

A Traditional Christmas With the Christmas Season well and truly upon us – again – it is certainly time to have a plan for the festive period. It is often lamented that the traditional Christian nature of Christmas has been lost, but in the days before Europe embraced Christianity, people still held a Winter Festival: no doubt to provide some respite from the cold short days of the Northern winter. Today winter does not hold the same dread as it no doubt did in pre-Christian Britain, and the festive season’s traditions may have more to do with getting away to...

Why Do I Have Problems With My Skin? Every skin is different – subtly perhaps – but nevertheless different. What makes each skin different is down to six well documented factors. In a good news/bad news scenario, four of these influencing factors are very much under our control, but the bad news is that two are not. Genes – we inherit the characteristics of our skin and we need to understand what these are because we cannot change them – they are part of our blueprint! We can do nothing about our genes except to understand what they have dealt us. This is...