Feedback. It's all about the delivery.

Feedback is good. Feedback is useful. It's just sometimes feedback can be devastating. It's all about the delivery.

Almost everyone asks for feedback. Your local supermarket, your doctors surgery, even your friends. They may not call it feedback but if you someone says 'how did I do?', or 'how do I look?' that's asking for feedback. I've just filled in an online form for my own work. Once a year we are given the opportunity to anonymously say it how we feel. You can be as brutal or as nice as you like. All they ask is that you are constructive in any criticism. So I've been honest. I don't have many grumbles about where I work, although the actual company could do a little more communication to us lesser mortals. Still I suppose they say it's justified in the delivery, as we don't need to know all the nitty gritty, and that's what they are there for. 

I always want to be nice in how I say something critical because I know that, on the whole, people work hard and it's tough to get a 'bad review'. But sometimes you have to say it how it is. So that takeaway we had delivered last week got a 'not as tasty as before and it wasn't hot when it arrived' review. Their previous review was 'excellent food. I would easily order from here again'. It's all about consistency and that's what most companies want to do. Be consistent. The problem is when they are consistently bad. You've only got to look on line at some sites like Trip Advisor, to make you wince for the person or company on the other end of the review. Some people can be quite simply nasty, but personally I don't think there is any need for that. 

Which brings us to feedback for your friends. That's a tougher one. How do you say, nicely, 'I think your boyfriend is naff' or 'that dress makes you look twenty pounds heavier' or 'you are driving like a maniac'? It's all about the way you say it, of course. There are plenty of online 'help forums' to teach you how to be diplomatic! You have no excuse. There is direct harsh criticism and there is constructive tactful criticism. After all you probably would like to stay friends with the person who has that 'naff boyfriend'? Unless you really are intending to hurt someone's feelings there are ways and means of getting negative information over to someone. We used to have a phrase at work on how to do this....good news, bad news, good news. Always end on a positive and you may just keep that friendship.  

Even though you may have just had an awful meal or experience somewhere I still think it's polite to give your feedback in a nice way. We all have bad days, and to be honest if I personally receive a negative feedback about something I will brood on it for days. It can really upset someone, though of course if that was your intention then I say no more. For companies it's important that the feedback or review is positive because people do read those comments. I have disagreed with some I've read on line, and I do like to make up my own mind, but a bad comment can make or break. If you are reading reviews just try to filter out the ones that look like a real vendetta and use your common sense. Mixed reviews are harder to decipher. Maybe a particular day of the week has bad service? Maybe the super experienced chef only works on the weekend? It's easy enough to filter out the problem sometimes, and hopefully the receiver of the reviews will take on board the comments and see where they need to change things. 

I think it's really important that if you have liked something, be it a meal, the service, the perfume, the dress, that you tell that person. If you are doing a review hopefully you got the name? We all want to be liked. We all like to be told we are doing well. It's the negative feedback people focus on sadly, which is why it's important to say when things are good. Leave with a smile. Make someone smile. Make their day. It's all about the delivery!

Bit old fashioned but useful reminders -
https://www.wikihow.com/Give-Feedback

I want some Sugar Puffs!

Thought I'd take a trip down memory lane and write about cereals. Yep, you read that right. Cereals! Cereals I miss. Cereals I crave. 

When it was almost time for Neil's bowel operation there were a limited amount of foods he could eat in the five days running up to it. Strangely enough he was allowed Ricicles and Sugar Puffs in amongst the bland non fibrous foods. It's strange because I always considered them to be fibrous and sugary and a treat, but hey ho, off we went. I think the hospital needs to update it's suggested menu list because it was impossible to find them. They don't exist any more.

I was horrified. Sugar Puffs don't exist! That's terrible. I loved those when I was a young child, along with such delights as Golden Nuggets and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I suppose it's all to do with the obesity factor? Everyone seems to be concerned with the fact that, as a nation, we appear to be getting 'larger'. The Government brought in what was commonly called 'the sugar tax'. It meant that high sugary drinks were taxed and as a result many drinks were changed to avoid this. It also meant that suddenly everyone became concerned about the vast amounts of sugar....and salt....in our common foods and so recipes were dramatically changed. Sadly this also meant many products were discontinued including my beloved Sugar Puffs. 

Now I like my food, but I also did Home Economics at school. Those lessons taught me all about balance, food groups and how to cook and eat healthily. The difference between then and now is that many people, and I include myself in this, use a wide range of processed foods in their diet. It's easier to buy a ready made tomato sauce than make one. It's easier to buy a ready curry sauce than take the time to make it from scratch. My reasoning for doing it is that I work hard, have some family commitments and it's quicker to use those foods. But on the weekends I cook properly. I bake cakes (with less sugar) and cook meals made with fresh ingredients, and I enjoy doing exactly that. It's all about that balance I was taught. I think I am able to make a decision for myself and I  also think most people can. If I think that then I should be able to make my own choices and buy Sugar Puffs when I want!

I know I am sounding petulant. I want some Sugar Puffs. It's no different from having Corn Flakes and smothering them with sugar. Someone somewhere has taken my choice away and I am now having Sugar Puff cravings. Having Puffed Wheat with sugar is not the same. I totally get that manufacturers felt under pressure to reduce the sugar content, and as many of them used sugar as a preservative and obviously for taste, it was simpler to discontinued the food item than try to adapt it. A few manufacturers tried to change the recipe when the healthy eating campaign came in but there were complaints.

So what should I do? I've been craving Sugar Puffs for a month now. As soon as I realised it was not available I wanted it. I need it! I desire it. Well I've found it. Hey ho!! I looked on good old Amazon and lo and behold Sugar Puffs exists to buy, albeit at an extortionate price. The name has changed to Honey Monster Sugar Puffs but who cares. I am off to order a pack. I'll let you know if they taste like I remember...…...😀

Name, shame and boycott.

I'm so mad I could weep!

Did you know there was such a thing as a Lion farm? I didn't, but today my eyes were prised wide open. What I read sickened me beyond what I can describe here. I've posted the link below so anyone can read it....and weep.

I think you could pretty much describe me as anti-hunting but I do tend to understand, though absolutely disagree, with the countryside brigade. What I do not understand is the mentality of those men that actually breed or catch lions so that very rich people can come and 'pretend' to hunt them. Let's not think that this is hunting. This is pretend. The lions are drugged, intensively farmed, in poor condition and bred for hunting. The hunter is not a big man. He is a little mindless fool who has no regard for the fact that lions are an endangered species. Keep hunting like that and the wild lions will eventually die out. Keep intensively breeding them, and inbreeding them, and you will only birth defective, ill animals. To get satisfaction from pretending to capture and kill these animals is only deceiving the person doing it. 

The people perpetuating this farming business are the ones that need to be caught and shamed. Shamed, and their names and details made public so there is nowhere to hide. They need to be vilified, and made so uncomfortable that they will have to stop. Those that pay for this so called sport should also be named and shamed and vilified. Indeed the article manages to do exactly that for some of those involved. 

It's not just the hunting. These farms also slaughter the lions so their bones can be shipped to countries such as China and the South East Asia where they are considered 'medicine'. Balderdash and piffle, to use polite swear words. Does anyone really think that consuming the crushed bones of an animal such as a lion will heal you, or make you stronger? Anyone who does is deluded and ill educated, and we need to do something about this now. If we don't the next generation may find themselves looking at pictures of wild lions rather than the real thing.

So what needs to happen? A couple of things. When you go abroad and you pay someone to sit and pet that wild animal, be it a lion or otherwise, that animal will have been intensively bred for exactly that purpose. The animal will be drugged. If it wasn't do you really think you would be able to get near it? The animal would be scared, let alone the fact if it was a wild lion you would end up as it's lunch. If it's a lion brought up with humans you are not encouraging it's natural life habitat, even if it's to live on a conservation range. By paying for taking pictures, petting, playing or 'walking' with lions, cubs, or any other wild animal, you are complaisant in the trade. So stop it. Boycott it. Take pictures of the animal 'owner' instead and harass that government to ban the trade. Put pictures of the animal 'owner' on the internet. Make it go viral. Shame them, and the people that pay. Make it really, really, uncomfortable to do. Boycott South Africa. Completely. Not just for tourism. It is the only country that allows the export of lion bones. The laws protecting tiger bones mean that these men have turned to using lions. It is the only country that allows large scale lion breeding.

Oh yes, and while we are at it let's harass our very own government. The UK government have restrictions for the importation of animal skins. To my shame I have realised, today, that there is a loophole in the law allowing the import of hunting trophies of captive animals, including lions. That loophole needs to be slammed shut right now. Today there are about 20,000 wild lions left in the world. It sounds a lot, and yet respected conservationists suggest that these animals could become extinct within 30 years. That's in our children and grandchildren's lifetime. Imagine that. Imagine we don't do anything now. Imagine no wild lions. That's no wild lions at all! None. Boycott and shame. That's all you need to do. Boycott, shame and spread the news. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6966289/Year-long-investigation-reveals-sickening-lion-trade-ends-dramatic-rescue.html

Thank goodness for lycra underwear.

In my dreams I would like perkier boobs, slimmer hips and to lose that bit of saggy skin under my chin. Oh the perils of growing older!

Sadly the only one I can really do something about is my hips. If I ate less chocolate, drunk less wine and left those cakes alone, I would be at least four inches smaller in that area. Thank goodness for lycra and elastane in jeans and underwear. I can convince myself I am one size smaller than I actually am by wearing clothing made of that fabric. Mind you have you ever tried to remove knickers that are made of the 'hold in suck you to death but make you look skinner than you are' material in a hurry? Believe me it's not easy. You have to plan your toilet habits like clockwork. Have a drink. Slightly feel the urge. Go now!! Do not wait until you are desperate. The fight you will have holding your legs together while trying to those knickers off will scar you for life. You will never wear them again....until you need to get in to that little fancy dress. 

I have never been small in boob size, lets be honest. It was usually the first thing everyone saw coming, as my waist was pretty tiny and my hips curved. In my teens I was proud to be a model 36B and was lucky enough to be the classic (back then) 36, 24, 36 inch in size. I remember my best friend and I standing at the seashore when I was sixteen, both of us proud in our little bikinis, tanned with that youthful golden glow. It had been a really hot summer. Yes 'that' summer! She turned and looked at me as we chatted about boys, as you do when you are sixteen, and said '.....but you do have an advantage don't you.....' and pointedly looked at my upper regions. She was far more sylph like than I was, and do you know what? All these years down the line I envy the figure she had back then, and even though we have sadly lost touch I am sure she will have retained it. On the other hand my curvaceous figure has expanded and drooped in spite of all the upholstered underwear I can find. It's fought gravity since forever and even though I try and kid myself, my boobs are definitely sloping off towards the ground. It's one of the perils of being 'bigger' rather than slimmer. 

It's great that some fabulous person somewhere realised that some of us are becoming boob and hip challenged and invented that super suck in underwear, but it is all show believe me. Try having a night of passion and undressing when wearing one of those items. The puffing and panting as you peel it all off is not due to anticipation, believe me. Fortunately Neil thinks it is hilarious. I say fortunately, because thankfully I am not trying to impress him. I cannot imagine the disappointment, if I was getting in to that sexy clinch, only for the other person to find out it was just cosmetic after all. I suppose that could sound shallow but I believe it's better the truth than the raised eye brows, especially when you have taken twenty minutes to try and haul yourself out of that statement body con dress!

I've often said I would like a bit of cosmetic surgery to just lift my saggy bits and get shot of the impending chicken neck, but to be honest I am too scared, too broke, and am trying to love myself as I am. I know it's important to do that. To love yourself for who you are. Sometimes, though, that takes a while. As I look back over the years, though, I realise I had a pretty good figure, all in all. My only regret, and it's a frank honest one, is that I never had a nude picture of myself done. That sounds vain but I was asked when I was at college by one of the art boys. He wanted to draw me. I was too prudish and not that worldly wise enough to say yes then, but now I wish I had. It would have been something for me to have kept, and probably embarrass my children with! Funny, but I've never confessed that out loud and yet here I am writing that in a blog for all to read. Amazing what growing old does to you!!

Resorting to petty showmanship is not how to change people's minds!

As everyone is aware, I like to put my two penny's worth in. The arguments about Chris Packham seems to be getting a mite out of hand, frankly. It's all getting a bit silly. 

I watch his programmes and to me he seems a well informed passionate man. I don't always agree with everything he says but that's no bad thing. Most of us don't agree with everyone about everything all the time! So anyway, Packham set up a private, non-profit company called Wild Justice with conservationists Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay, who launched a legal challenge to change the countryside laws around the birds. At the moment birds such as crows, wood pigeons and jays can be killed as they are considered 'pest' birds. I have seen some real hysterical out pouring's after people have posted pictures of lambs being attacked by these birds. I have read posts that suggest these birds are a menace to the countryside and farmers. 

It's true that sometimes these 'pest' birds do attack animals, but having looked at lots of discussions on the internet it seems that most of the time those attacked animals are weak, abandoned, dying or dead. I am not a farmer and maybe some of those farmers have a problem, but I did see one farmer admit his sheep are so well looked after they tend to get fat and as a result have a problem being vulnerable. He mentioned that sometimes they end up 'cast', and on their backs, and can't get up because of their weight. That's when an attack sometimes happen.

My own personal opinion, and to be honest that's based on the fact I have a bird feeder and all sorts of birds come and feed on it, including magpies, crows and pigeons, is that birds get along. Crows and magpies stick to carrion the majority of the time but will use the feeders. The sparrows use it, the robin, the blue tits, often at the same time as those bigger birds. The smaller birds are not afraid of those bigger birds either. Maybe it's different with livestock? I don't really know what problems other people may be having, but I'm not sure that shooting those birds will make a difference? It's mankind that has caused the problem. We're encroaching more and more on the territory of wildlife, and as a result they are having to live closer to us than years ago. Obviously that means they will utilise any 'food' they can even if that is farmers livestock. Maybe we should think about looking at ourselves and ask if we are the root of the problem? It doesn't make it any less distressing for those on the receiving end of hurt livestock though.

As for Chris Packham? He is on the receiving end of two petitions. One that has called for him to be sacked from an 'impartial BBC' ,which is utter tosh. The BBC is far from impartial as has been proved many a time. Just look at their reporting of politics. Anyway, the petition states that he should be impartial, and using his celebrity status to promote an anti hunting agenda and country 'sports' is wrong in his position. Well tell that to every celebrity that has promoted something they believe in. They all do it. It's the fact they are celebrities that help their cause! Then there is another petition to tell the BBC they shouldn't sack him. The supporters of that petition feel that his campaigns are justified and based on scientific evidence. It's stalemate really, as they both have a similar amount of signatures. 

What is alarming is that Chris Packham has become a target for some idiots who strung up two dead crows outside his home and glued the lock on his gate so he couldn't get out. Well that's a sensible thing to do isn't it? Talk about making a twit of yourself, whoever did it.  All you've done is open yourself to prosecution for harassment and ridiculed your cause. Let's try and behave a little more grown up and understand that it's all about allowing progressive discussion to happen, and realising that you cannot get everyone to agree. 

Chris Packham has said he will not allow the perpetrators of the crime to batter him down, and that he will continue to campaign using evidence for his reasoning. Good on him, and everyone else who does exactly that. As for us, let's do our research and not get all emotive about this subject. I know how I feel, but I have done a large amount of research to come to my conclusion and read the arguments. I feel that is the only way to stand up for what you believe in, and I hope most people will agree with me and not resort to petty violence to try and pointlessly prove their belief?

Smells invoke memories. What's your favourite smell?

Smells invoke memories, whether pleasant or not so pleasant. We all have favourite smells.

My brother has lost his sense of smell. He had an accident many years ago which resulted in a head injury. As a result he has very little sense of smell. This also means he has a lesser sense of taste as the two senses are very intertwined. Scientists have even released new information over the last few days that suggests we smell with our tongues too! Maybe there is hope for him yet?

Some smells are popular favourites of pretty much everyone. Most people like the smell of freshly cut grass, unless you suffer badly from hay fever. Then you will probably be cursing rather than sniffing the air! Freshly brewed coffee is another that gets people sniffing the air, and weirdly enough my husband doesn't really drink coffee or particularly like it, but he does like the smell of coffee. Fresh bread. Now that is a smell that supermarkets use to entice customers in to buy food. It tends to make your stomach growl with appreciation an even if you are not hungry can still make your mind believe you are. I must admit that the smell of just baked bread is one of my favourite smells. 

Did you know that some media areas suggest that if you have certain smells in the air in your house when you have potential buyers there, it can provide a particular ambiance? So the smell of fresh bread makes the property appear homely, as can the smell of fresh flowers, coffee again, and even baked cakes. It's all about creating an atmosphere so the buyers can imagine themselves in that place as if it were their own.

We all know that smell at the dentist? The antiseptic quite sharp smell of the dental mouth wash. Yuk. Makes me totally avoid the place! I can't smell TCP without it bringing back memories of when I had my two sons in hospital. Years ago everything was cleaned with the disinfectant and your clothes and body smelt of it for ages. Those were the days of matrons and cleaning staff, and everything being scrubbed hard. If it smelt of disinfectant it was clean, and boy did everything smell of disinfectant,

Who doesn't like the smell of freshly washed clothes and bedding? I've recently changed my washing liquid and everything smells very faintly like lavender. Lavender is supposed to help you relax and sleep but I hate to say that it doesn't seem to be working for me. I still like the smell though. While we are on about washing liquids and softeners and conditioners, what person came up with smells described as 'diamond rose' or platinum white'? How do they smell? I haven't a clue, but I am one of those people who will open the lids of fabric conditioners and smell before I buy. I like to know what I am inviting in to my house! Same as air fresheners which I like to use because I have cats, and I feel it's important my house doesn't smell of animals as a first impression. 

I can't smell Chanel no.5 without thinking back years ago when my mother used it as her 'special going out perfume'. She's still living thankfully, and that perfume and lily of the valley are all about her for me. If I smell Olay beauty fluid in that iconic bottle it's my grandmother I think of. She always used it on her face and any smell of it reminds me of her. Certain aftershaves remind me of places, people and memories. I suppose that is the same as eating a certain food? The mind is very powerful, and connect it with a particular smell or taste and it remembers. Neil thinks I am mad because I often tell him 'I can smell rain'. I can, but it's probably the smell of the rain as it hits the warm ground although rain does have a smell. I'm frequently right which he finds annoying! It reminds me of hot summer days gone by when it rains in the evening. 

Here a few of my favourite smells -
Newly cut grass 
Freshly baked bread
The sea and beach, whatever time of year
Marmite, spread on buttered toast
Chanel no.5
Cinnamon, especially at Christmas
The forest in summer
My cats fur (don't ask!)
Those wild roses you find randomly growing somewhere
Old books in dusty shops
The herb basil

I could go on and on really. What are yours? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3096334/Our-50-favourite-smells-revealed-20-worst.html

https://www.livescience.com/65308-your-tongue-smells-like-a-nose.html

http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_human.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3096334/Our-50-favourite-smells-revealed-20-worst.html

How would you spend your last day on earth?

Just imagine this. It's the apocalypse. It could be a zombie apocalypse? It could be a meteor from outer space? Maybe 'Water World'? Leaving in a spaceship to colonise another planet? We've destroyed the earth ourselves through using too many green house gas emissions? Whatever! It's the end of the world. You have one last day to do as you wish, eat what you wish and live how you wish because tomorrow the earth wont exist any more. What would you do?

Well I know perfectly well that I would want to spend it with my family and my cats. There's always this niggle, though, that if you have children who have partners, which parents and family do you spend that final time with? It's a bit like Christmas, without another year to do it differently. You can't chose one set this year and another next year. So a mass family party then? Hmmm, maybe not quite what I'm thinking of really. You'd want to be with those you love. Oh and I'd certainly not be going to work! I'd want it to be peaceful, to listen to music, to chat and just be with those people. Oh and I'd take photos just in case, you know, it's not really the last day on earth!

I'd like a simple cheese omelette with hot toast and black coffee for breakfast please. I'd like to go for a walk on the beach, and then go for a walk in the countryside. Maybe take a picnic for lunch, and just sit and contemplate the wonder of the surroundings. Then I would want to go home and cook an amazing meal, and drink some very good expensive wine. I think I would like to have some garlic prawns with crusty bread for starters. Lots of garlic because you won't be blasting anyone with stinky garlic breath the next day! Warm crusty bread dripping with fresh butter. Then a really good beef roast dinner. Lots of Yorkshire puddings and loads of good gravy. Plenty of vegetables, not forgetting the horseradish sauce. After that I'd eat some  sort of rich cream and raspberry gateaux thing, and after that...well some fabulous blue cheese, crackers and grapes. I'd probably be feeling rather unwell but hey it won't matter. Hopefully I'd sleep through the apocalypse? 

Actually all this is slightly morose but some people have to make this decision. People who are seriously ill. Those on death row. They don't get to spend it how they want but they usually do get to eat a final last meal. How could I really choose my last meal? If I had the choice I've stated, all my four cats would be fighting me for the prawns and Dylan cat would demand the beef off my plate. How could you chose that meal, honestly? There are so many lovely foods I would want to eat, and there's no way you would want to chose something and then regret it afterwards, thinking you should have chosen something else. I'm a bit like that with takeaways and restaurants! I suppose that's why I get Neil to order something different from me.....I get to try his too!!

I'm sure there are some people who would want to do lots of mad never been done things on their final day, so I am probably quite boring in my choices? There are also some people that would probably go off the rails and do something wicked, hence staying at home for me. It would be safer. Then, and this also sounds really morose, I would want to take something to make me just 'slip away'. To be in peace and not know the end would be my preference. 

But hey, this is simply make believe! This is just supposition and one scenario that is highly unlikely ever to happen. But maybe we should spend each day like it could be our last? Saying 'I love you' to those that matter. Having fun. Enjoying life. being true to ourselves. Mind you if the scientists carry on the way they are doing with their experiments we may see that zombie apocalypse happen after all. Yes, I think maybe I'd just lock the doors and go to sleep.....after drinking that expensive wine of course. 

https://www.quora.com/If-today-were-the-last-day-of-your-life-would-you-want-to-do-what-you-are-about-to-do-today

https://everydaypowerblog.com/if-today-was-your-last-day/

Why are you using a barbecue in the countryside in the hot weather?

Bit of a sweeping statement I know, but I think disposable and portable barbecues need to be banned. It's the only way that we can help stop the destruction of our fabulous countryside. Don't smoke in the countryside either. You can wait for your fag until you get home. In fact put those firelighters, matches, lighters away. Do not use them in the countryside!

Yet again, the sun is out and some idiot has used a disposable barbecue to have some food without actually thinking about the consequences. It surely doesn't take much sense to realise that the ground is tinder dry right now? Any tiny spark will set the vegetation alight, and yet, sure enough, some idiot has done exactly that. 

There were a number of heath fires over the Easter weekend this year, and every time it gets hot we see the same thing happen again! Why some people think it's fun to start a fire I have no idea. As for barbecues? I can't even control a barbecue at home, let alone one out in the countryside (or on a beach). Fire is dangerous. You cannot argue with that fact, and yet people still muck about with it in the least safe places. Some of the fires over the weekend were caused deliberately which is even more of a concern. What twit does something like that? Everyone has seen footage of fires in the summer, and how they spread. It isn't even the loss of the fabulous countryside that we are lucky enough to have in this country that is so distressing. The massive loss of animal life is beyond belief, and how anyone can cause such wanton cruelty and destruction is beyond me. It is not funny. It is not exciting. It is not helping our fire service. 

The distressing pictures of the speed of the fires spreading is sad and frightening to see every single year. There is plenty that everyone can do to stop this though. Don't actually have a barbecue in the countryside. You don't need to. You can buy barbecue flavoured food and you can put it in a cool bag/rucksack. You will still have the smoky flavoured food and fun without the threat of a massive fire. Be vigilant. If you see anyone with a barbecue in the countryside I suggest a video or photo, plus a telephone call to the land owners. I don't advocate chucking a lot of water over it but I know I would be tempted. 

All of this is such  waste of our fire and police resources. While tackling a selfishly started fire in the countryside heathland they are being taken away from emergencies that could end up with a serious loss of life. In fact our fire services throughout the country on this Easter weekend fought countless fires in towns, cities and yes even out on the heathlands while we sat and enjoyed our leisure time. An extraordinary amount of those fires were started deliberately. 

So back to my earlier statement. There will always be idiots who don't think about what they are doing. There will always be idiots that start fires deliberately. But maybe we can do something really small to help the situation by, perhaps, getting supermarkets and shops to stop selling disposable barbecues? I don't want to spoil the fun of those that enjoy barbecues but come on, lets be sensible here. You know the risks before you light it in that countryside. There is enough media coverage every year to show you exactly what could happen, and usually does. There is no excuse to think that you are sensible, and it won't happen with you because you know how to use a disposable barbecue, or for that fact any portable barbecue! It is dangerous. It is idiotic, and it is dangerous. There is no excuse for using one in such an environment.

So what I'm suggesting is if your friends suggest a midnight disposable barbecue, a portable barbecue or even a campfire barbecue in the countryside, how about telling them NO? How about reminding them of the fact that a fire is started so easily since the vegetation is so dry that it is idiotic and irresponsible? How about being the sensible people and just going and enjoying yourself without the potential loss of  animal life? How about just having fun instead of destroying the very nice place you thought you would visit? How about we ban those barbecues? In fact don't buy them, then the shops will realise they don't sell and stop offering them. People power. It works. 

https://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/campaigns/outdoor-safety/countryside-safety

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-48012193

Happy Easter Bank Holiday

It's a Bank Holiday today. Easter Monday. I have to work which is a bummer, but then I never booked it off. 

At least by working all the Bank Holidays I earn myself pretty much a week off at some point of my choosing, later on in the year. That's what keeps me going. But just think of all the other people that have to work. Doctors, nurses, firemen, police, bus drivers, waste disposal workers, all sorts. Without them the cogs of our lives would grind to a halt. I suppose that may nit be any bad thing but some type of work you just have to have on standby.

Just imagine if no doctors or nurses worked in that hospital today? It's a Bank Holiday. I should have it off. If you have an accident then that's your fault for not being careful. It's rubbish isn't it? There is no way that such dedicated people would do that. I know they probably have a rota and may not work every Bank Holiday but still, it's glorious weather, everyone else is in a holiday mood and you have to work. It's not great really. Those bus drivers that you are grumpy with because the bus is full and it's a Bank Holiday so they only go every half an hour instead of every ten minutes? Well he's probably feeling the heat too, yet he still has to be polite and smiling.

What about refuse workers? They work almost all the time. Even Boxing Day when we are all hung over and have piled our Christmas rubbish out in to the bin making it over flow! Come on everyone make it a nice day for them too. If you see any of these workers please give them a smile. It may be their choice to work......but it may not be. Be a little grateful that they are keeping the day clear for you to have a safe and happy Bank Holiday, even if you may spend it in a supermarket shopping. (Why? Why? Why on a beautiful day will you spend it in a supermarket?)

So, have a happy Bank Holiday. Enjoy the weather and the sun, and eat all those Easter Eggs because tomorrow you start the diet ready for summer! 

Demonstating doesn't work. Be smart. Change attitudes instead.

Emma Thompson did more damage to their cause than anything else by appearing at the Climate Change demonstrations

I totally understand why, as humans, we need to take responsibility for the environment around us. It's commendable that so many young people care, and commendable that they feel so empowered to do something about it. But, and it's a big but, they are going about it the wrong way. Right now all that is happening is that they are alienating people. A cause is better fought with most people on your side, and this hasn't happened here. Demonstrating wont work. 

What they need to do is start at the top, with David Attenborough of course. He is already doing a fabulous job of educating us, and quite frankly shocking us. What he hasn't been able to do is change the attitude of most people fast enough. Everyone nods and nods and nods. 'Yes we need to change but actually I do my bit. It's the big companies that need to change. It's the supermarkets that need to change. We are already doing our bit.' Okay maybe you are, but that doesn't mean it's enough. There needs to be a radical overhaul in attitude and education, right from the start, right in the schools. We cannot undo the past, but we can make the future. I've always said that future generations will look back at the past fifty years or so and wonder how none of us saw it coming? Actually I don't think anyone did see the damage that would be done to the climate when they invented fridges, for example, that used CFC gases. Progress is always happening, and no one can turn round and say that they didn't like the advantage of having a fridge when they became available. It radically changed the way people lived. The storage of food in fridges meant we could keep degradable items for longer and stop them decaying. Bacteria became containable and yes, science progressed. Think of all those laboratories using fridges and freezers.

So what we need now is inventors, educators and inspirational young people. Not demonstrators. You need to strike at the source, and the only way to make people listen is to find something that you can change for the better. Right now there are scientists and inventors looking at the way we live, and the way we can change to protect our environment. But we are not all suddenly going to stop using diesel cars, or aeroplanes. Which brings me back to Emma Thompson. She flew, using a plane, from America to England to join the demonstration. Yes, she used an aeroplane! Her excuse was that she had to do so to get back fast to support the demonstrators. Apparently she doesn't use aeroplanes as much as she used to do, but does now and again. Sorry Emma, but if you felt that passionate about something like that you could have used a boat! It's like saying you're a vegan because you do not support the use of animals for food, but sometimes you just have to have a bacon sandwich. 

Be committed to the cause, do not make people laugh at your cause! Your cause will falter and fail when they do so.

Back to the protestors. By disrupting people's lives they hope to make a statement that we need to change our lives before we destroy the climate that enables us to survive. Please, please, can I ask someone sensible, somewhere, to look at another way to make this more positive. Get your education instead, and change the world. Demonstrating may change it for a short time, but to make a real impact there needs to be longevity to that change. I'm afraid it may be too late for my generation, and maybe the one following, but the future can be really positive if you tread carefully. I get frustrated with the fact any change isn't happening fast enough, and it all comes down to viable means and money, sadly. I work in a supermarket, and while most of them stopped selling plastic straws most of them still sell plastic cutlery, plates and cups. Think about your barbecue items? Paper plates? They are not all recyclable. Simple things like that, and yet we all happily buy them as the sun comes out. The mindset needs to change.

So I still think it comes down to education, starting in schools. Start at an early age too. Build the coming generations, and inspire them. We may not be able to change society fast enough, but we can still change the future mindset. We can inspire and rebuild our environment. The earth is a very forgiving planet. It is able to repair itself, and so I feel quite positive about the future. So, to anyone thinking about joining those demonstrations, don't bother. Get yourself the means to reach people in an educated way. Get clever. Invent something that will change the world. Become a teacher. Teach people. There are better ways than alienating people. 

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs10grc.html

http://www.technologystudent.com/despro_flsh/ozone1.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181102-what-can-i-do-about-climate-change

Put your shirts back on please!!

It's very hot. That means the shirts are off. I wish the shirts weren't off. 

What is it about this weather that some, and I say some, men think this means they have to walk down the street bare chested? Oh I am so going to sound like I am a grumpy old woman, but surely there is a time and place for not wearing your shirt? Preferably during the day on the beach or garden, or at night in bed? 

I mean take today for example. I was happily cruising along in my car only to be confronted by a man wearing just shorts and shoes pushing a pushchair. It is hot, I'll get that, but does he really think that is a suitable sight for walking along the street? Maybe he does? He wouldn't have been allowed in the supermarket dressed, or should I say undressed, like that though. You should wear a top, and you should wear footwear, in a supermarket. It may seem petty, but it's all to do with hygiene and decorum, and anyway supermarkets are flipping cold. Ever been in one of those in the height of summer? You need an overcoat, and that's not even down the chiller aisle!

I've said it before and I will say it again, what is it about a bit of sun that makes men pull their shorts on? It can be a touch over winter, the sun appears and so do those legs. You see all the ladies covered up with cardies and coats and the men are baring it all. It's like they are saying 'look at me, I am hard'. I'm actually teasing here. It doesn't bother me in the least to see a fella walking shirtless down the street, though maybe I do raise my eyebrows a bit. I'm a little old fashioned in that way really. But if the girls can strut about in bikini tops, for example, then why can't the men be bare chested? Let's have a bit of equality here. It does no harm and we all need our vitamin D. But to be honest, I think I would prefer to see 'tops on' in a food establishment please. 

I did check out a poll on Digital Spy which asked the question, 'Shirtless in the Supermarket, yah or nay?' and actually the consensus seems to be 'nay', interestingly enough. One or two of the comments suggest that seeing a near naked body pressed up against the dividers on the food counters is not appealing, neither is it particularly pleasant to see a sweaty naked body. But actually there is no retail law or legal requirement for you to have to wear shoes or tops in a supermarket, though most supermarkets will politely ask you to place a top on at least. Maybe it's all to do with the 'suing everyone for anything' era where, if there is no disclaimer, you can get compensation for something? What if you weren't wearing footwear and you trod on some nut shells scattered about which can be seriously sharp? What if you were shirtless and you leant against the freezer and got an ice burn? I mean, joking aside, both of those scenarios would really hurt. I suppose you could hurt yourself even if you were wearing a top or shoes but it's all about due care. Every place has a sign-off sheet where they have had to check the surroundings to make sure they have taken all reasonable measures of safety. This is the law. Maybe not wearing footwear could cause you to have a problem you wouldn't have otherwise had if you had worn footwear? Mind you anyone can sue you for any reason, it's whether they could have avoided that 'accident' that's important. 

When you live in a seaside town, as I do, it's usual to see people in a state of undress for a lot of the time. Most pubs and bars and food establishments actually won't allow someone in if they are not 'appropriately dressed', and that tends to mean wearing shoes and tops. Many of those establishments have a dress code, and everyone adheres to it usually, apart from the odd person that tries to get in to the nightclub wearing trainers. You always get one trier! So even if there isn't a sign outside that supermarket saying 'please wear footwear and tops' let's have a bit of common decency and cover up a bit. After all you are probably only going to be in there for a short time, and to be honest if you were going to be in there for a long time you'd get a mite chilly as I've said before. 

Anyway, I thought I'd make up some rules for the supermarket -
Please always have footwear on. You could trod on a squashed grape. Squashed grapes between your toes are yukky.
Please always wear a top. You could burn yourself on the deli hot chicken counter glass. That will hurt a lot.
Please do not allow your children to sit inside the trolley. Feet are meant to be on the floor not on the trolley. Feet can be dirty and therefore your food will get dirty.
Please do not allow your child to hang off the trolley. Trolley's tip up and we've seen it happen, taking the child with it! It will hurt your child.
Please do not sample all the grapes, tomatoes, etc.without asking. Supermarket food is not free so it's polite to ask first. Imagine if everyone did it? There would be no grapes, tomatoes, etc.
Please do not lean over the food counter. The staff wear protective clothes for hygiene reasons. You don't want hair in your cheese do you?
Please do not stand and read the newspaper from front to back and then replace it without buying it. We all want to buy a newspaper that hasn't been crumpled up first by a previous reader.
Please smile at the staff and say thank you. They have had hours of demanding customers and screaming children and still have to smile at you. You will make their day.

Feel free to make up some more...…..😅

The Frankenstein experiment

What determines the point of death? What determines the barrier between life and death? Again I find myself disturbed by a new scientific experiment. 

Scientists have been messing about with pigs brains. They have managed to bring back to life cells in their brains hours after slaughter. Now I don't understand all the ins and outs of this, but as far as I understand they had anaesthetists on hand just in case they detected consciousness. I think that tells me enough. That these scientists feel they could actually do bring back consciousness brings to mind the Frankenstein stories. The bringing back of life is sacred, and should only be performed by doctors in a hospital, not scientists in a lab. 

We have connectors and receptors in the brain, and this experiment managed to restart the connections in the cells. Sort of like the electric socket meeting the point of electricity to start an implement. What it has proved is that cell death happens over a longer period of time than thought, and may have implications in the future for the time spent reviving people. Now while this may all be very interesting and commendable, with the experiment done all in the name of medical science, I still feel we are messing with things we don't understand. We are at the point almost of no return. 

Cellular death is thought to occur swiftly and irreversibly, hitting the stage of non revival as awareness is lost, immediately. After that degeneration sets in and nothing can be done to halt it. Now it seems that may not be right. Cell death may not be irreversible. The experiments are happening over a longer and longer period of time with, so far, around ten hours after death being the longest cut off time. To be able to bring back cell connections after all that time makes me feel incredibly uneasy. At the moment everyone is exclaiming about the medical through roads this will have an impact on, and it is wonderful that the experiment may help people in the future. 'Chemical blood' was pumped through the brains of pigs slaughtered for food for about six hours, and lo and behold the cell death lessened and certain nerve, blood vessel and glial cells started to restore function ability. Now comes the lesson. Apparently, and I didn't know this because I was useless at science at school, glial cells are important as they are support cells that hold up neurons, providing nutrients and oxygen and insulation. They also clean up dead cells. 

The definition of what they discovered is stated as 'not a living brain' but 'a cellularly active brain'. There was no consciousness detected. So, hailed as a breakthrough in the possibility of healing stroke victims for example, no one seems to feel the unease that I do. While all this is commendable has no one thought about the implications for us if we eat meat? The fact is we eat animals that have once had brains. Those brains have had cellular activity. At what point did that cellular activity die? At what point are those animals considered dead? Are we in fact eating animals that could have still had working brains? Neurons are important in the working of a body as they are the communicators. It is the main component of nervous tissue, there are several different types, and all animals have them. They are like transmitters of information as they pass this from one cell to another. My worry is that these may eventually be the transmitters of endorphins, associated with emotion and pain. 

I am a meat eater. I source my meat from what I believe is a reputable source, ethically and humanly killed. This experiment makes me wonder about the deeper connotations of it. While consciousness was not detected I hope that neither were endorphins, because that sheds a whole new light on how we go about the slaughter business. To determine when is the point of death. To know that at the moment there is a possibility of a revival of cells to repair a brain. Does this mean that the point of death has shifted? It's all a little unsettling to me.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-pig-ethical-brain.html

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/209/8/ii

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron

Notre Dame - a pinnicle of community

Notre Dame is an iconic building in France, just in case you didn't know? Just in case you haven't seen the media over the last day or so? It rose from the early eleven hundreds to become a pinnacle of Christianity. To see it badly damaged by fire has shaken many people around the world. The President of France has vowed to get it rebuilt within five years.

To say this building is important is an understatement. It housed many Christian artifices, many works of art, and itself was the most beautiful of cathedrals. Many of these had fortunately been removed before the fire because of restoration work already going on. To the people of Paris, to the people of France, to many people in the world, the fire has been a great tragedy. Now the work begins to repair that tragedy. 

It will cost hundreds of millions to rebuild Notre Dame, and there have already been a few comments in the media about the fact that so many very large donations have already flooded in to help this rebuild. Money that has suddenly appeared from the government too, in spite of the fact that there is not enough for other matters of state. One donation from a person is estimated at fifty eight million euros. This is a lot of money. So why could there be this fascination and yes, despair, over one building. Surely it just bricks and mortar? People are more important?

As the pictures of the fire shot around the world people everywhere were shocked and saddened by the destruction. It wasn't just because of the historical value, but also because it was.....it is.....such a beautiful building of faith. Religion and art are important to people everywhere, whatever denomination they may be. Notre Dame stands for a faith that moved people to visit from all over the world. It was a perfect picture of France's Christianity and the dreams of mankind. 

So I also felt saddened watching the destruction of a large part of this building. I am agnostic although brought up in the Christian faith, but I can appreciate what this place means to so many people. I can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of it. I can understand why people want it to be rebuilt. To have such a foundation whipped from beneath their feet shakes the very base of the community there. 

I love architecture so for me to hear that it will be rebuilt isn't difficult to understand. People need somewhere to gather. To think about their lives, to be closer to their thoughts of faith, to appreciate the beautify of something that has stood for hundreds of years, to admire the longevity of it. Notre Dame stood for all that, and by all accounts will stand again.

I like to have a therapeutic rant in my blogs....

Why do people write blogs? Some of us have asperations to be a writer, some of us like to write about our hobby, or pets, and some of us (me!) like to have a therapeutic moan and a rant!

It's therapeutic for me anyway. Maybe not for any readers? I am a noisy parker, and like to know what is going on. I also have a natural curiosity about the general wide world about me, and so ask a lot of questions. It's important for me to keep up to date with what's going on around me, and naturally I then want to comment about everything. It's like talking but silently, apart from the tapping of the keys. As I write I speak in my head....what you see typed here is exactly as I would say it. That probably sounds a bit freaky but it's true. I remember years ago I belonged to a small chat group with about a hundred members. We all used to 'meet up' in cyber land every evening and just have a 'natter'. Once or twice a year we would physically get together, usually in a pub (naturally). The general comment I get, when I meet people for the first time after 'chatting on line', is that I am exactly the same in real life as I am in cyber. That's good. It's important to me that people know this Blog is the real 'me' too. 

This is how I think, act and speak in real life, I'm afraid. Anyone reading my blogs will quickly understand that I am quite obviously a chaotic person, but never let it be said that it's boring being with me. Poor Neil sometimes doesn't know what I'm on about when I start yacking away. I often go off on a tangent, starting a conversation about one thing, only to quickly veer off on to another subject. It's generally because I am excited about it all. Excited about life, excited to know about things, interested in everything around me. Quite simply I have enough to deal with in my life that's naff right now, so anything like this is an escape.

Every day I listen to the news, and I read a newspaper. I know that not everyone is interesting in doing that, and I remember being shocked when one of my close friends said she never reads papers or watches the news. I don't think either of my sons do actually. I've got to be honest I just don't understand why not. It isn't always bad news. There are interesting facts, articles about all sorts of stuff, and pictures too! You learn things. Why wouldn't you want to learn? I suppose I've always read a lot. I 'scan read'. That's how I read my books, for leisure and for learning. It's quick and very enjoyable. The only thing I have noticed is, as I get older, is that I sometimes have to re-read a sentence because I realise I have missed a vital fact. Too quick a 'scan read' and I've missed some poor person in a story being kissed/murdered/lied to/etc. I'm going to be honest, that can really mess up a story line! My eldest son also scan reads but he seems to be able to retain the information better than me. I suspect it could be an age thing?

You can write about anything in a blog. For example. I'm just watching the television programme Travel Man. Yes I really can do two things at once! The presenter always brings  a guest on his trips. This week his guest is a well known comedian who has lost a lot of weight. My first words to Neil was 'and that's why you should never lose weight. Because you look old and your wrinkles show up. That's why I don't lose weight'. I think Neil believes I am quite bonkers sometimes? It's true though. 

Now if I wasn't watching Travel Man I wouldn't comment on it. You see? Watch something. Read something. Do something. You can blog to your heart's content about anything. The challenge is to get someone to read it! Maybe I need some tips on that factor? 

Scan reading - reading a text quickly in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names. It can be contrasted with skimming, which is reading quickly to get a general idea of meaning.