I’m another year older today and this year I am feeling it a bit more. I guess having a daughter has made me realise it’s finally time to start growing up and becoming (gulp) responsible. My first present from Penny was an ipod/iphone docking station which is also a digital radio and alarm clock. I haven't quite figured out how to use it yet but will review it here later once I have set it up.

If this picture is genuine it is quite unique in that it shows an eagle holding a knife. It is claimed that it was taken by a photographer who cutting up chunks of meat to attract birds of prey dropped his knife in the snow. He later noticed the eagle flying away with the knife. I can’t help thinking the picture has been Photo shopped but none the less it’s a nice image.

It seems turtle doves could soon be a thing of the past if a RSPB rescue mission is not successful. There has been a dramatic decline in the numbers of turtle doves according to the RSPB who are launching an urgent mission to reverse the decline in numbers. As part of the scheme plots of farming land will be sown with seed rich plants to try and replace sources of food that are now scarce in the countryside. Captive turtle doves will also be studied to see which seed mixtures are most popular and nutritious for the birds. The decline of the species is not fully understood but it is thought that it is due to changes in farming methods which mean the wild plants the birds depend upon are now rare in the countryside.

Nevada has become the first state in America to allow driverless cars on the road. The technology which has been extensively tested by Google allows the car to drive itself using their maps of the route. Two people do have to sit inside the car and they are held responsible for the vehicle but do not actually drive it. The car relies on mapping created by Google’s staff who drive the route filling in the locations of lane markings and road signs. The car is driven using video cameras, lasers and radar sensors.

Progress at the allotment has stalled somewhat due to the recent wet weather. It has rained everyday for the last three weeks, which makes getting any work done rather difficult. The rain means that the weeds are growing thick and fast and the garden looks so green and lush. It really is becoming a jungle out there. I’m hoping we will soon get a couple of dry days to make a dent in the weeds and perhaps get a bit more digging done. A lot of veg is likely to be delayed this year as I lack an covered outside space to pot up the seeds. Fingers crossed this weekend will see some progress.

This is an interesting idea it’s an airbag designed for cyclists. It has been created by two Swedish students. The airbag remains concealed within a durable collar (right) which is worn by the cyclist. The bag is triggered by abnormal motion which inflates the helmet within 0.1 of a second to protect the wearers head. It certainly looks interesting and has the advantage of being less bulky than a helmet.

Not that I need another reason to drink red wine, but if I did, scientists now believe it could help you live longer. It seems that an ingredient in red wine boosts the body’s cell energy. Resveratrol has the ability to work against cancer, heart disease and obesity and has already been found to improve the health of mice and increase their lifespan when combined with a high fat diet. Well I’m convinced, time for some wine.

I recently did my first online order with Waitrose because they worked out cheapest based on the products I had in my basket on www.mysupermarket.co.uk I have avoided Waitrose in the past because they have a reputation for being more expensive, however, if this article is correct it seems they are matching more of their brand prices to the other supermarkets. Unlike other supermarkets which offer you a brand match voucher you can use on your next shop Waitrose claim to be matching the prices on the shelf so you benefit immediately. They certainly now seem to work out one of the cheaper alternatives particularly due to the fact they offer free delivery when you spend over £50. The quality of their own brand products is also very good when compared to the Sainsbury’s alternative. Perhaps I will be shopping with them more often.

Penny is now 22 weeks old and is growing so fast. Its hard to remember how small she was when she was first born. As we are fast approaching the 6 month mark we have been busy introducing lots of new flavours. Penny now has some food three times a day although sometimes just two of three spoons full. I am looking forward to when we can start to introduce finger food as it will make meal times a little easier.

If you are looking for property in Knightsbridge then you probably already know the answer is not much. This garage measuring just six metres has recently gone on sale at £525,000. At considerably more than we paid for our 3 bedroom house in Kent it seems an exorbitant price for a garage. Even at that price the estate agents selling it expect to receive a lot of interest from those living within walking distance of the garage particularly as many of the large houses nearby have no off street parking.

Schools are being urged to introduce measures to make PE more attractive to girls after it has emerged many opt out of exercise. A study for the Women's Sports and Fitness Foundation has found that more than half of girls are put off by PE classes. Only 31% of 14 year old girls exercised regularly compared with 50% of boys. Reasons included not feeling comfortable excising in front of boys, feeling that PE teachers paid too much attention to the girls that were best at sport and thinking that getting sweaty was not feminine. I’m not sure about PE lessons now but I remember having to play hockey in the snow in just a T-shirt and green knickers as we were not allowed to wear trousers. Even today I remember how cold I was and how blue my legs were. It didn’t make for a happy introduction to exercise particularly for someone like myself who lacking any hand to eye coordination is generally rubbish at any sport.

Marine experts are asking people to look out for basking sharks in UK waters this summer and reports any sightings of the creatures. The sharks are drawn to the plankton rich surface water off the coast of Britain and Ireland. They are currently a protected species so it is illegal to disturb them, however, experts are asking for people to take pictures of the creatures if they are able to do so. You can report any sighting of the sharks to the Shark Trust at the following link. It is hoped they will help to build up a picture of when the sharks appears and how long they spend off the coast of the UK.

A project is underway to reintroduce the short haired bumblebee to parts of Kent. The bee disappeared from the South East in 1988 and was declared regionally extinct in 2000. Scientists will travel to Sweden to collect 100 bumblebee queens which will then be released into the Kent countryside. The bees will spend two weeks in quarantine to ensure they are free from disease and will then be introduced to Romney Marsh and Dungeness. It is hoped they will re-colonise the meadows and farmlands. An area of 650 hectares has been prepared for the bees arrival. The rejuvenated area has already seen the return of the rare shrill carder bee so there are high hopes for this project.

The moon is likely to look a lot bigger this weekend if this article is correct. The perigee moon as it is called will be closer to the Earth than usual and will appear much bigger and brighter in the sky. According to the article the moon will start to appear on Saturday and will be 14% bigger and 30% than normal. No doubt this will mean the weekend will be cloudy and overcast as is usually the norm when something like this occurs. None the less I will look out for it and if I should see anything through the cloud will try and post a picture here.

Sainsbury’s have decided to shrink the size of the cardboard tube within their toilet rolls in order to reduce the environmental impact of the product. Under the plans the cardboard tube inside the roll will be 11mm slimmer. The number of sheets in the roll of toilet paper will remain unchanged. The change whilst it seems very small could avoid 500 annual lorry trips from suppliers to stores and save 140 tons of carbon dioxide. Maker the roll slimmer also means that the supermarket will use less packaging on the product. The new rolls will be on sale next month.

A rubber chicken called Camilla has been sent into space in an experiment carried out by students in California. The chicken kitted out in a space suit was attached to a helium balloon and managed to reach an altitude of 40km (25 miles). The chicken wore a pair of badges to test levels of radiation and her spacecraft was a modified lunchbox containing four cameras, a cryogenic thermometer and two GPS trackers. The chicken flew twice to give the students the chance to make comparisons of radiation levels. After a couple of hours in the sky the balloon popped and Camilla was parachuted back to earth.

This article is an interesting read it’s written by a teacher who 20 years ago lost a child on the tube, albeit briefly. The teacher had been on his first school trip along with 30 pupils and one assistant. In the excitement one of the pupils got onto the wrong train. Whilst the teacher was panicking and trying to find out where the train was headed the child had already managed to get off at the next station, cross the platform and find her way back to the rest of the group.

Contrasting the same situation with another incident 20 years later when 4 pupils got on the wrong train, the situation was the same but the outcome much different. In this case the 4 pupils stayed on the train until the end of the line and ended up in Buckinghamshire because they were too panicked to know what to do. Once the pupils has been located and brought back to school in a taxi, there was quite a fallout from the trip with parents wanting to know how the incident could have occurred in the first place and indeed why the children has been allowed to travel on the tube at all.

The point of the article is that the first child 20 years before had enough common sense and experience of navigating public transport to know what to do when she found herself on the wrong train. Those 20 years later had been so protected that in the unfamiliar situation they didn’t have a clue and panicked. The teacher obviously feels that children today are too protected in some senses and should be allowed more opportunity to gain life experience. When you look at this second group of 24 children and find that only 8 (bearing in mind they were brought up in Hackney) had ever been on the tube before, perhaps he has a point.

The government is considering plans to make it compulsory for dog owners to microchip their animals. Ministers want every puppy to be fitted with a chip in order to make it easier to track the owners of dangerous dogs but I wonder whether this will solve the problem. It is the responsible owners that will comply with the law and who probably already have their animals chipped in case they should go missing. Those who are doing something illegal are more likely not to bother just as many criminals do not tax and insure their motor vehicles. With a microchip costing about £20 most pet owners will chip their animals simply for peace of mind. It seems to me the target should be those that are breeding dangerous dogs illegally.

I knew Penny would have put on at least a lb. since her last weigh in but was surprised to find she has actually gained nearly 2lb. She now weighs 14lb at 21 weeks and is really starting to feel quite heavy.

For the past few months she has been sleeping through the night but recently we have been gradually bringing her bedtime forward as she gets more active. As she is awake most of the day Penny is more than ready for bed by 7pm and luckily for us usually sleeps until at least 7am, sometimes even until 8am. The result is we are more rested as well as getting some much needed time to wind down in the evenings.

As Penny still has anything up to 7 200ml milk feeds in a day, we took the decision to start the weaning process earlier than 6 months. Since she was 17 weeks we have been trying to give her a little taste of food. It is only really the last few days, however,  that she has been eating significant quantities of food. Last night she managed about 4 teaspoons of squash and this morning surprised me by eating a whole pureed banana. Thinking we were on a roll I tried swede for lunch which she apparently hates. It’s still early days and we still have many more flavours to introduce. I am currently pureeing a variety of fruit and vegetables and freezing them in large ice cube containers so we can offer a variety of foods every day.

Other developments this week are that Penny has started reaching for toys and can pull the handle on her bouncer which activates the music. She has also developed a back shuffle movement, where she uses her legs to move herself around the floor whilst still on her back. Using this she can turn herself right around in her cot and can reach toys that were previously out of reach. She can’t roll over yet but there have been a few times when she has got close.

This article about the electric Ford Focus makes interesting reading. It looks quite good and is unusual for an electric car in that it looks like a normal car. Personally for me electric cars are a little out of my price range at the moment but it does look better than a lot of other electric vehicles out there.

Has been a question which has baffled people for some time. A live chicken birth may confuse the issue even further. A chicken was recently born in Sri Lanka without an egg. It had been incubated inside the hen’s body for 21 days before hatching. Although the chick survived and was fully formed, the mother died from internal injuries.

My cats love watching certain programmes on the TV, and are particularly fond of nature programmes about birds. I was not surprised then to learn that a TV channel for dogs has been launched in the US. It is designed to keep your canine friend relaxed and stimulated whilst you are at work. The channel is advertising free and available around the clock. It features content specifically tailored for dogs with the sound, colours and camera angles adjusted to make them more appealing for your four legged friend. It looks great, my only question is when will the cat channel be launching?

This is an interesting idea, it’s a service which will provide the morning after pill via a courier service. Women will be able to order the pill online and have it delivered to an address in London within 2 hours at a cost of £20. The service has been prompted by the demand for the product which many find hard to obtain in time when visiting their GP or waiting for the post to arrive. Women purchasing the product will need to fill out a form online and confirm they are over the age of 18. The form is then assessed by a doctor and the pill is delivered up to two hours later in discreet packaging. The package must be signed for personally. The service has already been criticised by those who think it will encourage underage sex by making the morning after pill easier to access.

This image which has been described by monster hunters as unexplained could show the Loch Ness monster. The sonar picture was recorded by a Loch Ness boat skipper. The “creature” was recorded at a depth of 75ft directly under his tourist boat. It measures nearly 5ft wide. Some people are convinced it is the monster but others say it could be explained as algae.

I’m always a little sceptical about these sorts of claims but it seems a new diet can help you do just that as long as you don’t eat anything. The diet is aimed at people who want to lose weight very quickly such as brides to be. It involves eating nothing for 10 days and administering water and protein through a nose drip feeding tube inserted into the nose. Personally I can’t see why people would choose to do this, a method that involves cutting out food may drop the weight very quickly but surely it will rapidly go back on as soon as you start eating properly again. Known as the Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition it is not clear whether the diet has any lasting effects but it does seem a very extreme way to lose weight. What’s wrong with eating less and getting some exercise or do people just look for the quick fix solution.

I spent some time digging over the vegetable patch in the garden ready for planting and last weekend started to seed some areas. I already have a line of asparagus growing which I had thought we might have lost in the winter. I can now see little spears of asparagus emerging from the soil so it looks like it is coming along well although being a long term crop it will be another year before we harvest anything from it.

The raspberry canes I planted last year are coming along nicely with lots of new growth so I am hoping we will see a good harvest this year and all the fruit trees are covered with blossom so I have high hopes of a good harvest. I  have planted some potatoes in the garden and some parsnips and beetroot. I’m hoping the crops will do well this year despite the obvious challenges of watering during a hosepipe ban. As things start to grow I will post a few pictures of the emerging crops. With a small baby I am hoping we have a good crop of organic veg this year as it will help with all the purees and baby food I am currently making.

Not that I need another excuse to drink wine but if this article is to be believed red wine could reduce your chance of getting fat. Research has shown that a compound found in red wine can help control obesity. The substance, called piceatannol delays the generation of fat cells and prevents them from growing into mature fat cells. Well I’m convinced, time for a glass of wine.

I spotted one of these interesting looking creature in the garden the other day and trying to find out what it was found this article. Called Bombylius Major it mimics the appearance of a bee and is harmless being unable to sting or bite. They are becoming more common in the UK due to warmer weather. They are certainly interesting little creatures.

According to this article the bluebell season this year could be early this year and much shorter than usual. This is due to the dry weather in the south east that means bluebells will flower less and their growth is likely to be stunted. The common bluebell is now a protected species in the UK because it is under threat from the Spanish variety often planted in domestic gardens. The National Trust is asking people to submit their sightings of bluebells on the following website so that they can build up a picture of where they are found. I have quite a few coming up in my garden and will be submitting my photo once they have flowered in a day or two.

I rarely bet on sporting events but do always have a small flutter on the Grand National. This year I picked three horses one of which came in third doubling my initial stake. Watching the race I found myself wincing every time the horses jumped the fences and hoping the fallen were uninjured. Afterwards finding that two horses had died during the race I found myself contemplating whether if the sport were introduced now it would be allowed to go ahead. In my opinion two dead horses is two too many. It seems obvious to me that something needs to change here in order to make the event safer. It will be interesting to follow the investigation into the deaths of the two horses and see what measures if any are put in place for next years race.

We spent yesterday afternoon taking the top out of one of our tall trees. It had to be taken down in several segments due to it’s location next to several outbuildings. You can see the finished tree in the picture on the left. We were surprised to find some damage to the trunk once we had taken it down (pictured right) which we can only assume must have been caused by lightening.

This is Darius, the world’s biggest bunny. He is 4ft 4 inches long and weighs a massive 3.5 stone. A Continental Giant rabbit Darius eats 12 carrots a day and is still growing.

Hilda the hen sat on the wrong nest and is now raising a clutch of ducklings. The hen appears unaware that the duckling are not hers and is raising them as her own. I expect she will be a little surprised when they start learning to swim.

This beetle could pose the biggest threat to the UK’s woodlands since Dutch Elm Disease. The Asian long-horn beetle  has been found to be breeding in the UK for the first time. There are now fears that as the young beetles mature into adults they will spread around the country. The beetle has been found in Paddock Wood in Kent where experts have been checking trees for the holes they make when they lay their eggs. Any infected trees will be chopped down and incinerated before the beetles can reach maturity. It is hoped these measures will help to halt the spread of the creature. The danger is from the beetle’s larvae which burrow through the wood looking for food. This causes it to become brittle and the tree dies. Poplars and willows are at most risk but other trees such as sycamore, elm, horse chestnut, apple, pear and cherry species can also be affected.

I see so many articles about things that look like Jesus, I am beginning to wonder whether my blog may need a new category to reflect this. The latest image of Jesus has been spotted on the back of a stingray. As you can see from the picture this uncanny resemblance was recently caught on camera on a South Carolina  beach. Once again I leave you to draw your own conclusions until we come across the next thing that looks like Jesus.

The consumer magazine Which? has confirmed what many of us might already have suspected. it seems pack sizes are shrinking. Over a dozen kitchen staples have been highlighted as having shrunk in size. Amongst the offenders are Kellogg’s Coco Pops and Branston Pickle. Although the pack sizes have shrunk the prices appear to have remained unchanged. Personally the thing I have noticed most is the Cadbury’s cream egg. I have no proof but they certainly seem much smaller than they used to be. Other items highlighted in the article include Ambrosia Creamed Semolina, Birds Eye Crispy Chicken and Fairy All-in-one Dishwasher Tablets.

We spent yesterday at the allotment putting the potatoes in the ground and doing some general weeding. So far we have onions and leeks growing and now two lines of potatoes. With the help of my father we are gradually digging out the next area of ground ready for some more crops. Meanwhile we have carpeted as much of the ground as possible to kill the weeds in preparation for digging. The carpet makes a great home for a variety of creatures and I spent much of the day amusing myself trying to catch the slow worms and frogs. We have also come across a mouse hole which we disturbed whilst digging. I had so much fun catching creatures that I didn’t get an awful lot of work done. The plot is starting to look a lot better and judging by all the blossom on the damson trees we should have a good crop this year for some more lovely jam.

Penny is now 18 weeks old and is fast developing into a proper little person. She now sleeps all night from 10pm through until at least 8am in the morning. Still very hungry she spends most of the day drinking milk and we are now starting to give her little tastes of various fruit and vegetable purees. It’s hard to remember the tiny little baby she was back in November, she is certainly growing fast and I guess it won’t be long before she learns to crawl.

Not much if this article is correct. It claims that in the average Easter egg the chocolate takes up just 38% of the box, with the rest being made up of packaging. I remember reading a similar article last Easter where environmentalists were calling for Easter egg manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use. The eggs to me still look the same. It makes sense that hollow eggs require a fair amount of packaging to protect the chocolate shell but if more than half of the pack contents is packaging, it seems it might be time to campaign for more chocolate in our Easter eggs.

That’s according to the Office of National Statistics. They say that not only will one out of three babies born in the last year live to be 100 but also that the number of centenarians will rise 40-fold within the next 50 years. The rise in life expectancy is down to factors such as improved diets, advances in medicine and a move away from manual labour. It’s interesting to think that my daughter has a good chance of seeing her 100th birthday. I do wonder, however, what this means for the future of the state pension.

It’s not quite April the 1st so I’m assuming this article is genuine. It’s about a new tea which is set to go one sale. The tea is supposed to be the most expensive in the world and is unusual because the plants are fertilised with panda dung. Quite how this improves the flavour of the tea is unclear but those wanting to try a cup should expect to pay around £130. It is made by a former teacher and journalist who believes using the panda manure to fertilise the organic green tea produces the perfect cup. The panda dung is obtained from nearby panda breading centres in Sichuan province, China. With 50 grams of the tea selling for 22,000 yuan (£2,200) and a cup of tea requiring about three grams each cup of tea would cost about £130.

A study which I can only assume has been commissioned by Cadburys has found that people who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner. The findings come from a study of nearly 1000 US people. It looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index and found that those who ate chocolate a few times a week were on average slimmer than those who ate it occasionally. Scientists believe that even though chocolate contains lots of calories it also contains ingredients that may favour weight loss. I’m convinced, it seems like another good excuse to eat chocolate.

Whilst trying to return an item online recently it occurred to me how much I appreciate those companies that take the time to respond to your query personally. On this occasion I was trying to access the returns link on a website that shall remain nameless. Finding it was broken, I looked for an email address and sent them a screenshot of the error message and the location of the broken link. I shortly received an automated response telling me my ticket was being looked at. Great, I thought, it will soon be fixed. A little while later I received a reply to my ticket, telling me that to return the item I needed to access the returns link.

Something had obviously been lost in translation here. Either they simply didn’t bother to read my original email or the person who responded has a limited grasp of English and simply picked out the word “return” matching it to the nearest generic response they could copy and paste. This is the reason I prefer to deal with the small retailer who focuses their attention on customer service rather than outsourcing this to an external, often overseas organisation. It really is frustrating to receive a generic response and not have your query  answered. I guess these larger organisations have so many customers they can afford to annoy and perhaps lose a few.

It was only when my trusty kitchen timer recently broke that I realised quite how much I use it. For things like boiling noodles or eggs that require quite careful timing it really is invaluable and something I find really difficult to do without. I have replaced like for like and recently ordered another of these egg shaped timers from Amazon. It is probably one of the most simple pieces of equipment in my kitchen but I am lost without it. It’s not really an item that requires a review, it simply does what it says on the box.

A big local story is that the first new grammar school in 50 years could be opening in Sevenoaks. Members on the Kent County Council recently voted in favour of a grammar school opening in the area. Currently pupils in the Sevenoaks area have to commute to nearby Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells if they are lucky enough to get into a grammar school. Sevenoaks has a large mixed sex academy and several private schools but to date has never had a grammar school, something which many local people feel should change. At the recent meeting 66 councillors voted in favour of the new school, 3 opposed and 2 abstained. It is thought the school which will be a satellite school linked to existing grammar schools in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells may be opened on the old Wildernesse school site. It will be interesting to follow this story and see how it goes.

We took Penny for her third course of vaccinations and were not really expecting a reaction as she has been fine with the first two courses. Yesterday afternoon, however, she suddenly turned bright red and starting screaming as though in pain. Nothing would calm her and as first time parents we had never seen Penny like this before so called the doctor for advice. We had already checked her temperature and found it to be high although not excessively so.

The doctor assured us it was a normal reaction to the vaccinations and advised us to give her calpol. In the meantime I had already stripped her down to nappy and placed wet flannels over her head and legs in an attempt to cool her down. Gradually this did start to work, although the inconsolable screaming continued for several hours. Eventually the calpol did seem to have an effect and Penny slept for a few hours.

When she woke up she was back to being a normal happy baby. For us I think the worst thing was not really being able to do anything to help her and not really knowing what was wrong. I guess we will be more prepared for this type of reaction another time, but it certainly did give us a bit of a scare.

I was alerted to this scam by a relative who recently experienced it at our local Sainsbury’s. They had filled up their modest sized family car and queued to pay for their petrol, only to find it has already been paid for. Their bill which came to just over £30 had it seemed been paid by someone else who had given the wrong pump number. They had in fact filled up on another  pump with over £80 worth of diesel. Although they had paid for some of their fuel, they obviously got away with a massive discount.

It seems the trick is to look around for someone with a much smaller car than yours, make sure they are well behind you in the queue to pay and give their pump number instead paying for a much lower fuel bill. The other motorist is none the wiser until they come to pay for their fuel. They are not out of pocket because they can prove their vehicle is still parked in front of the pump. By the time it has been discovered, however, the other driver is long gone with a nice fuel discount. I’m not sure how common this practice this or whether it has been possible to track down the other driver, presumably it must be on cctv but it certainly is a clever trick and a sign that perhaps fuel prices are getting a bit too much to swallow.

This is interesting, it’s a tent that can be suspended from the trees. Called the Tentsile it has been created by a British architect. The tent sleeps up to 8 people and can be suspended 10ft off the ground. It is accessed via a rope ladder and was inspired by a spiders web. The designer believes it could be used in disaster areas such as during floods or earthquakes. As well as having the advantage of being suspended off the ground it can also be erected in just 30 minutes although it does require 3 trees.

There are already so many things you are advised not to do when you are pregnant. It seems, that talking on a mobile phone should now be added to the list. That’s if this study is correct. Scientists have suggested that pregnant women should limit their exposure to mobile phones because it can cause behavioural problems in children. Researchers from Yale have found that exposure to radiation from mobiles in pregnancy affects the brain development of the offspring and can lead to greater activity anxiety and poor memory. They came to the the conclusion after carrying out a study on pregnant mice. Some scientists have dismissed the study as alarmist and unjustified because the unborn mice would have received a much higher dose of radiation than an unborn baby would have been exposed to due to the fact that a pregnant women would generally hold a phone at least a metre away from their uterus.

If you have ever wondered what animal has the strongest bite then the answer is a saltwater crocodile. That’s according to scientists that measured the bites of animals to find which is the strongest. The saltwater crocodile has jaws that snap shut with a force of 1,700kg which is almost twice as strong as a great white shark.

This is interesting, its a pair of moisturising tights. Available from Marks and Spencer the tights claim to moisturise your legs as you move. They are coated with millions of tiny bubbles that are ruptured by friction releasing the moisturiser onto the skin. The tights themselves are made of a sheer fabric which give the illusion of bare legs. Makes and Spencer have not said exactly what is in the moisturiser but have said that it contains aloe vera, marine plant extract and ginkgo biloba. It’s an interesting idea, I wonder whether it leaves the leg dry to the touch or if they start to feel a little slimy as you move around.

I never fail to be amazed at the amount of new species still being discovered. This discovery is a little more surprising because it was found in New York City. The new leopard frog was found after scientists studying frogs in the area found they had a different call. It was then they discovered the frog was a new type. The frogs are currently found in Staten Island, mainland New York, and New Jersey. It appears they have remained undiscovered for so long, simply because they look like other frogs in the area.

A restaurant has created what is thought to be Britain’s biggest burger. With a massive 18,000 calories it has more calories than the recommended weekly intake for a man. It includes seven pounds of beef, nine rashers of bacon, nine slices of cheese, 3 tomatoes, a whole lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato relish and pickles and comes in a 12 inch bun. The burger weighs 15 pounds and even comes with a 1lb of chips on the side. At £40 it is not cheap, the restaurant is now challenging people to try and finish it within just an hour.

Readers may remember we found a stray cat in our kitchen some months ago. Nicknamed Tabby due to her colour we have tried everything to find her a new home. We started by putting fliers in all the letterboxes of surrounding houses as well as on lamp posts in the area. My husband also appeared in the newspaper with the cat and although we did receive several responses unfortunately none of them were Tabby’s owners. We contacted local vets and she didn’t match the descriptions of any of the lost cats on their books. We have also had her scanned for a microchip but unfortunately she doesn’t have one.

After nearly three months of having a fifth cat we have now exhausted all of the options. Having tried to integrate Tabby into the family it is simply not working out. She really is a lovely cat but although she likes us and we like her, our cats hate her. After thinking about it carefully and considering what is best for our current cats we have come to the decision to take Tabby to the local animal shelter. They are dedicated to finding homes for cats like Tabby and will put her into a foster home until they can find somewhere for her. We can’t help feeling bad that we were unable to give her a home but as we have found out, five cats really is one cat too many.

If anyone reading this in the Sevenoaks area would like a cat and would consider Tabby, do drop me an email from the link on my blog and I will forward you the phone number of the cat home.

There is a lot  focus on saving more cuddly looking endangered creatures but sharks are often overlooked. According to this article some species of sharks could soon be extinct if measures are not put in place to save them. That’s according to a recent study which has found fishermen are targeting the blue shark population off the UK coast using long line fishing nets. The problem seems to be that there is a huge market for shark fin soup in Asia which appears to be causing fishermen to deliberately target the shark population. It is thought blue fin sharks are the most frequently caught shark species with a population decline of almost 80% in some areas since the 1980s.

It has been difficult to track the decline of the species as the fishing industry logs every catch but does not release the data. It does seem, however, that the practice of long line fishing is to blame for the decline, leading for calls for protected areas to be set up. It is estimated that 1.1 million sharks are caught in the Atlantic each year with the majority being sold to Taiwan or Hong Kong. Without better protection for the species the future for sharks looks bleak and one expert has said "There is a good chance that our grandchildren won't see these sharks”.

Having a baby brings many new changes to your life. The obvious ones are the day to work of taking care of the new addition to the family but one thing that surprised me was the new social life that comes with it. Before having Penny I tended to socialise with friends once a month if that. Now, hardly a day goes past without a new activity organised by one of the other mums from the NCT group or popping around to the neighbours for coffee. I find this new social life a little hard to juggle along with work and taking care of Penny, but it is nice that we are already mixing with babies of similar ages. Hopefully as they grow older and become more aware of their surroundings some friendships will start to form. For now it makes for an interesting comparison to see what other babies of similar ages are doing and for me a good excuse to drink lots of tea and eat cake.

With the clocks changing in a few weeks time it is interesting to read that an abrupt change to your daily schedule can increase the risk of a heart attack by 10%. The findings come from a study into the impact of daylight saving on a persons health. The impact of the change is not felt on a Sunday morning as most people adapt their weekend schedule and get up a a little later. On a Monday when people go back to work the risk peaks. On the other hand when the clocks go back in October the risk of heart attack decreases by 10%. You can help acclimatise your body to the change by waking up half an hour earlier on the weekend before the clocks change and getting some sunlight in the morning. Apparently this helps to reset the master clock in the brain that reacts to changes in light.

Penny is now 15 weeks old and is growing fast, so fast in fact that she easily drinks 200ml of milk and looks around for more. Exclusively fed breast milk for the first 3 months she has reached the stage where it has become impossible to keep up with the constant cycle of feeding and expressing and stay sane.

We have taken the decision to add a number of top up formula feeds into her diet to make life a little easier. As the Aptamil First Milk no longer seems to satisfy, Penny now has 200ml of Hungry Milk at lunchtime and another 200ml before bed at her 11.30pm feed. The result is we have a much happier baby that not only sleeps between 12am and 7am but also sleeps for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

I must admit I was apprehensive about starting the move to formula but she does seems to settle much better after her formula feeds and sleeps for longer. It is my intention to gradually cut out all but two or three of her breast feeds and eventually as we begin weaning to move away from breast feeding all together in favour of the Follow On milk at around 6 months.

I was unaware of the Shed of the Year competition until I saw this article. This one is based upon a pub. Others have been turned into churches, railway stations and even a Tardis. They are great, I wonder what I could turn my shed into.

Only on the Daily Mail could you find such a headline. It is the story about a man who claims he was mugged by a fox for his dinner. The man was walking home from the shops with his shopping when he was confronted by the hungry fox. He says it started circling him trying to get into his shopping bags and only left when he handed it a packet of garlic bread. I have my doubts personally, foxes are certainly getting braver but they do usually tend to turn tail and run away when confronted, at least the ones in my garden do.

A wild brown bear has been photographed using a rock as a tool. The bear which was pictured in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska was using a barnacle covered rock to exfoliate, in what is thought to be the first recorded act of tool use by the species. The discovery indicated that brown bears may be more advanced than has previously been thought.

Ponies on Dartmoor will be given contraceptive injections as part of a project to try and control the exploding population. The ponies have been breeding a little too well and large numbers of them have been slaughtered and the meat sold overseas as the market value has plummeted. Vets working for World Horse Welfare have now been given the go ahead to bring in the injection to control the numbers of foals being born. Rather than being a permanent solution like sterilisation the contraceptive injection allows mares to foal again if the treatment is not reapplied the following month. It should gradually start to reduce the number of the foals, maintaining the current population at a sustainable size.

It seems egg prices are due to rise as suppliers face shortages. This article claims that we will soon be paying about 20p more for a box of eggs due to shortages in Britain and Europe. Suppliers have been affected by a ban on battery cages and rising costs for free range producers. This has caused the wholesale prices of eggs to double in the past year. The wholesale cost of large eggs is now 97p up from 45p whilst medium eggs cost 83p up from 40p. Eggs are one of the only staple foods I currently can’t produce at home although we do get quite a few from our nice neighbours across the road who have chickens. I wonder whether it might be be time to invest in a few chickens myself?

If this article is correct new parents spend around £1,400 on their baby before it is even born. Those costs seem to really add up, from the nursery furniture and the baby travel system to the clothes, towels and bedding. New parents tend to spend around £115 on baby clothes, £100 on toys, around £100 on maternity wear and £70 on pampering treatments. Personally I think we spent around £2,000 on initial expenses such as the Moses basket, clothes, sterilising equipment, breast pump, bedding and baby travel system. Since the initial spend we are spending roughly an extra £100 a month on new clothes when the baby out grows the old ones, nappies, wipes and top up formula to supplement the breast feeding. Babies are certainly expensive.

If this article is correct the answer is a pizza. Sales of Italian chilled meals have risen by 14.9% in the last year overtaking the more traditional British favourites such as Shepherd’s Pie. The nations second favourite ready meal appears to be pasta such as lasagne. The trade magazine The Grocer puts the change down to the fact that people feel they can easily make English food from scratch whereas other cuisines are considered to be more time consuming. I find that a little hard to believe myself, a lasagne, pizza or bolognaise takes about the same time to make as a shepherds pie and all the dishes taste much better than the ready meal alternative when made from scratch.

This is interesting its a fitness regime that incorporates just three minutes of exercise a week but claims to make you fit. Called High Intensity Training or HIT it involves doing short bursts of high intensity exercise for just three minutes a week over a four week period. The exercise involves warming up by doing gentle exercise on an exercise bike for a couple of minutes before going flat out for 20 seconds. After a couple minutes have a rest and then do another 20 seconds flat out. Another couple of minutes of gentle exercise and then a further 20 seconds of flat out exercise. This regime is supposed to use more muscle tissue than classic aerobic exercise using not just the leg muscles but also use the upper body including the arms and shoulders so that 80% of the body’s muscle cells are activated rather than just 20 to 40% for walking or moderate exercise. I’m not entirely convinced but does make for interesting reading.

If this article is correct some people’s marriages could be doomed to fail because of their genes. Scientists believe they have discovered a “divorce gene” that makes it harder for some women to bond with other people. The gene affects how women process oxytocin, the hormone which promotes feelings of love and maternal affection. Those with the gene are 50% more likely to have a troubled relationship if they do marry.

A Chinese inventor has devised another use for unwanted toilets, he has turned them into desks for school children. Toilet manufacturer Gao Jianguo turned the cisterns lid into portable lap desks to use the toilets that would otherwise be thrown away. He has now donated hundreds of the toilet desk to local schools.

This chicken nugget has been auctioned on eBay after it was noticed it looked like surprisingly like President George Washington. Rebekah Speights noticed the amazing resemblance and froze the nugget. She eventually decided to auction it to raise funds for her local church.

This pink diamond is the largest ever to be found in Australia. It is 12.76 carats in size. Found at the Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia's East Kimberly region it it thought to be worth millions. It will now be polished and cut before being graded by a team of international experts.

The answer it seems is around 60 days. This article which makes for an interesting read looks at how long a person can go without food. The question has arisen after a Swedish man was found buried in the snow in his car. He claims he survived for two months eating only handfuls of snow. Other people have been known to successfully survive for a 50 day period. It seems the amount of fat a person has on them has no bearing on how long they can actually survive as a lack of calories starts to cause your organs to shut down one by one. It is known that people who have gone on hunger strike tend to die after around 60 days.

If you have trouble parking then it might not be your parking skills that are at fault it may actually be that the spaces are too small. Apparently the average vehicle is now 2 inches wider than the minimum allowed parking space. Research shows that popular British cars have increased in width by around 16% in the past 40 years. The article gives the example of the Ford Escort which was 5ft 2 inches wide when it was launched in 1968. The modern equivalent the Ford Focus, however, now measures 6ft 1 inch, nearly a foot wider. The guidance for the minimum size of a parking bay is 5ft 11 inches, something which has remained unchanged since 1994 meaning many spaces are now a very tight fit for popular models and too narrow for some. That explains a lot and I thought it was my questionable parking ability

Australian chef Andy Wrobel has created the world tallest stack of pancakes. He beat a record set in 2008 in Croatia to build a 76cm tall stack of pancakes. Including 60 pancakes in total. The tower did eventually fall over but not before the record was confirmed.

NHS figures show that women in the North East of the country are more likely to smoke through their pregnancy. The figures show that women in the region are three times more likely to be smokers when they give birth as those in London. The figures come from the NHS Information Centre and revealed 20.2% of women in the North East were smokers when they gave birth compared to 6.1% in London. This is despite the added complications that smoking during pregnancy may cause such as the risk of stillbirth and the increased risk of the baby being born prematurely. Personally I find it hard to believe that anyone would continue to smoke once they are pregnant. With £1million being spent across Shropshire and Telford warning women of the dangers of smoking in pregnancy it seems the message is still not getting though at least in some areas.

We had Penny baptised last weekend on the 19th of February. Despite the service being quite long we were lucky that Penny slept through most of it, only waking up once to have a look around. Here is a picture of the yummy lemon cake we had afterwards and Penny getting ready to go to the church.

This interesting looking tree has been dubbed E Tree due to its resemblance to Steven Spielberg’s character ET. The tree in Essex is thought by some to bear an uncanny resemblance to ET. I’m not sure myself but it is certainly an unusual looking tree.

This cute little guy was recently discovered in Madagascar. Measuring just three centimetres it is thought to be the world’s smallest chameleon. The creature is thought to be found only in an area that is a few square miles in size although at this size it must be very hard to be sure.

Researchers claim that babies as young as six months old can understand basic words such as apple and arm. That is despite the fact that most children are not able to speak meaningful words until they are nearly a year old. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal tested 33 children aged between six and nine months. They looked at their understanding of common nouns by showing them two images such as an apple and and arm and asking what the object was. Researchers tracked their eye movements and found the children looked at the correct image with with a frequency that was unlikely to be down to chance. It seems then it is never too early to start teaching babies image association.

That’s if this article is to be believed. Trading standards officers in Lincolnshire collected more than 1,350 discarded cigarette packets and found that only six out every seven packets were legal cigarettes. The study gives some insight into the numbers of fake cigarettes that could be in circulation. With the black market versions containing much higher levels of chemicals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium the illegal versions are much more damaging to your health than the legal versions and can increase the risk of lung and liver cancer. The fake cigarettes have often been found to contain sawdust, tobacco beetles and rat droppings. If you do smoke the message is to look out for spelling mistakes and altered logos on the packets, low quality labels and foreign safety warnings and to avoid cigarettes sold at car boot fairs and pubs. All cigarettes are going to kill you but it seems these ones might be just a bit more lethal.

It seems many parents no longer read their children traditional fairy tales because they think are too scary. According to this article one in five parents no longer read traditional tales such as those by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm preferring instead to read more modern books. Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel are avoided because the themes of the stories include kidnapping whilst Little Red Riding Hood is often considered too upsetting because the wolf eats the girls grandmother. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is avoided because the term dwarf is considered inappropriate and parents find the Gingerbread Man problematic because they are uncomfortable explaining that the gingerbread man gets eaten by a fox. Personally I don’t see a problem with any of the stories, perhaps traditional fairy tales are now less politically correct than more modern books but they are a product of the time in which they were written and ultimately they are only stories.

A study recently published in the British Medical Journal has found that smoking cannabis less than three hours before driving can double the drivers chances of a serious accident. The findings come from a review of nine studies which found drivers were more likely to be involved in a collision after smoking the drug. With an estimated 3 million cannabis in the UK perhaps it is time to update drink driving laws to cover the use of other substances.

This painting is one of many created by an artist who uses beer to create her pictures. Karen Eland started created pictures using coffee but has recently started making beer pictures. She uses mainly stouts and porters to create the painting and sometimes uses lagers to create the lighter areas. She does admit to sometimes drinking the painting material whilst creating the pictures.

This is interesting its a marketing campaign from McCain for their new microwaveable jacket potato. Bus shelters in 10 UK cities have been fitted with a 3D poster featuring a jacket potato. When the button on the display is pressed it releases the smell of an oven backed jacket potato.

This article proves that sometimes it does pay to air your views on a product. After receiving a letter from a 3 year old girl Sainsbury’s have taken the decision to rebrand their tiger bread as giraffe bread. In the letter 3 year old Lily said that she thought the bread looked much more like a giraffe than a tiger. She received a reply to her letter and a voucher. The reply letter has since received a great deal of coverage on social networks and Sainsbury’s have renamed the bread. What a nice piece of advertising.

One avid Star Trek fan has recreated the inside of the Starship Enterprise in his flat. Including a full scale replica of the transporter console his one bedroom flat includes a computerised flight deck and flashing lights. It certainly looks impressive, I’m not sure how practical it is for everyday use, however.

This is interesting its some high heels that can help you lose weight. According to the article they can help you to drop a dress size in a month. They feature a concave sole and a unique spring action in the heel which destabilises the wearer's centre of balance. Early trials have shown that women can shed as much as half a stone or one dress size if they wear the heels for a month. They work by causing the foot to rock back and forth as the weight of the body shifts much like walking on a unstable surface such as sand. The result of this is that the muscles in the legs, hips and buttocks have to work harder to maintain balance burning more calories in the process. They look interesting but I can’t really see me wearing these to pop to the shops, now some trainers that do the same thing might work.

Researchers are asking people to take part in a project to help measure the spread of black squirrels. It it thought be about 100 years since the rodents were released in the UK, however, the spread of the black squirrel has been hard to trace. They are essentially the same species as the common grey variety but it not known whether they carry the grey squirrel pox which is known to infect the UK’s native red squirrels. It is thought the entire population of the black squirrels originate in Bedfordshire where a  few individuals were released. So far they have only been spotted in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. If you have spotted one you can submit your sighting here http://blacksquirrelproject.org/

This impressive looking breakfast is being offered at Jesters Diner in Great Yarmouth. Including 12 rashers of bacon, 12 sausages, 6 eggs, 4 black pudding slices, 4 slices of toast, 4 slices of fried bread, 2 hash browns, an 8 egg cheese and potato omelette, sauté potatoes, mushrooms, beans and tomatoes  it has been heavily criticised because it contains more than 6,000 calories, that’s three times the recommended daily intake for an average person. At just £15 you certainly get a lot for your money and if you can eat the whole lot without any help from your friends you get it for free.

This is interesting its the story of a mummified cat that has recently been found in a property in North Yorkshire. It was found when the owners removed the ceilings from their 18th century property. It is thought the cat has been there for around 100 years and that it was positioned in the roof as a good luck charm to ward off evil spirits.

This article claims that some of the secrets to a happy marriage are two holidays a year, a meaningful conversation twice a week and cuddles 11 times in a fortnight. The findings come from research on 2,000 happily marriage couples. Among the other things that were identified as important were eating out restaurants at lest three times a month, sharing a kiss six times a week, having sex twice a week and saying I love you up to 9 times in a fortnight. Personally we rarely have the time to take a holiday together but I think the important thing is to always make time to do things together even if you are only cooking a meal together.

A study suggests that lifelong criminals could be genetically programmed to break the law. Carried out by the University of Texas and recently published in the Criminology journal the study suggests that crime can be in part genetic. Researchers looked at 3 groups of people, those who offend throughout their lives, those who only commit crimes in their teens and those who always obey the law. They focused on the persistent offenders and found that  whilst adolescent offenders were more influenced by their environment, the same was not true of those who became lifelong criminals. Ultimately the findings suggested that up to 70% of our chance of lifelong criminality could be genetic.

Burger King have been criticised for this tasty looking burger which contains 966 calories. The Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Double Angus burger is apparently the biggest and most fattening burger available on the high street and has twice as many calories as a Big Mac. Costing £5.29 it has a fat content of 58g, something which has been widely criticised according to the article. Personally the calories content doesn’t put me off, it’s not really the sort of thing you would eat every day more as an occasional convenience food.

These sheep in a New Zealand nature park are particularly striking because they have been dyed pink. The sheep were originally dyed in order to celebrate breast cancer awareness week but it proved to be such a hit with visitors that The park called SheepWorld has decided to leave them this colour. They have been coloured with a harmless food colouring which washes out in the rain. They do look rather good.

This unusual white blackbird has recently been pictured in a park in Nottinghamshire. The bird is leucistic, a genetic mutation which prevents pigments from being deposited normally in its feathers. Despite white birds being more vulnerable to predators it has been living in the the woodland of Rufford Abbey Country Park for the past four years and during that time has gradually shed any black plumage to become completely white.

Bottles of ale which were brewed to celebrate the coronation of Edward VIII have recently been found in a bricked up cellar. The ales were brewed to celebrate Edwards coronation but were never released for sale because he abdicated to marry Mrs Simpson. They were recently found in a bricked up cellar after workmen were called in to replace a floor at the Greene King brewery in Bury St Edmunds.

There is still time to register for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch which is this weekend. All you need to do is register your details on the website at the following link. http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/  Then just spend an hour recording the birds that visit your garden on either Saturday 28th or Sunday the 29th. When you have finished go back to the website and submit your results. The results help the RSPB to get an idea of the numbers of different bird species in each region so they can see how they are doing and spot any problems with decline.

This is interesting it’s a man who has developed a way of combining cleaning the house and exercising. Steve Markovich, from Crescent Springs, Kentucky combines resistance training methods with day to day housework. The workout includes vacuum cleaner lunges, window cleaning squats, sofa lifting and karate kicks with most of the workout being able to be completed indoors. He has now started producing videos showing others how to follow his workout plan and is due to publish a book called Aerobic House Cleaning. What a great idea.

At a time when religion appears to feature less in the lives of many people in the UK, it is interesting to note that there has been a rise in the number of Church of England weddings. Figures show that Church of England weddings were up by 4% in 2010 when compared with 2009, the biggest annual increase in 10 years. The church has put the rise down to its weddings project which asked the public what it wanted from a church wedding and briefed the clergy on the findings. The project also included the launch of yourchurchwedding.org which is designed to make planning your ceremony easier. According to the article most people cite tradition as the reason they would like to get married in a church.

That’s according to recent research which has found taking the contraceptive pill significantly relieves the symptoms of period pains in a third of women. The study looked at 1,300 volunteers aged 19 to 24. It found that the pill reduced pain by at least one point on a ten point scale. It seems, then that there could be other benefits to taking this form of contraception. Personally I noticed no reduction in the severity of period pains whilst taking the contraceptive pill although one big advantage is knowing pretty much to the day when your period is going to arrive. At least then you can plan for it or in some cases run two packs of pills together to skip it altogether if it is likely to clash with an important event that you need to be well for.

With otters such as this little guy pictured now being found in most rivers in Britain, the population appears to be doing rather well. There are now thought to be around 10,000 of them in Britain. Whilst this is good news for the species it seems it is bad news for koi enthusiasts. Otters are good at climbing and digging and are naturally drawn to ponds full of large well fed fish. One man interviewed has lost 15 of his carp whilst another found the remains of a £200 fish on his patio. Householders in some areas are now being warned to protect their ponds with metal grids. For those considering more drastic measures they should be reminded that otters are protected and anyone attempting to kill them or disturb them can be fined up to £5,000 or jailed for six months.

A study has found that eating even small amounts of processed meat can increase your risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Eating one sausage or two rashers of bacon a day can raise the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by a fifth. Scientists in Sweden found that eating 50g of processed meat a day raises the likelihood of cancer by 19%. Eating 100g a day, the equivalent of a small burger increases the risk by 38% and eating 150g a day raises it to 57%. Other red meats such as joints and steaks were found to increase a man’s chance of developing cancer but not a woman’s. Personally I eat very little processed meat but I don’t think I will be giving up bacon anytime soon.

This is interesting it’s a new product from McCain, a jacket potato that is ready in just five minutes. Although jacket potatoes are very easy to cook, they do require at least an hour in the oven to produce a soft inside and a nice crispy skin. This product, however, claims to produce a perfect potato in just five minutes. Called the Ready Backed Jacket it can be microwaved in five minutes and is said to taste as good as the traditional oven cooked potato. At £1.49 for two it seems like a good idea for those who are pushed for time but I would be dubious about whether it would taste as good as the oven cooked alternative. It does seem to perform quite well in the taste test conducted in the article though, so might be worth a try.

If this article is to be believed then a large cat could be living in Woodchester. The remains of a deer were recently found that are consistent with a cat kill. It appeared to show teeth and claw impressions and the stomach had been taken out and discarded which can also be consistent with cat kills. This cat pictured could be the cat in question although some people have also spotted a large white cat. It does appear based on the evidence so far that there is a large cat on the loose in the area but it seems further investigation is needed to find out exactly what it is.

The world’s biggest Koran has recently been unveiled at the opening of an exhibition centre in Kabul. The book measures more than 7ft long and 10ft wide. The 218 pages are decorated with 30 different calligraphy designs and took almost five years to finish. It certainly looks impressive.

Scientists have discovered what many people may already suspect, drinking alcohol does make us feel good. Apparently it releases endorphins into the the brain producing feelings of pleasure and reward. Researchers used something called PET imaging to observe the effects of alcohol in the brains of 13 heavy drinkers and compared these to 12 control subjects who were not heavy drinkers. It found that drinking alcohol led to a release of endorphins in all of those taking part with the heavy drinkers having greater feelings of pleasure. it is thought the greater feeling of reward felt by the heavy drinkers ultimately encourage them to drink more and may cause them to drink too much.

This cute little guy is thought to be the world’s smallest frog. Measuring just 7mm long it has recently been discovered in Papua New Guinea. Called Paedophryne amauensis it lives amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor where it is well camouflaged. It was only found when researchers studying frog calls triangulated frog calls in the forest and found they were coming from the forest floor. Putting a handful of leaf litter within a plastic bag revealed the tiny frogs. 

This article suggests that the average family has three arguments a week which are caused by the dog. Although there are no figures to show whether other pets such as cats cause a a similar amounts of arguments, it seems family pets do cause quite a few disagreements. Arguments range from who should take the dog for a walk to how many treats they should have and who cleans up after them. I don’t think our cats cause this many arguments, although we do often have to apply the “cat sick rule” the person who finds it first, cleans it up.

Uggie the dog has created such a following that his fans are campaigning for him to be eligible for an Oscar nomination. Uggie is the star of the new film The Artist and has recently appeared on the Graham Norton Show and a special West End screening in aid of the Dogs Trust charity. His appearance in the film was so successful that it has won rave reviews and generated an online campaign calling on the organisers of the Oscars to relax the rules on honouring only human actors. Uggie was saved from a shelter for abandoned pets as a puppy and had two owners who rejected him because he was too wild before being taken on by an animal trainer. Omar Von Muller took Uggie on and trained him. He has since appeared in a number of adverts as well as What’s Up, Scarlet?, Wassup Rockers, Mr. Fix It, Water for Elephants and most recently The Artist. Uggie is unusual amongst film stars that he does all of his own stunts including skate boarding and water skiing.

According to this article around a million Britons used a payday loan last year to pay their mortgage or rent. The information comes from a report from the homeless charity Shelter and is a worrying sign that people are taking on expensive debt to pay essential bills. Payday loans are supposed to be used in the short term to get you through to payday as the name suggests. They do, however, carry horrendous interest rates often as much as 700% interest so are not really an option for paying basic bills as the debt can quickly spiral out of control. If the article is true it is very worrying that people are becoming so desperate to take these sorts of loans out for their recurring monthly bills.

If you want too purchase a slightly different property then this observatory might be what you are looking for. It has been put on the market by Swansea city council who say they are looking for imaginative proposals for the future of the building. Built in 1988 the building includes a stained glass roof by artist David Pearl and panels of carved poetry by Nigel Jenkins.

This is interesting, its a dogcam solution that could be used in search and rescue operations. Called paws the application is an acronym for portable, all terrain wireless system. it has been developed by UK firm Wood and Douglas which specialises in wireless broadcast technology applications. It basically involves fitting a wireless camera and harness to the dog which can then search the debris of a disaster zone for any signs of life. It has the advantage that the dog can not only reach places people might not be able to reach but also use its sense of smell to track down any survivors. The information is sent back to the receiving station where the person co-ordinating the rescue can see the live video.

If you have trouble understanding the offside rule then help might be at hand. The back of the new 50p coin to celebrate the Olympics includes a handy diagram which should leave you in no doubt. I think a few referees could do with keeping one of these in their pockets.

I have long thought that there should be more screening methods for driving under the influence of drugs. Whereas it is easy to screen motorists for drink driving, police currently have to prove that a driver’s actions have been impaired by drug use. Road safety bodies, however, feel that existing laws covering the offence are inadequate and need to be reviewed. A panel of scientists and academic experts will look into whether a new criminal offence should be created to deal with the issue and whether it is possible to gauge how different drugs impair a drivers performance and reactions behind the wheel. Currently suspected drug users are required to undertake exercises such as counting out 30 seconds and walking in a straight line as well as being examined by a doctor and providing a blood test but as some of these tests cannot be done at the roadside the substances are often out of a drivers system by the time they are tested. With around 10% of 17-24 years olds admitting to having driven soon after taking illegal drugs last year it seems a change in the law could be long overdue.

This is quite cute. It’s the story of a two-legged dog called Kandu that has his own set of wheels to help him get around. The dog was born without any front legs and would normally be put to sleep. However, his owners decided to create a set of wheels for him and he seems to get around fairly normally. The couple have since adopted another dog that also has no front legs as a playmate for him.

If once a week is the answer then you might be able to cut down on the amount of washes you do. This article suggests that you can get away with washing jeans only every three months whilst still smelling socially acceptable. A team of volunteers in Australia agreed to wear a pair of jeans five days a week without washing them. They found that the jeans didn’t actually smell bad and that many stains simply wear off. Melbourne researcher Tullia Jack believes the findings of her experiment could have an impact on the environment as her volunteers saved thousands of litres of water and electricity in not washing their jeans.

A program is underway to electronically tag predatory American crayfish in order to understand more about the species. The non native crayfish have been invading Britain’s waterways at an alarming speed and pushing out the smaller native crayfish. It is believed they were originally released into the river by an aquarium owner. The American crayfish have already colonised the River Lee near Enfield taking over 17km of the river. The American crayfish not only prey on the native wildlife but also spread crayfish plague, a disease which is deadly to the native white clawed crayfish. The predatory crayfish will be fitted with radio transmitters on their backs to track the spread and find out exactly how fast they are moving. I bet they are quite tasty, I wonder if we are allowed to eat them.

Corn Buntings are currently an endangered species so this picture of a large flock of the birds photographed near Devizes in Wiltshire is good news for the species. Numbers of the birds have plunged in recent years due to intensive farming methods which have seen field margins being ploughed up, leaving the birds nowhere to lay their eggs. In fact numbers of the birds have fallen by nearly 90% over the last 40 years. It is thought that recent schemes which pay farmers to improve their environment are starting to have an effect and numbers of the birds have increased by about 5% over the last three years. These measures include growing fields of spring barley and leaving stubble over the winter rather than ploughing the fields so seeds are available for food.

This white kiwi was recently hatched at Pukaha Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre, New Zealand. The bird is white because both of its parents are thought to have carried a recessive white gene which caused its pure white feathers. Although rare, this is the second white kiwi to be hatched at New Zealand’s national wildlife centre, with the first being hatched in May. The birds usually have a brown plumage.

It seems the Euro is under threat in more ways than the current economic crisis affecting the eurozone. According to this article Sainsbury’s and Lidl have stopped selling chocolate Euros and have gone back to offering Sterling coins instead. It seems the Sterling coins were brought back due to high demand after numerous requests from customers for British chocolate coins. The move back to British coins appears to have significantly increased sales of the line although it is not clear whether people were reluctant to buy the Euro coins because of the current financial crisis or simply because the Sterling alternative is more familiar to British customers.

The recent rise in fuel prices seems to have made fuel a target for thieves. This article claims that high prices are behind a recent increase in fuel theft and the theft of catalytic convertors. The AA are being called out at least once a week to cars that have been damaged during a fuel theft. Thieves usually steal fuel by cutting through fuel lines, smashing open fuel caps, removing petrol tanks or drilling into fuel tanks and pumping out the contents. Larger cars such as people carriers and 4x4s are more vulnerable because they are higher off the ground giving thieves easier access and also have bigger fuel tanks. Fuel theft usually tends to go unnoticed until the victim runs out of fuel or finds they have a persistent smell of fuel coming from their car. Other than parking your car in well lit locations it appears there is not much you can really do to combat the problem.

If you like me are partial to a little bit of cheese and wine, then you might want to rethink your wine choices. Whilst many people, think a red wine is the perfect accompaniment to a good cheese it seems a white wine might be better. According to this article white wine is a much better choice with cheese than red. The main reason is that red wines are generally more strongly flavoured than whites and as such can overshadow all but the most robust cheese. White wines on the other hand are more versatile and compliment a much wider range of cheeses. It seems the tannins in red wines simply dominate the flavours of most cheeses so experts recommend drinking white instead to get more from your cheese experience. Whites that have been “oaked”, that is left in oak barrels should also be avoided with cheese.

Rather than go out this year we spent New Years Eve at home as we thought Penny was too small to go to the pub and didn’t really fancy leaving her for a whole evening just yet. I cooked a slow roasted leg of pork with trimmings and apple sauce and and apple crumble which used up nearly all of the apples I had stored from this years crop. Then we settled down to watch the fireworks on the TV. Penny did wake up in time to watch with us, however, didn’t seem that impressed with the display, I think she may be a little too small to appreciate TV just yet.

It was lovely to have Penny home for Christmas especially as we were not expecting her to arrive until the 26th of December. My husband Rory was particularly excited about the whole Christmas celebration this year, despite the fact that Penny is only 4 weeks old and really too young to remember anything. I have never, known Rory to be so keen to do the morning present opening. We opened Penny’s dream sheep and some baby books for her and she did sleep through most of it. She does, however, like the gifts when she is awake enough to enjoy them. Christmas is certainly more special with children but I think I am looking more forward to next year when Penny is old enough to know what is going on.

As we have learnt in the past, Jesus does appear in some unusual places. The latest sighting has appeared in a sock. The miraculous image pictured left was found amongst the laundry by Sarah Crane from Orpington in Kent. Personally I remain unconvinced.

If you have consumed a little too much over the festive period then this article might make for sobering reading. It claims that it takes most people three months to lose the excess weight they put on over the festive period. According to an MSN survey three quarters of people over indulge at Christmas and suffer the consequences of an expanded waistline. Personally I have lost a great deal of weight over the Christmas period but then I suppose I did just give birth to a baby which helps. I still have a few pounds to shed in the new year though, so will be starting a exercise regime again soon to get back in shape.

The recent addition to our family has meant a steep learning curve and lots of new kitchen appliances. We have recently become the owners of a steriliser, a bottle warmer, a breast pump and numerous bottles and attachments that are used with the aforementioned devices. The daily rituals of expressing milk, sterilising bottles and pumps and warming feeds, which at first seemed a little daunting have now become second nature and the devices have become daily essentials. They will all be reviewed here at a later date when I get a moment to do so.

I was interested to read this article which suggests people that emotionally abuse their partners could soon be deemed to be guilty of domestic violence. Examples of emotional abuse could be banning them for seeing friends, cutting up clothes or just generally bullying someone without having physically attacked them. The call to recognise this type of abuse comes after it emerged that tens of thousands of teenage girls are being sexually or mentally abused by their boyfriends. I would imagine it would be fairly hard to prove conclusively whether this sort of abuse has been suffered in a relationship, particularly as it is often just the alleged victims word against their partner.

The cat we found a few weeks ago is still with us. Having first started off living in one of our outbuildings she has been spending more and more time inside the house, generally sitting on the sofa. We have had two responses to the  piece in the local newspaper. Unfortunately both sets of people came to the conclusion it was not their cat. That leaves us with Tabitha or Tabby as we have nicknamed her, spending Christmas at least with us. How, much longer we will have her is anyone’s guess but as she is such a good natured cat I am reluctant to send her to the cats home and and tempted to keep her until we can locate her real home.

We decided to have  a rather understated Christmas this year as I was fully expecting to be in hospital this year, with Penny’s original due date being the 26th of December. As things turned out we were lucky enough to welcome Penny into the world nearly a month early and will be spending our first Christmas at home with her, with Christmas Day spent with family. There will be none of the rushing about cooking the Christmas lunch, something which for one year I don’t think I will miss. I am, however, looking forward to next year when Penny will be old enough to fully enjoy the festivities. For now I would like to wish all my regular readers a Happy Christmas.

As someone who used to live in the area I was interested to read that Staines is to change its name. The town will now be called Staines-upon-Thames, something which local councillors hope will promote its riverside location and boost the local economy. The change was agreed after 25 out of 35 councillors voted for it. Local residents and businesses have also been consulted and there seems to be a fair amount of backing for the change, although some such as local football club Staines Town FC are opposed to it. It seems to me, to be more an effort to shift the focus away from the Ali G association and promote a more upmarket image.

This is interesting its a self cleaning cotton that breaks down dirt and stains when it is exposed to sunlight. The cloth is covered in a special titanium dioxide coating which is able to trigger effective cleaning in ordinary sunlight. In tests an orange stain vanished from the fabric in two hours in sunlight. My initial thought is how well will this work in the UK with limited amounts of sunlight although I can see it might be useful in places where you get a great deal of sun.

I have often wondered why busy pubs don’t come up with a system of dispensing drinks that allows customers to serve themselves in order to cut down on queues. One landlord it seems, has done just that. He has redesigned swipe card machines in his pub to dispense beer and is hoping to introduce the system before Christmas. Dave Barron, of the Queen's Head, at Hoyland near Barnsley has included a brewery metering system to dispense the correct half pint measure to customers and now has a patent pending on the design. He will be installing two machines to dispense both lager and bitter. Customers will still need to purchase a pre-paid card from the bar but can then serve themselves until the balance runs out.

This rare albino lobster was recently caught in a lobster pot off the Dorset coast. The lobster was found by two Bridport fisherman who gave it to Weymouth Sea Life Park. There have been only one or two other albino lobsters found in the UK in the last 20 years, mainly because they are more visible to predators so tend to get eaten. This one is thought to be around 30 years old and measures 40cm long.

We have since taken the stray cat to the vet and have found firstly that it is a female cat and secondly that she is not micro-chipped. For now she is still living with us but we are keen to find her home.

This is one of the more unusual Christmas trees I have seen this year. Unveiled in a shopping centre in China the tree is constructed entirely of bicycles. In all 230 bicycles were used to construct the 12 metre (39ft) tree.

According to this article all pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding should be prescribed vitamin D. A North London coroner has said the action should be taken to reduce the risk to others after the recent death of a three year boy. He died from septic inflammation of the heart, however, a vitamin D deficiency played a role in the progression of the infection. It is recommended that all pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers receive 10mcg of Vitamin D every day. A lack of the vitamin during pregnancy can lead to the child suffering rickets and longer-term problems such as schizophrenia and Type 1 diabetes. Previous research has found that pregnant women and those trying to conceive are often lacking the vitamin. Although it is found in oily fish, eggs and liver, and in fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk, pregnant women are advised against eating many of these foods. As such it seems taking a supplement may be the best option.

As a happy 4 cat household the last thing we need is an extra set of paws around the house. We were less than thrilled, then, when this little guy showed up a week ago. He has no collar but does not look like a stray. He is quite friendly and has taken to living in a box in our summer house and popping in to help himself to our cats food. As yet we have been unable to find out who he belongs to but I am sure someone must be missing him. We have contacted the local paper who arrived today to take a picture of him, in order to try and find his owners. If he is still here next week, I will also be taking him the vet to see whether we can scan him for a microchip. If you live in Sevenoaks and know this cat please let me know.

A cat in Italy has become the world’s richest cat after inheriting his owners fortune. When Tommaso’s 94 year old owner died she left him a total of 10 million euros in a hand written will. Although by law the cat can not inherit directly the money is held by a trust that looks after him.

This is interesting, Dutch department store Hema has chosen male model Andrej Pejic to front it’s latest advertising campaign. The campaign to advertise it’s range of bust enhancing lingerie is perhaps a good choice. The lingerie claims to enhance the bust by as much as two cup sizes, something which it seems must be true as their model has no natural cleavage.

According to this article a group of scientists are attempting to clone a woolly mammoth. The scientists from Russia and Japan claim that a thigh bone found in August contains marrow cells that are well preserved enough to form the starting point of a cloning experiment. They hope that the cloning will be complete within the next five years, although others have cast doubt on whether it will be possible. The team will extract a nucleus from the animals bone marrow and insert it into the egg of an African elephant. It will be interesting to revisit this at a later date and see how successful the experiment is.

After several months of feeling like a whale I finally have the relief of having given birth to my baby. In all I put on a total of just over 2 stone during my pregnancy and have never felt so heavy before. When my waters broke early I noted that I had already lost a total of 5 pounds and after the birth, with Penny weighing in at 6.4lbs I had lost a stone. That still leaves an extra stone of weight still to shift, something I will start working on in the new year. I am sure once I resume an exercise programme it will soon drop off, but for now I intend to enjoy Christmas and my new baby before concentrating on shifting those extra pounds.

Penny is now just under two weeks old and we have been home for around 7 days after nearly a week spent in hospital. I have been recovering quite well, despite having to have an episiotomy during labour to help pass the baby’s head. Penny had a slightly shaky start, she was whisked away to the special care baby unit very quickly after birth leaving little time to bond and was back and forth to the unit for the first two days of our hospital stay. Luckily the prolonged labour does not appear to have had any lasting effects and Penny has continued to do well.

For the first week of her life she had trouble maintaining her blood sugar, something that was not helped by the fact she was unable to breast feed. Early on, I started expressing milk for her and with a regular intake given from a bottle she is now feeding regularly, although still struggles to latch on when breast feeding. We are continuing to try breast feeding with slightly more of a success rate as Penny gets older but I guess the main point is that she is now getting enough milk at regular intervals. I must admit, despite having to wake Penny to feed her every 4 hours, something which is proving a little tiring, I am thoroughly enjoying my new baby. I wonder whether the novelty will wear off after several more weeks of no sleep.

US scientists claim they have created the ultimate hangover cure. The pill which contains a combination of aspirin and caffeine claims to eradicate all symptoms within just 15 minutes. Called Blowfish it targets all hangover symptoms including nausea, vomiting and fatigue. It contains 500 milligrams of aspirin, 60 milligrams of caffeine and an antacid and is already available to order online. It has already launched across the US. If successful there it will also be available within the UK next year for £1.90 for a pack.

If you have ever wondered what Britain's happiest dog might look like, then you need look no further. Alfie (pictured) has recently won the title. He beat dozens of other dogs to win the competition which was organised by Penguin Books.

This impressive looking creature could be the world’s heaviest insect. Weighing in at 71g about three times more than a mouse the giant weta is the largest ever recorded.

This looks like it might be worth a try. According to this article it is the UK’s hottest cheese. Called Scotch Bonnet Cheddar it is made from the Scotch Bonnet chilli pepper. It costs £2 for a 250g and is available from Tesco. I will have to remember to pick some up next time I am there.

For several months we have been eagerly waiting the birth of our daughter who was due on the 26th of December. Penny, as she has now been called, caught us all unawares and actually arrived last Tuesday, nearly a month early.

Although I didn’t realise it at the time my waters broke on 27th of November. I guess I was expecting a massive rush of fluid but the slow trickle that I experienced confused me somewhat and I did feel a bit silly even ringing the hospital for advice. They did, however, call me in and confirmed that my waters had broken. They then gave me 24 hours to go into labour before calling me back for an appointment.

Penny, it seems, didn’t want to wait that long and having spent most of Sunday night at the hospital we were back again at 1am Monday morning with irregular contractions. After a 14 hour labour, and an episiotomy Penny arrived just after lunchtime on Tuesday. Now begins the real learning experience of figuring out how to look after a baby.

Regular readers may have noticed that things have been a little on the quiet side recently when it comes to blog updates. This is mainly because I have had an unexpected stay in hospital. My baby was originally due on the 26th of December but decided to make a rather early arrival. She actually arrived last week on the 29th of November, something that surprised everyone. I have been in hospital since and arrived back here on Sunday night. Hopefully normal service should resume here soon, once we have settled in at home.

This gold toilet was recently unveiled at the World Toilet Expo. Costing £129,000 it is gold plated. Quite why you would want a gold plated toilet is beyond me especially as its not the most attractive looking device.

This is interesting its a sunken bridge which has been created across a historic moat. The bridge at Fort Roovere is part of a sunken waterway surrounding the Dutch fort. Architects built it rather than creating a bridge over the moat so it forms an invisible bridge.

Grandmother Barbara Pitt has recently created the scent of Southport in a fragrance. She drew on the towns attractions to create the scent which captures the towns essence. Costing £25 it is on sale at a gift shop in the town and should be the perfect gift for those visitors to the town that want a unique souvenir.

This is interesting its a fence made of bee hives that helps deter elephants from areas populated by humans. Biologist Dr Lucy King came up with the idea after studying the African Savannah elephant. She noticed that the elephants refused to feed on acacia trees which housed African honeybees for fear of getting stung. Based on this she developed the beehive fence to stop elephants entering farm land. The fences have now been tested in three different districts in Kenya. Since they have been installed a total of 90 different raids by elephants have been monitored but there have only been six incidents of elephants actually crossing the fences.

It never fails to amaze me how many new species of plants are discovered, even now. One of the more recent is what is thought to be the world’s first flowering orchid. Discovered by botanists in Papua new Guinea, the plant has been called Bulbophyllum nocturnum. it is the first known example of a nocturnal orchid that consistently flowers after dark and closes in the morning. The discovery was made after orchid specialist Ed de Vogel took the species for cultivation. He found that when the orchid grew buds they quickly withered as they reached the size when he have expected them to open. It was only when he took the orchid home one night that he realised the buds opened only at night, flowering for only a few hours before dying.

If you are living on a tight budget then you might want to eat more toast sandwiches. According to this article they are Britain’s cheapest lunchtime meal. The dish which was apparently popular in Victorian times costs just 7.5p to make. The recipe comes from the brilliant Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management which contains many recipe gems. Whether the toast sandwich is one of the better of them is up to you to decide. If you want to make one it consists of a piece of dry toast sandwiched between two slices of bread and butter and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. It doesn’t sound that appetising but is certainly cheap and cheerful.

Toy story makers have created a new range of clothing for adults. The clothes will be available in a limited number of Disney stores in the USA and will feature alien inspired tops and a Mr Potato-head hat. Looking at these outfits I’m not convinced it will be that popular.

I get a bit sick of seeing the adverts for payday loans offering a quick fix solution particularly when you notice the small print at the bottom of the advert citing an interest rate of 300% APR or similar. Reading this article, it seems there is now a new type of loan targeting consumers that offers a 0% rate but only for 8 days. For the first 8 days of the loan period you can borrow a sum of money interest free, the catch of course is the interest rate after this period which is charged at 50p a day for every £100 borrowed. This equates to 448.3 % APR. There are no other hidden fees to take into account but I do wonder who takes on this type of loan.

As someone who relies upon Smartstamp to process my business mail the last few days have been what is best described as difficult and frustrating. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the service, Smartstamp is a subscription based service provided by Royal Mail that allows you to print your postage directly to your home printer. I use it in conjunction with my Royal Mail business collections in order to save me time queuing at the post office with several sacks of mail each day.

The usually reliable service has now been down for a period of 4 days, as I write this on Tuesday morning. It appears, although no one is completely sure, that Royal Mail decided to carry out a system upgrade of their website some time after Friday night. This seems to have brought down not only most of the Royal Mail website but also the Smartstamp service, the online business accounts and the ability to print postage online. Whilst the lack of service is inconvenient at best and at worst means many small businesses are unable to function properly if at all, the main problem here appears to be lack of information.

Royal Mail are very active on Twitter, as are many of the customers complaining about the lack of service for the past 4 days. They still, however, fail to directly answer customer questions about when if ever the Smartstamp problem will be resolved. They allude to “problems with their website” which they “are working to fix” but do not directly mention the Smartstmap outage nor give any indication of when customers can expect the service to be up and running again. Likewise there is no mention of any problems with the service on the parts of the Royal Mail website that do still work only a generic message about technical difficulties. Whilst I appreciate Royal Mail are going to be very busy fielding queries from frustrated customers, the main point here is that communication is the key. If customers are aware the service will be unavailable for a number of days, it is no less inconvenient but it does allow them to plan for the outage and make alternative arrangements, to simply ignore the issue and not give any timeframe as to when it will be resolved is a fail of epic proportions and not what I would expect from a company that is meant to specialise in communications.

Update as of 15.00 Tuesday afternoon.

I have just received the following email from Royal Mail below stating the current situation. It really is unforgivable that it has taken 4 days for them to even acknowledge that there is a problem and inform customers. In my opinion this should have been sent out as soon as they were made aware of the issue. I wonder how many more days of no service we have to look forward to.

Dear Customer,

As you may be aware, we are still experiencing technical difficulties with our SmartStamp® product on our website and the service is not currently available.

We are really sorry for the problems you may be encountering and the inconvenience this may be causing. We are still working to fix the issues with SmartStamp® and our website as quickly as we can.

We will send out a further email to let you know as soon as SmartStamp® becomes available again.

Again, we would like to apologise for the inconvenience this is causing our customers. Until SmartStamp® becomes available, customers with urgent mailings can take their mail to their nearest Post Office branch which can be found at: www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder.

Regards,

The SmartStamp® Customer Service Team
Royal Mail
http://www.royalmail.com

This is interesting its a coating that can repel water. Called NeverWet it could have a number of uses such as keeping shoes and clothes dry. It can be immersed fully in water and still allow the coated object to be bone dry afterwards. NeverWet is a superhydrophobic spray which actively repels water. it has been developed by Ross Technology who were looking at the solving the problem of rusting pipes under the sea. The coating is impervious to any liquid substance and deflects moisture leaving no trace on the surface. You can see here the example of a pair of shoes after the wearer has jumped into a muddy puddle. The treated shoe emerges unstained and dry whilst the untreated show is clearly covered in mud. It can also be used to treat gadgets, for example in an experiment an iPhone treated with the substance was left in a bowl of water for 30 minutes and came out unharmed. My only question is where can I get this product.

Have you ever worked out much time you spend commuting each year? The average it seems is five weeks a year. That’s based on research by the TUC on official figures from the Office for National Statistics. People working in London have the longest commuting time with the average worker taking 277 hours a year travelling to and from work, that’s about 37.8 minutes per journey. Those in the East of England and the South East have average commuting times of 205 hours a year with workers in Northern Ireland and Wales having the shortest commutes of 164 hours and 166 hours. I would also  be interested to see the average amount of time workers waste being delayed by late running and cancelled transport particularly during the winter months when in some areas the transport system seems to break down completely.

This is interesting it’s a wedding dress made of human hair. The dress has been made by seamstress Thelma Madine using 250 metres of hair extensions. It also includes 1500 crystals and 12 underskirts. it certainly is unusual although perhaps a little garish for bridal wear. When you think it took a team of 8 people 12 days to make, you can’t help but admire the work that has gone into it.

This is interesting it’s a papier mache wine bottle. The bottle has been invented by British inventor Martin Myerscough who is currently in talks with supermarkets who he hopes will use his invention. Called the Greenbottle it is made completely of papier mache meaning it has a carbon footprint of just 10% of the equivalent glass wine bottle. It is biodegradable so you can compost it and it should break down within a few weeks. The bottle itself does not actually come into contact with the wine but includes a plastic liner within the box which is presumably not recyclable, similar to the idea of cardboard wine boxes which are currently available. It’s an interesting idea but I wonder how many wine manufacturers will choose to put their wine in paper bottles rather than glass ones.

The heading says it all really. George from Rainbow has been pictured in a tree at Scotney Castle. If you have forgotten what George looks like, he is pictured to the right. I will leave you to marvel at the uncanny resemblance.

It seems men can now get away with wearing many things you would usually only associate with women. Last week we had fake eyelashes for men, now it appears it is also acceptable for men to wear heels. It seems heels for men are becoming popular with styles such as this Mohawk wedge and knee high boots selling well. I don’t think my husband is convinced but then I think I am more comfortable wearing the heels in our household.

This rare yellow pear shaped diamond is due to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Geneva this week. The diamond which is being referred to as the Sun-Drop Diamond is a vivid yellow, the highest colour grading by gemstone experts. It is the largest known diamond of its kind at 110.3 carats. It is expected to fetch between $11 million and $15 million and the buyer will also have the chance to name it.

This is interesting its a potential new treatment that could change the colour of your eyes. The treatment which is being pioneered by Stroma Medical removes the pigment from brown eyes in order to turn them blue. The process involves taking a picture of the iris and working out which areas to treat. The laser is then fired using a pattern to agitate the pigment on the surface of iris. After the first week of treatment the eye colour starts to turn darker as the tissue changes its characteristics. After a further one to three the blue colour then starts to appear.  The treatment is still currently in the trial period and Dr Gregg Homer who is behind the idea is seeking further investment in order to continue clinical trials and finish safety tests. Some eye experts have expressed reservations about the treatment, however, warning it could lead to issues with glare or double vision. Personally although I did have laser eye surgery to correct my vision I would not consider what appears to be a purely cosmetic treatment particularly when there is a risk of side effects.

A rare bottle of 55 year old Glenfiddich whisky is to be auctioned in Edinburgh next month. The bottle is one of only 11 that were produced to commemorate the 110th birthday of Janet Sheed Roberts the granddaughter of the distillery’s founder William Grant. It is thought it will fetch in excess of £30,000 when it goes to auction and is expected to break the current UK auction house record of £29,400. The Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve was casked on Hogmanay 1955. It is described as pale gold in colour with aromas of orange blossom, delicate violets and toasted almonds.

If this article is correct then you might want to consider the music you are listening to when drinking a glass of wine. A study published in the British Journal of Psychology found that people who drink wine whilst listening to music perceive the wine to have the same characteristics of the particular artist. Those drinking Merlot for example should try listening to Tom Jones for the best earthy and full bodied taste experience. Pinot Grigio on the other hand would be best enjoyed when listening to Lady Gaga.

The study looked at 250 students, half of whom were male and half female. They were given either a Cabernet Sauvignon or Chilean Chardonnay and played one of four songs on a loop for 15 minutes. The songs included Carmina Burana by Orff  which was chosen because it is powerful and heavy. The Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker chosen because it is subtle and refined. Just Can't Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague chosen for being zingy and refreshing and Slow Breakdown by Michael Brook which is mellow and soft. A fifth group drank the wine with no music. The wines were given the highest ratings for being powerful and heavy by those who drank them to the tune of Carmina Burana. Those that listened to Michael Brook rated the wine as mellow and soft more than other tastes. The results of the study showed consistently that emotional connotations of the music influenced the perception of taste.

I had my 34 week appointment with the midwife earlier this week. Unfortunately it appears the baby is still happily lying in a transverse position, across my stomach rather than turning head down as it should be at this stage. If things don’t change then I will having an additional scan at 36 weeks to check the position. The doctor will then decide whether it is possible to turn the baby or to schedule a caesarean. I guess my main concern at this stage is if I were to go into early labour that the baby cannot be born in this position.  For now I am spending plenty of time on my hands and knees washing floors and weeding, which is supposed to encourage the baby to turn. There is definitely plenty of movement there but she seems determined to stay where she is.

If this article is to be believed fake eyelashes for men are becoming more popular. Called Guy Lashes they are stocked at stores such as Boots and Harrods and come in thick or fine varieties. They cost just £4.75 a pair, the question is, would you be seen wearing them?

The stone mason from Farmington visited this week to fit the new fireplace. Made from natural limestone it has been cut to fit the area exactly and makes a real difference to the room. The colour will change somewhat as the stone dries out and settles and it will be a little while until we can actually use it. We now need the inside of the fireplace to be fitted and within 3 weeks should be able to light our first real fire.

The wood floor is also nearly finished with just under half of it still to do. We hope to have this completed this weekend. Then we need to fit and paint the coving and paint the skirting boards and door frames. The rest of the furniture will come later as we put aside funds to pay for it but for now the bulk of this room is done. Time to start on the nursery.

This is interesting its a device that sits in the pan and stirs the contents allowing you concentrate on other tasks. Called the Robostir it sits in the pan on three metal legs and stirs the ingredients in circular motions. It has three different speeds for different temperatures and thicknesses of recipes. It is suggested for use for making soups, gravy, Bolognese, sauces and curries and is supposed to mean an end to the problem of ending up with the ingredients burnt on the bottom of the pan.

Since my last post the decorating has been coming along more quickly. Three coats of white base coat have now been applied to the walls followed by two coats of our chosen colour natural wicker. The ceiling has also had a coat of white ceiling paint. This should now complete the bulk of the painting. We have also started laying the floor, a process that started off going fairly quickly. Until that is, we came to what was the join between the old living room and kitchen, which now runs along the centre of our living room. Unfortunately this part of the floor where the old wall used to be was not level requiring parts of the floor to be chipped out so the new wood floor would lay flat. This process has set us back a little bit in our schedule and we now hope to have the flooring finished this coming weekend but the room is finally starting to look like we have done something. I can finally see an end to the project, whether we will have this and the nursery finished before the baby is due in six weeks time is anyone's guess but I am hopeful that the living room will at least be completed.

Kellogg’s will start adding vitamin D to its cereals in an effort to help combat the recent rise in rickets. The disease which was largely wiped out after the Second World War has seen a recent resurgence. It cases softened bones and leaves children with bowed legs. The disease is caused by a lack of vitamin D which the body absorbs from spending time in the sun and eating food such as oily fish and eggs. 82% of paediatric dieticians have seen a rise in cases in the last five years with nearly half seeing cases in the last year. It is thought that doctors are starting to see more cases of the disease because children are spending more time indoors watching TV and playing computer games rather than on outdoor activities. At the same time parents tend to worry about exposing their children to sunlight, covering them in high protection sun creams. Although the move by Kellogg's is only a small change they hope to make it part of all children's cereals across Europe by the end of 2012. Parents are also being encouraged to ensure children get some sun exposure without sunblock and to use vitamin D supplements.

If you have a bit of spare cash and want something unusual then you might have been interested in this auction. Among the items up for sale were a large pair of Queen Victoria’s bloomers. They were expected to sell for around £3,000 but actually fetched £9,375. The collection which comes from the contents of Old Battersea House includes other royal artefacts such as furniture and paintings with the bloomers being one of the more unusual items.

The latest annual survey from The British Waterways has shown a 9% rise in bat numbers when compared to last year. It seems bat numbers are increasing along Britain’s canals and rivers. The predicted cold winter could also be good news for bat numbers as it will allow them to hibernate properly. Bats tend to use canals and rivers as corridors to travel and feed before hibernating for the winter. We have certainly seen large numbers of bats in our garden this year, although we are not really near any water sources.

A company is Cornwall has started serving up squirrel meat as a new pasty filling. The Cornish Food Box company say that using squirrel is the ultimate in free range sustainable meat. They are also selling a £2.95 ready to cook squirrel that will feed a family of four. With grey squirrels quickly becoming a pest in many areas it makes sense to me to make use of a source of meat that is local and easily available. I’m curious how it tastes, I wonder if I can get any squirrel locally to try.

I have always suffered from rather poor circulation so am careful to do what I can to limit the occasional leg cramps I normally get. Since I have been pregnant, however, I have suffered from almost nightly cramps. I still exercise, although not as vigorously, I tend to manage three or four times a week on the exercise bike  but unfortunately at 33 weeks pregnant can no longer endure my morning run. The exercise does help to limit the cramps but I still suffer several nights weeks. I have tried drinking tonic water (recommended by the midwife) which has little effect and leg massage before I go to bed with little success. I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that until I have given birth and can go back to my morning run, the leg cramps are here to stay. Have you suffered from leg cramps in pregnancy? If so do you have tips to reduce them?

This is an interesting idea, it’s a detachable radiation meter that is designed to be attached to plates. The meter is able to detect whether your food has absorbed too much radiation and will warn you if your food is toxic. One ring indicates a small amount of radiation, however, the red LED lights indicate the food contains more radiation than the danger level you have specified. The meter ‘s sensitivity can be adjusted to which ever setting you are willing to accept and is designed to be taken off before the plate is put into the dishwater. 

If this article is to be believed the future of perfume could be a a pill that is swallowed to release a unique fragrance. Swallowable Parfum is currently only in the development phase but it promises to deliver perfume directly into the body turning the skin into an atomiser. It is meant to work through the natural processes of metabolism releasing fragrance through the skins surface during perspiration or turning perspiration into perfume. As we are all unique the scent would take on an individual characteristic for each person. It’s an interesting idea but is currently still very much in the development process. Providing it were safe it would be reassuring to know that if you were to break into a sweat at least you would still smell nice.

We have all received goods from time to time that differ a little from the online description. One man, however, was a little surprised to receive a 7ft monster slipper. He had ordered a pair of slippers from a British based company and requested a 14.5 left slipper. Due to a translation error with their Hong Kong based factory what he actually received was the slipper pictured. It seems the decimal point was missed in the order meaning the 14.5 size monster claw turned out to be a 1,450 size monster claw.

That’s according to a recent ruling which ruled you are only entitled to a share of your spouses jackpot if he invests it in a shared asset such as the family home. If they choose to simply bank the winnings, however, then the other partner can leave the relationship without having to give away half of the money. The ruling was made in the case of a hotel porter who sued his former wife for a share of her £500,000 National Lottery winnings. The couple had been living in a council house when the woman brought the lottery ticket without her husbands knowledge. She used some of the money to buy a house in London costing £275,000 where they lived with their children for two years. When the couple separated the husband believed he was entitled to his share of the house, now worth £500,000. A judge ruled, however, that the husband was not entitled to anything like an equal share of the house as he had only lived there a short amount of time and awarded him £85,000. He also said that had the couple operated a syndicate in which both were aware the tickets had been brought then the money would have been shared equally. It’s an interesting ruling and I guess something you should consider if you believe you will become separated from your partner. Personally I would be more than happy to share any lottery win with my husband.

If you need another reason to drink wine then this article is worth a read. It suggests that a glass of wine a day can help to strengthen the bones. A study has found that drinking moderate amounts of wine can reduce the risk of osteoporosis. The study looked at 1,000 pairs of female twins and explored the relationship between diet and fracture risk. Dietary patterns were monitored and correlated to the number of broken bones. The results found that moderate wine intake was associated with higher bone mineral density. Other alcoholic drinks such as beer and spirits do not appear to have the same effect.

At 32 weeks in my pregnancy I am now visiting the midwife at fortnightly intervals for all the relevant check-ups. Up to now my baby has been positioned the wrong way around as far as birth is concerned with her head up and the feet down. It now appears that she has moved into what is called a transverse presentation, meaning she is lying across the stomach. At this stage there doesn’t appear to be any need to worry as she still has plenty of time to turn around. If she does, however, stay in this position is it likely that I will need a c-section, something I would rather avoid. For now I am hoping the baby will decide to turn but I guess I can only wait and see.

It seems the flat cap is the thing to buy at the moment. Whilst, we might not think of them as particularly on trend sales of flat caps have rocketed by 75%. Their popularity appears to be down to the number of celebrities who have been pictured wearing them such as Brad Pitt in this picture. To keep up with demand M&S have increased it’s range of flat caps by a third as they become more popular amongst younger men. I must admit I did notice one of these in my husband’s cupboard,

These knickers have recently been launched by lingerie design house Nichole de Carle to go on sale at Selfridges. They feature a real diamond in a solid silver charm and ivory silk and cost £232. The lingerie is part of of Selfridges annual white themed Christmas gift room. I wonder how popular they will prove to be.

The Japanese have found another use for old bras. If this article is to be believed they are turning them into fuel. Triumph International and Wacoal have been collecting used bras from customers and turning the raw material into refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF). This can be used to power industrial boilers and power generators. The two companies collected nearly 380,000 bras over the last few years which was turned into 32 tons of RPF.

A new design has been chosen for electricity pylons  in a contest run by the National Grid. This T-shaped design by a Danish company was the winner out of six finalists. The company called Bystrup will receive £5,000 of prize money and will work with the National Grid to develop the design further. It is not yet clear how long it will take to see the new design appearing across the UK.

As someone who has suffered a miscarriage in the past I find this article a little disturbing. It suggests that in a small number of cases some pregnancies are being terminated unnecessarily. Researchers have found that in the first six weeks of a pregnancy there is too much room for error in ultrasound scans. A small number of viable embryos at this stage may wrongly be thought to have miscarried when they are in fact still healthy. Whilst the scale of the problem is unknown a study suggests as many as 400 viable pregnancies could potentially be misclassified as a miscarriage. Currently two results are used to diagnose a miscarriage and thus the decision to terminate the pregnancy. These are that the embryo is greater than 6mm in length but without a heartbeat or that there is a pregnancy sac greater than 20mm but with no visible embryo. However, it is possible for this diagnosis to be incorrect as in the case studies in this article where the embryos were later found to be perfectly healthy. It seems, then, that the advice in the early stages of pregnancy is to err on the side of caution and request a second scan up to a week a later. An early scan can often be hard to read and not detect a heartbeat in a small embryo whereas a slightly later scan can sometimes give different results. Whilst miscarriages are still very common and as many as one is three pregnancies do end in a miscarriage it does seem as though these guidelines need to be reviewed if so many cases are misdiagnosed.

The Nepal government has been asked to consider installing portable toilets on Mount Everest to give mountaineers somewhere civilised to go. Apparently waste is becoming a problem on Everest, with it becoming littered with the debris of past exhibitions. Some of this waste such as human excrement can take decades to decompose due to the extremely cold conditions. Environmental groups believe that the installing lavatories will go some way to reducing the amount of waste left on the mountain. The Eco Everest Expedition, a Nepal based coalition of environmentalists who campaign to keep the mountain clean, have collected more than 13 tonnes of rubbish, 400 kilogrammes of human waste and four bodies from the mountain since 2008.

Primary schools in France have issued a ban on tomato ketchup due to fears that pupils are becoming distanced from traditional cuisine. The chairman of the National Association of Directors of Collective Restaurants said that they had to ensure children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the next generation. He also expressed concerns that children were using sauces to mask the taste of what they were eating. The children will now only be allowed ketchup and mayonnaise once a week when they are having French fries for lunch.

If you struggle to find products that use sustainable palm oil then you might be shopping in the wrong supermarket. The Co-op now has 81 of its own label products that contain fully traceable sustainable palm oil. Based on this it has claimed to be the largest UK supermarket to be able to certify all its palm oil as sustainable. The retailer is working with a co-operative of smallholders who produce sustainable palm oil which is accredited by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as part of an initiative in supporting sustainable solutions. 

If you need any more excuses to eat chocolate then this article is for you. It suggests that women who eat a bar of chocolate a week can reduce their risk of having a stroke. The claim comes from a new study which looked at more than 33,000 Swedish women. It found that those who ate the most chocolate had the lowest chance of stroke. People who ate 66g of chocolate in a week were found to be 20% less likely to suffer a stroke whilst those who only consumed 8g or less were at the highest risk. I’m not convinced but as a precaution will make sure I have a regular chocolate intake, just in case.

I have seen many bizarre outfits and costumes for pets in the past but I don’t think I have come across any wigs before. A US based wig maker is now making wigs for dogs. Customers can pay around £35 to have their dog dressed up to look like Sarah Palin, Madonna or Elvis. They do look a little bit silly.

If you are not very adventurous when ordering a curry and tend to go with a mild korma, then it seems you are not alone. Research by Patak’s has found that nine out of ten Brits prefer a korma and are too scared to try hotter curries such as a Vindaloo. Although 73% of adults do like a curry it seems we are still very cautious with our choices, the Bhuna, another fairly mild dish is another firm favourite with the British public. Only 10% of people who were surveyed liked a curry that was hot and 3% liked their curry flaming hot. Personally I tend to go for medium to hot dishes but I do try to choose something new every time I order if I can, just to add a little variety.

A Rare seahorse has recently been found in the River Thames suggesting that there could be a colony present there. The short-snouted seahorse (pictured) was discovered in the river at Greenwich. Although they are usually found along the south coat this is the furthest upriver that they have been found. The one which was found was a juvenile measuring just 5cm long which strongly suggests a breeding colony could be present in the river.

The recent warm weather has been good for rare moths with experts saying it has been one of the best migrations for insects in years. This article claims that hundreds of rare moths have arrived in the UK including many varieties which are usually found in the Mediterranean. Among the species which have been found are the flame brocade moth which is usually found in Spain and France. The death’s head hawk moth has also been found, as have large numbers of vestal moths (pictured) and crimson speckled moths. I have noticed an unusual number of moths this year but I must admit to not paying much attention as to what kind they are. I will make a point of going moth hunting one evening and see what I can spot.

This article claims that the average Briton owns 80 books we have never read and that we purchase them simply to look more intelligent. The research carried out by Lindeman’s wine found that 70% of the books in the average bookcase remain unread and that many are there simply for display purposes. 57% of people make sure that the books  they have on display are literary classics even if they have never read them. 47% of people, however, prefer reading trashy novels that they would not put on display. I wonder who was surveyed in this research. Personally my bookshelves have a mixture of classics and sci. fi. Whilst I am not ashamed for any of the books to be on display, trashy or otherwise I can honestly say I have read every book at least once and many even the classics have been read on multiple occasions.

This is interesting its a so called “smart pill” that could help in diagnosing the causes of IBS. The capsule which is swallowed is designed to pass through the digestive system analysing details as it goes. It relays information to a monitor which is worn on the patients wrist. The device looks at aspects such as acidity, pressure and temperature in the colon in order to assess how well it is functioning. The information could help patients who have been diagnosed with IBS, a label which often covers a wide variety of stomach disorders that are often never really properly identified or treated. At £1,750 including consultation fees the SmartPill system is certainly not cheap so would be a little out of my price range but it does seem like a good idea.

If you are seeing an unusual number of moles hills in your garden then it might be because moles are doing very well this year. It seems the hot dry spring and the cool moist summer have caused a sharp rise in the number of moles. The wet summer has meant that the earth has stayed damp meaning earthworms are in large supply. This has also provided the ideal conditions for moles to breed and take advantage of the abundance of food. Mole catchers have reported an increase in mole numbers damaging property and costing businesses money with one company reporting 10 call outs in a week, double the number normally recorded.

Many would say I have had a fairly trouble free pregnancy to date and really I haven't had that much to complain about when compared to some others I have spoken to. I have managed to get this far without suffering any morning sickness, although I must admit the migraines were a real pain, particularly without the aid of Nurofen and the dizzy spells are just starting to get annoying and embarrassing as they always tend to happen when out in public. What I am having most trouble dealing with, however, is the fact that now at nearly 30 weeks it is simply impossible to get comfortable even for a minute. Although I have still only put on a modest amount of weight by many pregnancy standards my stomach feels like it is full of rocks. Whether sitting, standing or lying down, it causes discomfort with the only relief being when I sleep. With 10 more weeks to go I am certainly not enjoying being pregnant, I’m just hoping those remaining weeks fly past quickly.

Nestlé has created a TV advert for pet food which has been made to appeal to dogs. The advert features frequencies that only dogs can hear to try and get their attention. Quite how this will convince the dogs owners to purchase the particular brand of pet food is a mystery but one must presume that the dogs will simply ask for it by name. It’s an interesting idea and something which could also be used to advertise cat foods. My cats, already watch the TV, they particularly like bird programmes and often make hunting noises at the TV. Bizarrely programmes with Alan Titchmarsh also seem to have the effect, why? I am yet to find out. I’m sure they would greatly enjoy watching adverts made for them.

If you want something to brighten up your salad bowl then these multi-coloured carrots might be just the thing. They have recently gone on sale for £1 for a mixed bag in Tesco. Featuring white, yellow and purple varieties they certainly make the humble carrot look a bit more interesting. They have been produced naturally in Norfolk from varieties that are no longer grown commercially and are aimed at encouraging children to eat more vegetables.

More than 300 people in Colchester are hoping they have broken the world record for the largest number of people in a piggyback race. The attempt at breaking the record was made last week in Lower Castle Park, Colchester. It aimed to break the previous world record which was set last November and included 296 people. The organisers are now waiting for official verification to see whether or not there were successful. 

It looks like the recent hot weather could be good news for English wine. It seems the so called Indian summer has led to a last minute surge in the ripening of grapes providing perfect conditions for UK winemakers. According to this article the recent high temperatures have created the perfect balance of acid and sugar in the grapes. Although this years grape crop is likely to be smaller than usual, what grapes there are should produce a sensational wine. It could be a vintage to stock up on, when it starts to go sale.

Owning a cat or dog can cost you as much as £17k over it’s lifetime, if this article is to be believed. The cost estimate comes from figures from research by Sainsbury's pet insurance and are based on costs such as food, vet bills and kennels over your pets lifetime. They are based on the fact that most dogs live 13 years and most cats 15 years. I’m not sure I spend that much on my four cats but I will say they are worth it for the pleasure and companionship they bring me.

After many of weekends of work getting to the bare walls, the decorating finally seems to making progress. Rory booked a day off work this week and decided to spend it sanding. The process went surprisingly quickly and we now have nice smooth bare walls. The next step is to apply the base coat. All being well, we might actually have the walls and ceiling painted by the end of the month. Perhaps the end is finally within sight.

A bride in Italy literally stopped traffic with her wedding dress. Her veil measured a record breaking 1.8 mile long. Elena de Angelis needed 600 people to carry the silk veil as it stretched down the road behind her. A large crowd appeared as residents of Casal di Principe in Naples tried to get a glimpse of it. The veil was made of 3.7 miles of material and measured two metres in width.

Cider appears to be becoming more popular with Waitrose saying sales of the drink have overtaken those of Chilean or Spanish wine. The growth comes at a time when lager sales are in decline and suggests that more people are choosing cider as an alternative. The increase has proved to be good news for England's orchards which have boosted production and are this year expecting to set a new record apple harvest. Although cider sales have risen 13% over the past year it does still only account for 3% of sales at the supermarket but is the fastest growing category in the past three months. I have noticed that even in the supermarkets there is now a greater range of better tasting ciders. Gone are the days of cheap strong white cider that could strip paint off a wall. It seems cider is now focussed more on taste and quality. I do quite like cider but personally prefer a medium sweet choice. I do wonder, however, how I go about making some, it might be a good way to use up this years bumper apple crop from the garden.

A study published in the British Medical Journal has claimed that traffic fumes can cause hearts attacks up to 6 hours after exposure. It seems prolonged exposure to pollutant particles and nitrogen dioxide can increase the risk of suffering a heart attack. Although the authors of the paper have identified the risk as small, there is only a 1.3% greater chance of a heart attack after six hours of exposure to the substances it can would still be enough to bring forward a heart attack which was about to happen anyway. It does seem the greater risk is mainly to those who have already been diagnosed with heart problems. I guess what we don’t need the paper to tell us is that traffic fumes are bad for us.

Designer Rita Maria has made a collection of handbags out of recycled Wonderbras. She uses bras donated by her friends to made her creations which come in all sizes and colours such as the one pictured. They do still look a little bit too much like bras to me.

That’s the claim made in this article. Researchers have found that on average we spend 24 days a year struggling with the symptoms of a hangover, which equates to 1,452 days during the average adults lifetime. The results come from a survey of 2,000 adults and was carried out by YorkTest.It comes as no surprise that Saturday and Sunday were the most common days to be hungover. Nearly half of those surveyed also admitted to having rung in sick following a heavy night of drinking with a third having been warned by their boss over their behaviour. I  would be curious as to the age group surveyed. I can admit to often being being hangover when I was a bit younger but now being a little older and wiser I struggle to remember the last time I suffered the effects of an alcohol fuelled night out.

Having four cats I have long appreciated the absorbent qualities of cat litter and the fact that it makes the job of cleaning the litter tray that much easier. If this article is correct, however, it could also be used by the police on crime scenes. That’s according to a study by forensic scientists at the Anglia Ruskin University. They have found that cat litter can be used to detect traces of petrol on hard surfaces such as concrete and that it works better than other substances which are currently used. The sodium bentonite which is found in most brands of cat litter retains petrol on the surface. CSI teams usually rely on sniffing for signs of petrol but if they reach the crime scene some time after a fire has actually place, the petrol has often evaporated or soaked into the floor. The residue can, it seems, be drawn out by the use of cat litter. Scientists are now looking at ways to improve cat litter so that it can be used to detect other flammable materials including diesel.

We have now been decorating for about two months and progress is still slow. Taking the wallpaper off the walls and ceiling was fairly easy and was completed quite quickly. Taking the several layers of peeling emulsion off the walls has proved to be more time consuming. After spending every weekend scrapping walls it has finally gone. We now have a room with bare plaster walls and a bare ceiling and it has only taken two months of preparation. Based on the time spent so far, I am beginning to see why some people hire firms to do the work for them. I am starting to get a bit sick of living in one room and having no comfortable place in which to relax particularly as I get fatter and less mobile during my pregnancy. It, does, however, feel like we are making some progress. Now the walls are bare, we can begin to fill the holes, before sanding them smooth, hopefully a job for this weekend. If things go to plan I hope to be painting within another couple of weeks. We also have decisions to make, such as what lighting to put in and what to do about the fireplace, both of which require thought now before we start the final paint job on the walls. I estimate another two months of work in total, taking into account we also want to lay new flooring. It’s a long process but hopefully the end results will be worth the effort.

A museum has opened in Japan to celebrate 40 years of the instant noodle. It has been opened by the Japanese food company Nissin Foods in Yokohama near Tokyo. The museum takes visitors on a journey showing the history of the instant noodle and its cultural influence on Japan and the rest of the world. It gives visitors the chance to create their own instant recipe from thousands of combinations at the My Cup Noodle Factory and taste a variety of noodles at various restaurants inside the attraction.

A few weeks ago I read an article about Waitrose stocking a range of Indian wine. Whilst I haven't been able to get my hands on any myself yet, I was interested to see that it has proved to be rather popular. The two varieties Ritu Viognier, 2010 and Zampa Syrah, 2008 went on sale at the discounted prices of £8.49 and £6.99 and quickly sold out with sales far exceeding expectations. So much so that Waitrose are now adding them to their permanent range. Time to get down to Waitrose and find out what all the fuss is about I think.

Being six months pregnant I recently received a letter offering me a flu jab because I am classed as an “at risk” category. I have been in two minds whether or not to actually go ahead and have the jab. On the one hand I have read some good things, such as the fact that the baby would have immunity to the virus for the first six months of her life. On the other hand I have read accounts where the jab has been blamed for miscarriages and premature births.

The vaccine is fairly new and they are some concerns that it has not been adequately tested on some groups of people one of those groups being pregnant women. There have, however, been cases of pregnant women suffering severe complications when they do catch flu so most health professionals do recommend you have the vaccine. From my reading most women who have suffered a miscarriage as a direct result of having had the vaccine have been in the early stages of pregnancy, within the first 4-20 weeks, so I would imagine the risk is later pregnancy is small.

Personally, however, I have been unable to find anything to confirm that the vaccine is 100% safe in pregnancy. For this reason I have decided against having it. Whether I will later regret my decision if I later have flu I will have to wait and see, but I know I would regret it, if I were to have the vaccine and lose my currently healthy baby. For now, I will avoiding public transport and gatherings as much as possible, keeping fit and dosing up on the vitamins as well as relying on my immune system to get me through flu season. I would be interested to know what other people decided. Did you have the flu vaccine whilst pregnant?

Whilst traditional species of fish such as cod and haddock are still in decline it seems more exotic species are thriving in British waters.  That’s  according to  a recent study which shows profound population changes to common fish species in UK waters. The government funded study has found that whilst cod and haddock are still faring badly, species such as hake, dab and red mullet are becoming more common. The study looked at the most common species of fish and found that of the 36 species studied, 27 were found to be increasing in numbers. The bad news for traditional fisheries is that the nine that were in decline were species that traditionally make up the main catch such as cod, haddock, Pollock and ling. Perhaps based on this we may soon be asking for a red mullet and chips rather than the traditional cod alternative.

A scheme is being put into place to reintroduce Britain’s largest spider back into the wild. The raft spider is Britain's largest spider with a leg span of around 4 inches (eekk) and is one of the country’s most endangered species of spider. It is currently found in only three locations in the UK. It has been affected by declines in its wetland habitat which have caused numbers to plummet. Chessington World of Adventures is now leading a project to hand rear 200 baby spiders for release into the wild. They will be raised in test tubes and hand fed fruit flies before being released later in October. Raft spiders are so endangered they are protected by law, they are currently only found in East Sussex, Swansea and on the Suffolk/Norfolk border. They live in the fens and wetlands and use their large legs to float on the water to hunt sticklebacks and tadpoles.

A full sized Angry Birds game has been launched at a theme park in China. Like the ever popular game people use the slingshots to launch the birds, in these cases large stuffed toys towards the structures which contain the pigs. The unlicensed attraction is part of a month long stress reduction festival. There have been rumours that Rovio are intending to licence a high budget Angry Birds theme park so more of the same could soon be opening.

The disappointing summer has been bad a particularly bad one for butterfly numbers. This article suggests we have had the coldest summer for 18 years. This has been blamed for a 11% fall in butterflies seen during this years Big butterfly Count. More than 34,000 people took part in the butterfly survey and recorded 322,000 butterflies and moths. Although bumper numbers of butterflies had been expected this year the drop in temperatures and prolonged spells of rain have impaired their activity as moths and butterflies are unable to feed and fly in bad weather. I must admit there were probably only 3 or 4 weeks when I saw large numbers of butterflies in the garden this year. This is despite my efforts to leave butterfly friendly areas in the garden.

According to this article the sell by date might well be coming to an end. It seems many people are confused between the information on the packs of items, thinking that the sell by date or display by date as it is often called means the food is no longer safe to eat. In fact, food that displays this information is still perfectly safe to eat and often gets thrown away because people are worried it is unsafe. Instead we should pay more attention to the best before date. Whilst this is still a matter of discretion whether you eat food past the best before date, this is used by the manufacturer to indicate that food may no longer be fit to eat. Sell by dates will now be removed from labels in a bid to cut down on food waste and replaced with a used by date or best before date. Personally I have always been aware of the difference between the two and often pick up bargains that are near the sell by the date. Will this mean the end to these marked down products? or will it be successful in reducing food waste? I guess we will have to wait and see what the results are.

Proving that we can still find historical remains in unlikely locations, archaeologists have recently unearthed Roman baths in Southwark. The site is on the corner of Borough High Street and London Bridge Street and is on of the most significant finds in the area in recent years. The remains of the baths were found when land was being cleared by Network Rail for the Thameslink project.A complex system of baths has been found including a cold plunge bath and rooms heated by underfloor hypocausts.  Although the site has been earmarked for a new office block the remains will be preserved.

For those who cannot describe themselves as either male or female the Australian passport system has now come up with an answer. They have created another gender option called x. The new category will be used for intersex people, those who are neither biologically male nor female. Transgendered passport holders, however, those who have changed gender will be free to choose either male or female but not allowed to select x. Previously travellers were not allowed to change the sex on their passports unless they had undergone surgery. This is still the case in many other countries. In Britain people do not need to have had an operation in order to change the sex on their passport they must just have evidence that they are permanently living in a new gender role.

According to this article 130 people have been poisoned by wild mushrooms this autumn. The Health protection Agency has issued a warning about the dangers of eating wild mushrooms unless you are completely sure what they are. Although many of the cases have been of children eating mushrooms there have also been 40 cases of adults deliberately eating them.  Mushroom identification can be tricky and some experts have even been caught out mistaking a poisonous variety for a similar looking edible one. I guess the message here is, if in doubt don’t eat it, it just might kill you.

Pylons are not usually the most interesting of landmarks but we could soon be seeing some different designs appearing in our fields. A competition to design new pylons has attracted 250 entries. Just six potential replacements have been shortlisted from the Government run competition with the public being asked to contact the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects and National Grid) through its website to give their opinions. You can see more of them at the original article here.

If you don’t yet have the perfect bum then these jeans may be able to change that. Sold by Asda they claim to give you a perfectly rounded rear. The secret is down to some clever stitching in the bottom which makes the cut more flattering (see left). Costing just £18 they are not expensive as jeans go, but I am a little sceptical. They do, however, get quite a good review.

Christine Walton from Las Vegas has recently been confirmed as having the longest fingernails in the world. They measure an amazing 19ft 9 inches (601.9 cm) in total. That’s 10ft 2 inches (309.8 cm) on her left hand and 9ft 7 inches (292.1 cm) on her right hand. They look interesting but it must make daily life really hard.

According to this article dirty ice is being served at one in every three pubs, restaurants and coffee shops and could be putting customer health at risk. A study carried out by the Health Protection Agency on 88 establishments found that 30% showed levels of poor hygiene. The main problems are caused by the failure to clean machines and scoops used to fill cups and glasses. 30% of ice samples were found to have unsatisfactory levels of coliform bacteria whilst three samples had unsatisfactory levels of Enterococci and one sample had an unsatisfactory level of E.coli. Based on this, next time you are offered ice you might be wise to say no.

The first UK nappy recycling factory has opened in West Bromwich. It aims to recycle at least some of the three billion nappies we use in Britain every year. The factory which is run by Canadian company Knowaste will recycle around 36,000 tonnes of waste reducing more than 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. It is the first facility of it’s kind in the UK and will also process feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products. The waste will be collected from washrooms, hospitals and nursing facilities, sterilised using state of the art technology and made into new products such as roof tiles and fibre-based construction and commercial tubes. Four more of the facilities are due to be built in the future so it will be interesting to see how effective they are.

If you wonder why your insurance premiums keep going up then one of the reasons could be the high number of uninsured drivers on the roads. Whilst many of us dutifully pay our car insurance premiums every months it seems in some areas as many as 30% of drivers have no insurance. It is estimated the huge number of uninsured drivers costs claims firms up to £500 million every year and puts an estimated £30 on the average insurance premium making it more expensive for those of us who do abide by the law. Insurance black spots include Bordesley in Birmingham where one in three drivers does not have insurance, with Essex, Manchester and West Yorkshire also having high numbers without insurance. With 23,000 people injured and 160 killed every year by uninsured drivers, I wonder what could be done to crack down on those who break the law.

With Police saying there is a high correlation between uninsured drivers and other crimes what is the best way to track those without insurance down? I guess, making sure people have insurance before they purchase a car is one way, but then it would only work with new cars and not second hand sales. I would hazard a guess that many of those without insurance are also guilty of driving without a valid licence so presumably if the vehicle and owner are not registered on the system, the only way to locate these people is when they are actually pulled over for a traffic offence.

HP sauce have recently changed the recipe in an effort to make it more healthy. The sauce now contains less salt than previously, a change you would think would make customers happy. It seems, not, however. as many people have been complaining the flavour of the sauce has been ruined. The sauce used to contain 2.1g of salt per 100g but now contains just 1.3g. Fans of the sauce have complained that the change has ruined the familiar tangy taste that they love. Although Heinz have taste tested the product with good results it seems many people disagree and have already vowed to stop buying the new recipe sauce.

This is one of the creations on show at the first exhibition dedicated to nail painting. Unveiled in East London the Nailphilia Exhibition has been put together by a group of graduates and includes work worn by stars such as Beyonce. The gallery includes a number of exhibits featuring a variety of mediums such as photography, installation, film and print. It features work from Nick Knight's SHOWstudio, Minx, Cheap Monday's Nail Jewelry and New York-based Laruicci. It certainly looks interesting.

If you have a bit of spare cash to spend then you might be interested in these Back to the Future trainers. They have been created to match those worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 movie. Unfortunately unlike those worn in the movie they are not self lacing, they do, however, light up with vivid blue LEDS in the soles and glow for up to five hours per charge. Only 1,500 pairs of the trainers have been made with the first selling at auction for $37,500. The proceeds of the sales will go to Michael J Fox’s foundation which is researching Parkinson’s disease. If you want some there are 150 auctions on eBay with one being auctioned every day starting at 4.30am UK time and running for 24 hours.

A plant could be built in the Swansea valley which could use food waste to power up to 5,000 homes. The anaerobic digestion facility would take food waste from weekly council collections and use micro-organisms to break it down in order to produce fertiliser and biogas. This would be used to produce electricity and would have the potential to produce 2.3 MW or enough to meet the demands of 5,000 homes. The plant would have the capacity to process around 52,000 tonnes of food waste every year. It will be interesting to see whether this goes ahead and how successful it is.

If you like dressing up your dog then you might be interested in these dinosaur costumes. Available in velociraptor, stegosaurus or triceratops they are on sale for £20 and are designed to turn your pooch into something much more scary or ridiculous depending on your views. I think my cats would look great in one of these but my chances of getting it on them are very slim.

That’s according to this article which suggests many pregnant women are not aware of the risks. Being pregnant myself at the moment I am overly cautious about everything I eat and drink, especially having suffered a past miscarriage. It is interesting, however, that at no point in your pregnancy are you warned not to take Ibuprofen. I certainly have received no advice as to whether it is safe to take or not. I did, however, being rather paranoid look to see whether there were any risks when I suffered severe migraines early on in my pregnancy and it seems I was right to do so. According to the article pregnant women who take painkillers such as Ibuprofen are twice as likely to suffer a miscarriage especially if they take it just before they have conceived or up until the 20th week of pregnancy. The drugs do carry warnings on the packet stating they should not be used in pregnancy but it is thought as many as 1 in 6 pregnant women still take them. If there is such an increased risk, surely it must make sense to warn women of this when they visit the doctor initially to have their pregnancy confirmed.

This is interesting it’s some of the pieces created at the first ever European vegetable carving competition which recently took place in Leipzig in Germany. This eagle (left) was created by Russian vegetable carver Vadim Nefedjev from various fruits. The frogs on the right were created using cucumber,s with their tongues and eyes made from pieces of carrot. The design underneath was carved from a mango.

This picture was recently taken in the Reunion Islands by a French videographer. He later realised that it resembled a Jesus silhouette complete with halo. Personally I am not convinced it looks like a cloud to me.

Some of the larger fast food outlets such as McDonald’s and Starbucks will soon be putting the calorie content of their meals on the menu. The move comes as part of government scheme to add more nutritional information to menus to allow customers to make a better choice. McDonald’s will start installing calorie content displays for every item of food and drink they sell in all of their restaurants. I wonder whether having the calorie content on the menu will make people make healthier choices. Personally if I choose to eat at McDonald’s or a similar fast food outlet it is usually because I want a fast snack and there is nothing else available. I know the food is bad for me but I eat it twice a year at the most. I don’t think seeing the calorie content would change my choices. Perhaps the scheme is not aimed at people such as myself but those that choose to eat there more often such as once a week or more. I wonder whether these people will be moved to make a more healthy choice when they can see what they actually consuming.

Officials at Munich airport got a surprise recently when they found an Australian man smuggling 36 live snakes through customs. The man had the snakes in a fabric bag within his hand luggage when he arrived at the airport. He had gone through the nothing to declare exit, conveniently forgetting he had a bagful of snakes when he was pulled to one side. It was the biggest seizure of live snakes at the airport found in 10 years.

A scientist will spend 48 hours living in a airtight container full of plants in an effort to prove that we take the vegetation around us for granted. Professor Iain Stewart will conduct the experiment next week at the Eden Project near Cornwall. He will spend 48 hours in a 2m by 6m by 2.5m box filled with plants such as miscanthus grass, zea mays maize and banana trees which are known to produce large quantities of oxygen. The experiment has been tried before with a mouse but it is thought this is the first time it has been tried with a person. He hopes the experiment will show people how important the Earth’s vegetation is.

That’s according to this article which claims meat created in a lab could be ready to eat within six months. Scientists have used animal cells to create an artificial form of meat known as “in vitro meat”. It is made from stem cells within the lab and it is believed it could be just six months before the first test tube sausage is produced. Within a year lab grown burgers could also be created. Whilst it doesn’t sound hugely appetising it could mean that meat production could be shifted to labs in order to meet growing demand by the world’s population but also to cut down on greenhouse gases released by livestock. The technique, however, is far from ready for mass production and it is estimated it could cost as much as £222,000 to produce the first burger.

That’s according to this survey recently carried out by Amazon. The survey shows the top 20 most prolific book buying towns, most of which are in southern England. The retailer put together all the book buying data for the last eight months to find the best read town in the UK on a per capita basis. Huntington in Cambridge came first, followed by Cambridge and Sevenoaks coming in at a respectable third place. I have a feeling my book buying habit could be responsible for a fair few of those sales.

A restaurant in the US has created an application where you can order your grilled sandwich on your phone and it will be ready when you arrive to pick it up. Customers of The Melt in San Francisco can order a cheese sandwich on their iPhone on the company's website before scanning in a unique barcode and colleting their snack inside the restaurant. The application also tracks your proximity to one of The Melt’s restaurants so that your snack is timed perfectly to coincide with your arrival.

This is interesting, its a chopping board for people who like to their meals to be perfect. With added lines and measurements it allows you to chop everything the same size and cut sandwiches in a perfect triangle. Sold by Selfridges it is called the OCD chopping board, a name for which it has received a fair of criticism from those who say it belittles sufferers of the disease. Perhaps the board could be rebranded in the face of this backlash but I think the idea behind it is a good one. I would certainly buy it just to make sure all my crudities are exactly the same size.

A man was recently stopped at Miami airport and found to have seven snakes and three tortoises down his trousers. He was trying to board a flight from Miami to Brazil when the creatures were picked up when he passed through the body scanner.The creatures were confiscated by the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the passenger was arrested.

According to this article it’s that time of year when spiders start moving into our houses and the bad news is that there likely to be many more of them this year. The article claims that because of the recent dismal weather, 2011 promises to be the best spider season yet and looks at games you can play with them. Personally the only game I will be playing is either sucking them up the vacuum cleaner whilst standing at a safe distance or putting a glass over them for my husband to dispose of.

According to this article Twinings have recently changed the recipe of their Earl Grey tea, a move which has not proved popular with some customers. The tea has been rebranded as The Earl Grey and as part of this rebrand the recipe has been changed to include flavours of citrus and bergamot. Although the tea had gone through rigorous taste testing and consumer trials it seems many customers are not happy with the new flavour with some likening it to” foul tasting dishwater”. Tea enthusiasts have now launched a Facebook campaign entitled Bring Back The Original Earl Grey Tea in an effort to revert it to the old recipe.

According to this article you will soon be able to read ebooks that come with sounds. The idea comes from an electronic book firm which hopes to attract younger readers by offering them a more interactive experience. The books called Booktrack will be available initially to iPad users but will later be available for other tablets. One example of the added sounds is the clinking of china cups in the garden in Pride and Prejudice. Looking at the comments on the article the idea gets very mixed responses with some people loving the idea and other people hating it. Personally I don’t think I would use them but I can see how they might be good for children.

Ocado are trialling a new window shopping concept. Already tried in Japan it involves scanning the barcodes of products you want to buy from shop windows by using your smartphone as a scanner. The goods are then delivered to your door. It’s an interesting idea but personally I would prefer to shop online at my leisure rather than standing outside a shop scanning barcodes.

Looking to use up some more courgettes I thought I would give this recipe a go. It really is quite simple to make and it turned up surprisingly well. I didn’t have any hazelnuts so left these out but otherwise my version pictured was fairly faithful to the original recipe. I decided to  separate mine into two smaller cake tins to make two halves to sandwich together rather than making one large cake. Once the cake is cooked you can’t actually taste the courgettes as they have grated into the mixture. They do add a really moist texture to the cake that makes it a little bit special. I will definitely make this again.

This is an interesting combination, it’s a USB stick that is also a vibrator. The device was created by designers Ti Chang and Michael Topolovac who spotted a potential gap in the market. The vibrator which is powered by the USB port in your computer is discreet and also has the advantage of being able to store up to 16GB of data. The designers found that one of the most frustrating aspects of a regular vibrator was the hassle caused by bulky charging devices. The product costs between $139 and $349 and is available in three colours.

When faced with an angry lion this bobcat didn’t waste time in scaling the first available hiding place, in this case a 50ft cactus. The bobcat was spotted climbing the cactus and sitting at the top for around 4 hours before it felt it was safe enough to come down. It seems he managed to get up and down again without any injuries.

If you are thinking of serving up some wild rook stew in your restaurant then you might find this article interesting. It lays out the rules and regulations which apply to killing and eating wild birds in the UK. The article which appears to have been written after a restaurant was asked to stop selling rook salad looks at the regulations. All wild birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. Despite this it is legal to eat some species if they are killed under licence but they can not be sold for human consumption. It is, however, legal to eat a wild bird if it has been killed by someone else or it has been discovered dead as road kill. There are also some birds which are protected and for which no licence to kill can be granted such as golden eagles, red kites and woodlarks. So presumably if I come across a pheasant that I want to eat I need to try and run it down with my car.

According to this article the best place in the UK to take a driving test is Mallaig in the Scottish Highlands. It seems nearly 80% or drivers that take a test there manage to pass first time. Wanstead in East London has one of the lowest pass rates with 71.5% od drivers failing their driving test. Bradford in Thornbury is also a bad place to take your test with a 70.3% fail rate whilst Leeds and Bradford have a 67.3% fail rate. Some of the worst places tend to have tricky road layouts which can catch drivers out whereas it is no surprise that those with better pass rates are in remote areas. So if you just can’t pass your driving test perhaps you might want to look at taking it in a different area.

I am a fan of wine boxes for everyday drinking and cooking so was interested to see that they have got smaller. The normal sized 3 litre box has reduced to a slightly smaller 2.25 litres. It seems with the price of wine boxes having gone up they have become less popular and fewer people are choosing to buy them. The boxes then have been downsized with a smaller price tag of around the £11.39 mark rather than the previous price more than £15. Sainsbury’s who have made the change have said it has resulted in an increase in sales of more than 5%. Personally it has been a while since I brought wine as I am currently unable to drink so have not noticed the change. I do tend to buy more premium boxed wine, however, paying in region of £20 to £25 a box. I wonder whether these have also been downsized or if it is just a change to the Sainsbury’s brand?

It seems you read another article every week or so claiming that you should eat the next new “superfood”. The latest appears to be blackberries which it seems have all sorts of health benefits. Apparently they are a great source of vitamin C containing twice as much as blueberries. They also contain more fibre than most other fruits, in fact a handful of berries has as much fibre as two Shredded Wheat. If that’s not enough they also contain anthocyanins which are thought to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and lutein which helps prevent eye damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. Lastly they contain manganese which is vital for building bone structure and folate or folic acid which helps healthy cell division and growth and is particularly recommended for pregnant women. It’s all very interesting but none of these things will make me eat more blackberries. What will is the fact that they are currently readily available and free and make wonderful pies and great jam.

This was the scene when 2496 people performed a mass hula hoop event. Staged in Taiwan the crowd had to spin their plastic rings simultaneously for three minutes to break the record. The previous record held was for 2,290 people and had been set in 2000. This event was organised to celebrate the Republic of China's centennial and to encourage people to take more exercise.

An elderly tortoise has received a new lease of life after some wheels were fitted to his shell. Yuri the tortoise is thought to be around 100 years old. Unfortunately whilst he can still move his front legs his back legs do not appear to work anymore. Costly x-rays have failed to find the cause the problem but in the meantime he had had a set of wheels fitted to the back of his shell so that he can move along properly.

For me, sadly, it’s very little at the moment being halfway through my pregnancy but it seems the average Briton drinks 5,800 pints in their lifetime and suffers from 726 hangovers. They will also drink 8,700 glasses of wine. The results are based upon a survey of 2,000 people. It found that most people drink at least three nights a week and have nine drinks in total which works out to 468 a year. Over half of people regularly drink in their home but it seems only 17% of people now regularly visit the pub. The survey which was carried out by Benenden Healthcare Society also revealed that the average Briton starts experimenting with alcohol at the age of 14. Four out of ten people admitted they can’t go longer than a week without having a drink, whilst 10% would make it through just 2 days before opening a bottle. The results certainty make interesting reading.

If your painting ability is questionable then there could still be hope. Perhaps you might not make a major exhibit but you may someday produce something that could go on display in the Museum of Bad Art. Masterpieces on display there include this reproduction of the Mona Lisa and are mainly rescued from bins or donated by art critics. The works must be original, sincere and interesting and they must try to communicate something, even if we are not sure what that something is. The museum based in Boston Massachusetts was opened by Scott Wilson and now has three separate galleries attracting 8,000 visitors a year. I feel a masterpiece coming on.

In one of the more bizarre stories I have come across recently, a man was convicted of drink driving a motorised beer cooler. The beer cooler was strapped to a 50cc scooter and had been purchased online. It seems the man had assembled the cooler whilst sampling a few beers and then taken it for a test drive, when he was promptly stopped for being drunk. He was sentenced with a ten month ban and an AUS$500 fine.

Last weekend we had a rare opportunity to take a break from decorating for a lunch date. The occasion was a friends birthday and it took us to The Belvedere restaurant in Holland Park, West Kensington. Having not been to the restaurant before I was impressed with the surroundings, a rare island of green in the centre of London. The restaurant itself has a outdoor terrace for when the weather is good and has quite a varied menu. We chose from the Sunday lunch menu which is priced at a fairly reasonable £27.50 for three courses.

I started with the goats cheese tart with red onion marmalade and balsamic dressing (pictured) which was wonderful. The sharpness of the balsamic vinegar with the flavours of the rocket salad and goats cheese finished with the sweetness of red onion and the crisp pastry of the tart was perfect. This is certainly something I will be trying at home. For the main course I choose the roast rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and red wine sauce. Whilst the food was nicely presented I found the beef tasted as though it had been reheated, the roast potatoes were a little on the hard side as was the Yorkshire pudding. This course whilst adequate for a pub lunch didn’t really meet my expectations of a more superior restaurant. For dessert I chose the apple crumble. This had a really good flavour with the slight sharpness of the apple and light spices contrasting with the sweetness of the crumble. My only complaint would be that it was little dry without the addition of a little cream or ice cream which would have greatly improved the dish. In all I was satisfied with the meal but felt it didn’t quite meet the expectations set by the pristine surroundings and atmosphere of the restaurant. I have certainly had better lunches but would come back here to sample some of the other dishes on the menu.

According to this article otters are now living in every county in England again. The otter population appears to have recovered from the brink of extinction. Recently two otters were spotted  on the rivers Medway and Eden in Kent, previously the last UK county without otters. Otters have also been seen in places where they have not been spotted since the industrial revolution such as Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester. The increase in numbers signifies that Britain's rivers are becoming cleaner than before so is also good news for other wildlife.

This week has brought the first corn from the allotment. So far I have eaten them boiled on the cob with a nob of butter but with plenty more coming will no doubt be looking for new corn recipes soon. I do plan to freeze about half of the crop if I can so I have plenty of veg to see me through the winter.

That’s according to recent research which suggests exercising for as little as 15 minutes a day can increase your life expectancy by as much as three years. Scientists found that exercising for 15 minutes could reduce death rates by as much as 4% with more vigorous activity for shorter periods of time having the same effect as less intensive exercise carried out for longer. Looks like I better dig the exercise bike out then.

This is an interesting idea it’s a special set of traffic lights that are being installed for a colony of bats. The bats live in a tunnel in Oxfordshire which is also used by commuter trains. The lights are being installed as an early warning system to let the bats know when a train is approaching so that they have time to move out of the way. It is natural for bats to avoid bright light so it is hoped that the trial of traffic light system will prove successful. If it works it will enable a second train service to run between Oxford and London.

If you are concerned about which is the healthiest ice cream this summer (personally I am not) then you might find this article interesting. It looks at many of the top brands and gives them points depending on how healthy they are. The Solero Berry Explosion for example is given 8 out 10 for being a reasonably healthy choice as it is nearly 50% fruit in the sorbet and the crisp coating. A Mr Whippy flake gets 5 out of 10 as the ice cream has lots of air pumped into it making it waistline friendly, and if you leave out the flake it has 50 less calories, but lets face it, we all want to have a flake. A Wall’s Mini Feast scores 1 out of 10 because the combination of chocolate flavour and mint ice cream has more saturated fat than two quarter pounders. It’s all quite interesting but I don’t really think about whether an ice cream is healthy or not. As they are an occasional treat I am well aware they are likely to be bad for me but they are nice

According to this article the latest offering from Dominos pizza is it’s new gourmet range. The range is designed to appeal to the more discerning pizza lover and includes the Pizza Rustica, Pizza Firenze and Pizza Florentine. In this article they are put to the test. Domino’s luxury range claims to offer “a host of mouthwatering new toppings on a fresh thin-crust base". They don’t fare too badly in the taste test but seem to fail mainly on not offering authentic ingredients, using bacon instead of Parma ham on the Pizza Rustica for example and lacking spinach on the Pizza Florentine. I’m not really sure, however, what you can expect from a £15 mass produced pizza. Having not tried them I can’t pass judgement myself but it’s clear Domino’s are trying to capture a more premium market. Personally I would rather make a pizza at home and cook it my stone bake pizza oven. It always taste great and I can usually make a couple of pizzas for under £5.

These kitties are the stars of a new book called Fashion cats. The book has been created by Japanese designer Takako Iwasa who came up with the idea after dressing her cats up in various outfits. The cats can be seen wearing costumes from period dress to a Harry Potter Hogwart’s uniform. All I can say is they must be very patient cats mine would take my hand off if I tried to do this to them and quite rightly so, I would deserve it.

These interesting looking yellow raspberries will soon be on sale at Tesco. Pictured here next to the normal red variety the champagne raspberry as it has been called has a sweet taste with less sharpness than the red one. They are grown by a producer in Berkshire and the colour comes from natural pigments which are normally hidden by the red hue in normal red raspberries. The fruit will be trialled in 10 stores in the South East but could be available nationwide next year if it proves to be successful.

According to this article our native birds are facing an increased threat from malaria. It seems mosquitoes are doing particularly well in the UK due to the warm and wet conditions. It is this rise that is leading to increased cases of malaria in birds. Around 30 species of birds are affected and growing numbers are dying. It is thought that 30% of UK house sparrows are infected with malaria compared with 10% in 1990. Two thirds of tawny owls are affected and 15% of great tits. The disease whilst not always fatal does now appear to be a significant factor in the decline of our birds. Whilst this type of disease can not be transmitted to humans the latest analysis carried out on malaria infection rates suggest that increases in global temperatures could eventually lead to a return of human malaria to northern Europe.

That’s according to this article which suggests they could be extinct within 15 years. They have suffered a dramatic decline over the past century and it is estimated there are now around one million hedgehogs in Britain, a decline of about 25% over ten years. Reasons for the decline include a reduction in habitat in the countryside and the use of pesticides which eliminate much of their food sources such as caterpillars and beetles. Hedgehogs are also faced with numerous dangers in residential areas such as rat poison, strimming and mowing as well as around 50,000 hedgehogs being run down by motorists every year. To help hedgehogs you can provide food and water, use wildlife friendly slug pellets and remove trailing garden netting.

This is an interesting idea to help cope with the stress of the daily commute. Punch bags on train platforms. This one has been installed at the Xujiahui subway station in Shanghai and customers are encouraged to take out their frustrations on the punch bag rather than the the staff. Whether or not it works is debatable. I wonder whether South Eastern might look into adding a few of these?

If your man has a bit of extra fat around his middle then these pants might be the thing to get. They are similar to those that are available for women and claim to flatten spare tyres, lift saggy backsides and make muffin tops disappear. At £10 a pair from Asda they also won’t break the bank although they do look a little bit silly.

This was the scene that greeted fire fighters when a pony was unfortunate enough to get himself stuck inside a tractor tyre. It is thought the pony was trying to reach grass under the type when it slipped and became stuck. Hydraulic cutting equipment was used to cut the tyre in half and the pony was eventually released unharmed.

According to this article a group of Germans have called for a ban on office kissing. The German Knigge Society which sees itself as a guardian on correct etiquette has said that kissing in the office has become offensive. They are referring to the French style greeting which it seems has caused some confusion amongst some Germans. The Knigge Society has had several calls from people asking for advice on how to react when someone kisses them hello or goodbye. It says that there should be no kissing at least in the workplace because for many there remains an a “erotic component to the kissing” It has also likened it to a form of terror.

This interesting looking creature is a ladybird spider. It is one of Britain’s rarest spiders and is in the news because it is being reintroduced at a nature reserve in Dorset. The spiders were once thought to be extinct but recently numbers of them have been rising. The spiders get their name from the distinctive ladybird like markings on their backs. They spend much of their time underground and as such are rarely seen. In 1994 there was thought to be just one colony of the spiders remaining in the UK with only 56 individual spiders remaining. This has led to a conservation efforts to increase numbers to more than 1,000. The program has involved captive breeding and releasing the spiders back into the wild. Conservationists have found that the best way to transfer them to their new homes is in empty water bottles which work as temporary burrows until the spiders become established in the local heathland.

If you are visiting the beach this summer then you might want to keep an eye out for turtles. The Marine Conservation Society has asked the public to report any sightings of leatherback turtles during August. Apparently it is a peak time to spot the creatures in UK waters and see whether there are any areas where conservation measures may be needed. The turtles arrive from their nesting grounds in the Caribbean to feed on jellyfish which this year have been seen in large numbers in the Irish Sea. There have already been a dozen turtle sightings this summer but it is hoped many more might be spotted.

According to this article essential oils could be behind a rise in unexplained house fires. It seems that more people are using essential oils on pillows and towels. This linen is then often washed at low temperatures and put into a tumble drier where it can catch fire. The problem is that the linen needs to be washed at 40 degrees plus for the oil to fully break down otherwise it can linger on the linen and as it is highly flammable can cause a fire hazard. It’s not really something I have considered but I will certainly be more careful when washing linen that may have residues of oils still on it.

After a few months of eating courgettes for pretty much every meal, I am exhausting the recipe possibilities. Having tried many of the nicer sounding ones I came across an idea for courgette or marrow jam. I haven't really made mine to a recipe but have basically used about 15 courgettes and a good sized piece of root ginger which I chopped and boiled until tender. I then strained the courgettes through a sieve and added the equivalent weight in sugar before boiling to the setting point. It’s an unusual taste similar to a marmalade but is quite tasty. I still have many more courgettes so might make another batch although I do also have an interesting chutney recipe I might give a go.

This is interesting it’s a giant Satsuma that has been created by crossing a Satsuma with a mandarin and an orange. It is about six times bigger than an ordinary Satsuma and has been developed naturally from Asian fruit.  Called the Satsumo it will cost £1.99 per kilo and will soon be on sale in Marks and Spencer.

Now that we have had our 5 month scan we feel more confident that everything is ok with our baby and have begun to purchase some essentials. I guess the main problem is when it’s your first child you never quite know what the essentials are. There are lots of lists available suggesting endless things to purchase but how many of these do you really need? I guess we really won’t know until the little one arrives. What did you purchase for your new baby and how much of it really got used?

This is interesting is a scheme being launched in Wales where shoppers will pay for their carrier bags with the proceeds being donated to a good cause. Customesr will pay 5p per bag which should raise around £50 million a year for charities. The scheme is due to be introduced in Wales from the 1st of October and there are already calls for it to be introduced across Britain. The Welsh administration believed the scheme will cut the number of bags used by as much as 90% as well as generating between £2million and £3million for good causes in Wales alone.

This is interesting its a rat that uses the toxins from a deadly plant to protect itself from predators. The Crested Rat from East Africa does this by gnawing on the bark of the Acokanthera or poison arrow tree. The poison is then absorbed into hollow hairs on the animals flanks. When attacked the rat’s fur bristles as a warning, however, if the warning is ignored and the predator bites the rat it receives a mouth full of toxins and will soon die of heart failure.

If you do then you might be part of a dying group of people. According to this article many of us prefer to simply carry cards and never have any cash on us. It seems one in eight people do not feel the need to carry cash with them and rely on cards. If this is the case it could mean more companies move towards contactless cards for small purchases. I must admit to never having much cash on me but I do always have a little just in case.

With both the allotment and the vegetables in the garden coming along well we still have no shortage of vegetables. We are still knee deep in courgettes despite me freezing a massive batch. The latest crop to be to ready is the runner beans and once again there are far more than we can hope to eat. I spent an evening processing them by blanching them for about 2 minutes in boiling water, cooling them and bagging them for freezing. We now have a freezer full of beans and courgettes so there should be plenty to see us through the winter.

According to this article Debenhams have recently launched a range of dresses inspired by the royal wedding. It seems there has been so much demand for dresses in the style of the ones worn by Kate and Pippa that this collection has been released. One of the dresses is a dress inspired by the bridesmaid dress worn by Pippa Middleton which will go one sale for £170. It is quite a nice looking dress which I imagine will sell quite well at that price. A dress based on the one worn by Pippa at the evening reception will also be released. This one is a green emerald gown which will sell for £99. A flower girl dress has also been released on sale at £48 and a black cocktail dress based on Kate’s wedding dress is also part of the range.

According to this article hot dogs are undergoing something of a reinvention. It seems there are a few companies out there that are starting to create good quality hot dogs to be proud of rather than the pathetic frankfurter in a bun you might be expecting when you think of hot dogs. The article highlights one man called Cooper who sells his hot dogs at Dulwich’s North Cross Road. He creates high end bespoke hot dogs. His basic hot dog consisting of a 100% beef served in a bun starts at £2.90. He also has more adventurous creations such as The Mexican Elvis containing steak-and-pinto-bean sauce, a thick slice of cheddar, jalapeños, onions, hot cheese sauce and guacamole. The Dogfather with chorizo and mozzarella, homemade marinara sauce. The Snoop Dog with bacon, cheddar, spring onions, bbq sauce and corn mayo and The Slum Dog saag aloo, onion bhaji flakes, curried mango mayo and jalapeños. They all sound far removed from the hot dogs I am used to and well worth a try.

According to this article our garden birds are currently being hit by an avian pox virus. The virus which leads to warty tumour like growths on birds has been affecting a wide range of birds including dunnocks, house sparrow, starlings and wood pigeons. The worst affected birds, however, seem to be great tits which seem to suffer from much more severe infections. Conservationists are calling for member's of the public to help track the spread of the disease by looking out for birds with symptoms and reporting them to the RSPB Wildlife Enquiries Unit on 01767 693690. It is thought the virus is spread through direct contact between birds and also indirect contact via perches and bird feeders where the birds congregate. You can help by keeping any bird tables and birds feeders disinfected to try and prevent the spread of any disease.

This is interesting it’s a virtual supermarket on a train platform. Posters of supermarket shelves stacked with items are pasted onto platform walls. The user points their smartphone at the items they wish to buy and the goods are then delivered to their home address. The system has been successfully trialled at Seoul station in South Korea and could soon be coming the UK. Personally I can’t really see how it would work in our cramped, overcrowded tube stations at rush hour. What would be more annoying than rushing for a train and having to avoid not only the other commuters but also people standing with their phones doing their weekly shop.

That’s according to this article which suggests they are the most endangered group of animals. A report has found that 36% of freshwater wish are threatened. They are faced with problems such as overfishing, pollution and construction. Among the greatest risk of dying out are several UK species such as the European eel and Shetland charr.

I spotted this interesting looking plant at the allotment the other day and not knowing what it was took a picture so I could later identify it. I was guessing from the colour that it would turn out to be something poisonous and after looking up poisonous red berries on Google came up with this. It seems it is something called Arum maculatum or more commonly known as wild arum or Lords and Ladies and cuckoo pint. The plant I found didn’t appear to have any leaves as such (the leaves in my picture belong to surrounding plants) and the plant was formed of a single stalk. It appears the berries of the plant are extremely poisonous and can produce allergic reactions such as irritation of the skin, mouth and throat, difficulty in breathing and upset stomach.  Based on this I won’t be handling it but it certainly is a very attractive looking little plant.

Having managed to keep quiet for five months it’s now getting a little difficult to hide the fact I am expecting a baby. Everything is going well and we are expecting our new arrival some time around the 26th of December. Pictured is the baby at three months. We had our five month scan yesterday and found out that we are expecting a girl. Now we have a fair bit of decorating to do and a lot of new things to buy in order to prepare for new arrival.

As a lover of wine I am always looking for more excuses reasons to drink it. This latest one seems a little bizarre. It claims that drinking wine can protect you from sunburn. It seems that a substance in grapes can protect the cells from damage caused by Ultraviolet rays. The flavonoids in the grapes can stop the chemical reaction that causes cells to die and therefore stop skin damage. So based on this, I will making sure to always have a cold glass of wine in hand when sitting in the sun.

According to this article India’s tiger population has increased by 20% in the last four years. Official figures from India's Environment and Forests Ministry show that there are now 1,706 tigers living in reservations and national parks compared to just 1,411 in 2006. The largest increases have been seen in the Corbett and Kaziranga national parks where tigers received the highest levels of protection but some new populations have also been discovered in guarded reserved forests such as Satyamangalam forest where 54 tigers were found. Despite the good news tiger habitats have still shrunk by 12.6% increasing the likelihood of tigers straying into human settlements and the potential of attacks on villagers.

If you spot a mysterious object floating in the sky near you, then it may be this missing floating island. The £9,000 helium filled  island which was recently used at a music festival in Cambridgeshire was cut loose from its tethers and has floated off into the atmosphere. It does, however, have to land sometime and the islands creators are appealing for anyone who has spotted it to come forward.

I harvested a huge batch of damsons and blackberries from the allotment where we have both growing wild on our plot so decided to make some jam. The damsons were washed and put into a pot with about a pint of water to boil. Any bugs float to the top so are quickly removed. The damsons quickly cook down to a pulp and then all you need to do is remove the pips, add the sugar, approx. 500g to the same amount of fruit and bring back to the boil until it reaches the setting point. The blackberries were processed in much the same way. I salted them first overnight in warm salt water to draw out any maggots. Then boiled them in about a pint of apple juice until soft. Drained them through a sieve to remove the pips. Added the sugar, I used jam sugar here with the pectin already added, and boiled until the setting point was reached. Both jams taste fantastic, the damson jam is a little on the tart side but nice and the blackberry is just the right sweetness without being too sickly. The best part is it was all made from free fruit.

A penguin who recently turned up on a beach in New Zealand after getting lost is soon due to be released back into the wild after receiving treatment. Happy Feet as he has been nicknamed has been recovering at Wellington zoo after he became ill due to eating sand which he may has mistaken for snow. He has now gained some weight and is due to be released offshore in the next few weeks. Hopefully he will be able to find his way back home.

If are thinking of getting a cat or kitten you might want to consider getting one from a rescue centre. According to this article animal charities are dealing with an unprecedented amount of cats and kittens needing homes and are struggling to cope with demand. Taking on a rescue cat can be a rewarding experience as we have learnt first hand with our four cats but one thing I will say is that many rescue centres should consider looking at their rehoming rules. When we were looking for a cat as a companion for our cat Willow, we were turned down by one animal home because we lived near a road (who doesn’t), the fact that we already had a perfectly happy cat didn’t appear to change this decision. We later found our cats from Hounslow Animal Welfare Society at the following link who were more than happy for us to rehome two of their cats. Sadly with four cats, our home is now at capacity otherwise I would gladly take on few more furry friends but if you are thinking of getting a cat you might want to check out ever growing list of cute furries who are desperate for a new home.

These colourful looking cauliflowers have recently gone on sale on Tesco. They are part of plan to encourage children to eat more vegetables. The rainbow packs include purple, orange and emerald coloured cauliflowers which are much more attractive than the normal white variety. The cauliflowers are all naturally produced and have been crossed with other types of the brassica family to create the colours. They certainly look more interesting and would brighten up many recipes.

According to this article it will soon be curtains for the rat population on the Scilly islands. The brown rats have become something of a menace on the island as they grow in numbers and are damaging local bird populations. There are thought to be around 3,100 brown rats on the island, numbers which are impacting greatly on the populations of storm petrels and manx shearwaters, both of which nest in burrows and so make easy prey for rats. The rats are also causing problems for the Scilly shrew which as the name suggests is only found on the island. Under the plan the RSPB and other local conservation groups will be asking the European Commission for a grant to fund bringing in pest control experts to poison the rats. So far the local human population appears to be in overwhelmingly in favour of the idea.

I have a new business idea in the pipeline which for now will remain a secret as it’s still in the very early planning stages. Myself and my business partner have a fairly good idea of what the business will do and what is required to get it up and running but the sticking point has been the name. We have spent ages brainstorming and deliberating about what to call it, and after a month or so had absolutely nothing. We have at last reached an agreement on the name and can now go ahead with registering domain names and setting up a company but the naming process has not been easy. It got me wondering how people go about finding a name a new business venture. Is there a process you use for this? Any comments welcome below. 

That’s according to this article which suggests it could be in use as soon as March 2012. The International Football Association Board will rule in March 2012 on whether or not to approve the system. If it is approved then it is likely to be used in leagues from the start of the 2012-13 football season. It would also be used at the 2014 World Cup. The Fifa chief Sepp Blatter has opposed the use of the technology for many years and the debate on whether it should be used appeared to have been ended in March 2010. However, when Frank Lampard had a legitimate goal ruled out in the last World Cup the debate was reopened. Blatter later apologised for the officials error and now says he has changed his mind on the matter. Meanwhile trials of different systems are taking place this year in the hope the decision will be approved in March 2012. Personally I’m unsure why we need so much debate on the issue, if the technology exists, then shouldn’t we use it. At least it would clear up any reasonable doubt in suspect referring decisions.

This is an interesting idea it’s a type of tights that are made to be worn with boots. Called the bootight they are like conventional tights except they have built in socks. The idea is that it looks like you are wearing tights but you also have the added warmth you get with socks. The built in socks also stop slipping and the problem of your socks falling down within your boots. It will be available in two options one for mid-calf boots and one for ankle boots. At £22.99 they are more expensive than ordinary tights but it seems like quite a good idea.

It seems the latest must have beauty remedy is a cream made from snail slime. Snail slime is apparently good as an acne solution and for inflamed skin. There are now various brands of creams including Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Cream which soothes and regenerates skin. I’m not convinced myself.

There is nothing worse than a cold that drags on for ever but according to this article zinc supplements could shorten the illness by as much as 40%. In a trial it was found that taking high doses of zinc can cut the length of colds by almost half. The results were based upon a trial of zinc lozenges which are already available as a cold remedy. Next time I get a cold I will be sure to give it a try.

That’s according to this article which suggests the restaurant will make changes to it’s happy meals from September. They will start including a quarter cup of peeled apple slices in every happy meal and will also reduce the child’s French fry portion from 2.4 ounces to 1.1 ounces. The new meal will be available across all of it’s US based restaurants from September and is part of a campaign against childhood obesity. It is expected to reduce the annual consumption of America’s children by 49 billion calories.

A restaurant in New York has recently launched doughnuts filled with Foie Gras. Do or Dine, in Brooklyn has been the subject of an internet campaign to boycott the product due to the way Foie Gras is produced, by force feeding geese to fatten up their livers. This, however, only appears to have made the doughnuts more popular. I’m not sure I would fancy one but it certainly is an interesting idea.

Cornish Pasties have recently been awarded protected status by the EU. The ruling means that only pasties actually made in Cornwall can now be called Cornish Pasties. An authentic pasty according to the EU should have the traditional shape, crimped on one side. The contents should be uncooked mince or chunks of beef, swede, potato, and onion with a light seasoning. All other pasties will now have to drop the word “Cornish” from their name in order to comply with the regulations.

According to this article Tesco will soon be introducing free wi-fi to hundreds of its stores. The technology will enable Tesco to tailor its special offers to the customer and send them directly to their phone as they shop. It will be trialled initially in 2,700 UK branches but if successful could be quickly rolled out across the country.

That’s according to this article which suggests there could soon be a change in the legislation over the amount of water that is added to bacon. New legislation would halve the amount of water that can be added from 10% to 5%. This should result in better tasting meatier bacon. The rules which would come into place in 2015 would mean that’s rashers with more than 5% water would have to be labelled as “bacon with added water”. Current legislation sets this limit at 10% and very little bacon sold in the UK has less than 5% water. Retailers claim that diners may not like reduced water bacon because our palates are accustomed to high water content. They also say it would make bacon less moist and less tender when it is cooked.

A 200 year old bottle of wine has recently been sold for £75,000. The wine which is a 1811 Chateau d'Yquem has beaten the record for the most expensive bottle of wine not sold at auction. It was purchased by French collector Christian Vanneque. He intends to put the wine on display in his new restaurant. Despite the price it is still not the most expensive wine ever sold, this honour goes to a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc which sold at auction for £192,000 last November.

This is interesting its the skeleton of a sea creature that was found washed up on a beach in Aberdeen. The creature was found by a couple who were out walking their dog. The skeleton measures approx. 30ft long. Whilst it looks like a seas monster it is more likely to be the carcass  of a killer whale or pilot whale. Experts are now examining it to find out exactly what it is is.

This is interesting it’s the reopening of Selfridges roof gardens for the first time since World War Two. The gardens were closed in 1940 after they were damaged by a bomb. Since then they have remained closed after owner H. George Selfridge vowed never to reopen them. They are now open complete with a green lake and rowing boats and a cocktail bar. The roof has been reinforced with steel to hold the lake and Westminster Council has issued a special boating licence for it.

That’s according to this article which claims it has been crowned the most satisfying car to own in Britain. Skoda topped the league of the most popular car makers beating makers like Porsche and Lexus. The survey from Which? Car suggests that Skoda's are fast becoming better cars to own with jokes about them being consigned to history. It is the first time that Skoda has topped the Which? Car satisfaction survey so they must be doing something right.

According to this article Consumer Focus is calling for energy firms to abandon doorstep cold calls for a three month period. The watchdog is asking the energy firms to make the changes voluntarily but if they don’t may ask the regulator Ofgem to legally require suppliers to take action.

Personally I think all cold calling by energy companies should be stopped completely. The practice which has been going on for at least ten years often involves misleading and intimidating sales techniques. I have been subject to these sales calls on a number of occasions and remember one in particular where two large men tried to gain entry to my home to obtain an electricity bill or a meter reading. They had claimed to be from my existing provider but clearly were not. If this were the case they would have had details of my current price plan and energy usage and would not have needed further information. Needless to say I did not let these crooks into my house.

I have received a number of other calls since this one with less aggressive techniques but none the less still misleading. In each case the caller has said they are from my electricity provider rather than being honest and saying they are from a rival company. Being wise to this selling technique I greet them by letting them know that firstly I am aware they are not from my supplier. Secondly I am aware they are trying to get me to change my supplier and thirdly if I did want to switch I would not make this decision as a result of a cold call on my doorstep but would do my research online. This seems to get rid of the sales people very quickly and effectively. I do wonder, however, how many more vulnerable and perhaps less informed people are misled into switching to deals that are no better and can often be worse than their current rate. With four out of the big six suppliers being investigated to see whether their doorstep selling have broken the rules, it is clearly time to stamp this practice out once and for all.

Sometimes I think scientists have a little too much time on their hands, particularly when I see articles like this. A team of researchers have tested 2,000 slices of bread in an effort to make the perfect toast. They found that it takes exactly 216 seconds to cook the perfect toast. It should be an optimum thickness of 14mm and have 0.44 grams of butter per square inch. This cooking time gives it the perfect golden brown colour and the ultimate balance of crunch and internal softness apparently, with the outside being 12 times crunchier than the middle. The best result is achieved by setting the toaster dial to five out of six on a typical 900 watt toaster which produces a temperature of 154 degrees Celsius.

This is interesting, it’s a store which has recently opened in Brighton that makes clothes from road kill. The designer Jez Eaton sources her materials from road kill and the remains of animals which have died of natural causes. Some of the items on sale include a necklace made from pheasant skulls, a horse hat and a shawl made from squirrels. The pelts of the animals used would usually go to the waste so the collection is not only environmentally friendly but also ethical. It seems like quite a good idea although I’m not overly impressed with the designs pictured.

If you fancy naming your baby Lucifer and happen to live in New Zealand then you are out of luck. It has recently been added to a list of banned names after three sets of parents wanted to use it for their child. The country has rejected over 100 names over the last two years in a bid to stop people using increasingly bizarre names. Other names on the list include Messiah, 89, C and Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight and Mr, the last of which have been deemed too similar to titles. Some names that have been allowed, however, include Benson and Hedges and Number 16 Bus Shelter.

With both the allotment and the vegetable patch in the garden coming along nicely, we have a ready supply of vegetables. One thing that has been really successful this year is the courgettes and we really do have many more than we can ever hope to eat. Having given lots away to all the neighbours with a lot still left over I decided to freeze them. I processed over 40 courgettes in batches, by first peeling then and cutting them into small chunks. Then I boiled a pot of water and blanched them in batches for just a minute before draining and cooling them. They were all packed into small zip lock bags and frozen and should keep me in courgettes for the winter. The next job is to do the same with the turnips.

In an unusual story Thomas the Tank Engine has been involved in a road crash on the Kent and East Sussex border. A lorry carrying the train crashed with a van on the A28 at Newenden whilst it was on it’s way to Tenterden for a Kent and East Sussex Railway event. The good news is that Thomas appears to unharmed although he will be inspected to ensure he is in perfect working order.

That’s according to this article which suggests ministers want more NHS treatment to be provided by private companies. Under the plans patients could have x-rays, blood tests and heart scans at Boots and other high street chemists. It should make getting treatment more convenient for many, meaning you could pop into the pharmacy during your lunch hour rather than having to wait several days for an appointment.The services would remain free of charge and ministers hope it would drive up standards and improve treatment for patients.

Personally I can see how this could be useful. To arrange a blood test at my local hospital you have to turn up during working hours, take a ticket and wait. Whilst this might suit people like myself who work from home, the majority of people would have to take a morning off without knowing how long they could be waiting to be seen. It seems to me that anything that make getting treatment more accessible to patients can only be a good thing.

It can be quite embarrassing to see your cats squeezing through the fence to use the neighbour’s garden as a toilet when you have provided a perfectly good litter tray at home. It seems, however, that there is not much you can do about their behaviour. According to this article cats choose to use the neighbours garden because they are marking the edges of their territory. The behavioural trait was discovered when GPS trackers were fitted to nine cats over a period of eight days. 150 hours of camera footage were caught and 3,000 owners were also surveyed. Town cats have to spend the greater proportion of their day protecting their territory against rivals and half of cats had to deal with other cats entering their homes to steal food. One way to stop your cats using your neighbours garden could be to leave areas of loose soil on the edges of the garden to encourage them to use that instead.

I cooked a few of the burgers the other day from Westin Gourmet and was not disappointed. They certainly taste as good as they look if not better and really benefit from being flame grilled outside on the BBQ. I will certainly be purchasing these again and they also come Oliver (pictured left) approved. My only issue is perhaps a pack of 10 burgers is not enough, I think they are going to eaten very quickly.

According to this article the Queen will use green power to reduce her carbon footprint at Windsor Castle. Under the scheme power from the River Thames will be used to power the castle. Underground cables will carry electricity directly to the castle from hydroelectric turbines at nearby Romney Weir. Any unused power will also be sold back to the National Grid. It is hoped the project will generate enough electricity for 300 local households and one third of that needed for Windsor Castle.

If your garden vegetables are showing symptoms similar to that shown on the left then they might be a victim of something called aminopyralid poisoning. The problem is caused by the residues of a hormone mimicking pesticide called aminopyralid which is used by farmers to kill weeds growing in fields of grass.

Government approval for the pesticide was suspended in 2008 after cases of cross contamination but it appears farmers are still able to use it under strict guidelines. This includes spraying it only on fields which are grazed directly by cattle and not on fields where silage or hay is grown. Manure from animals kept in the pastures should be used only on the farm and farmers must confirm in writing that they have been instructed in the use of the pesticide and in manure management issues. All of these measures should be enough to prevent further issues of cross contamination but it appears this is not the case.

The article highlights the case of a market gardener who lost their entire crop of vegetables to this curling disease. The problem was that the manure they had used was contaminated. It seems that somewhere in the process someone had not followed the stringent guidelines related to the use of aminopyralid. It seems many cases of this poisoning are simply put down to other factors such as poor weather and diseases and so go unreported with many gardeners unaware of the problem or indeed the real reason why their crops might have failed. Reading this I am reluctant to purchase any manure without knowing where it has been sourced from and think I may stick to simply using compost from the garden.

That’s the bizarre message of this article which suggests that people who use a larger fork tend to eat less. The findings come from a study that looked at the impact of bite sizes and how much is eaten. In a 2 day experiment tables in a restaurant were set with a bigger fork and a plate containing 20% more and a smaller fork and a plate holding 20% less food than the restaurants regular portion size. The plates of food were weighed before they went out the customer and again when it came back to calculate the amount eaten. It was found that the diners given bigger forks ate less. It seems the size of the fork acts as a goal to help diners see how far they are progressing when satisfying their hunger whilst the actual feedback of feeling full comes with a time lag. Based on this it might be time to purchase an oversized novelty fork.

According to this article a population of snow leopards has been found in Afghanistan. Researchers have used camera traps to photograph the animals for the first time in a remote corner of the country. They have been found at 16 locations across the Wakhan Corridor and there are now moves to try and turn the area into a national park. It is thought there may be as many as 200 leopards living in Afghanistan which is quite a significant number considering there are thought to be only 4,200 left in the wild. 

These interesting looking solar powered bins have recently gone on trial in  Inverness. The bins which have been called the “Big Belly” can take eight times as much rubbish as a normal bin of the same size. Machinery inside the bin compacts the litter automatically and an internal computer is programmed to send an email to the council when the bin is full and needs to be emptied. The bins are solar powered and need only eight hours of daylight a day to power the electronic device inside. At £3,200 they are not cheap but perhaps the cost will work itself out if they don’t need to be emptied so often.

This colourful creature is a Ansonia latidisca or as it has been more commonly nicknamed a rainbow toad. Previously the only images of the toad were those drawn from specimens collected by European explorers in the 1920’s. This was one of three toads spotted by Scientists from University Malaysia Sarawak on a recent trip to Borneo. It certainly is a striking creature.

Seems to be a common question for those ordering fashion online. So much so, that it has now become the norm to order an item in several sizes and send back those that don’t fit. That’s according to this article which suggests a lack of standardised sizing amongst retailers means shoppers are ordering a purchase in multiple sizes and sending back goods worth more than half a billion pounds. In fact a survey by online shopping comparison website Kelkoo found that almost two-thirds of the 1,500 adults it surveyed ordered multiple sizes of the same item when shopping online. I must admit to doing the same, if I am unable to find exact measurements on the website but it must be quite a headache for retailers having to process so many returns. Perhaps as the article suggests it is time to use standardised sizing.

This is interesting it’s a beach mat that filters out grains of sand ensuring they remain where they belong, that’s on the beach. The mat which was originally developed for military use to keep the dust off of helicopters has holes that are just wide enough for grains of sand to fit through. The clever part is that it acts as a one way filter so once the sand has passed through it doesn’t come back. It also claims to eliminate dirt, dust and water ensuring an always clean surface. It sounds like just the thing for the beach and at £40 not too expensive either.

If you have been thinking about a getting a hypoallergenic dog then you may want to read this article. it suggests that they produce just as much allergens as any other dog. Hypoallergenic dogs such as Bichon Frise, Poodles and Portugese water dogs are supposed to produce less dander and saliva and also shed less fur. A recent study, however, has shown this is not the case. It looked at 60 different breeds of dog and found there was no scientific basis to claim these breeds have any less allergens. Researchers analysed dust samples from 173 homes collected from the carpet or floor of the bedroom. All the households involved in the study had only one dog with 11 of the 60 dogs being hypoallergenic breeds. When the samples were analysed there was no significant difference in allergen levels in the homes.

We have just picked the first raspberries from the garden and they really are tasty. Whilst there is not really enough to make much with this year they have done much better than I expected. In fact as it I only planted them this year I was not expecting any fruit at all until at least next year. The crop whilst not huge is enough to eat with dessert or just on their own. The plants are already producing new runners so lets hope for a bumper crop next year and perhaps enough to make some jam.

This is interesting, its a selection of photos showing the imprints left by birds that have flown into windows. This one shows an owl that crashed into a window in Kendal. The print would have been left by the powder down substance that protects the birds feathers.

The allotment has been somewhat neglected recently as we have been concentrating on decorating but the vegetables we have growing are coming along nicely. The corn is is now waist high as you can from this picture of me scythe in hand creating a scene from Children of the Corn. A closer picture shows the developing cobs. I am hoping for lots of sweet corns and it looks encouraging so far.

The beans are growing well and we are just starting to see the first little beans appearing so hope to be eating them soon. The potatoes are also going well. I couldn't remember what varieties we planted but on digging a few early potatoes we have a mixture of white potatoes and a red almost purple variety which taste yummy.

We also have a few courgettes coming along at the allotment although my main crop of these is in the vegetable patch in the garden. Here are a few potatoes and a courgette we harvested for dinner. The allotment and garden combined are certainly keeping us in vegetables at the moment. It has been several month since I had to shop for vegetables. My salad leaves from the greenhouse are picked daily for sandwiches and the potatoes, courgettes, turnips and peas and gradually being eaten or processed and frozen as they are ready. My initial investment of £40 of seeds finally seems to be paying off. I believe I have already saved that at least just in salad.

These interesting looking glow in the dark mushrooms have recently been rediscovered in Brazil. Originally found in 1840 they had since been lost but have now been found again on a more recent expedition. The mushrooms create a glow that is bright enough to read by. It is believed that they make the the light in much the same way as a firefly, through a chemical mix of a luciferin compound and a luciferase, an enzyme that produces a compound which reacts to light. They certainly look impressive and on a more decorative note would look great lining my garden path at night.

Personally I am not surprised to read this article which suggests airlines charge a huge mark up on food and drink. The article claims that drinking water on the budget airline Ryanair is 12 times more expensive than if you were to purchase it in a supermarket. In many ways it makes good business sense for the airlines, particularly with the current liquids ban. I wonder how many people have thought they have stocked up on water for the journey, usually seduced by the two for one offers before checking in, only to find that it can’t be taken through security. Whilst there doesn’t seem, to be a way around this, packing a sandwich seems a better plan that paying too much for airline food which is often poor quality for the price anyway.

This is interesting it’s a snail that can survive being digested by birds. A study of the diet of Japanese white eyes on the island of Hahajima has found that 15% of the tiny snails eaten by the birds survive the digestion process and are found alive in the birds droppings. The evidence could be a key factor in how the populations of snails are able to spread. Previous research had found that pond snails can survive being eaten by fish but this is the first time that land snails have been found to survive the digestive process.

If you are planning a trip to Iceland, then you might want to check out the Icelandic Phallological Museum. It currently has the largest collection of penises in the world and has recently added a human penis to its collection. Over 200 specimens are preserved in test tubes and glass vessels whilst some larger ones are displayed like hunting trophies on the wall.

In a moment of madness I decided it was time to start decorating the house. We have been here two years this weekend now, and so far the decor is as it was when we purchased it. As it’s the room we spend most time it seemed most logical to start with the living room. The wallpaper was very easy to take off and just peeled away nicely. What we were not prepared for, was the layers of old emulsion behind it. Unfortunately because it is peeling we can’t just paint over it so it has to come off. We have tried a number of techniques to do this so far with limited success and it really is progressing slowly. Three weeks into the project and we have managed to remove the paint from one wall, with the other three still to do. So far the only thing that really works is to wet the wall and scrap it off. We could be here some time. The plan is to remove the old paint, then plaster any holes and prepare the walls for painting. Once painted we intend to put wood flooring in the place of the nasty pink carpet. With time limited to weekends I estimate a good 2-3 months of work ahead but in some ways it’s nice to have made a start even if it’s taking longer than expected.

This is interesting, it’s a rare gynandromorph butterfly that has recently hatched at the Natural History Museum. The butterfly is half male and female and has both sex organs fused together. The insect is almost black on the male side with the female side being paler with specks of blue. red and tortoiseshell. It is possible for insects for born gynandromorphs when the sex chromosomes fail to separate when the fertilised egg divides. Only one in every ten thousand butterflies is a gynandromorph. The butterfly is expected to have a normal life span of around a month, although it is infertile so will not produce eggs. It will become part of the museums collection when it dies.

According to this article some beauty products could contain chemicals that can make you fat. Dubbed “chemical calories” they can be found in products such as shampoo, body lotion and soap as well as household cleaning products. The chemicals such as phthalates and Bisphenol-A have been shown to disturb the body’s natural weight control system. Research suggests that daily exposure to them could be linked to childhood obesity and weight problems in adults. Studies on animals have shown that the chemicals depress testosterone levels and can also mimic the effects of oestrogen, both of which can cause weight gain. It is possible to purchase products that do not contain these chemicals but I must admit at being a little surprised to find that beauty products could have an affect on weight gain.

According to this article it is possible to train the brain to forget embarrassing or bad memories. Scientists have found that selective memory does exist and it is possible to train your brain to forget. It seems that when you actively try to forget something and repress it for long enough you will eventually forget completely. Mastering the technique could be useful for people suffering from depression or post traumatic stress disorder particularly if it is caused by dwelling on traumatic memories.

An Italian company has become the first to create halal mozzarella. The firm La Baronia, based in the town of Castel di Sasso has recently been awarded halal status by an Islamic culture association in Italy. It makes the mozzarella from the milk of water buffaloes, with the key difference to regular mozzarella being that no alcohol based chemicals are used to cleaned the machinery in which the halal version is made.