A chef in Devon has started offering squirrel in his restaurant in a bid to save the native red squirrels. Whilst red squirrels are very rare in the UK the grey squirrels are all too common and carry a virus that can be lethal to the endangered red squirrels. Chef Ed Chester has started offering squirrel kebabs on his menu as well as squirrel pates and squirrel fricassees. He believes ones of the best ways to control the population of grey squirrels in the UK is simply to eat them. Its not a bad idea and I heard that squirrel tastes a lot like chicken.

Its Halloween again and much as I dislike children I went out and brought a couple of bags of sweets. The doorbell has been ringing every five minutes for the last couple of hours and a succession of witches, vampires, skeletons and zombies have all gone away happy with some candy. The sweets have nearly run out now, so I guess its time to turn off all the lights and pretend I am not at home, after all I think I have made an effort.

I tried a bath melt from Lush last night. This one is called MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment. It is bright pink and smells like candy. I wasn't really expecting a lot from this small rather unexciting looking bath melt. When added to the bath it sunk straight to the bottom with none of the fizzing I have come to expect from bath ballistics which I usually purchase. The bath melt, however dissolves slowly over the course of about 15 minutes leaving a pleasantly coloured pink and lilac coloured bath. The candy smell is not overpowering and the water goes all creamy and and foamy. This is not a bath melt that can be enjoyed in a hurry, because it takes a while to dissolve you need to leave a good half an hour free to fully appreciate it. I found it a truly relaxing experience and the mixture of cocoa butter, almond oil, chamomile power and marshmallow powder left my skin really soft. I will be buying this again.

This is strange, its a cat that glows in the dark. The cat named Mr Green Genes has been genetically modified as part of an experiment which could lead to a treatment for cystic fibrosis. He looks like any normal cat until he is exposed to ultraviolet light, then he glows. Researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into the feline's genetic sequence to create what is formally known as a transgenic cat. That's all very interesting but my main thought on reading the article was "cool a glowing cat".

This article highlights some toilets that are in rather unusual locations. This one is in the guard tower at Alcatraz. Other pictures include mountain top locations and even a toilet that is built into an aquarium. How strange.

We spent last weekend fitting laminate flooring in our dining room and today I am in pain. My whole body hurts so I guess I have used some muscles that don't usually get much use. I thought fitting laminate flooring was meant to be easy. All the instructions say that the pieces simply lock together. What the instructions don't tell you is that "lock together" actually means you have to hit them very hard with a mallet until they fit. The instructions also fail to mention the challenges that you face fitting the floor when the walls in your house are not straight. Sure the walls look straight but when it comes to lining up the first the few planks of flooring you suddenly realise that they are not. The job does get easier after you have put the first three rows of flooring down but it certainly took a lot longer than I expected. I now have another thing to add to my list of hated DIY jobs. Next time I might just buy a carpet.

This is interesting its a device to stop cold callers. Ironically it was invented by two ex telemarketers. The device is called TrueCall and it works by downloading information on commercial and scam numbers form the internet and preventing them from getting in contact with you. It can also block calls from people that you don't want to speak to. The system intercepts all calls and if it recognises them as a friend or family of the user it lets them through as normal. However, if the callers number is identified as a telemarketer or nuisance caller the device answers it with an automated message and the phone does not ring at all. Its not cheap at £99 but it looks like it could a solution to unwanted sales calls.

It appears people really will steal anything these days. This story comes from Jamaica where police are investigating the theft of hundreds of tons of sand from a popular beach. In July around 500 truck loads of sand were removed from outside a planned resort at Coral Spring beach. There are suspects, particularly people within the tourism sector, as a good beach is seen as a valuable asset to hotels on the island but no arrests have made since July leading to criticism of the police. The theft of the sand has meant that the plans for the resort have now been put on hold because the most important feature, the white sand beach has now disappeared. It must be fairly hard to hide thousands of tons of sand, I'm guessing it won't long before it shows up on a new beach somewhere.

This is interesting, it suggests that a herd of 200 cows produces as much greenhouse gas as driving a family car 3,000 miles. Dr Andy Thorpe of Portsmouth University said that 200 cows expel as much methane annually as the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of a car burning 21,400 litres of petrol. He also says that whilst CO2 emissions have increased by 31% in the past 250 year, methane emissions have increased by 149%. Apparently methane has a greater warming effect than CO2 and also has a longer lifetime in the atmosphere as well as being responsible for a fifth of global warming since 1750. Around 55 to 70 per cent of methane comes from the farming of animals such as cows, sheep and goats which produce methane as they digest food. It makes me wonder what are the methane emissions of the human population? I suppose we could eat less meat and more vegetables but would that mean that we produce more methane?

A government think tank has come up with a "five a day" program designed to help people stay sane. The Mental Capital and Wellbeing report was compiled by Foresight. They believe that a small increase in levels of wellbeing can produce a large decrease in mental health problems. It suggests amongst other things connecting with others, being active, taking notice of your surrounding, learning and giving to neighbours and the community. The five steps from the article are listed below but can they really keep you sane?

Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support

Be active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness

Be curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you

Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence

Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding