I went to Tesco this morning, to buy some burger rolls and despite the fact that I arrived ten minutes after they opened I was surprised to see the shelves were bare. It seems that all it takes is a little bit of sun and people go nuts, buying all the BBQ food. It wasn't just rolls there was a shortage of; there was no salad, no hot dog rolls and no feta cheese. If you were trying to buy burgers, then you had no chance at all. Next time I will have to make sure I keep some rolls in the freezer, just in case we see the sun.

I was reading this article about reasons why people call 999. I generally credit people with enough intelligence to realise that the number is for emergency calls. It seems, however, that people do call for the most ridiculous of reasons. The article mentions people who have called the number because they had a spider in their house. Other examples include a lady who wanted police to turn her water back on and people trying to order a taxi. Whilst, each of these people might have thought their problem was a real emergency, it makes me wonder whether these calls affected people in real need of help.

Trutex one of the leading makers of school uniforms has considered adding tracking devices to its clothing. They conducted a survey, the results of which showed that parents would be interested in knowing where their children were. They are now considering putting the tracking devices in blazers or the waistbands of trousers. The company currently sells around 200,000 blazers and 250,000 pairs of trousers every year. The only flaw in the plan, children will soon discover all they need to do is hide their uniform in the place they are meant to be and go off in plain clothes to enjoy themselves.

I was on the Virgin Wine website the other day, checking to see when my discovery club case was going to arrive and I discovered wine auctions. Basically they have about ten cases of wine in an auction which usually lasts a couple of hours. The cases start at 99p and have no reserve. However, I haven't seen any cases actually sell for under £30. Anyway I placed a bid, not really thinking I would win and ended up with a case of Merlot, which I will review here shortly. I got the case for just over £30, so it works out to less than £3 a bottle. It looks like I have just found a new way to spend my hard earned cash.

I can’t be the only person to notice that all the wet weather in the UK has had a massive impact on the slug population. Usually I see a few slugs but this year they are everywhere, crawling around and devouring all my plants. I was interested to read this article that suggests the slug population has in fact doubled this year. Experts estimate that there are 15 billion in Britain, that’s an awful lot of slugs, and I think a couple of hundred are in my garden. I think its time to get the beer traps out.

I read this article about a virtual farmers market called localfoodshop.com and thought it was a really good idea. The virtual market is not live yet but is due to launch next month. The site will allow farmers to sell their produce online for a £10 a month subscription fee. The farmers will keep 93% of whatever they make on the website, which is currently much more than they make selling their produce through the supermarket.

The reason I liked the idea, was because I like to try and buy all my produce through local farmers if at all possible, mainly because the quality is better and the food is fresher. However, it isn’t always possible. We do have farmers markets in the area but generally if I need something quickly I find myself having to buy it in Tesco. Customers will be able to search the website by postcode to find suppliers near them. The website will also encourage producers in the same area to combine deliveries, making the service more environmentally friendly. I am waiting for the launch of the site with interest and will certainly be giving it a go, so watch this space for the review.

I just opened a bottle of Spier Shiraz 2005. The wine is from the Cape of Good Hope. It has a fruity smell and a full bodied colour. It doesn’t taste as fruity as it smells but has a plum like flavour with oak undertones and a hint of spice. At only £4.99 it’s a good wine for the price.

Rory has been busy with work this week, so has been working from home most evenings. This means his cat Willow has not been getting as much attention as usual. Generally when this happens she drives us mad by running around the house howling at the top of her voice. As you can see Rory has come up a solution to keep Willow happy. A well placed cushion and she settles down for the evening, whilst Rory can still get his work done.

Pygmy elephants in Borneo are under threat because of the loss of their natural habitat. There are currently only around 1,000 of the elephants left in Sabah which is much less than previously thought. The elephants depend of the forest for their survival but over the past forty years 40% of the forest cover has been lost due to logging and human settlements. Environmentalists are calling for measures to save the elephants remaining habitat.

Its good news for the black footed ferret, North Americas most endangered mammal. A key population that had only five individuals in 1997 has now grown to more than 220. This massive rise is attributed to the large prairie dog population in Wyoming which is the ferret’s main source of food.

A homeowner who awoke to find a burglar in his house could be arrested after the burglar fell from a window. Patrick Walsh startled the burglar who fell out a top floor window and later died. It is not yet clear whether the home owner will face any charges. Stories like this make me rather angry, yes its unfortunate the burglar fell and died but he really should not have been in the house in the first place. It seems we should welcome burglars into our house and make sure they are safe whilst they are stealing our hard earned possessions. After all burglars have rights too. In my opinion A burglar gives up all his rights when he enters a property illegally and the home owner should have every right to defend themselves from this kind of intrusion.

There seem to be a lot of stories at the moment where animals have been hurt and in some cases killed by airguns. The latest story is about Fergus the cat (pictured) who was targeted with an air gun. The pellet narrowly missed his spine. Fergus is lucky not be hurt more seriously. He is currently recovering from his injury.

I read this article where a leading environmentalist suggests walking to the shops can actually damage the environment more than if you were to use your car. His calculations are based on the fact that with food production being so energy intensive more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shop than if you were to take a car over the same distance. I find this article a little silly. People need to eat whether they walk to the shop or not. I eat the same amount every day regardless of whether I walk or do other exercise. If I were to require more food for my walk to the shop, perhaps he might have a case. Either way, I will continue to walk and leave the car at home.

It never fails to amaze me how stupid some people can be. This latest story shows that some people just don’t think about the consequences of their actions. It involves a teenager who threw methylated spirits onto a barbecue. The liquid then exploded setting fire to himself and to a nearby washing line. The teenager then ran into the house setting the hallway and stair alight as well. He and another man who tries to help him put out the fire are now in hospital with serious injuries. The teenager's condition is currently critical.

Scientists looking for a rare Chinese river have concluded after a six week search that it is likely to be extinct. The last time the dolphins were counted was in 2006 when only 17 individuals were found. This time when scientists looked for the dolphins they found none at all. If the dolphin is now extinct it will be the first large vertebrate to become extinct for 50 years. Scientists had hoped to find some Yangtze river dolphin’s to transfer them to a protected breeding program but it appears they are too late.

A tiger census to see how many wild tigers there are in India has suggested that there are now only between 1,300 and 1,500 left, that’s half the amount there was in 2002. Among the problems facing tigers is that whilst they do well in protected reserves, they do not appear to do so well in other forest areas. This survey suggests that efforts should now be concentrated on the tigers that currently live within unprotected areas.

I read this interesting article about the top 100 travel websites. It lists everything from where to stay, sites that give you inside information, holiday bargins and travel essentials. It's certainly worth checking out some of the websites it mentions.

A man who found a Christ-like image in a piece of concrete has sold it on Ebay for £500. The image was caused by a smudge of sealant and to me just looks like a smudge of sealant. It’s interesting the places these “divine” images pop up.

Is it Christ? You Decide.

The recent wet weather in the UK has managed to fool a zoo’s population of tawny frogmouths that it is monsoon season. As a result both of the zoos female birds laid eggs. The birds are from Australia and lay their eggs directly after the rainy season to ensure there is enough food for their chicks. Both eggs have now hatched to produce some cute fluffy chicks named Thunder and Storm.