That’s according to this article which suggests the French may be losing their love for wine. In two generations French wine consumption has dropped by three billion bottles, the equivalent of a bottle per adult per week. Researchers believe that the culture of wine drinking in France is being lost with the younger generations being less likely to drink a bottle with food and more likely to drink simply for pleasure. It seems the French are now drinking wine occasionally rather than on a regular basis, a change which has occurred within the last two generations. The research looked at successive generations and their approach to wine drinking. The over 65s were most concerned with wine heritage and more likely to drink it daily. The middle groups were more occasional drinkers and were more likely to drink socially with friends. With the under 30s, however, wine consumption was the exception rather than the rule. It seems it is decline in younger drinkers that is largely responsible for the decline in consumption.

According to this article your pillow could be a breeding ground for all sorts of bugs. The article suggests that up to third of the weight of your pillow could be made up of bugs, dead skin and dust mites and their faeces. It seems your pillow is also an ideal breeding ground for bugs such as MRSA, C.diff, flu, chicken pox and even leprosy. The findings come after a study of hundreds of pillows used by Barts and the London NHS Trust. The tests found high levels of living contamination of the outsides of the pillows with germs having found their way inside the pillow through rips in some cases. In some cases the pillows were contaminated with E.coli whilst others contained germs that can cause respiratory and urinary tract infections. The problem, however, is not confined to hospitals with many people simply putting a fresh cover on their pillows rather than washing the whole thing. Based on this I wonder whether you are allowed to take your own pillow when having to stay in hospital.

This is interesting it’s a scheme being run in Hackney that uses refillable glass wine bottles. Launched by Borough Wines the scheme offers red, white and rose wines in a single use glass bottle for £10. However, if you bring your own bottle and fill it up from one of the barrels then you can get a whole litre of wine for £6, a 50% saving. The refill scheme works by buying large boxes of quality wine which it then decants into barrels and is able to sell at bargain prices. I think it’s quite a good idea. It would certainly save on the amount of bottles I have to take to the bottle bank every week. It’s just a shame no one does this in my area.

According to this article scientists have applied for permission to dig up Shakespeare in order to find out how he died. The team of palaeontologists have made a formal application to the Church of England to excavate Shakespeare’s tomb in his local parish in Stratford upon Avon. It is hoped that if they are able to go ahead with the excavation they will be able to recreate a three dimensional reconstruction of the writer finding out what sort of life he led, any illnesses he might have had and how he died.

An Emperor penguin has turned up in New Zealand after apparently getting lost. It is the first penguin seen in the country for 44 years and is around 4,000 miles away from its usual habitat. Emperor penguins usually live in Antarctica and it is not clear exactly why this one has turned up in New Zealand, but it is thought it might be a young penguin who has simply got lost. Unfortunately the sand and heat of New Zealand are not suited to penguins so in order to survive he will have to try and find his way back home. 

The penguin was later hospitalised after eating sand in an effort to cool himself down, thinking it was snow. It is hoped he will soon recover and be released back into the wild to try and find his way home.

According to this article your dishwasher could harbour deadly bacteria. Scientists have found that dishwashers create the perfect breeding ground for some types of fungi. Researchers found that 62% of dishwashers contain Exophiala dermatitidis and E. phaeomuriformis  on the rubber band inside the door. These like a hot and humid environment and can also be found in other kitchen appliances such as washing machines and coffee machines. Both of the yeasts are known to be dangerous to human health and display a high tolerance to heat, salt concentrations and aggressive detergents. The research comes from looking at samples taken from private homes in 101 cities across the world. What is not clear from the article is what measures need to be taken to prevent the build up of this bacteria.

That’s according to this article which suggests treating yourself to a shopping spree has a lasting impact on your mood and leaves few negative side effects. Researchers conducted interviews at shopping centres and asked shoppers to keep diaries of their shopping behaviour. A total of 62% said they had brought something to cheer themselves up and 28% indulged in a shopping trip as a form of celebration. The study concluded that retail purchases were overwhelmingly beneficial.

Astronauts and a team of scientists have managed to grow two small plants in space. The plants were grown in small greenhouses without gravity and using special water, soil and light techniques. The experiment which was part of a food growing trial was hailed a success when two out of fourteen seeds successfully germinated and produced plants. Although it has been seen as a crucial step in providing food and oxygen for long space missions two out of fourteen plants doesn’t seem a huge success rate to me. Perhaps it is still early days but I would normally expect at least half of all seeds to produce plants.

According to this article meat grown in the lab would generate only a tiny fraction of the emissions produced from conventional livestock production making it a much greener alternative. Artificial meat, then could be an alternative for people who are worried about the environmental impact of their food but who do not want to give up eating meat. Researchers also believe that artificial meat could be the key to feeding the world’s growing population whilst reducing our impact on the environment. Analysts have found that lab grown meat would reduce greenhouse gases by up to 96% in comparison to raising animals and would require between 7% and 45% less energy than the same volume used to produce conventional meat. I guess the big question, however, is whether people would want to eat meat grown in a lab, particularly when people are becoming more concerned about where their food comes from and how it is produced.

I got a couple of lovely sea bass from the fish counter and Sainsbury’s and as it was a nice day decided to put them on the BBQ. The good thing about cooking them this way is that they need very little preparation and taste really good. The fish were already gutted so I put some slices of lemon into the cavity along with a few bay leaves and a nob of butter. Added a few sprigs of lemon thyme and rosemary from the garden and wrapped them in foil. Then you just need to wait for your BBQ to get nice and hot, before putting the fish on for about 30 minutes. Once it is cooked it just falls off the bone. Lovely, and it makes such a change from a normal meat BBQ.

The British Library has recently handed over 250,000 books to Google for scanning into the Google Books project. The material which includes books, pamphlets and magazines from 1700 to 1870 are in several European languages. All of the works are now out of copyright and will be made available both on Google and through the British Library. Google will finance the cost of the items which will be free for users to access although Google will be free to place advertising alongside the content. It will be interesting to see exactly what is made available.

A farmer in North Yorkshire has put his sheep to good use by using them to advertise his business. Blocked from putting up billboards because they distracted passing motorists on the A1 he instead decided to use his sheep. He painted the logo of his turf business on the side of 20 his sheep. They has recently been sheared so he saw it as a perfect opportunity, using a stencil to produce the logo. The only issue appeared to be getting the sheep to stand still.

That’s according to this article which suggests it can boost sex drive by at least a quarter. Sixty healthy men aged between 25 and 52 took the extract of the herb twice a day for six weeks. Their libido levels were monitored to assess any changes using a scoring system. Within six weeks their scores had risen by an average of 16.1 to 20.6, a rise of 28%. It is thought that the fenugreek seeds contain compounds called saponins which stimulate the production of male sex hormones. I wonder how it compares with other available treatments, it would be interesting if a simple spice was as effective as mass marketed alternatives.

This is an interesting idea from Tesco it’s a strawberries and cream sandwich. It is thought to be the only sweet sandwich currently on sale and has been produced to celebrate this years bumper strawberry crop. The berries are sliced and placed between two slices of white poppy seed bread which has been spread with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam. I’m not entirely sure that I fancy the idea but if you do they are on sale at Tesco for just £1.00.

The dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in the film The Seven Year Itch has recently sold for $4.6 million. The dress was part of a private collection owned by actor Debbie Reynolds. She acquired it in 1971 when she brought all of Monroe’s wardrobe from the studio 20th Century Fox. However, the upkeep of the item has proved expensive and with Reynolds struggling with debts she recently decided to sell them. The dress exceeded expectations to sell for far more that predicted.

That’s according to this article which suggests magpies are able to identify humans that have posed a threat to their nest and recognise them again. A team in South Korea made the discovery during routine research on a nest monitoring study. During this research it was found that when a researcher approached a nest he had previously climbed up to, the magpie behaved very aggressively. When someone approached the nest who had not previously approached the birds they would simply fly away. Despite trying to disguise the researcher who had previously disturbed the nest by having him wear different clothing, the birds would always identify him. American crows and Northern mockingbirds have also been found to have a similar ability. I guess the message here is, don’t upset magpies they will remember you.

This is interesting, it’s a 200 year old Bramley tree from which every Bramley has originated. The tree from which over 2 million other trees are thought to have originated is still growing and producing fruit despite having once being blown over in a storm. In fact Every Bramley grown today is a direct descendant from this one tree. Amazing stuff.

Frank Fox was a regular at his local pub, the Whitmore in Coventry, so naturally was devastated when it closed down. He salvaged the furniture and spent £5,000 creating his own pub in his back garden. After knocking down and rebuilding his shed, he now has a 20 seat private pub. The pub is open to his family and friends who make a donation when visiting. Any profits go towards the charity Help for Heroes. This gives me a few ideas for my log cabin at the bottom of my garden.

Firefighters in Wales were recently called to rescue this sheep which had managed to get stuck on the roof of a house. It is thought the sheep managed to climb onto a garage and then onto the roof of the house. It seems, however that it was unable to get back down again. Two fire engines were dispatched to the scene and firefighters were eventually able to coax the sheep down. The sheep was unharmed by its adventure.

This is how two men from Kazakhstan decided to transport a vehicle from Germany. The men had somehow managed to roll the car onto its side and put it inside the van. They then supported it with mattress underneath the car and cushions around the sides. The windows of the van were covered with newspapers to hide the fact that there was a car inside but the van was pulled over when police spotted it lurching from side to side. It seems the men had planned on driving the van 2,200 from Hamburg back to Kazakhstan. The van and car were confiscated and the men ordered to return with a proper transporter before continuing their journey. It s still not clear why they decided to transport the car in this way.

As a former smoker I managed to give up more than 10 years ago. Whilst it has been a long time since I have smoked I can still remember how difficult it was giving up. Eventually after many failed attempts at cutting down the amount I smoked, the only thing that worked for me was to give up cigarettes completely and even this took a few failed attempts before I finally found the will power to kick the habit. Whilst giving up smoking is never going to be easy there are a lot more methods available to help you kick the habit these days.

There seems to be millions of chewing gums and patches available that can help with the cravings and lots of guides on how to quit smoking but one of the more recent products available is the electronic cigarette. Many look and feel much like the real thing with others resembling pens or screwdriver, but they all have one benefit, in that they do not have the same harmful effects. The idea is that they simulate the act of tobacco smoking by producing an inhaled mist which is similar in appearance and often in flavour to tobacco smoke. It also has the advantage of being reusable meaning in the long run you also save money on buying the real thing. For these reasons it is fact becoming used as an aid for those wanting to give up smoking. As it is a fairly new product it is hard to judge how effective the product is and indeed whether it is possible to become addicted to the electronic cigarette in favour of the real thing. I guess anything that reduces the effects of smoke inhalation for those trying to give up must be a good thing. What do you think? Have you tried to stop smoking using electronic cigarettes?

A set of drinking glasses that are thought to have come from Hitler’s bunker are about to go for sale. The glasses feature a spread winged eagle, swastika symbol and the initials A.H. They will be auctioned in the US where there are expected to fetch around £8,000.

If you are a fan of Thunderbirds then you might be interested in the chance to purchase Lady Penelope. The 50cm puppet goes up for sale at auction shortly and is expected to fetch up to £10,000. The puppet has been in the care of her maker since the mid 60’s when it was  used in the series. It is an original and as there are not many left should be highly sought after by collectors.

One crop that has done really well this year is the courgettes. I am particularly pleased with them as I grew the plants from seed in the greenhouse and it is my first attempt at growing them. The plants are covered with flowers and we are just starting to pick the fruits. The fruits themselves are a good size, and whilst some are rather odd shapes, that’s the beauty of growing your growing your own vegetables. The question is now, what to do with them all? Do you have a favourite courgette recipe you want to share?

These cute little guys are tawny owls which have been rescued by the wildlife hospital St Tiggywinkles. Surprisingly the owls are not related and have all arrived at the hospital at different times. They have, however, formed a new family group of their own. All of the owls will be cared for until they are old enough to be released back into the wild.

Since we took on the allotment we have been steadily working away and from it’s beginnings as a bramble patch and we now have some crops planted and growing. When we took it on, I couldn’t see that we would have anything planted this year so I am quite pleased with the progress. We currently have potatoes, baby corn, sweet corn, runner beans and butternut squash growing. We have cleared the front of the plot and are starting to gradually work towards the back which is still covered with nettles. The aim for this year is to get the rest of the plot clear and dug ready for a serious crop of vegetables next year.

We have been at bit short on cute cat pictures recently, so to restore the balance, here is a pic of Oscar posing nicely for the camera.

If you have a bit of spare cash and fancy spending it on something a little unusual, then you might be interested in this article. It highlights two mountain peaks that have recently been put up for sale in the Austrian Alps. The peaks are being sold by the Austrian federal real estate company Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft. Potential buyers will not be be allowed to fence off the mountains or deny a right of way of them so it is unclear what they could be used for. If you are interested in buying them they are on sale at 121,000 euros, approx. £107,000.

Between the vegetable patch in the garden and the allotment I have my hands full at the moment but it doesn’t seem such hard work once we start eating the things we have been growing. This week we have peas, turnips, radishes and spinach ready, as well as the never ending crop of strawberries, which are really sweet this year. The radishes are just coming to an end and in retrospect I did plant too many, so some will probably end up in the compost. I did make an unusual radish pickle to use some up but the rest were mainly eaten in salads.

The peas are so sweet that they are best eaten on their own with the minimum of cooking required if you can resist them long enough not to eat them straight from the pod.

The turnips have so far been used in casseroles and in spicy turnip mash which goes with pretty much anything.

Spinach is one thing I tend to use a lot of and I think I might plant another rotation when the first batch has finished. I made a lovely spinach and ricotta cannelloni with it the other day and it’s also really good mixed with cheese and used to stuff chicken breasts.

I had another disappointing year with the onions, they just don’t seem to like the soil in the garden, so I think next year I will try growing them  at the allotment to see if I have better results. I am really looking forward to sampling the courgettes which should be ready towards the end of this week or early next. They are growing really well so we should have a good crop of them this year, I must dig out a few more recipes in preparation for the harvest.

According to this article some supermarkets will soon be offering incentives to customers to try and make them switch to sustainable fish. On Friday Sainsbury’s will be offering free samples of lesser know species to customer who request one of the so called “Big Five” fish, cod, haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns. Marks and Spencer will be promoting the use of sustainable alternatives in its ready meals and in frozen foods. Among the alternatives promoted will be coley, pouting, megrim, rainbow trout and mackerel. It will be interesting to see whether the promotion changes people’s buying habits. It seems most people are put off trying different types of fish mainly because they do not know how to cook them. Perhaps, supermarkets should be looking at adding recipe ideas alongside the fish counter to highlight what can be done with them.

This is interesting it’s a spider that lives mainly under water and only needs to come up for air once a day. The diving bell spider uses a web filled with air in order to breathe under the water. The bubble acts almost like a gill extracting dissolved oxygen from the water and dispersing carbon dioxide. This means the spiders can live their entire lives under the water. Previously it was thought the spiders needed to return to the surface many times throughout the out the day. It seems this in not the case, meaning they can remain under the water until it is safe to surface and avoid being caught by predators.

If you like wine (lets face it who doesn’t) and you shop with Abel and Cole, then now is a good time to place a meat order. They currently have a special offer running which means you get a free bottle of wine when you spend over £30 on meat. All you need to do is place your meat order as normal and enter the code from the website to get your free bottle. It is worth at least £10 and you can choose from red, white or rose depending on your preference. I am yet to try the wine but received one with my order today as well as a free bottle of organic tomato ketchup.

If you have always wanted a furry friend but suffer from allergies then there might soon be an answer. According to this article recent research could pave the way for a cat allergy pill to be produced. Researchers at Nottingham University have identified the protein that starts the whole allergy process meaning a drug that targets it could provide widespread relief. As the same protein also causes dust mite allergies and hay fever it could also lead to more effective treatment for these conditions as well.

This is interesting, it’s a story from Auckland where a mystical swamp monster may end up halting a building project. The project a multibillion dollar railway tunnel has been planned for the city. The problem, however, is that it runs through a swamp which is the realm of a taniwha. The taniwha  is a dragon like creature which plays a part in Maori folklore, using it’s powers to protect the tribe and causing destruction if it in angered. There have already been other problems involving similar monsters. In one incident in 2002 a development on a stretch of road was halted because it ran through the domain on a one eyed taniwha. The local Maori population have since attributed the high number of road deaths in that area to the creature being angry, however, the road was diverted around the area at extra expense. It will be interesting to see what happens in this situation.

This is Gator, a goose who is unusual because he wears sandals. Gator was adopted by Bob and Lauree Strouse who decided to make him sandals to protect his feet when they take him for walks. It certainly is an interesting look.

This is interesting its a towel that has speakers built into it so you can listen to your iPod whilst you are sun bathing. Called the hi-Sun it includes a removable soft cushion with built in speakers inside. The speakers are powered by a long life lithium battery that is charged through an integrated USB port. These are attached to a 3.5mm universal jack for your iPhone or IPod. If you want one it is available in blue, red, pink and black and costs £54.99.

A woman from Las Vegas has broken the world record for the most body piercings in a single session. Staysha Randall had 3,200 sterile needles inserted under her skin in order to break the record. I’m not entirely sure why someone would want to do this, it certainly looks painful and I’m guessing taking them out will hurt.

At first glance this looks like a tree but a closer look reveals it’s actually a mobile phone mast. Spotted in Worcestershire it appears to be an attempt by T-Mobile to make their phone masts blend into the surrounding scenery. Whilst the tree is not very convincing, when you look closely it does look more attractive than your average phone mast. In fact from a distance you might not even notice it.

If you want to lose weight but can’t drag yourself to the gym then you might find this article interesting. It claims that visits to virtual gyms in games such as Second Life can be as effective as shifting the pounds as visiting the real life alternative. A study looked at participants in a two week weight loss programme. Half followed a real programme whilst the other half followed an online one. Surprisingly all the participants lost a similar amount of weight, an average of 10 pounds. When looking at the overall behaviour of the participants, however, the online group appeared to have made more changes towards healthy eating and physical activity suggesting they might continue to lose more weight in the future.

According to this article a bottle of the world’s oldest champagne has recently been sold for a record price of 30,000 euros, that’s about £26,700. The champagne was one of a number of bottles that were found in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. The bottle of Veuve Clicquot is nearly 200 years old and was recovered from a shipwreck which dates from between 1825 and 1830. A bottle of champagne from the house of Juglar was also salvaged from the same wreck was also sold for 24,000 euros. Despite the price it fetched, the champagne is not the most expensive ever sold, only the most expensive ever auctioned.

A chef has created what this article claims is the world’s most expensive kebab. Created by chef Andy Bates it includes some of the finest agreements available. He has used milk-fed lamb from the Pyrenees, seasoned with the best peppers, olive oil, barrel aged feta cheese, purple violet potatoes and Coeur de Boeuf tomatoes. It is wrapped in a saffron infused flatbread and includes a tangy chilli sauce which uses Scotch Bonnet chillies and mint and cucumber yoghurt infused with King Grande Cuvee champagne. The flatbread is also stuffed with a micro-cress and bib lettuce salad and a oregano concasse. As well as including saffron and edible gold leaf the dish is presented on a silver platter. The chef created the £750 kebab after buying a kebab from a typical kebab shop and analysing the ingredient to see how he could improve it.

This is interesting it’s a solar power station that can also generate electricity at night. The Gemasola Power Plant near Seville in Spain consists of a total of 2,650 solar panels on 185 hectares on land. It uses mirrors to focus the sun’s radiation onto a giant receiver at the centre of the plant. Unlike other solar power stations it also has molton salt tanks which create steam to power the stations turbines. These can store heat for up 15 hours overnight or during periods with no sunlight so that the power station can continue to function. The plant should be able to operate for 270 days a year which is three times more than other renewable energies. It is expected it will provide enough power for 25,000 homes in the region.

I’m not really sure why someone would want a £100,000 BBQ but if you do, then there is one available. Made by BeefEater Barbecues it is plated in 24 caret gold with a Signature Series 6 Burner, wok burner, roasting hood and warming rack. Everything except the cooking plates is covered in gold. Apparently it was “purely made to see what we could do in terms of opulence, price and features”.

That’s the claim made by new research from the National Literacy Trust. The survey of 18,141 young people aged between 11 and 13 found that four in every ten boys did not own any books compared to three in every ten girls. According to research children who do not own books are less likely to do well at schools and less likely to have positive experiences of reading. I loved books as a child and could never have enough material to read. I blame this for my ever growing library but it probably did help me a great deal at school, as I would read anything I could my hands on, no matter how boring. I wonder whether something this simple is behind slipping standards in today’s schools.

This impressive looking boat is a recreation of Noah’s Ark. It has been built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers who hopes it can be used to teach children about the biblical story of Noah. He has spent around £1 million creating the ark after he had a dream about a great flood sweeping through Holland. It measures 450ft and 75ft wide and includes pairs of model animals. The ark is built on twenty five barges held together with a steel frame from the base of the ship. It also includes two conference rooms which when they are not holding animals can host 1,500 people. The ark may soon be coming to London as Mr Huibers has asked permission to bring it to the Olympic Games and moor it in the capital.

According to this article we should buy sunscreen with at least a factor 30, in order to prevent skin cancer. If the article is to be believed current guidelines from NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) which recommend using at least facto 15 sunscreen are flawed. It seems that many people simply do not apply enough sun screen, often enough to be protected when using the lower factor. For factor 15 sun screen to be effective, it needs to be applied at a thickness of at least 2mg per cm2 when in reality most people apply less than than half this amount. it would also need to be reapplied frequently, at least every two hours, meaning for it to be fully effective you would need to use a 200ml bottle every 2 to 3 days. I tend to always buy the highest factor on offer, I’m not taking any chances with my pasty white skin.

This cute little guy is a rare spotty foal which has recently been born in Dartmoor. The foal is the offspring of a normal brown Dartmoor mare and a Appaloosa Stallion. Unlike the other foals in the area, however, he has been born with this rather unique Dalmatian type colouring. Locals have nicknamed him spotty.

According to this article gardeners are being urged to create “hedgehog highways” in order to help save the creatures. Hedgehogs are increasingly disappearing due to modern farming practices, manicured gardens and road deaths. In the 1950’s it it thought there were around 30 million hedgehogs whereas today the number is less than a million. It it thought they could vanish from some parts of the UK altogether by 2050 unless action is taken now. The good news is that gardeners can make simple changes to make their garden more hedgehog friendly. These include removing a single brick from the bottom of a fence or cutting a small hole to create a hedgehog highway allowing the creatures to pass through on their nocturnal forages. Leaving patches of long grass, providing exit ramps from garden ponds and leaving out food and water can also help the creatures out.

I have read a few stories about spineless hedgehogs in the past but in those cases they appeared to recover from the problem. The hedgehog at the center of this latest story does not appear to be so lucky. Named Betty she has been in cavity since August last year when she was handed in to Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue in Great Yarmouth. She was and still is spineless which means she can never be released back into the wild as she would be unable to defend herself. She has even become frightened of other hedgehogs who don’t appear to like her because of her unusual appearance. Unfortunately if nothing changes she faces a rather lonely existence of the wildlife centre.

If you have trouble finding the perfect pair of jeans then this new gadget might help. It uses a 3D scanner to scan your body and then picks out the jeans which best fit your shape. The £35,000 scanner which was previously only available at exclusive stores is now coming to the high street and is on trial at the Manchester Arndale shopping centre and at Peacock’s. It uses 16 cameras to record 29 different measurements so that store staff can pick out the jeans that provide the best possible fit. It certainly sounds interesting. As someone who has problems finding jeans that fir properly jeans due to my smaller waist and large bottom I would certainly give it go.

This is interesting its a new treatment which gives you an instant boob lift by using Botox. Costing £700 the treatment is not cheap but it does claim to have no side effects and no recovery time. The technique which is being used at the Wimpole Skin Care Centre in London’s Harley Street injects Botox in specific areas around the breasts to tone and lift the skin. It is supposed to give the breasts volume and iron out wrinkles caused by sun damage. The results last around six months before you need to have further treatment. It gets a fairly good write up, but it’s not something I would be considering.

A group of fashion students have made these unusual dresses out of cheese. The dresses which took 1,000 hours to make have been made out of one tonne of British cheese. The outfits have been heat moulded and were sculpted into dresses out of blocks of Pilgrims Choice Vintage, Extra mature and Red Leicester cheeses. They have been designed by fashion students at Bath Spa University and were inspired by the meat dress that Lady Gaga wore for the MTV Music Video awards last year.

If you fancy visiting some UK based vineyards this summer, this article highlights ten which might be worth a look. On  the list are Biddenden Vineyards in Kent and Tenterden Vineyard, both of which I remember visiting some years ago. A few others are within easy reach such as Bookers Vineyard in Sussex and Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking, so they will be on my list for future day trips.

I was unaware until recently that divorce was illegal in Malta. The country which has recently voted to change the legalisation did not allow divorce making it the last European country to do so. People could, however, obtain a divorce from overseas and it would be recognised within Malta or they could seek a church annulment, a process that takes up to eight years to complete. This will now all change, due to a recent referendum in which over half of voters voted to allow couples to divorce after four years of separation. The issue has been under debate for a number of years but in a country where 95% of the population claim to be Catholic it will be interesting to see what the outcome means for the inhabitants.

This is rather strange it’s a diet being followed by some celebrities which centres around eating baby food to stay slim. The idea is that baby food contains very little calories and also very little added salt and sugar. The diet has become so popular that it has apparently been responsible for a surge in the sales of wet baby food with sales up 59% according to Ocado. Fans of the diet suggest that it is possible to lose as much as 20lb in six weeks on the diet when it is combined with workouts. It seems it works by replacing most of your meals with jars of baby food, eating as many as 14 small pots a day and one regular main meal of fish and steamed vegetables. It does seem a little bit strange and I don’t think I would fancy it, I suppose it depends how desperate you are to stay slim.

According to this article this is the world’s largest solar powered yacht. Called the Tûranor PlanetSolar it is currently on a round the world voyage and hopes to be the first solar powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe. It began it’s voyage in Monaco in September 2010 and has so far stopped in Miami, Cancun and the Galapagos Islands. the yacht cost 12.5 million euros to build and is covered in more than 500 square metres of solar panels which power two electric motors. It can reach speeds of up to fourteen knots and holds up to 40 passengers.

This is interesting it’s a type of bionic eye which could help people with blindness caused by retinal disease. The device which works as an artificial retina has recently been given the go ahead after it proved successful in trials. Scientists have said it marks a major step forward in bionic eye technology as it proves that electronic implants can be used to restore sight. As the device is not cheap, costing around £50,000 it is thought it will only be available to private patients, however, it is hoped it will later be available on the NHS. The device works by fitting an implant along with a radio receiver and electrode pad which stimulate cells in the retina. Patients can then use the camera to see light, motion and colour, as well as making out large objects and being able to read large letters on a screen.

This is interesting, it’s a mustard flavoured ice cream that has been created by Heston Blumenthal. Due to go on sale next month in Waitrose it will be the first savoury flavour to be available commercially. It contains sugar but instead of traditional sweet flavourings includes Pommery grain mustard making it both sweet and savoury at the same time. The ice cream is apparently best served to accompany main courses rather than as a dessert.  If you are interested in trying it, it will cost £2.79 for  a 300ml tub from Waitrose. Other flavours include Salted caramel Popcorn and Chocolate and Rosemary.

According to this article Asda is to bring back imperial measurements for some products. They will start by putting a 1lb punnet of strawberries on sale. The punnets will carry the weight in both imperial and metric measurements. It will be the first time in 16 years they have sold the product in imperial measurements and will be a test to gauge whether there is a demand for the change ahead of a potential roll out across other products. If it is successful measurements in pounds and ounces are likely to be added across their other ranges of fruit and vegetables. Since a change in an EU law in 2007 imperial units can be used as a “supplementary indication” alongside the metric ones.

That’s according to this article which suggests visiting the pub five times a week is good for you as long as you drink in moderation. Research has shown that drinking two pints or the similar units of wine on a regular basis can actually be good for your liver. In fact drinking in moderation can actually be better for you than drinking only occasionally or not at all with only excessive alcohol intake causing damage. Frequent but moderate alcohol consumption can reduce the chances of a fatty liver, the main cause of liver disease by up to 60%. Based on this, I’m off to open a bottle of wine.

4,000 miles is a really long way, especially when you consider that’s how far this little bird can travel.  The bird is a great snipe, a surprising candidate for one of the hardiest flyers in the animal world. Recent studies which tracked some of the birds using electronic tags have found that they not only fly up to 4,000 miles in three days without stopping but that they also do this at speeds of around 60mph. Three birds were tagged, with the results showing one bird flew 3,834 miles in 3 days. Another managed 4,445 miles in 3 and a half days, while a third managed 2,871 miles in just 48 hours. The birds were so intent on getting to their destinations that they would also fly over stopover sites when they were available, preferring to carry on their journey. Although other birds have been know to fly for longer distances, so far none have been found to cover these sorts of distances so quickly.