Sometimes I find myself craving good news, and this month more so than usual. It’s been a difficult start to the year; a dear friend’s child took his own life. It’s been a heartbreaking few weeks, and I’d like to make a plea to my readers; don’t suffer in silence. If you feel low, do […]
The joy of planting hedges. Birds will love you too.
The recent dry spell has been much appreciated, but the colder weather has turned my thoughts to birds. Bird numbers have been challenged over the last few decades, and they need our help. Feeding birds with bird feeders has become very popular. It is a great pleasure to see birds congregating outside the window. However […]
How to enrich the lives of children within our communities
The turning of the year always feels significant; we make promises we fully intend to keep, we think about the person we would like to be, which is usually a little less flawed than the person we actually are. Remembering Kim – a good friend who was always generous with her time My mind has […]
The psychology of change – how to communicate with friends this Christmas
This month has been a very exciting one for me personally, because our business, Railholiday, had the great honour of winning the Most Sustainable Small Organisation at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards. As my husband Dave and I headed to the podium, I had to do some quick thinking as to what I would like to […]
How to make Christmas a time of cheer
I have to confess I have very mixed feelings about Christmas. I have always struggled with the spend-fest and waste element, which I think for many of us is stressful. The pressure for perfection, and having the best ever Christmas, only adds to the anxiety. It can also be a time when loved ones are […]
Beachcombing season – and an opportunity to get crafty
It’s certainly winter storm time, and the beaches are, as might be expected, full of plastic washed in with high tides. This needs to be cleared as quickly as possible, before it finds its way back into the water to play havoc with fish, birds and other sea farers. Some of the plastics washed up […]
Greening your job – how engagement in your workplace can have positive benefits
I read an interesting article recently that suggested that we should forget about our own carbon footprint and focus instead on the places we work. I don’t entirely agree with the statement; I think our carbon footprint is something we own, and can do something about. By working on our personal footprint we can learn […]
25th October 2023 – Finding the right tribe
The journey to becoming more ecologically aware, and acting upon it, is a multi-faceted one. Sometimes it can be empowering; it feels good to do something positive. However sometimes it can feel lonely and frustrating. In these times I’m really glad for the support of friends who are on the same journey. I’m reading an […]
11th October 2023 – Greening the health system
Inspired by a friend I’ve recently taken up jogging, using the free NHS Couch to 5k app. I’m not a natural runner; I’d much rather be out on a bike, but I figured it would help me to keep fit as I could slot in a 30 minute session from time to time into my […]
27th September – Time to start growing food
I love autumn. I love the turning leaves, the gentle rain, the windswept beaches and the bonus warm days, but most of all I love autumn for the harvest. Nearly thirty years ago my parents planted two hundred apple trees, and two fields of cobnuts and walnuts. At this time of year I find myself […]