A poem for Mum, who would have turned 80 on Wednesday 2nd October. Kerensa Aval Sometimes when I press apples it is your hands I see scooping chopped pips and flesh, picking wasps from juice soaked cloth, filling yellow buckets with pulp for the cows. Just as I hear your voice at picking time, hat […]
Grab a bag and gather your friends, it’s beach cleaning time!
This week is National beach-cleaning week, so if you do nothing else, do make a trip to your nearest beach with a bag and do a litter pick. The tides are exceptionally high at the moment, and with wind added to the mix, there’s likely to be plenty of plastic to collect. I’ve been a […]
Why cash is the new currency
Some time ago I watched a film on environmental issues in New Zealand, in which someone made an interesting comment. We are, they said, working simply to pay interest. Much of what we earn doesn’t go into wealth, but paying banking systems. There is a lot of truth in this; certainly my own outgoings include […]
It’s harvest time! Learning how to preserve fruit and veg will reap rewards
I love this time of year. It’s blackberry time, and I’ve got an eye on the walnuts, hoping I can harvest them before the squirrels do. Dad’s expertise in the vegetable garden means we are often the lucky recipients of home grown produce. Of course this bonanza doesn’t last. Our ancestors were well aware of […]
A new and dangerous precedent for the right to protest
In April I wrote about trial of Trudi Warner. Trudi, a 69 year old health worker had been arrested for holding a placard outside the courts saying “Jurors you have the absolute right to acquit according to your conscience.” A week earlier the GP Dr Sarah Benn was found guilty of professional misconduct. She was […]
Party time! Join the community celebration by volunteering to help
I live in the village of St Germans. We are lucky to have may highlights throughout the year. One is undoubtedly the St Germans May Tree Fair weekend. It’s a time when the community gets together to enjoy live music, tug-of-war, stalls and more. The weekend is full of fun; there’s a mock mayor election […]
On the love of education
It’s funny how life twists and turns. Before our business Railholiday became the focus of my days, I was a music teacher. After two decades of juggling two jobs, a family and a band I finally realised I couldn’t do it all, so gave up teaching to focus on the business. Recently I’ve started teaching […]
We can be heroes. Celebrating extraordinary ordinary people.
The other day I found myself in Truro at a solidarity event organised in support of the Restore Nature Now march that was taking place in London. I always find attending such gathering is good for the soul, as it is an opportunity to meet new likeminded people and connect with friends. While there I […]
It’s a win-win. Show compassion and solve a labour crisis.
I feel myself fortunate to have friends of all nationalities. Of these friends a few have fled from conflict. These include a conservationist, artist, musician, doctor, economist, chemist and locksmith. The countries they have fled from are as diverse as Iran, Serbia and Trinidad. All showed enormous bravery in coming to an alien territory to […]
Take the bus! On the joys of slow travel
Do you ever feel the pace of your life is too fast? Much has been made of the importance of slowing down. This trend has inevitably been monetised, with a proliferation of wellness channels extolling the virtues of slow living, with books and merch to match. But are we heeding the advice? It’s quite hard […]