It seems that being thrifty is a fashionable thing at the moment. The newspapers and television seem to be telling us more and more about how people are "making do" with what they have rather than buying new. Last year there were articles in the news about sewing machine sales going up due to people wanting to be more green. Now, as unemployment rises, people are instead using their sewing machines to repair what clothes they already own and make it last longer. When I first started this blog, I wrote of being keen to learn some of the skills that my ... read more
Here’s one I made earlier…
I found this article on the BBC news website earlier whilst surfing during my lunch break. It's all about the current "fashion" for making home made gifts Blue Peter style. Well, if Brad Pitt's kids are doing it then I guess it must be fashionable!Like all articles these days this one comes back to the Credit Crunch as a reason behind why we're all trying to save a few pennies at the moment. I do feel quite cheered though to see that there are children out there who still want to do things like this rather than just hanging around on street ... read more
Can a political correspondent dance?
It's a funny old country isn't it? Just a couple of weeks back the UK's media seemed to ignore the financial crisis all around us to instead concentrate on Sachsgate and the fallout of inappropriate phone calls that were made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. I'm not going to even start to discuss the ins and outs of this, but I just found it amazing that even Gordon Brown got involved.Now I see the media and some of our politicians are at it again. I walked past a TV at work the other day to see that the BBC had their Breaking News symbol up on screen. I ... read more
Delia’s Frugal Food
At a time when the Credit Crunch is making quite a few of us tighten our belts and the press are full of the doom and gloom of the UK heading towards another recession, many people are looking back to how we coped in the past - both during the days of rationing and also how we coped through past recessions.I see that Delia Smith is no different, and according to this article she's even being green in recycling one of her oldest published cook books; Delia's Frugal Food. Now I have to admit that I haven't seen a copy of this yet, it hasn't even been published as a ... read more
Land Girls and Lumber Jills
I'm always fascinated about the what life was like living in Britain during the 2nd World War, especially for those women left at home whilst their husbands and brothers fought in the military overseas. I was therefore pleased to see a couple of articles on the BBC News website today about the Land Girls and Lumber Jills receiving official recognition for the role that they played during the War. It is sad that they have had to wait for so long, but better late than never. The stories of some of these women are fascinating. I found this photojournal online, but I'll certainly be looking out ... read more
Hugh’s Chicken Out fight against Tesco
I'm quite disappointed to hear on the lunchtime news just now that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has failed in his attempted to get his special resolution passed at the Tesco AGM for them to improve their chicken welfare standards. I understand that Hugh managed to get 10% of the vote. Unfortunately Tesco had stated that he needed a whopping 75% for the resolution to be passed. Since Hugh launched the Chicken Out campaign I've been following his progress with interest. His television programme showing the conditions in which many chickens are forced to live certainly made me think again about ... read more
The Kite Runner
I'm currently off work with a chest infection, so on my way home from the Doctors yesterday I decided to call into my local branch of Blockbuster to pick up a DVD to watch. I'm not a big fan of daytime TV (a government ploy to keep unemployment levels down, I'm sure of it) or Wimbledon (which is all the BBC seem to be showing) so thought a film might be an alternative to reading (which I'm also doing a huge amount of at the moment). Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is a book that has been on my reading list for a fair while. I had heard that a film version had been made, but was pleasantly ... read more