More thoughts on fire and rain. How to live to an old age. Oat troubles.

I listened to rain beating down on the skylight windows this morning and seriously considered the idea of building an ark. After the rain had eased some I decided not to run but to walk round the village - most definitely a wellies and waterproof morning. The river was running full again for the first time in weeks.

It was so bad even the ducks were seeking shelter.

 

We’ve been checking up on a friend who lives on one of the Greek islands. I can’t remember which one. Fortunately her island is safe at the moment, despite having suffered a fire a few weeks ago. They’re still getting temperatures of around 40 degrees, which is far too hot for me! It’s a pity we can’t share our weather out more fairly. 

It’s not that it’s cold here, although the weathermen keep saying its unseasonably cool for the time of year. They might say that but I found myself shedding layers when I returned from the village with my bag of shopping. 

Here’s a photo of eight centenarians who all live on the island of Sardinia. I am struck by how alert they all look. 

And here’s a photo another Sardinian, Consolata Melis (seated, fourth from right) with her nine children, 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren in 2012, the day before her 105th birthday. She was 108 when she died in 2015!

 

There must be something in the water of Perdasdefogu, the village where the eight in the photo come from. In Italy as a whole the number of centenarians is rising (17,35 as of January 1st 2021) but Sardinia is one of five regions in the world with high concentrations of centenarians. There are 534 people who are 100 or older, or 33.6 for every 100,000 inhabitants. Amazing!

“There is of course the fresh air and the good food, but I believe one of the reasons for their longevity is their approach to stress,” said Luisa Salaris, a demographics professor at the University of Cagliari. “They were born 100 years ago and certainly didn’t have an easy life – there would have been hunger and war. But they are people who have managed to adapt – if there’s a problem, they solve it quickly.”

That doesn’t bode well for our reportedly very stressed younger generations. 

“Everything we ate came from the garden,” said one of the Perdasdefogu centenarians.  “What you put into your stomach is so important – if you abuse the stomach, it doesn’t resist.” No MacDonalds for them then!

I bet they don’t eat and drink fad foods either. 

Now, it seems that things don’t always run smoothly among the fad food producers. A small family company in Cambridgeshire found themselves being sued by a larger Swedish Company, Oatly, who make oat milk. The Cambridgeshire peope started selling oat milk under the name Pureoaty. Too close to Oatly, claimed the Swedes, and their packaging was similar! But a judge has deemed such claims to be unjustified.

A spokesperson for Oatly, who are not appealing the decision, said: “While to some this might be seen as vindication for small oat drink companies over big oat drink companies, we actually never saw it that way.

“For us, this case has always been about protecting our trademark … If we were to let one company pass because they, like Glebe Farm, seem to be one of the good guys, that might leave the door open for the bad ones.

“Truth is, we love all oat drink companies and never brought this case to damage Glebe Farm.

“In fact, we want them to thrive and help bring products into the world that are good for the planet.

“We just think they should do so in their own unique voice, just like we do.”

That’s all right then. I’m all for protecting the planet and so far I’ve not heard that overproduction of oats is a problem, unlike some other fad foods.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!