Yesterday afternoon we went out walking under the blue sky and sunshine. There was still a prodigious amount of snow all over the pavements and pathways, although the main road was clear. We turned down Rumbles Lane, one of the back ways into the village centre. The lane was clear as far as the houses went. Once we were past the houses, however, the lane was clearly full of snow drifts, a good five feet high with a narrow pathway cut through at one side. In one deep drift someone had clearly been digging a cave. There was a bit of me that went straight into health and safety mode, thinking of the danger of the pile of snow collapsing on children digging a cave.
This morning I looked out of the window and decided there was still enough slippery-looking stuff on the pavement to put me off running. So I got dressed in cold weather gear, put on my boots and set off to walk round the village. At a pinch I probably could have run although there were still some treacherous patches. The temperature has gone up considerably. How long will this last?
On the Food Programme on the radio they have been talking about the need for de-globalisation. As we have become increasingly aware of the need to reduce ‘food miles’, in other words the distance that imported food travels, more and more people are preaching the need to get our food from closer to home. Some parts of the USA are very big on ‘on-shoring’ rather than off-shoring food production. And there is pressure to do the same here. Apparently even if we insist on strawberries in January it should be possible to grow them in heated greenhouses in the UK rather than importing them from the south of Spain. Well, I suppose some people MUST have strawberries in January.
One part of problem is that we have grown accustomed to having every food type all year round. We have forgotten how to eat seasonally. Another aspect is that we don’t actually grow enough to feed everyone. Ironically enough it seems that greenhouses are closing because growers can’t afford the energy bills. Orchards are being cut down because supermarkets don’t pay enough for the fruit to make it a viable business for fruit growers. And many farmers have just decided farming doesn’t pay and they have managed to sell off land to housing developers - it’s more profitable for the farmers!! What a mess! And what we really need is a global solution to feeding the world!
I get the impression that in the UK we are grinding to a halt. There’s the farming situation, junior doctors going on strike, teachers continuing their strikes because the pay offer is no good, sewage is going into our water and even football commentators are refusing to tell us what’s going on in televised matches! Oh boy!
I have, however, bought locally sourced rhubarb and baking apples. So we now have apple and rhubarb pie for dessert today.
I have come across a new word. Well, it’s new to me but I am told that it has been around for about twenty years. The word is ‘stan’ and it is probably a combination of ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’ - so a very obsessive kind of fan. It can also be used as a verb, as in “I stan … insert celebrity name of choice…”. Who knew? People who ‘stan’ Eurovision want to know why it has gone to Liverpool rather than Manchester, where we have a bigger venue and might have avoided the ticket problem. Not that it bothers me in the least.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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