When a grape vine decides to invade your house, you can’t help take notice. Was this type of event the thing that inspired ‘The Day of the Triffids’ ? Watching a plant do something in a place it should really be doing it in is fascinating. When you stop and look at any plant, it is absolutely fascinating.

“Despite the collapsing economy, the rich are getting richer while the poor and middle classes are getting poorer.” Is that actually true?

It’s easy to dismiss Gary Stevenson as just another internet ranter—East London accent, a healthy love for the word fuck, and a tendency to sound like a conspiracy theorist. But listen closely, and what he’s saying starts to hit uncomfortably close to home.

Poo Hussle

I never thought I’d write about poo bags. But as someone who regularly walks two dogs, it’s one of those things you just can’t avoid. As a conscientious dog owner, I want a poo bag that’s as environmentally friendly as possible. I also want it to work. There’s nothing worse than a poo bag failing—and I won’t expand on that.

Barcelona & Norwich, March 2025

If you’ve spent time in any European city, you probably come back to the UK wondering the same thing I do: why do things just seem to work better elsewhere?

Before my son was even a teenager, we used to play with fire. Whether it was starting the biggest bonfire in the shortest amount of time, or creating the biggest bang using an old aerosol in front of a candle, which we would shoot with an air rifle from a distance, we always found ways to push the limits.

When you think of street dogs or cats, images of manky, starving, flea-infested abused animals aren’t far away. A recent trip to Selcuk, Turkey in October 2024, led to me questioning the quality of life dogs have back here in the UK .

July 7th 2024. A discarded milkshake container thrown out the window of a recently passed car was a timely reminder that even if the government has changed, the underlying culture hasn’t.

Every litter pick I do serves as a reminder of the culture we have in the UK. Whilst most people know littering is wrong, I suspect most think the solution comes from some council spending more on clearing up the mess. There are even some who feel throwing litter out of their cars is keeping someone else in a job.

Being told you are someone who ‘thinks outside the box’ is a compliment. Are people ‘stuck in the box’ and is that a compliment too? It’s a curious question. Whatever the nature of that box is, it must have an inside and an outside, and there must be a purpose in being in and out of it.  

The Angel Gabriel seems to take a starring role at Christmas. Despite appearing on many Christmas cards, I didn’t know much about him, so I Googled what angels were up to. To make “God’s message understandable to people and help them to accept it with a pure heart” seems to be the job title. The essence of this message is to simply love one another. In which case, there are angels among us. Over Christmas 2023 I had the great fortune to spend some time with one or two.

You’ve heard this all before, haven’t you? Hopefully, you’ll be as cynical as me when you just read it. Yet I believe I can save you thousands, tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds and make the biggest contribution to the environment. Want to know what it is? .

Some people do Soduko, paint, do jigsaw puzzles or watch telly, I enjoy fixing things. There is something deeply satisfying in extending an object’s life. Saving lots of money or the landfill it might have taken up is a bonus. It’s probably the same joy felt by someone solving a challenging puzzle or winning at Cluedo.

Considering the historical industrial powerhouse that Britain used to be, what went wrong? After the decline of Britain as that powerhouse, it transitioned from the “nation of shopkeepers” to what we have now: a nation of consumers. Judging by appearances, it seems these consumers consume excessively.

It started in the 70s with the birth of the health and safety culture. In the early 2000s the mantra ‘safety is our priority’ crept into public life. In 2023, safeguarding is the activity on virtually everyone’s mind who lives in public life.

This particular house in Norwich was one of 7 others the landlord owned just in this particular street. The landlord owned another 40 or so properties elsewhere in the city. All but one were privately rented out at suitable ‘market rates’. Although I thought 47 properties sounded a bit excessive, it isn’t uncommon for a private individual to own this many.

The UK is a leaky bucket and we’re looking in the wrong place to keep it full.

It’s clear the UK has some serious problems ranging from rampant obesity, poor mental health, demoralised staff, anti social behaviour and decaying roads. Are we looking for the solutions in the wrong place? That’s what this article is about.