It’s taken me the better part of a week to get my head around the events of last Thursday. I’ve read a few post-mortem hot takes of the situation, but I’ve come away with just one hard fact – Scotland and England are travelling in different directions, and the chasm is vast. I had a…
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Every year I assure my family that I won’t go crazy with gifts at Christmas, and every year they end up staring at me from behind a mountain of things they need to find space for. At the risk of sounding weird, I can see now that I was being a bit unmannerly. Saddling people…
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One oft-quoted definition of insanity is ‘repeating the same action again and again while expecting a different outcome’. For over three years, I have spent every day trawling news sites and scrolling through Twitter in search of that one magical fact, that single bit of enlightenment, that would convince a small majority of voters in…
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I am grateful to have played a small part in this podcast about Scottish Independence. It’s coming. https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2019/nov/14/election-2019-is-scotland-moving-towards-independence-podcast
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I’ll begin with a disclaimer: This does not taste exactly like a popular name-brand ranch salad dressing. I’ve come across so many disappointing recipes for plant-based alternatives that promise to be ‘just like’ their meat or dairy-based counterparts, but are nothing of the sort. That said, this is a really delicious, creamy, tangy, herby salad…
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It’s difficult to believe my mom’s been gone for over five years. In some ways, it feels like it’s only been days, and in others, a lifetime ago. I think about her every day. Her dear friend Drucie Brown remembers her fondly this obituary, and it’s an absolute joy. With space limited in the local…
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No one speaks about the benefits any more, which makes sense. There weren’t any. Brexit is the project of the morally-corrupt 1% who managed to trick a small part of the population into thinking they were all on the same page, yet those on the bottom tier either don’t know or don’t care that every…
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I missed the fireworks in Parliament last night as I was too exhausted to watch. I’m mourning the loss of a family pet, and thought it best not to add to my grief. This morning’s press is no surprise – the ramping up and inflaming of rage, prejudice, and discord. But death tends snap everything…
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This post will go up a few of weeks after the event, so it might not be news to my friends on Twitter, but today was a good day. My husband and I paid off the mortgage on our house eight years early. I am relieved and happy to know that if the worst happens…
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This is another hybrid hen, and she looks a lot like our cuckoo marens, so I’m guessing the marans is the ‘mar’ in marsbar. I’m only able to tell her from the marens in our flock by the spiky hairdo. The ‘bar’ bit of her name is probably from a hen called a cream legbar…
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Off grid. It’s a scary concept for some, but for people like me, it’s an aspiration. Imagine living a self-sufficient life and no longer being beholden to ‘the man’. It sounds quite hippy-trippy-60s anti-establishment, but there is great appeal in disentangling oneself from the clutches of societal expectations. To truly live off grid means digging…
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Is this not the sweetest little thing? She gives me cute rage. She’s a silkie, bred to be broody, but so far we’ve been lucky. She’s been a good layer right through the summer. Our silkie is a partridge, but they come in all sort of colours. They lay smallish brown eggs and are endlessly…
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Another hybrid, and a big one at that. I’m not sure what chickens were bred to produce the Goldilocks, but they must be friendly, confident birds. She’s a great layer, too – loads of cream-coloured eggs. Fancy breeds are great, and I’m always happy to have a few in the flock, but they are never…
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In case you’re wondering, she’s the black hen with the impressive earrings in the middle of the photo. Minorcas come from Spain, and can be fairly difficult to find. They were on the verge of extinction, but have made a comeback in recent years. They lay small white eggs. I’m sad to say this isn’t…
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I have no idea what breed of chicken this is, but I can say that they are the sweetest, friendliest hens. We adopt them from Homes4Hens once a year and have enjoyed each and every one. They’re great layers, but sadly don’t have a very long life after a year at the egg factory. But…
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