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Spending a million pounds
To spend a million pounds. How is it then to spend A Million Pounds. From a very young age We spend. Pennies. If you were lucky You may even get a pound. Or we got a saving bug Or had a post office account And so we saved our pennies Pennies Find a penny...
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Silly use of countryside
An outsider would consider us silly the way in which we manage the countryside. Farming the most fertile land intensively makes perfect sense, we need to eat. However we also farm the infertile low productivity land as intensively as possible, paying...
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Hedges - A control instrument
Few things have helped create the look of the countryside more than hedgerows. Hedges have been used for a long time, yet for all their antiquity, much of the familiar checkerboard pattern they help create is of very recent vintage. Hedges have been used...
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Soil
To many, soil is meaningless, it is simply a hard surface upon which we walk. It is to be avoided and is often neglected, never given more thought than a glance at the footprint left behind. Others, however, marvel at the wonder of life teaming just under...
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Land is finite!
Land is finite! Ownership of land is always controversial. Private ownership in itself deprives others of it's value and accessibility, segregating the community which relies on it for survival in its broadest sense. Councils, you would have thought,...
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The Crusader Army was a mix of people
Crusader armies were made up of people from remarkably genetically diverse backgrounds, hailing not just from western Europe but also much further east, according to a new study that gives unprecedented insight into the fighters’ lives. The Crusades to...
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Facebook is a publisher
We should have never allowed Facebook to get away with saying „we are no publisher“. They are. Without them, these posts would never see the eyes of other people or they would languish in silence with 7 followers. Many private blogs have just 9 readers...
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Smart phone not so smart perhaps
Have you noticed what seems like an epidemic of people who are glued to their smartphone’s soft glow? Unfortunately, you are not alone. Over 1.8 billion people own smartphones and use their devices on a daily basis. Some studies estimate that an average...
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The downloading of music
Napster, Limewire, Morpheus etc etc etc allowed us all to download music for free and I agree it was wrong but it didn't take long for a lot of people to get really fed up with the quality of the MP3s they were downloading. I think it's Youtube, spotify...
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Rural radio
Rural radio in Niagara Falls with an expanding musical pallette, There was a tiny station out of Buffalo called The Lake. They were way up in the nosebleed section of the dial--107.7-- and the signal was a lot weaker than the other Buffalo stations. Sometimes...
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worms in the rain
I spent much of my walk across town this morning dodging earthworms. It has rained much of the past 24 hours, and the worms were everywhere. On the sidewalk, in puddles, on the street. Many of us have seen so many earthworms emerging after rainstorms...
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A Moral way of Shopping
A Moral way of Shopping Clean up Swap your soap dispenser and shampoo and conditioner bottles for bars. Water supply Carry a refillable water bottle with you. Download the Refill app to find places near your location which will allow you to refill your...
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Property ownership
“Thou Shalt Not Steal” is found almost universally at the core of religious commandments and secular legal systems. The implication of this is that property, and property ownership, are universally considered to be of central importance. And not just...
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Deepfakes
Thanks to the rise of “deepfakes”—highly realistic and difficult-to-detect digital manipulations of audio or video— it is becoming easier than ever to portray someone saying or doing something he or she never said or did. Worse, the means to create deepfakes...
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Lavender in June
Lavender in June . . . . . . It is a pleasure to have the aroma of Lavender filling through the room. Calming effect as the Summer temperatures reach nearly 30 celsius Creates a lovely atmosphere to read and converse with bosom friends Lavender is a great...
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Scottish blue grass
Bluegrass music is largely influenced by Scottish music brought to America and many old Scottish tunes have become common in the States today. Bill Monroe was of Scottish descent (though he learned to play music from his very Dutch mother and her side...
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Dumbarton Train Station
A wonderful wee museum. Found at the Dumbarton Central Station. A wonderful invitation. Here at the platform. So whilst waiting. We can learn. Monte Cassino was a major battle. Polish Soldiers were the combattants Second World war is one of many. Wars...
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Europe with Bison running Wild
The European bison, or wisent, resembles the North American bison, but it’s not as shaggy, has a lankier appearance and has curved horns that bring to mind domestic cows. There is a lot about the species we don’t know. By the time scientists and naturalists...
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Farming Land
It seems to me that starting from now we will have to re-evaluate some of our horticultural, agricultural and pastoral practices. For example, should we continue to irrigate large areas of wine-grapes, if the water and land could be better utilised to...
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Growing plants indoors
There definitely is a primal urge attached to gardening. It probably is more sensible to wear gardening gloves, but I still relish the feel of soil running through my fingers. When it comes to indoor plants, succulents and cacti rate high with me. They...
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Bluegrass ; The Scottish Spirit
The banjo is a far more subtle instrument than anyone wants to believe. Bluegrass has no history of protest music. Or rather, its protest has always been a passive, melancholic one, the sound of displaced workers longing for their home in the Blue Ridge...
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A smeuse
A Smeuse. To talk to friends and gossip. We still have many hedges in Scotland A smeuse is a gap at the bottom. It allows movement of birds. Hedgehogs, mice and many others. It is a great place for wee animals To hide from the rain To hide from an eagle...
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Potted plants in Summer
Potted plants tend to dry out more quickly than their in-ground counterparts. The small soil space and the construction of the pot mean the container stores very little moisture. In general, early morning or early evening is the optimal time to water...
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Potted plants in Summer
Potted plants tend to dry out more quickly than their in-ground counterparts. The small soil space and the construction of the pot mean the container stores very little moisture. In general, early morning or early evening is the optimal time to water...
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Sunday in Glasgow
A grand morning in Glasgow A big fine Scottish breakfast Glasgow wakes to the birds Warm and cloudy. Marvellous A stroll along the Broomielaw The whistling Clyde to my right Up tae the Barras in the East. Perhaps a Bicycle to there buy Then slowly cycle...