every year, around this time, i feel the pull of my catholic school upbringing. usually the approaching holy week would be enough, but in the middle of lent there is a partial solar eclipse over london. how can i not believe in god?
my class and i played outside from 10:30 untill lunch in the hopes that the clouds would break and i'd get to glimpse the eclipse. but alas, it was not to be.
every school in my area was closed today because of the strike, except mine. do you know why? because a variety of our teaching assistants, cleaners, and personelle are scabs!
although, they were fighting for their pensions and retirment age so we probably should have been more supportive.
but my class have too many egg/bunny/chicken/crucifiction crafts to get done by friday. we can't have a day off.
have you ever wondered...?
how long can i live on beer alone?
how fat would you need to be to become bullet proof?
why did pineapples evolve a fearsome array of spiny leaves that make the large, sweet and juicy fruit almost impregnable?
is it possible for a ground-observer to calculate how much water is in a particular cloud?
i am reading a thoroughly enjoyable book at the minute that answers all this and much, much more! 'does anything eat wasps? and 101 other questions', by newscientist magazine. the book is a compliation from the last word section of the mag...random questions and answers to life's mysteries composed by the readers.
i suggest you go out and get it! or i'll lend you my copy when i've finished.
lydia, with all her crazy musical posts, has inspired me to see more live music. and since i've been in bed with a raging flu/ear ache/cough/nastiness thing for days, it's safe to say i won't be starting my musical mission tonight. but what i will do is tell you all about the great music i've recently come t
o enjoy.
i went to a benefit show a long while back and fell in love with the musical guest, jonny berliner. i've completely stolen the picture from his site. at one point during the gig, his bass player made toast with a variety of spreads for the audience. and the myth of 'marmite, you either love it or hate it' became officially debunked, as some people in the audience were ambivalent to the idea of eating it on their toast.
he has a new cd out - a friend for all seasons. i haven't heard the cd itself, but when i saw him he played most of the songs from it. everyone should buy it becasue it's great!
all my london people, you can check him out and a crazy good pub.
4 April
The Abbey, 8.30pm
124 Kentish Town Road
rock out!
i met the lovely emer in dublin. she makes beautiful clothes!
check her out!
1 tb olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1t paprika
2 leeks, chopped coarsely
3 trimmed celery stalks, chopped coarsely
3 medium potatos, chopped coarsely
2 large parsnips, chopped coarsely
2 large carrots, chopped coarsely
1.5 c vegetable stock
5c water
1/2c couscous
parsely, chopped for garnish
heat oil in large soup pan; cook onion, celery, garlic and paprika, stirring, until onion softens.
add potato, parsnip, carrot, stock, and water; bring to the boil. reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 15 mniutes or until vegetables are tender.
stir in couscous and parsely; cook, uncovered, 2 minutes or until couscous is tender.
serve immediately.
my bag of couscous fell into the soup which doubled it's amount and it still turned out nice.
yum!
i just made a yummy seasonal vegetable couscous, i'll post the recipe later. the reason it is so yummy is because it is totally organic. ethical food just tastes better.
the reason i discovered this jem of knowledge was because my carbon footprint was 4.5. that is unacceptably high. so i picked a number from the quiz and decided to change my answer.
i picked number 2. so i now get a weekly grocery delivery that is completely organic, unprocessed and locally sourced. the organic delivery company is great! if you live in london check out if they deliver to your area.
i tried to get my family involved with small potatos urban delivery, but i don't know what they think of it yet. so i encourage the victoria people to try them and let me know.
which number should i change next?
"On 15th December 2005 the British Government announced a twelve week ‘public consultation period’ to consider whether and how to kill badgers."but, others think that,
"Many people consider that this consultation is a sham to soften our response to what has already been decided - a mass slaughter of a ‘protected’ native wildlife species."
i just woke up with the sunday morning bbc style show. it's a good program but doesn't have a website, so i can't share it with. it usually has environmental undertones and a green bias and today's show was about the 'fashionable safari'. the subject brought up all the moral and ethical issues of; fake fur, african safari, local endangered eco-systems, etc. one segment involved cameras following the keepers at paignton zoo in devon. what amused me was how much the keepers dislike the public.
i like the idea of conservation and research zoos on paper. but then i visit one, and i remember why caging up animals is terrible and feel guilty about supporting it.
but this zoo in devon has peaked my interest. is it the wide open spaces and natural atmosphere portrayed? probably not.
but, a weekend away to the devon/cornwall region could be good fun! devon has some of my favourite british countryside. and who 
isn't a fan of cream tea and cornish pasties?
and i could go back to the eden project. everyone should go there at least once. it's waste neutral!
i just made a sweet potato and chickpea curry! i got the recipe (and the picture) from treehugger.
YUMMY!
i just wrote code that changed my links on the right!
sure it was just a case of cutting and pasting....but i did it, and it worked first try!
this is fun.
this is the first post in my sparkly new blog! i've finally decided to get off my bottom and stop whining about wanting a website and actually get one. so we'll see if it works to my satisfaction.
fantabulous!
