Quote

No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.

Paul Coelho - The Alchemist

Recipe - Pumpkin Soup

So -its halloween. You've made a great spooky lantern face out of a pumpkin. So what on earth do you do with all the pumpkin flesh. This recipe is for a great soup. Try it...........



Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb of chopped pumpkin.1 oz of butter.1 medium onion, finely chopped.2 cloves of garlic, crushed.3 cups of chicken stock.1 tablespoon of tomato paste.1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese.Salt and pepper.

Preparation Instructions:

Chop the pumpkin into large cubes (not using the skin and seeds). Sweat the onion and garlic in butter in a large saucepan until the onion is clear. Add the pumpkin and garlic and sweat for a minute. Add three cups of chicken stock and the tomato paste.Cover and simmer for twenty minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Rinse a blender in boiling water to warm and blend the soup mixture. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.

Fruit Gardening in Winter

Growing fruit is one of the most rewarding aspects of having a back garden/ allotment area. It is also one of the most cost-effective, as fruit is almost always more expensive to buy than it is to grow. The Winter months, surprisingly, are some of the most active times for fruit growing. Here are some of the things I'll be doing this Autumn

October
Order fruit trees and bushes for autumn delivery
Prepare planting sites
Control weeds around established trees
Place greasebands around apple and cherry trees to catch winter moths
Pick and store apples and pears as they mature
Cut out fruited blackberry and loganberry canes and train in new shoots
Spray cherries, peaches and nectorines.
Take gooseberry cuttings
Pick autumn-fruiting raspberries

November
Plant fruit trees and bushes. In inclement weather, store trees in a frost-free shed or heel them in outdoors. Soak dry tree roots before planting. Plant firmly and at the same depth as the trees were in the nursery.
Prune trees after planting
Complete work on heavy soils
Clear weeds from around established trees and bushes.
Start winter pruning established trees. BUT NOT cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums or damsons.
Check that ties are not cutting bark.
Cut out cankers and control wooly aphids.
Inspect stored fruit, and ripen pears at room temperature

December

Spray all fruit trees and bushes with tar-oil winter wash when dormant.
Continue planting in suitable conditions.
Continue pruning
Apply nitrogenous fertiliser to trees grown in grass
Cut back newly planted trees and bushes

Hopefully, with all this hard work - the fruit crop will be excellent next year

Holidays - saving money

I've just come back from an amazing holiday in Italy. Staying at Caddenabbia on Lake Como. To celebrate, here is some advice on how to cut the cost of your holiday!

1. Book online and save time and money. Many airlines/tour operators offer a discount if you book via the web rather than by calling so give it a go if you haven’t already. Check out flights for under £20.00 on the Flight Checker before you go - http://flightchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/
2. Book off-peak and mid-week if you can. You’ll find that hotels and flights are much cheaper during the off-season. If you don't have children going on holiday with you, avoid half term and school holiday weeks as they are always more expensive.
3. Don’t be afraid of asking for a reduction from a tour operator. Haggling is becoming more and more common place and it makes more sense to them to fill a place for less than lose it completely.
4. You can save hundreds of pounds by using one of the low cost airlines to jet off to a destination and then taking the local train somewhere more exotic – and expensive - to get to. Just grab a map and access the local tourist office and off you go!
5. If planning to do a lot of exploring in your chosen country, check out if they offer any suitable travel passes., special offers, discounts etc Also, discounts are sometimes available if you’re a tourist, 65 plus etc.
6. Buy your sandwiches and bottles of water before heading to the overpriced shops in the airport. Taking a picnic from home is even cheaper and means you don't come home to rotten food after your holiday.
7. Booking earlier will always save you money - not later as most tour companies would like us to think.
8. Contact the tourist office of the country where you are planning to head off to and find out if they have any special offers going. They may even know of a new hotel just about to open doing an introductory deal, for example.
9. Make sure you don't buy your travel insurance from a travel agent - this is nearly always the most expensive option. Use a comparison website such as www.moneysupermarket.com to help you find the best deals. Also check out some of the money cashback sites before you buy as you may get cheap travel insurance plus cashback!
10. Finally - Make sure you book your holiday from a reputable ABTA agent. Anything without this approval could stain your dream holiday with tears rather than with suntan lotion.
    
    
    
    

Quote of the Day

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.

Ivan Turgenev

Beetroot and Chocolate Cake ( yes, Really!)

This makes a great Autumn cake and is a really unusual way to use up that glut of Beetroot!

Ingredients
1 1/2 ozs Cocoa powder
4 1/2ozs Plain flour
1 1/2 tsps Baking powder
Pinch salt
5 1/2 ozs Caster sugar
8 1/2 fl ozs Corn/ or Sunflower oil ( you can use light oil)
1 1/2 tsps Vanilla essence - NOT Flavouring
3 eggs beaten
9oz cooked peeled beetroot, pureed
4oz Plain dark choc (60% +), broken or crushed into small pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5 and grease an (7") round cake tin.
Sift the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix with the sugar.
Add the oil, vanilla essence, eggs, beetroot and chocolate pieces and mix well.
Pour into the cake tin, put on a baking tray and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Turn It Off!

Here are some ideas for saving money when using everyday appliances

• Turn televisions and other appliances off at the mains. Leaving appliances on standby still uses energy.
• Turn off your home computer when it is not in use.
• Lagging pipes can save £5 to £10 from heating bills.
• Energy efficient light bulbs are more expensive than standard bulbs but they will last up to 10 times longer which conserves significant energy. They are most effective when used for lights that are left switched on for long periods of time
• Try placing foil behind radiators. Household foil will do, although it is possible to buy foil for this purpose from DIY stores.
• Don't put furniture in front of radiators, but if appropriate, fit shelves above them as this deflects heat into the middle of the room.
• Investigate further draught proofing of windows and doors.
• Look into cavity wall insulation, condensing boilers and loft insulation, all of which could save energy or money.
• If possible, buy the most energy efficient products possible. Ask retailers and manufacturers for information, and look out for the Energy Efficiency Recommended Logo.

Tips on Saving Money at the Supermarket

If you shop at a larger supermarket chain you need to recognise that their main aim is to “make-sure-customers-spend-as-much-money-as-we-can-get-out-of-them” As soon as you walk into the shop you will be subject to a whole range of selling techniques that you are probably not even aware of. Here are some of the steps that you can take to ensure that you leave the store with only the things that YOU want.
1. Don’t EVER do the shopping when you are hungry! Most supermarkets use smell as a way of encouraging you to buy. The aroma of freshly baked bread is a classic selling technique. Some places don’t even have an in-house bakery – the smell is just pumped through the store!
2. Make a list! This is really obvious when you realise that most supermarkets put staple food items at the furthest reaches of the store so that you have to wander round the whole place to find them. By drawing you into the shop you are more likely to buy on impulse. Stick to your list!
3. Use coupons! If you love a bargain – go for the bargains that you choose rather than the surplus stock that the shop wants you to buy! Find vouchers, discount codes and other coupons on websites such as http://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/.
4. Look up and down! Manufacturers pay hefty premiums to ensure that their products are displayed at eye level ( or at child’s eye level) They pay more because shoppers will often not bother to check the other shelves, consequently these item are often the most expensive. Before grabbing the first item you see, take a few seconds to look at the upper and lower shelves. Similar products are placed together and simply looking will often reveal the same product at a much better price.

Great Websites to check Out

The following websites are all designed to help us save money as well as conserving energy and saving little bits of the environment. Well done to them .......check them out to show your support.

www.ecotricity.co.uk. Sign up online to power your home with Ecotricity through wind turbines. In the UK we have 40% of Europes wind resources.

www.evengreener.com This site overs over 200 items to help homeoweners conserve energy, recycle, create compost and become more water efficient

www.gardenadvice.co.uk A wide ranging site covering garden advice from growing your own fruit and veg to disposing of slugs without the use of chemicals.

www.lowimpact.org A non-profit making organisation which helps individuals to reduce their impact on the environment and improve the quality of their lives.

Recipe - Ratatouille

The best thing about Ratatouille is that it is easy to make and always popular. It can be frozen in convenient size batches and used as a basis for various sauces to eat with pasta or rice.

You can use any veggies that you are growing at the moment but the following is a basic recipe

Aubergines

Courgettes

Onions

Red or green peppers

4 large tomatoes or 400 g tinned tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh basil

Salt & Black pepper

Cut aubergine and courgettes into small slices or cubes. Chop the onions roughly, de–seed the peppers and chop them too. Skin the tomatoes by first plunging them into boiling water for a couple of minutes, and then removing the skins. Quarter them, and extract the seeds. Rinse the aubergine and courgettes. Pat with a kitchen towel to dry. Now fry the onions and garlic gently in the olive oil in a large pan until soft. Cut the aubergine and courgettes into chunks and add them to the pan. Add the basil, salt and pepper (fresh ground black pepper will give the best result) and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes. After that time add the tomato flesh. Leave the lid off and cook for a further 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Quote

"Wolves are very resourceful. All they need to survive is for people not to shoot them."
— Bob Ferris

Green Money Saving -2

Here are a few more ideas on how to save a bit of money and do your bit for the environment. Here are a few to get you green in the kitchen…
There are lots of ways to reducing the amount of energy needed to cook, store, prepare and wash up after daily meals.

• Keep fridges and freezers shut tightly and at the correct temperature.
• Avoid heat loss in the oven by keeping the door closed until the food is ready.
• Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl rather than under a running tap.
• Grow your own vegetables, or shop locally for them.
• Turn your toaster setting down by one.
• Unplug all appliances when not in use, or they will continue to use energy.
• Turn food and garden waste into nutrient soil for flowers and plants using a home composting bin.

Broad Bean Pate Recipe

The weather this Summer has meant that I have a glut of broad beans to use up and this is a really unusual recipe. Really good for any vegetarians out there!.


2lb/900g broad beans, shelled
2tsp/10ml ground coriander

2tsp/10ml ground cumin

2tsp/10ml turmeric

2 cloves garlic, crushed

juice of 1 lemon

4tbsp/60ml olive oil

salt and pepper
1. Cook the beans in boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid.
2. Place the beans and spices in a liquidiser and blend for 30 seconds.
3. Add the lemon juice and garlic, thin the mixture with a little of the reserved liquid, to form a thick purée.
4. Gradually stir in the oil a little at a time, until the desired thickness of pâté is reached.
5. Season to taste and serve with crudités or bread and a sprinkle of turmeric.

Quote of the Day 6

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

Recommended Websites

These are a few of the websites that I use on a regular basis. Most of these are relating the environmental issues and are worth a look.
Friends of the Earth - www.foe.co.uk. - This is a really well known environmental group and their website is comprehensive with issues ranging from Biodiversity to Real Food campaigns.
RSPB - www.rspb.org.uk - This website is from a UK charity working to protect birds and conserve rare species. Also concerned with climate change issues.
United Nations Environment Programme - www.unep-wcmc.org. The aim of this programme is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising the future.
World Wildlife Fund- www.wwf.org.uk - Another really well known organisation, particularly concerned with biodiversity and animal welfare.

All these sites are a good source of information for anyone interested in green issues

Energy Saving Trust Website

I can seriously recommend this website. Log on to www.energysavingtrust.org.uk to check it out. There are some really good sections:
An interactive, simple and understandable explanation of what climate change is and how we all impact on the rate of change can be found on the site. It is not too "preachy" and explains the science behind global warming.
If you do log onto the site - spend a few minutes completing a home energy check. Just by answering some simple questions about your own circumstances, the trust will give you a free, impartial report telling you how to save up to £300 per year on your household bills, and around 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide. If you prefer you can call 0800 512012 to get a paper copy of the questionnaire.
You can also search for grants and offers for your own house, just by typing in your postcode.
For anyone interested in the whole issue of saving energy, global warming or the environment as a whole - this an essential website to check out.

Light Bulb Humour

Q: How many surrealists does it take to change an energy saving light bulb?

A: Two, one to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub with brightly coloured machine tools.

Compost Recipe

I've been reading up on how to make good compost! This is a little different to my normal bedtime reading but I'm hoping to get some lovely brown organic matter to dig into my veg. patch next spring so I'll just have to grin and bear it.
Apparently I need to get a good mix of materials - dry and wet - to get the best compost. So here is my idea for a good recipe:

Basically I need to have layers of materials so I get the right mix - if its too wet it goes smelly and slimy, if its too dry it doesn't do anything at all!

Dry Stuff - Dead leaves, small twigs, egg cartons, scrunched up or shredded paper, cardboard, straw, loo roll inners, sawdust, paper tissues, hair, the contents of my Hoover bag! etc

Wet Stuff - Grass cuttings, fruit and vegetable trimmings, old plants, hedge clippings, weeds, tea bags, seaweed, comfrey, nettles.

Things to Leave out! - Cooked food, meat or fish, cat litter, nappies, perennial weeds, dog pooh, cheese, bread, large twigs or wood.

This type of composting is apparently called cool composting and should take about 6 months to a year to mature.

Of course I have realised that having just one bin does not work (doh!) as when this one is full of lovely compost - I shall need another to fill up for the year after - so, back to the internet to order another one.

5 Things to Do with 15 Minutes to Spare

Here are some super-quick things anyone can do to save cash, help the environment and make life easier in the long run.

1. Gather all your household bills and arrange to pay them online - it saves on paperwork, as well as the need to remember to pay them on time. Plus it saves quite a few trees, especially if you sign up for paperless billing as well.


2. Cast an eye over your book collection to see if you could sell any through http://www.amazon.co.uk/. Make some money and recycle paper at the same time


3. Choose any less-than-fresh fruit in the fruit bowl and whizz them together in a liquidiser to make a smoothie that can be kept in the fridge. Saves waste and check out the cost of a pre-packaged smoothie!!


4. Replace a broken light bulb with an energy efficient one - you all know why


5. Put 10 things in a pile for either the charity shop, jumble sale or car boot sale. Make money or help others to make money.

Recipe 2 - Gooseberry Cake

This is a good recipe to use up the last few gooseberries without turning them into yet more jam! Its also very sticky and gooey - sort of a cross between a cake and a pudding. YUM!

3oz/75g margarine
3oz/75g natural yoghurt
4oz/125g caster sugar
2 eggs - free range
5oz/175g self raising flour
1oz/25g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
10oz/300g gooseberries (tinned/frozen are OK if out of season)

1. Heat oven to Gas 4 180c 350F.
2. Grease an 8in loose bottomed cake tin
3. Beat margarine, yoghurt, sugar and eggs together
4. Add sifted flour , mix until smooth
5. Spoon into tin and bake for 20 mins
6. Melt butter and syrup together , add gooseberries and cook gently until just soft.
7. Spoon/pour the mix over the half cooked cake. Return to oven.
8. Bake cake for a further 30/40 mins until golden and bubbling.
9. Remove and cool in tin.
10. Serve cold or warm with cream.

Quote of the Day 5

This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

~Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Success!!

My first cash/energy success arrived this morning - courtesy of my quarterly electricity bill. I've saved £22 on my normal bill. These is very good news, and I put it down to changing all the lightbulbs in the house for energy saving ones and only boiling enough water in the kettle for my actual needs. These are the only 2 changes I've made over the last couple of months.
I'm now very keen to see how much more I can save over the next quarter. More news soon.......

Recommended Reading Plus 10 more Tips

There’s a really good book that has been produced by the Friends of the Earth which is called “Save Cash and Save the Planet”

Top tips featured in the book include:

• 
  -Fit energy saving light bulbs around the house and save yourself £7 a year or £65 over their lifetime. Switch to a green energy tariff and do the planet a bigger favour
  -Eat less meat – meat is expensive and meat farming is resource intensive and a major source of pollution
  -Insulate your home – draft insulation makes your home warmer and also saves money, while insulating your roof will save up to £180 a year
  -Use lemon juice and white vinegar to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces – and leave the bottles of bathroom and kitchen cleaner on the supermarket shelf
  -Join a car club and save up to £3,470 a year on the cost of running a car. If you are buying a new car, chose a fuel efficient model – it could save you up to £900 a year
  -Learn how to drive fuel efficiently, so reducing the cost and the level of climate changing carbon dioxide emissions
  -Take the train and not the plane. Flying is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions and going by train can be cheaper and may even save time
  -Buy less – swap and share items like garden and diy equipment instead
  -Reduce your rubbish – and make your own compost.
  -Save water in the home – have a water butt in the garden and a hippo in the loo
  
  Good Book! I'm definitely going to try to implement quite a few of these ideas.

Quote of the Day 4

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.

Cree Indian Proverb

Pigeon Attack Update

What with the lousy weather and a concerted attack by pigeons - my poor veg. patch is suffering a bit! I have constructed a particularly ugly barrier around my broccoli plants. Its a cross between a junk yard and a second world war Dig for Victory garden! However it does seem to be doing the trick and my plants are making a slow recovery.

I have dug up all my new potatoes now - approx. 30lbs. Great! Now all I have to work out is how to store them properly so that they don't rot. They do taste superb though. I shall definitely grow some more next year.

I have also just started harvesting some courgettes. They are a little pale - according to wise old neighbour this is due to lack of sunshine - sounds completely plausible to me. No problem though - they taste fine.

First cropping of broad beans and peas should be soon now. This is also a little late due to the weather, but I'm looking forward to them.

Quote of the Day 3

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards

Aldous Huxley

Where there's muck there's Money!

My new compost bin has arrived! I'm overly excited about this as I can now create lovely homemade compost at absolutely no cost to me!

My local district council ( North Devon) provide pretty comprehensive doorstep recycling services already. The following items can all be recycled:

Newspapers, Magazines, Catalogues, Telephone books, Clean old clothes, Shoes (in pairs), Handbags, Belts, Sheets, Curtains, Pillow cases, Duvet covers, Junk mail (no plastics) Glass bottles, jars, Plastic bottles (i.e. milk cartons, shampoo bottles etc, Food tins, Drink cans, Aluminium foil, Aerosol cans, Bark, Hedge clippings, Grass cuttings, Weeds, Cut flowers, Plants (no soil), Windfalls, Untreated sawdust, Wood shavings, Clean straw, Egg boxes, Cardboard (not with plastic attached) including food packaging and washing powder boxes.

This is very laudable, but I wanted to get even more from my waste. As my new garden efforts require some rich compost to be successful I decided to get a compost bin going.

They (NDDC) have teamed up with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) http://www.wrap.org.uk/ to offer North Devon residents the opportunity to buy discounted compost bins. The bin cost me £9 - free delivery and is a large 330 litre composter. This means that instead of buying a 40litre bag of peat compost at £4 every time- I can have free compost for ever. Now that's what I call a good deal!

I'm sure that North Devon is not the only council to be running this type of scheme - so it would probably pay you to check out your own council to see what deals they are coming up with

Growing My Own - 2

Well, even with this dreadful weather - (apparently this is what we can look forward to due to global warming - rain, rain and more rain!) - I have started to harvest some of my own veggies. Now, I'm probably not going to be able to open an organic farm shop just yet - but I have picked:

• Raspberries - loads, they like the rain


• gooseberries


• red, white and blackcurrants


• variety of herbs - basil, sage, chives, rosemary, mint


• NEW POTATOES - seriously - there is nothing better


• Variety of lettuces and radishes.

I am so chuffed - everything tastes amazing, and I feel very virtuous as there are no airmiles involved, no chemicals and it has cost me pennies so far.

There are lots of veggies that are still growing, so I'm hoping that the weather does not spoil them before there are ripe.

5 Key Ideas to Saving Cash the Green Way

Sometimes its really difficult to know what I can do to look after the planet, but at the same time save money. So here are my 5 key ideas:

1. Buy Less Stuff! It can be really depressing to see how much rubbish one person can create in a week. Take a look at the overflowing black bins on any street on any day to see the extent of this problem. So my first key idea is to stop buying so much stuff and try to re-use things I already have in creative and money saving ways.



2. Cut Down on Energy Use! This will include cutting down on electric and fuel costs in the house and trying to cut down the amount of petrol and oil I use in the car.



3. Use local food! I can cut down on the air miles that my food clocks up by either growing my own food or by buying food from local markets. If I buy food in season it should cost a lot less.



4. Do Whatever I can! its too easy to say "oh, i can't afford to buy organic food/ deluxe lambs wool loft insulation/etc" and then forget about doing anything at all. My 4th key idea is to do something, however small, to increase my green lifestyle. Every little bit helps



5. Spread the Word! at work, or through this blog, or just through conversations with other people. If only one other person does something for the environment instead of against it - I have made a difference.

Quote of the Day 2

"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."- Proverb

Aargh! Pigeon Attack!

Went out to inspect my small but beautifully formed veg. garden this morning. Could not believe my eyes - I had planted some purple sprouting broccoli plants a couple of days ago and they had been completely stripped. All that was left was a few sad stalks. At first I thought that I may have the largest slugs in the world but then Jim ( wise old local) informed me that it was pigeons.
My love for all creatures great and small has been severly dented - I am planning revenge.............

Green Money Saving - 1

I’ve taken my first steps to “greendom”. Today I received a box of 10 energy saving lightbulbs, and I have fitted them in every room, table lamp and lamp stand that I could find. It’s a little surreal to think that I’ll be 8 years older when I next have to change them – well, that’s according to the box!
I bought them from ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/) as there are several dealers on there who are doing some excellent deals. I had always avoided buying them because of the expense but these light bulbs only cost me £1.20 each. Plus they should save me £9 per year per light bulb in electric charges and cut down the use of energy in my home. They use 5 times less electricity than a normal lightbulb. Talk about a good deal!
It is true that when the bulbs are first turned on the have an odd dull light – but this changes quickly to a normal brightness, so I don’t really mind. They are also quite a strange shape – OK when hidden by a shade but look a little weird in a couple of the table lamps. I’ll have to investigate whether or not I can get a smaller bulb for these.

According to the Energy Saving Trust www.energysavingtrust.org.uk –
“If everyone installed just one energy saving light bulb the CO2 emissions saved would fill 2 million double decker buses. And if each house installed three energy saving bulbs, it would save enough energy to run the country's street lights for a year.”

What are you waiting for??

Recipe of the Day 1

I went into the local market and the fruit and veg guys had a seriously good deal on. A huge bag of bananas for 50p. Now - I don't even want to think about how many airmiles these little yellow buggers have travelled - but it did give me a idea for saving money.

Banana Chutney

2lbs bananas
8oz dates
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
3/4 pint vinegar
8oz raisins
8oz brown sugar
1/2 pt syrup from any canned fruit
4 oz chopped crystallised ginger
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons curry powder

Chop bananas into small pieces. Chop dates - put in pan with bananas. Add rind and juice of lemon with the vinegar. Cover pan ad simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours.
Stir in raisins,sugar,fruit syrup, ginger,salt and curry powder. Simmer the mix for 1/2 hour or until golden brown.
Put into hot jars and cover.

This chutney is sweet and spicy and is great with curries.
Don't be put off - making chutney is VERY VERY easy - and cheap - and uses up fruit that is past its eating best.

Growing My own!

I live in a very small village on the edge of Exmoor. This has lots of advantages and several disadvantages when trying to be green. One of the main disadvantages is transport - or rather lack of public.... There is a bus - as long as you want to catch it on a Thursday at 10.00am and return at 12.00 - otherwise zilch. This means I have to have a car to get anywhere at all. This is not particularly "green" and the actual car I have is even worse as it is a gas guzzling 2.0litre Volvo. I'm saving hard to get a smaller car.

One of the advantages of living here is that I have quite a large garden ( garden is a little optimistic - large patch of overgrown land is more accurate) and this year I have decided to try to grow my own vegetables and fruit. As can be seen from the picture (taken in May)I have adopted the little known practice of digging small patches and growing one crop in each little bit. My next door neighbour, Jim, a well seasoned old Devonian, thinks that this is hilarious and doubts if I will be able to grow anything at all.

Quote of the Day - 1

Another good thing about being poor is that when you are seventy your children will not have declared you legally insane in order to gain control of your estate.

Woody Allen

Money Saving Tip -1

I've added some elements onto my blog that fit in with my overall philosophy. First I've added Adsense and I've put a link on my site to encourage all you lot to add it as well. Why? - Well its a fairly cheap and painless way to earn a little spare cash.

Secondly - I've added a link to one of my favourite sites of the moment. http://www.saynoto0870.co.uk/ If you have, like me, ever got REALLY REALLY irritated by having to ring a premium phone number eg 0870, 0845 etc and then had to listen to appalling music until somone can be bothered to pick the phone up - then this is the site for you.

In order to save money on my landline phone, I have an "inclusive calls" package. Unfortunately this does not include the premium rate numbers often used by banks, service companies, utilities, etc. However there is a way to find out what the alternative standard number is ( starting with 01, 02 etc) - log onto this site. Most of the larger organisations have 0800 (freephone) numbers as well and these are also listed.

So the next time you spend 15/20 mins listening to middle-of-the-road musack at least it isn't going to cost you anything!!