Finding the chase and cutting to it

I am from the UK. That means many things but ultimately, we’re a discrete people. Quiet, laid back, we don’t like fuss. We do like to talk and share, but, you know, through quiet means. Eh, what, what’s going on? ‘Morning. Just about to talk about what’s happened since we had our gas meter removed […]

Black Friday is a relatively new thing in the UK because it has never been an opportunity for us to shop. I work full time, in the UK. We do not have Thanksgiving day, there is no bank holiday in November and, because we don’t have that celebration, we did not have it fixed to […]

I have had a pension with work since I was 18. First with the MoD, as a technician apprentice, and then with BT as a manager. It makes sense to save for the future. But the opportunity cost of me saving £1 in 1991 as a technician apprentice was significantly more than it costs me […]

Five years ago, I cycled 100 miles across London, into Surrey and back again. Having independently cycled to the station in Ipswich this morning, caught a train to London and worked a day then returned home, that seems a very long time ago. Which is a bit of a shame, because five years ago, I […]

The intersection of my worlds (diabetes. cyber security, developing interesting tools, cyclist, motorcyclist, skier, driver, keen walker, sustainable living, and cooking) leads to some observations. Not least when it comes to this term: lived experience. When medical studies are conducted and are published to the masses, this is the caveat emptor, your experience may vary. […]

Studies on the impact of ultra processed foods has been doing the news circuits for a while now, but while it seems obvious that highly smoked, reformated foods (e.g. corn syrup is often cited here), and packaged foods (pringles anyone?), we should perhaps cast the net a little wider. I love pesto: but it is […]

When my husband was made redundant in 2008, my wage was less than a third of what it is now and we had a mortgage. We had no gym membership, we had a relatively expensive house to run compared to our wages. But we adjusted and 9 weeks later, he had a job offer with […]

The temperature dropped this week in the UK, as the wind was coming directly down from the Artic. Today, it was 20°C, but on Thursday at the same time, the temperature outside was 13°C, with over night dropped to 4°C. That meant we got to see the heat pump properly in action. It worked really […]

If you have been following my blog for a while, you’ll be familiar with my love of automation. It is not necessarily a passion my immediate family shares, but working with them, we have a situation we can all see the benefit of and all have equal control. (If you are in such a position, […]

This week has been the first with the fully operational butcher’s block and much cooking has been done. From a tasty carrot and corriander soup, enjoyed on Tuesday evening after work and for lunch on Wednesday, to chocolate cookies. It has fulfilled its promise. Indeed, it’s almost too easy to cook from scratch. Since we […]