GARDEN AND COOKING click on underlined for recipes!

I was given some beetroot – so will pickle some. my mulberries are nearly ready – jam? I am not sure I will have enough? Tomatoes are still doing well – Martin and Holly round tomorrow so they can fill their boots! i ought to dry herbs whilst the weather is good. Mints, thyme, sage, oregano and rosemary are all doing well. And roses – could I make rosewater for use in baking? I have lots of roses, and could I grow some from the hips?

I ought to make some more ciabatta and some lemonade with strawberries and ginger and mint – I might add a little stevia to sweeten if necessary.

Farm shop also had pickling onions on sale – so, whilst it is a bit early I will make some soon. I will also get some labels printed – not sure what yet? JamJams pickled onions? I have given up on picalilli after 3 years of failure!

I think now is the time to put the transfers on my apples – I will peel them off in 6/7 weeks and have apples with bespoke initials on them – cool. I might even get inventive and be rude!

SOME LIKE IT HOT!

A quick look at this weeks stories – Greece, Turkey, and France are among several popular holiday destinations in Europe currently struggling with devastating wildfires following record-breaking heatwaves. Tourists and business travelers alike have had their travel plans disrupted or are now reconsidering their journeys due to safety concerns. Travelers are left questioning their options as wildfires continue to threaten these picturesque regions.

Wildfires across Europe this summer have increased dramatically, with destinations including mainland Greece, Greek islands like Rhodes and Crete, parts of Turkey, southern France, and the Balkans heavily affected. Extreme heat saw temperatures soaring to a staggering 50.5°C in Silopi, Turkey, and reaching 44°C in cities such as Athens and regions of Cyprus, intensifying the blaze and making it difficult to control. New York and New Jersey are also suffering from flooding.

Santa’s reindeer are suffering in the heat! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/02/nordic-countries-hit-by-truly-unprecedented-heatwave

Beijing has had massive floods and mudslides are affecting Columbia and Venezuela.

TIMES HEADLINE

1 in 8 in prison is foreign born. FACT CHECK 1 in 3 doctors were born overseas. 1 in 2 builders were born overseas. 1 in 6 nurses were born overseas. 1 in 4 transport workers were born overseas. 1 in 7 UK business founders were born overseas. 1 in 5 university academics were born overseas.

ECONOMICS

Basically we have had low taxes for the rich for a long time and the economy has stagnated. TBH it is common sense – If you have a few million you buy everything you think you need and then … holidays abroad. Austerity shut down youth clubs and libraries amongst many other things. So raise the tax threshold and increase tax on wealth. My house has doubled in value in the last 20 years and has put homeownership beyond the hopes of many of the young. I suppose it is supply and demand? Cut immigration and house prices may fall? But that would require educational spending and a rise in tax! Doctors and nurses are in short supply – I am already losing the tread here!

So start again. Raising tax on the rich and wealth is sensible economics – austerity showed that the reverse did not work. Food is tax free – even VAT; whilst shelter (housing) is horrifically expensive. Cut housing costs and the welfare budget plummets.

Other news – Trump desires headlines again. He has raised tariffs on Canada again. The guy is a fuckwit. Maybe Epstein files are rising again? I am not a great fan of globalisation and capitalism – BUT – it needs to be stated that several billion people have been taken out of absolute poverty in the last 40 years. I would wish for a kinder economic model, one where people were put first along with the environment. So on the face of it Trumps desire to promote USA industry is great. However the wealth of Americans is likely to be starving people in the economically poorer parts of the world.

BAKING

I have had a baking fit! Lemon drizzle – very lemony!, cheese bread sticks, cheddar, egg, basil, mustard, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and toped off with parmesan, then a 2 ciabatta loaves.

POOR JOURNALISM

The shit mail manages to get a quote from a former Hamas hostage stating that Starmer is appeasing Hamas. I wonder if they paid them as well? Of course a former hostage would be biased – I would. But there have been deaths of 60.000 Palestinians – I wonder how many Palestinians could given an alternative view? Bu the Daily Hate just wants its readers to hate Starmer, Palestinians and thousands of others (especially Angela Rayner!). 14 more countries have said they will recognise Palestine – and Britains largest Jewish Group has spoken out about the need for immediate aid to be delivered to Gaza.

Meanwhile an extra 5 million age checks have been done daily by porn sites – How Mr Fuckwit Farage is that a bad thing? A judge has also allowed the founder of Palestinian Action to query Yvette Coopers decision to make it a banned organisation (which also resulted in more than 200 people being arrested; often for just displaying a Palestinian flag. hopefully we can keep proscribed terror groups to those who warrant it! I think that the only vandalism this group initiated was to spray paint on some RAF planes. Rather than repeal the shit laws passed by the nasty party over the past 5 years, it seems that Labour is using them to create even less freedom of speech.

WHY?

Why do the trash press love Israel. I know they want to trash Starmerat every opportunity. His statement is hardly supproting Hamas – and anyway Israeli actions are doing more to support Hamas than anyone! Even Trump did not object to the statement made by Starmer – I would object though – why wait – just take a lead and recognise the Palestinian state; like 140 other members of the UN.

Peter Kyle – do not apologise to Farage. Reform said it would repeal the Online Safety Act as ‘measures intended to push social media companies to limit false nd potentially harmful content would make the UK a borderline dystopian state. Yesterdays post regarding domestic abuse should mean that pornography should only be available with a credit card – Nigel should pay to have a wank! maybe Kyle should paraphrase Manny Skinner – not all Reform MP’s are complete wankers – all of the time – just most. I am not sure the Act goes far enough – but it is a start. Australia and its government that is not renowned for its Liberal tendencies has added YouTube accounts, along with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok , Snapchat and X are all restricted for under 16 year olds ; with fines upto 49.5 million if they fail to take proper precautions to prevent access by children. These, and porn sites make millioons in profit, exploit women (and men) and whilst measures should have been taken long ago, better late than never. it is also more urgent with the ability of AI to replicate porn with childrens images (as has already happened). The perpetrators and the companies must be held responsible. the harm to society as revealed yesterday is beyond comprehension.

I am not calling for censorship of images – however I thought the country had moved on from Page 3 in the Sun and Star. However male desires defy logic. No sensible male would want his daughter to become a prostitute of pornographers model – Incel aside. Perhaps we should go further and make te tech companies responsible for repeated lies – I am thinking about false information – AI should be able to identify repeated false info like during the Brexit campaign?

I will also admit to buying Playboy (with wifes consent/encouragement) and appreciating Page 3 models -but anything that dehumanises women should be banned! As with all censorship the difficulty is where to draw the line! – mid-century censorship was OTT. But I am sure something better than a free for all, and Nigel wanking over schoolgirls, is preferable to nothing!

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – Fucking angry!

data obtained by the Guardian shows that 41% of the 899 people arrested for taking part in last summers violent disorder had already been referred to the police for domestic abuse. Basically knuckle dragging thugs. Do as I say or I will thump you, I may even thump you because, just because! The 41% figure is similar to other research carried out by the counter terrorism police and Home Office.

What to do about it is the question that needs answering. Should there be a domestic abuse register, like that regarding child abuse? Should courts/police have the power to recommend/enforce attendance on anger management courses (like the speeding ones) at the accused cost. This is an issue much greater than immigration – the stats are horrific and I copy and paste below.

Domestic abuse is a widespread issue with significant impact. Data indicates that roughly one in five adults experience domestic abuse during their lifetime, with women being disproportionately affected. Police-recorded incidents are on the rise, and a substantial number of these incidents go unreported. 

1.35 million. The police recorded 1,350,428 domestic abuse-related crimes and incidents in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. https://www.ncdv.org.uk/domestic-abuse-statistics-uk/

A domestic abuse related call is made to the police every 30 seconds. 89% of people referred to our service seeking civil protection orders last year were women. Women are more likely to experience repeat victimisation, be physically injured or killed and experience sexual violence.

In England and Wales, domestic violence results in a significant number of deaths each year. For the year ending March 2024, there were 108 domestic homicides, with 83 female victims and 25 male victims. A concerning statistic is that 66 of these victims were killed by their partner or ex-partner.Additionally, 262 domestic abuse-related deaths were recorded, including 98 suspected suicides following domestic abuse. Women are disproportionately affected, with 78% of female victims of domestic homicide being killed by a partner or ex-partner, and 92% of female homicide victims being killed by a man. The risk of serious assault and death is particularly high for women after leaving an abusive relationship, with 38% of women killed by an ex-partner being killed within the first month of separation, and 89% within the first year, according to the Femicide Census. 

Key Statistics:

  • Total Domestic Homicides (Year ending March 2024): 108 
  • Female Victims: 83 
  • Male Victims: 25 
  • Killed by Partner/Ex-Partner: 66 
  • Domestic Abuse-Related Deaths (Year ending March 2024): 262, including 98 suspected suicides 
  • Women killed by partner/ex-partner: 78% of female domestic homicide victims, according to the government 
  • Women killed by men: 92% of female homicide victims, according to the government 
  • Women killed by ex-partner within one month of separation: 38%, according to the Femicide Census 
  • Women killed by ex-partner within one year of separation: 89%, according to the Femicide Census 

I am humbled and feeling guilty for being a man!

The likes of Farage think it is ok to support the likes of these people who abuse their families whilst condemning those who are escaping persecution and prejudice, want to become part of our tax paying and civil society.

FUCK ISRAEL

So they are having a limited pause to allow aid to be brought in – Is that before they start shooting children again? Starmer is recaalling the Cabinet – I hope it is not just to whip them into line – Palestine needs to be recognised NOW! he is also having a meeting with the war criminal Trump, let us hope he gets off his knees and stands up to the bully.

Police brutality? So a man walking home from his allotment is reported as having a knife, and the police quite correctly apprehend him – maybe with a little too much force. However rather than examine his story, and the fact that the Niwaki blade was sheathed, they took him to the police station, denied him a solicitor (they claimed one was nat available). He was only released after admiting possession of an offensive weapon and was released with a caution. What happened to common sense? Do people in Manchester regularly walk the streets with a tool belt with gardening items looking for a fight? FM! he even had a trug of produce with him!

Whilst on the subject of police brutality Dale Vince has called for a public inquiry into the “Battle of the Beanfield”. I am not sure a public inquiry is necessary we all know that the police went over the top – police paid out £24000 in damages and it was definitely a political act. 530 new age travellers were heading for Stonehenge and were attacked by the police. having said this I also believe the police have an unenviable job dealing, for the most part, with the dregs of society and the mentally disturbed. It has long been my assertion that the police should be allowed a free meal at any school at lunch time. They should avoid McDonalds and Burger King etc. Sitting down with students for a civilised chat would do wonders for community relations, be good’ish for their health and pockets (dinner would be free). They could be seen, and see, normal people in a relaxed situation. is this what the ‘bobby on the beat’ used to do in the past before they got tooled up in their cars with go faster stripes and lights? Cost nothing: Benefits potentially huge. And if they smell canabis they should ignore it – the strip searching of teenage girls should be treated for what it is -paedophilia !

Climate disasters continue anabated across southern Europe this summer. Huge wildfires are devastating Greece, mainland and islands; and Turkiye. The deputy mayor of Kythhera made an interesting statement which was not noted in the UK Press – he said ‘Everything, from houses, beehives (too) olive trees had been burnt”. In the UK we would mention possessions and tec devices, not wildlife and the ecosystem.

And for those with a surplus of runner beans a recipe.

WONT GET FOOLED AGAIN

and again and again! Immigration is to of the voters concerns. These are not reasoned arguments but the knuckle draggers opinions formed by Farage and his publicity seeking cohort. send them home is the rallying call; especially as they all live at tax payers expence in 5 star hotels with room service and have free handouts of cash to bet with. And the press promotes this garbage as catching headlines. There are not newspapers and advertising to be sold by undermining the populist shite issued. When was the last time an asylum seekers full story was told? How many are from Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya – for which the British governments of the past are culpable of creating a destabilised situation. We are guilty in other areas too – Somalia and other African countries have been undermined by government ignoring bribery and corruption.

What is it about the ignorant, often tattooed, individuals who think that their physique (large and white), gives them the right to act as judge, juror and even executioner of a human being who was not fortunate enough to be born in Western Europe in the 21st century.

Can I ask how many of the protestors in Epping and recently in ballymena and Belfast, have a degree, or any educational qualification? Yes I know this is arrogance on my part, but is a truth, nonetheless. Intelligent people do not generally riot on the streets and attack police and emergency vehicles; intelligent people do not attack hotels and private property with the motif being hatred or jealousy. The pen will always, ultimately be greater than the sword!

And all the while Israel is getting on with genocide and the physical destruction of Gaza. I hope the thick bastards …. oh… I just fucking give up! What is the point in arguing with a turd? I will still smell and alook awful?

Also interesting – the two guys who cut down the tree on/bye Hadrians Wall were pursued by the police who accessed their phone data and internet communications. And I consider myself an environmentalist – but it was only a fucking tree! And yet racist hate mail against public figures, most recently Jess Carter of the Lioness’s seems to have gone quiet? Why? I am sure clever criminals can cover their tracks, but the racist moron? It is unlikely! So take away his phone, computer, login details, and make public their bile.