The Labour Party Conference

I was astonished by the favourable press given to Tony Blair for his conference speech, as though this glib performance didn’t encapsulate all that we hate and distrust about him.  It was  precisely because of his slick performances before the Iraq war that the House of Commons was misled.  I think I speak for a lot of people in saying that I was not impressed;  more than that, I simply don’t want to hear from him ever again.  What planet are the British press actually on?

Hiveminder Blog

Hiveminder Blog

Get rid of Tony Blair

Oh god how I hate Tony Blair and how much I wish he would go, or be removed by his party.  There are those who hope he could be tried for war crimes over Iraq or that he will be drawn into criminal proceedings around the sale of honours, but it is hard to see either of those happening.  If he was totally deranged and committed a blatant crime that is one thing.  Otherwise so far as honours are concerned it is all tied up in the “nod and a wink” ways of the establishment.  Indeed the system is, as he seemed to acknowledge today, fundamentally corrupt in any event, allowing sitting PMs to appoint to the Lords party supporters who do not necessarily have any merit, and would never stand any chance of being elected.  It stinks, it makes me incredibly angry, and it makes the “cash for questions” sleaze of the Tories pre 1997 look small beer.

Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter

I was bemused to see Ann Coulter interviewed on BBC Newsnight earlier this week, and her seemingly childish delight at being outrageous.  I was not impressed.  But when she started attacking Charles Darwin I knew she was just another fruitcake.

Solar water heating

I have been experimenting with a birthday present which is a portable water heater – well in fact a portable shower.  It holds about 20 litres of water in a bag arrangement which can be laid out in the sun and when it gets hot enough hung up and the water drained through a sprinkler on the end of a tube.  Primitive enough but it does work, and I like the low-tech nature of it.  I confess I have not actually showered using it but I have made general use of the water in the kitchen.

London Natural History Society

I edit the newsletter of the London Natural History Society, and this weekend has been one when I have spent a lot of time going through emails and photographs then carefully working on layouts. At the end of the day the newsletter is not a triumph of design but it is I hope competent and readable, and I am always astonished at the dedication of membes who send in informative reports. And, I should add, some fantastic photographs. Brilliant!

If you are in the London area and you love birds, or plants, or insects, or the natural world in general, you really should be a member. Get in touch with me and I can tell you more.

(no longer in the role, but happy to hear from you)

graemelyall@gmail.com

Writely so

Oh my what a cool service, www.writely.com is an absolute must if you are someone who needs to write and edit documents from a variety of sites. This web based word processor is well featured and stores your work online. Brilliant. What's more you can use it to blog.

Making your own ink

Making your own ink

My first foray into this fascinating world involved collecting Elderberries in the autumn – not a large volume, but enough to part fill a smallish stainless steel pan.  I put in the minimum water I felt necessary and with the aid of a wooden spoon gently heated and then boiled the resulting mixture.   After a while I strained it and then reduced the resulting liquid by further heating it.   After it had cooled I added a little Gum Arabic.  The result is not entirely satisfactory, a bluish black ink of not very great density.  But it was a very satisfactory first step and I think I may be hooked …