On Monday, it was my day off. My older son (just back from university for Easter) and I set out on our bikes. We went down to the sea-front, along the eastern arm of Shoreham Harbour and crossed at the lock gates. At Shoreham, we turned up the old railway line, now a trackway, andContinue reading “Why don’t I get out into the countryside more often?”
Tag Archives: ecology
Time to re-think energy
Yesterday’s referral of the U.K.’s six biggest energy companies to the Competition and Markets Authority gives us a choice between a bad situation and a good situation. The enquiry could take as long as two years. Already, investment in our energy supply is behind where it should be if we are (to use the over-wornContinue reading “Time to re-think energy”
Burn, baby, burn
The second biggest energy company in the UK, SSE, has announced a price freeze on domestic gas and electricity until 2016. Good news for customers for the next two years, then. That’s the limit of the good news in this announcement. Because of the expectation that this will hit the firm’s profits, they have alsoContinue reading “Burn, baby, burn”
Get thee behind me, shiny new bike
Here is Mrs Mabbsonsea’s shiny new bike. It was fair enough. Her old one, which had carried each of our 3 children and all sorts of baggage as well as Mrs M herself over its 18 years, had stopped co-operating. Here, by way of contrast, is my bike: It’s just over a yearContinue reading “Get thee behind me, shiny new bike”
Moses the Eco-Warrior
A couple of things I’ve read recently have mentioned the Exodus story in relation to climate change. Move over Genesis – you’re just too clichéd, with your garden and your God saying creation is good and, by the way, let’s not mention filling the earth and having mastery over it. We need liberation songs. WeContinue reading “Moses the Eco-Warrior”
Pruning
I spent a happy day in the garden, pruning shrubs and doing a bit of general tidying. Here’s one of my big fuchsias before: And after: They love a good prune! I wasn’t as severe as usual. I normally wait for the leaves to drop, but this winter’s been so mild that mostContinue reading “Pruning”
Winter flowers
Here in southern England, we’re not really having winter, just a rainy season. In the relatively mild temperatures, several plants in the garden are waking up early. This elder is coming into leaf (in mid-January!): Are plants like children? If they don’t get enough sleep, will they be crabby and crotchety all the rest ofContinue reading “Winter flowers”
Keyhole Garden
I have just come to the end of over seven years ministry with three churches in Hove and Portslade. Amongst the generous leaving gifts were some virtual gifts through Oxfam and Send A Cow: 2 rabbits, a goat, water harvesting, mixed fruit trees, a ‘Magic Muck Kit’, mosquito nets, safe water and 2 keyhole gardens.Continue reading “Keyhole Garden”
Leave the leaves
This is what an autumn lawn should look like: It’s not a very good photo, but you get the idea. The leaves are supposed to lie under the tree, rot down with the help of the fungi and bugs that eat them, and then enrich the soil to feed the tree. The blackbirds flickContinue reading “Leave the leaves”
The Animal Museum
I had a day at London Zoo. I was there for the John Stott Memorial Lecture, this inaugural year sponsored by A Rocha and given by Chris Wright from Langham Partnership and David Nussbaum from WWF. The lectures were very good indeed, but the animals were better. There were several parts of the zoo whereContinue reading “The Animal Museum”
Alex Mabbs 