PowerSwitch

May be a clever move, equally, to give someone else the profile - not to mention allow her to concentrate on what she's already doing as an MP without running the party as well. Which reminds me I must chase up joining it...

I'm in a rotten mood and things are a bit c**p at the moment, so I'm starting a Doom and Gloom thread. If you want to be cheered up, look elsewhere. As I see it, this Winter is likely to contain at least some, if not all of the following: - very cold weather, probably prolonged - civil unrest (riots...

Language, John!

The trick is knowing under what circumstances something will be useful, whether the item will still be good when that occurs, and whether anything widely available can do as good a job. Example: I freecycled a bunch of bubble wrap and packaging stuff as I can always wrap things in raw fleece to post...

I caught bits of that, and found what I heard unbelievably ostrichlike. "We need to tackle food waste to begin with" someone said. Oh good, I thought, some sense being talked... he went on "food waste in Mozambique - where much of what's grown doesn't make it to market because the roa...

Goodness. There's clearly a demographic imbalance going on somewhere. My single female eco-minded, political, capable, creative and practical friends despair of finding blokes to settle down with...

Much food for thought in the original meat of the thread, too. Thanks, guys...

I'm sorry to hear that, Andy. I hope you get safe and sanely through the bitter and find good things on the other side.

PaulS, I must respectfully disagree... or maybe I'm just strange, but we love our old oblong iron wedges, and have fun showing visitors how to split logs with them.

We use a set of three, slightly differing lengths and thicknesses. Fun for all the family...

I have seen even fairly sensible people go all bunny-in-headlights as Christmas Day looms on the horizon. They tell themselves they'll be careful this year, they make lists, they make budgets, they reduce their family's expectations... and then at the last minute they lose their heads and splurge mo...

Must investigate what the rules are on where you can be buried... I've been saying for years that I'm going to quietly keel over among the cabbage plants when I'm 94, and I want my descendants to dig me a hole and plant a native apple tree. My DS replied to this with 'Well, we're hiding the cabbage ...

You're a good sort, TT.

Love the bartering with you ma-in-law! (have also pm'd you)

Also a southpaw who knits right-handed... wherever you are, TT, chances are there are folks nearby who's happily teach you. Once you have the basic knack, the rest is easily picked up a bit at a time over the net, by phone, etc, but with basic cast on and knit, you can make fingerless mitts to keep ...

...had me worried for a bit there, TT! Hard to say what I do without when much of it is simply alien to me - others have listed the glossy mags, the makeup, the new tat and gadgets that some folk seem to revel in - never wanted all that anyway. Kitchen roll! Don't use it. Have a basket of hand-knitt...

Sam_uk, we have a PO-aware RSGB member in the household - pm if you want putting in touch!

I believe there's quite an awareness of PO etc among such folk.