February 25th

Today, BBC News remembers the shelter ordinary people used during the bombing of London. War is a terrible thing, which I won't talk about. At the time, I lived safe and free in South Australia.

February 25, 1940: With the Second World War in full flow on this day in 1940, the Anderson air raid shelter was make public across Britain to protect civilians from the constant bombing. Constructed from corrugated iron and covered with earth, the first 'Andersons' appeared in Islington, North London. Two-point-five million shelters were used in Britain during the conflict. Click here to see old Pathe wartime footage about the shelter.

bearseverywhere.com

My husband lived with his mother in Inslington during this time while his father was away fighting. At about four years old, with a younger brother, he was sent away to live with strangers like all the other children in London. At the assembly point, they wore name tickets pinned to their shirts or around their necks like Paddington Bear.

However, little B didn't meet a good fete. His host family often locked them in a cupboard for hours when they were naughty. He still has nightmares about being confined in a dark space.

His mother took them back to London, where they survived despite close buildings vanishing into rubble overnight. He tells me stories of playing on bomb sites. On one occasion, he and his friends took turns to slide down an unexploded bomb until a warden found them and sent them away.

bombsite.org

Little B didn't live in a house with a garden big enough for an Anderson shelter. The family rented one floor of a large converted Victorian building. They used the underground train stations during air raids. When the siren wailed everyone would gather supplies and head for their closest entrance. Little B spent a lot of time underground—often sleeping there. Sometimes, his mother would rush outside and return with food—at great risk to herself.

Big B is a self-reliant man who takes care of me, shops, cleans, plans the meals and cooks without complaint. I put that down to his survival skills. He's still strong, fit and filled with enthusiasm after living for 74 years.

Do you think life's tests make us stronger people?

February 24th

Could positive thoughts help achieve stability in the permafrost melt? Of course, first you have to believe in the power of thoughts, of prayers, and that you could move a mountain if you put your mind to it.

dailymail.co.uk

In varying degrees, and within our own limits of understanding, we all care about the state of the world's resources. I respect the living planet, and every form of life that plays a part in keeping it healthy—most of all the trees.

Cave data has sparked new interest in a Siberian permafrost thaw. The permafrost frontier refers to where ground begins to be permanently frozen in layers that can be tens to hundreds of metres thick. These formations record 500,000 years of changing permafrost conditions—including warmer periods similar to the climate of today.

As early as 2004, explorers noted that Earth's permafrost had started to squelch. Siberia's rapid snow thaw caused alarm in 2005. Methane release looked stronger in 2010, Arctic melt released ancient gas in 2012, and in January this year, the news was released that soot played a big part in global warming.

Scientists say that particles from diesel engines and wood burning could be having twice as much warming effect as assessed in past estimates. Black carbon is said to be a significant source of rapid warming in the northern United States, Canada, northern Europe and northern Asia. The particles also have an impact on rainfall patterns in the Asian monsoon. 

bbc.co.uk

What with continuing war throughout the world, comets hitting Russia, and ice melting to change the climate, our planet doesn't seem a very stable place at the moment.

Apparently, spiritual people live along the San Andreas Fault line, specifically to meditate and keep the area secure. For the last thirty years, I've included a wish for the trees to take the goodness from the earth and spread it into the atmosphere to protect our Earth during my morning meditations.

Let the scientists and environmentalists work out the specifics of how to reduce carbon emissions. Maybe if we all sent daily positive thoughts to our planet, we could achieve stability in these changing times.

February 23rd

Several things link in the news today: Child porn is increasing, hackers have invaded some Microsoft computers, and nuclear plant at Washington is leaking. Each listing is about contamination.

gardian.co.uk

A story of corruption: In the UK, Police have detected a 48% increase in the last four years of internet child pornography images. The Home Office said it was working with the police and industry to make the internet a safer place. I couldn't read the whole article. What is the male psychology that makes them view this imagery? It's not just a few sick men, it's a much larger number.

A story of contagion: In a blog post, Microsoft announced that a small number of its computers had recently been deliberately infected with malicious software and linked it to the facebook attack originating in China. The firm said it found no evidence that any customer data had been accessed, but an investigation is continuing.

dreamstime.com

A story of pollution: Six underground storage tanks at a nuclear site in the US state of Washington are leaking, authorities say. It was produced as part of America's bid to build the world's first nuclear weapon during World War II. The site produced the plutonium for the bomb that was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Production at Hanford continued until 1989.

Now, Nearly 200 ageing containers hold millions of litres of radioactive waste left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons. There is no immediate threat to health and plans are in operation to make the fuel safe and store it deep underground in stainless containers. Worrying times.

Shame on mankind for trying to invade other countries, causing that population to defend and protect in a way that sends horror through us, even now. Shame on people who hack into computers and spread infection just for the fun of it, causing misery and worry to those people whose processors are affected. Shame on male predators who strip innocence from children for their own selfish desires. The effects on those children will last their whole lives.

But we're just ordinary people, doing the best we can in our own life. Rather than condemn, let's respect the best in man—shrug off the bullies and live our life in joy—appreciate the wonder and beauty around us. Despite the light snow falling outside my warm study window, tiny leaves have formed on the thorny twigs of the Queen Elizabeth rose.

February 22nd

Can we justify irresponsible, rash, foolish acts if they're done with good intentions?

A publican has been prosecuted and fined after 'nuns' were caught drinking after hours at an Irish pub. However, these weren't holy sisters, but people dressed in their full habit to raise money for charity. Apparently, there were too few taxis to transport the 'nuns' home after the event.

BBC News - lundiphoto.com

In July 2012, 1,436 adults made a holy show of themselves at a sports ground in the small town of Listowel, Ireland. The volunteers donned nuns' outfits and gathered in the field, where they were counted by officials of the Guinness Book of World Records and deemed a new record.

The fund-raising idea came from a County Kerry couple who had lost their son to suicide. The event was staged for Pieta House, a charity to raise awareness for self-harm and suicide victims. 

Because it was for charity, the local priest and sisters at the convent gave their blessing for this wacky event.

On the one hand, human nature delights in having fun. On the other, there is so much to respect and care for on the planet that this type of behavior seems irrelevant and irreverent.

Where do you stand?

February 21st

Is old-style self-sufficiency making a come-back? Remember The Good Life? 

telegraph.co.uk

With the death of comedian Richard Briars, we recall a British seventies sitcom, The Good Life. I met Richard Briars fifteen years ago when I worked in a tea-room close to his home and mine in Radlet. I found him to be a charming, if reclusive man. The television show, which struck a chord in the seventies, was voted the ninth best of all time by the British public in 2004. See the BBC News item here.

 

The main character quits his job on his 40th birthday. Frustrated by office life, he decides to live a completely self-sufficient existence with his wife. They transform their suburban garden into an allotment. They make their own electricity and wine and house chickens, pigs, and even a goat in their suburban garden.

 My life took the same turn in the seventies when my ex-husband suffered a nervous breakdown. He left his advertising job and we moved to the small fishing village of Robe, South Australia offered by my father-in-law. Sure enough, my ex found working surrounded by sand dunes gave him the peace he needed to heal. We raised fowl of all types, cared for several colored sheep and sold our vegetable produce and spun wool in our craft shop cum tea-room.

The movement has since gone through an almost thirty year cycle, with a resurgence in recent years.

urbanhomestead.org

On facebook, people share photos under the heading, Grow Food Not Lawns. I love seeing the inventive ways people grow produce, sometimes inside greenhouses with walls built from plastic bottles, on windowsills, or outside in old bathtubs.

Earlier precedents had been set before The Good Life became so popular. The Dig for Victory campaign during World War II encouraged the whole country to grow their own food and peaked at nearly one and a half million allotments. This was because of the terrible wartime shortages and naval blockades. 

Nowadays, most suburbs still run allotments where people can grow their vegetables. Part of a field is fenced off down the road from me, set out with rows ready for spring planting. It's a great community activity and worthwhile although there is usually a waiting list for space. 

Growing your own vegetables could be the best way to make ends meet in these times of spiraling food costs.