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So, after six years living in North London a hop, skip and a jump from the Duke of Cambridge organic pub in Angel, I finally made it there for dinner this week…now that I live four miles south of the river.

The pub has a staggering list of awards and credentials, including being the only UK pub certified by the Soil Association; creator of the first fish policy to gain Marine Conservation Society approval; London Dining… Continue reading

We’ve finally got our shiny Eco Kettle up and running. We got it as a free gift from Ecoswitch.com when we changed our energy supplier to Ecotricity a few months ago; I’m not quite sure why it took three months to arrive but it’s here now and that’s the main thing.

It’s estimated that overfilling your kettle can waste as much power in a week as it’d take to light your house for a

I’ve just got back from a fascinating trip to Copenhagen – it was my first visit to the city and I was blown away by the commitment the city and its residents have made to sustainability. I visited several fantastic organic restaurants, including BioMio, where menus emphasise the immune-boosting, energy-boosting or libido-boosting properties of every dish, and even an organic hot-dog stand, Doep.

It was intriguing to compare the terms and concepts we use to… Continue reading

Last weekend, I was perturbed as to how exactly I could use the Swiss Rainbow Chard that I’d ordered in my Farm Direct box.

Following a helpful suggestion from Mr James Litston, I have this lunch-time pan-fried it with a little garlic until it softened (I cheated and sliced the tough stalky bits out).

Then I added two of my free range eggs from James Murdoch’s Duck Lane Farm, some salt and pepper, and… Continue reading | 2 Comments

I’ve just received my next box from Farm Direct and it’s another corker. Some of the new products I’m trying:

-  Free range eggs from James Murdoch’s Duck Lane Farm in Cardington, Bedfordshire

-  An amazing walnut and apricot loaf from Matt Jones’ Flour Power City Bakery in Surrey Quays

-  Red, green and yellow peppers from Ted’s Veg Farm in Bennington, Lincolnshire. Hurrah for these being in season in… Continue reading | 2 Comments

[This article first appeared in TTG]

Despite a thorough explanation from instructor Derek on how to hold my paddle and how to slow down and change direction, I was still concerned about losing control and smashing up my kayak on the rocks. But Derek assured me the kayaks were practically indestructible. “You might hit into each other, though – the kayaks have got magnets in them,” he warned us.

I’d have thought magnets would make the… Continue reading

A story about aquaculture on a North Carolina news site gave me food for thought. The journalist visited a research facility which is developing methods of artificially cultivating saltwater fish (aquaculture has been used more for freshwater fish to date).

In many ways, I think aquaculture sounds like a sensible idea.

• Natural fish stocks around the world are now dangerously low because of overfishing. By farming fish in giant tanks, we can reduce the pressure on

I’m now two weeks into my cow’s milk ban, and I’ve done pretty bloody well. Soya yoghurt is not too bad at all, and Alpro makes a tasty chocolate mousse dessert.

For cereal and porridge, I’ve had to swap from soya milk to rice milk, which is much more drinkable. And I’ve had to allow myself one cup of tea with real milk per morning, as I couldn’t finish a mugful made with either soya or rice milk, and… Continue reading

Eavesdropping on the Tube yesterday, I overheard an alarming fact that made me almost choke on my strawberry yogurt smoothie. A girl was telling her friend how she’d recently given up cows’ milk, after finding out “it’s full of pus and blood and all sorts”.

Hoping she’d made it up, I launched a full-scale Google investigation as soon as I got home. Alas, it does appear to be true – PETA has an entire campaign about it… Continue reading | 6 Comments

I take biscuits very seriously. A good cup of tea and a biscuit can be the only thing which keeps me going at half past three in the afternoon. They are a great source of debate – how much chocolate coating can a biscuit have before it becomes an item of confectionery?  Is the Jaffa Cake a cake or a biscuit? And why do they still insist on putting Bourbons into Family Favourites tins when no-one likes them?

Something… Continue reading | 3 Comments