Organic-Ally

OK. This was supposed to be my first heart-warming story, but the Ferguson urgency took over. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30180472 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2847555/He-crawling-parasites-Sportsman-adopted-stray-dog-followed-Ecuadorian-jungle-wait-four-months-reunited-pet-recovers.html   Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30180472

Some time ago I said I wanted to start a 'good news newspaper'. I'm sure others have already done that. So, here is a story that warmed my heart. Except that that there is often more to good stories. Some years down the road, we may learn that all is not what it appears to be. Never mind. For now let us just enjoy: Chinese millionaire builds free luxury homes for entire village where he grew up The timing was also serendipitous as I had watched on 'catch-up' TV a programme about Tatler . This programme featured rich Nigerians in the UK, multi-millionaires. My meandering thoughts were just going: if only these multi-millionaires could spare a million or two for their fellow countrymen, how different would Nigeria be? Extrapolating this argument I think of all the ultra-rich Chinese and Russians which are flooding the west, buying up land and homes. What if -- WHAT IF -- each of these would just spare a million each for their fellow countrymen. What a huge di...

I was reminded to write about this after reading another news item today about PPI. Just last week I had an elderly client at the advice agency where I do some work present a letter demanding some £700 for getting his £1700 PPI claim back. Seven hundred eye-watering pounds for something the Client could have got for free. All he needed to do was complete a form to churn out a letter. Go to websites like Adviceguide , Moneysavingexpert  and Which . Worse still, this "claims handler" alleged that the bank had duly refunded the Client and so the Client should cough up the commission within seven days, or risk having bailiffs at his door. The bank however tells the Client that this claims handler is not even a registered claims handler. O dear! Meanwhile poor guy gets sucked further and further into debt while his blood pressure goes higher and higher. Were they a bogus company simply trying to frighten an old man into giving them £700? Who knows? If you know friends, ...

This has nothing to do with anything organic. On Facebook I read huge number of comments about people who cannot 'warm' to Pixie on Strictly Come Dancing. Well, glad I am not the only one who finds something about her so annoying. This is the opposite to 'something about Mary', as in the film starring Cameron Diaz, where there is something about Mary that makes her so lovable. I am not bothered with the argument/gripe that she had had dance training. She clearly has the benefit of 'muscle memory' to help her dance so well. She IS a delightful and competent dancer. If I was watching a programme about celebrities who dance fabulously then she will be loved. Full stop. I know little (ie not a lot!) of Pixie Lott except that she's a singer. I do not know what songs she is famous for, or the genre of music she sings. OK, I'm not really into popular music these days. Why don't I like her? There seems to be something 'put on' (fake) about ...

I had just realized a link from www.organic-ally.co.uk  is not working properly. This is because the original article is now being protected by a paywall although the original article was published before the paywall went up. The critical details are here: By: Anna Shepard Eco-Worrier Published at 12:00AM, February 23 2008 Q Is it better to use tissues or real handkerchiefs? A Hankies all the way. Kinder on the nose, they also save trees and reduce landfill. A tissue is a one-use-only product. Needless to say, if you don’t use the recycled variety, you are using virgin fibre fresh from the forest, which requires a significant amount of energy to transform into a silky-smooth tissue. Under Health and Safety regulations you can’t recycle tissues as they are considered contaminated. Composting them is the best disposal method, but I know that when I have a stinking cold the amount of tissue I get through would overwhelm my wormery. According to the European T...