fredbassett

 Friday is Theo day. We have our toddler grandson every Friday and hand him back Saturday morning.

This is a good arrangement for all parties.  He's at the age where he loves having books read to him and is starting to point to dogs and cats and say 'doh' and 'ca'.

He likes going for walks- we took him over the heath today, partly in a pushchair and partly toddling along on his own feet.  He loves picking up sticks and playing with them, the occasional fir cone also provides entertainment.  He's pleasingly interested when I show him buttercups and ferns, etc. and tell him their names.  Today, we went over the board walk on our local mini-bog- stamping on the boards makes an interesting sound that he loves to test out.  Fluffy caterpillars of fallen willow seed heads were duly played with and interesting grass stems.

We got back at just the right time to take his morning sleep (often quite a long one).

Granny and grandad are settling down to catch up on computer stuff while he's asleep.

So, I'm posting here, then catch up on a couple of morris-related emails, and then grab a snack. One of the annoying side effects of the kind of diabetes I have is that I've lost too much weight due to poor absorption of carbs.  So small meals between meals become necessary.

The catch is that it can be hard to find things I want to eat.  A simple sandwich is easiest, but modern bread tastes of nothing at all and has no texture.  I don't look forward to eating it...

I've just persuaded my nearest and dearest that we should try Riverford's wholemeal loaf (when did you last see a 'wholemeal' loaf as opposed to a 'brown' loaf - which is every bit as bad as white bread).

They're not cheap compared to a supermarket loaf, but how does it taste?

Very good!  I just tied a bit with nothing on it at all.  Tasty and far more texture than supermarket bread. But as you chew it, more and more flavour comes through.  Yum.  Not only that, but being Riverford, it's also organic and made by a family bakery.

Even at £4 per loaf, it's something I'm definitely buying again.  I can look forward to eating this - on it's own, with a little butter/vegan spread, or whatever I fancy. 

This is what I want from bread.   A texture that means it bounces back when you press it, that runny toppings like tahini will soak in rather then run off, and actual flavour!

Those who  love 'The Good Place' as much as I do will probably recognise the quote.

'The Law of Unintended Consequences' says that it's not possible to live a perfect life in modern society.  Everything we do impacts negatively on the environment or involves low-paid labour, unethical working practices, etc.

But there are some things we can do.

We can't win, but we can nibble at the edges.

Shampoo

Advertisers work hard to convince us that we need to wash our hair ever single day to keep it perfect, but our ancestors didn't have shampoo.  Shampoo didn't reach the UK until the eighteenth century.

I used to suffer from regular problems with my ears.  I thought it was earwax build up, until the lady syringing my ears said it was thin slivers of skin.

I wondered what was triggering it, and considered that shampoo might be a possible cause.

Taking a deep breath, I began cutting out shampoo at a week long folk festival - where so many people were camping that no one would notice if I was looking a mess.

My hair got greasy, but not as badly as I'd expected.  I carried on with the experiment...

After two months of not stripping all the natural oils in my hair and scalp, my body stopped over-producing them in an effort to replace them.

Over 30 years later, I still haven't gone back to using shampoo, and my hair isn't greasy.  I wash it with water, and that's all.  Brushing distributes the oils evenly and keeps it silky, but not greasy.

Another member of my family who went the same way, briefly tried shampoo recently, and promptly got dandruff (which they'd never had before).

Not saying this will work for everyone, but you can save a LOT of money, and reduce your environmental impact as well. (detergent kills fish).   If you do go for it, cut down gradually.  Reduce the amount of shampoo you use, and reduced the frequency of washes.  If you cut down gradually, then you'll avoid the greasy phase.  Maybe use some sort of tiny measuring cup to measure the amount you use?