Thought for a Saturday.............

''Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.''  Christopher Robin to Pooh

More despair...................... please read to the end of this

None of this is my writing, it's copied and pasted from an e-mail I received. Just the icing on the cake for me for a truly downbeat and depressing day. Will humans never learn?

What a ship....no wonder 'Made in China ' is displacing North American made goods big time. This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! This is one of three ships presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012 These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China ... They hold an incredible 15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam!! The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000. With its 207' beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals .... It is strictly Transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots. The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a China-to-California run. 91% of Wal-Mart products are made in China. So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods. The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded. The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours. Additional info: Country of origin - Denmark Length - 1,302 ft Width - 207 ft Net cargo - 123,200 tons Engine - 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP) Cruise Speed - 31 knots Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet) Crew - 13 people ! First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006 Construction cost - US $145,000,000+ Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year. A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY. Yep, that's right. We send nothing back on these ships. What does that tell you about the current financial state of this country? So folks, just keep on buying those imported goods (mostly gadgets) until you run out of money. Then you may wonder what the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job) in the U.S.. and Canada and even in Australia might be???? Enough said!!! This message, if any, surely deserves forwarding, doesn't it

Please read this

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/dispossessed/in-2012-thousands-of-children-are-starving-on-the-streets-of-london-7621114.html Puts a lot of the smug  crap I am currently  reading about children and food on the net into a true perspective.

Washing machine pollution

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.care2.com%2Fcauses%2Fhow-your-washing-machine-is-polluting-the-oceans.html&h=SAQGyp1pFAQFQl9BHcxzUpqKZzkDMjsp2c8xSxIuZ2QJveA Very interesting, and devastating for our seas and what lives in them. My own machine empties straight into a butt,  and I use the water around the garden for trees, etc. However, still got the problem of microfibres etc I suspect. A lot of my clothes and that of my family are natural fibres, but some are not. Apparently one of the worst offenders is 'fleece' - I really hate that stuff with a vengeance!  Dreadful invention. Am off to do more research and have a look at my clothes to see what more I can do. What about you?

The delights of early April

So good to be well enough to go out in the garden again :)  I've been up to see the animals, taking the dog with me; checked the greenhouse to see how things are after last week's first of the seed sowing - the beans are  on the move already lol, and the kiwi vine is looking in great health. Lots of tomato seedlings as usual, and I'll do some more seeds this week. It's lovely and warm in there, I could sit for hours just watching things and listening to the birds. The blossom on the fruit trees is stupendous here this spring; I thought the Merryweather damson was on its last legs last spring, with only a handful of blossom and half a dozen fruit - it's smothered in creamy white flowers right now, as are the other plums and the blackthorn. It's really pretty against the blue of an early spring sky. My little cherry tree is covered too, in a delicate pink - I might even get a coule of cherries this year! I picked the first of the rhubarb, and I'll have that tonight,  simply stewed with the juice of an orange and some real custard - the best way to serve such a delicate first picking. I picked a few tiny flowers too, to sit on the table by me as I work - epimedium, oxlip, a tiny spike of damson blossom and the beautiful viola labradorics - an exquisite little plant with almost black leaves, one of my spring favourites. This plant is actually still in a pot from when I bought it last year, down at the tip - how could anyone get rid of such a beauty? The colours of spring :)