2024-03-14 14:10
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A Possible World Blog
everdifferentwaters.blogspot.co.uk
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edible leaves
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fossilfuel powered
jerusalem artichokes
chromebook
“While modern capitalism constantly develops new needs in order to increase consumption, people’s dissatisfaction remains the same as ever. Their lives no longer have any meaning beyond a rush to consume, and this consumption is used to justify the increasingly radical frustration of any creative activity or genuine human initiative — to the point that people no longer even see this lack of meaning as important.†- Pierre Canjuers, Socialisme ou Barbarie #27
2023-10-21 20:32
It took a few attempts at explaining the effect I was looking for, and before giving its final answer, it felt compelled to warn me, "I will try to write more imaginary fragments of his w… Read More
2022-03-26 11:51
Under the circumstances, cars should not be allowed. That's a ridiculous statement, but I stand by it. If you find it disgusting (rather than, say, eccentrically intruiging) allo… Read More
2021-10-22 10:44
I feel like a lot of good things are happening at the moment. Yes, I know we live in very dark times and the world is hurtling towards total ecological in most of our lifetimes but som… Read More
2021-03-18 07:38
Many brassicas are biennials, and that includes kale, and I like kale. If you're biennial, that means you take two years to complete your life cycle: one to grow edible leaves - in the… Read More
2021-03-14 11:59
I declare spring.My blackcurrant bush concurs. I'm cultivating patience this year, trying my bestest not to make the classic gardener's mistake of sowing everything all at once, far to… Read More
2021-02-07 09:25
I chose to believe that our ancestors had it right when it came to sleep. And that we don't. I'm talking about our distant ancestors, prehistoric. They went to bed, or whatever precursor to… Read More
2020-11-21 11:38
There's a lot of fly tipping goes on round my way. Usually it's stuff of no real salvage value (broken and/or half-exploded fridges, the compost and paraphernalia from a hurriedly aban… Read More
2020-11-15 15:37
I was just cleaning my Chromebook (I use it a lot, it gets grubby) and it occurred to me I've had this device now for over 8 years, and it still works perfectly. Could you ever say tha… Read More
2020-10-21 09:21
With all the green smoothies I've been chugging recently, I've been generating a fair bit of compostable matter. Mostly this goes over to my allotment, but from time to time, when I've… Read More
2020-10-18 18:26
ifttt.com threw a spanner in the works of the "no code" integration world this month by launching its new "pro" service, relegating all users who don't sign up by 31st October to an all… Read More
2020-10-16 10:32
ifttt.com threw a spanner in the works of the "no code" integration world this month by launching its new "pro" service, relegating all users who don't sign up by 31st October to an all… Read More
2020-10-13 13:47
In nature there are no boxes. More specifically, and also more metaphorically; in your brain, there are no boxes, either. Nothing you can think, or ever could, is unrelated to an… Read More
2020-10-12 08:06
If you ever have any cardboard to get rid of, you should either A, feed it to your garden or allotment as explained below or B, give it to me to do the same.I use it on the allotment for two… Read More
2020-10-11 13:53
I've been on a bit of weight loss kick this week (this month, in fact, looking back). The centrepiece is a basic "fat burning soup" I found some years ago in a diet for people who've j… Read More
2020-10-11 12:05
As part of a re-evaluation of my attitude to various things (more of which later) I'm toying with branching out on this blog to incorporate more topics: one of which is tech-related issues… Read More
2020-10-11 11:12
I've messed with my prayer plant far too much over the last few years, and I've only myself to blame. Plants are patient; I am not. So, while I hoped by now to have a whole… Read More
2020-09-24 05:53
There's a small orchard behind the allotments, which means if you time it right, you can scallywag on over there and help yourself to windfalls. This is exactly what I did on Sunday, r… Read More
2020-09-20 09:29
I would never normally promote, well, anything that can be bought, but today I'm making an exception because I think I may have discovered the perfect pair of shoes, which means I may well n… Read More
2020-09-14 06:44
You're never going to sit down in the morning to a plate of cooked lentils, cucumber, raw kale, avacado, apples and bananas. Let's face it. It just isn't going to happen. That would be insan… Read More
2020-09-12 10:26
This week I upgraded my duct tape wallet. So I suppose that means I'm now on version 3. I like to think I've perfected the design: minimal, but accommodating of my needs. M… Read More
2020-09-03 18:10
Visit a graveyard; you will search in vain for a tombstone inscribed with the words “steam-fitter,” “executive vice president,” “park ranger,” or “c… Read More
2020-08-26 09:44
I'm feeling positive about my blackcurrant wine. It's been fermenting now for about 5 weeks, and is already clearing very nicely indeed.Five weeks is nothing in wine time. Still… Read More
2020-08-08 19:12
Herb salts are something I'm into this year in a big way. They are what you think they are - combinations of dried herbs, with salt. It's a good way of preserving an abundant her… Read More
2020-07-29 08:44
It's always a pleasure to see some companion planting in action. I visited my parents over the weekend - my first venture out of Greater Manchester in six months, all masked up for th… Read More
2020-07-21 06:22
Feeling really good this morning; perhaps even great. I didn't wake up feeling sluggish or hazy, and felt actually rested - even after one work day that brought more than its fair share of t… Read More
2020-07-19 11:13
Learning by doing is my way. I like to get the gist of things, understand the basic principles, and then just give it a go. Rather than get bogged down in minutiae and too much d… Read More
2020-07-18 09:19
I have an fascination with the vast and bizarre world of "productivity", somewhat incongruous with most of my other interests and beliefs, and entirely so with the spirit in which this… Read More
2020-07-16 14:53
I don't think I've ever heard or read a single thing David Graeber has said or written that I didn't agree with. Here he is in a short Radio 4 podcast condensing his theory of bul… Read More
2020-07-15 18:36
All this talk about food, and in amongst that I've decided to give not eating a go. You might have heard of "intermittent fasting" (so, not really "fasting" at all then) as it's someth… Read More
2020-07-14 07:25
It's been a rainy couple of weeks, by my nasturtiums don't seem to mind. Last night I gathered a few handfuls of stalks and leaves, remembering that somewhere on the internet recently… Read More
2020-05-24 06:39
There's a corner of my allotment I like to keep "wild". Wild and unruly; a haven for insects and spiders, the occasional frog, and anything else that might be looking for a niche, undisturbe… Read More
2020-05-20 15:34
I didn't really expect the devil's ivy shoot I rooted into one of my bottle planters when I was running low on pots to do this well. It's gone from this, last June:to this, today:Quite… Read More
2020-05-14 06:24
While the recent late frosts have not been so kind to my beans, the horseradish on the allotment continues to thrive.Here you can see the main plant, luxuriating in the morning sun, and down… Read More
2020-05-10 08:41
Ah, the pickles of my labour. I cracked open this badboy this week.The date is the date I sealed the jar, so that's just over 7 months ago. I tell you, it was worth the wait.&nbs&hell…Read More
2020-05-09 06:56
I read somewhere about gluing broken plant pots back together and then painting over the joins a while back, and so I've had this kicking around for some time:The joins I never got around to… Read More
2020-05-08 08:48
I wouldn't go so far as to say that hot water is one of the everyday things you don't really need but my hot water's been down for about a week now, and I've barely missed it. I h… Read More
2020-05-07 16:36
I remember a teacher, whose name is not important, and who never taught me specifically but was, nevertheless, around, whom I remember primarily for the use, more than once so it really stu… Read More
2020-04-21 11:24
It's interesting what people will stockpile in a crisis: toilet paper and pasta, yes; mushrooms, no. Completely understandable of course. Mushrooms aren't known for their shelf… Read More
2020-04-02 10:57
There's never been a better time to take up lacto-fermentation as a hobby. With fresh vegetables being scare as the COVID-19 crisis affects the food supply, it makes sense to stock up… Read More
2020-04-01 06:37
Hello everyone. How are you enjoying the end of the world so far? A facetious question, I know, and not to discount the inconvenience or suffering of anyone else, but I'm having… Read More
2020-03-06 08:37
It's just about light enough now in the mornings for me to go over to my allotment on the way to work and enjoy a few peaceful moments of early morning light and sound before heading into th… Read More
2020-02-23 12:04
The staple of every British kitchen? Mine just went kaput. The obvious choice would be to replace it, but I decided not to. I've got a hob I can boil water on, so I'll just use that.Is… Read More
2020-02-05 11:31
February is here, which means it's time to start paying attention to the soil. January wasn't cold - to my recollection it barely dropped below freezing in the daytime - but it's a few degre… Read More
2020-01-09 07:17
Always a pleasure to come across a new addition to the rapidly growing literature on the subject of "anti-work", and here's the latest: psychoanalyst Josh Cohen's newly released Not Working:… Read More
2020-01-06 07:39
If there's one thing you should probably know about me, it's that I'm a massive idiot. A massive, forgetful idiot. Honestly, I forget things all the time. You know that thing that they… Read More
2020-01-05 16:46
[Top AD here] Well, here we are in the future. The twenty-twenties. We made it. Hope it isn't shite! There is, I think, reason to be hopeful because today, pottering… Read More
2019-11-23 09:39
I'd like to share something with you a piece of work in progress. It's my database of plants, and you can view it here. In fact, you can view it right here:I've been building it… Read More
2019-11-10 13:09
This is what a horseradish plant looks like:As a baby in a pot, and mature, in the earth:Give it plenty of room to spread, because you're growing it for the roots. The leaves are large… Read More
2019-11-04 07:38
[Top AD here] Jerusalem artichokes are neither from Jerusalem, nor are they artichokes, but they do make you fart. A lot. I harvest mine yesterday. When you dig them up, they look like… Read More
2019-11-03 10:28
I've been very resistant to the idea of routine for a long time. It's for a combination of reasons: part residual youthful rebellion, part cynicism, part of my self-conception as a "fr… Read More
2019-11-02 10:05
Something unexpected has been happening to me over the last few weeks. I've started to enjoy my work.I'm having difficulty processing this. How to react to this realisation?&nbs&helli…Read More
2019-10-06 10:45
From "the news" this week we learn that coffee could become a rare luxury as farms are hit by climate change - words that send a shiver down the spine of the likes of me, a chronic cof… Read More
2019-09-28 06:57
This week the Labour Party adopted a policy of reducing the average working week to 32 hours, within 10 years of taking office. By a funny a little coincidence, I also started work on a new… Read More
2019-09-07 10:45
I've been thinking about salt recently. No, not the metaphorical salt of internet shitlordery, consumed in the tears of your antagonists, but actual salt. Sodium chloride. … Read More
2019-09-02 07:28
Here's my current stash of spring onions, leeks and celery, "regrowing" in jars of water on my kitchen window shelves:As I've pointed out before, sadly you can't just keep regrowing these in… Read More
2019-09-01 14:48
My kitchen sink was blocked the other day. With the application of jiggerypokery, I was able to unblock it, and while I was in Wilko on Saturday (I love Wilko; I don't like shopping, b… Read More
2019-08-09 08:09
One thing that attracts me to preserving food in jars is that no fridge is required, and I don't have a fridge. There wasn't a fridge in my flat when I moved in, so I decided to just d… Read More
2019-08-07 09:14
This is Irene. It may not be immediately obvious from my shoddy camera work and the microphone distortion from the summer breeze, but Irene is one of the happiest people in the world.I… Read More
2019-07-21 16:46
Had a friend over dinner today, so thought I'd take the opportunity to make a meal for two using only allotment grown ingredients. But for the bread and the beer, I was entirely succes… Read More
2019-07-16 16:06
I don't need a walking stick, but who knows? Maybe I'll live to be old enough to need one. Or, failing that, old enough to look like I need one. I'm neither yet, but maybe… Read More
2019-07-14 17:13
It's hard to go wrong with soup. Chop it up, season it up, heat it up, blend it up. Job done. Soup. It's even harder to go wrong when you're using your own allotment-grown ingredients… Read More
2019-07-01 17:53
The weekend was a scorcher, and I had the privilege of spending it over in North Yorkshire, where I saw many wonderful gardens and plants. Here are some pictures.I returned home a bag… Read More
2019-06-27 19:26
I've been weighing up the pros and cons of growing peas on my allotment: the plants take up a lot of space, relative to how much edible plant matter you can actually pick from them. An… Read More
2019-06-17 10:37
It's been a dream of mine for some years now to sleep in a room with curtains made entirely of plants. I'm moved a little closer to living (sleeping?) that dream today by editing the… Read More
2019-06-15 12:03
It's one of my favourite plants, the maranta leuconeura, or "prayer plant". I never should have messed with mine so much by trying to propagate it during the winter. It does seem… Read More
2019-06-02 13:15
[Top AD here] Well, I have to tell you, the wild garlic I fermented into a jar two weeks ago was delicious. Salty, chewy and invigorating. The only real downside is how much of i… Read More
2019-05-24 09:57
I'll have to be honest: I'm disappointed with my bean bag sofas. When I moved into my unfurnished flat, they seemed like the perfect solution: cheap, malleable and comfortable. … Read More
2019-05-20 14:02
Identification"Wild garlic", otherwise known as "ramsons" for some reason, grows abundantly in shady woodland areas and by roadsides all over this part of the world. I found some on m… Read More
2019-05-12 07:34
Here's something I've been thinking about recently. It's a place think probably doesn't exist, but once I've told you about I'm confident you'll agree that it should. Must, dare… Read More
2019-03-17 17:33
Yesterday I had the good fortune to find myself at the Low Impact Living Affordable Community (LILAC) over in Bramley, Leeds. It was, and I really don't think I'm exaggerating here, pa… Read More
2019-03-11 09:06
Feeling good this morning because I've made it up to a total of 50 YouTube subscribers. Turns out the gardening/allotmentiering YouTube space is a vibrant and friendly one.Here's some… Read More
2019-02-23 09:39
I've neglected this blog somewhat this month. In its place I've spent some time building my YouTube channel and also actually doing things. 2019 is the year of actually doin… Read More
2019-01-28 13:04
I think I've more or less cracked this zero waste thing, you know. I've had a few of false starts, and bright but fleeting bursts of enthusiasm but all in all, I believe I've settled… Read More
2019-01-22 08:26
I began a very cautious experiment this month. Once a week, I will take 20mg of Fluoxetine (Prozac) instead of the prescribed 40mg. Yesterday was the second week I did this.&nbs&helli…Read More
2019-01-20 14:22
I've decided to keep a regular video diary this year of how things are going on my allotment, which you can follow at my YouTube channel - see the links at the bottom of this post (for my Tw… Read More
2019-01-07 19:24
I didn't get many microgreens grown last year, for one reason or another. I will correct that oversight this year. My kitchen shelves are fast becoming a place where various litt… Read More
2019-01-06 12:24
Passing through Manchester city centre yesterday, what seemed to be the tail end, but which turned out to be the heart, of a particularly embarrassing British parody of the "yellow vest" pr… Read More
2018-12-30 09:28
You may or may not have noticed, but I have added a recipes page to my blog. Click here or see the link at the top of the page. It includes links to posts I've made with recipes… Read More
2018-12-29 12:00
Down on the allotment this morning, pottering about, I come across this:Looks like garlic to me. Let's take a closer look:Yep, that's a clove of garlic that is. Must have droppe… Read More
2018-12-28 20:12
It is possible to donate money to #ExtinctionRebellion now, which is something I'm happy about. If you'd like to do that, click here. You can set up a regular donation, or just do it as a on… Read More
2018-12-28 16:47
Getting a haircut or shaving off a beard after months or years of being all shaggy; cleaning the bathroom or sorting out your kitchen cupboards; adding a new word to your vocabulary that pe… Read More
2018-12-26 11:26
It'll be my five year "veganniversary" on January 1st, but this year was only the second fully vegan Christmas dinner I've shared an experience of with others. My parents have been ve… Read More
2018-12-25 09:29
Thanks to reddittor /u/Croco-nut I can now reliably inform you that this weird plant I posted about yesterday is called, Persicaria microcephala. Also known as "purple fanta… Read More
2018-12-24 12:04
I find homebrewers and winemakers a little intimidating. They seem to be very good and asking questions I can't possibly answer, because I don't even understand them. This shoul… Read More
2018-12-24 10:23
I acquired this marvellous, monstrous specimen from a relative this year, bewitched by its triangular leaves. I haven't taken the time to work out what it is yet, so I just call it the tria… Read More
2018-12-23 14:36
I'm round at Sarah's today, and as almost always happens, we made some food. Sarah's not in the best of health at the moment, so while her Jon's at work (he works nearly 7 days a week… Read More
2018-12-22 13:35
Ever wondered what to do with the little metallic "tea light" containers once you've burned off all the candle? Well, I'll tell you. Shove them in your ecobricks! Ecobricks needn'… Read More
2018-12-21 15:22
I've been appreciating the story of drones causing disruption at chaos at Gatwick Airport for two reasons: 1, it's interesting to speculate, and from there let your imagination loose into a… Read More
2018-12-19 18:06
I have a feeling I might get one of those 'grow your own mushroom kits' for Christmas. This feeling is based on a recent experience where my Dad asked me if I would like one of those grow y… Read More
2018-12-19 08:04
I'm getting good at making ecobricks. Not that it's at all difficult: plastic is everywhere. In about a week, I've accumulated about enough for four bricks. When I've made twelve of the same… Read More
2018-12-17 09:30
The joy I've found in making my first ecobrick has forced me up a gear, and now I'm thinking about water. Allow me to explain.As a brown bottle collector (as the joke goes, it sounds… Read More
2018-12-12 20:27
It normally takes me the best part of two hours to get home, which at this time of year means that on my working days, I leave in the dark and come home in the dark. None of this was m… Read More
2018-12-11 11:08
An ecobrick is a plastic bottle stuffed full of plastic, which you then use as a brick. It's a idea that's been on my radar for some time now (Earthship Brighton, which I visited a few… Read More
2018-12-11 08:49
Round Two is over. I made it eight days this time; one more day than in Round One. It's been an interesting experience, as well as a boring one. I've learned some things:1… Read More
2018-12-04 16:57
I'll tell you what: that lunch I made last night was absolutely delicious. Fried rice, with grated ginger, broccoli and black pepper. That's all it was, but it was yummy. … Read More
2018-12-03 20:30
ALDI in the Arndale Centre in Manchester is packed at 5pm in the afternoon. I used to use it a lot back when I lived in the city centre, after I gave up working full time but before I… Read More
2018-12-02 19:06
It's easy to live on £1.00 a day when someone else buys you lunch. Obviously. So not a lot to say about yesterday and today overall. My parents came over to visit for… Read More
2018-12-01 10:42
I don't know how I ever managed to work full time. Even now, when by choice (or should I say "choice"?) I'm committed only to three days (22.5 hours) a week I still find myself often… Read More
2018-11-30 19:59
Last week during the first round of my £1.00 a Day Eating Challenge, I invented a simple, vegan version of spaghetti bolognesse, that I brilliantly named Spaghetti Broccolese. Be… Read More
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