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A couple of weeks ago was Mental Awareness Week, and BBC Radio 2 recorded a couple of programmes called Music Therapy. This was about how the therapeutic effect of music can be good for us. And it got me thinking about how music has affected my life; I can remember what I listened to as a child, my formative teenage years and throughout my life. I can remember where I was or what I was doing when I heard a particular song, how it made me feel and those around me. Music can evoke memories good and bad, but I...

Just after the first lockdown we decided as a family to see if we could become vegan in terms of our diet. We are a family business and it was my daughter that put the idea forward; she’d watched a documentary about the link between cancer and meat intake, and it made her stop and think that she wanted to make a change. She suggested we watch the film, so we did, and agreed that we should see if we could do without meat and dairy in our diet as well. We found it quite easy to live without meat,...

Micro chips – they’re in a lot of products from Cars to microwaves, phones to printers. There has been a shortage since Covid took hold and that’s why new cars etc have long delays on delivery dates. But I’ve just found out that the largest manufacturer of these chips is in Ukraine – so the situation is set to get worse before it gets better.  Obviously modern life relies on technology and it’s difficult to suddenly change to different methods of working – but when it comes to cars surely there is a case for using alternative methods of transport...

Exercise can boost your mood - it’s been shown by research that just 20 minutes of exercise can be enough to release endorphins - chemicals which can relieve pain, stress and leave you feeling more positive.There are a few chemicals that your body releases during and after exercise, leaving you in a better frame of mind. Myokines are released into your blood when your muscles are contracted, and when the substance reaches your brain it acts as an anti-depressant - making you more resilient to stress.Exercise can also release endocannabinoids, which are chemicals that are mimicked by cannabis, known as...

I’m talking about my Dad. Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I didn’t really think much about it at the time, but Dad was always saving stuff. Saving it because it might come in handy one day and he couldn’t bear to throw something away he thought was useful. One of the reasons he did this was because he couldn’t afford to buy non-essential things, so it made sense to him to re-use where he could. I now find myself doing similar things; if I see something that looks like it might be useful one day, if I’ve got...