Everyday Things You Don't Really Need At All #3: A kettle

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 it more energy efficient? I don't know - but I do know that a kettle is a thing and the mass production of unnecessary things is problem. So by not replacing it, perhaps, I am tackling in my own tiny way, this problem. Perhaps not. In any case, I don't need a kettle (I have a hob) so why replace a broken one?  Here's a picture of a landfill to think about:

Here is another:

Here are some recent news articles about landfills, waste, and the environment:

More than 1,200 landfill sites at risk of spilling into sea on UK coastline
A rubbish story: China's mega-dump full 25 years ahead of schedule
Big recycling lie as UK's plastic waste is dumped and burned on Malaysia's streets

Meanwhile, I've actually started using toothpaste again.  You have to be on guard against the forces of convenience: ready toothpaste made is more convenient than concocting your own, so I must confess, I've lapsed. But the act of writing that prompts me to mix a new batch of toothpaste from bicarbonate of soda and sea salt. Sometimes that's all it takes. Other times, the forces of convenience are more powerful, so like I said, watch them. 

Boiling a pan of water on the stove is inherently more satisfying than switching on a kettle, so there's that to be said for it. Sometimes that's enough, too. Simple pleasures. 

Related posts

Everyday Things You Don't Really Need At All #1: Washing Up Liquid
Everyday Things You Don't Really Need At All #2: Toothpaste



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Comfrey and Jelly Ears

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 degrees warmer now as the nights shorten and the dawn comes sooner, and plants start to make plans and suggestions. 

Through sheet of soggy cardboard, the purple tips of crocuses emerge:

And here's a lovely surprise: jelly ears! An edible fungus that found a place in my heart a few years back and after various ventures in which I've suggested it might want to make my allotment its home, a place on my allotment too. 

Meanwhile, comfrey.  I got myself a tiny little cutting in March last year, which through the year blossomed from this:

into this:

It comes up frequently in permaculture contexts as an excellent "compost activator", very high in the nutrients soil needs to make great plants like - more comfrey!  See, it's also very easy to propagate.  Clearing away some of the sludgy mulch the leaves rot quickly into at the end of their life cycle, reveals this sort of thing:

New life from sludge.  I snapped off a piece, by accident, but immediately remembering that's what was supposed to happen.

I've potted this, and I'm feeling optimistic about it.  It's all part of a plan I still need to post here about.  Watch this space.

Related posts

Garlic News
Dandelion Economics

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