Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at You

According to a recent study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and two universities, people who garden every day have well-being scores 6.6 per cent higher, and stress levels 4.2 per cent lower than those who do not garden at all. Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui, RHS well-being fellow and lead author says, “The evidence overwhelmingly...

This month (June) could see a sudden bumper appearance of the notorious garden pest, Japanese knotweed. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)experts have warned that the April frosts either delayed or killed other plants who would have helped keep it in check. Unfortunately, the pest is very hardy, and will not have been killed off. The...

A perfectly mown lawn may look beautiful, but it is also a sign of male control. So says Monty Don, the Gardeners’ World presenter. He is wary of what he calls the ‘male obsession’ to achieve a closely cut lawn which is of pure and perfect grass, without any other plants in it at all....

Do you yearn for a garden gnome?  You are not the only one. Since last year’s lockdown, garden centres have been reporting a ‘massive upswing’ in ornament sales, due to people being forced to spend more time in their gardens.   Gnomes top the list of most-wanted ornaments, with a near 100 per cent increase in...

What happens when you spill a cup of coffee? Does the minor irritation ruin the rest of your day? Or do you simply clear up the mess and not give it a second thought? Our brains respond in different ways to minor negative experiences. Now a study by psychologists at the University of Miami has...

Scientists at Harvard have found that when you have higher levels of the body’s hunger hormone, ghrelin, in your system, you are more likely to be impulsive. This means that you will be liable to make poor decisions, tending towards instant gratification rather than long-term achievement. In one experiment, hungry women with a higher amount...

Try listening to ‘sedative music’, with a slow tempo, soft volume and smooth melody. Music is less invasive than sleeping pills, and may possibly work for you. A recent study carried out at a university in Taiwan found that “listening to sedative music can improve sleep by modulating sympathetic nervous system activity and the release...

We all like to receive a compliment from time to time. As Robert Orben, former script writer for President Gerald R. Ford once said, “A compliment is verbal sunshine.” Another American, Leo Buscaglia once observed: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment,...

Emails – a blessing or a problem? Have you ever laughed at a joke you did not understand?   Beware of the dog Do you love a bargain?  Nectar in your garden How to keep ground coffee fresh Is there life without the BBC? Good walls protect marriages Beware the use-by date ** Editor: David Pickup,...

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3 v 9-10) I wonder what St James would say about emails! He had plenty...

Then you are not alone.  It seems that two thirds of us have laughed at jokes we did not ‘get’, simply because we wanted to fit in with our friends at the time. And more than half of us have actually gone on to repeat jokes with punchlines which we don’t ourselves understand. More than...

Be careful if you are looking to buy a puppy. Make sure you know where it really came from. A spokesman for the RSPCA warns of a spike in the number illicit dog breeders and dealers who are conning the public. The number of dogs imported from the EU increased by 52% from 2019 to...