What a glorious week of sunny weather we have had here in Suffolk with record temperatures for the time of year in some places. The trees are all wonderful different greens and I watch the limes and poplars over the road on the edge of the graveyard changing every day.
In the garden the ornamental Beech is bright lime green compared to the dark green and blue of the Ceanothus beside it
The last of my April library books was a lovely book that was mentioned on a blog - probably by Debby at 'Life's Funny Like That' in the US, it's something I would never have read without a recommendation, but I'm glad I did.
Elif Shafak - There are Rivers in the Sky. A magical story that brings together different times in history all linked by water. In ancient Ninevah hidden in the sand are fragments of a long lost poem. In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born on the mud banks of the Thames. In Turkey in 2014 Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the Tigris and her grandmother travel through war torn lands to reach the sacred valley of their people. In London in 2018, Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames after the break up of her marriage.
Very clever story and so well written.
After the post about foods and which countries we import from I was fiddling about on t'internet and came across details of this additive butylated hydroxytoluene which apparently is banned in some countries. It's added to some breakfast cereals by Kelloggs - but not in this country.
Then up popped an article about the '10 foods Americans love eating that are banned in other countries' .HERE .
Here's something I'd never heard of...........
Mountain Dew: This citrus-flavoured soft drink is popular across the U.S., but it contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO), an emulsifier that has been banned in Japan and the European Union. BVO is also used in flame retardants, and its presence in food has been linked to health issues like memory loss and nerve damage.
Goodness! Reading too much about additives is frightening!
We've only just had Easter and now another Bank Holiday weekend for 'May Day' . Not sure what I'm doing but the council are giving away bags of compost today so I may head up the road early to collect some - limited to two bags per car.
There's the second open afternoon of a Bluebell wood at a private house and park a few miles away tomorrow. I tried to go last Sunday but found a massive queue of cars half a mile from the entrance so did a turn around and came home again - what a crowd there would have been in the woods. Not sure I shall bother, I've got Bluebells here after all although mine aren't the native ones and there isn't a wood full of them!
On Monday there are several May Day events - but they'll all be busy and family/couple orientated which puts me off, so maybe it will just be the extra boot-sale and home to watch the final frames of the World Snooker Championship which I've been following and enjoying for the last two weeks.
Have a good weekend, the forecast is for much cooler than last week which will please some people although I've loved it.
Back Next Week
Sue
It is quite alarming to see how lax the USA Food Administration appear to be about additives. Maybe this is why their president is orange coloured...
ReplyDeleteIt’s why our current president has appointed RFKJr to do something about it. But instead of praising him for it, keyboard warriors make jokes about his skin tone.
DeleteMaria.
🤣🤣🤣
DeleteGreat weather Sue. If only it could rain at night. Watering vegetable and plants is becoming quite a chore.
ReplyDeleteThe additives the Americans have in their food is scary, luckily we have stricter rules, but still allow some questionable ones. I recently downloaded the Yuka app ( it’s free) - you scan the barcode & it tells you what’s in the food/cosmetic. I use common sense when it comes to sugar/salt/fat etc, but it also lets you know what the additives are & how risky they can be - it’s been an eye opener!
ReplyDeleteGlenda
Have a good bank holiday weekend. We often stay at home for them, particularly the Bank holiday Mondays. There aren't any open gardens this time in the Yellow NGS book to tempt us out either.
ReplyDeletePenny
That's great that your council is giving away compost. We have our garden waste collected - which we pay for - then.... I don't know what happens to it. We certainly don't get the chance to get it back as compost.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot of labels these days. I have a simple approach. If it reads like one of my failures in school chemistry then that's probably a good reason to avoid it. I don't need to eat loads of chemicals that are designed to make things have ridiculously long shelf-life, or to make cheap and nasty copies of real food.
Like Jane, above, our garden waste is collected, for an annual fee, but there's no sign of it later. Enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely the fresh , bright greens are. I'm reading labels a lot more these days mainly because I'm trying to cut down on saturated fat.
ReplyDeleteQueuing for anything is off putting isn't it - like you we have a few bluebells in the garden, think I'll stay home and look at those!
Alison in Wales x
We have a lovely forest preserve in my city that always has fields and fields of bluebells blooming at this time of year. I've been down twice to hike through this past week and luckily there are never crowds of people.
ReplyDeleteYour landscape showing all shades of green and many flowering plants sounds really beautiful. The bluebells growing in masses are an amazing sight. The green in the ornamental beech is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteFood additives are hopefully going to be eliminated or reduced in the US. Many people are not aware of the harm additives can cause. Thanks for the article.
That book sounds very intriguing, I shall keep a look out for it. We have been to the monthly market at Wirksworth, lots of home made food stalls, honey, antiques (junk), plants etc. I bought some beeswax polish and plants, osteopurmum, lily of the valley (Mum's favourite) and an ox eye daisy. I have a new garden to fill. Enjoy your weekend. Xx
ReplyDeleteI really like bluebells and was amazed to find that 2 native bluebells have appeared randomly in a corner of our garden! They weren't there last year. Birds dropping seed perhaps? Who knows....
ReplyDeleteNever heard of BVO thankfully. It sounds horrendous :0/
Don't know why I'm suddenly anonymous again ....
DeleteAngie x
It WAS me! I am glad you loved that book too. We have had quite bit of rain here. Everything has 'popped'. The mountains are green once again.
ReplyDeleteJust a bit of rain here now and again. We could actually use more. I know there are many additives that the U.S. uses that we do not allow in Canada, and from what I hear they are slowly getting rid of.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
My sister says you've had some wonderful weather this week. She said on Wednesday she and other sister didn't sit too long in the park on their walk as it was too hot!
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous what things are allowed in foods over here. It makes me laugh sometimes when the Orange Man says something about foods not being imported into Europe and I want someone to point out the reason why! Some of those foods contain things banned in Europe and England.
I can't help wondering how many of today's neurological medical conditions lie in the ignorance that prevailed when things we now know to be harmful were so readily consumed.
ReplyDeleteHeating came on, it is really cold here! Going to look for a jumper. Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend.
The colors in your world are beautiful! And as an American, I can not understand how people can drink Mountain Dew. When I worked in tech, the programmers (mostly guys) would guzzle it. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteThe additives that America allows in a lot of it's foods are so scary, how can they even be classed as foodstuffs. The weather this weekend has been wonderful hasn't it, so unlike most of our Bank Holidays!!
ReplyDelete