Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at You

School is out this month, but how much good did it do your child? More than 200,000 pupils will leave primary school this year without being able to read, according to recent unpublished figures by the government. Now Boris Johnson has announced a ‘four-year emergency’ plan to help children catch up on their learning. One...

Dog thefts across the UK soared last year. The problem is now so serious that the government is to set up a pet theft taskforce to fight the organised crime gangs involved. The taskforce will include officials from the Environment Department (Defra), the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the police. There will also...

Making changes Gardening really is good for you Beware Japanese knotweed this summer What does your lawn say about you? Home alone, wanting a gnome Those who cry over spoilt milk Don’t make decisions on an empty stomach. Trouble sleeping? Give a compliment ** Editor:  by David Pickup, a solicitor. Making changes They also failed...

They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them. Judges 8:35 There are some things we change often, and others rarely. All businesses want customers and clients who return again and again, without making a fuss and...

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,...