Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at You

During this period of staying so much at home, how much exercise is good? According to immunologists, regular bouts of moderate-intensity exercise can help build our resistance to infection. “Regular moderate exercise ensures that our lymph, which is the circulatory system of our immune cells, keeps flowing,” says Dr Jenna Macciochi, of the University of...

There are four crimes on the rise during lockdown: domestic abuse, the online grooming of children, commercial property theft and coronavirus-related frauds. Nearly all other offences have declined, including murders, robberies, domestic burglaries and assaults.

The British are good at keeping calm in a crisis. But for those of us who suffer from a mental health condition such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the coronavirus pandemic can be a nightmare. Around 50 percent of OCD sufferers have a fear of contamination from dirt, and so the constant advice to wash your...

Life in quarantine Loneliness at the Virtual Chelsea Flower Show, 19th – 23rd May Leave your dandelions alone What is the best way to talk about death?  Grow your lawns Take exercise for even half an hour a day – and lower depression! Dieting at home When texting can be dangerous Bless you? Plan for...

Full marks to Jamie Oliver for his Channel 4 series, ‘Keep Cooking and Carry On’.  He showed us how to make tasty meals with basic ingredients and a minimum of fuss. The pandemic prompted other encouraging responses. One mother in the ‘at risk’ category said her adult children thought she was immortal until now. Now...

All sorts of themes are chosen for the Chelsea Flower Show, but this year’s theme turned out to be scarily appropriate for the Spring of 2020:  loneliness and mental health. For, according to Sue Briggs, RHS Director General, “many feel they need gardening in their life now more than ever before, for their mental and...

When mowing your lawn, avoid cutting your dandelions.  That is the advice of the president of the British Ecological Society, Prof Jane Memmott. It will help to save the bees. She explains: “Dandelions are a fantastic source of pollen and nectar for the early pollinators in particular. If they were rare, people would be fighting...

A leading terminal illness charity, Marie Curie, advises that euphemisms are not helpful, and that using direct language about death is the best approach when in a hospital or while talking to children. The euphemisms include: ‘popped their clogs’, ‘kicked the bucket’, ‘passed away’, ‘pushing up daisies’ and ‘leaving this mortal coil.’ Matthew Reed, Marie...

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has called on people to allow flowers to grow on their lawns, instead of insisting on smooth green surfaces. The reason is because nearly 7.5million acres of meadows and pastures rich in wildflowers have been lost since the Thirties, thus removing a vital source of food for pollinators, many of...

Here is some good news for us all: if you are feeling low, get moving. A recent study at Harvard has found that even just half an hour of exercise a day can lower the risk of depression by 17 per cent. So – even though we are told to stay home at present, do...

One good thing about staying at home is that you cannot be tempted by food that you see in restaurants, bakeries or the shops. This may be a good time to lose that weight you’ve been trying to shift for years. One good way of doing it seems to be the 5:2 diet. A recent...

When you go out for your daily exercise, don’t text anyone. It is safer for you. A recent study has found that people who text while they walk are twice as likely to have an accident or near miss with a car, as those who are talking on the phone. The authors, from the University...