Tea Removes Toxic Heavy Metals From Water, Study Suggests
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
The longer tea is steeped, the more contaminants are removed
These are the first three paragraphs, which give a flavour of the research.
A daily cup of tea may do more than just perk you up — it can also purge the water of toxic heavy metals, a study suggests.
Researchers found that tea leaves will trap lead, cadmium, and other unwanted contaminants during the brewing process. These metals bind to the leaves and remain there until they are thrown away.
Benjamin Shindel of Northwestern University, Illinois, who led the research, said that while other materials might achieve a similar effect, tea’s popularity made it unique. “What is special about tea is that it’s the most consumed beverage in the world,” he explained.
My late wife was a coffee drinker and I only have the odd cup of cappuccino, although, I do drink lots of zero-alcohol beer, hot chocolate and decaffeinated tea.
I would assume that from his name Professor Benjamin Shindel is quite likely to be Jewish.
So did he ask all his friends and relatives round for a tea party?
The Professor certainly wouldn’t have had to have stinted on the cakes, as they wouldn’t have got near the water, which was the real subject of the research.
But he wouldn’t have been short of volunteers to brew their favourite tea!
Cafe Plans For Derelict Building On New Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A disused building on a newly reopened railway line could be saved if planners back proposals, external for its renovation.
These three paragraphs give more details.
One structure at Bedlington station in Northumberland has already been demolished but plans have been submitted which would save the building on the northbound side.
It was used until 1964 when the line closed, and while passenger services on the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle resumed last year, a new station in Bedlington has not yet been completed.
East Bedlington Parish Council chair Keith Grimes said: “It’s one of the oldest buildings in the parish, so it’s definitely worth keeping.”
I wrote about my visit to the new Northumberland Line in My First Trip On The Northumberland Line – 18th December 2024.
If the Northumberland Line is going to attract leisure travelers, a sprinkling of cafes along the line is a must.
These are pictures of Bedlington from my earlier trip.
Note.
- I’d hoped I’d got a picture of the prospective cafe. But no luck.
- I didn’t see any Bedlington Terriers either.
- But then there are several of those excellent and distinctive dogs, near where I live in London.
The station should be operational this year, but it appears there’s still a lot of work to do.
Access To The Coast
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines of Northumberland in relation to the coast.
Note.
- The orange line is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
- Morpeth is the station on the Western edge of the map.
- The yellow line is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The site of the new Bedlington station is indicated by the blue arrow.
It looks to me, that there are a lot of disused railway lines, that could be used to develop the Northumberland Line into a system with a much wider coverage.
The Wikipedia entry for the Northumberland line does say this about Ashington station.
Ashington station has been developed in such a way that an extension, such as that previously proposed to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Woodhorn could still be built, albeit part of a separate scheme.
Note.
- Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is East of Ashington.
- Woodburn is on a line that goes to the West of the East Coast Main Line.
- The extensions would open up the area for more housing and rail-oriented leisure activities.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines to the West and North of Newcastle.
Note.
- The orange line on the East side of the map is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Morpeth.
- The yellow line to the East of the East Coast Main Line, is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The green line is the Tyne and Wear Metro
- The orange line going along the bottom edge of the map is the Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle via Corbridge and Hexham.
- All the lines meet at Newcastle station.
- Woodburn station is indicated by the arrow on disused lines that connect Morpeth on the East Coast Main Line with the Tyne Valley Line.
Reopening the lines to Woodburn would create a new railway, that would encircle Newcastle and surely create lots of housing, business and leisure opportunities.
But let’s get Phase One finished first and see how passenger numbers develop.
To Norbiton For A Plate Of Lovely Liver
I seem to need a lot of Vitamin B12.
- I am coeliac, which probably means I don’t absorb enough out of my food.
- Although, when my gallstones were removed, the surgeon had a look and said everything was good.
- When Homerton Hospital found my Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, that I talked about in I’ve Got Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, they also said everything else was good.
- In the United States, Vitamin B12 is given to stroke patients to help recovery.
- I’ve had Vitamin B12 injections for nearly thirty years, since they were prescribed by Addenbrooke’s hospital.
Certainly, I find that a Vitamin B12 injection doesn’t seem to have the same effect, it had twenty years ago. So, is my brain saying, I’ll have that, when I have an injection?
When I lived in Suffolk and I felt my Vitamin B12 was low, I’d go down the pub or carluccio’s in Cambridge or Bury and have a plate of liver.
But liver is rare in London restaurants and Carluccio’s don’t serve it any more.
A guy in the reader’s comments in The Times told me of a restaurant called the Trattoria Calabrese, that sold liver in sage butter yesterday. So today, I took a train to Norbiton to get myself some extra Vitamin B12.
These pictures describe my first visit to Norbiton.
The short walk to the restaurant from Norbiton station was very much worth it. I shall go back!
Ryanair Flies Into Sahara on Sea (And Africa’s Oldest Conflict)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Chieftains fighting for a strip of land claimed by Morocco are threatening to step up attacks as the tourist industry grows
These are the first three paragraphs.
Towards the end of the flight on Ryanair’s new route to Dakhla a vast expanse of apparently pristine desert coastline unfurls below.
But this land is nowhere near as tranquil as it looks from above. Instead the Irish airline’s choice of destination has flown the company into the heart of Africa’s longest-running conflict.
These direct flights from Madrid and Lanzarote take its planes to the coastal town in Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain that tribal chieftains and three countries have struggled to control through the centuries.
This is a Google Map showing the location of Western Sahara with respect to the Canary Islands.
Note.
- The islands off the recognisable coast of North West Africa are the Canary Islands.
- Lanzarote is the Southermostof the two North-Eastern islands.
- Western Sahara is to the South-East of the Canary Islands.
- Dakhla is on the Africa coast at the Southern edge of the map.
The map will be enlarged if you click on it.
I have my thoughts on this article.
Western Sahara And Coeliac Disease
I have a feeling that this area has one of the highest levels of coeliac disease in the world.
- It all started some years ago, when they had a terrible famine, so the US donated a lot of wheat to alleviate the famine.
- But the people of Western Sahara don’t grow wheat and their bodily systems can’t cope with gluten.
- This gave the people a lot of coeliac disease, which can be passed on genetically.
A similar process went on during the slave trade, where the slavers fed their captives on bread made from wheat and water. Consequently, many of the slaves suffered from various problems and that could be why many died on the crossing. These days there is coeliac genes among the Caribbean and American black population that has been passed down through the generations.
After their first actions, it only looks like Trummkopf and his sidekick are going to make matters worse, after their destruction of US Aid.
Scotch Whisky Is In A Unique Position
Scotland has so much zero-carbon energy now, let alone in a few years, that Scotch whisky would not be the most difficult of industries to make completely zero-carbon, which could marketing-wise completely trump any tariffs, that Trummkopf might impose.
- Already some small distilleries are using hydrogen to distill the whisky.
- Some glass bottles are already made using hydrogen instead of natural gas to make zero-carbon malt whiskies.
- I’m sure Cummins in Darlington, JCB in Rocester and Ricardo in Sussex will be pleased to help make farm machinery, mechanical handling and road transport zero carbon.
- Soft fruit like raspberries are already used to absorb the carbon dioxide from the distillation process in some areas of Scotland. I’m sure dealing with more quality raspberries would not be a problem.
- A large electrolyser is planned for Kintore in the North of Scotland. Think of the good publicity for say Centrica or SSE, if they built the world’s largest hydrogen plant to help make zero-carbon whisky.
These are some more thoughts.
Taste Is Everything
As only the method of providing heat and electricity will have been changed, I can’t see there will be any change to the taste.
It’s Already Happening
This page on the Annandale Distillery web site is entitled Annandale Distillery Pioneers Zero-Carbon Whisky Production with EXERGY 3 Project.
The Kintore Electrolyser
These figures summarise the Kintore Electrolyser.
- Total Electrolyser Capacity – 3 GW
- First Phase – 500 MW
- Hydrogen – 200 kTonnes per year
Explore the Kintore Hydrogen web site.
Marketing Advantage
Scotland, is probably, the only country, where the main ingredients for whisky come together in abundance ; barley, energy, tradition and water.
It also is all produced in a single country in many different brands and types, which could all be produced in a zero-carbon manner.
Conclusion
Let’s give Trump a beating and the planet a kiss.
North Sea Oil Group Equinor Scales Back Investment In Renewables
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Equinor, which is attempting to develop one of the largest untapped oilfields in UK waters, also raised its fossil fuel production targets
This is the first paragraph.
The Norwegian state-backed oil company that is attempting to develop one of the largest untapped oil fields in UK waters, has dramatically scaled back its investment in renewables and raised its fossil fuel production targets, becoming the latest of the world’s energy giants to row back on the push towards green power.
A quiet revolution is happening that will change our use of natural gas very much for the better.
- In Rhodesia, which is a suburb of Worksop, a 24 MW Rolls-Royce mtu diesel peaker power plant, that runs on natural gas, but is also hydrogen-ready, has been installed to boost the electricity supply. The diesel engine is fitted with carbon capture and produces food-grade CO2, which is sold for food and engineering uses.
- Most of the excellent British tomatoes and soft fruit, we have been eating this winter, is grown in greenhouses, heated by natural gas-powered combined heat and power units, where the CO2 produced is captured and fed to the plants.
- HiiROC is a start-up from Hull, who are backed by Centrica, who use a plasma process to split any hydrocarbon gas including waste gas from a chemical plant, biomethane from a sewage works or natural gas into pure hydrogen and carbon black, which is needed to manufacture tyres and other products, and also to improve soil.
- In the last few months, a HiiROC device has been installed at Brigg power station, to generate zero-carbon electricity from natural gas.
- Imagine a housing or factory estate, a farm or perhaps a large country house, that wants to decarbonise. The gas feed to the property would be fitted with a HiiROC device and all gas appliances and boilers would be converted to hydrogen.
- I also believe that houses and other premises could have their own hydrogen pumps to fill up cars, ride-on mowers and other vehicles.
- Avnos is a company from the US, that captures CO2 from the air. What makes Avnos unique is that for every ton of CO2 it captures, it captures five tons of pure water.
More ideas like these are being developed.
What is wrong in using natural gas, to generate heat and electricity, if it doesn’t emit any CO2 into the atmosphere?
I suspect, that Equinor believe there will be a market for natural gas for years, as more and more clever ways to use it and turn it into hydrogen are developed.
Bristol May Be First English City To Face Monthly Black Bin Collection
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
More than 4,000 Bristolians are opposing the council’s plan to switch to a four-week cycle, which the city says would save money and be better for the environment
I live in Hackney and we still have two-weekly collections for recyclables and weekly for waste food.
These are my thoughts on Bristol.
As a widower, who lives alone , I don’t put much in my black bin, as I do recycle properly and use my waste food bin and green sack recycling fully.
I’ve also noticed, that a lot more items have been marked that they can go in the green sacks.
I am a coeliac and suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency for which I get three-monthly injections at the GP. But that is not enough and I have found that one of M& S’s Liver and Bacon Ready Meals adds enough B12 to keep be going at full speed.
The trays of M & S’s Ready Meals are now recyclable and I suspect, they’re not the only packaging, that can now be recycled.
So as more and more packing is recycled, we can surely reduce the black bin frequency.
It would appear, that by making packaging more recyclable, we can make rubbish collection more efficient.
I Just Bought A Toilet Brush Set On Ocado
A few minutes ago, I went to the toilet in the facility in my spare bedroom and I noticed that the brush was broken.
Since, I have bought a new one from Ocado for £4.
£4 sounds good value to me.
It will arrive with my groceries on the First of February at 06:30 in the morning.
I tend to start my Ocado order, soon after the previous one is delivered and I then have until 17:25 on the day before to get it right.
Interestingly, the payment for the order I received today from Ocado, is still sitting in the pending queue of my credit card account. I’ve also eaten one of the ready meals I bought. And very nice it was too!
I’
Do Ocado Save Me Money?
Probably not in the normal way, as they are an upmarket on-line shop.
A Rough Order
I generally put my rough order in on the Saturday soon after the delivery for that day arrives at about 06:30 in the morning.
The rough order is stored on Ocado’s computer, so it’s usually just a matter of choosing the delivery slot and adding a few extras.
If I’m cooking for myself all week, that usually means I will need seven meals, which could be ready-meals, something more substantial or perhaps just a tasty home-made snack or sandwich, if I’m eating out.
Typically, my order will get refined through the week and this tends to reduce the cost, as if say I’m a bit short, I might buy something like fruit earlier in the week, rather than get it delivered on Saturday.
Fruit
I don’t eat a lot of fruit, but I do have a banana every day in the morning and when I can get them, I eat a lot of strawberries.
Bananas and strawberries are two fruit, that are rich in magnesium and coeliacs like me, can suffer from a lack of it. As a child, I used to bite my nails, which stopped immediately, I went gluten-free at fifty.
From my experience, I feel lack of magnesium can cause nail-biting in coeliacs.
I usually don’t order fruit online, as I feel the quality is better in local shops, that I pass.
Gluten-Free
I am coeliac, so I have to be gluten-free.
In my opinion, Marks & Spencer do the best gluten-free food, so being able to shop in-store or on-line is a bonus.
Bread
I don’t eat a lot of bread in a week, so I find one of Marks & Spencer’s pack of brown bloomer slices is sufficient.
Toothpaste, Soap Etc.
I buy a lot of things like these online, as I have several days to carry them upstairs and put them away.
I have a large IKEA storage cabinet close by my front door and non-perishables are stored there first, along with my beer.
Milk
Usually, a pint plastic bottle of Marks & Spencer Organic Milk , lasts me all week.
But if it doesn’t l can pick up another bplastic ottle, at any one of four shops within two hundred metres.
Conclusion
I don’t save a lot with my hybrid shopping at Ocado and Marks & Spencer, but I don’t throw much food away.
Is Vitamin B12 Pulling Me Through?
About five months ago, I swapped my food shopping from Marks & Spencer in-store to Ocado once a week. This was mainly to cut down on my walking with shopping, but also to make sure, I’d usually got a meal or two in.
In August, I wrote Liver From Ocado and I’ve generally been eating one of these ready meals a week.
Although, Ocado doesn’t always stock them, so I have to go hunting round the various Marks & Spencer stores looking for Liver and Bacon.
Unfortunately, I’m not always successful.
Today, I went searching round South London looking for a transformer. Nor a kid’s toy, but a National Grid electrical one with the weight of thirty African elephants.
I didn’t see it, but I did walk quite a bit.
I then realised that the various muscle pains in my legs, that I’ve been having for the last few months had gone.
Was it the Vitamin B12 in the ready meal, as I stopped taking the paracetamol some months ago?
Also on Thursday, I had my three-monthly Vitamin B12 injection, so my body probably had enough of the vitamin.
The older I get, the more I feel that the Vitamin B12 injections have helped my stroke recovery.
The Anonymous Widower 