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.
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.
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.
House Sitting With Ocado
I like animals and I miss having cats, dogs and horses around.
I particularly miss our stallion ; Vague Shot, who had a nickname of Cyril. When I was feeling down, he always had time for a chat and a cuddle.
It may seem strange, but when C died, Cyril was the first I told. But then as he was a stallion, the stud was his personal domain. Hence his understanding.
Recently, I’ve taken to doing my shopping at Ocado, which means that my coeliac disease, is not a problem, if Ocado deliver.
I had thought about house and pet sitting before, but my coeliac disease and the fact I don’t drive seemed to end discussions.
So I think, I’m going to do a bit of house and small pet sitting, mainly to get a welcome change of scenery. I’ll leave the logistics to Ocado.
Consider.
- I have no pets myself.
- I am a non-smoker.
- I am more or less tee-total these days.
- I have no children or grandchildren under 23.
- I will tell Ocado, as I have no connection with them, except as a customer, who uses their services regularly.
What do my readers think?
British Gas Partners With Strata And Daikin To Launch Eco-Tech Low Bill Homes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
British Gas is set to supercharge sustainable living across the UK with the launch of Low Carbon Homes – a ground-breaking pilot in partnership with Strata and heat pump manufacturer, Daikin.
These are the first four paragraphs, which fill out a bit of detail.
In anticipation of The Future Homes Standard, customers will move into new build homes which have been fitted with a full range of the latest low-carbon technology at no extra cost to the housebuilder or owner. The homes will be equipped with a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels, 5 kWh battery storage, Hive electric vehicle charger and thermostat. These items will be integrated into Hive’s award-winning app, providing customers with one-stop visibility and control of their energy usage.
The first trial phase will launch at a Strata’s “Breathe” development site in Kiveton, Rotherham. As a thank you for participating in the pilot, British Gas is giving homeowners access to a fixed rate tailored British Gas tariff. Participants in the trial will also have access to a dedicated British Gas energy manager to help them optimise the technology and keep bills as low as possible, while still meeting their desired comfort levels.
Each home will be fitted with a Hive hub, which connects to the WIFI network and acts as the home’s operating system, integrating all the sustainable technology. The customers energy and heat schedules and budget will be optimised by the Hive Hub for further savings.
When the customer connects to Hive’s app they will be able to control and maximise efficiency by setting schedules and spending budgets and allowing the Hub to help them reduce their bills.
Note.
- As a Control Engineer, this to me is a good start.
- I suspect that a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels and 5 kWh battery storage will keep the average house warm.
- I would expect that the three companies have optimised the ratios between the sizes of the components to give the best performance.
It is amazing to think that it was in the early seventies, that in the two sections, where I worked at ICI, engineers had just started controlling and optimising flows, pressures and temperatures in complex chemical plants.
If you’d asked any of us, when our houses heating systems would be as fully controlled, we’d have given twenty years at most.
What kept the world so long?
I have a few thoughts.
Could The Housing Have Gas For Cooking??
Yes! Centrica owns a big share with Hyundai, Kia and others of a start-up company called HiiROC.
- This is the HiiROC web site.
- HiiROC can take any hydocarbon gas and split it into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Green hydrogen is obviously useful and the carbon black can be used for making tyres for vehicles, anodes for lithium-ion batteries and in agriculture for soil improvement.
- Waste off-gas from a chemical plant can be split into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Biomethane from a sewage plant can be split into hydrogen and carbon black. Could a sewage plant on an estate be used to create biomethane for cooking and feeding to the HiiROC plant? Yes!
- Could green hydrogen produced on the estate be used to drive vehicles like cars, vans and ride-on-mowers. Yes! If the manufacturer of the vehicle allows it!
- How convenient would it be to have Hydrogen-at-Home?
How Much Does A British Gas Hive Save On My Energy Bill?
I asked Google and I got this answer from Home Hive.
£119. A smaller carbon footprint and a smaller bill – our award-winning smart thermostat could cut your energy bills by up to £170 a year. Join Hive Plus to boost your thermostat’s savings – and get exclusive access to £60 bill credit with any fixed British Gas dual fuel tariff.
At present, I have no intention of changing my energy supplier, but come the summer or if my health or energy circumstances change, I might see what is available.
Will British Gas Develop A Hive For a Smaller Dwelling?
I suspect in ten years, if I’m still of this world, I shall be living in the following circumstances.
- Alone.
- In a two bedroom house, cottage or flat.
- Some form of probably electric central heating or perhaps even hydrogen.
- No car.
- A short walk to the bus stop and/or train station.
- Communal gardens to sit in.
- An Ocado style delivery for food, groceries and other essentials.
- A local gluten-free cafe.
- Full Wi-Fi
Perhaps, British Gas and others will develop a community for people like me?
The Odd Sugary Snack May Be Good For You (But Lay Off Sugary Drinks)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Tunes.
I shall be discussing this research with my cardiologist. My relationship with him is as doctor/patient, researcher/lab-rat and just friends. I am also coeliac and very much feel that I need to take the odd sugary snack to keep my energy levels up. I also had a serious stroke at 64, thirteen years ago, due to atrial fibrillation.
Sweden and coeliac disease could be another complicating factor here, as Sweden went the wrong way to try to eliminate coeliac disease after WW2 and just created a lot more.
I found about this Swedish research in a peer-reviewed paper entitled Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India? in the Indian Journal of Research Medicine.
A History Of Sugary Snacks And Drinks And Me
Growing up in London, after World War 2, I didn’t get much sugar, as it was rationed.
But I did put it in tea and coffee.
I never ate many cakes, except for some chocolate ones.
My habit of not eating cakes and proper puddings really annoyed my mother-in-law.
I was a sickly child and I didn’t really get better until I was found to be coeliac at 50.
I am fairly certain, that my consumption of sugary snacks has got more, as I’ve got older.
But because American drinks, sweets and snacks could use sugar made from wheat, I don’t touch any American sweetened products.
But I haven’t put on any weight, since I was fifty.
Thanks to the likes of Leon, Marks and Spencer and the cafe at Worksop station for excellent sugary gluten-free snacks to keep me going!
I’ve Got Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
No doctor or anybody else for that matter seems at all bothered.
I did ask Dr. Google, if there was a link between pancolonic diverticular disease and coeliac disease and this paper entitled Prevalance Of Celiac Disease In Subjects With Diverticular Disease Of The Colon was indicated.
This was the conclusion of the researchers.
The results show an inverse relationship between
diverticular disease of the colon and celiac disease. These data
support that the presence of celiac antibodies may have a
preventive role in the development of colon diverticular disease.
The mechanism of the presented finding is still unclear. More
research is needed.
I can accept that conclusion.
Click this link to see what the NHS says about Diverticular Disease and Diverticulitis.
It’s not very helpful, but just a bit frightening.
Could it be, that my strong immune system is protecting me?
I have a few extra thoughts.
Living With Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
I have now been living with Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease for around six months.
But I don’t feel that much different to say, when I was 18, 50 or 70.
In the mid-1990s, I was diagnosed as a coeliac using the new genetic test, in a couple of days between blood test and letter on the mat. So surely, at fifty, I must have had coeliac antibodies in my blood.
I asked Dr. Google how the standard coeliac test worked and got this reply.
The standard coeliac disease test involves a two-step process: blood tests to detect antibodies, followed by an intestinal biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. The blood test looks for specific antibodies produced when the body reacts to gluten, while the biopsy examines a tissue sample from the small intestine for damage characteristic of coeliac disease.
My excellent now-retired GP, told me, that the antibodies test was usually all that was needed.
So have I had coeliac antibodies in my blood, virtually all my life and have these played a preventive role in the development of colon diverticular disease?
So was I protected from a disease with a long and complicated name, by another disease, I didn’t know that I had?
Using AI To Inveestigate Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
I have been impressed by th answers Google has given for other things using AI, so I’ve been asking a few questions on uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease.
Question: Does Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Make You Want To Poo?
AI Overview
Yes, uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease, also known as Symptomatic Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease (SUDD), can cause a change in bowel habits, which may include a feeling of needing to poo. This change can manifest as constipation or diarrhea, or a pattern of constipation followed by diarrhea.
From personal experience I’ll go along with that.
Question: Does Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Make You Want To Drink More Fluids?
AI Overview
Yes, individuals with uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease are often advised to increase their fluid intake. This is because adequate hydration helps soften stools, which can ease the passage of waste and reduce strain on the inflamed colon. Additionally, when experiencing a flare-up of diverticulitis, it’s common to be placed on a liquid diet to allow the colon to rest and heal, further emphasizing the importance of staying hydrated.
No doctor has told me to drink more fluids or suggested I go on a liquid diet. But I do drink a lot of fluids, including two or three bottles of low-alcohol beer per day.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Helped By A Gluten-Free Diet?
AI Overview
A gluten-free diet is not specifically recommended or beneficial for uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease. While a high-fiber diet is generally recommended to manage and prevent diverticular disease, there’s no evidence to suggest that eliminating gluten from the diet provides any particular advantage.
As I am coeliac, I’m on a strict gluten-free diet anyway, and have been for the last thirty years.
I’m not particularly on a high fibre diet, but an experienced dietician told me to eat a small can of beans a week to lower my cloresterol levels. And it worked!
But from what I found earlier, it does appear that coeliac disease does help to protect you from uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Helped By Five Portions Of Fruit And Vegetables Per Day?
AI Overview
Yes, eating five portions of fruits and vegetables per day is generally recommended for individuals with uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease, as part of a balanced, high-fiber diet. This dietary approach can help to soften stools, reduce the risk of constipation and straining, and potentially prevent further complications.
I try to stick to a diet like this with a lot of non-alcoholic fluids.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Linked To Gallstones?
AI Overview
Yes, there is evidence suggesting a link between diverticular disease of the colon and gallstones, with some studies indicating a higher prevalence of gallstones in individuals with diverticular disease. Specifically, one study found that 45% of patients with diverticular disease had gallstones, compared to 22% in a control group, though this difference was only statistically significant in women.
I had gallstones and I described their removal in Goodbye To My Gallstones.
As the answer mentioned women and coeliac disease is more common, in the female of the species, I wonder if that accounts for the results quoted in the AI Overview.
Do Coeliacs Like Ocado?
I have been doing most of my food and grocery shopping with Ocado for a few months now!
My first shop was on the 16th of August this year and I have now done a total of fourteen shops.
What is interesting, is that all substitutions made by Ocado has involved products that are gluten-free.
So do coelics and those on a gluten-free diet use Ocado a lot?
That would explain why gluten-free products run out more often. This also applies to products that don’t have a gluten-free label, but are known to be gluten-free from the ingredients.
The Americans Who Think RFK Can Make Them Healthy Again
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
They are poor, sick, jobless and trust no one. But people in one of the most deprived parts of the US are putting their faith in a man who doesn’t believe in vaccines
These three paragraphs introduce the article.
The phone signal vanishes as you drive over the ridge into the purple valley and down to the town of Paw Paw, West Virginia, population 410.
Being born here deals a person a certain hand. A life six years shorter on average than those from California. A likelihood that you’ll be poor and suffer from disease (one in three adults here have a disability).
A high chance of addiction from the opioid epidemic that was brought here by rapacious pharmaceutical companies that has left the valley peppered with children brought up by grandparents.
It is a powerful piece from Louise Callaghan.
These are my thoughts.
As a coeliac myself, I do wonder if there is an epidemic of coeliac disease in Paw Paw.
Coeliac disease is genetic, so once it gets in a close community, it can spread through marriage and childbirth.
My coeliac disease came from my father, who was never diagnosed, but he got it through the generations from his great-great-grandfather, who was a tailor from Konigsberg in East Prussia.
If a coeliac is going to a country, where gluten-free foods are unavailable, they are advised by doctors to take steroids like Dexamethasone. American doctors regularly prescribe this steroid to coeliac patients, as it does work to a certain extent.
Everybody in Paw Paw should be tested for coeliac disease and those with the disease should go on a gluten-free diet.
But I suspect a plan like this wouldn’t go down well in Paw Paw.
The Anonymous Widower 