Kitchen Garden Forum

There you go, every cloud.......

We are due to fly to Italy three weeks today for 11 days. (My OH said book 10 days holiday this year and I did not count the days and booked from Sat to Wed. I will be devastated if we can't go as we booked it last July and I have been counting down the weeks. I have been so looking forward to it. It does not look like things will be moving for sometime. I feel so verysorry for those people who are either stuck somewhere or are waiting to go somewhere as their only holiday of the year. I know a couple who got married today and I don't think they will be going on their honeymoon tomorrow. Here's crossing my fingers for them and us.

If I were of a more fanciful turn of mind, I would think that this eruption is the earth striking back at humanity for all the harm that has been done to it.
However, my rational mind has come up with some even more disturbing thoughts. Perhaps the present disruption is a sharp, timely reminder of what is to come in the future as a result of our own thoughtlessness and greed.
Little over half a century ago, and well within my lifetime, the skies were almost empty of planes, except in times of war or providing transport for the wealthy. Since then the world has built an economy and leisure/travel system based on the cheap and easy availability of flight. But what will happen when the oil runs out, which it surely will at some point in the future. I am not aware that there has been any serious examination of alternative fuels for jet engines, so the flights will eventually stop at some future date.
Our other assumption, in the developed world at least, was based on the banking system with its easy money culture, and that crashed almost as suddenly as Eyjafjallajökull erupted. Always seems to be Iceland involved

Just to continue the gloomy theme: last time Eyjafjallajökull erupted was in 1821, and it went on till 1823.

Well as long as any dust doesn't cause any extra work for the daily, so be it.

I agree with you Alan, I also think that it might be a conspiracy from the government to keep us here for the next three weeks for the election and make us suffer. OH you will have to pay your daily extra money for the extra work she might have to do.

Clive - I imagine there will be a shortage of quite a lot of fresh things if this situation goes on for much longer, especially the UK now imports a large percentage of its foodstuffs. When you think back to the Second World War this country was effectively blockcaded for 6 years and long term we had to rely on growing more food ourselves. But I believe we have about doiubled our population since then and concreted over more of our growing space to kprovide housing this increased population. Another good reason perhaps, why growing your own, even on a very small scale, is a good fall-back position. Hopefully the situation will ease shortly but nobody could have foreseen an economic disaster like this. j Perhaps it will shake the country out of its complacency in terms of forcing people to think a little more seriously about how on earth we provide for ourselves in such situations.

The volcano they're concerned about now is Katla much bigger and threatening than Eyjafjallajökull.

Hi Alan, I thought it was another Welsh word until I saw the umlaut.

There's a thick layer of dust all over the greenhouse and all my coldframes. It may just be dust as it has been very dry recently, but there is rather a good coating so it is quite likely from the volcano.

I've not been shopping so I haven't noticed a shortage of anything and there's plenty in the greenhouse, garden and freezer to keep us going for a few weeks. Oranges, bananas and grapefruits might be a problem, but don't they come by sea?

It would be interesting to think of us going back to sailing ships and old modes of transport if and when the oil runs out. Everyone would have to slow down a great deal. A slower pace of life might do people good.

I've not looked up any meterological data, but surely the wind doesn't blow towards us from Iceland all the time. It would only need a strong Easterly or Southerly to blow the ash in another direction.

Hi Alan, I thought it was another Welsh word until I saw the umlaut.

The Welsh for Eyjafjallajökull would be Iäen mynyddoedd yr ynys. (Note umlaut )

I was enveloped in a dense cloud of dust on the allotment yesterday.

Soil Merry Tillered a week ago was so dry the Howard 350 generated a dust cloud worthy of the historic American Dustbowl.

Dear Peter, dust must be a rare as Hens teeth on your heavy ground.

Apparently you immodest ladies are to blame

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 631775.stm

One of my customers and her family are still stuck in Eygpt, they should have returned last Saturday.

I suppose every cloud has a silver lining. This may persuade a few people that foreign travel isn't always all it's cracked up to be and encourage them to spend their summer holidays here in the UK. I'm sure our own tourist industry could do with a boost, especially in some of the rural economies. There have been some horrendous stories of journies people have had to make, often with small children, to try and get home. Right now our own back garden seems a very desirable place to be. I must be getting old !

9-02am today..large 4 jet seen contrailing heading just S. of East...

and....3-55pm contrail of large 2 jet sighted....routing West..


Clive.