Grow Our Own Food

Do You Have a Victory Garden?

The idea of planting Victory Gardens goes back to World War I and II, and was advertised as a way for patriots to make a difference on the home front. Planting these gardens helped the citizens combat food shortages by supplying themselves and their neighbors with fresh produce.

Planting your own Victory Garden can go a long way toward healthier eating, and in the long run, it can provide incentive for industry-wide change, and a return to a diet of real food, for everyone, everywhere. A great way to get started on your own is by sprouting. They may be small, but sprouts are packed with nutrition and best of all, they're easy and inexpensive to grow.

Reprinted from Dr Mercola. 

ROW Lecture Tour 2015 Canada

From London in the UK I flew to Toronto, and the nearby township of Guelph which is the home of a sister University to the James Cook University, of Queensland, and hosts exchange students from there.

My very kind and delightful hosts during my relatively short stay in Guelph, showed me every kindness whilst there sharing its many delights.

Their very attractive backyard was a great place to enjoy the sunshine of which I had seen very little since my arrival in Europe. After my too brief stay in which I seemed to have forgotten to take advantage of the opportunities I had to take more photographs to share with you, I then travelled down to Niagara Falls prior to  crossing the border into the US.

ROW Lecture Tour 2015 UK

From Latvia I travelled to York in the UK via Manchester, travelling from Manchester to York on the Pennine Express which is one of my favourite jouneys as the Pennines is such a beautiful area of the UK. In York I attended the ISRN Conference prior to travelling on to London.

This is a view of the Conference display.

And then to the Conference dinner and the Presidential address.

From York to London by train covering the 200 miles in two hours. The Vantra restaurant in the heart of London was my next venue. A delightful restaurant with a very homely atmosphere run by a Vietnamese couple who were most gracious and accommodating.

The emphasis at the restaurant was the presentation of raw food which was delightfully an attractively presented by way of fruit and vegetable salads.

Tucked in among the high-rises at the rear of the restaurant was this beautiful little park with its quaint old-world building gracing its centre.

Close by was to be found this very popular Hungarian restaurant the Gay Hussar.

Almost next door is to be found ronnie scott's a very famous venue for jazz musicians bot local and international. Their names are to be seen displayed on the exterior of the building.

The very next day I held a very successful workshop still in London, at another venue, also hosted by Vantra.

Fracking & Cancer

Fracking releases cancer-causing pollutants

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Monday, May 18, 2015

Fracking releases high levels of pollutants that have been linked to some cancers and respiratory problems such as asthma. The levels are far higher than environmental agencies consider being safe, and could affect the health of people living in drilling areas.

Fracking—a technique where high-pressure water is aimed at shale rock to extract the gas inside—releases high levels of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) into the atmosphere, say researchers from Oregon State University.

ROW Lecture Tour 2015 Latvia

And so to Latvia. A most interesting country with, as with the rest of Europe, a very chequered history, of wars, and threats of wars, occupations by foreign countries, along with a determined resilience maintain its national identity.

One of the first places I visited was a supermarket in a large shopping complex in search of food, and it was indeed a pleasure to be greeted by a local folk group playing their ethnic music.

The weather, to say the least was cold. Daytime temperatures were around five degrees, and when considering the chill factor of the wind would have been close to zero. The overnight temperatures were, of course much lower. These glass roofed buildings were to be found in the centre of Riga on the edge of one of the very large parks. They provided shelter from the wind, and warmth from the sun. At the same time they were the entrances to an underground car-park.

The old-world architecture was a delight to see with its heart and soul in contra-distinction to the modern architecture so prevalent in Australia.

So many of the buildings had these arched entrances to the inner courtyards which housed even more elaborately designed buildings.

To see the un-pollting vehicles on the streets still, such as these trolley buses, was indeed a joy. Of course though they also had the heavily polluting diesel buses too.

And the trams, This is one of the older varieties.

Then we have the new ones, which are much more stream-lined.

This is my hosts house in the countryside which is unique in that the insulation used is sand. The outer walls are concrete bricks with the sand sandwiched between the inner walls of timber. Naturally enough it still requires to be heated.

The house is built on the edge of this small lake with the sauna where, after having taken the sauna, you then jump into the freezing waters of the lake. In the winter time it is traditional to make a hole in the ice for doing so.

I have tried tho turn this photo and am sorry to say that I am unable to do so. This is an old windmill next to my host house.

This may well have you guessing, for it did me when I first saw it. It is, of all things, a drying cabinet for the hanging of your wet weather gear

In the city of Riga are still to be found quite a number of wooden buildings, as well as many streets still paved with cobblestones.

Facts & Figures
Map of Latvia
President: Andris Berzins (2011) Prime Minister: Laimdota Straujuma (2014)  Land area: 24,903 sq mi (64,500 sq km); total area: 24,938 sq mi (64,589 sq km) Population (2014 est.): 2,165,165 (growth rate: –0.62%); birth rate: 9.79/1000; infant mortality rate: 7.91/1000; life expectancy: 73.44 Capital and largest city (2011 est.):Riga, 701,000  Monetary unit: EURO National name: Latvijas Republika Current government officials Languages: Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, UKRAINIAN, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4% (2011) Ethnicity/race: Latvian 61.1%, Russian 26.2%, Belarusian 3.5%, Ukrainian 2.3%, Polish 2.2%, Lithuanian 1.3%, other 3.4% (2013) Religions: Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006) National Holiday: Independence Day, November 18 Literacy: 99.8% (2011 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP(2013 est.): $38.87 billion; per capita $19,100. Real growth rate: 4%.Inflation: 0.2%. UNEMPLOYMENT: 9.8%. Arable land: 17.96%. Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish. Labor force: 1.022 million; agriculture 8.8%, industry 24%, services 67.2% (2010 est.).Industries: buses, vans, street and railroad cars; synthetic FIBERS, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note—dependent on imports for energy and raw materials. Natural resources:peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land. Exports: $12.67 billion (2013 est.): wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs. Imports: $15.56 billion (2013 est.): machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, vehicles. Major TRADING partners: Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Poland, Italy (2011).  Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 501,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 2.31 million (2012). Broadcast media: several national and regional commercial TV stations are foreign-owned, 2 national TV stations are publicly-owned; system supplemented by privately-owned regional and local TV stations; cable and satellite multi-channel TV services with domestic and foreign broadcasts available; publicly-owned broadcaster operates 4 radio networks with dozens of stations throughout the country; dozens of private broadcasters also operate radio stations (2007). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 359,604 (2012). Internet users: 1.504 million (2009). Transportation: Railways: total: 2,239 km (2008). Highways: total: 72,440 km; paved: 14,707 km; unpaved: 57,733 km (2010). Waterways: 300 km perennially navigable. Ports and harbors: Riga, Ventspils. Airports: 42 (2032). International disputes: Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in Latvia; boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia has implemented the strict Schengen border rules with Russia.

Read more:  Latvia: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Citieshttp://www.infoplease.com/country/latvia.html#ixzz3Yxhskb4j

ROW Lecture Tour 2015 Croatia & Slovenia

From the heat of India, in the late 30's, to the coldness of Europe and Croatia. I flew via Moscow, which of course was even colder, and where it was still snowing. Fortunately I did not require to venture out of the terminal building. Nevertheless the temperature was much reduced with every-one, myself included, rugged up in winter gear.

From the freedom of minimal clothing, and the heat of the tropics, with its multiple layers of clothing, in just a few hours, is a test of one's endurance, to be sure.

Some of the enthusiastic people who attended my lectures and workshops in Croatia.

This is the town centre of Csarkovec on a cold Sunday morning. My frinds apologised for its strakness

My hosts who so kindly care for me, and arrange my lectures and workshops as hey farewell me on the station in Zagreb prior to catching the train to Ljubljana, in Slovenia. This was one of the rare occasions that the sun was shining whilst I was there.

And then to Ljubljana, in Slovenia, to be met by my hosts for that day who shared with me their enthusiasm, garden, and the countryside as we travelled to the town of Idrija.

Here is their garden with the new load of top-soil to be added, as this was re-claimed land, which arrived at the same time as we did.

On the way to Idrija we visited a farmhouse in which there was this heated raised bed. I had read of these, and considered that they were no longer in use since the availability of central heating. This appears to be far from the case, as I was informed they were still in wide usage.

And this is the fire-box used for heating the bed. The owner of the farm informed me that they used it regularly until the warmer weather came.

As we continued on our journey we visited the highest spot in the mountains, where of course there was a church, this being their favourite spot to build. 

This is the view from the top of the mountain. I was informed that from this point you were able to see over two thousand churches.

From there we visited another local farm on which there was this North American Indian tepee. I was informed that they held workshops here involving the teachings of the Indian Shamans.

Alongside the tepee was the sweat-lodge, which is a type of sauna.

My next port of call after Idrija was to this delightful restaurant at which I spent the next two nights with lectures. The owner told me that it originally was a barn belonging to the farm which he inherited. Not continuing farming he converted it to what it is today, where it is a meeting place more than anything else. Of course there is also lots of music. A place for the sharing of ideas, friends, conviviality, music, and well-being.

As can be observed, the interior was quite rustic, homely, and inviting.

The decorations were quite unique, and very historic in nature.

The snow was still on the surrounding mountains, with the weather still decidedly cold, in spite of the sunshine.

ROW Lecture Tour 2015

The new head of the Gandhi Trust had previously been Vice-Chancellor of three Universities and was very active in the promulgation of his duties, often commencing at 5am and finishing at 7 or 8pm.

We were able to accompany him on his inspection of one of the villages under the care of the Trust, and the village mayor in the discussion of the problems facing the village.

A part of this required an inspection of the village.

And its mixture of housing from the decaying ruins such as this.

To the more modern and recent structures, such as this.

In the midst of it all was an elderly crippled man living on the side of the road with this cart for shelter when it rained. I was informed that he chose to live there and was quite happy doing so, with the villagers supplying him with whatever food he needed.