Ailsa Reynolds

Are you thinking of sending flowers for Valentine's Day this month? My partner was telling me about a French programme he watched about the import of cut flowers (in this case from a particular African country) which are grown and treated with highly risky pesticides that have been banned for decades and where said pesticides are allowed to flow into water sources in the country where the flowers are grown. Strict import regulations that apply to plants and food do not seem to apply in this...

During the summer there was  a bit of a political argument going on in France about air con .Air con is not generally the norm here as opposed to countries where use is much higher, such as 88% usage in the USA. Those of us in old stone houses with shutters and tiled floors often generally manage quite well without because of the way these houses are built, to withstand the heat . Thick stone walls and tiled floors and the use of shutters / closing all windows during the day are the...

A low carbon, sustainable and biodegradable fabric beautiful enough to use for a wedding dress. What a wonderful idea!