Elections looming - a round up of my thoughts
MAY There are some strands of good news in the battle for sanity which we are all caught up in whether we like it or not! The Climate...
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The John Seymour School
for Self-Sufficiency
wllmsutherland
Jul 43 min read
Omnibus Garden News
RAIN IN APRIL! We did have 3 dry days in March so finally got some planting done – onion sets and the first 2 packets of parsnip seeds...
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wllmsutherland
Apr 32 min read
Headlines heading into Spring
IN THE GARDEN It's wet in the garden and I'm struggling to find a way to barrow out the compost before getting the rotavator going again...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 82 min read
The New Zealand Experience
It's mid-summer in New Zealand – constant temperatures in the low 20s, harsh hot sun and, in Wellington, always the wind. Staying in Days...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 53 min read
Headlines and doggerel from NZ and beyond
Down here in New Zealand the wind is blowing, and the trial of Barry Young (the covid data whistle-blower) is pending on 23 February....
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wllmsutherland
Jan 44 min read
The world in doggerel
I was surprised but encouraged to find my doggerel of last month published to a much wider readership in the daily newsletter of TCW....
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wllmsutherland
Jan 41 min read
End of year news
It has been wet in the garden! The sun shone today, and I finally got around to attacking the compost heap. First job is to take off the...
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wllmsutherland
Dec 18, 20236 min read
2023 Gardener's Thoughts Recap
IN THE WORLD Tedious as it may be, we still have to talk about covid, the Ukraine and the plans of the WEF. Here is my current state of...
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wllmsutherland
Dec 18, 20231 min read
Winding down for Xmas
IN THE GARDEN It's wet and muddy and the season is over. When we finally have some dry frosty weather it will be time to tidy up, dig out...
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wllmsutherland
Nov 7, 20239 min read
OUR STORY – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Yesterday I was amused and interested to discover the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. This new grouping of the “well-meaning great...
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wllmsutherland
Nov 7, 20232 min read
Autumn winds and Scythes of Ash
We have survived the violence of winter storms, bringing copious quantities of rain! It's almost the end of the gardening year. All the...
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wllmsutherland
Oct 2, 20239 min read
On intangibility and power
A SHORT WORD ON “CLIMATE CHANGE"! Carbon is the most important element for life on Earth. Every human body contains about 15 Kg of...
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wllmsutherland
Oct 2, 20231 min read
Autumnal air in the garden
Autumn is certainly the “season of mellow fruitfulness”! We've harvested the plums, beans (runner and french) and pulled up the onions....
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wllmsutherland
Sep 10, 20231 min read
In the world - Aug 2023
There are just two very important pieces of news/information I want to highlight for you this month. The US/Russia War Here are three...
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wllmsutherland
Sep 10, 20235 min read
Harvests and a Starring role
IN THE GARDEN In September the annual harvest gathers pace with many late nights spent preparing fruit and veg for the freezer. It really...
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wllmsutherland
Aug 10, 20232 min read
Gardener's thoughts on currency and climate
IN THE WORLD The un-winnable Ukraine war continues while western politicians scratch their heads as they wonder how to get out of this...
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wllmsutherland
Aug 10, 20233 min read
Summer and Scythes!
IN THE GARDEN The rains continue and the pumpkin is loving it! Strawbs and thornless blackberries are finished but the blackcurrants are...
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wllmsutherland
Jul 3, 20234 min read
Cards and Scythes - June 2023
The insane US war grinds on in the Ukraine where the outcome is extremely uncertain. France is in the throes of massive civil discontent...
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wllmsutherland
Jul 3, 20232 min read
June in the garden
Strawberries, new potatoes and fresh salad – by the bucketful. It's the summer so it must be nearly Wimbledon! We've had massive rainfall...
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wllmsutherland
Jun 7, 20232 min read
CHEMICAL FARMING ON A GRAND SCALE!
All around our pretty village of Embleton we are living in a “war zone”. It's a war against nature promoted by our government and carried...
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wllmsutherland
Jun 7, 20231 min read
A dry start to the busy growing season
The weather is dry, dry, dry and the garden is growing, growing and growing. We've finished the big job of scything the orchards and...
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wllmsutherland
May 7, 20235 min read
Gardener's thoughts, May 2023
IN THE WORLD THE AMERICAN WAR IN UKRAINE Slowly but surely some words of caution are creeping into the “gung-ho” propaganda of the...
66 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
May 7, 20231 min read
In the garden - May 2023
IN THE GARDEN It's still very cold and mice have been munching through the sweet corn and sweet pea seedlings in the greenhouse! On the...
57 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Apr 3, 20232 min read
A SHOCKING NEW COVID MYSTERY OF “ALL CAUSE” EXCESS MORTALITY!
A new paper which looks at excess deaths from all causes (ACM) in the US shows that the numbers increased rapidly in ALL age groups from...
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wllmsutherland
Apr 3, 20231 min read
Early spring in the garden
The wet weather has been a bit of a pest as we try to get the garden ready for spring. Finally we've had a couple of dry days – enough to...
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wllmsutherland
Mar 4, 20235 min read
Another trip to ponder the world
MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE! Today I write from Germany where the trains run smoothly at 250 Km/hr, the farmers routinely use...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 7, 20233 min read
IN THE WORLD
My trip to New Zealand took me to Dubai, Australia and Singapore. My experience of the great cities of these places contrasted strongly...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 7, 20233 min read
Catching up with Winter tasks
Just back from New Zealand and it's time to press on with the vital winter tasks – pruning the soft fruits and espaliered trees and...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 7, 20232 min read
Course Dates 2023
Once again, our students will stay in the picturesque village of Low Newton by the Sea and practical sessions will take place at the...
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wllmsutherland
Jan 8, 20234 min read
Dispatches from New Zealand - Part 2
FIRST THE GOOD NEWS I'm still enjoying the sun in beautiful New Zealand whilst the garden sleeps through an English winter. While the...
87 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Dec 7, 20225 min read
MY TRIP “DOWN UNDER”
This month’s news comes to you from “down under” in New Zealand. I am enjoying a second summer visiting my eldest son in Wellington. It's...
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wllmsutherland
Nov 15, 20225 min read
Closed for Winter (mostly!)
The garden has but a few chicory and cabbages left in it, and the soil is having a rest. But meanwhile... FARMING DILEMMAS! Modern...
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wllmsutherland
Oct 7, 20222 min read
Such Tragic Hubris!
This month I had my 77th birthday and decided to spoil myself by writing a new doggerel just to release some of the constant “bees in my...
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wllmsutherland
Oct 7, 20223 min read
Winding down in the garden
It's Autumn in the garden. Time for fungi, rain and autumn harvest. The wonders of nature are manifest in this magnificent rainbow and...
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wllmsutherland
Sep 15, 20221 min read
Getting ready for winter
GET READY FOR POWER CUTS As always I tell all my supporters to get ready for power cuts this winter. The simplest answer is a generator...
98 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Sep 15, 20222 min read
August turns to September
The time for autumn harvest is here as we come to the end of the productive garden season. The rains have arrived too which will boost...
70 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Aug 9, 20225 min read
Latest thoughts... and RHINO!
Covid – my final word My latest doggerel has just been published for the wider world by The Conservative Woman The Tories' little...
68 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Aug 9, 20222 min read
July in the garden
Harvesting continues in the garden. All the black currants and gooseberries have been processed now – as always it's a much longer job...
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wllmsutherland
Jul 6, 20223 min read
THE SADNESS OF OUR 'MAKE BELIEVE' WORLD
I meet a lot of “good” people in my work and play. Many times I am asked about the meaning of “self-sufficiency” and why it might be...
70 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Jul 6, 20221 min read
Summer is here!
At last the rains came and the garden bloomed! Salad, new potatoes and berries are now in full supply; the beans are shooting up their...
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wllmsutherland
Jun 8, 20222 min read
Greed, War and greater Crimes
THE EARTH IS NOW IN THE GRIP OF TERMINAL GREED Gates, Biden, Zuckerberg, Musk, Soros, Biden, Fauci, Zelensky, Johnson, Macron, Trudeau,...
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wllmsutherland
Jun 8, 20225 min read
Plants have sprung and summer nearly here.
It's the end of May, the garden is in full flow and there is lots to talk about. Weather has not been great – cold, dry and breezy - but...
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wllmsutherland
May 4, 20222 min read
The war in Ukraine
WAR I have to write about the Ukraine war So many western follies went before The US and EU played with weasel words Gave cash to...
74 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
May 4, 20223 min read
April showers? Alas not!
It has been a long cold spring in the garden and it's now desperate for rain! We've just finished our first SS course of the year (and...
66 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Mar 31, 20223 min read
March Days
We have passed the spring equinox now and the pace in the garden is slowly picking up. There is still tidying to be done and, while the...
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wllmsutherland
Mar 31, 20224 min read
There is a rough road ahead...
My Conclusions Get yourself a small (2-3 Kw generator). Get yourself a small pedal 5v generator for charging your phone. Get a Swarey...
81 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Mar 4, 20224 min read
The Ukraine
OBAMA AND BIDEN PLAYED DANGEROUS GAMES IN 2014! Like the huge under-water bulk of an iceberg, the situation in Ukraine is just the very...
70 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Mar 4, 20221 min read
Early sowings
Suddenly we seem to have reached March! The artichokes are doing what artichokes do but, more exciting, we have new blossom on the...
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wllmsutherland
Feb 9, 20222 min read
OUR RESIDENTIAL COURSES IN 2022
**UPDATE 31st Mar 2022** - The April course has been slow to fill up, so we are now offering the remaining spaces at a discount of 20%...
1,197 views0 comments
wllmsutherland
Feb 9, 20224 min read
Earth's Long Carbon Story
Thanks to the magic of photosynthesis the Earth's green plants have been collecting vast quantities of carbon every sunlit minute of...
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