Clare Millington will be speaking about this topic during Thursday’s “Random Dialogues” livestream ➡️ 6 speakers, 6 minutes each, 60 minutes.

Here she is perched on a compost loo (not a tree bog) at Rosamund Community Garden, Guildford.

Thanks for booking in to watch, support, and cheer » HERE

What’s the Topic, Issue, or Subject that you’re Passionate About and Want to Share?

✒️5 Sentences from You

a weekly space for readers to share 5 (ish) sentences

»How do you want your caffè latte? by Ian Moncrieff MacMillan | Seeing The Way 👀

Starbucks have a few different options + extras to choose from. But I'd never guess there are over 383 BILLION different combinations you could ask for!

All those extras drive profits...but they take time for the baristas to make.

Wasn't a problem when we enjoyed the experience of watching our coffee being made...and maybe being tempted by a brownie or a muffin to go with our caffeine hit.

But now with more people in the US doing drive-through or having their order delivered, Starbucks are streamlining the process of making each order....with all the same universe of options.

Impressive!

👉https://x.com/TrungTPhan/status/1704675426159964268?s=20

📰Random Diablogs from Random Dialoguists

»Advantages of Adversity: Is Life Random?’

by Yvette Masure | Health is Wealth 🌱

So a few (eight actually) weeks ago I thought to myself ‘I need to change everything and reset my life’. Yes, a rather sweeping statement...you may say.

Well, I promptly had quite a traumatic fall, or rather ‘flight, finding myself with a broken left arm and leg ( to say the least).

The silver lining at that point was that I am right-handed, so managed to sustain my weekly articles, come what may, excellent! Though little else.

The advantages of adversity, otherwise known as the Silver Lining, are always there if you look.

I have been stopped in my tracks, literally, doing anything else, and been able to practice what I preach - to listen and contemplate yes, to the whispers of life itself. To stop filling up and to be empty. Quieting that monkey mind of distraction and endless talk.

So a blessing in disguise, no less.

I now have realised what is necessary in my life and what is not. Space and silence are precious, to enable us to … slow down. Feel alive.

But I do not suggest you break a leg or an arm. Just see that lessons in life come in mysterious ways, and out of the blue, and actually, are gifts for us to grow into

#wabisabi 💚

»Pros and Cons of Insomnia

by Jason | The Artist Living in the Shadows 🧑‍🎨

Pros: Get lots more done and occasionally you get a good idea.

Cons: It’s not very nice

I have designed this ring so it is as smooth on the inside as it is on the outside.

Just makes it nicer to wear.

Each ring will vary slightly so no two rings will be ever the same.

»A Tea Poem

by John Ballard ☕

Dear Jane,

Despite your plea (to not send over the blogs at the last minute), I've been slack and only just thought about RD.

Here's a short poem about tea (written by AI, not me)

In the realm of brew, where flavours blend,
Two choices emerge, like old dear friends.
Leaf tea, in its rustic, natural grace,
And tea bags, with convenience's embrace.

In gardens green, where leaves unfurl,
Leaf tea whispers secrets to the world.
Hand-picked and plucked with gentle care,
Their essence in the open air.

In teardrop curls and vibrant hues,
Each leaf tells tales of morning dews.
A dance of flavours, pure and bright,
As they steep in the soft sunlight.

Yet tea bags, with their simple charm,
Hold their own in the daily farm.
Compact and tidy, they await,
To steep their stories in the plate.

For hurried souls and moments brief,
Tea bags offer quick relief.
With strings and tags, they're neatly tied,
In boiling water, they reside.

Leaf tea's complex, a nuanced brew,
Tea bags, swift, and tried and true.
Both have a place, a role to play,
In soothing moments, come what may.

In porcelain cups or mugs of clay,
They chase the night or greet the day.
Leaf tea or bags, it matters not,
The soothing warmth is all we've sought.

So, sip with joy, in moments sweet,
Let both these teas your senses meet.
For in the end, it's the moments shared,
With friends and tea, we're all ensnared.

»The Rough Shoot

by John FitzAlen-Patrick | A Tweed Read 🧑‍🌾

Autumn is here at last! It is a season I adore. As Mother Nature prepares for her winter slumber the trees offer a spectacular final flourish of colour that burns into our hearts and sees us through the winter darkness. It’s a cosy season as the days get cooler and the nights longer. The leaves gently fall making rustic and multi-coloured patchwork blankets upon the ground. The harvest is in and gardens are readied for spring.

It is against this beautiful back-drop that the shooting season begins. I am looking at what is called Rough Shooting. This is very different from the Driven Shoot which is maybe the more familiar to people. This is when the birds are reared outside in wooded areas to be shot in what is referred to as drives in which the beaters make a devil of a noise banging sticks on trees to get the bird to fly up towards the pegs (where the guns are). There are normally up to 8 drives. At the end of the day the dead birds are tied into pairs or braces and distributed to the shooters and beaters, the remaining are sold for very little to local restaurants and pubs etc.

Rough shooting is a more hunter-gatherer affair. It can be done in a small group or solo. The addition of a trusty gun dog is always a bonus, these usually being Labradors or Spaniels but Pointers, so named as they literally point at the quarry when they hit Terre firma, are used too. There is nothing more rewarding than walking up the hedgerows with the dog hoping a rabbit or wild pheasant or a pigeon will startle and fly up (run with a rabbit of course). The very distinctive sound of the pheasant as it flys off is unmistakable. The sound of their wings and the ‘ga ga ga’ noise they make often startles the hunter too! Pheasants are not indigenous to the UK, they originate from Persia. Due to this, they suffer from a lack of essential oils that protect their wings from rain, when there are two or three days of continuous rain they get water-logged and cannot fly! But when dry and airborne they can be a challenge.

Walking around the fields and up the hedgerows is very soothing. The sound of geese far above, as they leave for their winter homes, is a sure sign of the season. The fields harvested and in fallow for a while, the chill upon the air and the roses in the cheeks. I will not go into the act of the actual shoot but when the day is concluded there is little more satisfying than walking back with food for the pot. It is customary to only shoot what you need so one or two of anything. In the case of the pheasant, they are hung for a few days to mature. Then they are dressed (plucked and innards removed) and ready for the pot.

There are many recipes that go well with pheasant. It is a stronger flavour than chicken but altogether tastier. It’s how things should taste. Totally organic and corn-fed. Chickens in supermarkets are really not good enough. No flavour any more, unlike their totally wild cousins. The pheasant is great in a stew with winter vegetables or roasted with apples and cider a la Normand. The easiest is to roast if you haven’t cooked one before. In a roasting tin put some rosemary and time, roughly chopped garlic, onion, and apple. Put some streaky bacon over the breast and massage a bit of olive oil. Drizzle some good cider and roast for about 30 minutes. The end result is a very flavoursome affair, ideal with roast potatoes and parsnips, red cabbage etc. Red wine or Port can be used too if preferred.

The feeling of having brought home the food for the pot is satisfying and rewarding, the same in many ways as picking the vegetables from the earth. The pheasant (or rabbit etc) is dispatched within the blink of an eyelid so there is no suffering. They are also relaxed. This may seem odd as one has just shot it but when they fly or run it’s a very natural occurrence, they are flying or running to another spot. Startled but not frightened. The dispatch is very swift and humane. As a result, the meat is very tender. When an animal is frightened, such as in a lot of slaughterhouses they release acids into the muscles which affects the flavour irreversibly.

Events🎫

• Thursday 28th September, 8 pm to 9 pm 📣Random Dialogues #25 online 6 speakers, 6 minutes each, 60 minutes. REGISTER TO VIEW

• Monday 8th October, 8 pm 🎨FREE Canva for Beginners on Zoom » CREATE WITH ME

• Tuesday 10th October September, 10am to noon - Networking Comes Alive at GLIVE! 🐝Guildford Buzz » BOOK

🔚And Finally

🤓Check out this pic of Laura wearing my blue specs!

🎣And a Bit More Finally

Here’s Clare crushing it.

Until next Friday at 6:08 am (ish).

PS I’ve been invited to speak at a sixth form about the power of networking with Random Dialogues! I’ll hand out some free copies of these at the end ⬇️

💪Energiser Hours