The Stinky Sandal

I popped out on my ebike to Guildford Community Garden to do some watering.

The gate was open enough for me to wheel the bike through.

I pushed it past the flower beds, happy to see the sweet peas in bloom, whilst butterflies danced around the buddleia.

As I headed towards polytunnel one, a strange smell wafted through the air.

In the distance I spotted Clare in her stylish stained yellow t-shirt and brown shorts.

“Hi there, Clare!” I called.

“Jane, good to see you up here!” she responded.

The smelly whiff was still present.

Clare came closer.

So did the stench.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you do smell a bit!” I declared.

“It’s my sandal Jane, it fell in the tea.”

This was no ordinary tea. It was made from comfrey.

We feed the plants with it in the garden and the bees love it too, just as much as the shoe.

The comfrey gets chopped down up to 4 times a year and the stalks and leaves are added to the compost, popped under a potato or beans at planting time, and best of all turn it into a tea.

Not the kind we might drink though.

Just infront of the polytunnel were 2 big buckets, one for water and one for the tea which was made from comfrey stalks, leaves and water.

It ponged.

As much as Clare.

I pinched my nose.

“I think I’d better take a bath with my sandal on when I get home!” she laughed.

We filled the watering cans with some of the brew and added more water too, then gave the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers a drink.

With the stink.

Click the link ⤵️

⏩Fast Forward...

to Sarah

who set up the “The Swift Project” in Surrey. Below is a photo of one posing in her nest box ⤵️

📝Here's some fun and not so fun facts about swifts:

⩼They can travel up to 70mph ️

⩼Spend most of their time airborne

⩼Fly an exhausting 5,500 from Africa to the East and South East of England, and 5,500 km back

⩼Return every year to the same mate and nest to breed

⩼Spend their winters in Africa

⩼The British Trust for Ornithology suggests swift numbers are down by 57%, attributing heat waves affecting their migration, a decline in insect numbers, pesticide overuse and nests being blocked, or demolished by human interference

For more information on having a swift box installed, please contact [email protected]

🙉Unheard Voices – the play, "Apples in Winter"

From Philip Parker, thank you for sending this over and raising awareness -

The victims of crime are increasingly permitted to express their experiences in court and the criminal justice system. Not a week goes by without another (welcome) example. While the focus is rightly on the victims and their families, there is another category of victim which is overlooked. There are some voices that are not heard, and individuals who are stigmatised: the families of the convicted rarely are considered.

When someone is convicted and sentenced, they don’t always serve their sentence alone. Their families have to bear it. Families measure out the time until release as do the prisoners. And where the sentence is the ultimate one – such as the death penalty – the families of the executed are little considered.

These ideas and questions about justice and forgiveness are expressed movingly in the play Apples in Winter by Jennifer Fawcett. This week Godalming-based professional theatre company LynchPin announced it will present the European premiere of this award-winning, one-woman play.

It centres on a mother whose son committed a terrible crime. He’s been on death row for 22 years. In hours the state will execute him. His request for a last meal – his mother’s apple pie. As she shows us how to make the perfect pie, we watch her grapple to understand what happened to her son - and how one night 22 years ago changed everything. The play offers a cathartic journey into the heart of barely resolvable questions about justice, forgiveness and love.

It provides a rare opportunity to hear an often silenced and ostracised voice: that of the mother of a perpetrator.

Apples in Winter is an extraordinary and compassionate play that challenges an audience to reflect on the impact of violent crime on its hidden victims, and questions how we live with the incomprehensible. LynchPin will bring this to the stage in October and there will also be regular post-show discussions with experts in criminal justice and those with relevant lived experience.

Check out this trailer and videos on LynchPin’s Crowdfunding page. If you are able and willing, a donation of any amount would help to support the production of this extraordinary play to reach a UK audience.

🗞️Other News

The organisers of Britain's biggest ever survey of household plastic waste have called for immediate action to tackle what they say are "jaw-dropping" findings.

🎵Jason's Music Choice This Week

tbc (see online version) for updates.

🎨From The Artist Living In The Shadows

⚡️Creative Nudge

And Finally🎬

"Random Dialogues" is sponsoring the speaking tent at Burpham Wellfest on Sunday 17th July from 10am to 6pm, hope to see you there, info here

👋Thank you for your contributions. Until next Friday...

will be at Burpham Wellfest too.

Click to join my free Facebook Group and find out what this certificate is all about ⤵️

These updates go out on a Friday at 6:08am ish. They are quite random, community focused, best read on the web, and probably have a few typos. Please respond to let me know what you like best, what you'd do better and whether you'd like to contribute too. Thanks from me.

Scratch and 👃

By the way, today I'm in a school celebrating "diversity day". We've to wear an outfit that reflects our personality or interests. How to dress as a generalist? I'll post a pic next week.

How about you, what would you wear? Let me know.

Look forward to hearing from you.

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