Liz's Page

UPDATE 2024 : Most of the links were dead or outdated so I've removed them. I think the sentiments still stand though

Time to update and revisit this blog for 2014 because although web links may stop working and ideas about how to go about making the neighbourhood better might change, the basic suggestions are as good as ever. 

In 2011, on a thread about New Year's resolutions, HOL member Rachel linked to an article that she knew I'd like.

It advocates 7…

In 1851, London finally banned burials in churchyards as parish burial grounds in cities became squalid and unsanitary, due the rapid growth of  the population. Burying the dead became the responsibility of out-of-town municipal burial grounds and a burial in the parish churchyard needed special permission. It was the age of the great Victorian necropolis, the sleepy parish churchyard became a symbol of a…

It's never a bad time to visit Railway Fields but just before sunset on a cold November day is absolutely magical.

I had the place to myself but the bushes and trees were alive with birds and the odd squirrel. Robins, blackbirds, a thrush and a magpie were the birds that I could identify as they flitted frantically. At this time of year, the…

Bees in my compost bin! Good heavens, I think I’ve overdone the bee friendly gardening. 

Last Sunday, my husband returned with the scraps caddy from the garden and announced we had a ‘wasps nest’ in the bin. Google being everybody’s friend we spent some time comparing pictures of wasps' and bees' nests. "You know", said hubby, "it’s not wasps, it’s honey bees."  …