Five years ago this week, we installed 13 solar panels on our roof. The array, with a capacity of 2.47 kilowatt hours (kWh), cost us £7,862. Today I would have to pay less than half that. Take the real example of the Guardian’s Patrick Barkham, writing in 2015. His 4kWh system of 16 panels cost £4,630 to… Continue reading
Pavegen more than a walk on part in renewable energy generation
Could renewable energy start-up Pavegen become the Tesla of walking? Most of us, unless we have lost the use of our legs, walk some distance every day. Some of us are walking more, to meet health and fitness targets, with 10,000 steps a day one popular challenge. So perhaps citing a company that could soon… Continue reading →
Nespresso’s Clooney coffee ads to boost South Sudan farmers
Coffee pods are one of the social and marketing phenomena of our times. The dominant brand Nespresso continues to commission the matinee, or should that be mid-morning?, idol George Clooney to promote its coffee to a prodigious band of consumers who cannot, incidentally, all be women. 10 years on, and owners of the brand Nestlé… Continue reading →
Simon King – expert guide to the wildlife around us
NatureWatch – How to Track and Observe Wildlife, by Simon King A lot of people, me included when I worked for Radio Times and spoke often to Simon about his TV wildlife programmes, used to nominate him as the next David Attenborough. That was more than 20 years ago, and I am happy to say… Continue reading →
Rail the only answer as Oxford turns into a traffic jam
The sensible way to reach the centre of Oxford if you are driving there is to park at one of the three “park-and-ride” facilities on the edge of the city and take the bus in. The city introduced this facility more than 20 years ago and, most of the time, it appears to work. But people… Continue reading →
Champion honey-coloured stone pub in the Cotswolds
I approached the Horse & Groom at Bourton on the Hill in the Cotswolds, on a dimming autumnal evening, with “child in the toy shop” level of anticipation. It had just been voted Pub of the Year in The Good Pub Guide 2016. The guide extolled it as “Handsome, Georgian, honey-coloured stone inn”. It’s one… Continue reading →