Science, Nature and Tech

LETS Swap!

Pokemon cards, Moshi monsters, jelly stickers, friendship bracelets – at some point over the last few years my kids have swapped all these things. And in return they get good stuff back.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could go into a shop and, even if you had no money, you could still swap something you had for something you want?

In communities all over the world, people are doing just that. Or something very like it.

Local Exchange Trading Schemes or LETS for short, enable people who live near each other to swap their skills and receive goods and services without having to pay a penny.

Read More...

Science, Nature and Tech

Drip Drip Drip

Can you imagine not being able to turn on a water tap? Can you imagine not even having a water tap?
Today’s challenge is to notice when you do something that we all take for granted – turning that tap and letting the water flow.
Washing your hands, cleaning your teeth, taking a shower. You are thirsty, so take a big gulp of water straight from that tap after playing outside in the sun.
Every time you turn on a tap of water, think about how easy it was and what you would do without running water.

Read More...

Art & History

Women You Should Know… Agnes de Mille

If you ask people if they know the name ‘de Mille’, some will say they’ve heard of Hollywood producer Cecil de Mille, some might even know his brother William de Mille, but not many will have heard of William’s daughter. Which is a shame, because Agnes De Mille was a fascinating woman.

Read More...

Home, Health & Style

What is Procrastination, and Do You Have Time to Read This Right Now?

I’ve been trying to write this article for a while, but, well. I mean, I’ve had the time, but there just seems to be so much else to do. Like rearranging my books or the clothes in my wardrobe into colour order. And yesterday, I just had to plait all the tassels on my blanket and look through all my old photo albums.

Sound familiar? Procrastination is the science, no, the art of doing trivial things whilst putting off something important, like doing your homework or, ahem, writing an article. But putting things off for too long can get you into trouble. It’s much better to get on with tidying your room or revising for an exam than it is to see how many two pence coins you can balance on your nose (I managed 5 yesterday).

Read More...