How I made my pets more environmentally friendly

How I made my pets more environmentally friendly

The wood shavings we put in the coop are FSC approved – meaning they are made from wood from responsibly managed forests – but of course there will be emissions tied to the production and transportation. So, instead I tried a reusable egg-laying mat, a bit like a door mat with rubber bristles. However, on … Read more

Why surfers are flocking to Scotland

Why surfers are flocking to Scotland

Of particular pride for Hadden is Surf Lab, an alliance with nearby Edinburgh Napier University that will undertake specialised research – already it has funded the world’s first surf therapy PhD on the same campus. Besides that, Lost Shore will be the first to have a surf school offering courses in meditative surf therapy. “It’s … Read more

Yerba mate: South America’s ‘beverage of champions’

Yerba mate: South America’s ‘beverage of champions’

“Now with [Lionel] Messi living in Miami, he’s become a great ambassador of mate, like a living showcase of mate consumption,” Johan added. (Fun fact: Messi drinks mate from Uruguay, not Argentina.) Global messaging platform WhatsApp recently introduced a mate emoji, which points to mate’s growing popularity as people aim for a healthier lifestyle in … Read more

Why Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla divided Elvis’s family

Why Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla divided Elvis’s family

“Is this an act of grooming,” asks Richard Lawson in Vanity Fair. “Priscilla does not really editorialise on that, instead calmly showing true events as they happened (or in some version of how they happened) and letting the audience make assessments.” On the other hand, Tara McNamara at Common Sense Media has no doubts. “While … Read more

The Train d’Artouste: Europe’s highest narrow-gauge train

The Train d’Artouste: Europe’s highest narrow-gauge train

My warm-up hike was the 20-minute trek to the dam, a monumental 27m-high concrete wall holding back an ancient, crystalline lake from the dry, fertile valley on the other side. A thick and fast-moving fog turned fellow hikers into ghostly silhouettes and obscured whole mountains, reminding us that up here, nature is a capricious shapeshifter.  … Read more

See another side to London at eight of its most unusual tourist attractions

See another side to London at eight of its most unusual tourist attractions

3. Best for those with eclectic tastes: Horniman Museum and Gardens Towering totem poles and colourful cycle-rickshaws, Spanish Inquisition torture chairs and Uzbek wedding dresses, Rio carnival costumes and Yoruba divination rattles, sperm whale teeth and stuffed three-toed sloths: the Horniman has perhaps the most eclectic collection of any museum in the capital. Founded in … Read more

The Isle of Eigg: The community-owned island that powers itself

The Isle of Eigg: The community-owned island that powers itself

Stepping off the ferry, I walked the short distance to An Laimhrig, the pier centre. Recently expanded and redeveloped to better serve the increasing number of islanders and visitors, the complex is at the heart of community life. As I oriented myself with a map, islanders came and went, collecting deliveries, dropping off letters and … Read more