Living park furniture September 4th, 2008 by Scottie There is a company that has developed a great way of having park furniture and trees in one. The small team of have developed a way of growing the Ficus (or fig tree) in air and water spray with plant feed in order to grow long root systems. After a year the root is long enough to be trained over a fine frame and planted into the ground below the new, living seat. Have a look at www.plantware.com for more information. Great stuff - no more cutting down trees for park benches! I have tried to upload a picture but the system is having a paddy with me so I will keep trying… Posted in Products, fun | No Comments » Food additives for children September 2nd, 2008 by Scottie There – that caught your attention! The campaign to have additives removed from food for children and parents alike has another champion in Netmums (www.netmums.com) who have a great web site dedicated to keeping the family healthy, keeping food costs down and more importantly making dreaded food, such as vegetables, fun. The site is packed with advice, tips from other mums (and Dads too) with fun cooking projects for school. Over 1000 mums took part in a survey asking them about a wide range of topics that impact on their lives and that of their family. Out of the number crunching came the fact that 87% felt that the FSA (food safety agency) should ban more of the additives they have on their ‘safe’ list. A massive 98% are worried about the impact of food additives on their child’s health and behaviour. To help mums there is a guide to good packed lunch ideas that supply the required famous five pieces of fruit or veg. The sites author also warns of the manufacturer’s double bluff of saying that the product is sugar free when, in reality, it is packed with chemical sweeteners; many of which are under investigation for safety. Salt is another problem that is often disguised in content details or replaced with sodium that is three