are they worth it?

from an article in the Times this morning, comes the news that Prince Charles thinks the army should guard the Royal Family.

the article goes on to mention some of the costs involved in protecting these people from ... whatever they're protected from. So, switching it to the Army would require *600-700 soldiers* - more than a battalion.

further figures:
to protecting the Queen at Balmoral this year - £1.2 million
to protecting Prince Harry for six weeks in Australia last year - £600k

The Home Office refuses to discuss the cost of policing the Royal Family but an authoritative figure is about £30 million a year, although that does not take into account the burden placed on police forces by royal visits.

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that's a lot of money - are they worth it?

the veggie box

[with apologies to brisingamen, cos I know she's disappointed with hers]

we've now been getting the veggie box for seven weeks, I think. It comes between 8.15 and 8.30 on a Tuesday morning, delivered from Riverford by a cheerful chap called Barney, and the invoice tells us he's running a marathon soon for charity, and would we like to sponsor him. The veg come in a reusable box, which folds flat, so Barney collects last week's box as he delivers this week's.

we can see what's coming in The Box from the web site, and we can add various items like milk and cream, organic charcoal and lemons and garlic, and more, - and one day soon I will remember to do this before the deadline of Sunday evening (in fact, I have just done it this moment). Every four weeks, we give Barney a cheque, and it all works like a dream.

but even better, I think, is that it has changed the way we eat. On Monday night, we had mushrooms, leeks and courgettes, lightly sautéd, to which I added cream and fresh oregano, eaten with a mound of pasta. Last night, we had roasted courgettes, carrots, new potatoes, red onion, and yellow pepper - tossed in good olive oil, with finely chopped garlic and chili, and served with couscous and coriander. Fresh food, simply cooked, and much better for us than meat.

and it takes more time to prepare veg from The Box - we have to wash it and trim it, so we spend more time cooking dinner, and less sitting in front of screens, either computers or televisions.

so I'm really pleased we got round to doing this - it's improved our lifestyle in several different ways. And I'm getting very good at soup made from vegetable scrag end :)

(no subject)

has anyone seen my tapestry?

you can't miss it - iit's a picture of a cauliflower.