How to make a tea cosy

Brighten up the breakfast table with a handcrafted tea cosy. Top textile designer Lisa Stickley shows you how to make a tea cosy:

Tea, cake and .... the radio in the background are all particular favourites of mine. This is a nice easy project to ensure that your tea will be steamy hot even after the cake is gone!

Print v iPads: books win!‏

Although e-book readers might be heralded as the future of literature but a new report shows that it's still quicker to read the old-fashioned print version of a book. However, the study found that although traditional printed books are faster and 'more relaxing' to read, but iPads and Kindles are 'more satisfying'.

The bookcase you'll want to live in

The Ark bookcase is for storing your books. But it's also for so much more . .

Fairtrade towns to top 500‏

Fair trade is growing fast with ever more Fairtrade towns that promote ethical shopping and even twin with their producer communities. A decade on from Garstang in Lancashire being declared as a Fairtrade town, the Fairtrade Foundation is set to crown the UK's 500th Fairtrade town, with Basingstoke and Deane borough in England, Fife in Scotland and the Welsh town of Llanelli all in the running. Fairtrade groups are as likely to be found in urban areas as in rural idylls. Twenty-three London boroughs have Fairtrade status, and Fairtrade cities include Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool.

Being at a computer makes us crave chocolate

Computers can make you fat - and not just from lack of exercise! Research shows that staring at a computer screen makes us work up an appetite for sweet treats like chocolate cake and biscuits. It is thought that the mental stress of computer work triggers changes in blood sugar and hormone levels that trick the brain into thinking it has worked off lots of calories that need replaced.

How to pour the perfect cup of coffee

The Guardian reports on years of research that have resulted in the discovery of the definitive way to pour the perfect second cup of coffee.

Hedgehog voted number one Icon of the Environment

The humble hedgehog – immortalised by the character “Mrs Tiggy-winkle” in Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s books – has been voted by the public as England and Wales’ number one Icon of the Environment. As part of the Environment Agency’s 10th anniversary celebrations people were asked to take part in an ICON of the Environment poll and to nominate and vote for their favourite environmental icon, at the official ICONS – A Portrait of England website.

From a field strewn with more than 70 nominations, the hedgehog emerged victorious ahead of the otter, red squirrel, and oak tree, with bluebell woods rounding out the top five.

Don't forget SuperBadger

SuperBadger is Tearfund's Facebook campaigning application. It allows Facebook users to send emails direct from their profile to the people making the decisions. Whether it is badgering politicians about climate change, or badgering supermarkets to stock more Fairtrade products, start badgering now!

• Find SuperBadger on Facebook now (Facebook sign up required)
• You can also follow SuperBadger on Twitter and SuperBadger's very own blog

John O’ Groats to Lands End?

Rohantime are asking: How many Rohan Shops have you visited? as the stores cover pretty much John O’ Groats to Lands End (or actually Aberdeen to Jersey). Infusion members have visited quite a few, including Ambleside and Long Preston on the way to or from waking trips.

Midge Forecast website updated

Three years ago I blogged about a website to help avoid the midge in Scotland. The Scottish Midge Forecast website is back, for its fifth year, with a brand-new look, sponsored by Smidge midge deterrent (this post is not an endorsement of the product, though I do plan to try it).

The website brings you the power of Google mapping to find your way around Scotland's midges, and it is also available through the social media below:

Social Media: Blessing or Curse?

From the Desiring God blog:

Many have expressed concern that emerging social media will hinder authentic face-to-face gospel community, but Ed Stetzer (in an article titled The Blessings of the New Media) says Social Media can be a blessing to the local church in four ways:

1. While social media does not provide community it can assist in building it.
2. Social media can communicate news within the local church.
3. Social media can communicate biblical, inspirational messages.
4. Social media can better acquaint people with the life and ministry of public ministers.

Within the UK, Urban Saints are running the Totally Wired tour: "an essential seminar for all parents, church leaders, youth leaders and anyone who cares about young people and the technology revolution". This comes to Leicester on 1st July.

Get on your bike: Sky Ride Leicester

Sign up for up to 50 FREE Led Cycle Rides across Leicester starting in July. Discover the traffic-free Riverside Way, Leicester Blue Plaques Tour, Lost Villages of Leicestershire or a range of other family-friendly rides. Trained British Cycling Ride Leaders will be on-hand to lead groups and offer cycling advice. Find out about a range of rides for all ages and abilities at www.goskyride.com.

See here for a list of Sky Ride Leicester Local Rides: www.goskyride.com/find-a-ride/default.aspx?cityid=6

The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins today. The Church of England has composed three prayers for the World Cup: two for the teams, the hosts and the fans - and one for those not interested. The prayers ask for blessings on all those involved, for generous sportsmanship and for the competition to be a source of celebration.

The prayer for those just not interested:

Lord, as all around are gripped with World Cup fever,

bless us with understanding,

strengthen us with patience and

grant us the gift of sympathy if needed.

Amen

Doctor Who: coming live to a stage near you‏

Doctor Who is soon set to step out of his Tardis and onto a theatre stage. The Doctor, together with assorted adversaries including the Daleks, Cybermen and Oods, is to tour the UK this autumn in a new stage show. Based upon the BBC’s smash-hit award-winning series Doctor Who, the doctorwholive.com show promises to deliver a spectacular audio/visual experience featuring live music, special effects and appearances from the show’s most popular monsters

Doctor Who Live will come to the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th October 2010.

See also: other Doctor Who blog posts

Win an iPad with Rohan

Rohan are offering their fans an opportunity to win an iPad over on the Rohantime website.

Wear Marmite?

As we've noted before, you either love or hate Marmite. If you fall into the former category, you can now wear a cycling top to proclaim your love of Marmite.

Drinking coffee doesn't make you more alert

Drinking coffee doesn't make you more alert, a caffeine study reveals.

John Beatty on the Iceland volcano

In February, some of us caught John Beatty on his Wild Vision tour, sponsored by Rohan. Little did we realise that a month later he would be an eyewitness to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. He was subsequently interviewed by John McCarthy on Excess Baggage, the Radio 4 travel programme.

Free Christian iPhone applications

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch then there are plenty of great Christian applications and websites that you may be interested in. You can find a range of iPhone and iPod Touch Christian applications listed in five sections on the free Christian resources website to make it easier to find exactly what you are after.

Cherish your churchyard

Thousands of growing churches are preparing to celebrate Cherishing Churchyards Week this June as part of the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity. The nationwide project is being run by conservation charity Caring for God’s Acre (CfGA) and is supported by the CofE’s national environmental campaign Shrinking the Footprint. There are an estimated 12,000 CofE churchyards.

10 moments when Britain prayed

Heaven help us : 10 moments when Britain prayed for its survival (Faith Central blog) provides a summary of a recent article in the BBC History magazine. Quoting Praying for Britain by Natalie Mears, it highlights 10 out the 540 nationwide prayer calls made by English monarchs and other leaders between the Reformation and 1947, the last time that England held a nationwide day of Prayer.

Bus driver filmed reading while driving

A bus driver has been suspended after a passenger filmed him apparently reading while driving along a dual carriageway in Birmingham. The National Express West Midlands driver was steering with his elbows while holding a small book. The passenger said they took the footage (which has since been posted on YouTube) after getting on the number 61 bus at Selly Oak at 2005 BST on Monday. National Express West Midlands said "immediate action" was taken.

We regularly post about books and reading on this blog but this is definitely not something to try yourself!

Doctor Who slays St George

From the Guardian's Comment is free blog:

"Other than that, and our crusade-inspired flag, George has not much to do with being English in the 21st century..... I suggest a new [patron saint]: The Doctor, the shape-shifting time-travelling guardian of humanity from Doctor Who. In fact, the Doctor shares many striking similarities with St George. Both are dragon-slaying outsiders, fighting on foreign shores to protect their adopted people. But we know so much more about the Doctor, and thus can proudly and sensibly sing his praises. If we as a people demand collective narrative from legend, we might as well make it a ripping yarn."

See also: Blake's Jerusalem banned

YHA Great Outdoors Challenge‏

The YHA is setting you a challenge…to turn off the TV, put that book down and get yourself, friends and family in the open-air and start enjoying the British Spring Time. The YHA is throwing down the gauntlet for you to share your photographs and any moments that capture the great outdoors.
Email the YHA your pictures and they will publish the best one in their next newsletter. It’s time to don those wellies, umbrellas and smiles, spring into action and get outside! Be creative and see if you make the top spot with your spring-time images . CLICK HERE for more info.

Leicestershire Walking Week 2010: 4-12 Sept

Leicestershire Walking Week 2010 has been announced: it will take place from 4-12 September. The Walking Week brings walking, health and fitness, social, wildlife organisations and local authorities together to provide nine days of walking oportunities, exploring the delights of Leicestershire's countryside, villages and towns.

With guided walks taking place throughout the county, the programme aimed to cater for all ages and abilities. The walks included countryside rambles, health walks, heritage trails, and guided walks with themes, such as a history tour, or wildlife wander. The full programme of walks will be available mid-summer 2010.

Internet Evangelism Day (25 April 2010)

Digital media have transformed the world in the last 15 years. We have entered a new ‘digital communication culture’ where all the rules for effective communication have changed. There are 1.7 billion web users, and over 3 billion people use mobile phones (increasingly these are web-equipped). The Web is not just another means of communication, but a hyper-medium that subsumes, links together, and enhances all previous media.

Internet Evangelism Day exists to help Christians understand the huge and growing potential to share the good news of Jesus through digital media. This involves two complementary concepts: an annual focus day on the last Sunday of April each year, and a year-round resource guide, with ideas and strategies for all types of digital evangelism

Chocolate maker gives haggis the sweet treatment

The Guardian reports that Thinking Chocolate, an Edinburgh-based chocolate maker, has given Scotland's national dish a cocoa-tinged makeover. Haggis-flavoured chocolates were originally prouced for a Burns' Night supper but the guests were so complimentary that they have started selling them commercially. However, there is no offal in the truffles. Instead, the chocolatier recreates the flavour of haggis by combining nutmeg, mace, black pepper and oatmeal.

The Towns That Chocolate Built

A blog post (from Edible Geography) discussing the impact of the Cadbury and Rowntree businesses on urban and social geography:

"chocolate’s architectural expression merits further study, as a lens through which to understand its cultural history"

The truth about Marmite

Marmite is a substance that can divide many a family or friendship. As we all know, there are two attitudes to Marmite: you either love or loathe it.

• Last month, researchers investigated a number of wondrous claims made for the brown stuff, from curing anaemia to weaning babies.
• Extra-strong Marmite is now available
  
• Checkout the Marmite NewsNetwork.com for the latest Election Developments
• Download a free Marmite Audiobook (featuring Horrid Henry)

Diocese Election website

The Diocese of Leicester has developed an Election 2010 website, with links to Events, Resources and reasons to get involved:

The challenge to our churches in today’s sectarian society is not to retract into some sort of Christian ghetto, but to be outward looking and acting, especially in the process of democratic renewal.

'This must reach out to everyone and in some areas it will require a change in attitudes and behaviour from politicians, churches and local communities. The church is charged with having a prophetic voice – not always a way to gain popularity – which shows people and communities a way forward into a more just, fair and equitable society.

The 2010 General Election is an opportunity for the Christian churches to offer neutral, safe and open space to begin this process.'

The Believers: 60s Christian pop (radio play)

The Saturday Play yesterday on Radio 4 was The Believers, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, set in Liverpool, 1963. The Merseybeat boom is about to take off. And with it, The Believers, a Christian pop band determined to spread the Word. If only they were all singing from the same hymn sheet...

You can Listen again for the next six days.

I wandered lonely as a cloud...just before I tweeted and updated Facebook‏

"Tweet if you see a blooming daffodil" was the recent message from Cumbria Tourism. But this wasn't a call to twitchers. This was a message to the social media-savvy travellers who are fluttering around in the "Twitterverse".

The aim of Cumbria's "Daffs Watch" Twitter and email campaign was to pinpoint where and when people could spot daffodils coming out of deep freeze after the cold winter.

Help make poverty an election issue

Now the General Election has finally been called, Christian Aid are asking supporters to help turn politicians’ minds to the crucial issues of tax dodging and climate change, as part of Christian Aid’s bid to keep global poverty high on the political agenda.

They are not suggesting who you should vote for! However, they hope that every new MP will have been asked, repeatedly, about his or her views on climate change and tax dodging before they enter office. Every MP should be fully aware that ambitious action to tackle these issues is exactly what many of their constituents demand.

Join the Christian Aid Election Campaign Trail and keep up with developmrents by becoming a fan of the Christian Aid Facebook page or follow on Twitter.

Hedgehogs released into the wild after dieting success

Fourteen hedgehogs that became too fat to protect themselves from predators are being returned to the wild after being put on a strict diet. Hedgehogs usually live off their fat reserves in the winter, but the creatures at at the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife had become so big (after over-indulging on cat food) they were unable to curl into a ball to hide from predators. The 14 hedgehogs were among 70 that were rescued by animal welfare officers from the effects of this year's harsh winter.

See also: other blog posts about hedgehogs.

Artists honour Tunnock's treats in new exhibition

The Tunnock's teacake is a biscuit tin favourite and the ideal accompaniment for a fresh brew - but rather than eating it people are being encouraged to view it as art! A special exhibition celebrating "one of Scotland's genuine icons" is being held in Glasgow. Artists have been invited to honour the Tunnock's teacake, along with the caramel wafer and log and the humble snowball, in a show called Tunnocked.

Preparing churches for the General Election 2010

A General Election will be held sometime before 3 June 2010. Christians across the country will be campaigning for different parties or standing for election. Churches may host hustings meetings where candidates can be questioned by local voters, and voters will have the opportunity to decide who they wish to vote for, and which party’s policies most closely match their own hopes and values. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has published a document, Faith in Politics, which covers a range of the most important policy issues, such as children and young people, criminal justice, the economy, education, environment, health, migration, poverty, and others. For each topic there are sections on subject background, the main issues, suggested questions to candidates and contact details for more information.

All the subject sections in Faith in Politics are available as web pages online, and additional material and links will be added as the election draws closer. The work comprises a series of articles on a variety of topics.

Carbon Fast: Make do and mend

Do you have clothes you could wear for longer if you gave them a little TLC? Spend some time doing old-fashioned mending. ‘1.2 million tonnes of clothing waste every year goes into UK landfills’ (UK government, Act on CO2). Methane – a potent greenhouse gas – is emitted in landfill sites. Reducing the quantity of clothes and other products we buy reduces the waste that ends up in landfills and also reduces emissions from manufacturing and transporting these goods.

Father God, please calm the unsustainable rate of consumption and transform us into people who are content with what we have rather than striving to own more and more. Amen.

www.tearfund.org/carbonfast

Sleep

Earlier Infusion blog posts have discussed sleep - here's a link to a blog post On Sleep which notes that "the Bible says quite a bit on this topic, probably because sleep is both a good teacher and a revealer of the heart":

1. 
Sleep is a daily gift from God (Psalm 127:1–2).

2. Sleep reminds us daily of our need for God (Psalms 3:5, 4:8).

3. Excessive sleep exposes sin and leads to poverty (Proverbs 6:9–11, 20:13).

4. Sleep is sweet when we are walking in wisdom (Proverbs 3:19–24).

5. Falling asleep provides an opportunity to examine our hearts before God (Psalm 4:4).


Swop clothes for chocs

During Fairtrade Fortnight, at participating Oxfam shops, you can swap a bag of quality donations for a delicious box of Cafédirect tea: http://tinyurl.com/yz9npwp

Win Chocolate for Fairtrade Fortnight

A competition for all chocolate lovers! All Divine chocolate products are Fairtrade certified and to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 Divine have a hamper worth £100, filled with all chocolate-y goodies to giveaway. Details of all Divine competitions can be found here.

Church leaders call for 'technology fast'

Church leaders are urging people to give up iPods rather than chocolate this Lent as part of a 'technology fast' to save the planet as well as our souls:

• TearFund Carbon Fast 2010 webpages
• Telegraph article

Shrove Tuesday

• Basic pancake recipe


• Give your pancake recipes a twist with these simple filling ideas


• How to serve Michelin-starred pancakes


• Pancake Day essentials


• What makes the perfect pancake?

A partner for your coffee

Like to partner an authentic Italian snack with your coffee? The first Cafédirect recipe this year is for a delicious Coffee & Almond Biscotti. They are easy and quick to make so try them out, share with friends over a morning coffee or after dinner espresso and tell Cafédirect what you think! Get the recipe!

The Big Swap - Fairtrade Fortnight 2010

For this year's Fairtrade Fortnight we're asking the nation to join us in The Big Swap. For two whole weeks we'll be asking you to swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Your usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, your usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and your usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. This means that every time you go shopping, you can use your wallet to make a stand.

The Big Swap website is the home of all things swap, a hub for all your swapping needs. It tells you how to get involved, what you can swap and most importantly, how to register them. Because we need lots of swaps made. One million and one in fact. Every swap will be proof that the people of the UK want producers in the developing world to get a fairer deal.

Host a Cafédirect Tea Party this Fairtrade Fortnight

This Fairtrade Fortnight (22 Feb - 7 March), Cafédirect are asking tea drinkers to 'turn over a new leaf' and make The Big Swap to Cafédirect and our fantastic range of teas. Tea Parties are a great way to get people together, have some fun and try some truly exceptional tea. That's why they've created some fabulous kits packed full of everything you need to host your own Cafédirect tea party! Each kit is full of ideas to liven up your party, posters to promote the party, recipes to try as well as three packs of tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey & Everyday Tea) - definitely enough tea to go around! Party guests will also receive money off coupon to use when they next go shopping! Join the Tea Party on Facebook, follow Cafédirect on Twitter and read the blog so you don't miss out on these fantastic kits!