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Articles by Bruno Blackstone

Browse published articles attributed to Bruno Blackstone, with full-archive search.

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By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

The Appeal of Hot Air Balloooning

Hot Air Balloon Rides are a great way to relax and enjoy the beautiful countryside from above drifting along in a tranquil journey across the sky. The really appealing elements of hot air balloon rides include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the balloon moves with the wind, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,085 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

To Bee or not to Bee!

In one or two of my previous articles I have written about how grasslands are managed to encourage wildflower growth. Farmers are being given incentives to promote this kind of management in order to halt the decline in these native wild plants. There is another reason why this decline should be reversed and that is that pollinating insect numbers are also falling. We all see bees and insects in our gardens, but there was a time when their numbers were much greater.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,081 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Wat-er Day in the Pool

I was sitting in a friend’s garden recently watching their children playing in a paddling pool during an unusually hot spell for this country. Well I say ‘paddling pool’, it looked more like a swimming pool to me. The friends are somewhat younger than me and can’t remember the days when gardens were tiny, lawns were not for playing on and grass was certainly not for wetting. To enjoy fun anywhere near water meant long bus or car trips to the seaside carrying beach balls, buckets and spades, the all-important picnic and of course something to drink.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,075 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Bridging the Thames

Here in England we had a spectacular event recently; as part of the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the River Thames played host to a flotilla of craft of all shapes and sizes. The pageant covered the seven miles betwee Albert Bridge and the world famous icon of Tower Bridge, which was opened especially for the event. This got me thinking about the rest of the bridges that span the Thames; here’s a short history of some of them in chronological rather than any upstream/downstream order.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,049 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

How the Swiss Put an Essential Item on Your Camping Gear Checklist.

Whilst, during your next camping break, you look for your useful pen-knife or multi-tool, take a moment to remember the trip it followed to become an essential item on a rambler's camping gear list.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,047 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Why is it that Cows Follow Trains?

There's a great movie produced in the 1950s starring Alistair Sim (possibly most famous for his portrayal of Dickens’ Scrooge) known as “Folly to be Wise”. It is set in a British army camp in the 1950’s in which a recently arrived barracks chaplain (Sim) attempts to liven the place up by staging a “brain’s trust”. A brain’s trust meant pulling together a panel of nearby dignitaries and enabling the audience to ask them whatever may be on their minds, a bit like what can be termed a plenary session in a current day company meeting.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,045 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Chocolate – From Mesoamerican Beverages to Multi-Million Pound Market

Chocolate, the actual word itself appears – well chocolatey! A handful of people rarely ever touch it, their palfry consumption more than made up for through the chocoholics within us. However, how did chocolate come across from the Mesoamerican peoples who nurtured the cacao tree, to the greatly desired item which we love these days? And so here is a short potted history.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,034 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy, Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun!

Why is it that whenever someone has a little mishap in the garden someone else is bound to be on hand filming it just in case they capture enough decent footage to send to one of those programmes that showcases camcorder catastrophes. Usually it is plastic garden chairs collapsing or even breaking, sun loungers eating small children, hammocks tipping out their occupants and garden swimming pools collapsing. Another one that has so far not been mentioned is the favourite of many – the garden trampoline.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,026 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Where there’s muck there’s grass!

In a preceding article I outlined how experiening a series of guided rammbles gave me an interest in wild flowers. Having begun to learn a little more about grasslands I was amazed to hear that our wild flowers were effectively under threat and this in turn was affecting the wildlife population.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,026 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Advice with regard to Choosing Walking Boots

There is a potentially perplexing range of boots for hiking available for the consumer to pick from. Having said that, making the proper decision is really critical as actually the primary item of clothing to assure a rambler's optimum trekking pleasure is the footwear. The right boots will make the walker think that they can trek for miles and miles however the wrong pair will make even a simple stroll into a nightmare. So what must the walker take into account when deciding on boots?

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,025 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Just How Much Do You Know About Celebrity Chefs

I love cookery programmes, it’s great to get some new ideas which can be used or adapted into my own cooking. These programmes are often based around a certain personality and the success (or failure) of the series very much depends on whether the general public like the chef – perhaps more so than the food that they cook. I thought I would write about my favourite chefs: Nigella Lawson:

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

1,023 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Social Networking - What's your views on it?

Being the thoroughly modern chap that I am, I use Facebook. This is partly a business thing, but I find it’s also pretty useful for staying in touch with people who otherwise had passed completely out of my life since I upped sticks and came to the countryside. Old friends from the days of my youth have suddenly reappeared, in the form of status updates and thumbnail photographs. I’d consider this an entirely good thing, but there’s an awful lot of nonsense that goes along with it. Join your friends on Farmville! How many of the TOP 100 MOVIES have you seen? Take the quiz!

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

997 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Looking After the Colonials: A Weekend of Northern Hospitality

Over the Easter weekend of 2012, I played host to some American friends. Originally from Dallas, Texas, they are a couple who moved to sunny Sheffield last year, partly out of a wish to leave the U.S. for a while, and partly for Shanes’ job. His wife Rachel has not yet found employment in the UK due in part to a delayed visa, so has been going a bit stir-crazy at home. So much so, in fact, that she has learned to knit.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

989 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

The Tale of a Damaged Ankle - A Cautinary journal about the perils of the wrong footwear

BBA (Before Broken Ankle): I have an active daily life and value trekking and road cycling, getting out into the great country side is one of my favorite activities. Day 1: Enjoyed a charming ramble with my companion and our pet dog - Tess, sporting my brand new wellingtons because there had been a great deal of showers through the last number of days. Probably I really should have looked where I was heading as I trip, landing badly and (it happens) fracture my right leg in several places.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

987 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Wild Plants - Their Uses Through the Years

Wild flowers from many places have been thought for a great number of years to contain healing and other attributes. Woodland plants like Wood Avens otherwise known as Herb Bennet, have been worn as an amulet to guard the wearer. The sap from Dog’s Mercury was used as an antiseptic and was furthermore used to cure warts. In Elizabethan days the roots of lords and-ladies were utilised as a supply of starch to stiffen the ruffs that were contemporary in that time.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

982 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

The Way To Decide On a GPS or SATNAV Right for Walkers

What is Sat nav? The Global Positioning System (GPS) is really a satellite-based navigation system (hence they're in addition referred to as SAT NAV) made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was initially created for armed service applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS operates during any weather situations, anyplace in the world, 24 hrs per day. There are no subscription fees or setup expenses to use GPS. How it works

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

980 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

How Much Chocolate is Just Too much?

In the modern world Chocolate is a multi-million pound industry, but where did it come from and how did the humble cocoa bean develop into the many varieties we see on our shelves today? The Cocoa bean is thought to have originated in the Amazon as far back as 2000 BC, it was used by the Aztecs as a drink and as part of their diet. This was much different to the treat we know it as today.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

970 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Ben Nevis Challenge

There’s a charity dear to my heart and so I made the decision it was about time I did some thing to raise money on their behalf. I log on to their web site and identify they have a number of challenges, the one which looks to fit the bill for me is the Ben Nevis Challenge. Following some thought I enrol, and a couple of days later some information comes, for instance a coaching method and top tips for raising cash.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

961 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Tales Of The Bleak Midwinter – The Benefit of a respectable Walking Outerjacket (Even for the Northern Chap)!

Similar to most English people, I was caught unprepared by the cold winter weather of 2009. I will keep in mind Dec. 17th particularly well because, untypical for me, I was ill prepared for the weather and the happenings of that day. I had enjoyed the morning rambling, it was chilly and the very first few snowflakes fell in the early afte oon. I reside in Ingleton however had been trekking around the amazing Ribblehead Valley, admiring its famous viaduct. I retired to the local pub for something to eat and a crafty half pint ahead of driving back home.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

961 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Encouraging Your Kids to Cycle

Family cycling is a fun and great way to enjoy the outdoors as well as a great way to exercise. Every child develops at a different pace but they will probably be ready to start cycling sometime between the ages of three and seven. Also remember to emphasise the fun nature of it; try and relax and recognise that a scuffed knee is part of growing up and an inevitable part of the increasing independence that comes with cycling

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

959 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

A Night In A Bare Mountain!

Quite a few years ago when I was a much younger guy it was my pleasure (!) to organise an outward bound style adventure for a number of kids aged between about ten and fifteen. The idea was relatively simple, I was to drive one minibus load of them with my then girlfriend (now wife) driving another. Our destination was the Welsh coast where we were to stay at a centre for one night, the subsequent day adventure into the countryside and walk up into the hills, sleep for the night in a cave, travel back down the following day and pass yet another night at the centre before our return home.r

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

955 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Getaways on a budget

Well, it seems it is that time of year again holiday season is once more upon us but in today’s economic climate a good break is not always possible, never fear though – here are some tips on getting away without it costing the Earth. Try a stay-cation – OK, so you can’t rely on the weather (where’s the fun in it being sunny all the time anyway) but consider the following:

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

955 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

What’s In a Name - A Trip From Ignorance to Local Historian!

A little earlier this year The writer took a rail trip from my place in Yorkshire to pay a visit to my mom and dad 80 miles away. My local station was one of those minor unmanned rural stations; my destination station was just as tiny but on the outskirts of a major industrial town. As I had dwelled in that place for around twenty years prior to my marriage I knew my actual destination and consequently I was able get a through ticket from the conductor on the train. “A single to Thatto Heath please” I said on his arrival.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

950 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

The Yorkshire Three Peaks

I purchased some new outdoor kit just lately and in consequence decided I wanted to justify my expenditure by creating myself a challenge, I pick on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the challenge being to ascend the three tallest hills in Yorkshire - Whe side, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent. Typically it’s all 3 in one day however this feels too much of a challenge for the writer ok I intend to do one each day. I select up my recently purchased gear and Ken the dog and head for my accommodation in Ingleton.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

934 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

When We Were Very Young…(We Didn’t Know About Computer Games!)

Not long ago I was calling on a good friend while he was baby sitting his grandkids who were staying for a few days. They had brought a variety of things to keep theirselves occupied (and out of Grandad’s hair!). Apart from the old favourites of books, board games and puzzles they had additionally obtained a computer games console with which they were now engaged in some form of battle against the forces of darkness.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

905 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Which Indulgence Therapy Will I Choose?

There is no doubt that the spa break business is bouyant, put ‘spa break’ into Yahoo and google and you shall get countless of results. Even during these hard days we can not get enough of indulging ourselves with a quick holiday to pamper ourselves. Perhaps you planning a hen (or stag) occasion, you plan to reward a loved one or have been bought a special present yourself, or you just have to have a short break alone to take it easy and unwind? There are so many therapies out there it can turn out to be confusing.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

904 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Wildlife Surrounding Us

Many of us who delight in the great outdoors do so partly as a result of flora and fauna that we see there. Wildlife is, after all, all around us and I think it is especially entertaining when one has to go no further than one’s own home to spot it. We live in a remote locale in the centre of the Yorkshire Dales and have a stream or beck as they are known around here flowing across our small garden. Over the coming few posts I will catalogue the many and varied species that we can identify from our windows; what we refer to as our “window list”

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

904 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Great lakes and little birds

Recently I left my beloved Yorkshire to explore the outdoors elsewhere; in fact I left these shores completely and went to the Italian Lakes. I had never been to the area before and was really looking forward to comparing it to our own Lake District that I know fairly well. I stayed in the beautiful walled town of Sirmione on Lake Garda and the first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the Lake. Not being familiar with, nor having read much about the area, I was expecting to find something akin to Lake Windermere.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

903 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Why Camping Excursions Make Ideal Holidays for Young Ones

Uncovering a suitable holiday to please all of the members of the family is often quite a complex job. More years ago tha I care to mention when my children were still young I was always reluctant to take them to another country, and did not do so until they were both young adults. I knew how exhausting heat and exertion can be, and so even long after growing out of having an afte oon sleep it was far better to permit them take one or suffer the alte ative – ill temmpered children.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

867 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Picking out Binoculars to Spot Birds Whilst Walking

Seeing our feathered friends whilst on your outdoor walk genuinely is a fascinating thing to do, there will likely be a number of unique birds to experience and recognise. A few birds are well-known and simple to see, others are rarer and more challenging to name. Some species of birds are so similar to others, for example a willow warbler and a chiff chaff (each summer migrants to Great Britain) will only be told apart by their voices.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

858 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Where there is muck there’s not as many wild flowers!

My regular readers will know that I adore being in the outdoors and furthermore anything to do with the natural world. Especially I like to recognise the wildlife I come across whilst hiking, hence I rarely go out without my binoculars. Last year, for a variety of reasons, I had an exceptional amount of uncommitted time to myself and experienced a variety of guided rammbles in my local area. Some of which were specifically for bird watching, but by way of a different experience I decided to try out some wildflower walks, an area where I hadn’t taken a lot of interest in before.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

852 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

How a planned wildlife ramble turned out to be a search for thrills.

Just lately I did a little favour for a good old friend of mine; he had promised to take care of his two grandchildren for a day, completely forgetting that he had a clinic appointment to keep. As the appointment was simply a follow-up one and wasn't going to be long I volunteered to look after the boys whilst he was away. Because I live adjacent to the clinic it was easier for him to bring the boys around to my house, they were quite grown up enough to take in the situation and they know me very well as we have met before on several occasions.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

848 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

To Bee or not to Bee!

In one or two of my previous articles I have written about how grasslands are managed to encourage wildflower growth. Farmers are being given incentives to promote this kind of management in order to halt the decline in these native wild plants. There is another reason why this decline should be reversed and that is that pollinating insect numbers are also falling. We all see bees and insects in our gardens, but there was a time when their numbers were much greater.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

838 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Matching Food to Wine

There genuinely are a numerous varieties of wines available in the market, put together with the written matter, devices and countless jargon this can be very difficult to establish exactly where to start out with the whole thing. Some folks come across a tipple they like and don't change, very little is improper with such an aproach, but you are missing out on so much, pairing food to the appropriate wine should really improve your culinary experience.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

836 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

The Pendle Witch Trials - Their 400th Anniversary

Salem might be famous for its witch trials but there was an equally shocking case some eighty years earlier in the heart of England. 2012 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials held in 1612. Many events have been planned to mark the date but what was it all about?

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

805 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Walking the Dog - Which Breed Would Suit You Best?

In this article Bruno Blackstone examines the many different breeds of dogs and considers how a person's preferred exercise may effect the choice of breed. There is a place near to where I live that is very popular with dog walkers, it is a combination of woods, flat paths, fields and a river making it a great place to exercise yourself and your canine companion.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

759 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

A Short History of the Cocktail

Nobody appears to know in what way the name ‘cocktail’ came to be synonymous to a beverage that's a mixture of ingredients (at least one of which being alcohol based!). The very first recorded reference in writing would seem to have been around 1862 at which time a bartender’s guidebook was created. It involved recipes for different sorts of beverages for instance punches, toddies and flips but at the same time ten suggestions for beverages which were referred to as ‘cocktails’.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

717 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Tips on how to Eat Out in Style – Or “If I Don’t Choose Someplace Great to Take My Wife, I Am a Dead Man!

I’m confident all of us is able to remember the film Mary Poppins, I stood in line outside the picture house with my folks when it first came out. Just as we arrived close to the front of the line the usher said the house was full – how disappointing. Mother, Dad and younger cousin went homeward and in an unusual show of trust they permitted me to stay with my elder sister to wait around for another showing. Such was the popularity of this unseen film that kids were actually allowed to stand outside the cinema without any supervision for the entire duration of the movie.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

706 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Guide to Outdoor Photography

A brilliant strategy to enrich your strolling outing is to take a camera along with you, it certainly can make you watch your natural environment more whilst you look for some thing to capture on film. We have charming country side and an abundance of wildlife in this region so you can’t go far wrong. All you will need is a pair of hiking boots and a camera. Listed below are a handful of ideas to get you started.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

632 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Love Flora and fauna? Some handy info conce ing the best way to entice a variety of birds to your garden.

Despite the fact that I enjoy the countryside I am additionally not averse to a bit of wildlife spotting in my own garden; last month my spouse and I remained transfixed as a stoat moved its family, 1 baby at a time, to a place less than 6 feet from where we both were sitting. After having carried out this Amazing job the caring parent next furnished a deceased mouse with which to feed her growing babies.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

542 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Recollections of the land and sea and how artwork helps you to enjoy your surroundings.

Being a country kind of fellow I am always drawn towards magnificent landscapes in all sorts of locations. I've got a couple of particular favourites and my family already has orders (when the moment comes) to distribute my charred remains over one of them. There is a golf links next to where I live that I visit, as a walker I might add not a golfer, where, following a somewhat strenuous hike to the thirteenth tee you’re presented with a glorious view of undulating hills and distant crags and, above everything else, a feeling of calm and well-being.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

534 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Rambling and the European Financial Crisis

Walking for fun is the most well-liked leisure time activity in The UK by far. According to data from the United Kingdom government 16% of individuals do it every week, compared with 11% who head over to the gym. Maybe staying and being in the country side is linked with success and the “upper classes” who, according to accounts in literature, would possess huge country homes. Successful Victorian businessmen purchased a countryside estate to show off their success and improved social standing.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

533 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Hay Meadows Aren't Purely For Christmas

The Hay Meadow is typically connected with romantic unspoilt country side but regrettably over the last few years they have been disappearing at an alarming pace. Therefore, what basically is a meadow and why are they so crucial to protect? The word 'meadow' is strictly speaking employed to describe grass fields that are grown for hay. Nevertheless a great number hay meadows may also be grazed by cows at some point and some meadows that are mostly used for grazing can also be mown for hay.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

519 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

Looking for Ghosts in Edinburgh

A couple of years ago I happened to be in the glorious ancient city of Edinburgh with a lot of time to pass and in consequence I decided to search for a few interesting things to do. Not having any vehicle with me I wanted to search for things I may do walking not overly far from my lodgings. As I mooched all around I could not help but observe the amount of ghost walks which were offered hence I resolved I would go for a couple to see why it has become an approved and well-liked style of tourism.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

500 views

By Bruno BlackstoneRecently published1 topic

There must be fifty ways to find your lover; or the musings from a forty-something unromantic!

A handful of years ago whilst off on a business trip I found myself eating on my todd at a peaceful small bistro in some unknown city. As the bistro was quite tiny, the tables ended up being rather near to each other and as a result it was relatively simple to hear dialogue at the neighbouring ones. Before very long the adjacent table became occupied by a youthful duo and when the initial acknowledgements and smiles between us that one does on these occasions I got on with my meal.

Primary topic: Work Life Balance

Work Life Balance

490 views

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