The FastDay Forum

Good news, @Sallyo! It's surprising how much motivation one can get from a piece of plastic surrounding a few electronics! I have a Fitbit flex, which does the same job, and it certainly is encouraging to see the steps increasing throughout the day. Our dark evenings in Britain aren't helping much with the walking and we've got months of it to get through before we can claim our evenings back!
PS. Hope the lost knitting needle turned up!

It's a beautiful sunny day here in London, yesterday was the hottest Halloween in 350 years! So, I'm grabbing the opportunity to walk along the Thames path .......... I'll report back later.

Weather appalling here. Freezing wind blowing off the Antarctic. Squalling bursts of rain. No walking done. So you enjoy that lovely autumn warmth, @lizbean.

@Sallyo I hope the weather bucks up and you can get out for a walk. It was fabulous yesterday, we walked from Island Gardens to Tower Bridge http://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_is ... kment.html and then had a Vietnamese supper
@StowegateResident yes, the sun is setting at 4.30pm, part of our walk was in the dark but it did not matter.
Raining today, splishey splashy! looks like the rain will briefly give way to some sun which is good as I have a craving for roasted chicory and that is a walk up the hill and down the hill so I might get some good steps into today.

Roasted chicory@Lizbean? What is that? Is it a drink? Like a coffee substitute. What a lot you learn on the Forum. I have an international question for English speaking nations. I have just had an email from a Green member objecting to computerised emails which begin 'Dear Robert'. He wants to be addressed as Mr Bamford. He says it is an American custom and not one we should encourage. Christian names should be kept for family, in his opinion. I said I thought that even the English called each other by Christian names now. Am I right? Ms Bean?

@Sallyo chicory is a vegetable, you can eat raw in salads or bake - it is quite bitter, that is why I like it. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/chicory I brush with coconut oil and balsamic vinegar and bake for 20 mins.
I work for an international organisation and email people across all continents mainly using first names, or first and surname if it needs to be more formal. I think first names is a given these days, though some cultures practice full titles as a form of respect. I'm a member of Wateraid and receive emails addressed Dear Liz ... It would be quite strange to write emails Dear Mr ...... but then again perhaps some business sectors follow that form? Interesting question ....

@Lizbean, so the walk up the hill and down is to the Green Grocer's to buy the chicory. I knew it was a vegetable but I've only ever thought of it in relation to salads, or the root, roasted as a coffee substitute. Interesting. I wondered what you did after you made a reference to Bukino Faso the other day and how you had workers there. Are they all all right? The trouble with pedometers is that they only work if you wear them. Leaving them in your dressing gown pocket will not work. I have done quite a bit of walking up and down the block today, preparing the strawberry patch, installing irrigation hoses, attaching them to the tap, setting up a net. All good. Now to attack the flower bed where I am going to grow hollyhocks, delphiniums, shirley poppies, cosmos and love-in-the-mist. I have hollyhock and delphinium seedlings and the rest in seeds. Let's go!

Yes, up and down the hill to the green grocers. Ah, I wonder if it's nice barbecued or in a veggie stew. Quite fancy trying to grow it. This is what I found "is a good source of Thiamin, Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese"
Good luck with your seeds, I love hollyhocks but never tried from seed. Thanks the colleagues are safe, the airport reopened Sunday, one flew out, one flies today and one tomorrow. Hoping things don't kick off again today and the airport stays open. I have got lazy with my pedometer, must get back on track, in fact where is it? Perhaps down the side of the settee

Walked my 30 minute walk today, warmed me up nicely.
Love the sound of your flower mix @Sallyo, I love cottage garden brightness too. Our french marigolds, heliotrope, pansies and chrysanths have held on flowering so far, but predicted weather this week may see them off. If you can post pix of your lovely garden through this winter it will keep us chilly Brits going!
Wow @Lizbean that's quite a worry. Hoping for the best for all concerned. I have tried chicory many decades ago and found it hard going. Must try it again now I'm aged and taste buds changing.

Have a happy day everyone

Yes, I walked today. Along the Wilmot Road, the western side of the Forth River, as far as the big blackwood. I saw sheep, horses, a goat, an alpaca and birds: masked lapwing, black cockies, blue wrens and I heard striated pardelots and other birds which I couldn't identify. Hawthorns are in flower along the road side. The paddocks are very green. It was good to get out before breakfast. And I will walk again tomorrow.

@Azureblue @Sallyo thank you my 3 birds have flown to Senegal, UK and Niger.
Sallyo, please can I come live with you at this moment "sheep, horses, a goat, an alpaca and birds: masked lapwing, black cockies, blue wrens and I heard striated pardelots and other birds which I couldn't identify. Hawthorns are in flower along the road side. The paddocks are very green. It was good to get out before breakfast". Thanks for the virtual seasonal uplift. Bring it on!

Had to look up your striated pardelot, new one to me, very pretty.
I have 3 starlings battling it out on the suet pellet feeder, along with charms of goldfinches on the sunflower hearts and sparrows, blue tits, great tits on the fat balls. The pigeons and collared doves clear up the dropped bits on the ground with the robin and dunnock helping out. There's more life in our garden than in many a reserve round here!

Lovely pick, @Azureblue. They are pretty birds but they live at the top of gum trees and are very hard to actually see. One year a pair nested in a hole in the wall in the bathroom and we could see them from a window in the living room, going in and out and then the babies, learning to fly. It was so special. We also learned their call really well. It reverberated in the bathroom wall. Very loud. Now I hear them everywhere but I rarely see them. I know nothing of English birds, except for references in literature. I look forward to bird watching when I come to the UK, in that mythical future time. My walking has really picked up since finding my pedometer. I didn't walk today. But yesterday I got my 10,000 steps. I did have to walk around the kitchen once before i went to bed.

Just saying, I walked 13,000 steps yesterday. I parked the car by the river and walked all the way up Oldaker Street to the 4 Ways shopping centre, with my trusty red shopping trolly, went to the whole foods shop, the green grocer and then back down Best Street to the supermarket. Then, starving hungry, I made it to Waygu Pie shop and stopped off there for lunch - slow cooked pie with salad and a coffee- and then back to the car. Then there was incidental walking up and down the block attaching hoses for watering the garden, picking asparagus, English spinach and so forth. All up over 13,000 steps. I'm not walking today. How about you?

Well done Sallyo, love your reference of walking round the kitchen to hit target before bed! Hmm, what is 'slow cooked' pie? I've not been on a walk this weekend. I forced myself to stay in bed yesterday morning to recover from too busy a week. Feeling much more myself today - might manage a stroll before the sun goes down.