Zanny Minton Beddoes Editor-In-Chief of The Economist
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Posted:Oct 2, 2021 5:00 am
Last Updated:Oct 3, 2021 8:37 am 21375 Views
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Welcome to our weekly newsletter highlighting the best of The Economist’s coverage of the pandemic and its effects.
Demographers are used to seeing life expectancy rise steadily over time: in the 20th century lifespans in Britain rose by roughly three years every decade. The data from 2020 buck this trend, however, because of covid-19.
Researchers in Britain, Denmark and Germany found that between 2019 and 2020 life expectancy at birth dropped in all but two of the 28 countries studied. Only in Denmark and Norway, and for women in Finland, did it rise. America, which has reported the world’s highest covid-19 death toll, fared worst, with male life expectancy at birth falling by more than two years. But in many other countries, including Italy, Poland and Spain, more than one year was wiped off expected lifespans.
America is recording nearly 2,000 covid-19 deaths a day, according to a seven-day average compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That is only 40% below the country’s peak in January. But the true death toll is even worse. The Economist’s excess-deaths model, which estimates the difference between the actual and the expected number of deaths recorded in a given period, suggests that America is suffering 2,800 pandemic deaths per day compared with 1,000 in all other high-income countries combined (as defined by the World Bank). Adjusting for population, the death rate is now about eight times higher in America than in the rest of the rich world.
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Photo Friday - S for Sand, Sea and Snow
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Posted:Sep 17, 2021 11:28 am
Last Updated:Sep 29, 2021 5:06 am 21265 Views
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Just illustrate the capriciousness of the UK weather - all of these photos were taken within days of each other, albeit in Rotherham and North Devon
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Summer season still in September
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Posted:Sep 6, 2021 6:39 am
Last Updated:Sep 8, 2021 1:59 am 19424 Views
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One advantage of the cold May which caused a lot of fowers to start their season early is that the same flowers are still going strong a week into September
China Asters make a real show in the garden and, in this case in the planted tubs on the deck with Petunias and Salvias
Lobelia Cardinalis and Liatris are still adding height and colour but they are approaching the end of their season now.
We both love to see trailing Fuchsias in hanging baskets and this is a particular favourite.
Canterbury bells are a magnet for bees and need dead heading every day. This one has been flowering continuously for over 3 months and still looks in fine fettle.
Another couple of hanging basket favourites, Million Bells Petunias and Trailing Lobelia
Coming very late to the party these are he first of the Rudbeckia to flower but there are lots more to come.
Pelargoniums are another long flowering summer staple and they have some spectacular blooms.
Begonia Semperflorens lives up to its name
This Larkspur is rather delicate but very pretty.
Last few flowers on the Cape Fuchsia which started flowering in May
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More flowers
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Posted:Jul 17, 2021 11:49 am
Last Updated:Jul 21, 2021 3:56 pm 25142 Views
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The temperature today is 30C/31 C (88F/90F) and the flowers are enoying themselves - even if they do need watering twice a day.
The French marigolds are growing much bigger than usual.
A view down the garden
Hanging baskets on the deck
More hanging baskets
Flower display on the decking.
Troughs on the railing
View up the garden
Schizophrenic Dahlia
Lilies in full bloom
Cape fuchsia bush
Bidens Aurea
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Five guys?
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Posted:Jul 17, 2021 11:34 am
Last Updated:Jan 9, 2023 7:17 am 23194 Views
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I think one of the guys left
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The delayed summer of 2021 is almost here
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Posted:Jun 12, 2021 3:07 pm
Last Updated:Jul 17, 2021 2:28 pm 23574 Views
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With the UK enduring the coldest and one of the wettest Mays on record it seemed that some of the summer flowers would never appear. The bonus was that some of the spring bulbs are still flowering in June (which is almost unheard of) but the late spring, early summer show has been pretty disappointing so far.
As an example a penstemon which was on its second set of flowers months ago is still not in bud for the first time this year.
Fortunately hanging baskets , troughs and planters are providing some colour and the more intrepid summer flowers are now really getting going.
Picture 1 This showy Chrysanthemum was a present, I cannot claim to have grown it myself, but it does pretty spectacular
Picture 2 This hanging basket is trying to hide in the hedge but the purple verbena is looking good.
Picture 3 Looking up the garden. The giant Knautia in the foreground was supposed to read about 1m (3 feet) in height. I is about 1.6 m (well over 5 feet) already.
Picture 4 Helianthemums put ona colourful display on the rockery - with love lies bleeding, rock roses and trailing lobelia just planted the colour should get better in the coming weeks.
Picture 5 Bellis perrenis - a double form of the common daisy and a real splash of colour to edge beds or paths.
Picture 6 Poached egg plants (Limnanthes) have finally established a drift of flowers through self seeding but it has taken 5 years to get them established.
Picture 7 Looking down the garden
Picture 8 One of my favourite flowers, primrose vialii. These 3 are establishing themselves in the border and we have about a dozen more in various places round the garden. They can be divided in the spring and they are very popular with friends and family. We have given away at least another dozen over the last couple of years.
Picture 9 Another set of hanging basket adding some colour to the walls round the deck.
[image ] Picture Our very own 'blumeneck' made up of individual plants in pots built into a display. There are 24 plants so far and 7 more spaces still to fill.
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Time to plant out hanging baskets and plant up the 'blumenpyramide' on the deck.
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Posted:May 14, 2021 12:02 pm
Last Updated:May 18, 2021 2:46 pm 23714 Views
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One of our favourite parts of the garden is the display of hanging baskets, the tubs, the troughs and planters and the pot plants stacked on the decking area. We love them for their colour and the sheer exuberance of the flowers.
Million bells and pansies/violas make an instant impact. The effect will change dramatically later on when the trailing nepeta and creeping Jenny grow down in a cascade with trailing fuchsias, surfinias and geraniums.
The display on the deck is easy change as the plants flower more or less profusely during the season.
In the front garden the fern which looked dead only a month ago is sprouting new fronds as though they were going out of fashion with the newer fern below. The camelia has enjoyed a largely frost free end of April and first half of May so the blooms have been largely untouched by frost.
Time to enjoy Kaffee und Kuchen on the deck after all the hard work.
The last photo is a quiz question. Name that flower. I know at least one regular contributor to blogs will have no difficulty naming it but I wonder how many others will ever have seen one? Mrs J has grown two of them from seed (with some difficulty I might add) and we are hoping to take our own seed later in the season to grow a few more
[image ]
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Foto Friday - light
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Posted:Apr 23, 2021 3:23 pm
Last Updated:May 11, 2021 4:35 pm 23750 Views
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I am a sunset junkie.
The first two pictures were taken from our back garden which faces almost due South so the sunsets can be quite spectacular.
The third pcture was taken in Soll, Austrian Tirol and the last one out over the estuary of the River Taw in North Devon
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foto Friday - Flowers
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Posted:Apr 2, 2021 11:14 am
Last Updated:Apr 15, 2021 4:59 pm 23893 Views
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Spring is revving up nicely with three days of temperatures in the 23-24 C (73-75F) range.
With the temperatures set to go right down to zero (32) in the next few days and some snow forecast, the spring blooms are making hay while the sun shines.
Cyclamen hiding beneath a large fern
White and Yellow narcissus
Wood anemones and Grape hyacinth
This blue Hyacinth is now naturalised in the large tub and comes back every year. The mixed daffodils and tulips have all turned out shades of yellow somehow.
One of my wife's favourites Fritillaria Meleagris; great plants for wet soil.
The all time favourite of people from Devon (cue Mrs J) the native primrose. This one is thriving in deep shade under the leaves of a large foxglove.
White alyssum survived the winter in a hanging basket on the wall behind the boiler.
Cherry blossom is really evocative of Spring.
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Walking round Manvers Lake
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Posted:Mar 28, 2021 3:28 pm
Last Updated:Apr 2, 2021 3:37 pm 23960 Views
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WIthin minutes of home we have numerous countryside, woodland and heathland areas which we can access for our daily (or in our case 2-3 times weekly) exercise.
Manvers lake is a landscaped body of water on the site of the old Manvers colliery. It is a about 3.5 km (2 and a bit miles) around and an excellent, flattish walk for all the family. As the last picture shows it is also very popular on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The lake has a varied bird population with mute swans, three types of geese, coots, moorhens and various ducks (mostly mallards) on the water along with the usual Robins, Blue tits, Chaffinches, Sparrows, Rooks, Magpies and the ubiquitous pigeons in the woodland sections. The woodland trust and local schools have also placed some brightly painted birdboxes at various places along the paths.
A variety of trees and shrubs were planted when the lake was made about years ago and many native species are beginning to find their way into the mix. Lots of birches, beeches, willows near the water and the rather striking red cornus alba (Siberian dogwood) are most numerous.
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