Good morning lovely people
What are we not allowed to do this week? Am I smelling a smoke screen perhaps?
Out of the blue, woodburning stoves have now been banned by the Scottish Government in all new home installations (there is a small caveat for exceptional circumstances). I can see the beads of sweat on your forehead. If you have a stove, you’ll be relieved to know, you don’t need to rip it out, especially if you bought it to complement your heat pump. However if you’re building a new green home in the Highlands, or anywhere else, and plan to use a sustainable, local fuel source to keep your home warm and maybe even heat your water, sorry but you’re not allowed. Madness, especially for our rural communities already in fuel poverty. Are we going forwards or backwards, you’ll need to be jumping up and down to warm up.
Our garden at home has a constant source of free fuel that keeps us stocked and toastie during the winter. A small help in managing a significant heating bill. We thought at the time, a positive environmental decision as the timber we burn, which is naturally aged, would only otherwise be good for chipping. This seems to be yet another policy that has slipped through the net without broad public consultation and it’s going to hurt many unnecessarily.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act lists many other things that we’re not allowed. Yes we don’t want to live in a society that condones threatening or abusive behaviour but is this making it safer for all of our community or are we giving more distractions for an already stretched Police force? There is definitely a generational and gender difference of opinion, even in our house, on the subject of most debate, women. For a sector of the population who has traditionally had the least rights, many feel they have again, had the least say on this one.
I’ve just finished reading two books. I usually only read on holiday but with this awful spring weather, Mr Rocco hasn’t been allowed his late evening walk. His nose is out of joint (he’s already lodged his complaint with Police Scotland) and my nose has been stuck in books. Clive Myre “Everything is Everything, a memoir of love, hate and hope” and Charles Spencer “ A Very Private School”. Two prodigies of the Empire, both born in the same year but with very different routes. On face value you may think you see privilege. This isn’t a case of black and white. Contrastingly inspiring and sobering for such different reasons. Given the content of abuse, racism, war, prejudice, human rights; neither author carries any hate. Two very inspiring humans, sharing the legacy and the burden of much of what others, should never have been allowed to do.
On all that food for thought I’m going to leave you on this very windy Sunday. We’ll probably have a ton of timber by the afternoon with all the damage done to the trees. Victor has decided to grow water lilies in the Kitchen Garden. We have ponds forming on every path. Mr Rocco will be delighted, despite not being allowed, he loves getting wet and drying in front of the fire.
Keep well and thank you as always.
Carina
