Sheffield is having a BIG BIG issue with the council chopping down hundreds of trees. Many residents are outraged as they have grown to love the trees over the many years and some of them are so beautiful, but allegedly obstructing pathways and telephone cables overhead. 

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/03/22/18/web-sheffield-trees-kirby.jpg

The government minister **Michael Gove** has picked up on the petition in Parliament and to some extent is supporting the position of peaceful protest. However, despite an injunction, the council seem to be digging in their heels, the felling continues and prosecutions lay ahead for some of the activists. 

Personally, Sheffield has _so many trees_ and is voted the city with the cleanest air IN EUROPE, that I'm sure we could cope with a few less, especially as they are being replaced by new ones. Maybe if I lived near a beautiful old tree and witnessed it being felled, I may think differently. It remains a controversial subject and the furore is stepping up lately. Chainsaw massacre has nothing on this. I wish the peacefully protesting residents involved the **very best of luck**, as it is not proving easy at all.

This epic HUGE tree is on my running route and it is now sadly just an ugly stump in the ground, waiting for completion and replacement. Travesty really, but at least people in wheelchairs can use the pavement more easily, once it is re-tarmacked and the protruding roots all removed.

https://treecharter.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MEDIASheffieldElm_28-07-16_MattLarsen-Daw-34_1500x1000.jpg

A couple of  chainsaw pros would be good for me too as I need to pollard the trees at the bottom of our garden. (That said; I am told that if you let the leaves fall and leave them on the soil (?is that why they are called leaves), that it is very good for soil and adds nutrients as they biodegrade). Bit messy though, and I do like a tidy garden. We can kick piles of leaves in the parks and when we head out to the beautiful and vast Peak District valleys.

![15541689_10154852683869666_8686457862197908891_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcUrekY8Mu5hWo1bhMmynpLA5zFRcetZWDEGFuZspdzz9/15541689_10154852683869666_8686457862197908891_n.jpg)

The nearest countryside from here is DERBYSHIRE and it really is the most stunning and scenic escape. Here is a picture I took last month of 'Surprise view', which speaks for itself. My younger son and I walked 15km and sucked up this utterly breathtaking panorama en route. 

**This ❣** 

![21105534_10155611052534666_6893965892669025698_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUfTNKzoWPfwZehQfaSz6h3ZKuM14fEYmsq2JduJowZgy/21105534_10155611052534666_6893965892669025698_n.jpg)

I do get up at 6am some mornings and peg it around the farms at the top of the way from our house. No-one else likes to join me, but this is when I recharge my batteries, feel re-energised and get some head-space. I rope my fella in to doing other puritanical stuff like podding peas and driving to Hathersage Park, where the air is even fresher and the village feel to it perfect for a park play with my little girl. The boys can skateboard in half pipes, all tucked away around the back of the open air swimming pool.

Meanwhile; Here is my fella, being all domestic. Not bad for an IT geek. 

![20994369_10155605913939666_3555709192584816440_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZcuNKJPfCRQkm8q5V2cdRghVc9dNG4hiFHFnB4AkyXFa/20994369_10155605913939666_3555709192584816440_n.jpg)

This is the sort of stuff we pick from the farms - courgettes, strawberries, runner beans... All weigh + pay. We had a handful of raspberries too, as it was end of season. I have grown my own purple broccoli, tomatoes, herbs, kale, aubergines and lots of other stuff before, but the law degree takes priority for now. So the two raised beds are empty, it's *enforced downtime* for them, until my gardening pursuits can kick back in.

![21105617_10155605913954666_4990250374982290662_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbsz52at2hdewVUC7F1m5geSj33gHvBCA4VT2FkHg11qm/21105617_10155605913954666_4990250374982290662_n.jpg)

We were handed a big bag of plums from a friend recently and my twelve year old decided to make some jam from them, all on his own!! He even added some of the blueberries from our garden. I was so "chuffed" as we say in Sheffield, at its consistency - not runny and not too stiff, not too sweet either, that I nearly fell off my chair! As you can see, his little sis enjoyed it too.

![21192415_10155610295449666_7352988371097690846_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZM4PWi1WEJzjBJw8GD5TN7f4AzD4pLqffDEpRjuzuoQf/21192415_10155610295449666_7352988371097690846_n.jpg) 

Better than anything shop bought, claro que si.

The dross news in Sheffield is that IKEA has opened here, finally. I did fancy popping in, so we drove there at 5pm tonight (thinking we were being smart at that time) only to be sat in a MASSIVE queue of cars waiting to park. I like shopping, but not that much, so spun it round and left. 

Its layout remains a mystery, although looks like a mothership store and having been to several already, none of it really matters. We just wanted to get a pack of the oven-bake cinnamon rolls (to die for), a few bags of meatballs and a tube or five of yummy squeezy fish paste. IKEA candles/ tea lights, serviettes, cups and dishwashing brushes we have stocked up on already. **Rock and cinnamon roll.**

http://www.thestar.co.uk/webimage/1.8778229.1506610441!/image/image.jpg 

TBH Much like my contemporaries on here, I'd much rather take a stroll to the great outdoors than bleat and amble around a Swedish mega store, salivating over the smell of hot dogs and filling a big blue bag full of stuff I can live without. They can keep the blue and yellow flags too as I can't even wave a British flag comfortably given our savage colonial history!

Give me these though, [sustainable fishery] and delicious on crackerbread. I do a home version of this by blending kipper fillets (remove skin) together with low fat cream cheese, freshly ground black pepper, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. **Recommended recipe for yummy fish paste.**

Bye for now. x

![18KAVIAR-master1050.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbC4miuw9GK15UVBRvx8tuhPq9TVgJkUGkXryXJi7j3N1/18KAVIAR-master1050.jpg)