Big Green Blog Gathering: Silence of the Bees

And as the Big Green Blog Gathering enters it’s final day, here at the Emma & Pete Show we are thrilled to be hosting the Renewable Energy Cinema once more. Today we’ve got a fascinating nature documentary about honeybees and their hives:



And if you’d rather see beautiful, furry bumblebees, then we have a short film about those as well :)


Saving the Bumblebee from Jamie-Lee Loughlin on Vimeo.


Posted by emma · Fri, Jul 30 2010

What do you do?

Ever since Pete and I became self-employed (3+ years ago now), we’ve faced the same question – “What do you do?”. At the beginning it came from ex-colleagues we bumped into. Some of them were just being polite; I think others were hoping to discover our escape tunnel for themselves.

We see less and less of them these days, but we see more of other people. And our answer to date has been a kind of off-hand phrase designed to kill people’s interest: “internet marketing, it’s quite hard to explain”. It never does put people off, though, and they insist on more long-winded answers that they usually don’t understand. But what they really want to know is whether we can help them with their computer problems or tell them how to make the internet work for them.

There are various other professions it’s best not to own up to in public. If you’re a doctor then it means people shoving their body parts in your face and expecting a consultation. Accounts are asked tricky tax questions. Lawyers are asked for free legal assistance. I’m sure there are plenty more.

Pete likes to invent fantasy jobs that are far more interesting – but less prone to exploitation – than his own; I hate lying to people. I reckon I’ve come up with a workable solution though – job titles which are aspects of what we do, that we’re happy to talk about and that aren’t the kind of thing that usually involves offering on-the-spot advice.

From now on, I am going to be The Emma Cooper (someone called me that recently, which was quite entertaining), author. My first book, The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A to Z was published last summer. When asked the inevitable question “is it doing well?” I shall respond with a simple and resounding “Yes”, as it’s actually very difficult to quantify. I am currently working on my second book and my articles appear in various magazines and newspapers from time to time.

Pete is going to be a Trainer. Also true, it was the last role he had before he became self-employed. Although he hasn’t run any training courses since, it’s something he would like to get back into and we are currently planning a pair of courses although that’s in the early stages and we can’t give any more details at the moment. Or maybe we can – you’d have to ask Pete :)

Posted by emma · Thu, Jul 29 2010

Big Green Blog Gathering: Synergistic Garden

We’re back at the Big Green Blog Gathering today, hosting the renewable energy cinema. Yesterday we had a great film about one of permaculture’s heros – Sepp Holtzer – and today we have another: Emilia Hazelip.



Posted by emma · Wed, Jul 28 2010

Big Green Blog Gathering: Farming with Nature

As part of the Big Green Blog Gathering, we’re hosting the Green Cinema today :) It may be solar powered later on if the sun comes out (but we’re hoping for rain), but at the meantime it’s powered by 100% renewable energy from Good Energy.

This film was chosen by my friend Mr. H as one of his favourite films on permaculture, which ties into all the themes that are being covered by the BGBG this week.



Posted by emma · Tue, Jul 27 2010

The Big Green Blog Gathering 2010

It’s hard to believe, but I have been a published author for a year now. This time last year, The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A to Z was hot off the press and we were preparing to take a car load down to the Big Green Gathering for a week-long signing fest. Alas, it was not to be. The Gathering was cancelled at the last minute, and so I put together an online version instead.

Due to last year’s problems, the BGG isn’t running this year either – so it’s time again for the Big Green Blog Gathering. All next week, over on my lean green, blogging machine, I will be hosting days of fun and frolics in the virtual sunshine.

There’s plenty of room if you want come along, and if you want to join in and give a talk in the virtual yurt, or help with the weeding in the permaculture garden then give me a shout. It’s so hip, it even has a Twitter tag. But no Facebook group. Not yet.

Posted by emma · Fri, Jul 23 2010

Product Review: Masu Gourmet Cooking Sauce

It’s nearly a year now since I have (mostly) given up cow’s milk. I can cope with small amounts now and again, but any attempt to have cow’s milk products on a regular basis makes me uncomfortable and isn’t worth it. I am fine with goat’s milk on cereal and in tea; when I cook at home I use goat’s milk and butter, and Pete is fine with that. It’s hard to taste any difference in cooked foods, anyway.

One of the few things we have struggled with is finding a decent curry sauce that is free from cow’s milk. They’re either too fiery or completely insipid and leave a lot to be desired. But that has now changed, after a spontaneous visit to a local farm shop uncovered the range of curry sauces and chutneys (achars) from Ghurka Fine Foods.

For our first encounter I choose the mildest of the sauces on offer – the Masu cooking sauce has a heat rating of 1 (out of 5) and of itself is vegan although they recommend using it with red meat. We happened to have some lamb mince in the fridge, so today we cooked that up with the sauce, two onions and plenty of peas (Pete loves peas in curry!).

The result was delicious. Although there is not a hint of heat in the sauce, it still has plenty of flavour. We both loved it, without reservation, and would happily buy it again. Our local stockist had at least one other flavour on offer (and several chutneys), which was a heat rating of 3, and we’re confident enough of the quality of the range to give that one a go next time as well. And we’ll be keeping an eye out for the Ghurka Fine Foods range on supermarket shelves from now on.

Posted by emma · Thu, Jul 22 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 30th, 2010

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 30th, 2010.

New bed and getting better with tradespeople, energy supplier wideboys, premium phone lines, house building reality TV and Austerity/JFDI July.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you some money on the glorious internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

Take advantage of the huge Chemistry.com coupon to receive instant Chemistry.com discounts.

Get the biggest discount at Chemistry.com and use the exlusive Chemistry.com promo code to save the most money.

Use the immense Match.com coupon for exclusive Match.com discounts.

Shop at Match.com using our Match.com promo code for the biggest discount online.

Try the well-known Mozy coupon to get big discounts at Mozy.

Purchase from Mozy using the Mozy promo code for the biggest discount.

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Thu, Jul 1 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 - part 2 of 2

Due to technical issues (and Pete being an incompetent fool), part 2 of this show never made it to the internet. It was edited, prepared and ready to go, but there was a problem during uploading which meant part one was duplicated as part two.

I’ve removed the phoney part two from the feed – many apologies to you if you downloaded the same show twice, very sorry.

Note to self: don’t upload when tired, and keep more backups.

Posted by pete · Wed, Jun 30 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 - part 1 of 2

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 – part 1 of 2.

Long Time Listener Nigel’s email, JFDI June update, The Carpet Fitter Cometh and Garage Conversions.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you some money on the glorious internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

Try this neat eHarmony coupon to receive big eHarmony discounts.

Check out at eHarmony and take advantage of this eHarmony promo code and get the biggest discount online.

Check out this matchless IX Web Hosting coupon for exclusive discounts at IX Web Hosting.

Check out at IX Web Hosting using the IX Web Hosting promo code to get the biggest discount online.

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Wed, Jun 30 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 24th, 2010 - part 2 of 2.

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 24th, 2010 – part 2 of 2.

iPads are awesome, our trip to Shrewsbury, our trip to CAT and why Wales is lovely but flawed.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you a few notes on the internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Thu, Jun 24 2010

More posts in

Big Green Blog Gathering: Silence of the Bees

And as the Big Green Blog Gathering enters it’s final day, here at the Emma & Pete Show we are thrilled to be hosting the Renewable Energy Cinema once more. Today we’ve got a fascinating nature documentary about honeybees and their hives:



And if you’d rather see beautiful, furry bumblebees, then we have a short film about those as well :)


Saving the Bumblebee from Jamie-Lee Loughlin on Vimeo.


Posted by emma · Fri, Jul 30 2010

What do you do?

Ever since Pete and I became self-employed (3+ years ago now), we’ve faced the same question – “What do you do?”. At the beginning it came from ex-colleagues we bumped into. Some of them were just being polite; I think others were hoping to discover our escape tunnel for themselves.

We see less and less of them these days, but we see more of other people. And our answer to date has been a kind of off-hand phrase designed to kill people’s interest: “internet marketing, it’s quite hard to explain”. It never does put people off, though, and they insist on more long-winded answers that they usually don’t understand. But what they really want to know is whether we can help them with their computer problems or tell them how to make the internet work for them.

There are various other professions it’s best not to own up to in public. If you’re a doctor then it means people shoving their body parts in your face and expecting a consultation. Accounts are asked tricky tax questions. Lawyers are asked for free legal assistance. I’m sure there are plenty more.

Pete likes to invent fantasy jobs that are far more interesting – but less prone to exploitation – than his own; I hate lying to people. I reckon I’ve come up with a workable solution though – job titles which are aspects of what we do, that we’re happy to talk about and that aren’t the kind of thing that usually involves offering on-the-spot advice.

From now on, I am going to be The Emma Cooper (someone called me that recently, which was quite entertaining), author. My first book, The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A to Z was published last summer. When asked the inevitable question “is it doing well?” I shall respond with a simple and resounding “Yes”, as it’s actually very difficult to quantify. I am currently working on my second book and my articles appear in various magazines and newspapers from time to time.

Pete is going to be a Trainer. Also true, it was the last role he had before he became self-employed. Although he hasn’t run any training courses since, it’s something he would like to get back into and we are currently planning a pair of courses although that’s in the early stages and we can’t give any more details at the moment. Or maybe we can – you’d have to ask Pete :)

Posted by emma · Thu, Jul 29 2010

Big Green Blog Gathering: Synergistic Garden

We’re back at the Big Green Blog Gathering today, hosting the renewable energy cinema. Yesterday we had a great film about one of permaculture’s heros – Sepp Holtzer – and today we have another: Emilia Hazelip.



Posted by emma · Wed, Jul 28 2010

Big Green Blog Gathering: Farming with Nature

As part of the Big Green Blog Gathering, we’re hosting the Green Cinema today :) It may be solar powered later on if the sun comes out (but we’re hoping for rain), but at the meantime it’s powered by 100% renewable energy from Good Energy.

This film was chosen by my friend Mr. H as one of his favourite films on permaculture, which ties into all the themes that are being covered by the BGBG this week.



Posted by emma · Tue, Jul 27 2010

The Big Green Blog Gathering 2010

It’s hard to believe, but I have been a published author for a year now. This time last year, The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A to Z was hot off the press and we were preparing to take a car load down to the Big Green Gathering for a week-long signing fest. Alas, it was not to be. The Gathering was cancelled at the last minute, and so I put together an online version instead.

Due to last year’s problems, the BGG isn’t running this year either – so it’s time again for the Big Green Blog Gathering. All next week, over on my lean green, blogging machine, I will be hosting days of fun and frolics in the virtual sunshine.

There’s plenty of room if you want come along, and if you want to join in and give a talk in the virtual yurt, or help with the weeding in the permaculture garden then give me a shout. It’s so hip, it even has a Twitter tag. But no Facebook group. Not yet.

Posted by emma · Fri, Jul 23 2010

Product Review: Masu Gourmet Cooking Sauce

It’s nearly a year now since I have (mostly) given up cow’s milk. I can cope with small amounts now and again, but any attempt to have cow’s milk products on a regular basis makes me uncomfortable and isn’t worth it. I am fine with goat’s milk on cereal and in tea; when I cook at home I use goat’s milk and butter, and Pete is fine with that. It’s hard to taste any difference in cooked foods, anyway.

One of the few things we have struggled with is finding a decent curry sauce that is free from cow’s milk. They’re either too fiery or completely insipid and leave a lot to be desired. But that has now changed, after a spontaneous visit to a local farm shop uncovered the range of curry sauces and chutneys (achars) from Ghurka Fine Foods.

For our first encounter I choose the mildest of the sauces on offer – the Masu cooking sauce has a heat rating of 1 (out of 5) and of itself is vegan although they recommend using it with red meat. We happened to have some lamb mince in the fridge, so today we cooked that up with the sauce, two onions and plenty of peas (Pete loves peas in curry!).

The result was delicious. Although there is not a hint of heat in the sauce, it still has plenty of flavour. We both loved it, without reservation, and would happily buy it again. Our local stockist had at least one other flavour on offer (and several chutneys), which was a heat rating of 3, and we’re confident enough of the quality of the range to give that one a go next time as well. And we’ll be keeping an eye out for the Ghurka Fine Foods range on supermarket shelves from now on.

Posted by emma · Thu, Jul 22 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 30th, 2010

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 30th, 2010.

New bed and getting better with tradespeople, energy supplier wideboys, premium phone lines, house building reality TV and Austerity/JFDI July.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you some money on the glorious internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

Take advantage of the huge Chemistry.com coupon to receive instant Chemistry.com discounts.

Get the biggest discount at Chemistry.com and use the exlusive Chemistry.com promo code to save the most money.

Use the immense Match.com coupon for exclusive Match.com discounts.

Shop at Match.com using our Match.com promo code for the biggest discount online.

Try the well-known Mozy coupon to get big discounts at Mozy.

Purchase from Mozy using the Mozy promo code for the biggest discount.

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Thu, Jul 1 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 - part 2 of 2

Due to technical issues (and Pete being an incompetent fool), part 2 of this show never made it to the internet. It was edited, prepared and ready to go, but there was a problem during uploading which meant part one was duplicated as part two.

I’ve removed the phoney part two from the feed – many apologies to you if you downloaded the same show twice, very sorry.

Note to self: don’t upload when tired, and keep more backups.

Posted by pete · Wed, Jun 30 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 - part 1 of 2

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 29th, 2010 – part 1 of 2.

Long Time Listener Nigel’s email, JFDI June update, The Carpet Fitter Cometh and Garage Conversions.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you some money on the glorious internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

Try this neat eHarmony coupon to receive big eHarmony discounts.

Check out at eHarmony and take advantage of this eHarmony promo code and get the biggest discount online.

Check out this matchless IX Web Hosting coupon for exclusive discounts at IX Web Hosting.

Check out at IX Web Hosting using the IX Web Hosting promo code to get the biggest discount online.

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Wed, Jun 30 2010

Emma and Pete Show for June 24th, 2010 - part 2 of 2.

This is the Emma and Pete Show for June 24th, 2010 – part 2 of 2.

iPads are awesome, our trip to Shrewsbury, our trip to CAT and why Wales is lovely but flawed.

The easiest way to listen to this show is to hit the play button above and listen from your browser. If you want to download the show as an MP3 file, or listen at Mevio.com, our show service provider.

Listening options

If you have iTunes or a podcatcher, you can download our shows – past, present and future – automatically.

Get more episodes

Leave us a comment, send us an audio comment, nosey around on our Facebook page or ask us a question – anonymously or otherwise – at our Formspring.me page.

Get in touch

Last but not least, we can maybe save you a few notes on the internets. Check out these offers and get money off at some of the more discerning web outlets.

Offers in this show

In addition to the offers above, we have a bunch more available for you to browse. Check out our page at Mevio Offers for more info.

Thanks for listening and downloading, and see you soon!

Posted by pete · Thu, Jun 24 2010
Older posts
Latest comments