Chelsea Flower Show 2007

Chelsea was quieter than usual and the show gardens not particularly special, apart from the Japanese moss garden (seen with its water window) and several of the tiny gardens hidden beyond the picnic area (see Le Jardin de Van Gogh above). But it's been the most perfect spring this year that most people can remember and the country's gardens are blooming early and spectacularly

Peace

People talk of world peace. But how can you ensure peace in the world? Here is the formula for it.

“If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”

It may thus be seen that the first link in the chain leading to world peace is righteousness or dharma. Dharma is only another name for right action. But the prerequisite for right action is right thought. In other words, peace should start with the individual and gradually spread wider and wider right along the line - from the home or family to the village to the nation, etc., till finally, it encompasses the entire world.

Sathya Sai Baba

Kei's Art

One of my daughter Kei's textiles

What happens when our digital footprint suddenly disappears from the screen?

What happens when our digital footprint suddenly disappears?

I'm not sure that most people have thought of it - perhaps because they mainly communicate with people they have actually met and therefore have other links with. However, there are some practical things that we should be doing to help others deal with our affairs, now that almost all our business and much of our private lives are conducted on line. A note for your family giving them usernames and passwords for your computers, e-mail accounts, address books, (Plaxo is terribly useful here as you can access it from any computer from the web and it also copies address books and notes across different computers), bank accounts, PayPal, Flickr, Genes Reunited, websites like this blog, Facebook etc.

Send a copy to your executors as well so that they can rummage around easily if you don't make it down to breakfast one day.

Legally speaking, one should make a 'digital will' - to include things like your photos. You can even leave your iTunes collection to someone!

Happy days and pass the pinot!