Simple answer: just walk away!

Thoughts of the Brexit negotiations doesn’t mean we should allow anyone and everyone to walk all over us. We must learn how to stick up for ourselves and speak out against injustices, both large and small - not least the Gibraltar issue..

But it does mean that people, particularly Theresa May and David Davies, are going through their own struggles and difficulties on our behalf.

So always think beyond what you see. There is always more going on beneath the surface than what we first perceive.

The EEC had become a suffocating clique of 27 nations all racing at breakneck speed losing all sight of the original aim which was to have been just part of a free trade area - nothing more.

Let us not forget that we have a very special and hugely expansive club of our own with a much more acceptable set of rules: Fifty-two countries are members of our Commonwealth of Nations spanning Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific and are diverse - they are amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries.

Thirty-one of our members are classified as small states -countries with a population size of 1.5 million people or less and larger member states that share similar characteristics with them.

Leaders of member countries shape Commonwealth policies and priorities and all members fully subscribe to the values and principles outlined in The Commonwealth Charter.

Every two years, they meet to discuss issues affecting the Commonwealth and the wider world at the Heads of Government meeting –all have an equal say regardless of size or economic stature -this ensures even the smallest member countries have a voice in shaping the Commonwealth.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just walk away from membership of the EU! We are all trying to navigate our way through the difficulties of this world as best as we can. And the journey is much easier when we work together, instead of against each other.

Getting the adrenaline going

The Grand National run at Aintree and the Derby at Epsom are probably the two horse races which each year truly capture the attention of the British public.

This weekend’s National is often called the world’s greatest and one of the most famous steeplechases in the world - a unique test of horsemanship for the rider and also a test of a great significance for a horse.

The course is nearly four-and-a-quarter miles in length and has 16 unique fences -including the infamous Bechers Brook - but each has an added problem for horses: the famous drop fences where the landing side of the fence is lower than the take off side which means the horse approaching the fence is unaware of the drop until in the air.

On the contrary, at the Chair Fence - the biggest fence on the course - the reverse of this occurs with the landing side being higher than the take off. There are two fences that are jumped only once and this is on the first circuit and they are the famous Chair and the water jump.

The race requires the horses to complete almost two circuits of the course and jump 30 fences and then complete a long 494 yard run in which has been the downfall of many in the past.

Although the first official ‘Grand National’ was in 1839 the race was first run three years earlier in 1836. However, the story even starts sooner than that!

In the mid-1820s, William Lynn, of the Waterloo Hotel in Liverpool was not just an innkeeper, but also a entrepreneur and he sponsored a hare coursing event called the Waterloo Cup, the success of this and also the interest being shown in the flat racing being held in Merseyside gave him the idea of leasing some land in the area at Aintree and holding race meetings.

With his usual energy, Mr. Lynn had his plans soon underway and Lord Molyneux laid the foundation stone for the grandstand on July 7, 1829. Racing began at Aintree on July 7 the same year.

Mr. Lynn held three meetings a year but, not content with this achievement, in 1835 he had the idea of running a steeplechase at the Aintree course. On February 29, 1836, he advertised the race: A sweepstakes of 10 sovereigns. Each with 80 sovereigns added, for horses of all denominations, gentlemen riders (12 stone limit), second horse receives back his stake. Winner to be sold for 200 sovereigns if demanded.

Today, the maximum weight any horse can carry in the Grand National is 11st 10lbs and the minimum is 10st.

Each runner’s weight will be largely determined by their official rating and the higher the rating, the higher the weight, but the National is the only race in Britain in which the Handicapper can ignor the official ratings if he wishes, often to the consternation of owners and trainers.

Horses are then put in descending order from the highest to the lowest weighted and that also determines their race number. The top-weighted horse is number one, second heaviest weighted horse is number two and so on.

The weights are then announced. In 2017, it was on February 14, and since then a series of ‘Declaration Stages’ has taken place. At each of these stages, horses can be withdrawn from the proceedings by their trainers and as they are removed and the entries get whittled down so even horses that have not initially made the top 40 may now do so as entries above them are taken out.

The very last declaration stage took place at 10 am yesterday (Thursday) and this was the point where the top 40 horses were selected.

This (Friday) morning at 10 am, any non-runners must be declared and be replaced by one of the four reserves. This is also the point where any horses who were previously allocated weights of less than 10st will have their weight increased to meet requirements.

Who’s buying what... and why

The area of organic farmland worldwide has increased from 11 million hectares to 43.7 million hectares between 1999 and 2014, almost quadrupling in size, and the attraction of organic food worldwide and within the UK is again growing at a much faster rate than conventional food products, with UK organic sales increasing 4.9 per cent in 2015-2016, according to the Financial Times.

Organic and natural products are said to be growing in popularity not just in the food sector, but also the cosmetic and skincare sector, indicating organics as becoming more of a lifestyle than a one off purchase.

However, it is important to note that some consumers still are often not consciously buying organic products, many are purchasing products due to the brand recognition and may be unaware than it is an organically produced product, for example Yeo Valley or Rachel’s Yoghurt.

Certain categories of product, such as baby food, are also only produced from organic materials leaving the consumer with no choice than to purchase organic.

How do the numbers add up: 50 per cent of regular organic consumers would consider purchasing more organic produce if it was available; 15-20 per cent of consumers purchase organic outside of the supermarket, contributed to by availability and 48 per cent of UK households bought some organic food in 2015.

Despite Organic shoppers consider themselves to be more promotion-driven, although over one third purchase products irrespective of price, the question you may be asking yourself is why is organic becoming so popular?

Current food and buying trends are showing that people are no longer sporadically calorie counting, but want a healthier lifestyle and view organic products as a means to achieving this.

Many consumers (probably mistakenly) are sighting concerns over antibiotic resistance bugs and worries about just what we are putting it our body, and are happy to prioritise health over price.

The average British consumer buying into the organic sector is said to be someone of a higher social class, in a small household, with no or one child, between the ages of 25-45-years-old.

The majority of the ‘average organic consumer’ is also more likely to have disposable income and will be buying for a smaller group of people so are more likely to purchase products of a higher price and quality, usually premium ranges including organics.

The millennial generation is often said to be driving the growth in the organic industry. It has been shown that we carry our eating and lifestyle habits through to our older age, currently the older generations are the smaller percent of the market buying into organics.

The top four growing categories in the organic sector are fruit up 28 per cent, milk up 20 per cent, veg up 19 per cent, and yoghurt also up 19 per cent from 2015 to 2016. This shows that people are converting their staple products to organic and not just one off niche products.

Some of the biggest UK retailers are aware of the opportunities for sales by adopting more organic products with Tesco and Waitrose together contribute to 44 per cent of growth of organic fresh and chilled sales.

However, surprisingly, some other top UK retailers are reducing the amount of organic produce on their shelves due to changing in their overall business strategy and not seeing organic as a reliable stream.

The NFU continues to highlight opportunities to source British organic products with the UK’s retailers, as there are concerns that the growth in the market is due to imports.

Difficulties

Always bear in mind that even though you may be experiencing difficulties in your personal life, it doesn’t give you the right to treat others poorly.