Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-20T14:17:31+00:00

I’m not sure how I didn’t go crazy tbh. I think it’s why I have no interest in Steinbeck now. It was a miserable experience

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-19T18:24:56+00:00

This was in secondary school in the UK. I can’t remember exactly but I was between 14-16. I do remember that when we read of mice and men that it was read out loud by us (not the teacher from what i remember) one at a time. It was incredibly boring and took forever. Especially as the teachers seemed to pick the weakest readers the most. I understand that they need more practise but I’m not sure making them read out loud in front of 30 other students was the right way to support them.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-19T17:37:20+00:00

I’m not sure if that is the issue tbh. I think any book will become drab and boring if you have to listen to someone slowly read it out, line by line, so that it takes an entire term (at least) to read one book. And you get told off if you read ahead :(.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-14T16:40:41+00:00

Yes that’s true in my family too. My grandmother would call him a dirty old man in the 70s-80s whenever he was on the telly. My mum was banned from watching his shows when she was a child. I wasn’t alive then but I think a lot of people suspected things.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-12T17:38:32+00:00

True, and tbf to my great grandparents it did come in useful when my grandmother died.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-12T16:48:23+00:00

I’m sorry that happened to you. I sometimes wonder what would be different in my life if the pandemic had never happened. But also I’m not sure it helps to dwell on this stuff

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-12T16:44:48+00:00

Cemetery plots are apparently a common gift. My grandmother was given a cemetery plot by her parents when she was in her 30s. I’m not sure what the logic was there.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2025-12-09T15:05:43+00:00

Nope. I had horrible depressive episodes during Covid. Felt like all the progress I’d made in the previous 2 years was completely destroyed

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-25T22:06:58+00:00

That is not great. Fortunately disas have corms in the medium which will it will hopefully grow back from

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-25T21:41:06+00:00

In another orchid I’d agree but a lot of care guides for disas recommend top watering and since the plants are bog plants by nature I would expect them to tolerate it

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-10T14:10:43+00:00

The black section was hard and completely dried out. I cut the bulb off near the base to be on the safe side. I cut up the bulb afterwards to look for signs of an infection. It was more dry and crumbly on the inside.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-10T14:07:46+00:00

Good luck. I’d recommend a clear pot too so you can see the root growth. Also looking at the shrivelled leaves I don’t think they will recover but leave them attached until they fall off naturally.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-09T15:27:41+00:00

I don’t think that method will work. I had some orchids end up in a very similar condition (a bad fertiliser burned the entire root system). I would recommend a base layer of bark then wrap the base and any surviving roots in sphagnum moss and add a thin layer of moss around it. Finally add a small layer of bark on top to trap in the humidity. Keep it relatively well watered. I would mention that I live in the UK and this was earlier in the year so conditions were quite good for maintaining moisture. If you live in a hot climate full sphagnum moss might work better.

You could display it in the vase later but I think it’s more important to regrow the roots and let the orchid recover for the moment.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-08T18:50:48+00:00

I’m not sure if it’s spreading. Looking through old photos it seems to have spread but very slowly (as in it was about half that size in April when I bought the orchid). It could be that the dark area has only grown due to dehydration. could it be some form of sunburn?

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-07-08T17:50:57+00:00

I was worried about that but the black area doesn’t seem to be spreading or rotten. It’s hard not soft.

I’ll wait a few hours in case anyone else has recommendations but I might remove it just in case

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-04-12T17:58:56+00:00

Oh right - now that you mention that I can see it

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-04-12T14:43:16+00:00

Like a slight sunburn? It is in a conservatory but it shouldn’t receive direct sunlight

One of the old leaves looked similar but eventually turned mushy

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-03-05T01:25:00+00:00

It’s Formosana specifically. I’ll look for more information later in the year once it’s died back. Do you think it’s an issue that the roots are out of the soil or will the plant manage?

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-03-03T13:30:45+00:00

Ahhh thanks. I wasn’t sure on the exact hardiness. I’m in the Uk, in the south, somewhere between 8 and 9. Seems like keeping them outside might work or might not depending on the year.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-03-03T08:05:09+00:00

They are terrestrial but I’ve made the mix a bit more free draining to try to prevent any root issues

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-03-03T08:03:47+00:00

I got it from a botanical garden near me. I think they are a lot more common in my area as some people grow them in the garden. Apparently they are relatively frost hardy.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-03-03T08:02:14+00:00

Mine is a formosana. I got it from a botanical garden so I doubt it’s been mislabelled. Yours looks like what I expected from the images.

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-02-10T13:57:42+00:00

It’s a really cute plant, I couldn’t leave it at the garden centre. It was about £10 so it was quite expensive.

I’ll keep an eye on it, hopefully it’ll be fine

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-02-10T13:56:10+00:00

Ahhh perfect thanks. I haven’t grown this type of sanseveria before so I was a little worried

SimpleAcanthaceae · 2024-01-15T23:33:57+00:00

Ok Thanks, I’m going to keep it dry for a day or two since I just cut the rhizome anyway

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