Skye Edwards: If I Ruled The World

Everyone has to grow something edible. There’s empowerment through growing our own food says Ron Finley aka Gangsta Gardener says “you can have independence and a better life by growing your own healthy food”. It can also teach us valuable skills like patience and perseverance. It takes time for the firsts seeds to sprout and can bring out the nurturing side in us.

Oh but what if you don’t have a garden, or balcony? “If you can grow it there, you can grow it anywhere”, says Ron. An old dresser drawer, bath tub or bucket. Even in a basement flat with hardly any light? Yes, you can use LED lighting. Or why not try Guerrilla Gardening, planting seeds in areas that aren’t being cared for, along a grass verge or an empty tree pit.

Growing your own food has so many positives. There’s a great pride and joy that you get from eating something you’ve grown from scratch. I was given a box of seeds for my birthday recently. I’ve managed to grow tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, curly kale and courgettes. It was exciting seeing the seeds grow into plants.

Unfortunately, my courgette leaves were eaten by the rabbits! I’ve watched butterflies land in my curly kale. If nothing else, it supports insects and wildlife. So I don’t feel too bad that they get eaten before I get a chance to try. 

All windows must have the ability to open inward to make them easier to clean. From the age of 19 through to 26 I lived in Stratford, East London in a one bed flat on the 7th floor. It wasn’t fancy, the whole block was infested with cockroaches - you get the picture. Still it was my first home away from my parents and I loved it. It had a balcony and large south facing windows. It was great for growing house plants.

What I liked about the windows was that they opened inwards which made them very easy to clean. With a simple squeegee and washing-up liquid I could do the living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom windows, easy peasy.

Fast forward to the house I’m in now—I’ve lived here for 13 years and barely ever cleaned the upstairs outward opening windows. I hear of too many people falling off ladders. And employing a window cleaner seems like a bit of a luxury. 

If I ruled the world I would ban all Emojis. I absolutely hate them. They would fall into the same banned bin as words like BAE, LMAO and LOL. I think emojis are a lazy way to communicate and lack sincerity. There isn’t a clear universal meaning for them, which means there’s more of a chance of misunderstanding.

Apparently “Emojis are essential to communicate emotion, something that words cannot portray”. Hold on, so out of nearly 200,000 words in the English dictionary we can’t find the right ones to use?

I read that that 72 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds in the UK are happier using an emoji to show their feelings than using words. And according to a recent survey, using emojis in a professional situation makes you look less professional and undermines the information that you’re sharing. I don’t speak emoji. Say what you mean in words. 

All school kids aged 5 and upwards must visit their local care home once a week. I’d call it the ‘Five Ninety Five Club’.  All too often there’s a disconnect between young and old. The Five Ninety Five Club would help bridge the gap. I think it’s important to spend time with those of different generations. There are huge benefits of bringing old and young people together. Relationships are the key ingredient in living longer, and keeping connected with a younger generation can help older folks feel a greater sense of fulfilment.

Elders have wisdom and experience that could instil confidence in youngsters. They could pass on skills like cooking, arts and crafts, fishing or gardening and maybe fill a void for kids who don’t have grandparents. They could bond over school work, share life lessons and stories. Older youths could share their knowledge in technology, and show elders how to remove the Emoji app from their iPhones, for example, or give them fashion and beauty makeovers, and have fun teaching them the latest Tik-Tok dance routine.

There’s a certain vigour passed on from the young that leaves the old feeling youthful and energised which is good for their mental and physical health. 

No shoes allowed whilst walking on grass. This will allow us to earth or ground ourselves. The earth’s surface has a negative charge and is constantly generating electrons that could neutralise free radicals. Free radicals are unstable atoms that can damage cells, causing illness and diseases.

Walking barefoot on grass can help improve health. It can help with insomnia and mental well-being. We all know now that spending time in nature and the outdoors is good for us. Connecting with the earth can help decrease muscle tension and lower stress.

It can help regulate body temperature, digestion and blood pressure. With so many benefits, it certainly can’t hurt to try, half an hour a day. What have you got to lose? We can go paddling in a shallow lake or walk barefoot on a Sandy beach.

I’d make it law that everybody has to touch the trunk of the biggest tree they see each day (yes all those tree hugging hippies in the 70’s were right). Lay on a cotton or wool blanket on the ground, natural fibres are best. Or simply digging with barehands in the garden helps to contact you with the earth. Earthing is an absolute must, it’s Skye’s law. Which brings us full circle, growing something edible… The circle of life, rules of the world. 

Morcheeba will play O2 Brixton Academy in London on Thursday, December 9, 2021. TIckets are available here

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