As Starbucks has announced the pumpkin spice latte is back it is the start of autumn! Actually there are two different dates for when it is supposed to begin. Autumn defined by the earth orbit around the sun begins on the equinox which falls on 22nd or 23rd of September. However, the meteorological Autumn always begins on the 1st of September.

• The harvest moon appears in autumn, it is the full moon that appears closest to the equinox. The light from the moon was essential for farmers to have a good harvest as there wasn’t any electricity.
• Pumpkin is the most craved flavour during this season
• Oktoberfest is a beer festival that is held during autumn which originated in Munich, Germany in the early 1800s. This is 14 days long and over 1.3 million gallons of beer are poured for this event.
• Autumn wasn’t introduced into the English vocabulary until the 18th century. Previously we would use the word fall. Autumn came from the French Automne.

Trees prepare for winter

The shorter days are a sign for the trees to prepare for winter. There isn’t enough light during winter for photosynthesis to occur so as the days shorten through autumn the trees begin to shut down their food production and reduce the amount of chlorophyll in their leaves. Catching leaves during autumn is supposed to bring good luck

The chemical called chlorophyll gives leaves the green pigment. This stops being produced during colder seasons allowing other colours to show through like the red, orange and yellow.some of the chemicals that create the yellows, reds and oranges are found in some foods like carrots and egg yolks.

Pumpkins

Carving vegetables and placing candles inside them originated in Ireland but they would use turnips or potatoes. When the Irish arrived in American they discovered pumpkins and a new Halloween ritual was born.

The winter pack is now available for you to buy!

Fires have happened throughout history, some you may know, some you may not. Here are Three Historic Fires In London! 

The frozen fire at butler’s wharf

In 1931 firefighters battled with flames and frozen temperatures. To tackle the fire roughly 1,100 firefighters arrived. The warehouse on fire had large stocks of tea and rubber, the fire burnt throughout the day and night leaving a smell of burnt rubber.

The fire wasn’t extinguished for several days.

The unbearably cold conditions made the blaze difficult to tackle. The water froze as it ran down the wall and sheets of ice spread across the roads. The cold temperature meant they had to wrap hoses in blankets to hold them.

The king’s crossfire

On November 18th 1987 the London Underground experienced the worst fire to date. A lit match was dropped on the wooden escalators at Kings Cross underground that caused the fire. 150 firefighters and 30 fire engines attended the scene. The changes made after this fire were; 

• replacing the wooden escalators,
• the smoking ban extends to all station areas 
• improved radio communications between firefighters.

Great Fire of London

This historic fire, the majority of you will know. In 1666 the fire destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, the royal exchange and st Pauls cathedral. Many of the buildings were made from timber and covered in a flammable substance called pitch. Houses were packed closely together, many with sheds and yards containing hay and straw. The previous summer had caused a drought and had dried out the wooden houses.

The fire began in a bakers shop on Pudding Lane. A fire was left and at 1 am that house was an inferno. A previous fire had destroyed a section of the London Bridge, therefore, the fire couldn’t reach the south of the river. 

There was no organised fire brigade and firefighting was very basic with little skill or knowledge. Using leather buckets, axes and water to fight the fire which had little effect. To stop the fire they pulled down and blew up houses in the path of the fire to stop it spreading.

Ultimately this began the of assembling the first fire brigades. 

Want more information on historic fires click here

The fireplace has always been a focal point of the room, providing warmth and aesthetic value. But what if your fireplace could be used for travel!

In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, we are introduced to the Floo Network system which relies on fireplaces for quick transport. This mode of transport is similar to Network Rail but much better. Even if this is imaginary it still makes for an interesting read!

The Floo Network is a safer mode of transport and it can easily transport children, the elderly and sick.

Floo Powder

This substance is a silver powder invented in the 13th century, which you can buy in Diagon Alley, however, the owners are renowned for never answering the door.

The price has remained the same, two sickles a scoop which is 58p. The exact ingredients are a closely guarded secret.

How it works

To use the Floo Network, chose your destination, grab some Floo powder and throw into the fireplace and green flames should appear. Upon entering, state your destination. You’ll be there in no time!

The Floo Network is generally reliable. However, speaking the name of the destination loudly and clearly upon entering the fireplace is difficult, due to ash, heat and panic.

Nearly every witch or wizard home is connected to the Floo Network. The fireplace can be disconnected with a simple spell but connection requires you to register with the ministry of magic. Once connected you can travel to any fireplace in the world as long as it is registered.

Not to worry as non-magic folk fireplaces can’t be connected unless in an emergency so you can still use Firemizer in your fireplace!

As the weather is forecast for a wet weekend it’s perfect English barbeque weather after all! Why not BBQ with Firemizer!

Everyone loves a BBQ, the smell of the food cooking and enjoying a nice evening in the garden. If you want some BBQ inspiration check out our blog on BBQs around the world! 

To get your BBQ to cooking temperature 20% faster here are some of our top tips!

BBQ With Firemizer

Simply place it on the base of your BBQ, place the coals on top, and start it like normal and see the difference. It’ll get your coals hotter much faster, help them to burn more efficiently and last up to a third longer, and reduce any harmful pollutants emitted by 72%. The only way to BBQ is a BBQ with firemizer!

Using Firebuilder

why not try using Firebuilder to start your fire? With no kerosene, the food will be free from any harmful chemicals to keep your food tasting great. Just break the cardboard brick, light the edges, place it on top of your solid fuel and let the fire burn downwards.

Grilling Meats

1. Beef = ground beef cook at 71°C Fahrenheit, steaks cook at 62°C. Use direct heat for chops and steaks. Use indirect heat for roasts and larger cuts of beef.
2. Chicken = chicken breast and legs cook at 73°C. For thick pieces of meat cook over direct heat, larger pieces over indirect heat.
3. Pork = sausages cooked at 73°C while pork chops cook at 62°C. Start cooking sausages on high heat so the outside is nice and charred then move to a cover part of the grill to finish off.
4. Seafood = salmon or shrimp cook at 62°C. Oil the grill well to reduce sticking. 

For more tips and great advice check out this article

As some crazy people are enjoying the extremely hot weather its hard not to notice the danger increasing temperature will have on us in the future.

This week we saw record-breaking temperatures and this is going to continue to get worse if we don’t do anything.

This article was written in 2018 titled ‘the next five years could be seriously hotter than normal, say scientists’

They clearly weren’t wrong and that means we’ve got more hot weather to come!

What would happen if the planet was 2 degrees hotter?

• Rivers and glaciers would disappear
• An increase in landslides as what holds them together would melt
• Sea levels could rise displacing 10% of the population
• Many Plants would eventually stop growing making global warming worse as they absorb a lot of the carbon dioxide.
• In 85 years one-third of the planet will be without fresh water
• 40% of the Amazon Rainforest will be destroyed
• Hurricanes would be stronger
• Coral reefs would start to become bleached – this is already happening here

What would happen if the planet was 3 or 4 degrees hotter?

• Ice poles would completely vanish and the sea would rise by 50 meters
• Summers would be longer and hotter, increasing the demand for air-con putting pressure on the power grid
• Forest fires increasing
• Shortage of food

The human body in the heat

Your body will try and keep a core temperature of 37 degrees and only gets hotter or colder when you are ill.

However in a temperature of 38 degrees and above you are at risk of:

• Swelling in joints
• Rashes
• Cramps – caused by salt imbalances
• Exhaustion 
• Dehydration
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Numbness in hands and feet
• Heatstroke

Its all well and good saying recycle, don’t use single-use plastics and reduce your meat and dairy consumption. These small changes will help. However, you can sign petitions get your local MP to take note that this is something you care about as the biggest change that needs to be made is for governments to take global warming seriously.