Lettuce & Salad Leaves

As well as packet mixes of lettuce and salad leaves, try young leaves of radish, beetroot and spinach beet.

Sow: From March - will germinate at low temperatures. Doesn't germinate well in hot conditions (over 20 degrees C) so avoid sowing in July and early August. Sow in September for autumn/winter crops. Sow a variety of types either in pots to transplant or direct in the soil.

Aspect: Early sowings do best in sunny, sheltered spots. In summer will tolerate light shade; full sun may cause bolting (premature flowering).

Water: Water soil regularly but avoid getting leaves wet to rpevent rot.

Harvest: Early morning when leaves are turgid (full of moisture). Cut and come again types need regular light picking.

Don't grow by: Celery, brassicas and parsley.

Spotting Fake Websites

Spotting the difference between a legitimate music, film and TV download site and a counterfeit one isn's as easy as it sounds. Here are some golden rules to follow:

• Don't assume that because the website asks for payment, a download is legal. This is an easy way of fooling consumers.
• It's obvious, but if the film or album you are searching for isn't yet on general release, the chances are that you can't download it legally.
• Check individual websites at thecontentmap.com to see which are the real deal.
• Download Childnet International's online guide to spotting pirate websites and encourage the whole family to read it.

Good Housekeeping, October 2013

Clothing Care

Taking care of your clothes will keep them looking good for longer.

• Hang up items while still warm from your body to help creases drop out. 
• Close zips and fasten buttons when hanging to maintain clothing's shape.
• Use wooden or wide plastic hangers for jackets rather than wire - they span the shoulders better.
• Never hang clothes from the neckband loop - it will pull the shoulders out of shape.
• Cover hanging garments that you only wear occasionally with a bin liner or dry-cleaning bag to protect them from dust and creasing.
• Always rinse swimwear in tap water straight after use. Then wash by hand and do not wring or tumble dry. Don't dry in sunshine as this can weaken the fibres.
• Avoid wearing the same garment two days in row, as fabrics need a bit of time to to air and recover their shape.
• Hang trousers and shirts to dry by the hem to avoid peg marks.
• Turn coloured items inside out before you dry on the line to avoid fading.
• Flat dry knitted and jersey fabrics to avoid stretching. Pull into shape while still damp.
• Remove unsightly anti-perspirant stains from a top by rubbing gently with a baby wipe. (Dispose of the wipe in the bin, do not flush down the loo - whatever it says on the packet; wipes do not dissolve easily in water and can clog up sewers.)
• To avoid bobbles on woollens, turn inside out and wash on delicate cycle and a reduced spin speed.

Equipment Manuals

Lost the manual for your sewing machine or perhaps you've bought a device second-hand without a manual? You can try the following:

• Find the website for the company that produced your item. Increasingly companies are making these available free of charge online.
• Try a search for the model of your device and run a search with the parameter filetype:pdf to see if anyone has uploaded one anywhere else on the web.
• Visit a manuals search engine (though these don't always seem to last long), such as The ManualsLib at www.manualslib.com/
• You could also try eBay as manuals do come up for auction quite often.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update, July 2014

Spinach Beet, Chard and Spinach

Sow:

• Spianch beet from March to April, in pots or direct in soil.
• Chard in April in pots and then transplant.
• Spinach needs to be sown early as it does not germinate well in hot weather.

Aspect: Spinach beet and chard will cope in partial shade. Spinach likes partial shade.

Care: Plant 30cm (12") apart.

Water: In very dry spells.

Harvest: Pick lightly at first, using the lower, outer leaves. Alternatively, cut whole head 2cm above soil level; the plant should re-sprout. Spinach beet and chard are biennial, so can harvest through autumn, winter and following spring. Spinach is an annual. Stems are thick and need to be cut with a knife.

Don't grow by: Beans.