Why we give (and how much we give)

Looking over one of my researcher colleague’s shoulder this afternoon I learned that the average UK resident gives 0.5% of his or her income to charity i.e. £5 in every £1000. An amount which, in real terms, has doubled in the past [sic] thirty years. My colleague elaborated that the big givers are excluded from this statistic as there are so few who (can afford) to give hugely generous sums. 

However, it is the hugely generous that I am interested in. 

Having working in the Campaigns and Alumni Relations office at the University of Bristol (and dabbled with a spot of fundraising for Sustrans), I was always interested in the daily challenge faced by the Major Gift Managers, of extracting thousands of pounds from individuals. Did they flatter, charm and guilt trip their ‘prospects’ into donating their hard earned cash, or was it a more clever and controlled exercise of identifying those who wanted to give but were just waiting to be asked. After all, if my own experience is anything to go by, I’ve only ever given as a result of having been asked for a donation.

A recent study by Cass found that donations from family foundations in the UK are stuck at £1.4 billion, while American givers are three times as generous as the British. Trevor Pears of the Pears Foundation says the super-rich remain ‘reluctant’ to give and have to ‘step-up’. 

This all fits in rather nicely with Cameron’s vision for the Big Society.

Rhamnose. Don’t know what it is yet? Read on . . .

According to the oracle that is The Sunday Times, L’Oreal claim that they have developed the first over the counter anti-wrinkle cream validated by formal scientific research. Yes, that’s scientific research, not a trial where 18 women were given a free pot of a new product with a RRP of £20+ and 12 of them said that it made their skin feel plumper (as one may very well expect the application of any kind of cream to do. Olive oil will do this!) If you want to read more about pseudoscientific studies then look no further than Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre.

However, L’Oreal, at least judging by the Sunday Times’ review appear to have hit on something, and have conducted tests of 400 women from different ethnic backgrounds to scientifically prove the ability of the chemical.

The L’Oreal scientists used computer software to screen thousands of naturally occurring chemicals until they found one that stimulates a specific type of skin cell, known as fibroplasts, which produce collagen in the body.

The magical substance is called rhamnose and is based on a sugar compound derived from a species of tropical flowering plant called uncaria.

It’s almost extraordinary the extent to which we will go to to prevent wrinkles – international cosmetics companies employing hundreds if not thousands of biochemists just to find a product which *might* reduce wrinkles, let alone the damage which such companies stand to cause environmentally in sourcing and transporting this tropical plant. Surely the best way to avoid wrinkles is to drink lots of water, eat healthily, wear suncream and avoid smoking, and accept the reality that wrinkles are going to happen.

The Seville orange and its respective marmalade

I am attempting to make Seville marmalade for the second time. Only this time I am fortunate enough to have found myself in possession of Seville oranges – which can only be an advantage.

A few hours of therapeutic orange slicing activity later my large saucepan was filled with the juice and rind of a score’s worth of beautifully bitter Seville oranges. As the simmering process commenced, my kitchen filled with the gorgeous comforting, yet uplifting aroma of the bitter oils. 

Unlike when making jam, there is no need to add pectin, or lemon juice, to help with the setting process when making marmalade. Pectin is a occurs naturally in fruit, providing it with structure and firmness, which is similar to the way in which collagen keeps our skin firm and pump. So a ripe, firm, crunchy apple is high in pectin, while softer fruits such as strawberries have a lower pectin content. Seville oranges are plentiful in pectin, and during the marmalade making process, the combining of sugar and water and citric acid (freely available from the orange juices) stimulate the activity of pectin so that a gel forms.

The first post

A mere twenty four days after I meant to start this blog, I finally signed up. 

That’s enough work for today, but my promise is that I will make this a blog that I will want to read.