Rachael McKelvey

• How do you listen to audiobooks?
• Goodbye Lilt, Hello Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit
• The Bank of Mum & Dad
• Farewell Nicola Sturgeon
• Thorvald, the worlds oldest hedgehog

How do you listen to audiobooks?
I hope my other half never finds this, he has bought me many an audiobook that I’ve requested and to date I have listened to absolutely none of them. I’m just not sure I’m an audiobook person, and it turns out I might have been correct.

I used the Borrow Box app which is free with my library membership and gives access to hundreds of audiobooks for FREE. I almost couldn’t decide which one to borrow.

I have a lot of opportunity to listen to things, while driving, while walking, while at the gym and while I currently listen to podcasts, I swapped out for an audiobook this week.

Now, I don’t know if it’s that its nonfiction, or the reader (and the voices) or that I actually just don’t listen particularly well, but I am a few hours in and I remember astounding little…I might see if I can get a sample of the book to read the chapter and see if I feel the same.

I was a little distracted while listening, I wouldn’t have been able to read in those situations, but I would normally listen to a podcast of a similar genre, so what I am I missing? What am I doing wrong?

Goodbye Lilt, Hello Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit
After 50 long years, Coca-Cola have taken the decision to axe the Lilt brand, goodbye to the Lilt man and the Lilt Ladies of the 80’s and 90’s, we thank you for your service and the totally tropical taste, and on Valentine’s day, of all the days!

Happy 50^th Birthday Lilt, we will now call you Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit now available in 330ml cans and 500ml bottles…from a brand perspective I think it’s a logical move, since the recipe change from 2008 and 2014 to reduce the calories and the sugars and sweeteners it really hasn’t been the same and I think the sales reflect that, the Fanta brand is strong and well stocked and it makes sense to introduce the flavour to the family.

Twitter was its usual hilarious self at this news, made only more poignant by the fact it was Valentine’s day but it was nice to see that other people have fond memories of Lilt, it was the drink we only ever had at my paternal grandparents house when we typically spent a few days with them in warmer months, it was the go to special drink and just tasted like summer and happy memories. They all disappeared when they changed the recipe, the magic was in the sugar all along!

The Bank of Mum & Dad
The Institute for Fiscal Studies this week announced that £17 BILLION is gifted or loaned informally each year in Britain, with the largest chunk of that being from parents to their adult children.

The stats are astounding and well worth a read, 83% of all gifts received come from parents with 56% of the wealth transferred coming from the wealthiest fifth of adults.

Over half the gifts received go towards property purchase or improvement and a staggering 1 in 10 white young adults getting a gift over a 2 year period compared to 1 in 25 black African or black Caribbean young adults and less than 1 in 30 Pakistani or Bangladeshi young adults.

With UK household wealth doubling compared to incomes in recent decades, a lot of the wealth is sitting with the older generations while younger adults have seen stagnant income growth and rising prices.

I have benefited from generational wealth in my family and often debate with friends about the position of generational wealth, the hard line being that you shouldn’t die on a stack of cash, if you do it should go to the state to provide better provision, this should incentivise people to spend in life that would boost the economy.

But I must acknowledge that I am saving for that rainy day and will likely die with cash and no dependants, in which case anything left will go to charities.

Farewell Nicola Sturgeon
I don’t understand why so many people don’t like Nicola Sturgeon, and its quite vitriolic dislike. I think its fair if your dislike her politics, but I don’t find that to be peoples answer when you ask them about the specifics. A lot of people’s arguments just fall apart slowly and reveal what they were really trying hard not to say is they just don’t like women in power, even women.

Sturgeons’ resignation had echoes of Ardens resignation, the weight weighs heavy, even more so for women. If you asked me to name the best political leader of my life time it would be her.  While that they bar is unfortunately incredibly low, she acts like a grown up, she treats the electorate like grownups but also speaks in a compassionate way with the alarmingly unique skill in politics to explain complicated things in a way people understand, she has integrity and act’s thoughtfully and consistently even in the hardest and darkest times. She speaks incredibly well in a crisis, she works really hard and she reads and maybe I am biased but I think that’s important in a leader. She also has a sense of humour and isn’t afraid to laugh at herself. I enjoy her on Twitter immensely.

If she goes on to write a book or hits the podcast scene, I will definitely be keen to see what she really has to say without the weight of Holyrood on her shoulders and a little more freedom.

Thorvald, the worlds oldest hedgehog
I know and have created a surprising number of hedgehog fans over the years, I’ve been fortunate to always have one in residence at my house, under the decking by my patio doors and have been a great proponent for if you build them something useful they will come, the evidence being two unlikely hedgehog stops have become so by the simple addition of a feeding (always spikes) and water station. It’s much more enjoyable with a wireless camera to catch the noises and the sights.

This week science has confirmed the existence of the oldest European Hedgehog was in fact a gorgeous boy named Thorvald who lives for 16 years in Denmark and was found by a citizen science project where Danish citizens were asked to collect dead hedgehogs to get a better understanding of how they lived as hedgehogs are in massive decline in both urban and rural locations.

So how do you age a hedgehog? They have growth lines on the jawbones that are exactly like counting the rings on a tree.

Current watch:  Motherland – I finally found time to watch the Christmas special and it did not disappoint. Motherland is a must watch, a stella cast explore the trials and tribulations of middle-class mother(parent)hood. Julia, Liz and Kevin have the most functional dysfunctional relationships, they pull no punches, it is honest and hilarious and has still held up over three series.

Current read: Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World by Tom Burgis – Not an easy read but and important one, an astonishing piece of journalism written like fiction that just keeps you turning the page, but is a real insight into how corruption runs the world, dirty money is everywhere, in everything and seemingly truly the only thing that makes the world go round.

Most Impactful Listen: Cautionary Tales – The Hero Who Rode His Segway Off A Cliff – Cautionary Tales are fairytales for grown ups but they are all true, Harford shares stories of human error, catastrophe and happy accidents, this well timed episode on what makes an invention successful and useful. Why was the Segway a flop but the Concertainer an amazing versatile and much needed success?