Latest news with #Bramble
Spectator
28-05-2025
- Science
- Spectator
Should we give weight loss jabs to children?
I have seen the future of food. And some of you won't like it. On a research trip to the Netherlands last week, along with the fellow partners of my firm, Bramble, I took a speedboat tour of the port of Rotterdam. One of the most awesome sights was the so-called 'Innocent Blender' – a vast smoothie-making fortress, box-shaped and silver – glinting over the water. This is where the British-based, Coca-Cola-owned company makes its 'tasty little drinks'. The factory location makes sense: most of Europe's imported fruit comes via Rotterdam. Massive tankers – 600ft long and filled with 40,000 tons of chilled orange juice from Brazil – move through constantly. The Blender is completely electric, runs on renewable energy and uses robots to purée, bottle and package. There isn't anything wrong with this, even if it doesn't quite chime with Innocent's cutesy image. The global food system is stretched to capacity, struggling to cope with global instability and the extreme weather of climate change. As a species, we need to harness cutting-edge science if we are to feed ten billion people (the projected population of 2060), while also giving some land back to the ecosystems we've been chewing through for decades. On our second day, we visited Wageningen University and Research – the epicentre of food system innovation. There we were shown a pill containing a miniaturised computer which, as it passes through your gut, sends live readings to your phone: temperature, acidity, location and transit time. The next model will take fluid samples at precise locations, providing a full readout of your microbiome. You then pass it in the usual fashion, give it a rinse – and hand it on to the next person. Vertical farms, growing vegetables under LED lights, without sun or soil, are familiar.
Geek Girl Authority
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Book Review: BEHOOVED
Thank you to Bramble for sending me a copy of Behooved in exchange for an honest review. About Behooved by M. Stevenson Bianca knows duty comes before love, so she agrees to a political marriage to Prince Aric. But her new husband is cold and distant. Even worse, an assassination attempt on their wedding night leaves him magically cursed into horse form. Bianca escapes atop her horse-husband, who returns to human form only at sunset. Framed for Aric's murder and entangled in a plot against the throne, Bianca must rely on the prince she barely knows to survive. As danger mounts and sparks begin to fly, the unlikely pair must break the curse, clear Bianca's name, and save the kingdom before their time runs out. RELATED: New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on May 20 M. Stevenson's debut Behooved is a slightly ridiculous but ultimately charming romantic fantasy novel. While it's lighter in tone, Stevenson does invest more in politics and high-stakes danger than a lot of other novels in this genre. There's a conspiracy looming over everything, and the threat of war between nations is definitely real. That said, all of the hallmarks of cozy fantasy and romance novels are present. There are plenty of expected tropes, namely an arranged marriage and only one bed at the inn. There's also a sort of enemies-to-lovers relationship, although that's due mostly to a forced miscommunication between the couple. RELATED: Book Review: Where Shadows Bloom Fun, Easy, Slightly Cheesy Something that helps Behooved stand out from the rest is Bianca's chronic illness. Her unnamed condition (based on celiac disease in the author's note) is unpredictable and affects her daily life. Bianca manages some symptoms with tonics, but faces extreme societal pressure to hide her 'weakness.' Early on, her parents demand that she conceal her condition, resulting in internalized ableism that affects Bianca's self-image. Stevenson's nuanced depiction captures the psychological toll of growing up disabled in an ableist world. Aric's acceptance and his role in helping Bianca better understand her condition make their relationship truly transformative, offering more than just romance. If you're looking for a fun, easy and slightly cheesy read for the summer, check out Behooved . M. Stevenson's whimsical fantasy romance is perfect for fans of My Lady Jane and The Spellshop . Behooved is out now and available from your local independent bookstore or TW: ableism, abandonment, alcohol, animal cruelty, blood, chronic illness, death, death of a parent, emotional abuse, injury/injury detail, medical content, self-harm, sexual content, violence, vomit Book Review: LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT
Irish Times
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
Ireland's weather in pictures: Swimmers, sunbathers and those socialising at the Barge
Irish people took to beaches, parks and back gardens this week to enjoy some of the hottest weather on record for this time of the year. A high for the month of 25.9 degrees was recorded at Athenry in Co Galway on Wednesday afternoon, breaking a 40-year-old record, while 17 official Met Éireann weather stations had their warmest April day on record. The forecast is for conditions to stay largely sunny over the weekend and into next week although temperatures will be closer to normal. Here are some pictures taken by our photographers over the last number of days: READ MORE Buí (Bramble) cooling off in the sea, at Sandycove, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph Nick Bradshaw Sup boarders off the coast at Sandycove, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph Nick Bradshaw A swimmer at the Casement statue, Dun Laoghaire on Wednesday. Photograph Nick Bradshaw Ada from Dublin enjoying the sunshine and a book in Dublin's Phoenix Park on Tuesday. Photograph: Alan Betson Enjoying the sunshine in Dublins Phoenix Park. Photograph: Alan Betson Sunrise on Killiney beach, Dublin. Photograph: Collins Cian (6) from Dublin enjoying the sunshine on Dollymount Stand, Dublin. Photograph: Collins From left: students Katie Killarney from Dublin, Penny Morris from Dundalk and Niamh Murray from Dublin enjoying the sunshine on Dollymount Stand, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph: Collins Clarissa and Roberto with their son Henrique (2) enjoying the sunshine on Dollymount Stand, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph: Collins 30/05/2025 People out enjoying the good weather at Vico Co Dublin this afternoon. Pic Stephen Collins/Collins Photos From left, Erin Farrell, Katie Kelly and Orla Murphy enjoying the sunshine on Dollymount Stand, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph: Collins Shirlaine Corrigan from Donaghmede, with her son Fionn (4) on Dollymount Strand, Dublin on Tuesday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill People sitting outside and socialising by the Grand Canal at the Barge Pub in the Portobello, Dublin near Charlemont Street Bridge. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Saileog (3) Cunnane from Rush enjoying the glorious weather on the South Strand in Rush Co. Dublin 1. Photo: Bryan O'Brien Warm weather by the sea in Sandycove, Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph Nick Bradshaw Walking the dog at King's Inns Park, Dublin, on Monday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Colm Meyler from the boat Carrigeen, one of the approx 16 flotilla boats on the Royal Canal which were heading to Dublin for the Dublin Boat Rally but have were stopped at Confey, near Leixlip on Wednesday. The boaters were told Irish Rail will not be able to lift the Newcomen Bridge (between the Conventions Centre Dublin and Croke Park) , to enable the flotilla to enter the city centre, the Liffey, Grand Canal Dock and back to the Shannon via the Grand Canal. The route around the Royal and Grand Canals via the Liffey is know as the Green and Silver. Photograph: Alan Betson The flotilla boats stopped at Confey, near Leixlip on Wednesday. Photograph: Alan Betson Students from Maynooth College enjoying the glorious weather on the South Strand in Rush Co. Dublin. From left: Kyle Griffin with Ben Blackwell on his back, Daniel Jordan with Teddy Coghlan on his back and at right Kaylan Doyle carrying Rebecca Cannel. Photo: Bryan O'Brien
New York Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Swoony Romance Novels That Will Upend Your World
Despite romance's reputation as light comfort reading, the genre has a bass line of chaos pulsing through it — the distinction being that romance presents chaos as survivable, even if your entire world is upended. Chaos CHAOS (Bramble, 352 pp., paperback, $19.99) is even the name of Fay's third sci-fi romance adventure, and if you haven't heard about this series yet then you have three books of nonstop thrills and pew-pew space lasers waiting for you. Our heroine is Caro Ogunyemi, a renegade engineer with a past she's determined to keep secret. When a chance to repay some of her moral debt sends her on a solo mission to a high-tech prison planet, she recklessly jumps at it. There she finds Leviathan, a murderous super soldier controlled by an implanted chip that inexplicably fails the instant Caro touches him. From there it's a race to the finish, as prison riots, malfunctioning tech and inconvenient but irresistible attraction add twists and turns to this roller coaster of a plot. When the Tides Held the Moon Roller coasters feature much more literally in WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON (Erewhon Books, 464 pp., $29), a lushly illustrated historical romance about a sideshow found family, a Puerto Rican blacksmith and a captured merman meant to be the next big attraction at Coney Island's Luna Park carnival. In New York in 1911, Benigno 'Benny' Caldera takes on a project nobody else wants: crafting an enormous metal cage for a saltwater tank, a commission from the Luna Park impresario Sam Morgan. Benny's work is so good his boss tries to take the credit — and fires Benny when he speaks up. With unctuous graciousness, Morgan offers Benny a new job, and reveals the tank's secret: It's meant to hold a merman, as soon as they can capture one. But the merman, when they do find him, turns out to be sentient — and the most beautiful creature Benny's ever seen. Soon the blacksmith is spending his nights whispering secrets across the glass barrier to Río, as he calls him, while the date for Luna Park's opening creeps ever closer. Morgan knows how to craft a spectacle, but can he be trusted? Will Benny choose to keep Río imprisoned, or set him free even if it means losing him forever? This book is a charming fable — an elemental dance of fire and water. All Fired Up Flames are more than metaphorical in ALL FIRED UP (Canary St. Press, 304 pp., paperback, $18.99). This Sapphic contemporary between a professional firefighter and a fire science researcher had me reliving my own misspent youth amid the secondhand couches and karaoke bars in the heart of Seattle. Nicole, a freshly minted Ph.D. moving back to her hometown, is trying to get over her feelings for her overdramatic best friend Skylar, with no success. Now she finds that not only has Skylar found a replacement best friend: She's moving to Fiji at the end of the summer, in one of her trademark disaster decisions. Desperate to convince Skylar to stay in town, Nic makes a secret pact with the replacement friend, Kira — an ambitious, type-A firefighter who's hot both in and out of her gear. Conspiracy planning has them whispering in one another's ear … and then casually, not-so-accidentally making out. But while Nic might be ready to let go of her dreams of winning Skylar's heart, Kira is holding onto her own past too tightly. What a messy, drunken, ill-advised joy of a book. Everyone's putting on a cool, with-it surface while paddling like mad underneath. It reminds me of Casey McQuiston's best party scenes, with the on-point Seattle flavor of Alexandria Bellefleur — effervescent and deeply sincere. Marriage Bargain With the Comte Longtime readers know how much I love an elegant category romance like Cole's newest Black historical, MARRIAGE BARGAIN WITH THE COMTE (Harlequin Historical, 272 pp., paperback, $7.99). Evena Baptiste and Dieudonné, Comte de Montreau, are childhood best friends in St. Domingue. Long shamed for being both mixed-race and illegitimate, Dieudonné needs a highborn bride to prove his worth in the court of Louis XVI. Evena's beauty and wit tempt him — but her provincial origin is a mark against her in society's eyes. Years later in Paris, the comte has been left at the altar just as Evena arrives to make a match of her own. When her suitor assaults her, it's Dieudonné who steps in to save her reputation. What follows is a classic case of two people knowing each other well enough to read one another's emotions, but misinterpreting the cause to disastrous effect. English Regencies unfold against the background of an untoppled aristocracy; here, the looming specter of the coming revolution means we know our couple will have more times of trial to come. It's to Cole's credit that they feel strong and adaptable enough to meet one of history's greatest challenges head-on.
CBC
02-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Voters in Waterloo region say they're just trying to survive U.S. tariffs
With more U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods expected to take effect Wednesday, businesses and voters in Waterloo region are voicing growing concerns about the economic impact it could have. A voter survey by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo shows that nearly half of respondents say tariffs and the suggestion Canada should become the 51st state in the U.S. are both their top election concern. Just as the election was called on March 21, CBC K-W visited farmers' markets in St. Jacobs and Cambridge to speak to voters about their top election issues this federal campaign and most overwhelming said tariffs. Karen Bramble is an interior stylist who sells wellness products and dried floral arrangements twice a week at the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market. Bramble is feeling a direct impact on her business because she sources eucalyptus from California. It's a big part of her business and she says she may have to raise prices of each floral arrangement by about $3 on average. "This is my bread and butter so I need to do what I need to do to survive," she said. Impact on local community Ian McLean, CEO of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, said tech, auto manufacturing and auto supply chain manufacturing are likely to take the biggest hit locally. "It's across the board," he said. The tariffs, which U.S. President Donald Trump announced as part of his 2024 re-election campaign, were scheduled to take effect earlier this year but were repeatedly postponed. Now, with the latest deadline set for Wednesday, local business leaders are already beginning the action plan process. But outside of the region's manufacturing industry, McLean said the impact on smaller businesses can be harder to gauge. "It's very individual because it really depends on where your input costs are going and where your final market is for your product," he said. He said organizations like his, alongside the Business Economic Support Team Waterloo Region (BESTWR), which is the culmination of five large local economic development agencies, are working to try and mitigate the issue as much as possible. They're helping small businesses find substitutions where materials come from and where products go. This is part of BESTWR's work to create a tariff action plan for the Region of Waterloo. Modelled after their COVID-19 measures, the plan gathers information from businesses and then creates a support plan to bring to higher levels of government. The chamber has also reactivated a pandemic-era website that has been redesigned to help businesses navigate the new trade environment. Action from the region, cities Waterloo region isn't the only municipality getting ahead on tariff action. The cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph have passed their own "Buy Canadian" motions. These detail plans to work with city staff to seek local alternatives for goods and services that may been purchased from U.S. suppliers in the past. Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett also proposed tax-related measures to ease the impact of tariffs on local businesses. "We were already seeing the repercussions of the economy on our industrial municipal tax base," Liggett said in an interview with CBC News. "So I've also directed staff to look at deferring some of the notice fees based on how they're going to be hit." Liggett said the preliminary plan would see Cambridge businesses that are able to demonstrate significant losses directly related to a tariff receive more time to pay their municipal taxes. She added that a similar plan for residential taxpayers could follow if the impact becomes severe enough. Tariffs and Canadian sovereignty For many voters, the concern isn't just economic, but political, too. Public remarks and social media posts from U.S. President Donald Trump about Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state has people worried that tariffs could be part of a larger strategy to weaken and even annex Canada. Richard Gold, a professor of law at McGill University and a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, dismisses that possibility. "I believe it's between nil and zero," Gold said. "The U.S. may be our friends, but we don't want to be them." Gold said the differences are too great for many Canadians. "There's lots of concern over guns, over the divisive culture, the lack of support for those of us who are less well off," he said. Gold said he hasn't seen a groundswell of support for joining the United States, either. He also doesn't believe the U.S. military would want to put their army in Canada.
