Fanfreluche: the mare who disappeared

Kevin Blake mentioned this story on the latest episode of the Final Furlong podcast (highly recommended listening for any horse racing fans out there by the way, check it out). 

She was named by her French-Canadian owner after a children's TV character. As a daughter of Northern Dancer from the same crop as Nijinsky she was bred in the purple. Success on the track saw her became a champion filly and she went on to great success at stud before events took an unexpected twist in a paddock at Claiborne Farm, Kentucky, in July 1977. 

It's an amazing story and a reminder of how racehorse pedigrees can turn on chance and luck; no matter how much science, angst and planning breeders might put in. Read the full story here in Kevin's blog: http://www.attheraces.com/blogs/kevin-blake

Fanfreluche

Learning to learn can be frightening

"Learning often consists of scrabbling around in the undergrowth, on the edge of your comfort zone."

I came across this educational blog post recently and I think it emphasises a really important point: learning is often uncomfortable, and challenging.

Before we can learn how to do anything new, we have to be prepared to admit that we don't know it and/or can't do it (yet). This takes confidence and self-belief, as well as faith in your teacher that they can get you there.

Those who are hamstrung by fear, or expectations of failure, can't let themselves go. You have to be prepared to jump in there and just try, without any guarantee of success.   

Can the "nose to tail" approach to meat eating help reduce food waste?

This week's episode of The Food Programme from BBC radio 4 looked at food waste and the efforts being made to reduce it by one New York chef: Dan Barber. Dan's approach is to look at the question of sustainability across the entire farming and food production industry.

It's a  perspective that began when he found himself standing in a field in New York State, surrounded by dozens of food crops that the farmer had no market for.

You can catch the podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08k1h2h