Life in United Kingdom

The PROjected Completion and Employment from Entrant Data (PROCEED) is a measure that does what it says on the tin. It is an OfS’ new metric aiming to help students make sense of career prospects of their choices on university and subject for higher education.

Comparison of tenant deposit schemes in England and Wales

2021-06-01T11:13:00.012-07:00

In England and Wales there are three government-approved tenancy deposit schemes (Scotland and Northern Ireland have different schemes). They are

Deposit Protection Service (DPS)
MyDeposits
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

Insured vs. custodial scheme

Insured scheme: the landlord/agent can hold the tenancy deposits during the term of the tenancy. They need to pay a fee to the deposit scheme to register the deposit. At the end of tenancy, if the tenant raises a dispute, they must transfer the disputed amount to the deposit scheme until the matter is resolved by a free dispute resolution service provided by the scheme or a court.

Custodial scheme: the scheme holds the deposit for the duration of the tenancy. Custodial Schemes is free of charge for the landlord/agent. At the end of tenancy, both parties agree before the deposit can be released to the tenant/landlord. If there is a dispute, the release of deposit will be based on the decision of the free dispute resolution service provided by the scheme or a court.

I found that insured deposit scheme is more popular among landlords and letting agents, because few wrongun tenants bother raising a dispute if you have the money, but many do if with a third-party scheme holds the money. If they do raise a dispute and then disappear failing to give permission to release the deposit, the landlord can never get hold of the deposit to cover their loss. This is why there are millions of deposits locked up unable to be accessed by the landlords who have been ripped off by wrongun tenants.

Comparison of the costs for insured schemes for deposit over £500 (fees per deposit)

TDS charges £24
MyDeposits charges £26
DPS charges £27.75

This information is correct as of June 2021. It is difficult to find DPS pricing structure, as they hide it unless you register an account with them.

For a deposit under £500, it is not worth the hassle and the cost for an insured scheme (custodial scheme would be easier and incur no cost) unless the landlord has a large portfolio.

The most annoying advertisement that I have ever seen

2021-02-01T12:09:00.010-08:00

The most annoying advertisement that I have ever seen is a video ad of the game Dead by daylight. I was playing a game on my mobile, and came across this ad. The audio and visual nearly gave me a heart attack. I'm not a fan of horror genre. This unexpected ad, especially the audio, is so annoying that I turn off the audio completely on my phone to avoid any future nasty surprises like this.

The most common beans and lentils

2021-01-10T11:13:00.002-08:00

Common beans and lentils in Europe and America

navy beans (Europe), used in baked bean tins
red kidney beans (common in America and Europe)
chickpeas (Middle East, Mediterranean and India)
black beans (South and Central America)
butter beans, aka Lima beans (originate from south America and USA, now common in the UK)
lentils (originate from Middle East, now common in the UK)
cannellini beans, aka white kidney beans (originate from south America)
chili beans, aka pink beans (originate from South America)
pinto beans (common in Mexican and Southwest of the USA)

Common beans in Asia

soybeans (common in Asia), called edamame when they are immature

soybeans 黄豆

edamame 毛豆

mung bean 绿豆 (Asia, esp. China and Iran)

adzuki beans 赤豆 (China and Japan)

What is the best time in a day for a walk?

2021-01-09T09:12:00.002-08:00

In most places the sun is most intense between 10am and 2pm and the warmest time of a day is between 3 and 4pm. If you are in a country which is lack of sunlight, the best time for a walk in winter is 2pm when there is still intense sunlight and outdoor temperature starts to rise to the highest point in the day.

In summer, the best time for a walk is probably either between 9 and 10am or after 6pm. The reasons are

to avoid high UVB radiation between 10am and 2pm
to avoid hot temperature between 3 and 4pm
to avoid heavy road traffic between 8-9am and 5-6pm

Enjoy the outdoors!

Gluttonous

2021-01-01T11:34:00.009-08:00

gluttonous /ˈɡlʌt(ə)nəs/ adj. excessively greedy

glutton n. a person who eats and drinks excessively or voraciously. a person with a remarkably great desire or capacity for something: a glutton for work; a glutton for punishment

In Chinese culture, glutton is usually represented by Tao tie (饕餮), an ancient Chinese mythological creature that was commonly emblazoned on bronze artifacts during the 1st millennium BC and was a greed and gluttony monster in a few video games.

In English speaking culture, glutton is sometimes represented by the Cheshire cat or Lucifer. Both of them are fat, have a rather large grin and sharp claws. Lucifer is a spoiled, sour and gluttonous cat in Disney's animation. The Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland is more neutral. Their images have been commonly used in many games to represent gluttons. For example, in Animal Restaurant, the Cheshire cat is used as a mail box and a trash bin called Gluttonous kitty.

Constituencies, wards and local councils

2020-07-04T16:39:00.003-07:00

Constituencies (a.k.a. parliamentary constituencies): each electing one Member of Parliament (MP) every 5 years to the House of Commons (Parliament). There are 650 constituencies in the UK.

Wards (a.k.a. electoral divisions or electoral wards) is the primary unit of English electoral geography for borough and district councils, county councils or city councils. Each ward elects either one or two councillors to be members of the local council. There were 9,456 electoral wards/divisions in the UK and each ward has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population can vary substantially.

Local council is made up of a number of Councillors (Cllr) who meet regularly to make decisions about the direction of the council and the work it does for the community. As elected bodies local councils are responsible to their local community. Attending a council meeting is the best way to find out what they do and how they make decisions. Members of public can attend public council meetings. Councillors are not paid jobs, though they receive an annual allowance usually above £10k.

Officers are employees of the council. They implement the policies agreed by Councillors, organise and deliver services, and provide unbiased, professional advice and support to Councillors. Officers are managed by a number of Directors. Their head is called Chief Executive or Head of Paid Service, who leads and takes responsibility for the work of the paid staff of the council.

This booklet explains the relationships between Councillors (the council cabinet) and senior officers (council directors).

Clusters of UK universities based on research, teaching, economic resources, academic selectivity and socioeconomic mix of students

2020-06-11T13:51:00.017-07:00

UK University league tables are unreliable as they are often closely bunched together at the top, middle and bottom. Don't read too much into universities placed 10 to 20 places apart – a university in 50th place is usually separated by the one in 60th by only a few percentage points. This is also why some universities ranking fluctuate from year to year – small differences in score can mean big differences in placing. For example, a small drop in the National Student Survey (NSS) may cost a university 20 places in league tables.

It makes more sense to cluster universities based on similar criteria. According to DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905, there are 4 distinctive clusters of universities in the UK. A stark division is evident between the old pre-1992 universities and the post-1992 universities, with large differences evident in terms of research activity, economic resources, academic selectivity, and social mix. The difference between old and new universities with respect to teaching quality is minor.

Oxford and Cambridge stand out among the old universities forming an ‘elite’ tier of universities. The differences between this elite tier and the rest are substantial in relation to research activity, economic resources, academic selectivity, and social mix, but are much more modest in relation to teaching quality.

The remaining 22 Russell Group universities are found to cluster together with over half (17 out of 30) of all the other old universities.

Around a quarter of post-92 universities form a distinctive bottom tier. These universities are far less well-resourced than all other universities, and the student populations they serve are much less academically successful and socioeconomically disadvantaged.

The 4 clusters of UK universities are listed below, sorted by CUG ranking within the same cluster.

Russell Group; Unaffiliated pre-92 universities; Million+; GuildHE; University Alliance; Unaffiliated post-92 universities

Cluster 1 (2 universities)

University of Cambridge
University of Oxford

Cluster 2 (39 universities)

University of St Andrew
London School of Economics
Imperial College London
Loughborough University
University of Durham
University of Lancaster
University of Bath
University College London
University of Warwick
University of Exeter
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Edinburgh
University of Leeds
University of Manchester
University of Southampton
University of Glasgow
King's College London
University of Nottingham
University of York
University of Newcastle
Royal Holloway
University of East Anglia
University of Aberdeen
Queen's University of Belfast
University of Sheffield
Heriot-Watt University
Cardiff University
University of Dundee
University of Liverpool
University of Surrey
Queen Mary University of London
University of Strathclyde
SOAS
University of Leicester
University of Reading
University of Sussex
University of Kent
Goldsmiths, University of London

Cluster 3 (67 universities)

Swansea University
University of Essex
Harper Adams University
Aston University
University for the Creative Arts
University of Stirling
Nottingham Trent University
Arts University Bournemouth
Oxford Brookes University
University of Lincoln
University of the Arts, London
University of Northumbria
University of Huddersfield
Manchester Metropolitan
Coventry University
University of Keele
City University of London
Aberystwyth University
Ulster University
University of Portsmouth
University of Hull
University of the West of England, Bristol
Liverpool John Moores University
Sheffield Hallam University
University of Bradford
Falmouth University
University of Central Lancashire
University of Plymouth
University of Chichester
Bangor University
Robert Gordon University
Staffordshire University
Queen Margaret University
Edinburgh Napier University
University of West London
University of Hertfordshire
De Montfort University
Roehampton University
Birmingham City University
Brunel University
Bournemouth University
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Glasgow Caledonian University
London South Bank University
University of Greenwich
University of Salford
Bath Spa University
University of Chester
Teesside University
University of Abertay Dundee
University of Gloucestershire
Middlesex University
University of Derby
Kingston University
University of South Wales
University of Worcester
University of Winchester
University of Sunderland
University of Northampton
University of the West of Scotland
University of Westminster
University of Brighton
Leeds Beckett University
Newman University
University of Bedfordshire
Canterbury Christ Church
University of the Highlands & Islands

Cluster 4 (19 universities)

Liverpool Hope University
Edge Hill University
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Solent University
York St John University
Bishop Grosseteste University
Anglia Ruskin University
University of East London
University of Cumbria
London Metropolitan University
University of Wolverhampton
Leeds Trinity University
Buckinghamshire New University
Wrexham Glyndwr University
University of Bolton
University College Birmingham
Plymouth Marjon University
University of Suffolk
Ravensbourne University London

Comparison of video conferencing and online class platforms

2020-05-27T15:20:00.001-07:00

Working from home is becoming the new norm during Covid-19 lockdown. Companies and education providers are using various platforms for video conferencing and teaching online. Microsoft Teams and Zoom are the most popular platforms in companies, Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) sectors.

I compared features of the best video conferencing and online class platforms and rank them below.

- Zoom is more stable than Teams. Zoom allows the host to control many aspects from password protecting the room to admitting people in individually. Zoom is normally paid but has a limited free version. The limitation of the free version is that max meeting length is 40 minutes, though after that you can immediately restart the meeting. With careful setup Zoom could be used for remote music instruction. The video https://youtu.be/bFRHMy2GLMs shows how to set up Zoom to get the best out of online music lessons. Zoom has a few things that Teams doesn't support, e.g. annotations on screen, control mute/unmute for students and see entire class at once so they can see students raising their hand.

- Microsoft Teams integrates well with other Microsoft products such as Outlook, OneNote and Stream. However, Teams is more prone to weak connections, which is the reason many organisations prefer Zoom. It seems that Microsoft are throwing resources at fixing issues and improving Teams and that is reassuring. For example, in the recent upgrade Teams increase the maximal number of video feeds from 4 to 9 and added ‘raise hand’ (‘hand down’) feature.

- Blackboard Collaborate is built for online classroom and naturally has a capacity to accommodate larger meetings. It is hardly used outside the HE and FE sector.

- Google Meet seems more popular in primary and secondary education. It is integrated with Google Classroom and many apps that schools use to deliver remote instruction. No user installations required, single sign in Google.

- Wechat is the most popular social media and text/voice chat app in China. It has similar functions as Discord, also provides some features that Discord doesn’t have, e.g. audio recording, in-app purchasing, location sharing. However, I seldom saw it being used for online teaching as there are more suitable online delivery software which are purposed built for online delivery.

- Discord is a modern free voice & text chat app for groups of gamers. It is more popular in young people. If you create a server and add a chat or a Voice Chat (VC) you can hold a meeting up to 99 persons, which is more than Zoom. Due to the original purpose of Discord, it is very customisable, e.g. students can customise their profile pictures and names, but not to worry in a Discord server you can change their nicknames so you are able to know who they really are by changing it to their real name. You can have customisable ranks and if you want to split people into teams you can do so and with that, you can customize what they can do like give people ranks or de-rank them. In VC you can share screen or choose video feeds like in Zoom and Teams. Some universities and colleges use Discord for online teaching of games and esports courses.

- Skype. I used Skype a lot before 2019 when Microsoft announced that it will end Skype for Business on 31 July 2021, and it encourages customers to use the Microsoft Teams instead.

Country ranking of higher education systems on effectiveness

2020-05-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Finnish universities are the most effective in the world when taking into account national income levels, according to a ranking of higher education systems.

Top 10 countries, adjusted for economic development, are

Finland
South Africa
United Kingdom
Denmark
Canada
Sweden
Australia
New Zealand
Switzerland
Netherlands

The rankings are judged against metrics related to resources, environment, connectivity and output, based on 24 separate variables, including the number and impact of research articles produced, university enrolment and graduate unemployment, a qualitative assessment of a country’s policy environment, and spending on tertiary education as a proportion of gross domestic product. The development-adjusted ranking is measured by adjusting GDP in purchasing-power parity terms to compensate for different prices across countries.

It shows that there is a strong relationship between levels of research funding and performance but the mix between public and private funding is of little importance. It notes that there is a trade-off between the amount of government control and the level of government funding, and the worst systems combine tight government control with limited government funding.

Countries with small populations benefit from the ease with which strong informal links between universities, business and government can be developed. These nations also tend to perform more strongly on measures of connectivity, such as share of international students or internationally co-authored articles, according to the report. It has also demonstrated that international connectivity increases the impact of research.

UK University Groups

2020-05-10T10:12:00.011-07:00

Universities in the UK commonly form alliances or groups when they share common goals, visions or characteristics. University Groups can be a useful place to start when you are looking for a list of similar institutions.
The Russell Group leads the league tables in terms of almost every traditional subject (classics, maths, English etc.) and tend to ask for the highest entry requirements. The University Alliance and Million+ groups contain new (post 1992) universities and provide some specialist or modern courses that you won’t find at the more traditional institutions. These newer universities tend to be more flexible in terms of the qualifications that they accept. The GuildHE Group represents specialist institutions that focus on particular courses. Finally, the Cathedrals Group share faith-based values.

The Russell Group

is a group of 24 universities with a shared focus on research and a reputation for academic achievement and includes many of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious universities.

1. University of Birmingham
2. University of Bristol
3. University of Cambridge
4. Cardiff University
5. Durham University
6. University of Edinburgh
7. University of Exeter
8. University of Glasgow
9. Imperial College London
10. King’s College London
11. University of Leeds
12.   University of Liverpool
13.   London School of Economics & Political Science
14.   University of Manchester
15.   Newcastle University
16.   University of Nottingham
17.   University of Oxford
18.   Queen Mary, University of London
19.   Queen’s University Belfast
20.   University of Sheffield
21.   University of Southampton
22.   University College London
23.   University of Warwick
24.   University of York

University Alliance

is a group of technical and professional universities who bridge learning with practical experience. They don’t always reach the top of the rankings but for students who want a vocational tertiary education, they provide promising career opportunities.

1. Cardiff Metropolitan University
2. Coventry University
3. Kingston University
4. Liverpool John Moores University
5. Manchester Metropolitan University
6. Nottingham Trent University
7. Oxford Brookes University
8. Plymouth University
9. Sheffield Hallam University
10.   Teesside University
11. Open University
12.   University of Greenwich
13.   University of Hertfordshire
14.   University of Huddersfield
15.   University of Lincoln
16.   University of Portsmouth
17.   University of Salford
18.   University of South Wales
19.   University of the West of England

Million+ Group

This younger, more modern group of universities focuses on research that drives economic, social and cultural change.

1. University of Abertay Dundee
2. Anglia Ruskin University
3. Bath Spa University
4. University of Bedfordshire
5. Birmingham City University
6. University of Bolton
7. Canterbury Christ Church University
8. University of Central Lancashire
9. University of Cumbria
10.   University of East London
11.   Edinburgh Napier University
12.   Leeds Metropolitan University
13.   London Metropolitan University
14.   Middlesex University
15.   Staffordshire University
16.   University of Sunderland
17.   University of West London
18.   University of the West of Scotland
19.   University of Wolverhampton

GuildHE

is a group of universities, FE colleges and specialist institutions that specialise in art, design and media, music and the performing arts; agriculture and food; education; business and law and health and sports.

Arts University Bournemouth
University College Birmingham
Bishop Grosseteste University Lincoln
Buckinghamshire New University
University of Chichester
University for the Creative Arts
Falmouth University
Glyndwr University
Harper Adams University
Leeds College of Art
Leeds Trinity University
Newman University
Norwich University of the Arts
Solent University
University of Winchester
University of Worcester
York St John University

The Cathedrals Group

is the only group of universities and colleges in the UK that unite on ethical and faith grounds. They are a mix of teaching and research institutions that specialise in arts, humanities and social sciences with particular focus on public sector training, in fields such as education, health, social work etc. Members share a common faith heritage and a strong commitment to values such as social justice, respect for the individual and promoting the public good through our work with communities and charities.

1. Bishop Grosseteste University
2. Canterbury Christ Church University
3. Leeds trinity University
4. Liverpool hope University
5. Newman University
6. Plymouth Marjon University
7. St Mary’s University Twickenham
8. University of Chester
9. University of Chichester
10.   University of Cumbria
11.   University of Gloucestershire
12.   University of Roehampton
13.   University of Wales Trinity Saint David
14.   University of Winchester
15.   York St. John University

There are total 87 universities in the above 5 university groups. However, there are more than 120 universities in the UK. This means over 30 universities do not belong to any group. Some top universities, such as St Andrews, Lancaster, Bath, Loughborough, Sussex and Leicester, are regularly ranked highly in league tables but don’t belong to the Russell Group or any other group.

Transit system and modes of travel

2020-05-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Modes of travel are ordered below from the most active, energy efficient and environment friendly to the least.

1. Walk

2. Cycle, including scooters and hoover boards

3. Buses

4. Streetcars

5. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is faster than buses and streetcars due to their dedicated rights of way.

6. Light rail, e.g. metro, underground, tram

7. Heavy rail for longer distance, intercity transit

8. Private cars

9. Air travel. For trips of about 300 miles, air travel begins to be more effective than rail, and 500 miles is about the limit before air travel becomes the preferred way of traveling.

UK Higher Education news sources

2020-05-01T12:39:00.001-07:00

HEPI is short for the Higher Education Policy Institute. It is a UK-wide, independent organisation funded by universities. Its news and reports are in-depth and data-driven. If you have times to digest articles and reports properly, HEPI is a good source of info. You can follow it on Twitter @HEPI_news

Media FHE provides news in the UK HE and FE sector. Its HEi-know daily and weekly newsletters are very useful one-stop-shop for briefing reports, news and events. You need to be a registered HEi-know user to access briefing reports, stories and other information and services. The daily update newsletters are sent on every weekday morning at 8am. You can request a 30-day free trial. After that, the Newsletter is available on an institution-wide basis. Many articles are still available without a subscription. You can follow it on Twitter @mediafhe

Wonkhe UK HE policies and debate. Subscription to the WonkHE daily is free, but the content of its daily newsletter is not as rich as HEi-know daily update. You can follow it on Twitter @Wonkhe. If you only have time to glance through the news, both HEi-know and Wonkhe newsletter is ideal.

Times Higher Education provides HE news around the world, mainly in UK, USA, Australia and Asia. Some news are locked. You need to register an account to read the full story. Registration is free. If your institution has a subscription, you can log in using your institution email. The THE uni jobs is also a good place to search academic, professional services and management posts in the HE and FE sector.

Guardian Higher Education section is similar to Times Higher. It also has a higher education jobs page, which is not as comprehensive as jobs.ac.uk or THE jobs. You can follow its twitter @GdnUniversities

Free online courses to boost studies during Covid-19 lockdown

2020-04-28T06:24:00.002-07:00

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures put in place in most countries provide a great opportunity to online studies. Below is a list of online course providers, many of them are offering learning content for free during Covid-19. Normally, verified certificates (after you complete a course) require a fee but some teaching materials are free. I rank them based on number of free courses they offer, the range of subject areas, and their reputation.

1. edX (US) is the best free online course provider and the second largest MOOC provider in the world. It doesn’t have as many courses available as Coursera, but all edX courses can be audited for free because edX is a non-profit organisation. It focuses on natural sciences and humanities. Popular subject areas are languages and computer science.

2. Coursera (US) is the largest MOOC provider in the world. Coursera offers over 1,000 free courses across 11 subject areas on beginner, intermediate, mixed and advanced levels. The reason I rank it as no. 2 is because the majority of Coursera content is not free.

3. FutureLearn (UK) is a UK-based organisation. Most of its university partners are in the UK and Europe, but it also has a few university partners in US, Australia and S Korea. There is a wealth of free short online courses at FutureLearn. Subject areas include creative arts and media, healthcare and medicine, teaching, science and engineering, and maths.

4. Udemy: offers a huge number of free online courses. Udemy encourages users to search for courses with a prominent search box, and the platform feels less formal than others. Courses are run by experts rather than through direct association with universities.

5. Udacity (US): provides nanodegrees focus on certain innovative topics such as AI, self-driving cars. Although Udacity has stopped releasing free courses, it still has some courses in its catalog that are free to audit.

6. Linkedin Learning (previously known as lynda.com): doesn’t offer the same amount of degrees and certifications provided by edX and Coursera. Linkedin Learning is used by many employers for employee training and CPD. There are limited numbers of free courses on Linkedin Learning. However, you can access Linkedin Learning paid courses for free by registering for Linkedin Learning free trial, which will give you 1-month free access to all premium courses, and you can take this 1-month free trial again after 12 months.

7. Pluralsight: provides 7,000+ free tech courses during Covid-19, including programming, machine learning, and cybersecurity. A subscription normally costs $29 per month, now only requires simple sign-up.

8. iTunesU: is a convenient place for free online education on any app-ready Apple mobile device. On iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, users download the iTunesU app. The tool offers online courses with full lectures. However, courses are often a mix of free podcasts, videos, and paid content.

9. TED-Ed: is a site chocked full of educational videos. Most include impressive animation, and all are ten minutes long or less. Not only is TED-Ed an excellent site for the curious, it also includes supplemental materials and quizzes on the videos. This makes the site extremely useful in formal education settings and entertaining ways.

Cutting edge vs. bleeding edge

2020-04-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Bleeding edge is more advanced and pioneer than cutting edge. It has higher risk because of unproven nature of an innovation and the unreliability of a new technology.

An analogy is that the tip of a knife is the bleeding edge and the blade of a knife is the cutting edge. The tip pierces and breaks through. The cutting edge is the part of the knife that does most of the work. Innovation is not about the cutting edge. It is about the bleeding edge, where boundary has not yet been broken.

Fined for going out three times?

2020-03-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

Can the government access your phone location and send you a text message telling you that you went out of you property three times today and fined £250?

If this is real, then you shouldn't take your phone with you when you go out for more than once a day.

Netflix doesn't know if I am still watching

2019-02-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

Are you still there?
>>Continue watching
|< Play from beginning
[] stop watching

Why doesn't Netflix app try to access my camera, and find out itself if I am still watching?

You are driving through a tunnel. Your vehicle catches fire. What should you do?

2018-10-24T03:59:00.001-07:00

The correct answer is, "Continue through the tunnel if you can."

The main dangers in a tunnel fire are suffocation and smoke. If you can do so safely it’s better to drive a burning vehicle out of a tunnel. If you can’t do this, pull over, switch off the engine, use hazard warning lights and phone immediately for help. It may be possible to put out a small fire but if it seems large do NOT tackle it!

But I find it difficult to understand. What if the engine explode while you continue driving through the tunnel? Very confusing.

Why is this warning sign confusing?

2018-10-23T17:21:00.001-07:00

This sign gives you an early warning that the road ahead will slope downhill. Prepare to alter your speed and gear. Looking at the sign from left to right will show you whether the road slopes uphill or downhill.

Benholmley Beck

2017-05-05T07:01:00.001-07:00

Benholmley Beck is next to Almondbury and is located in Borough of Kirklees, England, United Kingdom. Benholmley Beck has a length of 1.01 kilometres.

The Benomley Road name is a simplified form of Benholmley, it's quite interesting that people are just lazy or ignorant in respect of writing or spelling ancient place name,

Beck is used in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Dumfriesshire, Cumbria, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire.

Recipes for Bear's garlic

2017-04-09T15:50:00.002-07:00

My cousin told me she made Jiaozi dumplings with her classmates one weekend, fillings are "wild chives" and pork mince. They picked "wild chives" in the wood behind their house. Though I asked her to show me next time and also pick some to make dumplings, I was suspicious, and not so enthusiastic about making wild chive dumplings. There is an old Chinese saying, 'He who was once bitten by a snake will always have a fear of a coiled rope.' Last Christmas, I bought a bunch of daffodils and mistook them as garlic sprouts. I cooked with pasta, half an hour after dinner, my stomach started aching and vomited everything out. Luckily my daughters didn't like the bitter taste, they only ate a little. They vomited also, but not as serious as me. It's said on the internet that many Chinese mistake daffodil as garlic shoot and got poisoned. I AM afraid of being poisoned again by some unknown plant.

Today we went for a walk along a the Ox Field Beck, crossed a wooden bridge over the brook, my cousin pointed out to me the "wild chives" on the roadside, she picked one leaf and let me smell it. It does smell like Chinese chive or garlic. When we came back from the Morrison's supermarket, and passed the Round Wood, we saw the whole ground covered with this plant.

We picked some, and fried with eggs, the yellow and dark green colour looks quite nice, and it tastes exactly like Chinese chives, smells and tastes delicious too.

According to Wikipedia, it also known as ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, or bear's garlic – is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia. If it's a "relative of chive", then it's not poisonous and safe to eat.

Actually, this herb is very popular among Chinese community in Europe, many people talked about it. This taco filled with fried egg and wild chives, it do make your mouth watery.

You can also eat in wrap:

Jiaozi dumplings are Chinese traditional food, I have long been eating Italian tortellini as a substitute, now I can make Jiaozi with this filling instead of chives.

You can also stir fry with shredded or diced meat and peppers.

You can of course also use bear's garlic as salad, boiled as a vegetable in soup, or as an ingredient for a sauce that may be a substitute for basil. The stems can be preserved by salting and eaten as a salad too.

Italian Tortellini and Chinese Jiaozi

2017-03-20T15:39:00.001-07:00

I am not a big fan of Jiaozi dumpling, but when I notice the familiar shape of Italian Tortellini, I still felt glad of finding another similar western food. There are two kinds of Tortellini on the supermarket shelf, one filling is spinach and ricotta cheese, another bacon and ham. I don’t expect fillings like pork mince and garlic chives or cabbages as we usually do in China.

During the research, I found that there are other varieties similar as Chinese Jiaozi along the Silk Road from Korea in the east to Italia in the west, all the way cross the Siberian Plain and turns at Middle East to India in the south west, such as Korean Mandu, Japanese Gyoza, Siberian pelmeni, Italian Tortellini and Ravioli, Turkish Manti, and Indian Gujia (also called gujhia). There are no questions that Mandu and Manti are cognate words, while Gyoza, Jiaozi, and Gujia are cognate words from another origin. Pelmeni is originated from Tartar Pilmän.

The Korean word Mandu was derived from Chinese Mantou, which used to mean meat filled dumpling, and it’s still called mantou in Southern China, but now in Northern China refers to steamed bun without any fillings.

Japanese gyoza is completely same as Chinese Jiaozi, or Gaau in Cantonese, even the word gyōza was derived from the pronunciation of the same word in Chinese.