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11:31am on Wednesday, 21st June, 2023:

Smell

Anecdote

When I got back from a trip to London yesterday afternoon, I was unsettled by a rather obnoxious smell. It was extremely unpleasant and pervaded the whole village. People on the village Facebook page were comparing it to burning tyres, but to me it was like a cross between yeast and burning popcorn.

Being in a rural part of Essex, we're used to the smells of manure that descend upon us when farmers spread their fields, but this was much worse. It was also more pervasive: normally, you can close your windows and keep the smell of muck-spreading out, but this one seemed to be able to penetrate through brick (or at least chimneys).

It turned out that it was caused by a farmer using a new form of compost made from shredded paper. This is great for recycling, and I'm sure vegetarians will be pleased there's a replacement for liquidised animal dung, but the manufacturers really, really need to work on the smell. It's vile.

It's still hanging around in the air today. I'm hoping for some rain to take it out, but have a nagging feeling that this will only encourage it to come back with a vengeance.

I should have stayed in my office at the university instead of coming home after meeting my supervisees.




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