After enduring a quarter of a century together, a wedded couple could achieve stardom and be read about in history books for generations to come.

The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to send a middle-aged married couple into space—this one a round trip to Mars and back. Fifty years ago on Christmas Eve 1968, during the Opollo 8's first circumnavigation of the moon, the whole world listened to astronauts' reflections while looking down at the Earth from space. The foundation intends to start its one-and-a-half-year mission in January 2018 if it can raise enough funds. Read the article here.

They plan to choose an older couple whose relationship would be able to withstand the stress of living in a confined environment for two years. During the selection process, they will look for a resilient couple that would be able to maintain a happy upbeat attitude in the face of adversity. Even carefully screened individuals are likely to suffer from psychological problems from a prolonged space mission. People find long periods of isolation very challenging. In theory, living close to someone you truly cared for would help.

Even though the couple would receive extensive training and would be able to draw on psychological support from mission control throughout the mission, there would be no getting off the spacecraft—they must stay for the duration of the trip.

I don't know about you, but wouldn't look forward to being cramped up with my loved-one for two years without enough room to even wear a space-suit, recycling pee and eating dried food. No matter how close, any married couple has their disagreements. My husband and I are generally harmonious, but a small thing can set off a bomb which will drive us apart until we work through the problem. All pleasure would be gone from life—eating, entertainment and a stroll in the park to contact nature.

Anyone for a cramped trip into space for two years?

In Europe, the plunder of the ocean for wild fish continues. See the whole sad story here. The sea exemplifies the world's on-going failure to manage shared natural resources.

Despite mass public pressure by campaigners, some countries are acting like selfish, bullying children, wanting to take everything in reach.

There's widespread agreement among nations on the need to conserve fish stocks but often disagreement on the details of how to do it. And the need for harmony in the European Union process allows a handful of Mediterranean countries to put the immediate interests of fishing crews before the fish stocks themselves. It all means that globally about 85% of stocks are said to be fully exploited, over-exploited, depleted or slowly recovering. The US, Australia and the UK have created marine reserves to protect their shores.

I'm stunned that the EU ministers continue to argue over this issue. Almost a quarter of all catches go back overboard dead because they are not the fish the crews intended to catch. They've agreed to phase out the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish, which is a step in the right direction, yet w a UK trial uses CCTV on fishing boats to crack down on discards, yet Spain, France and Portugal will be allowed to discard 9%, shrinking to 7%. The British government, one of the campaigners for change, said it was disappointed that the ban was not absolute, but that last night’s result was an historic victory to end a scandalous policy.

With the world's resources depleting, we can't afford to squander her riches.

U.K. researchers have found that sleep deprivation dramatically alters the body. So, not only do those people who don't get a good night's sleep walk around like zombies half the time, but their body is changing too.

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep. Tests compared the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, with the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night. More than 700 protein-building genes were altered by the shift—they produced less.

A run of poor sleep can affect the internal workings of the immune system and how the body responds to damage and stress.

Tests are good—no doubt about that. However, at the moment there is no cure. Scientists are working towards finding a drug that could eliminate the effects of sleep deprivation. Sleep accentuates regeneration of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems in the body.

I have always been a good sleeper, as were my children. Maybe they inherit sleep patterns from their mothers. Scientists say that babies can decipher speech as early as three months before birth. I'm sure they pick up stress or calm from their mother too.

On the other hand, my husband doesn't sleep well. He tosses and turns to get comfortable, has violent dreams where he kicks and shouts and invariably catches up on missed zzzzs in the morning.

This works well for me, allowing me free time to write my blog and carry on writing my books. I wake bright and fresh with a positive outlook and cheerful disposition. I follow a routine to carry me through a productive morning. When I greet Mr. Grumpy-head with a kiss and a reassuring rub on the shoulder, he begins to brighten. I learned this one morning last week when he asked me what was the matter. That took me aback. When asked what he meant, he said, "You're always so cheerful in the morning."

So, unable to help my own husband, I have no help to offer all the bad sleepers. I can only add that my conscience is clear, my outlook positive and my trust in goodness, God, and a higher power, intact.

Today, BBC News remembers the shelter ordinary people used during the bombing of London. War is a terrible thing, which I won't talk about. At the time, I lived safe and free in South Australia.

February 25, 1940: With the Second World War in full flow on this day in 1940, the Anderson air raid shelter was make public across Britain to protect civilians from the constant bombing. Constructed from corrugated iron and covered with earth, the first 'Andersons' appeared in Islington, North London. Two-point-five million shelters were used in Britain during the conflict. Click here to see old Pathe wartime footage about the shelter.

My husband lived with his mother in Inslington during this time while his father was away fighting. At about four years old, with a younger brother, he was sent away to live with strangers like all the other children in London. At the assembly point, they wore name tickets pinned to their shirts or around their necks like Paddington Bear.

However, little B didn't meet a good fete. His host family often locked them in a cupboard for hours when they were naughty. He still has nightmares about being confined in a dark space.

His mother took them back to London, where they survived despite close buildings vanishing into rubble overnight. He tells me stories of playing on bomb sites. On one occasion, he and his friends took turns to slide down an unexploded bomb until a warden found them and sent them away.

Little B didn't live in a house with a garden big enough for an Anderson shelter. The family rented one floor of a large converted Victorian building. They used the underground train stations during air raids. When the siren wailed everyone would gather supplies and head for their closest entrance. Little B spent a lot of time underground—often sleeping there. Sometimes, his mother would rush outside and return with food—at great risk to herself.

Big B is a self-reliant man who takes care of me, shops, cleans, plans the meals and cooks without complaint. I put that down to his survival skills. He's still strong, fit and filled with enthusiasm after living for 74 years.

Do you think life's tests make us stronger people?

Could positive thoughts help achieve stability in the permafrost melt? Of course, first you have to believe in the power of thoughts, of prayers, and that you could move a mountain if you put your mind to it.

In varying degrees, and within our own limits of understanding, we all care about the state of the world's resources. I respect the living planet, and every form of life that plays a part in keeping it healthy—most of all the trees.

Cave data has sparked new interest in a Siberian permafrost thaw. The permafrost frontier refers to where ground begins to be permanently frozen in layers that can be tens to hundreds of metres thick. These formations record 500,000 years of changing permafrost conditions—including warmer periods similar to the climate of today.

Watch, Earth Song by Michael Jackson. A powerful message.

As early as 2004, explorers noted that Earth's permafrost had started to squelch. Siberia's rapid snow thaw caused alarm in 2005. Methane release looked stronger in 2010, Arctic melt released ancient gas in 2012, and in January this year, the news was released that soot played a big part in global warming.

Scientists say that particles from diesel engines and wood burning could be having twice as much warming effect as assessed in past estimates. Black carbon is said to be a significant source of rapid warming in the northern United States, Canada, northern Europe and northern Asia. The particles also have an impact on rainfall patterns in the Asian monsoon.

What with continuing war throughout the world, comets hitting Russia, and ice melting to change the climate, our planet doesn't seem a very stable place at the moment.

Apparently, spiritual people live along the San Andreas Fault line, specifically to meditate and keep the area secure. For the last thirty years, I've included a wish for the trees to take the goodness from the earth and spread it into the atmosphere to protect our Earth during my morning meditations.

Let the scientists and environmentalists work out the specifics of how to reduce carbon emissions. Maybe if we all sent daily positive thoughts to our planet, we could achieve stability in these changing times.

Several things link in the news today: Child porn is increasing, hackers have invaded some Microsoft computers, and nuclear plant at Washington is leaking. Each listing is about contamination.

A story of corruption: In the UK, Police have detected a 48% increase in the last four years of internet child pornography images. The Home Office said it was working with the police and industry to make the internet a safer place. I couldn't read the whole article. What is the male psychology that makes them view this imagery? It's not just a few sick men, it's a much larger number.

A story of contagion: In a blog post, Microsoft announced that a small number of its computers had recently been deliberately infected with malicious software and linked it to the facebook attack originating in China. The firm said it found no evidence that any customer data had been accessed, but an investigation is continuing.

A story of pollution: Six underground storage tanks at a nuclear site in the US state of Washington are leaking, authorities say. It was produced as part of America's bid to build the world's first nuclear weapon during World War II. The site produced the plutonium for the bomb that was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Production at Hanford continued until 1989.

Now, Nearly 200 ageing containers hold millions of litres of radioactive waste left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons. There is no immediate threat to health and plans are in operation to make the fuel safe and store it deep underground in stainless containers. Worrying times.

Shame on mankind for trying to invade other countries, causing that population to defend and protect in a way that sends horror through us, even now. Shame on people who hack into computers and spread infection just for the fun of it, causing misery and worry to those people whose processors are affected. Shame on male predators who strip innocence from children for their own selfish desires. The effects on those children will last their whole lives.

But we're just ordinary people, doing the best we can in our own life. Rather than condemn, let's respect the best in man—shrug off the bullies and live our life in joy—appreciate the wonder and beauty around us. Despite the light snow falling outside my warm study window, tiny leaves have formed on the thorny twigs of the Queen Elizabeth rose.

Can we justify irresponsible, rash, foolish acts if they're done with good intentions?

A publican has been prosecuted and fined after 'nuns' were caught drinking after hours at an Irish pub. However, these weren't holy sisters, but people dressed in their full habit to raise money for charity. Apparently, there were too few taxis to transport the 'nuns' home after the event.

In July 2012, 1,436 adults made a holy show of themselves at a sports ground in the small town of Listowel, Ireland. The volunteers donned nuns' outfits and gathered in the field, where they were counted by officials of the Guinness Book of World Records and deemed a new record.

See full article here.

The fund-raising idea came from a County Kerry couple who had lost their son to suicide. The event was staged for Pieta House, a charity to raise awareness for self-harm and suicide victims.

Because it was for charity, the local priest and sisters at the convent gave their blessing for this wacky event.

On the one hand, human nature delights in having fun. On the other, there is so much to respect and care for on the planet that this type of behavior seems irrelevant and irreverent.

Where do you stand?

Now days, everyone is looking for ways to reduce food costs.

With the death of comedian Richard Briars, we recall a British seventies sitcom, The Good Life. I met Richard Briars fifteen years ago when I worked in a tea-room close to his home and mine in Radlet. I found him to be a charming, if reclusive man. The television show, which struck a chord in the seventies, was voted the ninth best of all time by the British public in 2004. See the BBC News item here.

The main character quits his job on his 40th birthday. Frustrated by office life, he decides to live a completely self-sufficient existence with his wife. They transform their suburban garden into an allotment. They make their own electricity and wine and house chickens, pigs, and even a goat in their suburban garden.

 My life took the same turn in the seventies when my ex-husband suffered a nervous breakdown. He left his advertising job and we moved to the small fishing village of Robe, South Australia offered by my father-in-law. Sure enough, my ex found working surrounded by sand dunes gave him the peace he needed to heal. We raised fowl of all types, cared for several colored sheep and sold our vegetable produce and spun wool in our craft shop cum tea-room.

The movement has since gone through an almost thirty year cycle, with a resurgence in recent years.

On facebook, people share photos under the heading, Grow Food Not Lawns. I love seeing the inventive ways people grow produce, sometimes inside greenhouses with walls built from plastic bottles, on windowsills, or outside in old bathtubs.

Earlier precedents had been set before The Good Life became so popular. The Dig for Victory campaign during World War II encouraged the whole country to grow their own food and peaked at nearly one and a half million allotments. This was because of the terrible wartime shortages and naval blockades.

Nowadays, most suburbs still run allotments where people can grow their vegetables. Part of a field is fenced off down the road from me, set out with rows ready for spring planting. It's a great community activity and worthwhile although there is usually a waiting list for space.

Growing your own vegetables could be the best way to make ends meet in these times of spiraling food costs.

Do you find it hard to concentrate? Recent research has shown that too much stimulation affects people living in cities. Well, I knew that already, just by observation.

I once heard the theory that men and women developed differently. Man went out to hunt—single focused. Woman stayed in the cave, looked after the children, talked to other women, cooked, washed, cleaned—multi-tasking. Man is said to have tunnel-vision whereas woman is able to attend to many different things at once—react to a child's cry at the same time as cooking and gossiping.

The Goldsmiths, University of London study revealed that city dwellers find it difficult to concentrate, whereas their counterparts in urban areas do well at certain tests requiring concentration. Researchers tested people from the Himba tribe in Namibia in south west Africa—and also included a further comparison with young people in London. Tribesmen and women who had stayed in a rural, cattle-herding setting were much better at tests requiring concentration than members of the same tribe who had been urbanized and were living in towns and cities. The results for urbanized Himba were indistinguishable from the results of undergraduates taking the same tests in London. Click here for full BBC news.

The research suggests that people in an urban setting have too much stimulation, with an overload of sights and sounds competing for attention. Multi-tasking reduces many caffeine-fuelled office workers' ability to concentrate on a single task. With so many of the world's population living in cities, the consequences have far reaching significance. Many people will be working below their capacity when it comes to needing sustained concentration.

Have you ever opened a cupboard and wondered what you were doing there? I know this has happened to me when I've had too many things demanding attention at the same time.

The solution for many could be to move to the country and chill—maybe work from home. Another answer could be to reduce the number of distractions in our lives, and more particularly, our children's lives.

Do you sometimes hear a little voice in your head, telling you to turn back or take another action? It's something we can't explain, yet I've come to trust that guidance. The whisper can be something as minor as telling you to return and pick up an item, which will save time in the long run. Sound, size and voices run through my thoughts for today.

Three things are linked on the news: A man claims he hears voices directing his actions—Whales are suffering from excess shipping noise—Container ships are increasing in size and volume.

Can container ships get any bigger? They are now one quarter of a mile long and taller than London's Olympic Stadium. If the vessels were placed in Times Square in New York, they would rise above billboards, streetlights and some buildings. You can read the BBC News article demonstrating comparisons in size of container ships here. The increase in size is not surprising, considering the volume of goods produced in Asia and consumed in Europe and the US. But are these giant symbols of the world's trade imbalance growing beyond all reason?

At the same time, excess North Atlantic shipping noise affects the way whales hear each other, communicate and find food and mates. Northern right whales numbers are low and can ill afford ship strike losses. Researchers have persuaded shipping companies to change their routes in and around the Boston area. The changes have helped lower the din and avoid collisions with whales. Boston's vast port nestles close to the skyscrapers of the city's financial district. 1,500 vessels go in and out each month, mostly large container ships carrying gas and petroleum products.

The way we hear effects the way we act. At the sound of a ping above, we automatically duck to avoid a hit. I don't know how a deaf person perceives what goes on around them, but maybe they hear their own thoughts. In the Canary island of Tenerife, off Spain, a man accused of beheading a woman claims to have been directed by voices.

I believe in the little inner voice that directs me in times of need. It's always good and always right. But what would happen if a voice directed a warped mind the wrong way?

I've written several novels featuring that very thing. In the first published book, Still Rock Water, my heroine envisions others at times of need and whispers advice to help them through a situation. The second soon to be released book, Tidal Surge, shows the bad voice that wants to cause harm. You can see my books at the bottom of the page.