Download - Choice Spring 2011 Issue
Supporting dignity & independence
Spring 2011
A look at 2
significant Royal
weddings
Humour
Insight into
the unluckiest
people on
earth
History
Gardening Tips Achievements Client Poem Sophie‟s Snacks
By choosing All Seasons you are supporting your local community. We donate 100% of our
surplus profit to, and work in partnership with, registered charity Kent Enterprise Trust
Mavis
One of our
inspirational
clients
2
elcome to All Seasons‟ “Choice” magazine. The All
Seasons team is passionate and committed to providing
quality care to enable you or your loved one to remain
at home for as long as possible.
In this issue we would like to take the opportunity to
reflect on many aspects of our lives. This issue contains articles on
royal weddings, great achievements of mankind, an interview with one
of our clients and a light hearted look on some of the unluckiest
people ever recorded. You will also find all of the regular Choice
articles.
Thank you to all the people who took the time to write in to us. We
look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts, plus any of your
stories, tips and ideas - contact details are on the back page.
David Stone - Registered Manager
By choosing All Seasons you are supporting your local community. We donate 100% of our surplus
profit to, and work in partnership with, registered charity Kent Enterprise Trust
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let them know about us.
3
Spring is a very busy time for seed sowing, pricking out and potting on. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines will hopefully be pricked out and growing but still in the greenhouse to protect them from frost. The soil will be warming up now so some vegetable seeds and hardy flowering annuals can be sown directly into the ground outside. If you grow potatoes outside then they can also be in the ground now, but if an overnight frost is forecasted, protect any early shoots with fleece or newspaper, and hold it down with stones to stop it being blown off by the wind. The same applies to the flower garden. If a late frost has been forecasted, I cover my magnolia tree with old net curtains, weighed down with stones tied on with string to protect the newly emerging flowers. I also cover my less hardy fuchsias, as the young growth can be checked and then flowering is delayed. If you buy summer bedding or young plants from garden centres now, do not plant them out straight away, as sometimes they have been grown in a very protected environment. Harden the young plants off over a fortnight by putting them outside during the day, preferably out of the wind in a sheltered spot, and then returning them to the greenhouse or window sill over night. This will ensure they are not checked by the weather, will continue to grow, and give a better display earlier. Sweet peas should be growing well now outside so do not forget to pinch out the tips as this encourages more bushy growth, and therefore more flowers. To keep the weeds under control, as they will be growing rapidly now, start hoeing regularly and once you have hoed, put down a mulch if
possible, to act as a weed suppressant . If you put down a layer of newspaper and then cover with grass mowing or bark chip, now you won’t have to do so much weeding for the rest of the year. You still have time to look round the garden and spot the bare spaces. You can then divide some herbaceous perennials like hostas and hellebores, or plant some summer flowering bulbs in those spaces. Also, put in supports now for any perennials that need it before they are too large to do so. It will look more natural if you use tree or shrub prunings rather than bamboo canes, although be careful as sometimes the supports take root and you get a tree growing where you do not want a tree. Spring is a changeable season, so watch the weather forecasts and act accordingly. Remember, “March winds, April showers bring forth May flowers”
Spring tips
for your garden
Chrissi Martin,
Appleseed
To use Appleseed‟s gardening service in
your garden please call Chrissi on
01227 844500
4
Walking down the aisle to reach the love of your life, reading vows to one
another that promise and bind the two of you together „for as long as you
both shall live‟ is the day that most girls dream of from a very early age.
However, an extension of that dream is to be walking down the aisle, and upon
removing a veil from their face, to stare into the eyes of a prince. A dream that
comes from the illuminating first reads of their favourite fairytale, whether it be
Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, all girls dream of feeling like a princess on their
wedding day…unbeknownst it will not be long before they are staring into a
magical mirror, and rather than Prince Charming stood next to them, their
lives will probably reflect more closely to Beauty and the Beast.
Almost every young girl dreams of feeling like a princess on her wedding day. But only a select few are
the genuine thing: royal brides. British royal weddings have always been breathtaking pageants that
inspire millions of young ladies around the globe. From Queen Victoria to Princess
Diana, and with Prince William marrying Kate Middleton on 29th April, this is the
perfect time for us to take a look into the majesty and splendor of two of the
most memorable royal weddings in England.
Queen Victoria made the white wedding gown popular
One of the first things that pop into most people‟s minds when thinking of
weddings or brides, is white. However, this was not always the case.
The western, traditional „white wedding‟ came into fashion because of
one bride, and one bride only: Queen Victoria of England who married
Prince Albert in 1840.
Before Queen Victoria‟s wedding it was common for brides to wear
colorful or even black dresses on their wedding day, for the reason that
they were much more practical colours than white, to wear to future
events. The idea of having a gown that could only be worn once was a huge
extravagance. However, after Queen Victoria‟s wedding a white bridal gown
so quickly became the standard, that it is largely forgotten that it was not always
the custom.
Queen Victoria's choice of a white wedding gown was unusual not only for a bride, but also for a
monarch. Before her wedding, when a member of the royal family was married, they typically wore all
of the opulent regalia of the monarchy. Ermine trimmed robes dripping with priceless gems were the
standard attire for royal brides. Queen Victoria broke with this
tradition when she chose a comparatively simple white
gown. Not only that, but she wore no diamond
encrusted tiara, instead opting for a wreath of fragrant
orange blossoms, the symbol of fertility (which
apparently worked like a charm, as the Queen had nine
children). Her white silk satin gown was accented by
more orange blossoms, as well as a Honiton lace bridal
veil, diamond earrings, and a diamond necklace. The
wedding attire of Queen Victoria was carefully studied
by brides around the globe. The engravings and
paintings depicting the marriage of Victoria and Albert
were distributed around the world, and both their
wedding and their loving relationship became an
oyal weddings
5
inspiration for romantics everywhere. The wedding would never again look as it did
before 1840.
The wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was held on February 10, 1840 in
the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace in London. Prince Albert was handsomely
attired in the uniform of a British field marshal with the collar and star of the order
of the garter.
Prince Charles And Diana
The biggest British royal wedding of all took place on July 29, 1981 when Queen
Elizabeth II's son, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer. The wedding was
hyped as a fairy tale.
Lady Diana Spencer was born into the "right" sort of family. Diana lived in a flat
in London (a birthday gift from her family) and dabbled in different career paths,
including dance instruction, party hostess, and kindergarten teacher. When she
first met Prince Charles, he was actually dating Diana's older sister, Sarah Spencer.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles was in his mid thirties, unmarried, and under intense pressure to find a
wife and start producing heirs. When his path crossed with that of Lady Diana Spencer, he saw in
the sweet young woman of nineteen, a potentially suitable mate and future Queen. What Diana saw
was true love, but it is unclear if her romantic
vision of their relationship was ever fully
reciprocated by the Prince. When Charles
proposed to Diana in the nursery of Windsor
Castle, she initially thought he was teasing her.
After all, their courtship had been brief, and
she was still very young. When he convinced
her of the serious nature of the proposal,
Diana said yes, and added, "I love you so
much", to which Charles replied, "Whatever
love means.”
The fanfare leading up to the July 28, 1981 wedding, was immense. The
number of guests to attend the ceremony was so large (3, 500) that the
service had to be held in St. Paul's Cathedral because it had a greater
seating capacity than Westminster Abby. Lady Diana Spencer was
the first Englishwoman to marry the next in line for the British
crown in over 300 years, and the public went wild for their
"English rose.” There were souvenirs, wedding portraits, and
most of all, replicas of Princess Diana's bridal gown.
Lady Diana's gown was created in great secrecy by British
designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The ivory silk taffeta
gown was made in an ultra-romantic and flouncy design befitting
the fantasy of a fairy tale wedding. The gown was best known
for its enormous puffy sleeves and the impressive twenty five
foot long train. It was adorned with antique lace, hand
embroidery, and 10, 000 pearls and sequins. The price tag of the royal bridal
gown was reputed to be £9, 000, in 1981.
By the late 1980s, the royal couple were leading separate lives. The unhappy
marriage officially ended in divorce on August 28, 1996, in part at the urging of
Queen Elizabeth, who was outraged over the spectacle created by Charles and
Diana's public airing of the private royal linens. Barely over a year later, on
August 31, 1997, the People's Princess died in a tragic car accident, bringing a sad
end to the life that had once appeared to be a fairy tale.
6
Great achievements
by mankind The car, the wheel or even something as simple
as the pot noodle, are all things created by
man. In July 2009, American broadcaster, CNN,
posted the question, “What is mans greatest
achievement?” and got
some interesting answers.
CNN producers, armed
with cameras, put the
puzzler to passersby in
Berlin, Madrid, Rome,
Bangkok, Tokyo, New Delhi
and Paris.
The question was asked in
the lead up to the 40th
anniversary of NASA's
Apollo 11 mission. More
people might have been
expected to nominate the
moon landing as one of
man's greatest feats. Alas not.
One woman in Germany suggested the
computer.” It has opened up my world. I can
stay in my house and travel all over the world, "
she said.
Another suggested the airplane.” It's the
easiest way to get from one country to the
other. Imagine if you would be able to only
take the ship. It would take you ages to go
somewhere, so it makes humanity more
flexible.”
Fire also got a look-in.” Everything started
there right?" said one man in Spain. There was
agreement in Italy: "I think the most important
is that man discovered fire because it's bringing
a lot of life.”
The written word was also nominated in Italy,
as were architecture and sanitation.
"The biggest achievement of
mankind? Music, right?" suggested
one woman in Spain.
In New Delhi, video games got
one man's vote.” It allows you to
be whomever you want, in
whichever world you want, and
lets you live an alternate fantasy
life” he said.
One hopeful businessman in Italy
told us, perhaps prematurely:
"Peace, I'd say peace. That would
be the greatest achievement for
all.”
What do you think is man's greatest
achievement? Where does the moon landing
fit in?
Here‟s a list of some of the great
achievements by man kind
Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa
A work of art that has captured the
imagination of humanity. The mysterious
smile, the penetrating eyes. The air of
mystique surrounding the Mona Lisa cannot
easily be explained, but it is more than just a
supreme example of renaissance art. It
encapsulates a unique spirit.
7
The Works of William Shakespeare
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and
women merely players; They have their exits
and their entrances, and one man in his time
plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.”
Despite producing one of the earliest body
of works in English, few have come close to
matching William Shakespeare's mastery of
English in articulating the poetic range of
human emotion and experience.
Ave Maria - Schubert / Bach
It is music which has the greatest capacity to
lift humanity from the ordinary earth bound
thoughts and emotions. The loftiest music
can touch the psychic core of man and
expand the consciousness of man. We could
have chosen from the works of Beethoven,
Mozart, or countless other musicians, but,
Ave Maria remains one of the loftiest pieces
in the pantheon of music.
The First Flight
The Wright brothers finally achieved man's
eternal quest to achieve powered flight. The
short flight in 1901 revolutionised air travel
in the twentieth century and remains one of
the great technical achievements.
The Development of Vaccines
For many centuries, the life expectancy of
man was very low. Life was hard, short and
painful. The great advances of medical
science in the nineteenth and twentieth
century have allowed people in many
developed countries to have a much greater
life expectancy. Some of the most important
discoveries included the first vaccines
developed by Louis Pasteur and the advent
of Penicillin in the twentieth century.
Perhaps our next greatest achievement
would be ensuring access to this knowledge
is widespread amongst all people on the
planet.
Man on the Moon
It was a great scientific achievement to put
man in space and then land on the moon. It
shows the horizons of man are not limited
to this physical
earth.
Climbing Mount Everest
On May 29th, 1953, Edmund Hilary and
Sherpa Tensing Norgay finally conquered the
crown of the world, reaching the top of
Mount Everest. At 8, 848 Metres, Mount
Everest is the highest peak in the Himalayas.
The Nepalese name it Sagarmatha - meaning,
Mother Goddess of the world.
The Great Pyramids
Conventional wisdom suggests these were
built with slaves, but, this view has become
increasingly challenged. The truth is that
there are many ancient structures, such as
Stonehenge, which defy modern science even
centuries later. The Great Pyramids remain a
mystery, but they stand as a colossal and
imposing figure in the sands of Egypt.
Michelangelo's Pieta
It is a work of art which captures the beauty,
poignancy, poise and emotion of the greatest
human dramas - love divine and love human.
Declaration of Human Rights
After centuries of religious persecution,
injustice and disregard for human rights, the
acceptance of human rights enshrined in law
is one of the great achievements of modern
history. Some of the earliest declarations can
be seen in the US constitution, drafted by
Thomas Jefferson. In the twentieth Century,
the United Nations declaration of human
rights cemented its importance for modern
history.
8
Mavis Middleton grew up and spent her
whole childhood in Herne Bay.” Not much
has changed around Herne Bay, apart from
the people. It‟s hard to say whether it‟s for
bad or good. They have just changed. It‟s
gotten much bigger though.”
“I left school at the age of 14, which was usual
when I was growing up, and didn‟t have any
particular ambitions for work. I just desperately
wanted a job. The first job I had was at Bata shoe
store.” Mavis attended a course through work and
was soon managing the store, “I was earning two
pounds, ten shillings a week. At the time this was a mans
wage. It was very strange at such a young age to be
earning the same as my dad.”
Ever since the start of the Blitz in September 1940, the Home Guard
had come to be valued more as a key contributor to civil defence
(liaising with the police and the fire-fighters, clearing rubble, guarding
damaged banks, pubs and shops, assisting in rescue work and
generally making itself useful in crisis situations) than as a bona fide
anti-invasion force.
The Home Guard were situated all over the country, but one of
the biggest positions they were stationed at was Hyde
Park, in 1943. Mavis was called up to join the
Auxiliary Territorial Service and was sent to
Hyde Park. The women's branch of the army
was called the Auxiliary Territorial Service, or
ATS. It was formed in 1938, and after one year
17, 000 women volunteers had joined up. This
number grew to over 200, 000 by the end of 1943.
The new recruits were sent to army camps for
their basic training. Here they slept in huts, learnt
to march and obey orders, and kept the camp
scrubbed clinically clean. At the end of the four
weeks of training there were written and practical
tests to find out which line of work they were best
suited to.
Mavis Middleton
and the ATS
9
The women wore khaki uniforms with black shoes. Jobs in the army
varied from cooks, clerks, telephonists and translators, to lorry drivers,
motorbike messengers and engineers.” I remember being in Hyde Park
when a doodlebug bomb hit London. It was an extremely scary time.”
“The hardest part of my time in the services was being away
from my family. I had never spent long periods of time away
from home. I had 5 siblings, but my elder sister was not called
up because she was married with a daughter so did not
volunteer. I missed them all dearly.”
“One of my fondest memories of my time spent at Hyde park
was being positioned with Mary Churchill, the youngest of
Winston Churchill‟s children who was prime minster at the
time. Her father would often come to the Hyde Park salute
and light a cigar. He was a remarkable man, as was his
daughter. The best thing I took from the experience was that I
went into the services as a child and left an adult. You had to
grow up. You had no choice in the matter.”
“I met my husband when I was positioned in Germany, so that
was another great thing I took from serving. When I left the
forces there was definitely a sense of sadness. It was such a change
from the life I had become accustomed to. My husband, Tommy, was
from Lancheshire, so I moved to Warrington with him, so it wasn‟t as if
I was returning to my life before the war. It was so strange living away
from the sea.”
The change in environment
finally got too much for Mavis
and she returned to Herne Bay.
“Herne Bay is my home and I
love it here.”
10
Do not count your spring
chickens before
they‟ve hatched
William "Bud" Post won the lottery,
and was reduced to living on food
stamps!
William "Bud" Post won $16. 2 million in
the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988, but now
lives on his Social Security.” I wish it
never happened. It was totally a
nightmare, " says Post.
A former girlfriend successfully sued
him for a share of his winnings. It
wasn't his only lawsuit.
His brother was arrested
for hiring a hit man to kill
him, hoping to inherit a
share of the winnings.
Other siblings pestered him
until he agreed to invest in a
car business and a restaurant,
two ventures that brought no
money back and further
strained his relationship with his
siblings.
Post even spent time in jail for firing a
gun over the head of a bill collector.
Within a year, he was $1 million in debt.
. Post admitted he was both careless and
foolish, trying to please his family. He
eventually declared bankruptcy. Now he
lives quietly on $450 a month and food
stamps.” I'm tired, I'm over 65 years old, and
I just had a serious operation for a heart
aneurysm. Lotteries do not mean (anything)
to me, " said Post.
Major Summerford Struck by lightning...
4 times!
A British officer, Major Summerford, while
fighting in the fields of Flanders in February
1918, was knocked off his horse by a flash of
lightning and paralyzed from the waist down.
Summerford retired and moved to Vancouver.
One day in 1924, as he fished alongside a river,
lightning hit the tree he was sitting under and
paralyzed his right side.
Two years later Summerford was sufficiently
recovered that he was able to take walks in a
local park. He was walking there one summer
day in 1930 when a lightning bolt smashed into
him, permanently paralyzing him. He died two
years later. But lightning sought him out one
last time. Four years later, during a storm,
lightning struck a cemetery and destroyed a
tombstone. The deceased buried here? Major
Summerford.
John Lyne Suffered 16 major accidents in
his life!
John Lyne could well be Britain's unluckiest
man. 'Calamity John' has suffered 16 major
accidents in his life, including lightning strikes, a
rock-fall in a mine and three car crashes. 'I do
not think there is any reason or explanation.
Things could have been much worse and I
could have died but it doesn't worry me
too much. '
As a child, he fell off a horse and cart, only to
be run over by a delivery van. When he was a
teenager, he broke his arm falling from a tree.
On his way back from hospital, his bus crashed,
breaking the same arm in another place. The
date, of course, was Friday the 13th.
You may think you‟re a lucky person, but as the following
people prove, that can change in a flash (of lightning).
11
Ann Hodges, The only person (on
record) to have been hit by a Meteorite
Ann Elizabeth Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, is
the only person on record to have been hit by
a meteorite. On November 30, 1954, she was
napping on her living room couch when a
grapefruit sized meteoroid crashed through
the roof of her house. It bounced off her large
wooden console radio, destroying it, and
struck her on the arm and hip. She was badly
bruised but able to walk. . As it streaked through the atmosphere, the
meteor made a fireball visible from three
states, even though it fell early in the
afternoon. As the first documented case of an
extra-terrestrial object hitting a person, the
event received worldwide publicity. . Ms. Hodges was uncomfortable with the
public attention and against her husband's
wishes, she donated the meteorite to the
Alabama Museum of Natural History.
Henry Ziegland Killed by a very
persistent bullet
Henry Ziegland thought he had dodged fate.
In 1883, he broke off a relationship with his
girlfriend who, out of distress, committed
suicide. The girl's brother was so enraged that
he hunted down Ziegland and shot him. The
brother, believing he had killed Ziegland, then
turned his gun on himself and took his own
life. However Ziegland had not been killed,
the bullet, in fact had only grazed his face and
then lodged in a tree. Ziegland surely thought
himself a lucky man.
Some years later, however, Ziegland decided to
cut down the large tree, which still had the
bullet in it. The task seemed so formidable
that he decided to blow it up with a few sticks
of dynamite. The explosion propelled the
bullet into Ziegland's head, killing him.
Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence
Terrorist targets
They've been attacked by terrorists more
times than John McClane.
It wasn't just New Yorkers who were
traumatized by the September 11th World
Trade Center attacks. Tourists from all over
the country and the world were in the city at
the time, as they would be on any given day.
Tourists like the English couple Jason and Jenny
Cairns-Lawrence, whose relaxing vacation was
interrupted by the worst terrorist attack in
history, experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime
horror.
Wait, did we say once in a lifetime? Because
four years later, on July 7th, 2005, they
happened to be in London, during the worst
terror attack in their history. A series of
bombs exploded across the city's transit
system, killing 52 people.
At this point they may have felt cursed or,
worse, that they were unknowingly starring in
an action film. But, you know, New York and
London are both massive cities and really, the
odds are that at least one family would happen
to be in both places on those fateful days.
Right?
But it wasn't over. Three years later, they took
another vacation. This time, to the exotic
Indian city of Mumbai.
There they saw the worst terror attack in that
country's history, as shooting and bombing
attacks killed and wounded hundreds.
12
nuzzling on its earthy pillow with the hand
printed nameplate above it : ‘BIG BERTHA 2’ .
Mavis glared at the nameplate, pop-eyed and
red in the face.
“A MARROW!” she exploded, “BIG BERTHA
IS A MARROW?”
With a bellowing scream, Mavis grasped Big
Bertha with both hands and ripped her from
her cosseted bed. Bertha had become a
weapon of husband destruction. When she
finished, Mavis stood back, surveying the
battle ground, breathing like a bull.” There”
she said quietly after a few seconds, "I want
to hear no more about Big Bertha.” Pulling
her cardigan around her and crossing her
arms, she walked down the path.” Be home
in time for tea.” she ordered without
looking back.
I looked around the plot and, using my shirt
sleeve, wiped some of the debris from my
head and face. I slowly trudged to my shed
and pushed open the creaking door. After the
bright sunlight it was dark and cool inside, the
smell of earth, creosote and Lily of the Valley
mingled with the marrow pulp in my nostrils, I
heard a faint whisper, “Has she gone?”
“Yes, my darling. She‟s gone” I said, reaching
out for her, as my eyes accustomed to the
darkness “And so, I‟m sad to say, is Big Bertha
Two. Never mind, ” I said, brightening up and
giving her a squeeze “I‟ve still got Big Bertha
One.”
Written by Helen Nicell © 2007
For more stories and about the group visit
www.watfordwriters.co.uk
Squelch! Splat! Splutter! Again
and again my beloved marrow
came down on my head, the
seeds and juice dribbling into my
eyes and a slimy pulp trickling
down my neck. After all those long
months of tender loving care,
watering, feeding and nurturing,
starting from a tiny seedling and
developing into this magnificent 28¾
glorious inches of a cucurbita pepo (that‟s a
marrow to you), for it to end like this. It‟s
enough to make a grown man weep.
In less than a minute, Mavis, my lawful wedded
dragon of thirty four years, had ripped my
beauty from the ground, and, like a rolling-pin
wielding seaside landlady, started to batter me
with it. A week away from the Grand
Allotment Show too, where it was hot
favourite to scoop „Best in Show‟!
I knew there was going to be trouble when I
saw Mavis steaming up the footpath, puffing
her bright red cheeks, her shampoo and set
clinging damply to her forehead. She
shouldn‟t have been here; Saturday afternoon
was the weekly Witches‟ Conference with the
Mother-in-law and her sister.
“Where is she?” she demanded as she bore
down on me where I knelt polishing the
marrow.” Where is this other woman? Last
night you even muttered her name in your
sleep!” She thrust her face in mine and
screeched,
“WHERE IS BIG BERTHA?” Her eyes darted
suspiciously around the allotment and settled
on my little wooden shed, net curtains at the
window.
“She‟s here” I said, dumbly pointing at the
wondrous specimen of green and gold
13
Helen Nicell
Author of Marrow
Escape.
Helen lives with her 3
dogs in Watford, Herts.
When both of her
children had finally
moved out and after
nearly 25 years of
working in Insurance, she
fancied a career change.
Shortly after changing her career, Helen joined
Watford Writers group and has been writing
short stories with a comic edge ever since.
Helen is now the Treasurer of the writing
group and plays a key role in organising their
events and competition.
Writing is only one of Helen‟s creative
passions. Others include baking, cooking,
flower arranging, decorating and even painting
with her niece and nephew (pictured above).
Marrow Escape was published by Watford
council to encourage people to take up
hobbies, such as gardening and using
allotments. It was displayed on bus stops in
the area. Helen was also the winner of the
„Living A Lie‟ Writer‟s Block competition with
„The Apple Tree‟ published in the Watford
Writers anthology.
Isabella Devani
Author of My Neighbours Cat
Isabella lives in Canterbury with her two
children aged five and two. When she was
younger Isabella dreamed of being an opera
singer or ballerina.
At the age of 14 Isabella
wrote her first poem.
“I wrote poetry at
school finding inspiration
from the works of Keats
and Tennyson. I like the
poetry of current poet
Laureate Carol Anne
Duffy.”
My Neighbour’s Cat
I never liked my neighbour‟s cat
The cat never liked me either.
It arched its back as I went by
To do my shopping. Oh I‟d sigh,
The bags, the weight, my back!
As I took shopping home again,
The naughty kitty hissed at me,
Then naughty kitty climbed a tree
I watched, I tripped, I fell.
Shopping everywhere, me in a dither,
Pound coins scattered, my ankles hurt.
The cat came down and wandered off
Didn‟t help me, just wandered off,
It didn‟t care at all!
I felt like I‟d lain there quite an age
When cat returned, sat next to me
It wasn‟t alone, bringing owner too.
This lady helped me off my knees
She picked my coins up one by one
The cat now purred, meowed.
Owner helped me take provisions home
The moggy following straight behind.
The kindly lady made me tea
Tired out I sat on my settee.
Before I knew, kitty jumped up too
Curled up on cushions next to me.
What beautiful tabby stripes!
My hand and eye and heart were moved
To drink my tea and stroke the cat.
And after the hissing
which had gone on that day
Who on earth would have thought of that!
An original poem by
All Seasons Client
Isabella Devani
14
Sophie’s Snacks “Elderly people should take probiotic
supplements. Recent studies have
shown drinks, yoghurts or capsules
could help protect older people
against bowel conditions, such as
Irritable Bowel Syndrome .”
- Sophie Murray
People over 60 years old have about 1, 000
more "friendly" bacteria in their guts
compared with other adults. However, some
of the UK‟s “friendly” bacteria yogurts are
ineffective.
The human gut contains different strains of
bacteria, some of which are "friendly", such as
bifidobacteria or lactobacilli, some that help
with food digestion and some that are
disease-causing. Having a balance of friendly
bacteria is thought to stop harmful forms
taking hold and causing disease.
Probiotics, meaning "for life", are products
that contain live strains of bacteria
incorporated into yoghurts, fruit juices or
freeze-dried powders, which boost levels of
the friendly bacteria in the gut.
Drop in bacteria
Glenn Gibson, professor of food
microbiology at Reading University, said: "The
(scientific) literature has reported about 80
human studies with positive results against
bowel conditions like travellers diarrhoea,
irritable bowel syndrome and antibiotic-
associated diarrhoea.”
He said, while probiotic products were useful
for the healthy population - helping to prevent
bacteria which cause food poisoning, such as E.
coli or campylobacter, from taking hold, they
would be even more beneficial for older people.
Dr Sandra McFarlane, from the microbiology
and gut biology group at the University of
Dundee said that as people got older they had
reduced levels of friendly bacteria and increased
levels of disease-causing bacteria.
She said at about the age of 60 there was a big
drop in bacteria levels, and older people had 1,
000-fold less friendly bacteria than other
younger adults.
With the weather in Spring time being so
unpredictable with colder more winter-like
bursts of weather, a brilliant way to stay healthy
and use Pro-biotic yogurts is in warm salads. A
squash is the star of this easy vegetarian salad
but the onion and peppers give it a run for its
money. A cheap and cheerful family supper.
15
Warm Squash Salad
Serves 4, takes 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes in the oven.
Ingredients
1kg butternut squash (or any other pumpkin type vegetable, leftover from the winter
months)
1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 peppers, deseeded and cut into large pieces
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to garnish (optional)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
50g bag wild rocket (or any other salad bag)
1 tbsp balsamic glaze (we love Merchant Gourmet, from major supermarkets)
100g feta, crumbled
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Peel and deseed the squash and cut into 8 thick
wedges or large chunks. Put into a roasting tin with the onion and peppers. Add the thyme
leaves, garlic and olive oil and toss well to coat. Pop the roasting tin in the oven for 45
minutes or until the vegetables are tender and lightly charred.
2. Transfer the vegetables (including any juices) to a large serving bowl. Toss through the wild
rocket and balsamic glaze.
3. To serve, divide the warm salad between 4 plates and scatter the feta over the top. Garnish
with the extra thyme, if using.
Pro-biotic Tsatsiki dressing
1 small pot natural, pro-biotic, organic yoghurt
1/2 lemon
a big chunk of grated cucumber
1 clove garlic
Method
Crush the garlic, grate the cucumber and squeeze the lemon into the yoghurt and add a
tablespoon of water. Mix and add to your salad!
As a final tip (because we can‟t be good 100% of the time) all you need to perfect your meal is a
glass of smooth, fairly light red wine. A French Cotes-du-Rhone has a peppery edge that works
well, too. Another fun tip is to save your left over seeds from the squash or pumpkin to grow
your own squash/pumpkin for next year.
To keep this recipe low GI for anyone with diabetes or high blood sugar, ensure you
do not over-cook the Squash.
16
All Seasons
The Links, Herne Bay
Kent, CT6 7GQ
01227 265899 www. allseasons.org.uk [email protected]
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