“The only news I know”.

“The only news I know

Is bulletins all day

From immortality;

The only shows I see

Tomorrow and today,

Perchance eternity.

The only one I meet

Is God, the only street

Existence, this traversed,

If other news there be

Or admirabler show,

I’ll tell it you.”

Emily Dickinson

Bereavement

The following are some illustrations I created for a friend.

“Reaching Out”. 2020
“Grief Spiral”
“The Apostle Tree”
“Lost”
“Separation”
“Found”
“Prayer”
“His footsteps”
“Sunflowers”

Flu Remedy

Flu Remedy
Flu Remedy

Ingredients

Cider Vinegar, Honey, 1 lemon, ground ginger, ground cinnamon.

Method

Squeeze out 1 lemon, add 2 teaspoons of honey, and 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and mix together all ingredients in a mug. Then fill mug with boiling water. Allow to cool till it is ready for drinking.

Life as a carer

Life as a carer is incredibly isolating. Don’t expect former work colleagues or friends to remain in touch. They won’t. You will feel like someone who is surplus to requirement. The mail you will receive will be junk. The phone calls will be scammers. You will need to learn new skills and hobbies. In a society where people are judged according to their salary and status, you will feel worthless. You will need to re-evaluate your aspirations and goals. You will need to ignore the mass media’s obsession with fame and fortune. You will need to focus on what really matters i.e. making the person you care for, happy, content and healthy. Then you learn that money and status never really lead to happiness. Happiness comes from helping others.

Walnuts & Coffee Ice Cream

Walnuts and Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

Coffee ice cream ( or Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream )

Handful of crushed walnuts

instant coffee ( crema )

Recipe:

Simply crush some walnut halves, or sprinkle some crushed walnuts over coffee ice cream. Then make a very small cup of coffee ( 1/4 tea cup ). Wait for this to cool a little, then pour over the walnuts and ice cream.

Benefits:

Walnuts are high in manganese and meant to be very good for the brain.

Berry Surprise

Berry surprise.

Ingredients:

Blackberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries, Madagascan vanilla ice cream.

Recipe:

Defrost a frozen berry mix overnight, then add a dessert spoon of brown sugar to bring out the juices. Then serve with a not too generous sized scoop of Madagascan vanilla ice cream. I recommend Tesco’s finest Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream.

Lentil and Butterbean Curry soup

Lentil, Butterbeans, Carrots & Potatoes, Curry Soup.

Ingredients:

1/2 teacup cup red split lentils (boil for 10 minutes)

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 potato peeled and chopped

1 teacup of cooked butterbeans (frozen are good, although canned can be used)

1 large teaspoon of mango chutney

1 large teaspoon of lime pickle

1 handful of brown rice

a little salt and pepper.

1 vegetable stock cube

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/4 teaspoon of garlic granules

1 onion

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of curry powder.

Instructions:

First thoroughly wash then boil the dried split lentils for 10 minutes in a medium sized saucepan together with 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric.

While the lentils are boiling, finely chop an onion then fry in 1 large tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan. Then when the onion is lightly browned add a peeled and chopped potato and a peeled and sliced carrot. Then simmer for 5 minutes, adding a teaspoon of curry powder, a little salt and a generous sprinkling of pepper. Add a handful of rice, and the butter beans and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Then add the boiled lentils together with the water that you used to boil the lentils in. Add a stock cube, and a pint of boiling water together with a teaspoon of mango chutney and a teaspoon of lime pickle to give the soup some flavour.

Simmer for 18 minutes with the lid on the large saucepan.

Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 Large Potato, 1 Small/Medium Onion, 2 large leeks, 1 vegetable stock cube, salt & pepper, 1 large tablespoon of olive oil.

Method:

Chop onion finely, then fry gently in olive oil until soft. Chop potato then add to saucepan with a pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Add leeks, 1 pint of water, and 1 vegetable stock cube. Simmer for further 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked. 1 minute from the end, add 1 tea cup of milk, then bring back to the boil, then immediately mash and serve.

The infamous ‘Pinnock Finance Company’ fraud – one of the most complicated and gigantic frauds in the history of private enterprise in the UK.

Mr William Ross Wright from 1959 to 1967 managed to embezzle nearly £13 million from investors in the UK. This destroyed the lives of many gullible people who trusted Mr William Ross Wright.

It has been called “one of the most complicated and gigantic frauds in the history of private enterprise in the United Kingdom”, and yet we hear very little of it in the media. It is almost as if it has been airbrushed from history.

It would be very interesting to track down what happened to the £13 million pounds.

For a more detailed analysis of the Pinnock Finance Company fraud, please read the following

PinnockFinanceCompany

I do think someone needs to write a book, or produce a movie which tells the tale of the Pinnock Finance Company and dedicate it to the people who lost their life savings to the crooked and corrupt Mr William Ross Wright.