Wednesday, 22 August 2012

A nice dish of green tay.....

"the new green tea health-fix cocktail?"

I have a nice cup of tea when I wake up
And a nice mug of tea post-lunch-nap
But the best drink by far
Is a nice green tea cha
Served with ice and lemon at the spa!

"with apologies to artists and production company alike", says I.

The Daily Telegraph today, 22nd August 2012, carries a report "Green tea: the new weapon against cancer" and reports on new research into the healing quality of a newly concentrated extract of green tea which has been shown to have positive effects for shrinking  cancerous skin tumours.  Hitherto, research has failed to prove the positive and curative effects of green tea, so lets now hope that this new research will lead to the production of an effective "green tea medicine" for the good of everyone.  And hopefully the finance will be there to support the research?

We all, unfortunately, know of family and friends who are struggling to cope with cancer and wouldn't it be splendid to know that, at some future date, a green pill could significantly help our suffering loved ones?

All well and good, but, some green tea is not very palatable, while other varieties are just too awful to contemplate, let alone drink.  Too lemony, too harsh, too thin, or just a matter of taste and experimentation?  There are certainly many varieties on sale and sufficient advice from family and friends as to their favourite brew, so I guess it's just a matter of sampling and making one's own  personal choice.

"So, why don't we, and confer, and see what choice we come up with, it could be fun?"

Also in today's Daily Telegraph, on page 11, an article - "Modern mothers too busy to bake"  based on research commissioned by the oven brand, Neff.  Their argument that "traditional household skills such as baking, making pastry and sewing buttons are dying out because modern mothers are too busy to learn them; and also knitting, cake baking, jam making plus altering clothes.

Don't you believe it, is what I say.  Young mothers have a very busy  time, just like their mothers and grandmothers before them.  Their goal-posts have been moved, more expectations are heaped onto their heads and they are called upon to perform their duties to the best of their ability, and bring up their children, look after their husbands and themselves and do all the little things that make life so enjoyable.  The baking, the sewing, gardening, jam making and knitting.

For knitting replace crochet, which is a little easier to pick up and learn.  Making pastry is so easy in a Magimix machine, takes less time and allows a mother to paint with her young children.  And altering clothes; now that's done to enhance an old garment by giving it a new lease of life and upgrading its fashion status.  Such renovation is now a fashionable business about which numerous books are published, sewing classes are set-up by enterprising folk, and quickly filled up by eager young women wanting to know how its done.

The world has changed, yet it remains the same. The young are doing exactly what we had to do in our time, and our grandmothers before us.  Working hours are a big commitment in our lives, our families are terribly important to us and we all crave a little time for ourselves, to develop our talents for our kith and kin.

And young families often live far removed from their parents and siblings, so are without the family support previous generations took for granted.  And their own mothers, often still working, or doing things they had no time for, before.

Yet still they cope and bake and sew and  make jam, and remain cheerful and optimistic.
Well done modern mothers ......keep on with the good work; you're doing just fine. Daisy.

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