EVERYONE HAS GUTS.. REAL ONES.. AND THEY HAVE BEEN CALLED 'THE SECOND BRAIN'.

Back in 1992, Dr. Michael Gershon, chairman of the department of anatomy and cell biology of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Centre discovered a network of neurotransmitters in the gut that act in a similar way to neurons and he christened it 'the second brain'.

Since then a huge amount of research has found that all manner of modern day illnesses link back to disturbances in the digestive system. 

These include joint and muscle pain and autoimmune diseases including Motor Neurone Disease aka ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Dr. Alan Ebringer of the Middlesex Hospital here in London has linked Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is a painful arthritis disease resulting in the stiffening of joints, with a form of bacteria that lives in the bowel and feeds off carbohydrate residue.

And patients found that by cutting their intake of carbs to a much lower level, their conditions were greatly improved and in some cases, resolved. 

Diarrhoea suffers are found to have a bacterial overgrowth in their gut, the bacteria alter the metabolic and immune responses of the body and they turn against the normal gut flora and this is an early indication of a condition known as a 'leaky gut'. 

NSAID stands for non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug. 

As well as being intolerant of certain types of food, caffeine and alcohol, even short term usage of these drugs can cause damage to your gut and long term usage is harmful and is responsible for leaving the gut very inflamed and permeable.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that she reads a lot.. and not just novels, travel books or biographies. 

A book which is beyond scary is 'The Case Against Sugar', yes, I have mentioned it before but it is worth mentioning it again.

For this one simple fact.

That, unless they have stopped adding it very recently, American cigarettes contain sugar. And it is the sugar that, together with the smoke, creates tar in your lungs and nasal passages which leads to lung cancer.

Today is a dreary day, she's brewing a head cold which 'ticks' her off no end.. she coughed a lot yesterday afternoon and today.. her throat is sore, she's coughing and sneezing. Drat.. BIG drat. 

She planned to go to Audiology today to have her left ear tested for her new hearing aid but with a head cold and catarrh, there is absolutely no point in even thinking about going to the hospital.

And she forgot to get pan scourers yesterday.. so she has to go out as there are a couple of pans that are clean but need a good scrub with a Brillo pad.

Yes, she's like a Magpie.. she likes shiny things!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 12th, 2019.

BRIGHT LIGHT.. AND HOW MUCH HIGHER THE SUN IS NOW!

WOW! We got out of bed at a sensible hour and went off to the bathroom to find.. a very brightly lit room! 

Had she left the lights on? No, it was sunlight, very bright and sunny sunlight.

How wonderful it is to see this, the sky is pale but there isn't a cloud to be seen and because it is now at least seven weeks after the Winter Solstice, the sun is that much higher in the sky.

What a difference it makes in our bedroom, the daylight bulb doesn't have to be switched on, nor does her bedside light, for the room is lit with glorious natural light and it's wonderful!

She started reading a book last night written by an very old friend of Constance.. aka her mother. 

Eric Newby wrote wonderful books, mostly on the travels that he did with his wife, Wanda, after WW2. The book she is reading is 'On the Shores of the Mediterranean'. 

She always has a couple of books on the 'go', for one cannot read what she calls investigative health books all in one go like you read a novel.

And Lynn McTaggart's book 'What Doctors Don't Tell You' ARTHRITIS is a far too an important book to read lightly or quickly.

She highly recommends this book to everyone, for it is proven that inflammation causes most diseases and inflammation usually starts in our digestive system aka guts.

The sun has shifted round and is no longer shining his beam directly in through our bedroom window but the room is still bright and light.. what a treat!

She has to buy powdered ginger, fresh ginger, turmeric roots, sweet potatoes and hopes to find Spring Greens in the market, so we will be back later today.

The weather forecast is good for this week but very bad for next week, so she'll be planting lots of shallots and onions this week at the allotment. 

And, some freesia corns in a pot at home. She found them in the market last week. Oh, there is nothing like a pot of home grown freesias to make a home smell simply divine.. except, maybe a pot of jonquils!

I've got BUB's kipper box to beak.. so I send you all chirps.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 11th, 2019.
PostScript: 
On the shores of the Mediterrean' by Eric Newby. ISBN # 978-0-00-736791-7
WHAT DOCTORS DON'T TELL YOU -
ARTHRITIS
Editor Lynn McTaggart. 
ISBN # 978-1-78180-338-7

IT'S THE CHINESE NEW YEAR & SHE FOUND CRISPY SEAWEED & CHICKEN WITH CASHEW NUTS HANGING ON OUR FRONT DOOR!

Now, I have just told you that she doesn't eat lunch except if she goes out to lunch with friends but today is truly an exception.

For lunch came to us! She was just about to go and make herself a hot drink about ten minutes ago when plop.. a WhatsApp message arrived on her mobile.

It was from Tereza who was up in Chinatown celebrating her Chinese birthday as it is the year of the Pig.

The message read "do you like crispy seaweed and chicken with cashew nuts, if so, it will be on your door in 5".. 'is the Pope a Catholic' she thought to herself as she tapped out her reply.

And sure enough.. a few minutes later, she opened our front door to find a bag hanging on it.

"Oh slurp GeeGee, look what we have to eat, I'll put the fish back into the fridge for tomorrow and we'll have this delicious food instead, what a treat, how kind of Tereza to do this".

I think it is because the first three years of her life were spent in Malaya - as it was called in those days - that she has a liking for food from that part of the world. Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malay and Chinese cuisines are what she absolutely loves and how she didn't stop to eat a bowl of yumyum at the Vietnamese food market yesterday is beyond me!

She's found her chopsticks, made a hot drink of ginger and lemon and we'll settle down to eat this delicious gift.. 

And hope you will go and eat some Chinese food or make a stir fry at home with delicious spices and celebrate.. 

The year of the Pig.. oink oink!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 10th, 2019.

WEAR MORE CLOTHES.. PULL DOWN A BLIND.. MAKE SURE YOUR RADIATORS ARE WORKING.. INTERLINE YOUR CURTAINS.. AND MORE!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that she is frugal. 

There is an article in today's Guardian about the rising cost of household prices. Electricity, gas, council tax and water are all due to rise this Spring.

We cannot do anything about the council tax but she certainly has done a lot about controlling the costs of the other three necessary items that we use on a daily basis.

She goes out of a room, she turns off the light. Nothing is ever left on 'Standby'. She wants a cup of something hot to drink, she puts just enough into the kettle or boils more and puts the rest into a thermos.. one that actually keeps the liquid hot! 

There's a heavy curtain in front of our front door, this means we have a snug warm hall as no cold air whistles through any gaps. 

There are blinds in both our bedroom and sitting room, they are down and the difference is amazing as they stop the cold coming into the rooms.

The curtains are interlined, unfortunately the silly builders put the new bedroom radiator below the window and long curtains stop heat circulating, so during cold weather she picks up the curtains and lays them onto the shelf which is an extension of the window ledge.

The gas combi boiler is only on during the day at a low degree and goes off at about 9pm, it comes on at 7am but the radiator valves are set at high, all except for the one in the sitting room which is on low.

She washes up once a day at night.

She is frugal with gas for cooking and very seldom uses the oven, apart from red meat, food is steamed over a small amount of water in layers.

Yesterday's supper was a small amount of chicken stock brought to the boil in a saucepan, a large handful of flat Vietnamese rice noodles, two pieces of kale, a Spring Green and a handful of frozen seafood was added, the lid went on and it steamed for about 8 minutes.

The contents were all put into a dish, she added seasoning and off we went to enjoy a tasty supper.

She buys whatever fish are on special offer at our fishmonger and freezes them, they are taken out of frosty white larder aka freezer and left to defrost between two plates on the morning of a day when she decides that's what we are having for supper.

As she eats a variety of steamed greens at every supper, the fish are steamed by being placed on top of the vegetables, she much prefers steamed fish to fried or poached fish.

She doesn't eat lunch but breakfast and supper, that's it. I, of course, have food available for me all day long, Harrisons dried food, grapes, seeds and a piece of cabbage and kale are always there as well for I love those crunchy stems!

Unless, of course, she goes out to lunch, then for supper, she'll have a bowl of sauerkraut and some fruit and her large old Danish beer mug from Copenhagen is always full of hot water with freshly chopped ginger and turmeric with a chunk of fresh lemon or lime.

So do something about those drafty doors and windows, turn your boiler down and wear more clothes.

Men can wear a cotton t.shirt with short sleves under a shirt or sweater or a thermal vest, lightweight or heavy duty woollen instead of cotton or nylon socks which hold absolutely no heat whatsoever! 

Keep your head covered when you go outside and wear gloves and long socks if you are wearing trousers. She has woollen tights that she wears under her trousers.. and very cosy they are too!

Have your gas boiler serviced once a year properly by a CORGI registered engineer. 

And now I am going to tell you two things that will make you a bit sick.. with envy.

Her last gas bill was £11.67 and the one before was £4.14.. ok, yes we do live in a small flat.

The last electricity bill was over £60.00 which was a high one but the weather was cold and so the blinds were down and curtains are drawn and she leaves my daylight bulb and light on for me plus the television.

Take control of your expenditure and yes, change your supplier if you do a comparision and find another supplier who will be cheaper for your level of gas or electrical expenditure.

But I say put a proper wool blanket on top of your duvet if you use one on your bed and wear more clothes.. simples!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 10th, 2019.

BROCCOLI & MUSTARD POWDER - YOU AREN'T GOING TO BELIEVE THIS MAGICAL TRICK!

Yes, we all know that broccoli is good for you but do you know why that is?

Well, it contains an active compound called Sulforaphane (SPN). This valuable compound has been proven to kill cancer cells and it is believed to protect us from free radicals, boost the liver's ability to detoxify and to prevent cancer cells forming.

It is also known that people who have bladder cancer and who eat raw broccoli have a much higher survival rate than those who don't.

Sulforaphane is found in all the cruciferous vegetables but broccoli is the vegetable with the highest content, other vegetables are:

Brussels sprouts. Kohlrabi. Broccoli seeds. Cabbage. Cauliflower. Horseradish & Mustard Greens.

But SPN is a strange thing! For you have to chew or chop a vegetable in order for the compound to be released because it isn't directly present in the vegetable but it is formed in a reaction from Glucoraphnin and to get SPN from Glucoraphnin an enzyme called Myrosinase must be released from the broccoli cells.

Hello.. are you still there! It's a bit complicated but keep on reading! 

And when the Broccoli cells are destroyed by chewing or chopping, the Myrossinase is released and reacts with the Glucoraphanin through a hydrolysis process.. and hey presto.. the result is SPN!

But here comes the bad news.. not all of us like raw broccoli and exposing broccoli to heat kills enzymes and so we don't get any benefit from this or any of the other cruciferous vegetables

When broccoli is frozen, it is first blanched prior to be packed. So the enzyme were destroyed.

However, the Glucoraphanin isn't destroyed by heat, only the enzyme was killed but you can activate it be adding another enzyme and this, Dear Readers, is where the magic begins.

For now all you have to do is to add a small amount of powdered mustard seeds for this to happen.

Think of Colman's raw mustard powder in a small yellow tin. A small amount of this dried mustard powder will perform the wizard's trick.

And as the Myrosinase enzyme is found in *Horseradish, *Wasabi powder or *Daikon radish, you can sprinkle any of these on to broccoli as well.

When cooking broccoli or any other cruciferous vegetable, prepare (chop) them at least an hour before you want to cook them, this allows the enzyme time to react with the glucoraphanin and the SPN will have formed when you start to cook. 

Use chopped raw broccoli in your cooking as a garnish.

Add chopped raw broccoli to steamed vegetables to increase the amount of SPN.

Add a small amount of any of these * powders to activate the powerful agents of cruciferous vegetables.

Soak your vegetables for 5 minutes in salted water and then rinse them before cooking in order to get rid of pesticides.

We are lucky enough to grow most of what we eat in the way of vegetables but when it is dire - as it is today and she hasn't been to the allotments to pick any greenery, we've stuff that she froze earlier in the autumn.

And, of course, we are incredibly fortunate to have the North End Road market, where there is a stall holder called Peter who loves Spring Greens as much as we do! They're grown in Cambridgeshire and yes, she now sprinkles on Colman's mustard powder onto them and.. they're deliciously tasty!

We will be back later today, for in deepest Knightsbridge it is raining heavily and incredibly windy. This stormy weather is causing chaos and it's crazy to even think of going to the allotments which are very exposed.

Stay snug wherever you are and remember to buy some of these magical things* but you may actually already have them in your kitchen cupboard. 

Stay happy and healthy.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 10th, 2019.
PostScript: With enormous thanks to Reading University whose research into the benefits of broccoli and the other cruciferous vegetables gave us these facts about SPN and the other enzymes. 

CHRISTIAN DIOR @ THE V&A MUSEUM.. GO GO YES, GET THERE AND GO!

Boots, umbrella, keys in pocket, telephone and wallet in bag and on the dot of 11.45am she was out of the house and walked out into the most disgusting weather.. cold, wet and extremely windy, ugh.

She raised the umbrella and scurried up Yeoman's Row into the Brompton Road, across the road and walked as fast as she could to the museum.

To find Jane had also just arrived in the front entrance.

They both shook themselves like dogs, grinned at each other in the way that you do when you know you're in for a treat and made their way up to the Friends Room.

They presented their membership cards and said to the manager that they were there for lunch and were taken to a corner banquette. A menu was presented by a smiley waitress and they were off!

It promised to be a lovely time, for these two new friends, who had met in the funniest of ways, can talk for London as they share similar interests and likes and dislikes!

Nice food.. yum! Jane had a warm salad with anchovies and she had a pork chop with baked apple served on a bed of spring greens.. slurp!

Having split the bill, they went off downstairs to the new wing of the museum to see the Dior exhibition.

Beautiful but her only criticism was there weren't actually that many outfits that had been made in the late 40's and 50's.

But then a lot of people don't choose to lend valuable clothes to exhibitions, she herself is guilty of this as she didn't lend clothes to the Cristobal Balenciaga exhibition which was held at the V&A.

And this is why.. for thirty years ago she was given a beautiful long painted silk coat and Fortuny style pleated dress by two men for whom she did a lot of modeling.

Their working names were Ian and Marcel and they did breathtakingly beautiful work. She lent the dress and coat to their exhibition at the V&A and never got them back, they're somewhere in the archives of the museum.. not on show. 

It was her fault, she didn't insist upon a mass of paperwork or a date upon when the clothes would be returned, it taught her a lesson.

But go, for although there aren't that many clothes from Monsieur Dior's era, there are lots and lots of clothes dating from the era of Vyes Saint Laurent right through to the present day creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

There's one red wool coat which dates from the 50's which she loved. It is beautiful.. quite, quite beautiful.

Today, so far, it is dry and as she has to do a run to the market for fresh and powdered ginger we are off but will be back later to tell you about the extraordinary information about frozen broccoli and mustard powder.

No, she is not gardening in this weather for the ground is soaking wet and you don't do it any favours by treading on it as it will compact it, besides the fact that Storm Erik is blowing fit to bust with horrendous winds.

But the weather forecast for the latter part of next week is positively warm and sunny so we'll be full of chirp.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 9th, 2019.

'A COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY' @ THE CRITERION THEATRE & THE THEATRE ROYAL.

Off she went to Piccadilly Circus, the weather was fine so she took a number 19 bus and after getting off the bus and crossing over and behind Eros, she slipped down into one of the most beautiful of London's theatres.

The play is, as the title suggests, a comedy about a gang of idiots whose aim is to steal an enormous diamond from the bank vault and as much slapping is done, so you could call it slapstick comedy! There was not a seat to be had, it was a full house.

The theatre is small, there are only 588 seats on the three levels and the wall tiles are exquisite! It was built in 1874 on the site of an 17th century coaching inn called The White Bear. 

The area was developed by an entrepreneur called Thomas Verity who developed the large site, which was originally called Regent's Circus.

During WW2, it went 'dark' as it was used by the BBC as a subterranean radio station and it saved in 1970 from destruction by a very determined bunch of actors! One of London's secret gems! 

Another real gem is the oldest theatre in London, The Theatre Royal, the original of which opened in 1663, was built by a former royal courtier and playwright called Thomas Killigrew.  

He received a royal patent from King Charles 2nd, the theatre continues to hold this to this very day!

It was here that King Charles met his future mistress, the actress Nell Gwynne. 

And what a pity that Kings couldn't marry 'commoners' in those days because his wife, Queen Catherine of Braganza sadly miscarried three time and bore no heir to the throne.

Whereas his beloved Nell bore him two sons.

Charles Beauclerk (1670-1726) and James Beauclerk (1671-1680). Charles Beauclerk was given the title of Duke of St.Albans, a title which is held to this day by the 14th Duke.

And the Protestant Stuart dynasty would have survived! 

That's your history lesson for today folks.. she has work to do and I have a box to beak.. pippip.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 4th, 2019.

A SUNNY DAY IN LONDON TOWN & FOUR FACTS ABOUT ARTHRITIS.

Yes, it really is! She woke up very early, got me out of bed and off we went to the bathroom to do what you do in bathrooms upon rising.

She looked at her watch and decided it was far too early to get up, so we got back into her bed to cuddle, fell asleep and woke up again at 10.15!

It's very bright and clear, it is probably 'quite' cold outside but we're snug and warm. Our upstairs neighbours go away at weekends but as the snow is deep, crisp and even where their cottage is, they decided to stay in London.

This means their heating is on higher than usual at weekends and it's keeping us deliciously warm.

The last post about ginger and its' pain killing properties has obviously struck a cord with many of our readers, for it been read by an enormous amount of people around the world. 

In another post this week, she will give you more information but here as a taster are four points which come from Lynne McTaggart's excellent book on Arthritis.

Arthritis consists of 6 different disease groups.
That over-the-counter pain relief could speed up the progress of the disease.
Some treatments for arthritis could have life-threatening side effects.
Surgery does not guarantee healing and could lead to more serious conditions. 

She is going to the theatre this afternoon, to a play which is on at the Criterion Theatre. If you don't know where this theatre is, think of Lilywhites on Piccadilly Circus for the theatre is underneath! 

It's a beautiful theatre, as is the whole building.

Now we have to get up and do sensible things but we'll will be back later today to tell you about the play.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 3rd, 2019.

GINGER & ITS SAFE PAIN KILLING POWER AGAINST DRUGS AND THEIR DEADLY SIDE EFFECTS

How do you deal with pain? Do you reach for an aspirin, panadol or ibuprofen 200mg to get relief. 

What do you do if the pain comes back within a short space of time?

Are you aware of the damage that pain killers can do to your body?

Here are some very unpleasant facts:

The Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Foundation in Westminster, Colorado has warned parents to stop giving their children ibuprofen if they develop a rash which is an early sign of SJS or blisters on the ears, nose and genitals or develop sores within the mouth.

SJS causes blistering of the skin and a major concern is that it will progress to the more serious form of the illness Toxic Epidermal Neocrolysis aka TEN.  

Most cases of SJS are brought about by NSAIDS: it should be added that virtually any drug can cause SJS.

And here are some of the very unpleasant side effects of using these drugs:

Heartburn. Abdominal pain. Nausea. Ulcers & Gastrointestinal bleeding. Mental depression. Weight gain. Changes in hearing and eyesight. Nosebleeds and Constipation.

'The drug has now been found to attack enzymes within cell membranes and to cause unpredictable side effects in different parts of the body.'*
*John Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

But all is not lost. For there is a spice that has as much power to reduce and stop pain as these drugs within the same length of time and sometimes even more quickly. 

You may even have a jar of this magic spice in your kitchen as you read this post. So what is it? 

Well.. It's powdered ginger and don't just take my word for it.

Researchers pitted one-eighth of a teaspoon of this amazing spice head-to-head against 400mg of ibuprofen and the spice worked just as effectively.

Ginger has been used for centuries in Chinese and Indian medicine. And its power to reduce nausea is extraordinary. 

'Amongst western medicines it is now considered  a nontoxic, broad spectrum anti-emetic which is highy effective in stopping nausea for: Motion sickness, pregnanacy, chemotherapy and after surgery.'

It is also a warming spice, she drinks it every day  in both powdered and fresh root form in hot water and especially now in the winter!

When buying root ginger, look for fat and very hard roots with bumps that are paler than the main root, these 'bumps' are fresh growth and show the root is alive.

She has a ginger root growing, it was planted just under some soil from the allotment in a terracotta pot, one of its' bumps has grown into a shoot and it has skinny green leaves.

She snipped one of them off and nibbled it.. wow! Talk about hot and tasty and good for you.

So the next time you start having a migraine or a sore ache somewhere, don't just go to a bottle of dodgy pills, put a small teaspoonful of ginger powder in a small glass of cold water, stir it well and drink it, then follow it with another glass of water to wash the powder down.

It has no evil side effects, is a fraction of the cost and you can take it as often as you like.. which you should NEVER do with any drug of any dosage.

Aspirin.. we'll write another post about this drug and you should know NEVER to give it to children under the age of 12 because of the high risk of them developing Reye's Syndrome.

Drugs and Arms are, unfortunately, the largest money earners for governments. They both kill.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 2nd, 2019.
Postscript: Two wonderful books provided factual information.
How Not To Die - Michael Greger, MD. 
With Gene Stone.
ISBN: 978-1-4472-8244-0 
What Doctors Don't tell You About Arthritis 
Lynne McTaggart. 
ISBN: 978-1-781180-338-7

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS, MARKETS & SHOPS.

Yippadee doo day, yippadee doo.

Yes, folks it is the first day of the last month of Winter and although it was mighty chilly with rain pouring down from a dirty grey sky, was she unhappy? Not in the slightest. In fact she went so far as to dig out one of the propagators and the case in which she keeps seeds.

You would think they are sweeties, for she clucks over each packet and smacks her chops at the thought of home grown Persian cucumbers, which I might tell you, are truly delicious and not all like any other variety.

Then it was time for her to venture forth, we have dodged the snow here in deepest Knightsbridge, we haven't even seen a flake of the white stuff, yes, it's cold and damp but that's all.

She looked into the vegetable rack and chilly white larder and saw that we were low on eggs. greens, fruit and meat, so she decided to do her food shop today and went off down to the North End Road.

She bought the fruit and vegetables at one stall, 8 apples, 7 pears, 2 boxes of red grapes, a head of celery, a dark green cabbage and a large bunch of very fresh kale.. all done for £4.60! 

Then it was onto the egg stall, where she bought 2 boxes of large eggs, we eat three a day and these are date stamped 18 Feb, so that was good.

Then into the butcher for liver and kidneys, both of which have no fat and are great meat and not expensive.  She likes lambs liver just as much as calves and as they were out of calves, lambs will do perfectly well for the weekend.

Then it was home again time, she called into see Myra on her way home and walked into chaos!

The whole of the downstairs of the house was full of packing boxes, they had apparently never really sorted out their parents house but had just put everything into storage. Whoops, it made our poor sitting room look quite tidy (which is isn't).

She came away with two enormous beautiful wool blankets which she took immediately up to New Horizons and gave to Simone to sell.

And a couple of gardening books went to be sold as well, for she has more than she will ever need in the way of gardening books! 

Myra asked her where she had been to get such great looking vegetables and she told her that she never buys vegetables in supermarkets but always buys them from Farmer's Markets or a couple of stall on the street market. 

Why should she buy Spanish celery in a supermarket when Peter sells great celery grown in Cambridgeshire! The same applies to beetroots, they come from a farm near West Malling, who also grow his cabbage and kale. 

Yes, she does occasionally go into supermarkets and was very shocked to read this last week that one of the big firms, Tesco, are making 15,000 people reduntant.

They are closing all of their fish, deli and meat counters in order to make £1.5bn saving by 2020!

Very short sighted action I think.. we don't buy any of those products in their stores but we know plenty of people who do and now they'll swiftly move their shopping to either Lidl, Sainsburys or Waitrose.

Or to.. if she has anything to do with it, her butcher and fishmonger on the North End Road!

So our supper was delicious, a lambs kidney with 4 oz of liver together with steamed cabbage, kale, cauliflower and a few tiny carrots, drizzled with olive oil and a shake of a scrummy hot sauce from Bermuda called Outerbridge's Sherry Peppers.

Followed by a crisp Cox apple and some almonds.

She has been given a gift of a theatre ticket! For a play on Sunday which she'll tell you about it on Sunday night, it's on in Piccadilly Circus at the Criterion, a theatre she hasn't been into for many a year!

Now it's bed time, our upstairs neighbours are here for the weekend and the flat was positively toasty warm when she came home after shopping and dropping off the blankets.

Bless their boiler, it keeps our home so very cosy!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 1st, 2019.