Pictures:
1. Sugar Quay Marquee, by the Tower Bridge enjoying the view with friend Jacqui Shaw.
2. Mark Perry, James Pool (my husband), Donald B Scott, JR. Jasmine Horowitz, Lord Leitrim, myself and Valerie Blondeau at the House of Lords for afternoon tea on the terrace.
3. Shirley Ann Field and sculpture Tom Merrifield at his delightful home/ gallery for afternoon wine and sandwiches. Check out the sculpture of Princess Diana behind him.
4. With Sally Farmiloe-Neville and Leslie Philips at the Millennium Hotel for Celebrity dinner.
5. Break dancing at a Marquette overlooking the Thames.
Social Times:
It has been a great summer with warm weather and being able to see blue skies. London is so beautiful and grand in the summer. I have found that there has been no shortage of parties, dinners and charity functions but I would think that the organizers had to work very hard to get them filled this year. When there is an economic downturn it means many of us have to take stock and stick to what is working rather than try to go ahead when the money is not coming in. For the lucky ones who are living on their savings it must still be quite daunting with money seeming to go nowhere.
Tea at the memorable House of Lords
It was one of the best summer days of the season and perfect for tea on the terrace at the House of Lords. We were serenaded by Elvis Presley impersonator and great comic Mark Perry who got us all laughing with an array of political jokes I was seated at a truly international table which included Jasmine Horowitz and friend Donald B. Scott,Jr. from Palm Beach. Jasmine was telling me this is the first time she has spent the summer in London and has enjoyed it so much will definately be back next year, a lovely new face on our social scene.
After the memorable afternoon Valerie Blondeau the PR specialist and myself then made our way to the Wolsey restaurant on Piccadilly {as if we needed more food} but we both love the Wolsey. We had a lot to catch up on but instead ended up chatting with the most delightful couple who were at the next table. It turned out to be Brigadier Allan Julius and his partner Hanna Morton they were celebrating his birthday, when I learnt he was over eighty could not believe it. They were an exceptionally lovely looking couple who entertained us with stories of his SAS background, and their mutual love of Italy. So nice to meet a couple who you know you will stay in touch with.
Tom Merrifield Gallery was a Treat
We had a splendid afternoon in Hampstead at the wonderful sculpture Tom Merrifield's home-cum-gallery. For people watchers it was the place to go and we all agreed that everything we saw was very likeable, buyable, delightful and delicate. The wine and sandwiches were good too. I met Sally Anne-Field who I have been a great admirer of hers since her film 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'.
I was asked to the fair trade exhibition which I made an effort to go to and was delighted with the products. They were fully organic which feel great to use. Fair Trade Foot Lotion was a winner for me - a peppermint treat for the feet. I was delighted at the results and my feet are thankful for the TLC. The makers, Lush, believe that "If you're not going to trade fairly what's the point." They are making a big effort to help us stay healthy and look after the workers in country's whose workers have been abused by large manufacturing companies.
Next was the launch for the 'Merchant Inns Out' with double Michelin star chef Rob Clayton and its MD Steve Holland - in other words the food was pretty good. They were promoting their catering part of the company. The evening was fun with terrific break-dancing, food and loads of booze from 6.30 until midnight. There was lots of dancing to the disco with a fabulous view of the Thames.
'Stressorexia' - is your life dominated by self-control?
A new kind of problem? The health condition labelled 'Stressorexia' is becoming increasingly evident among young executives who are overwhelmed by pressures from work, home and social life, and maintaining that balance. As pressures mount, a common technique many people, women in particular, use is the technique of controlling their diet as a tool to satisfy the need to create order amid their often chaotic lives.
Whilst many women feel a sense of accomplishment from controlling their diet, it may be leading to a serious health issue as many develop eating disorders from adopting this pattern of thought as it becomes all consuming.
"When life feels as if it's spiralling out of control, focussing on food and weight seems to be a solution that young women are programmed to," says Dr Peter R Rowan, director of the Eating Disorders Unit (EDU) at UK Psychiatric clinic, Cygnet Hospital. "It can be a response to the conflicting modern-day pressures on women to be a CEO, a mother and domestic goddess all at once."
What is the answer? It is difficult to know but when in doubt, go back to basics. Eat organic, read labels to make sure your organic is not full of sugar, salt and the dreaded palm oil. Exercise by power walking or use your local health club and delegate to help relieve the stress.
The 'Man' said you need pain in childbirth?
One of the most ridiculous articles I have read lately on health was saying that mothers should put up with painful childbirth to bond with the baby. This was the opinion of Dr Denis Walsh who is an associate professor in midwifery at Nottingham University. He suggests abandoning routine pain relief and practicing a 'work with pain' approach. This has got to be the silliest thing I have heard this year. He has obviously not done his research properly. Since I was terrified of needles up until I practiced hypnosis I had the most painful birth you can imagine and that was with lots of gas and air. The reason was I could not relax my muscles because of fear. If you are frightened of injections your skin tightens up and it is very hard and painful to get the needle in, so my poor baby had a very hard time being born. If I had known about hypnosis I could have had a painless birth like my daughter-in-law. Using hypnosis she enjoyed the birth so much that when it was over she joked, "I'll have another one now." And you won't find a mother and son that are more bonded than they are.
Nutrition:
14 eggs a week is now good for you!
I was in one of the health shops today and I saw a news article that said we should have 2 eggs a day as a healthy diet and that only 45% of the people know that the cholesterol scare was rubbish and not founded. Apparently the very low cholesterol found in eggs can be easily absorbed by the body.
A big Mac and Fries can have less calories than many shop salads.
If you think you are going for a healthier option and buying a salad think again. A survey by the consumer watchdog 'Which' found Morrison's Smedley's Atlantic Prawn Marie Rose Salad contained 855 calories and worse still 66.3 g fat. That's more than a McDonalds's Big Mac and fries, and to top it off the salad had 70% of your daily fat.
'Which' bought a selection of 20 pre-packed salads and came to some horrendous facts. One in particular was Asda's Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad which had 43% fat and was almost the same as eating 6 Cadbury's Cream eggs. Why? The dressing of course! As much as a quarter of the salad is high-calorie dressing.
Editor Martyn Hocking said, "If you thought your high-street salad was healthy, you could be in for a surprise." Well! If you look in the archives for my articles you will see that I have advised against non organic salads when eating out several times. Since my friend Georgina Dunn got infected from the spraying of pesticides on lettuce I never eat salad out. I only have safe salad. That of course is organic bought from somewhere I know that is selling true organic.
'Which' says that this evidence backs-up what they have been saying for a long time and suggests a clear, consistent labelling, giving the public the information about how much fat, sugar and salt they are buying?
If you look at some of the labels in the shops you may find it interesting to add up the percentages. When you subtract the good content you can be left with 45% fat.
A message from one of the Spanish readers:
"I had a horrendous lettuce from the supermarket – I could taste the spray. This was from INSIDE the lettuce, after peeling away the outside layers and washing it. This was from an independent fruit shop which you would think would be better than the supermarkets.
You can't find organic here at all. They look at you as if you are mad if you ask about it.
I will end up with a pesticide pouch!"
Tips
So sad 'Fresh and Wild' Piccadilly has been replaced by 'Whole Foods'
We have been eating in the restaurant 'Fresh and Wild' for years now. Excellent fully organic food. I started to notice the food getting saltier and then the organic disappearing from the restaurant menu. I found out that a few years ago it had been bought out by Whole Foods in preparation for their new store. Obviously a fully organic store would be competition. When my husband asked one of the staff if they had anything organic to eat in the restaurant he said, in broken English seemingly surprised at his request, "Why do you want anything organic?"
We will have to go even more often to Planet Organic. Just
The future could be stranger than you think:
Just as we are getting used to cloning another even more sinister threat is coming our way. . It is claimed to one day to rebuild damaged cells atom by atom. But technological progress may just be our downfall. Globalization and such advancement may allow fewer people to do more damage in less time, so one day a single individual could literally hold the destiny of the world in his hands and if you think that is far fetched. IBM promises a computer at 20,000 trillion calculations per second by 2011 which is what the speed of the brain is estimated at. Could one day the machines take over???Thank you for reading my page. You can e-mail me at: valerieaustinhyp@aol.com
Please visit my website at www.valerieaustin.com
Valerie Austin Training (founded 1989)
Validated (GHR, GHSC) Hypnosis Training courses at foundation & practitioner level in business and medical hypnotherapy.
Valerie Austin is author of six successful self-help books including SELF HYPNOSIS published by Thorsons
Founder of UKRAH (1992) The UK Register of Advanced Hypnotherapy.
Eds Note: VALERIE AUSTIN is an author, journalist and trainer with an international reputation in the field of hypnosis. Her best selling books and training help people achieve their full potential. She founded the Austin Corporate Stress Management Company focusing on reducing stress and anxiety amongst executives and CEO's. She also worked as a consultant in hypnosis at the Priory Hospital, the UK's equivalent to The Betty Ford Clinic, which specialises in food addiction and alcohol abuse. Valerie's work in the film industry (Hollywood) interviewing movers and shakers, producing TV news segments and publishing celebrity magazines in London gave her invaluable experience for her current Harley Street practice. |
