1. Elegant Valerie Blondeau, a long time loyal Cunard passenger, Captain Warner and myself.
2. Book signing on the September cruise to New York
3. Lady Sandra Bates greeting her guests at the fine art exhibition in St Johns wood
4. The glamorous 'Yardley' private party at Kensington Palace and then to finish off the evening we all walked over to the Orangery where the best champagne flowed
5. Park Lane Celebrity dinner enjoyed by Lord Brian Davidson and his lovely wife Rosie
Exhaustion with the party scene but not complaining
There has been lots going on in London this autumn and the weather has been pretty good, making this fabulous city such an attractive place to live. It would be hard to beat for the social and cultural events.
Sometimes when you have a group of friends and accept their regular invitations it is one thing, but when you start to have several groups of friends who all have their special events then you can find yourself in a whirlwind of parties that seem to have no end and result in you dreaming of a quiet night in curled up in front of the TV or with a good book.
So this has been the month of extremes - going to elegant art exhibitions in St Johns Wood, an exclusive film premiere in Belsize Park not long after mingling with the eccentric while listening to a live music showcase at Madame JoJo's in Soho. Tricia Walsh-Smith, known for her 'youtube' revenge divorce video, had invited some of her friends to see her perform her CD "Arm Candy" we wanted to support her. She was excellent and she did a great routine. However, the club was a real experience, having never been there before I wasn't quite prepared for it being a transvestite audience but great for starting a tour of clubs with live bands.
An Evening of Glamorous Fun
'Three to Tango' was the movie being premiered in Belsize Park, a delightful low-budget film with many well know actors supporting it. A dear friend and elegant actress Shirley Anne Field was excellent and Toyah Wilcox played a 50 year old film maker who was determined to get over the ageist and sexist problems with financing. What made it so surreal was the fact that the actors on screen were all in the audience and their celebrity friends such as Esther Rantzen, Janet Suzman and Jenny Murray (Woman's Own presenter) to name just a few. It felt like a movie in a movie.
I have also started to open my eyes as I wander around London to see the wonderful architecture and fascinating streets changing from one corner to the next. I took some friends to Covent Garden and one of the acts was wild. It was quite cold that evening and everyone was wrapped up but the busker only had his y-fronts on and nothing else. He was a juggler and was juggling with long sharp knives and to make it even more frightening he juggled with a chainsaw switched on. He drew a massive crowd and everyone was holding their breath as he entertained. In fact one lady ran away with her hands over her eyes. Quite a spectacle! Then a trip on the Clipper, the fast Thames water taxi. Its incredible that it isn't used more it makes travelling to work fun.
Cruise replacing flying
If you are intending to go to the USA an excellent way to travel is by transatlantic cruise ship. We are off again to Florida and what better way than to cruise. No airports or luggage to worry about and just lots of fun and pampering and the good news is the prices are really inexpensive compared to what they used to be. Because the ships are so very large now they can cut the price. Shop around but go for a balcony if you can, this little 'extra' is worth it.
I was delighted and surprised to receive a lovely thank you note from Lord Wedgewood, a fellow book signer on the cruise sailing on the Queen Mary 2. We were both on en route to New York in September. He had been lecturing on board about the traditions and fascinating history of Wedgewood, which was founded in 1759 and is still going strong after 250 years. The charming QM2Captain, Bernard Warner, who was recently appointed Commodore for the entire Cunard fleet had introduced us fellow lecturers at one of his many on-board cocktail parties. Lord Wedgwood and I exchanged books, with me giving him my book on Self Hypnosis for which he sent me the kind note.
'Dracula Eternal Youth Therapy'
A strange new treatments, coined by the media as 'Dracula Eternal Youth Therapy', this blood therapy does sound rather extreme but is claimed to prevent ageing. It involves taking a sample of your blood and mixing it with amino acids and vitamin C. After popping it into a microwave-type machine, which then does its work separating the blood components and finally injected back into you. It is said to help your cells self mend or re-grow. Dentists used a similar treatment to treat gums to re-grow the bone and gums and all this is done in Notting Hill. The good news is that it had some positive results on ageing according to one of the journalists who tried it.
PASSPORT HACKING!
It has been reported that all new U.S. passports will include a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that stores a digital photo of the owner, as well as biographic data (name, date of birth and so on). The goal is to prevent passport counterfeiting, but hackers have already invaded the new identification passports. A German security researcher publicly cloned an e-passport at a Las Vegas conference last summer. The State Department promises additional encryption but probably just another interesting obstacle for the hackers. How soon will it be before the chips are in us with all our information stored on them?
What was once science fiction is now science fact. Chips attached to the retina to restore sight, sensors in the body to give doctors information on protein etc. Chips can also be implanted in the body to monitor glucose. But, does this mean hackers will be able to hack into us directly by bypassing the middleman and programming us at will?
Exciting new cancer research
Exciting new research conducted at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska has revealed that supplementing with vitamin D and calcium can reduce your risk of cancer by an astonishing 77 percent. This includes breast cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer and other forms of cancer. This research provides strong new evidence that vitamin D is the single most effective medicine against cancer, far outpacing the benefits of any cancer drug known to modern science. The study involved 1,179 healthy women from rural Nebraska. One group of women was given calcium (around 1500 mg daily) and vitamin D (1100 IU daily) while another group was given placebo. Over four years, the group receiving the calcium and vitamin D supplements showed a 60 percent decrease in cancer. Considering just the last three years of the study reveals an impressive 77 percent reduction in cancer due to supplementation.
Over A Million Men Over-diagnosed for Prostate Cancer, Treated Unnecessarily
The headlines stated but beware although PSA testing has resulted in over a million additional men being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. The problem is they may not have needed the treatment with its unpleasant side effects. The research is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
For their study, H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., MPH, of the White River Junction VA and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice., and Peter C. Albertsen, M.D., of the University of Connecticut, studied data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. The results were clear as it was found that over a million of these men in their search who were told they had prostate cancer most likely had no real health problem, that is until they had the side-effect laden treatments and became labeled as cancer patients.
Palm Trees in the Arctic!
It seems the icebergs are growing in some places, astounding the scientists. They cannot explain why, so we may not be in such dire straits after all and they have even found that Palm trees grew in the Arctic 50 million years ago during a heat wave. What more proof can you have to look on the positive side?
Tips:
I was asked to give a review on a product called Clarisonic. It was invented by the creator of the sonic toothbrush. In fact it's like a gentle toothbrush for the face. I decided to try it for two weeks and yes I love it. I look forward to washing my face and my face feels softer. I have had so many products sent to me for review but very few are worth mentioning so it is a pleasant change to find something I am happy with and confident to recommend.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. |
