Archive for May, 2007
A Mars bar a day kills a calf or two!
Okay - that is quite an emotive headline, but how else can I hit home the fact that one of the world’s leading confectionary companies has just tried to quietly sneak through a major ingredient change in one of the UK’s most popular chocolates?!
From this month, chocolate manufacturer Masterfoods which makes Mars bars has started using rennet - an enzyme taken from the stomachs of newborn calves - to make whey for its products.
Mother’s Day, time to celebrate and honour your mother’s love
Mother’s day – time to celebrate and honour your mother’s love (but without the commercial hype).
It is mothers’ day in the USA today (Sunday May 13th, 2007) and this is now apparently the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.
Mother’s day is celebrated around the world but often on different days to the USA due to a number of different origins. In the USA, it is held on the second Sunday in May whilst in the UK it falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, so it is usually in March. Most countries around the world follow either of these dates whilst a few have their own special dates.
It is okay to blow your own trumpet!
One of the qualities imbued into me by my parents is to be humble at all times. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, but I have always been self-effacing and have down played my achievements and successes. This has not however always been a good thing as I have often been a “wall- flower”
So it was a pleasant experience recently to be interviewed by my friend Kavit Haria who allowed me to reveal the real me!
What is Globalisation?
I have just received one of those emails which seem to go around the world with a quirky message.
As the world seems to get smaller and smaller, it is amazing how intertwined our lives have become.
This email posed the question:-
Help SAVE Regents Park!
I have often written about Regents Park in central London and how it provides me and so many other people with so much pleasure all years around.
But now can you believe that there are advanced proposals to devastate centuries old woodland to make way for some astroturf football pitches and a bar?!
Make Hay whilst the Sun Shines!
This morning I visited Regents Park yet again for a brief walk and a visit to the Open Air Theatre. The flowers are already in full bloom and it promises to be another splendid summer in the park.
However, sometimes in life we also get some clouds with the sunshine. Within a few minutes in the park, my hayfever had kicked in and I was soon sneezing, feeling itchy and my eyes were watery. It is amazing how the human body reacts so quickly and efficiently against some perceived irritant.
Persistence is the key to success
We all have challenges in life and it is up to us to see them as exciting or daunting.
I have been re-visiting a famous book by Napolean Hill - “Think and Grow Rich”. There is a quote from him which has a lot of meaning for all of us as we ponder on our challenges and ambitions:-
“There is one quality that one must possess to win - definiteness of purpose, knowledge of what one wants and the burning desire to make it happen”
Stars Wars Celebration - May the Force be with You!
During my last week of rest and recuperation, I was lucky enough to be invited to the grand opening of a Star Wars exhibition in central London.
Darth Vader himself made a grand appearance as you can see on this clip:-
Amazingly, it is 30 years this month since the launch of the very first Star Wars movie - it opened in just 32 cinemas in the USA - and the rest is cinematic history.
Sometimes we all need to chill out
I am back writing again after what seems like a long break. A week is a long time they say - and especially in politics - just see what has happened in Northern Ireland since I have been away from the blogosphere.
Having just written about it being May day and how it was time to set up new habits, I was hit by a bout of hay fever, tiredness and general sluggishness. It seems that the many weeks of driving myself forward had finally caught up with me.
May Day and time to set up some new habits
It is the 1st of May and a beautiful spring day in London.
I just returned home after having tea at the House of Lords with one of my former school teachers who is now a Dame 
I happened to be near Big Ben when it stuck mid-day. Rarely have I seen both hands pointing to twelve at the same time and on such a sunny day too.
On the way back, during my tube journey home, I reflected on what it would be like to revisit Big Ben in a months time on 1st June at midday. How will my life be different then? How will the world have changed in 30 days?
