Letter from Editor
As the Autumn draws to a close, and Halloween is behind us, most of us turn our attention to Christmas. As the shopping days to Christmas reduce in number rapidly, at least far more rapidly than the money arrives to pay for it, maybe spare a thought of those less fortunate than you. Think of all the wonderful organisations who help others in hard times, like St Vincent De Paul, and maybe give up something this year just to help a somebody feel like life is a little less bleak this Christmas season. I know it’s early, but do it now and the people who give of their time can make best use of your gift. Best of all, give of yourself. Maybe volunteer, even for one day, and make somebody’s life better. Don’t forget the elderly who may be on their own. Spare a though for them as the weather gets colder. A quick phone call or knock on the door can make all the difference. Have a great run up to Christmas, and maybe help somebody else have a slightly better one.
Stuart
To advertise or feature in Kilkenny Now or if you have a special event you would like featured, please call: t: 056 7752636 m: 087-2678387 or email: info@kilkennynow.com The Editor Kilkenny Now Magazine 58d Hebron Industrial Estate Hebron Road Kilkenny. Design & Layout: All Design 087 1247529 - www.alldesign.ie Disclaimer: Kilkenny Now has taken every care that the information printed is correct and up to date at the time of going to print. Kilkenny Now cannot take responsibility or liability for any omissions or errors that may occur. Every care will be taken in the print process but Kilkenny Now cannot guarantee pantone reference colours. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of Kilkenny Now.
Wine Stain Removal
A Long Way To Go...
Vegetable Soup Recipe
BNI Mini Expo Event
Less People At Meetings
Kilkenomics & The Marble
Gullivers Eye
Get Rid Of Stretchmarks
Hip Pain
Gardening In November
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Great Methods to Get Red By Erin Maurer, eHow Contributor Don’t let a red wine spill ruin a dinner party. Prepare by keeping a few common cleaning products on hand. As some point, virtually every dinner party host and red wine enthusiast has to do deal with the dreaded wine spill. Whether the offending liquid stains your grandmother’s antique white tablecloth or your white sofa, the need for a tried-and-true stain removal method is critical. As every fabric reacts to stains differently, no stain removal method is guaranteed to remove red wine 100 percent of the time. A quick reaction, however, and knowing which products to use helps improve the likelihood of the couch coming clean. Fabric Test Warning Before using any cleaning product on your upholstered sofa, conduct a fabric test. On a small, inconspicuous area of the furniture, test the products you intend to use so they won’t discolor the white sofa. Wait two to three hours after testing to ensure no lasting effects or damage to the sofa’s upholstery. Read any manufacturer’s information concerning cleaning methods.
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Wine Stains Out of a Sofa White Wine and Salt Though it may sound a bit odd to some, items found in your kitchen cupboards and wine fridge may be the best items for combating a red wine stain on your white sofa. According to the housecleaning specialists at Mrs. Clean USA, white wine and table salt help remove red wine stains. Begin by blotting the stain to remove as much as possible with a clean, white paper towel. Next, sprinkle chilled white wine or cool water onto the stain. Apply table salt to the white wine and the stain. Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes to absorb the stain. Use 2 cups of hot water mixed with 1 tbsp. of mild laundry detergent to rinse the stained area. Allow to air dry and repeat if necessar
Dish Detergent On occasion, the spill is overlooked, and the party host fails to notice it until the following day. In these cases, the experts at Good Housekeeping recommend making a cleaning solution of liquid dish detergent and cool water. Mix 1 tbsp. of dish soap with 2 cups of cool water, then use a sponge to dab it onto the stain. Using clean, white paper towels or rags, blot the stain until it disappears. Rinse with hot water and allow to air dry. Dry-Cleaning Solvent In some cases, upholstered sofas don’t respond to any home cleaning methods. When the manufacturer’s guidelines recommend dry cleaning only, purchase a dry-cleaning solvent. Read the solvent’s label to determine if a particular product works on the couch’s fabric and red wine stains. Apply the product according to instructions on the label. 5
A Long Way to Go for a Sun Tan An Irishman’s experience of working in Afghanistan & Saudi Arabia in 2011/2012
About the author: Noel Scanlon Where do I start.......I am from Co. Clare in the West of Ireland, grew up in East Clare in a rural background, raised by foster parents on a farm which I remember I really liked, studied at Limerick Institute of Technology, met my wife Laura just before I graduated, then spent a little time doing post-grad studies in Denmark, came back home, worked for a few different Architectural Practices, and we got married in 1998, built a home in East Clare where we still live, we have 2 wonderful sons, Daithí & Oisín, founded my own business in 2003, worked with BNI from 2007 to 2011, and made the big jump to work in Afghanistan in 2011, as a direct result of the worsening economic conditions at home, that led on to a position in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.......so here I am, A Long Way to go for a Sun Tan......
Kandahar Airfield.... another world..... Kandahar Airfield was my first glimpse of Afghanistan back in July, It is the NATO Military Base centred around the International Airport about 12km from Kandahar City and home to almosy 40,000 people made up of Military Personnel and Contractors Supporting them, everything from Cleaners to Chefs to Builders.
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It is a very strange environment to arrive into, you are brought through what they term the “arrivals” area which is in fact the last standing building from the fall of the Taliban back in 2001, plenty of eveidence of the bullet holes in the walls, what also hits you is the extreme heat and dust, dust everywhere.... I spent my first few days here in July before moving up the mountains to the altitude of Tarin Kowt north of here in Uruzgan Province, and last week, I had occasion to go back to Kandahar Airfeild or KAF for short, for a number of meetings, so off I went on an American Helicopter from Tarin Kowt, (its like a bus here !) and got a phenomenal aerial view of this beautiful country through the mountains, you
can see the dried up river beds and the green zones in the valleys below the barren desert mountains that seperate the mountainous region of Uruzgan from the Plain to the south in Kandahar Province, you can also see Kandahar City with its vast layout of Mud Houses along with more modern homes all spread out across the flat plain, a truly remarkable sight. This is a City that has been fought over for centuries and is still at the eye of the storm here, there is a saying here “he who controls K a n d a h a r, controls Afghanistan” I spent five days in KAF last week and got a chance to see more of the place as well as get some work done with my colleagues based here including may I add seven of my compatriates from Limerick, Tipperary , Waterford and my own native Clare. KAF is truly an odd place, it is a Military Base of enormous proportions, with streets and heavy traffic everywhere, and not normal traffic, large Army Vehicles and Container Trucks all moving at a maximum of 20 km / hr. Pedestrians are given priority everywhere and the Military Police are there to impose order throughout the base, the buildings are essentially temporary in nature though there are many that are much more permanent, accommodation blocks for troops, Contractors Compounds, DFAC’s (Dining Facilities), Gyms, and even a Church. The noise is everywhere in KAF, everything from the PA system throughout the camp to the roar of Passenger Planes, Fighter Jets & Helicopters all day and night. Everyone here is working and working hard, from the soldiers of
many nations to the waiters working in DFAC’s and PX (Shops), It is truly a culture shock. Also in KAF, is the Boardwalk, which is the social centre of the Camp, this is a remarkable place, a large recreation area surrounded by a wooden covered walkway, with Retail Outlets all around, everything here from Tim Horton’s, TGI Fridays to Pizza Parlours and even a French Cafe. In the centre there is an open space which can cater from everything from joggers, to cricket to outdoor concerts and even an Ice Hockey Rink, yes, right here in the desert! It is a great place to socialise and wind down from the very work orientated focus of the camp, buy a coffee or just sit and watch the (rather surreal) world go by! After leaving KAF to return to Tarin Kowt, it occured to me how one could actually get accustomed to “living” in KAF, as essentially everything is there and this got me thinking how you could almost accept it as normal which of course it is anything but, and I have even met people who live on Camps such as this and have done so for many years, it is certainly an alternative way of life, and not one I’m sure would be entirely well balanced, as if you think of it this way, a soldier does a tour of anything from six months to one year, and though they may return to do another tour, most Military Organisation insist that they have adequate time between tours, what then of the many civilians who make their lives in places like KAF........ 7
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Unique Vegetable Soup
By Artem Lebedev
With the cold weather, what food could be better that hot soup. It’s the perfect food as it is quick and easy to prepare, has myriads of choices of ingredients, benefits you with better health, and is cost effective to make. Why is vegetable soup so important? For starters, this soup is very easy to prepare. With just few easy steps, anyone can prepare it. There are plenty of soups recipes available. You can try out different vegetables every time you prepare it. Although for most recipes, the method of preparation remains the same, it may vary a little depending on the ingredients you choose. You may not have adequate vegetables in your diet at the moment. So, with vegetable soup, you can boost your vegetable intake to meet your five-a-day recommended portion. Consuming this soup is advantageous to your health, as vegetables reduce the chances of heart disease, hypertension, Diabetes, it protects you against specific type of cancers, and, in general, it leads to an increase in the body’s resistance against many diseases and aliments through improving the body’s immune system. If you are weight conscious, vegetable soup acts like a diet soup, which limits unwanted calories and fat buildup in your body unlike other foods. It can help you reduce and maintain the required weight. If you are sick, vegetable soup acts like a healthy soup that improves your health by providing you with the necessary nutrients.
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Here are some ingredients to prepare vegetable soup:
• 50 grams each of any two vegetables. They can be carrots, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, etc. They can be scraped and chopped depending on your choice. • 200 grams of tomatoes. Tinned or fresh • 20 grams of butter. • 1 tablespoon of oats • 2 teaspoons of ginger and garlic paste • 50 milliliters of fresh skimmed milk • 2 teaspoons of oil • 1 tablespoon of flour (all purpose) • 1 teaspoon of pepper powder • Salt as per your taste • 1 - 2 green chilies •5 - 6 cups of water • Bunch of neatly chopped Coriander leaves.
Method of preparation of vegetable soup:
Put 5 - 10 grams of butter in pan, and heat it. You have to let the butter span across the pan as it melts. Put the ginger and garlic paste into the pan, and fry it for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring it so that it does not stick to the pan. Put in the vegetables and tomatoes into the pan. Put in 5 - 8 cups of water, and let it boil. When you feel the vegetables are cooked, you can sprinkle some pepper powder upon it depending on your taste. Now, you have to mix milk, flour, and oats in a jug, and then add the mixture to the pan. Now, you can decrease the heat simmer. Fry oil with a mixture of the Coriander leaves and green chilies for about 1 2 minutes in another pan, and then transfer it to the vegetable soup pan. Simmer for 2 more minutes, and stir the contents well. Now your vegetable soup is ready. 10 10
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OCTOBER MINI EXPO EVENT Cooling Ireland, EHS Training and Consultancy and many more, laid out their stalls and showed the Kilkenny Community what they do. “It was a wonderful opportunity for businesses to show the public that they are still open. These days just having your doors open and trading is a success. This group of business people On October 4th, BNI Eagle, are doing more than just the Kilkenny Branch of surviving, they are actively the world’s largest referral helping each other to find organisation, held its second Mini Expo, in the Aspect Hotel. Business and organisation from all over Kilkenny arrived to display their good and services. Organisations as diverse as; SOS, Bargain Tyres, Eco 12 12
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new business and many of them are thriving in difficult circumstances. It’s a case of all boats rising together.� said Stuart Watkin of Lake Distributors. The exhibitors were made up of members of the Eagle group and a number of other business and organisations from the region. In our opinion, any initiatives which aim to help local businesses should be supported by the authorities and the community alike.
If you have business and would like to get involved in future events just call Stuart on 087-2678387.
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HAVE LESS PEOPLE AT MEETINGS When two people meet, they only need to have one agreement: Mr. A must agree with Mrs. B.
Andy Bounds
When four people meet, they now need six agreements – AB, AC, AD, BC, BD and CD. When eight people meet, they need 28 agreements (don’t worry – I won’t list them all!) When you look at it like this, is it any wonder that big meetings don’t achieve all you hoped? People often think it helps when they invite more people to a meeting. But, if you’re not careful, it just ends up “deciding by committee”, in that: • Nothing gets decided • Even when things do get decided, it takes ages • The noisiest person gets their way (and “noisiest” can – but doesn’t always mean – “most insightful”) So, reduce attendees by doing some/all of: • Make decisions 1-2-1 as often as possible • Only invite people who can influence the decision; and/or will make the decision better; and/or care • Similarly, only go to meetings where you can/want to influence the decision (obviously contact the owner beforehand if you’re not going) • If you can only contribute to agenda items 3 and 6, call the owner in advance, and ask them to change the agenda so they discuss your topics first, so you can contribute then leave • Once a decision has been made, choose the person(s) who will run with it, and ask them to take the detail off line. This is much better than eight people having 28 (dis)agreements about it • If appropriate, send relevant non-attendees an “Actions arising” e-mail, so they are up to speed (note: “Actions arising”, not “Topics discussed”) As with any communications advice, remember the rule of “first, do no harm”. All the personalities and politics involved in meetings mean that you have to treat this advice sensibly.
But always remember; ideally, you should only attend a meeting because it helps you and others; not because you always have done. Action point Review your diary for upcoming meetings that you are chairing and/or attending. What can you do to reduce the number of attendees at each of them, including – when appropriate – yourself ?
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Ireland’s First Economics Festival Five years into the global financial and economic crisis, Kilkenomics 2012 will take a more considered, deeper look at the causes and possible solutions to our economic woes. We’re again joined by some world class economic thinkers together with some of the best comic analytical minds available and see if they can’t make all this easier to understand in a way that is entertaining and informative and maybe even gives us some hope for the future.
Festival Ticket
Kilkenomics tickets start at just €5 but if you’d like to attend a couple of shows then check out
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our great Festival Ticket Package! Representing stupendous value for money, the Ticket Package entitles you to: 5 x shows of your choice (subject to availability); 1 x book of your choice from the book list, 1 x pass to Festival Club , and 20 Marbles to spend in city on the festival weekend. Can’t say fairer than that, hey!
MARBLES FOR BUSINESS HOW KILKENNY’S NEW CURRENCY – THE MARBLE – CAN BOOST YOUR SALES OVER THE FESTIVAL WEEKEND, NOVEMBER 1-4! With all this talk of money Kilkenomics has decided to reintroduce the Marble – Kilkenny’s very own currency – to give the Kilkenny economy a boost for the festival weekend. After all, Ireland’s already had four currencies over the last 40 years, so why not one more? As a restaurant, pub, hotel or retailer, you can use the Marble to help drive sales during the festival by running promotions for punters who use the Marble as payment. How? The Marble trades at 1:1 with the Euro. However, we will give you a 10% bonus on every Euro you spend purchasing Marbles. If you spend €100, we will give you 110 Marbles. The spirit of the scheme is to pass on the bonus to your customers through special Marble offers such as a festival discount, or a special meal or drinks deal. If you have any Marbles left over after the weekend, simply return them to the festival box office and redeem them subject to a 10% charge. This is to incentivise Marble outlets to pass on the extra value to customers and use the Marble as a means to boost the local economy over the weekend, rather than stockpile the currency in an attempt at a George Soros-inspired currency coup! It’s a nice way of providing added value to your customers and makes sure your venue is part of the festival circuit. Punters buying Marbles to spend over the weekend also received an extra 10% free incentivising them to partake in the promotion so everyone’s a winner! Marbles are available for purchase or exchange from the Festival Box Office, 16 John Street, Kilkenny. Opening Hours as follows: • Monday to Friday, October 22nd-26th: 10am to 6pm. • Saturday & Sunday, October 27th-28th: 12 noon to 5pm. • Monday to Wednesday, October 29th-October 31st: 10am to 6pm. • Thursday, November 1st: 10am to 7pm. • Friday & Saturday November 2nd-3rd: 10am to 9pm. • Sunday, November 4th: 10am to 6pm.
MARBLE FAQS Why would I get involved? The Marble trades at 1:1 with the Euro. However, we will give you a 10% bonus on every Euro you spend purchasing Marbles. If you spend €100, we will give you 110 Marbles. The spirit of the scheme is to pass on the bonus to your customers through special Marble offers such as a festival discount, or a special meal or drinks deal. If you have any Marbles left over after the weekend, simply return them to the festival box office and redeem them 1:1 for Euros. It’s a nice way of providing added value to your customers and makes sure your venue is part of the festival circuit. Punters buying Marbles to spend over the weekend also received an extra 10% free incentivising them to partake in the promotion.
What is the value of the Marble? The Marble trades publicly at 1:1 with the Euro, therefore you can provide change in either Marbles or Euros. When can I get the Marble? Marbles will be available to purchase or exchange from the festival box office at 16 John Street in Kilkenny. How do I redeem my Marbles for Euros after the festival? Simply bring your remaining Marbles back to the festival box office and you can exchange them. If you have any Marbles left over after the weekend, simply return them to the festival box office and redeem them subject to a 10% charge. This is to incentivise Marble outlets to pass on the extra value to customers and use the Marble as a means to boost the local economy over the weekend, rather than stockpile the currency in an attempt at a George Soros-inspired currency coup! It’s a small caveat to ensure there are no abuses on our little system. How will the Marble be promoted to the general public? The Marble is being supported through all the festival’s media activities in print and radio. If you join the scheme, your venue will be listed as a participating outlet on our festival website, www.kilkenomics.com. Punters buying Marbles to spend over the weekend also received an extra 10% free incentivising them to partake in the promotion. What kind of promotions could I run using the Marble? Some venues plan on running a ‘Marble Hour’ whereby a certain drink or meal deal is available at a discounted rate if punters pay in Marbles. You can also pass on the discount that you receive when purchasing Marbles from us to your customer, incentivising them to spend in your venue and to spend more with you. What denominations are available? The Marble is available in 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 Marble notes, as well as a half Marble note. How will punters know I’m participating in the Marble scheme? We provide window signs when purchasing your Marble stock so punters can see from the footpath that you are participating. We will also list your venue on our website. If a punter wants to buy Marbles from me, what can I do? The public can buy Marbles at the box office but you are welcome to sell Marbles from your own stock at an exchange rate of 1 Marble:1 Euro. How can I get more information? Please contact marbles@kilkenomics.com with any queries. Alternatively contact the box office on 056 776 3837 from Monday, October 22nd.
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It is safe to say that I am not a fan of reality television as most of my friends would readily testify and my utter frustration at having to listen to or watch the mindnumbing irritations that call themselves ‘Jedward’ has often led to maniacal outbursts too vile for reproduction here. I just don’t get the attraction for these completely untalented nut-jobs; they haven’t a note in either head, seem to have the intelligence of a pot plant, and jumping wildly across a stage does not constitute dancing in my opinion, but still the country loves them enough to allow them represent us, not once but, twice at the Eurovision so I stand defeated. The issue I have is that I love good music and admire the greatness of musicians and their craft, and when shows churn out this sort of dross it makes me weep for the days of working bands and hungry songwriters. There is nothing more satisfying to a music lover like myself than to turn on the radio and hear, for the very first time, a new musical talent or rising star. Not a fame hungry teenager that won the annual television talent show by singing a cover track in perfect karaoke style, but someone that worked and suffered for their shot at success. I have become so disillusioned with the quality and honesty of music today that I even moved the car radio dial to talk-radio in the hope of avoiding the X-Factor tripe and keeping my blood pressure at a healthy, life preserving level, and it was on this talk-radio channel that I was saved.
I was driving to Wicklow one day being entertained by my morning show host and enjoying the topics of the moment when a new guest was introduced to update us listeners on the Tall Ships event in Dublin. I’ve been to such events before and even had the pleasure of sailing a tall ship in the past but this was not what caught my attention; it was the voice that captured me. When the guest was introduced I didn’t recognise the name and didn’t pay much mind to the subject matter but when she spoke I was smitten and lost. She had the most wonderfully sensual voice and I instantly fell in love with her dulcet tones, and when she picked up her guitar to sing I almost crashed the car. My reason for driving to Wicklow was immediately forgotten and replaced with the need to find out more about this girl and why I had not found her before. A search of the Web named her as Cathy Davey and
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a further search gave me all the information I needed to realise I had missed hearing a wonderful talent that could banish all frustrations with the Lucan twins. I was almost embarrassed to find that Cathy was on her third album and came from the very county I was heading to. Why had I not heard her before? Tracks were quickly downloaded to the iPod and the merry dance of musical discovery began, and I was instantly transported back to my own teenage years when Saturdays were spent trawling through vast quantities of music in Golden Discs or Freebird on Grafton Street. That’s how I was saved; I’d become accustomed to download sites telling me what was popular, radio playing the song of the day and friends pushing their latest craze on my ears. I had forgotten what it was like to discover a sound or melody for the very first time, to hear something and feel the emotion that listening to someone else’s words can bring. I come from a time when the music meant more than the singer and the song was the reason for listening. We didn’t clamour for a sight of the band at an event or swoon if we managed to see them; they were purely the outlet for musical heaven. I listened to Pink Floyd but didn’t care what Nick Mason thought about the issues of the day. He was born to make music and we were ready to hear it. My older siblings had record collections ready for my investigation when my time came and I spent days on end playing one after the other until I found an album to change my view of the world. I found ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, ‘Broken English’ and ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ in this collection and listen to them still, each song evoking the emotion and the memory of happier days. I hadn’t realised until that drive to Wicklow how I had left those days of discovery behind me and joined, albeit 20 20
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unintentionally, the new wave of music aficionados; hand fed and compliant. The moment I heard Cathy sing, the fervour of youth came flooding back and I needed to know everything about her music. The fact that I was in love with her voice regardless of whether she was speaking or singing was a bonus and that would guarantee that all her music would be accepted as wonderful anyway. I want her voice on my Sat Nav, Audio Books and Siri, I want her to murmur soft words in my ears when I am poorly to send me to sleep, I want hers to be the voice in my head when I am hearing those crazy voices in my head. I may be in love with a girl’s voice without meeting the girl and, maybe, if I met Cathy Davey I would fall in love with the girl too, but that is improbable, implausible and somewhat irrelevant as dreams are to reality. I have found the songs and rekindled my lust for the discovery of new music, I have a new favourite sample for my ringtone and I have a new addition to my ‘Best of ’ collection. Maybe, in Cathy’s case, I would swoon should I meet her but it matters not because we will always have that drive to Wicklow and I will always have songs with that sensual, innocent voice to drown out the horrible warbling of the idiotic twins from a universe far away. Thank you Cathy Davey for saving me! Gulliverseye@gmail.com
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Is There Any Method Of Getting Rid Of Stretch Marks? Our skin is made up of distinctive layers which aid in stopping it from any kind of harm. So, the skin expands causing scarring for the underlying skin tissues, hence giving rise to stretch marks. Loosening and stretching in the skin reasons stretch marks, consequently toned skin is less prone to stretch marks. Also, dark skinned ladies are considerably less most likely to discover stretch marks than girls with light skin. Although these elements matter, pretty significantly 90% of ladies know-how stretch marks for the duration of pregnancy. How to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy? Stretch marks is inheritable due to the skin inheritable characteristics, so You might have stretch marks if your mother got them in the course of pregnancy. In some cases there is no way to prevent stretch marks. Blend the mixture and apply it thrice per day on all stretch marks, or stretch mark prone locations.
Apply the mixture on the stretch marks and wash immediately after five minutes with tepid water. You will discover also chances two that the location exactly where the stretch marks appear could possibly appear to itch and trigger discomfort. Frequent hot baths and massaging the stretched location in the skin as well assists lower stretch marks not surprisingly. Olive oil or cod liver oil for massaging and moisturizing the skin at the same time aids. The gel current inside vitamin E capsules, when rubbed on the stretched skin daily reduces these streaks on the skin. This vitamin E gel need to be applied for 2 weeks frequently to acquire final results. Expectant mothers should apply aloe vera gel all for the duration of their pregnancy to stay away from stretch mark formation. You can acquire aloe vera gel from the drugstore or scoop it out from the genuine plant. A further lotion you
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are able to prepare is with olive oil, aloe vera gel and vitamin supplements. You could go for them or prepare a lotion for yourself operating with allnatural ingredients. Once it starts drying, wash it off utilizing a warm cloth. Our skin is elastic simply because it includes proteins referred to as elastin and collagen which are really elastic fibers. It comprises beneficial anti-oxidants that could repair the skin’s damaged elastin and collagen fibers. Consuming a nutritious diet regime is essential for the development of collagen fibers inside the skin. On the other hand, even the skin has certain limitations and cannot stretch beyond a point. Family members background and ethnicity are two of your key variables that make a selection the occurrence of stretch marks. Honey is too useful in lowering stretch marks. You will discover scores of stretch removal lotions and creams current in the marketplace at present. Exfoliation creams are also on the market which can be created use of though taking a bath. One particular can use a loofah to carry out exfoliation on an each day basis. 24 24
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Exercising on a daily basis tones up the skin, developing it a lot more organization. It is going to encourage the healing course of action on the damaged skin cells. Cocoa butter, the fat extracted from cocoa beans has a few skin benefiting properties. Even so, application of cocoa butter must be carried out every single alternate day, for prosperous outcomes. This mixture should be to be applied thrice each day on the impacted region for huge outcomes. Carry out this natural stretch mark answer twice a day. This can further lower the danger of stretch mark formation. •Vitamin C and Glycolic Acid Mixture. Subsequent add ½ cup of coconut oil and continue to stir nicely. The therapeutic properties of honey will not be something unknown. The diet program should really be wealthy in vitamins, proteins and zinc content material. Adequate water content material inside the physique keeps the physique hydrated, thereby keeping skin elasticity. It can be at the same time vital to drink numerous water.
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Hip Pain After Sitting By James Madhok Arthritis is a painful chronic condition that unfortunately has no cure and affects a lot of people. There are over 100 types of arthritis, many with different causes. Rheumatoid arthritis for example is caused by the body’s own immune system attacking the joints, while osteoarthritis is caused by damage to joints that results in them rubbing together and ‘grinding’ down over time. This then causes further damage to the joint which results in pain when the joint is moved, as well as swelling and inflammation that causes them to grind more, or is caused by an infection in the joint. Gout meanwhile is caused by a build of uric acid which ends up crystallising and forming deposits around the joints that cause pain and stiffness. Arthritis can occur in many places, but one of the most uncomfortable and unpleasant is in the hip. Unfortunately in most cases there will be little you can do to eliminate that hip pain. Some basic guidelines though are not to sit in the same place for long periods of time as this will cause the hip to become stiffer and to seize up to a degree. Try to remain fairly active and make sure when you are sitting to change your position regularly. It is also important to keep the muscles around the bad joint as strong as possible as this will help take some of the weight off of your bad hip and will help your movement in that joint to be smoother and steadier. Of course the problem here is that exercising the area is likely to cause pain thereby creating a kind of vicious cycle and resulting in muscle loss that makes the problem worse. In cases of osteoarthritis then movement may harm the joint more. One way to lessen the pain during exercise then is to submerge the hip in warm water and to exercise there. This can help take away the pain and generally improve movement. Swimming is a great exercise that has no impact on the joints. If you are experiencing swelling then you should try to lessen this effect, either by using anti-inflammatory medication (Ibuprofen has some anti-inflammatory properties) or using an ice pack and/or elevation. If you see a doctor they will be able to give you medication for this purpose along with more powerful painkillers. They might also be able to get you a brace that can hold the joint in place, preventing painful movement and/or help to bear some of the weight. Your final option is surgery, and in some cases by replacing the hip this can stop the pain.
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Jobs To Do In The Garden In November by Dan Pearson The Guardian
Photographs by: Howard Sooley Make the most of the daylight and prepare the garden for next year: prune, sweep, mulch and plant tulips, the last of the spring bulbs Very soon now, for the leaves are falling from the trees, we will be entering the planting season proper. It is a good five months that extends through the dormant period to the end of March. It is the time when I like to do my woody planting, and by that I mean trees and shrubs, and in particular those that are deciduous. Getting the majority in before Christmas is the ideal, as the roots will have time to settle in before spring. With increasingly wet winters and erratic rain in summer, this is now my favoured route to save energy and ensure success, come the next growing season. GREEN CORRIDORS Wherever I can, I am planting native hedges, for they are home to a host of plants and animals that improve our environment considerably by weaving wildlife corridors into the landscape. Native hedges have been removed from the countryside to make way for bigger fields that are easier to farm with heavy machinery, but there is no reason why they shouldn’t be included in a domestic setting. Stock plants are cheap if you buy them bare root in bundles of 10. A plain hawthorn hedge is great, but for diversity use it as a 50%
foundation and weave into the mix wild rose, hazel, wild cornus, guelder rose and wild privet. The additions will provide a range of flower and berry to attract the birds and add seasonal interest. For the fastest results plant a double row, staggered a foot apart, with about five plants per metre. Cut the young whips back by half to help promote dense branching from the base. Whether you are planting natives or a crisper, more cultivated hedge such as beech or hornbeam, thorough preparation is never time wasted. Trench in muck or compost, add a handful of blood, fish and bone per square metre, and keep the base of the hedge weed free with a mulch or mulch mat, to keep competition to a minimum. I prefer to plant evergreen hedges in the late winter to avoid desiccation in the winter months, but if you can water once a month between now and April, yew and holly can go in now, too. SHORT BACK AND SIDES As soon as the leaves are down you can start to winter prune fruit (the
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RHS’s The Fruit Garden Displayed is an excellent reference book as this is a reasonably complex exercise). However, stone fruit should never be pruned in the winter as the sap is being drawn back into the trees and the airborne spores of silver leaf can be drawn back into the vascular system at the same time. Buddleia, clematis, wisteria and anything potentially tender should be left until the back end of winter to avoid die-back in hard frosts. In wind-prone areas, where wind rock is an issue, recurrent flowering roses that are prone can be reduced in height by a third to prevent the wind catching them, and then re-pruned again in March. IN THE CLEAR Do not be overzealous with the autumn clear-up, as a wealth of plants come into their own in the winter. Hydrangea heads, bleachedout ornamental grasses and the skeletons of certain perennials such as sedum and eryngium are not only of interest aesthetically but also provide cover and habitat for over-wintering insects. Leave as much as you can to rot back into the ground and then remove only what you really need to for the compost heap, and leave the best forms standing. Autumn leaves can be left in the beds, where plants are robust enough to cope with a natural mulch, but remove them from small perennials and Mediterranean herbs that like the air around them to keep them from rotting in the winter. LET THE LEAVES DO THE WORK Leaf mould is a valuable commodity and a great addition to compost or mulch for cool woodland plants, so separate it from the compost. A leaf heap need be no more complicated than a post and wire enclosure, but leaves can just as easily be bagged into bin liners to rot in a quiet corner for a year. Puncture the bags, as the bacteria that break down the leaves need air to do their job. MUCH MORE MULCH If you do need to clear beds in the garden, mulch once the soil is moist again and certainly before frost gets into the ground. Bare soil is not a natural state, and mulching will provide a protective eiderdown over the winter and prevent leaching and erosion. Composted bark, mushroom compost, leaf mould and well-rotted manure are also great soil improvers – there are is a plethora of bagged-up products available in garden centres.
PLANTING BULBS Tulips are quite happy to be planted through to the end of the month, but other bulbs should be in the ground before it loses the heat of the summer months. Winter wet in combination with cold is the biggest killer on heavy soils. WINTER PROTECTION Lift cannas and dahlias if your garden is prone to freezing, pot them into justdamp compost and store somewhere cool. Mulch heavily if you want to take the risk and leave them in the ground. If you are pushing the boundaries and have subtropicals, such as banana and melianthus, they may need protection if you live outside the microclimate of city centres. Mound up straw around the base, bubble wrap and fleece bananas, but leave it as long as you can to make the most of the wind-down.
dan.pearson@observer.co.uk 31
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