Food on Friday ~ Herbs; Sage
Sage is an Important herb, especially for adult women
Like most herbs, common or garden sage is a plant packed with complex organoleptic phytochemicals. These compounds are why herbs are great for flavouring food. Organoleptic means affecting the senses, and as we all know there are a lot more than 5 of those. It’s commonly held that humans have 13 senses, but that list may not even scratch the surface. For example, how do you always know when someone is staring at you? Not only that, the complicated stuff in the plants we commonly use as herbs would also seem to bypass the senses and work directly on the brain to affect a person’s mental state. The unregarded sage, Salvia Officinalis, is chock-full of interesting compounds which would be illegal if you tried to buy them over-the-counter.
As any organic chemist will tell you, if you add chemical compounds together, you will often create something that is more spellbinding, than the sum of the individual effects. That is also what happens when we ingest herbs. The separate ‘drugs’ in herbs are engaging, but in combination they can be enthralling. The unique combination of chemicals in sage has a particularly strong influence upon adult women.
The modern urban man with a bit of a garden, balcony, doorstep can easily grow sage. Like a lot of herbs it it very tolerant of poor soil and sun. Sage also comes in a host of varieties ~ different sizes, colours, leaf patterns, in fact you could make yourself a sage garden. Sage reaches a height of about 2 feet, can be pretty rampant, grows best in full sun in slightly acid soil, pH 5.5 to 6.5, and the old growth should be cut back by about half in early spring. The herbs to grow along with common sage are parsley and clary sage. Neither sage nor clary will grow well indoors.
While common sage, (Salvia officialis), is packed with psychotropic drugs, diviner’s sage, (Salvia divornorum), is so psychedelic that its legality is under consideration in some US states.
Two very important words of warning. Diviner’s sage really is a potentially potent hallucenogenic. Pregnant womenshould avoid clary sage, it can bring on child labour. In fact if you are thinking about using sage for medicinal purposes, then it may be best to have a word with your doctor before you start experimenting.
The effective parts of the plant for culinary and medicinal uses are the leaves and flowering tops, and these are best gathered in spring. The active compounds in sage include; asparagine, borneol, camphene, eucalyptol, oestrogens, pinene, salvene, saponin, tannin, and thujone. Thujone has a very similar effect on the human mind as does the THC in marijuana. If you can get hold of a plant, diviner’s sage, (a.k.a. Mexican Mint Sage), contains a lot of Salvinorin A which targets the brain’s kappa opoid receptors. Salvorin A is the strongest natural hallucenogenic. Basically, sage has similar stuff in it as the wormwood used in absinthe.
Sage is best picked fresh and used straight away. You can easily dry it for use all year around, but dried sage isn’t always as effective as the fresh article. Don’t pick it after early autumn, in fact don’t pick much sage after the flowers have all gone.
Sage, especially clary sage, (Salvia sciarea), is a woman’s herb. The other spices herbs and oils to use with it if it’s to help a woman with anything at all are; cinnamon, geranium, jasmine, sandalwood and lemongrass. Mixing these with a lot of alcohol is not necessarily a brilliant idea unless the effect you are looking for is euphoric desire. In that case, run your lady a tub and add sage oil or fresh sage leaves to the water. Get a couple of scented candles in jasmine or sandalwood. Mix your lady an aphrodisiac drink ~ creme de cacao and tequila are good with sage. Wash her hair and give her a head massage using fresh sage leaves or sage tincture ~ which also treats dandruff. If she’s a smoker give her a sage cigarette, which is also good for asthma.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalknet
a sage bed makes a great addition to any garden, or a garden all of its own
Lockdown Day 365
23 March 2021 ~ my birthday ~ one year of lockdown
trust me; howling at the moon doesn’t help
The British Government’s draconian response to the coronavirus crisis starts its second year today. We begin another year of lockdown. None of the numbers surrounding COVID-19 are either real and nor do they make any sense. In particular the alleged 126 thousand people who are said to have died of this virus in the United Kingdom in the last year is a completely false statistic.
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. ~ Mark Twain
Here, as in most countries, anyone who has tested positive for the coronavirus in the 28 days before their death is deemed to have died from COVID-19, no matter the true and real cause of death. Even using the false statistics fewer than 2 in 1,000 who have caught the disease have died from it, (0.2%), and of those who have allegedly died from coronavirus, the vast majority have been over 82 years old, (which is older than the median age of death here).
A real statistic is that because of the coronavirus lockdown the UK is broke, and getting deeper into penury with every day that passes. The cost to the UK economy of this lockdown is said to be £521 million a day, ($730 million), although our government is actually borrowing a billion pounds a day, every single damn day.
And the lockdown just gets more and more severe. From next Monday, March 29th, taking a foreign holiday is illegal ~ in fact I would be fined £5,000 for just turning up at an airport. It’s like living in East Germany under the yoke of communism.
All I can do is wish myself a happy birthday ~ hoping and praying that things get better for us all very soon.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
after we’ve been vaccinated
why do we still have to wear a mask?
COVID Vaccination
one of the greatest lies ever told is that vaccines are safe
Every ten years or so I get myself vaccinated against tetanus, a habit I formed when I had hobbies and pastimes which involved getting dirty, lots of cuts and bruises, and coming into intimate contact with the good earth. That’s the only vaccination I’ve had since I was a child, and even back then I never had my full quota of shots. You may be able to tell that I’m not a big fan of the whole vaccination against everything school of medicine.
Vaccination is a barbarous practice and one of the most fatal of all the delusions current in our time. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Nevertheless, this morning I booked myself the required couple of vaccinations against the coronavirus. This was not an easy process, given that one has to use an NHS website which is about as clunky as a Model T Ford. Not only that, but the doctors and clinics in my town are not involved with mass imunisation so I have to travel 25 miles to a pharmacy in Bishop Auckland to get the shots. That’s going to be 4 expensive taxi journeys.
Add to that the first available slot for me is at the crack of dawn on March 23rd, with my follow-up shot at the crack of dawn on June 8th. It’s verging on pathetic inefficiency. And for what? I do not believe that the coronavirus is a rampant deadly disease, nor do I believe that being vaccinated offers me any significant health benefits.
However, if I ever want to go anywhere in the foreseeable future I am going to have to be able to prove that I’ve been immunised. Most authorities, in most of the countries I would want to go to on vacation will be insisting that visitors have been vaccinated.
The more vaccination is supported by public authorities, the more will its dangers be concealed or denied. ~ M Beddow Bayly
It looks as though the earliest date I will be allowed to travel abroad is Monday May 17th, at which time I may well be allowed to go to Greece, even though by that date I’ll only have had one jab. But who knows, the whole thing is a moving target.
Some say that vaccinations are dangerous and ineffective. And that the coronavirus isn’t even as bad as the flu. All I know is that I’ll jump through hoops if it means I can enjoy some warm Mediterranean sunshine.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
if vaccinations are effective why will we still need to wear masks?
Addison’s Disease
I have decided to be happy and healthy
we don’t need to feel alone and lonely
For a while I have been ill, with a myriad of symptoms I couldn’t understand. And, when I say ill, I mean that there have been times when I went to bed I wondered if I would wake up again. There have been days when I wasn’t strong enough to take out the trash, and days when I wasn’t well enough to even take a bath.
My symptoms included;
- extreme fatigue, lack of energy, weariness
- weakness, aches and pains
- depression, low mood, irritability, confusion
- dizziness, unsteadiness, fluctuating blood pressure
- being thirsty all the time, craving salt
- Nausea to the point of throwing up
Honestly, I had no idea what was causing this, and of course my doctor is running various tests. Privately I wondered if I had the coronavirus, or a parasite, or just the ‘flu ~ although the symptoms didn’t quite fit any of the possible causes.
However, a couple of things to do with the way my blood pressure was going up and down could be related to low adrenaline and low testosterone ~ and that’s something called Addison’s Disease.
The reason I have this problem is due to years of boozing too much, and years of mental, emotional, and spiritual stress ~ resulting in damage to my liver and my kidneys.
The treatment for Addison’s Disease is to take strong daily medication like hydrocortisone. I’m not doing that. Instead I am going to look after my body, mind, and spirit ~ especially being kind to my liver.
No alcohol whatsoever, less fat, no dairy at all, cut down on my intake of salt, refined sugar, caffeine, and potassium, (work that one out). I’ll get a lot more fresh air and exercise, stick to a good Mediterranean diet, continue to take good dietary supplements ~ and Avoid Stress.
Just being pretty certain what’s actually been wrong with me, and having a solid plan to cure myself, means that I am already feeling a hell of a lot better.
Most of what ails us comes from within; what we do and don’t do, what we eat and drink, and how we feel. I know I can change all of that for myself.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
eggs are not dairy
and potato is good for you
The Triumph of 1984
there is nothing good nor honourable among the elite
The gross perversion of the duties of politicians, health-officials, doctors, scientists, and law enforcement agencies during this coronavirus crisis, provides a chilling example of how the prospect of almost unlimited power and prestige can distort the judgement of intelligent people. These people try to justify their actions as following the science, and protecting the NHS ~ they are lying not just the public, but also to themselves. They are charlatans.
To more fully understand how these once honourable people have descended into an Orwellian elite we must also follow the money. There are now untold billions of £ $ being thrown at the almost enforced vaccination of hundreds of millions of mostly unwilling people. A few global pharmaceutical companies are doing very well out of this as are their investors. One does not need to look very far to see who is included among the investors in Big-Pharm; those self-same politicians, health-officials, doctors, and scientists.
The legal profession is also doing very well out of the coronavirus crisis. Lord Falconer, a senior left-wing politician, partner in the legal firm Gibson Dunn and leader of their ‘Covid-19 task force’ refers to the pandemic as ‘a gift that keeps on giving…..’ Such elite cynicism makes me sick.
It goes on and on and on. Here in England people are being urged to get themselves tested for the coronavirus ‘if they have a runny nose…..’ This is England, in February, at least half the population will get a runny nose at this time of year ~ it’s called a cold. Door-to-door testing programmes are underway, with teams of barely trained testers banging on unsuspecting peoples’ doors. Anyone entering or leaving the country has to be tested a couple of times or more. And why is that? To inflate the number of those supposedly infected with the coronavirus with the objective of increasing public concern and further justifying the draconian measures urged on us by the politicians, health-officials, doctors, scientists, and law enforcement agencies.
None of the numbers are real. The statistics are a tissue of lies. The number of deaths attributed to the coronavirus includes all those who have ever tested positive and have subsequently died for any proximate cause or reason ~ like being run over by a bus.
Some say that those with privileges will spin things as being politically correct to further silence those they wish to oppress. And that truth is hard but propaganda is cheap. All I know is that the word DENIER is the most chilling thing I have ever heard.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
your vaccination certificate please
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Take a Look at Me Now
it’s always darkest just before the dawn
Here in England I have only seen the sun this year once or twice this year. It’s cold grey and outside the garret; there’s a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow. There’s something wrong with the medication I on and I’m getting lots of unfortunate side-effects. Not thinking straight. I don’t feel at all well. I don’t feel as though there is anything or anyone for me right now. I have a call out to the doctor….
Perhaps I need a little help.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
at least there is one good friend here for me
Hypertension
one way to get high blood pressure;
go mountain climbing over molehills
I have a home blood-pressure monitor I almost never use, except last Sunday morning I did. My blood pressure was so high, and my heart rate so low that I really should have called for an emergency ambulance right there and then. Of course being a stupid guy I didn’t ~ even though I had a stack of other warning symptoms that indicated a hypertensive emergency. Going into a hospital full of covid patients isn’t something I wanted to do.
So, with some rest, meditation, extra potassium, no salt, no caffeine, no booze, (I don’t drink anyway, nor do I smoke), and some dark chocolate my blood pressure is now just far too high and not fucking dangerous.
Today, and finally, I had my very first ever telephone conversation with a doctor.
The upshot is that I’m now on blood-pressure medication, which I expected. It’s called amlodipine and comes with a stack of nasty potential side effects. I am also being scheduled a blood test, which I half expected. What I didn’t expect it to be scheduled for an MRI and a CT scan.
It seems that I may just be a lot sicker than I thought.
Some say that high blood pressure is the silent killer. And that you can keep your blood pressure under control if you live a healthy life. All I know is that risking a stroke isn’t worth the dubious pleasures of smoking, drinking, and being overweight.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
stiletto heels are enough to give me high blood pressure
COVID-19 Lies
lies, damned lies, and statistics
is this really what we want?
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark ~ and in every other country in the world. Something is not right, seriously amiss, and not only are the authorities doing nothing to prevent this dangerous state of affairs, the authorities are the cause of the terrible mess the world finds itself in right now.
A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is still lacing up its boots. ~ Mark Twain
Of course I refer to the hysteria surrounding what is commonly referred to as the coronavirus pandemic, which has many people terrified, has destroyed many lives, and has indirectly killed many people by preventing them from receiving urgent medical treatment for many other life-threatening illnesses.
To begin with, on March 23rd I believed what the government told me, and like a good citizen I obeyed the lockdown rules, self-isolated, stayed at home, watched my life go down the toilet…..
Since then I have become increasingly disturbed by the propaganda pumped out by the media, politicians, health officials, et al ~ which says that COVID-19 is the greatest threat faced by humanity since… anything really. And it’s all lies.
I didn’t have to look hard to find the evidence proving that the whole coronavirus pandemic is a pile of bullshit. I will give you just 2 pieces of evidence, and then let you make up your own mind.
- The statistics which say that millions / billions of people have tested positive for COVID-19 are wrong. To begin with, only 0.4% of all those supposed millions tested have actually given a positive result. Read a learned study published by Prof Carl Heneghan BM, BCH, DPLC, a practicing doctor and Professor of Evidence Based Medicine who also states that of every 18 positive results 10 will be false positives. (About 60% of positives are false positives.)
- The mortality for COVID-19 statistics are based on these positive results. To be said to have died from the coronavirus the deceased must have tested positive within the last 28 days ~ and then their death from whatever cause is attributed to COVID-19. So a guy who was given a false positive result within the last month, and is then run down by a truck, is counted as a COVID-19 death.
I make no apologies for saying that the entire coronavirus pandemic panic is a lie.
Do your own research. Stop believing the crap the media, politicians, health officials, et al are shovelling down your throat. Be an intelligent, curious, concerned human being and not one of the sheep.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
the BBC no longer gives us the news
like all media the BBC now shovels propaganda
Food on Friday ~ Rosehips
rose hips are the fruit of the flower of love
no matter what they say, rose hips are indeed a fruit
High summer presses its heat and humidity down on us, and yet in England the hedgerows are already beginning to ripen with wild harvest. One of the hedgerow’s natural bounties is the false fruit of the dog rose, (rosa canina), more commonly known in England as rose hips.
You can do a lot of stuff with rose hips, from making syrups and jams, to my preferred use which is to make a tincture of rose hips and rosemary in apple cider vinegar. As well as sweetening and adding taste to the cider vinegar. the rose hips also add diuretic, lithontriptic, and mild laxative qualities to your brew. As for rosemary, this stuff is almost a cure-all. I just add an odd number of fresh sprigs to the bottle, (for good fortune it must be an odd number.)
The finished product, (ready in about 6 weeks and will keep for a year or a lot longer), is a great basis for a salad dressing. Diluted in water it is also a first class tonic and as part of a whole-body cleanse. There may be no truth whatsoever in the persistent rumour that this concoction is a very potent female aphrodisiac. However, it is well known to be a cure for practically whatever that ails you.
You can also make a true tincture of rose hips using medicinal alcohol, (or vodka). For those of us with a real taste for booze, just make a rose hip brandy or vodka. I have even heard of rose hip gin, and although I’ve never tasted it, I have it on very good authority, from a very close friend, that this booze is the bomb.
The dog rose is an important plant to the herbalist, because the leaves, petals, and hips all have their uses. In a hedgerow, the plant may reach six feet or more in height, its flowers can be anything from white to a delicate pink, and if will guard its bounty with some particularly persistent thorns. (You can also use the hips, leaves, and petals of the cultivated rose, but I would look for a rose variety that’s as close to the wild rose as possible.)
Some say that you must be very careful when picking fruits, berries, and salad leaves from the wild ~ the uninitiated may pick themselves a deadly poison. And that everything belongs to somebody, so be discreet. All I know is that the mixture of rose hips, rosemary, and organic apple cider vinegar is as near to a sorcerer’s brew as anything I know.
~
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a rose by any other name is still as sweet
even if it’s a dog
Containing COVID-19
millions are being wrongly put back into lockdown
because mass testing gives too many false results
The entire effort to contain the coronavirus is a massive waste of time and money. The greatest impact of all these efforts has been to destroy the global economy, take away our civil liberties, and to hand unimaginable powers to politicians and unelected officials. Here, the government is even talking about putting the army on the streets of England to enforce lockdown ~ that will end social cohesion for a generation.
- Closing borders does not work. Australia had some of the strictest entry rules for visitors and returning Australians, and yet the coronavirus is allegedly rampant in that country. You cannot stop aircraft from landing with mail and essential imports, you cannot stop ships docking with essential imports and to load exports, and there are always some people who are exempt from the entry restrictions. (Doctors, Politicians, and Unelected Officials.)
- The money spent on mass testing has been thrown away. Here in England the mass testing centres were mostly ignored by the public, there are far too many incorrect results, either producing false positives or false negatives, and people can catch the virus from the testers themselves. Testing offers no benefit to the person being tested.
- Recently President Trump stated categorically that lockdown doesn’t work, (at least not when it comes to containing the coronavirus). A study in New York confirmed that the infection rate was just about the same for those in lockdown as for those still walking the streets and travelling on the subway.
- The vast millions spent on ‘track and trace’ have been wasted. Here, one fifth of potentially infected people are never traced, one in four of those traced could not be contacted, and there are no numbers to say how many of those reached actually went into self-isolation ~ not very many I suspect. Most of the staff in the test and trace centres have so little to do that they play games and surf the web on their official computers all day.
- Scientific studies from the Netherlands state that face coverings are worse than useless. Face coverings may be beneficial for short periods indoors where there is a risk of close contact with people you do not normally meet.
- It takes decades to even partially contain a virus; the common cold, ebola, epstein barr, flu, HIV/AIDS, rabies, smallpox, West Nile Virus….. are all still out there. Vaccines have serious side effects.
- Vaccines have limited effect. Millions are vaccinated against the flu, but you have to get a vaccine every year because the virus mutates, and you can still get sick from flu viruses that you weren’t vaccinated against.
If you want to know what a real pandemic looks like, as opposed to the coronavirus hysteria, then read about the influenza epidemic of 1918 ~ especially how it affected the USA. Everything that is being tried now to contain COVID-19, was tried back then, and none of it worked worth a damn.
Some say the people in white coats will save us all, all those under 50 years old anyway. And that the mad scientists should take over the world. All I know is that any ‘expert’ who says there is a way to contain a virus once it is in the general population is either a charlatan or a liar.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
bar your doors and become a hermit
you will get lots of peace and quiet
you can still get the coronavirus
