Elmers Court School Reunion, Lymington, England

Elmers Court

Helen attended Elmers Court School from age five to eleven. In September they are having their first ever reunion. This post is to help folks connect and find their way back.

It should be a peak experience and I know that Helen is looking forward to seeing all those who shared the Elmers Court childhood experience.

The Reunion day for Bronze plaque and tea is Sunday, September 13th, 2009.

Helen’s email address is: ASINAC@aol.com and she would be happy to help you get connected. Send her a note.

And… I just read the comments by Norman Drake, the organizer of the reunion. I am posting them here so you don’t have to go looking around for the details.

Back to Elmers Court Day
Sunday 13th September 2009

Hello and Greetings

With only weeks to go before this, possibly once in a lifetime event is held, I am asking if you will be coming?

We have had a very good response with so far over 40 ‘Old Elmerians’ committed to coming along. Together with their guests that’s nearly 80 and that’s only today’s number. Therefore with folk representing every year, from some of the first boys in 1948 right through to 1981, therefore I’m sure there will be people with whom you will have something in common attending.

As I have set out in the various notes I have posted on the Friends Reunited site there is no cost in attending this get together, for MacDonald Hotels and Resorts are allowing us the use of the lovely Ballroom and also providing a light afternoon tea, all with their compliments. We shall also be unveiling a bronze plaque during the afternoon to leave a tangible reminder of our tenure of the building all those years ago.

If you have put your name on the Elmers Court page of Friends Reunited then that probably indicates that your stay at Lymington meant something to you. Therefore I do invite you to make the most of this wonderful opportunity to catch up in person and enjoy our combined items of memorabilia as well as sharing memories of our good times there.

So why not come along on Sunday the 13th of September and join with us in Celebrating the time spent there in our childhood days? It is shaping up to be a wonderful occasion and it will be made all the more special, if you and perhaps a guest wish to come along.

There is so much more I could write but the decision is yours. If you wish to contact me, you can do so on Friends Reunited or via email drake@aapt.net.au

Together with all the others who will be there, I really do hope you will join with us on what will be very special day in September.
If however, you feel the day will not be for you, as I know that some people didn’t enjoy quite as much happiness during their stay there as others, then of course I quite understand.

However I really look forward to hearing from you if you do plan to come and then meeting you, along with so many others in September. Hope to see you there.

Kind Regards

Norman Drake 2/07/2009

Gym Ball Recall

Getting Fit The Old Fashioned Way

Below is a link to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall of several brands of gym balls. (In case you didn’t hear about it from Jay Leno:-)

If you bought your ball from me, there is no problem. Other brands of balls are involved though so if you or someone you know has a different brand you might want to look at the list.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09196.html

Be Very Careful Who You Listen To!

Capri in the 1970s

This was emailed to me last week by an attorney member of our State Chiropractic association, Jim Bowen.

Painkiller studies faked data…..turns out that 21 studies and journal articles – supporting the use of Vioxx, Celebrex and other COX2 painkillers were based on faked data. This was not just a case where results were skewed one way or the other. There were literally no studies – Scott Reubin just made stuff up, published it and no one checked – for 12 years! This was the research that led surgeons to switch from old-fashioned NAISDs (no money in it) and narcotics (really no money), to COX2 inhibitors (lots of money for Pfizer) for post operative pain management. Looks as though the use of these drugs actually slowed recovery time for millions of patients (but resulted in billions of $ in sales). Pfizer funded his speaking and research fees over the years, which, I guess, could be a conflict. On the other hand, Reubin “deeply regrets that all of this happened”. Gives one even more confidence in Big Pharma.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-medical-madoff-anesthestesiologist-faked-data
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/health/research/11pain.html?ref=us

Prostate Cancers over-diagnosed….. the latest study chipping away at the once universal call for PSA tests (see this 05 article) for all adult men concluded that up to 42% of all prostate cancer diagnosed could have been undiagnosed, with no increase in mortality – and those numbers are probably too low. We saw caution in PSA testing a few years ago, then advice for no screening if over 75, then screening every 4 years instead of 2 years, then caution for screening over 50 and now this: “PSA screening may not be beneficial at the population level when the costs of over-diagnosis, such as the added burden of so many more men having to face a prostate cancer diagnosis and the side effects of unnecessary treatment, are weighed against the number of prostate cancer deaths that might be prevented.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/03/10/health/AP-MED-ProstateCancer.html?ref=health

Five Winds Tai Chi Chuan & Chiropractic Wellness Care

I don’t have a picture just yet, so that will come later…

… here, here’s a quote to tide you over:

“Of all the anti-social interests, the worst is the vested interest in ill-health.” – George Bernard Shaw

Here is a link to a YouTube video of Ian Cameron of Five Winds Tai Chi Chuan in Scotland instructing and demonstrating various aspects of our tai chi training. I can attest to the fact that know matter how graceful and soft Sifu Cameron appears, when you are there in person you can appreciate the integrity of the movements (they have the juice behind them to deliver force).

The current issue of Dynamic Chiropractic has a great article, entitled Tai Chi/Qigong for Health

It’s a very good article with many links to the latest research showing the many many benefits of Tai chi. Take the time to read it if you have any real interest in Tai chi.

Basic Spine Exercises: Figure 8s (aka The Million Dollar Neck Exercise)

This is what can happen when you give a 14 year old a camera

The Figure 8 exercise came to me through a patient who got it from a book written by an eye doctor who apparently said he got it from tai chi. I refer to it as the million dollar neck exercise because of all the good I think it does and because of the harm I think is avoided by doing it regularly.

This exercise is another of the first exercises given to all patients who wish to take care of their own spine. The assumption here is that you are a patient using this post in conjunction with my care, or that you have a normal, healthy, fully functional neck and are not at risk of injury from performing exercises such as this one.

To do the exercise, begin by assuming correct posture with the head back in line with the shoulders where it belongs. Then imagine you are drawing on a chalk board with your nose. Now trace a figure 8 vertically. Do that for a count of 8, then reverse directions and go the other way 8 times. GO VERY SLOW! RELAX!

To complete the Figure 8 exercise, do the same motions only going from left to right instead of up and down. This will now trace more of an infinity sign, or a figure 8 lying on its side, rather than a vertical figure 8.

Focus on the nose tracing the motion rather than flopping the head around.

Start relatively small and gradually (over a period of days or weeks depending on how it feels) make the figure 8s as large as is comfortable and as round as possible.

Over time you can gradually increase the size of the figure 8s. The motion of the figure 8s takes your neck through all it’s possible ranges of motion in a circle fashion, very natural and very smoothly reinforcing the normal movement patterns for your neck.

Remember, if it hurts, don’t do it. If it makes you dizzy, don’t do it.

Why we don’t decorate with lights for the holidays

Christmas Lights at the Neighbor's House

The word on the street is that the neighbor has won awards from the City for this lighting display. That’s great. We get to look. And there is music to go with.

We hang a wreath on the garage.

Happy Holidays!!

Grand Park, Mt. Rainier

Sherri Lino is fabulous, and it looks like a lot people know that. Below is a press release recognizing her for her abilities as a real estate professional.

Sherri Lino
2008 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agent… 2006 & 2007 Century 21 Diamond Award Winner

Real Estate Professional
Century 21 Real Estate Center
2911 Hewitt Ave
Everett, WA 98201
sherrilino@verizon.net
tel: 425/308.9837
fax: 425/645-8700

Congratulations on your selection as a FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agent(SM) for 2008.

The December issue of Seattle magazine is now available on the newsstands throughout the Seattle area.

It is also available for viewing on the FIVE STAR web site.
2008 Seattle FIVE STAR Real Estate Agents

PRESS RELEASE

FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agents (SM) Announced

Posted: December 5, 2008

Seattle, WA (December 5, 2008) – In the December 2008 issue of Seattle magazine, the 2008 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agents (SM) are announced.

Seattle magazine formed a partnership with Crescendo Business Services, an independent research firm, to identify the “best in client satisfaction” real estate agents serving the Seattle area. In May of 2008, Crescendo surveyed by mail and phone 29,000 Seattle area residents who had recently purchased homes. An additional 250 surveys were sent to mortgage and title companies, who are often best able to judge a real estate agent’s technical skills and knowledge.

On the surveys, recipients were asked to evaluate only real estate agents whom they knew through personal experience. They were asked to evaluate them based upon nine criteria, including, customer service, integrity, market knowledge, communication, negotiation, closing preparation, finding the right home, marketing of the home and overall satisfaction.

By June, stacks of surveys had arrived and Crescendo began carefully scoring and screening each nominee with both the Washington State Real Estate Commission’s database to make certain that licenses were up to date and that no disciplinary actions were pending. Before finalizing the list, nominated agents were reviewed by a blue ribbon panel of local industry experts.

The panel consisted of realty company executives, professional and trade association officers and others directly involved in housing-related businesses. Although panelists’ comments were incorporated into the final score, safeguards were built into the review process to reduce the ability of panel members to influence the composition of the final list on the basis of company affiliation.

This year’s list of “FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction” real estate agents represents less than 6 percent of actively licensed real estate agents in the Seattle area. We hope this list serves as a referral network for the 170,000 readers of Seattle magazine. Is this list exhaustive? Of course not. There are undoubtedly many other excellent real estate agents that are not on the list this year, but don’t be surprised to see them next year.

RESEARCH DECLARATIONS:

As with any research or recognition program, it is important that we provide you the following declarations:

# The 2008 FIVE STAR Real Estate Agents do not pay a fee to be included in the research or the final list of FIVE STAR:Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agents.
# The overall evaluation score of a real estate agent reflects an average of all respondents and may not be representative of any one client’s evaluation.
# The FIVE STAR Award is not indicative of the real estate agents future performance.
# The inclusion of a real estate agent on the FIVE STAR Real Estate Agent list should not be construed as an endorsement of the real estate agent by Crescendo Business Services or Seattle magazine.
# Working with a FIVE STAR Real Estate Agent or any real estate agent is no guarantee that the selected real estate agent will be awarded this accomplishment by Crescendo in the future.
# For more information on the FIVE STAR Award and the research/selection methodology, go to: www.fivestarprofessional.com/reresearch.

Of Interest if you or someone you know has a Prostate

I was just getting ready to copy and paste the text when I saw the copy write statement so here is the link to a study showing changes in DNA resulting from sane health practices.

Wood Getting (Yin) & Fireworks (Yang)

The Tree Before The Saw

After Saw & Maul

Cousin Casey (Saw Guy)

First load ready to go down the hill...

Step-ancestor's Barn, Libby Creek, 1890's

The Barn in Winthrop: Chili Feed & Christmas Program

Fireworks in Winthrop (of all things)

Libby Creek Drainage

Hibiscus Tea and High Blood Pressure: Govt study

This may be of interest.

STORY LEAD:
Study Shows Consuming Hibiscus Tea Lowers Blood Pressure
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Rosalie Marion Bliss, (301) 504-4318, rosalie.bliss@ars.usda.gov
November 10, 2008
–View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr

___________________________________________

Drinking hibiscus tea lowered blood pressure in a group of pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults, according to a report being presented today by nutrition scientist Diane McKay at the American Heart Association’s annual conference in New Orleans, La. Hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure is chronically high, and it affects one-third of all U.S. adults.

McKay’s research was funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and by Boulder, Colo.-based Celestial Seasonings, a brand of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. McKay works in the Antioxidants Research Laboratory of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.

In a clinical trial, McKay tested 65 volunteers, aged 30 to 70 years, whose systolic blood pressure was 120 to 150 mm Hg and whose diastolic blood pressure was 95 mm Hg or less at the start of the study. Blood pressure readings of 120 over 80 or greater are considered a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

For six weeks, about half the group was randomly selected to drink three cups of hibiscus tea daily. The others drank a placebo beverage containing artificial hibiscus flavoring and color. All participants were advised to follow their usual diet and maintain their normal level of activity. Before the start of the study, blood pressure was measured twice, one week apart, and at weekly intervals thereafter.

The findings show that the volunteers who drank hibiscus tea had a 7.2 point drop in their systolic blood pressure, compared to a 1.3 point drop in the volunteers who drank the placebo beverage.

In a subgroup analysis, 30 volunteers with the highest systolic blood pressure readings at the start of the study (129 or above) were found to have a greater response to hibiscus tea drinking compared to placebo drinkers. Their systolic blood pressure went down by 13.2 points, diastolic blood pressure went down by 6.4 points, and mean arterial pressure went down by 8.7 points.

This data supports the idea that drinking hibiscus tea in an amount readily incorporated into the diet may play a role in controlling blood pressure, although more research is required.
___________________________________________

This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to subscribers on weekdays. Send feedback and questions to the ARS News Service at NewsService@ars.usda.gov.

* You are subscribed to “ARS News” as DDilday239@aol.com.
* To change the address, please notify the ARS News Service at NewsService@ars.usda.gov.
* To unsubscribe, send a blank email to leave-156816-4545B@ls.ars.usda.gov.
* Other ARS news products are available by e-mail. For details about them or to subscribe, please contact the ARS News Service or visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/lists.htm.
__________________________________________
ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
NewsService@ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news
Phone (301) 504-1636 | fax (301) 504-1486

The Path of Health

Adelle Davis is quoted as saying, “As I see it everyday you do one of two things: you build health or produce disease in yourself.”

This is a story about a school motivated to get their kids on the path of health.

Miracle at a Wisconsin High School

APPLETON, Wisconsin — A revolution has occurred. It’s taken place in the Central Alternative High School. The kids now behave. The hallways aren’t frantic. Even the teachers are happy.

The school used to be out of control. Kids packed weapons. Discipline problems swamped the principal’s office.

But not since 1997. What happened? Did they line every inch of space with cops? Did they spray valium gas in the classrooms? Did they install metal detectors in the bathrooms? Did they build holding cells in the gym?

Afraid not. In 1997, a private group called Natural Ovens began installing a healthy lunch program. Huh?

Fast-food burgers, fries, and burritos gave way to fresh salads, meats “prepared with old-fashioned recipes,” and whole grain bread. Fresh fruits were added to the menu. Good drinking water arrived.

Vending machines were removed.

As reported in a newsletter called Pure Facts, “Grades are up, truancy is no longer a problem, arguments are rare, and teachers are able to spend their time teaching.”

Principal LuAnn Coenen, who files annual reports with the state of Wisconsin, has turned in some staggering figures since 1997. Drop-outs? Students expelled? Students discovered to be using drugs? Carrying weapons? Committing suicide? Every category has come up ZERO. Every year.

Mary Bruyette, a teacher, states, “I don’t have to deal with daily discipline issues. I don’t have disruptions in class or the difficulties with student behavior I experienced before we started the food program.”

One student asserted, “Now that I can concentrate I think it’s easier to get along with people” What a concept—eating healthier food increases concentration.

Principal Coenen sums it up: “I can’t buy the argument that it’s too costly for schools to provide good nutrition for their students. I found that one cost will reduce another. I don’t have the vandalism. I don’t have the litter. I don’t have the need for high security.”

At a nearby middle school, the new food program is catching on. A teacher there, Dennis Abram, reports, “I’ve taught here almost 30 years. I see the kids this year as calmer, easier to talk to. They just seem more rational. I had thought about retiring this year and basically I’ve decided to teach another year—I’m having too much fun!”

Pure Facts, the newsletter that ran this story, is published by a non-profit organization called The Feingold Association, which has existed since 1976. Part of its mission is to “generate public awareness of the potential role of foods and synthetic additives in behavior, learning and health problems. The [Feingold] program is based on a diet eliminating synthetic colors, synthetic flavors, and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ.”

Thirty years ago there was a Dr. Feingold. His breakthrough work proved the connection between these negative factors in food and the lives of children. Hailed as a revolutionary advance, Feingold’s findings were soon trashed by the medical cartel, since those findings threatened the drugs-for-everything, disease-model concept of modern healthcare.

But Feingold’s followers have kept his work alive.

If what happened in Appleton, Wisconsin, takes hold in many other communities across America, perhaps the ravenous corporations who invade school space with their vending machines and junk food will be tossed out on their behinds. It could happen.

And perhaps ADHD will become a dinosaur. A non-disease that was once attributed to errant brain chemistry. And perhaps Ritalin will be seen as just another toxic chemical that was added to the bodies of kids in a crazed attempt to put a lid on behavior that, in part, was the result of a subversion of the food supply.

Fun and Disappointment; Does it matter?

On Saturday I attended the Greater Seattle Chinese Earthquake Relief Fund Raising Performance and Chinese Culture and Sport Festival (Whew!) at the Redmond High School. Invited by friend, Deborah Magallanes of the Wu Dang Mountain Institute, it was an event I would otherwise not have attended.

Deborah was joined in her performance by Ian Blogg of Seattle who introduced me to Tai Chi almost 15 years ago now. They did a great performance of a Fan Form taught by Master Wang, her teacher.

There was a Lion Dance of course, some ceremonies, a Kung Fu and Tai Chi demonstration, and a march of all participants in front of the stands where a couple hundred of us were gathered. Here I saw for the first time a tee shirt with the following written on it: “TIBET, TAIWAN, [some islands I can't spell] Were, Are, and Always Will Be part of China.” Interesting, I thought and I mulled that awhile. Actually, I wondered about people in a region deciding that they do or do not belong to a government that thinks the people in question are “theirs.”

Then I noticed that along the track between the field and our stands – ten feet in front of me in other words – was a chain link fence. To the right of where there were some chairs set up on the other side for dignitaries there were several Chinese flags draped over the top of the fence and hanging about half way down the fence.

To the left of these same chairs, and again right in front of us, were several American flags hanging vertically with the part that would be attached to a pole at the top of the fence and the bottom third dragging on the ground. It took awhile for this to sink in, and when it did I didn’t really know what to do. I did think about it and had all the “could do” “should do” “might do” thoughts. Mostly, I just wondered… was I the only one who noticed? Did others notice and not care, or not notice at all. I wasn’t even sure if there was still a rule about our flag not touching the ground.

I took the picture and decided I would process it later. As I thought about it I realized that what matters is very relative. At the same time I was wondering about flags dragging on the ground my wife was at the Republican State Convention where her and other supporters of Ron Paul were getting a lesson in how Washington State Republican politics really works.

Helen tends to exaggerate, but if half of what she described went on the way she perceived it, we’re in big trouble as a country of so-called free people. You wouldn’t believe me if I gave you details but the point is, how much does it matter? I think it matters, and I know some people do, but so what? (Here is a the link to a YouTube video of the Party Good Ole Boy McCain supporters staging a walk out to break the Quorum because something wasn’t going their way. When that failed they all filed back in, but apparently not before one of them kicked a Ron Paul supporter who was either taking pictures or also taping their walk out.)

Did the people who put our flag up in such a way that they were dragging realize what they were doing? Did they do it on purpose? Or was it all down to ignorance?

At any rate, it was a good day for sunscreen.

DrD