Something in the blood by Jean G Goodhind

'The kick-off to Goodhind's new mystery series - fast moving with a likeable heroine and an impeccably rendered Bath background...' --Kirkus Reviews

'Sometimes it is the location alone makes you curious about a detective novel....Jean G Goodhind in her debut novel has added much more than that - a droll plot and a lot of British humour...' --Brigitte Magazine

An Ok kind of book, a little slow.

Product Description

'The kick-off to Goodhind's new mystery series - fast moving with a likeable
heroine and an impeccably rendered Bath background...' Kirkus Reviews

First title in the Honey Driver Murder Mystery series based in Bath, England.

Honey Driver runs a hotel in Bath. She also collects antique underwear. As boss, she's in charge one day and washing dishes the next, resisting her mother's match-making attempts and managing multiple responsibilities - mundane, safe, and unexciting. Then one day things change. Honey lands the job of liaising with the police on behalf of Bath Hotels Association. No worries, she tells herself. Nothing will happen; then an American tourist goes missing and Honey is called in to help.

Despite the on/off hostility of her police opposite number, D C I Steve Doherty, she sticks to the task. In the process Honey finds out that there's more to work than washing dishes, and more to murder than malice aforethought.

Jean G. Goodhind is a popular writer of women’s fiction, romance and comedy. For many years she owned and ran a haunted guest house on the outskirts of Bath and was one of the founder members of the Bath Hotel and Restaurant Association. Her experiences inspired the international bestselling Honey Driver series. She has won a BBC Radio award for scriptwriting. She also writes women’s fiction as Lizzie Lane and has writes a regular column for the Western Daily Press.

Calories Burnt

The following is the calculation to work out how many calories burnt.

0.3 x weight (lb) = calories per mile walking

0.63 x weight (lb) = calories per mile running.

3500 cals = 1lb fat loss.

Intermittent fasting - the truth

Latest Diet & nutrition news

The diet buzz phrase of the moment is intermittent fasting, otherwise known as the 5:2 diet. Fasting is a concept that has been practiced for thousands of years, but until recently it hasn't had much scientific backing. Books on the topic were hugely popular last Christmas and it's easy to see why. Intermittent fasting has a lot more going for it than your run of the mill celeb endorsements. Not only does it improve your weight loss, it also benefits your health. Sounds fool proof, but do you fancy starving yourself twice a week?

What is intermittent fasting?

Not for the faint-hearted, your calories are slashed to about 600 twice a week. According to advocates, long periods without food trigger a skinny gene that burns fat. And one study led by Dr Michelle Harvie found that women on a very low calorie diet (650 calories) for two days a week had a 40% lower breast cancer risk. Although research is positive, it's hard to see how the diet can translate to real life.

A typical day

Fasting days include only one meal , but if skipping breakfast or lunch sends you into a craving frenzy then try a 300 calorie split between breakfast and dinner.
Breakfast 2 slices of wholegrain toast with 1 tbs peanut butter
100g strawberries
Dinner
Turkey stir-fry made with minced turkey, garlic, pepper, chilli, canned tomatoes, onions and a little basmati rice

Benefits of fasting

Experts claim that it helps you to lose weight and also leads to health benefits, like:

• Longer life span
• Improved brain function, including protection from Alzheimer’s
• Protection from disease like cancer and heart disease

Disadvantages of fasting

Intermittent fasting may work in a scientific study environment, but if it doesn’t fit into your daily life the benefits don't matter. Medical opinion agrees that fasting is risky. If you want to fast, you should do so under medical supervision. There are many people, such as pregnant women or diabetics, for whom it is dangerous.
Although studies into intermittent fasting are on-going, possible side effects include:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Bad breath
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Dehydration
• Sleepiness

Do your own version

Fasting twice a week isn’t for everyone, but you can do your own less drastic version. Step up your metabolism by regularly shifting your calories up or down a gear. Eat a healthy diet 5 days a week, then lower your calories to about 1200 once or twice a week and try to limit yourself to 2 or 3 main meals, with no snacks in between on these days. Yo-yoing between higher and lower calorie can wake up a sluggish metabolism.

Small steps add up

If you are brave enough to try intermittent fasting go ahead, but do you see yourself sticking to it long term? Making small healthy changes to your diet is more effective because they won't turn your life upside down. Replace your chocolate bar with a piece of fruit. Up your exercise, and walk faster for longer and watch your portion sizes. To lose weight and improve your health, you need to look at the overall shape of your lifestyle and not just your food!

Devils Chimney by Tin Larrick

I enjoyed this book, it was interesting with a good story

It is 2001. The seaside town of Eastbourne is being battered by a tidal wave of violence. The collapse of Devil’s Chimney, a chalk tower at the foot of Beachy Head, has awakened old superstitions and opened old wounds that most would rather forget.

Constable Chalvington Barnes is an ambitious young police officer with his sights set on the top. His latest collar is a serial night creeper terrorising his sleeping victims with a knife, an arrest that earns Barnes his ticket into the CID. With a bit of breathing space, the CID congratulate themselves on a job well done - and their complacency is punished when a young police officer is brutally murdered.

With the prime suspect protected by an apparently concrete alibi, the ensuing investigation thrusts Barnes to the centre of a web of greed, corruption and chaos. When the scum that lurk in the shadows of Devil’s Chimney turn the tables on the police and start taking over the streets, Barnes must fight to protect those he loves. But the answers he wants are closer to home than he realises…

---

The Seasons

First Day of Spring - Spring Equinox - March 20th

On the first day of spring—the vernal equinox—day and night are each approximately 12 hours long (with the actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days before the vernal equinox). The Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west.

The Vernal Equinox

Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna.
The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west.
At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)


First Day of Summer - Summer Equinox - June 21st

The first day of summer—the summer solstice—is the longest day of the year, the Sun reaches its most northern point in the sky at local noon. After this date, the days start getting shorter.

The Summer Solstice

Each year, the timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator.

The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).


First day of Autumn - Autumn Equinox - September 22nd

On the first day of fall—the autumnal equinox—day and night are each about 12 hours long (with the actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days after the autumnal equinox). The Sun crosses the celestial equator going southward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west.

It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.
–Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt

The Autumnal Equinox

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.
From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter than the nights.

First Day of Winter - Winter Equinox - December 21st

The start of winter—the winter solstice—is the shortest day of the year, when the Sun reaches its most southern point in the sky at local noon. After this date, the days start getting longer.

The Winter Solstice

Winter inspires both joy and woe. Some people can't wait for the cooler weather, snow, skiing and ice skating, curling up by a fire, and the holiday spirit. Other people dislike the frigid temperatures, blizzards, and wild weather.

Seven Classes

We now have a seven class system (apparently according to the BBC) instead of the Upper, Middle and Lower Class system

The new classes are defined as:

• Elite - the most privileged group in the UK, distinct from the other six classes through its wealth. This group has the highest levels of all three capitals

• Established middle class - the second wealthiest, scoring highly on all three capitals. The largest and most gregarious group, scoring second highest for cultural capital

• Technical middle class - a small, distinctive new class group which is prosperous but scores low for social and cultural capital. Distinguished by its social isolation and cultural apathy

• New affluent workers - a young class group which is socially and culturally active, with middling levels of economic capital

• Traditional working class - scores low on all forms of capital, but is not completely deprived. Its members have reasonably high house values, explained by this group having the oldest average age at 66

• Emergent service workers - a new, young, urban group which is relatively poor but has high social and cultural capital

• Precariat, or precarious proletariat - the poorest, most deprived class, scoring low for social and cultural capital

Narcolepsy

Recently Steven has been complaining of being extremely tired, not able to concentrate and focus, he is worried about losing his job

Narcolepsy Isn’t Like the Movies: 16 Secret Signs of Daytime Sleepiness

We all know the punch line of the narcolepsy joke – person falls asleep while standing or in the middle of the conversation. My daytime sleepiness doesn’t look like this. On the surface, it doesn’t look like much of anything.

Internally – my sleepiness aches. My limbs become heavy and pressure pushes on my skull. Over 15 minutes or so, I lose my ability to process thoughts and communicate (described best here). Sometimes I do eventually fall asleep. Other times, I snap out of it randomly and return to myself.
Externally - my sleepiness is fairly undetectable. At it’s worst – friends have reported that I seemed “subdued,” “quiet,” “annoyed” or “dazed.” While I’m experiencing utter cacophony internally – I look “subdued.”
Daytime sleepiness manifests in other ways that we may not associate with sleepiness.
Narcolepsy’s sleepiness can appear as poor mood regulation such as irritability, mood instability and a less positive mood. It can also appear as behavioral issues like internalizing or externalizing (aggressiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity). Likewise, daytime sleepiness can show as neurocognitive deficits – problems with attention, organization, self-monitoring, planning, memory and verbal creativity. Over time, daytime sleepiness can manifest as poor academic functioning, social impairments and family dysfunction.

16 secret signs of daytime sleepiness:

1. Irritability
2. Mood instability
3. Less positive mood
4. Internalization
5. Aggressiveness
6. Hyperactivity
7. Impulsivity
8. Attention deficits 
9. Organization issues
10. Self-monitoring deficits 
11. Planning issues
12. Memory problems
13. Verbal creativity deficits 
14. Poor academic functioning
15. Social impairments
16. Family dysfunction

I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Judith Owens highlighting these manifestations of daytime sleepiness in children. Although perhaps exaggerated in children, I believe these signs apply to narcolepsy at any age.
These not-so-obvious signs of sleepiness are helpful for diagnosis. They can also help people living with narcolepsy recognize daytime sleepiness in their everyday lives, because once diagnosed, treatment and lifestyle changes may improve sleepiness but are unlikely to erase it.
For me, irritability, aggressiveness and fidgeting are huge signs. Blaming narcolepsy doesn’t make this behavior “okay” or excusable, but acknowledgement is the first step toward change. Discussing with loved ones will allow us to work together to put moodiness to bed. Literally.
Of course, moodiness isn’t always sleepiness in disguise. Hunger manifests as moodiness often. And sometimes moodiness is plain ol’ moodiness!
In closing, sleepiness is more than nodding off in one’s soup bowl. Sleepiness is as invisible as insulin levels in diabetics, but without objective tools to measure sleepiness yet, we must do our best to subjectively recognize it. In a sense, sleepiness is like a soul – floating around undetected, only seen when it takes shape in a body (like in our mood, behavior or performance).