WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Scribble

 

I gave you some crayons

To create your own space

But you decided to invade

My own personal place

You scribbled and tortured

all of my walls

If only your design

Was like Niagara Falls

But all you do is

Destroy my walls

Can’t you create a

Mona Lisa

Or even

The tower of Pisa

If I take your crayons away

What will happen today

Will you take out your paints

And decorate my place

To look like no – ones ever seen

Pretend you are Leonardo Da Vince

Sit quietly and paint my face

Gillian Sims

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SCARY MARY SAYS BE SAFE ON BONFIRE NIGHT AND USE THE FIREWORK CODE

 

 

SCARY MARY SAYS SAFEY FIRST

 

The Firework Code

Always follow the firework code, stick to these simple rules, and be safe this bonfire night.

• only buy fireworks marked BS 7114

• don’t drink alcohol if you’re setting off fireworks

• store fireworks in a closed box

• follow the instructions on each firework

• light fireworks at arm’s length, using the taper provided

• stand well back

• never go near a firework that has been lit – even if it hasn’t gone off it could still explode

• never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them

• always supervise children around fireworks

• light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves

• never give sparklers to a child under five

• keep pets indoors

• don’t set off noisy fireworks late at night and never after 11.00pm (except on certain occasions)

• take care around open flames such as bonfires and barbecues – all clothes even those labeled ‘low flammability’ can catch fire

The Law

If you misuse them you may be liable for an on the spot fine of £80. If found guilty by the courts you could get a fine of up to £5,000.
It is an offence to:

• buy adult fireworks if you are under 18

• set off fireworks in the street or other public places

• set off fireworks between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am

You can let off fireworks until 12.00 pm on bonfire night and until 1.00 am on Christmas, New Years Eve, Chinese New Year or Diwali.
If you are using fireworks you will need to be aware of your neighbours and make sure that you do not cause a nuisance.

Be safe not sorry

Having fireworks at home can be great fun, as long as they are used safely. Follow our simple steps to make sure your display is safe and fun.

Fireworks are safe if you use them properly. If you’re putting on a home display, you should follow some simple steps to make sure that everyone has a good time without getting hurt.

Keep kids safe

We want children to enjoy fireworks but they need to know that they can be dangerous if they are not used properly. Each year, over half of all firework injuries are suffered by children. The Child Accident Prevention Trust have more guidance on keeping kids safe

Sparkler safely

Did you know that sparklers get five times hotter than cooking oil? Sparklers are not toys and should never be given to a child under five.

Where to buy

Don’t cut corners just to save a few quid. Always buy fireworks from a reputable shop to make sure that they conform to British Standards. This means that they should have BS 7114 written on the box.

Sometimes shops open up for a short time before Bonfire Night but these may not be the best places to buy fireworks from. Staff in these shops might not be very knowledgeable about using fireworks safely and their fireworks might not meet British Standards.

Whatever you do, don’t buy fireworks from anywhere you’re not sure about, such as the back of a van or from a temporary, unlicensed market stall.

What to buy

There are different categories of fireworks. Members of the public can buy and set off most of the fireworks that come under Categories 1 to 3. These are fireworks that include those that you can use indoors, in your garden or at a display. Always read the packet carefully and make sure that the fireworks you buy are suitable for the place where you are going to set them off.

Professional fireworks

Some fireworks can only be bought and used by firework professionals. These include: air bombs; aerial shells, aerial maroons, shells-in-mortar and maroons-in-mortar; all bangers; mini rockets; fireworks with erratic flight; some Category 2 and 3 fireworks which exceed certain size limits; and all Category 4 fireworks.

Setting them off

Only one person should be in charge of fireworks. If that’s you, then make sure you take all the necessary precautions. Read the instructions in daylight and don’t drink any alcohol until they’ve all been discharged. Make your preparations in advance, and in daylight. On the night, you will need…

a torch 
a bucket or two of water 
eye protection and gloves 
a bucket of soft earth to put fireworks in 
suitable supports and launchers if you’re setting off catherine wheels or rockets.

Firework displays

If you are organising a firework display for the general public, read our information on how to organise safe and successful firework displays.

Protect your animals

You should take precautions to protect your pets during the times of the year when fireworks are likely to be set off.

COPY AND PASTE AND PRINT OUT

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SCARY MARY’S RECIPES FOR HALL0WEEN WHY DONT YOU TRY ONE IF YOU DARE!

Blood soup 
This is an easy recipe. You will need a can of tomato soup and a pack of musksticks. First, cook the soup in a pan over a stove. Then break up the musk sticks and put them into the soup to create…blood soup with delicious fingers!

Dead Fingers
This is a shortbread type cookie that look like fingers.The dough is piped (use a bag without any tip to get a finger sized cylinder) onto the cookie sheet. Then using the dull side of a butter knife make lines suggesting knuckle and wrinkles, and add an almond for the fingernail. I found the unblanched variety look particularly creepy. You can add a bit of red icing (ie.that translucent yuk that comes in a tube) if you want a bloody finger. I have experimented with this idea and found it better to make an impression with the almond rather then bake them and “glue” the almonds to the finger afterwards with the “blood”. This gives a new twist to the term “finger foods”.

Brain Cookies 
You color a icebox type dough a sickening purplish/gray shade and then push the dough through a colander to make extruded spaghetti shapes.Then you loosely pat spoonfuls of the dough into brain shapes (well at least most kids’ notions of how a brain is shaped). I think I experimented with different kitchen tools with this one and ended up using one of those collapsable steamer things to make the spaghetti.

French Fried Eye Balls 
2 pototoes
relish
Mash potatoes and mold them into balls. Cook 160C in oven 20 min. Spread relish over and enjoy!

Bugs in dirt sandwiches 
For this you will need white bread, a pack of mixed bug shaped lollies and milo. First, spread your slices of bread with margerine or butter. Then, sprinkle the buttered slices with milo until completely coated. Carefully stick the bugs firmly into the milo and place remaining slice of bread on top. Voila! you have bugs in dirt sandwhiches!

Tombstoned biscuites 
This recipe is a nice treat. First, you will need icing sugar, rectangular biscuites and a toothpick. Take your icing sugar and mix it with hot water until fairly runny. Dip each of your biscuits into the mixture and place onto a foiled tray. Take your toothpick and carve “R.I.P” out of the icing on every biscuit. Place in fridge for a few hours and presto! Your very own mini tombstones!

Brain Cell Salad 
1 (6-ounce) package blueberry gelatin dessert mix
1 (16-ounce) container small-curd cottage cheese
1 (16 1/2-ounce) can blueberries in syrup (or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed)
blue food coloring
Prepare gelatin according to the directions on the package. Chill for four to five hours, or until firm.
Scoop cottage cheese into bowl. Drain and set aside the syrup from the blueberries. Add the berries to
the cottage cheese and mix well. Add three drops food coloring to turn the cottage cheese a nice qrayish color when blended. To serve salad, place a few spoonfuls of firm gelatin (congealed brain fluids) onto individual plates. Top with a scoop of cottage cheese (brain tissue) mixture and serve.

Crusty Booger Balls 
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5 1/3 cups flaked coconut (about 14 ounces)
1 large 8-ounce package lime-flavored gelatin
1 cup ground, blanched almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, coconut, 1/3 cup of the unprepared gelatin, almonds, and almond extract. Mix well with a large mixing spoon or rubber spatula. Cover bowl with platic wrap and chill for about an hour or until mixture is firm enough to mold in your hands. Scoop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls and shape into various-sized booger balls. Place them on a baking sheet, lined with a sheet of waxed paper. Make sure they are all slightly different, just as each and every booger iwsunique and special. Place a second sheet of waxed paper on your work surface and pour remaining unprepared lime gelatin on the center of the waxed paper. Roll each ball in gelatin to coat well and create a thin outer layer. Then place back on the baking sheet. Return boogers to the refrigerator for and hour before seving, and store any extras in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cake 
Bake 2 cakes in Bundt pans. Place the 2 cakes together bottom to bottom. Frost with orange frosting made from food colouring. The pumpkin face is pieces of a Hershey Chocolate Bar cut into triangles, etc for eyes, nose, etc. And finally set a chocolate frosted cupcake at the top as the stem.
Note: This ends up being a whole lot of cake.

Another Eyeball Dish! 
Buy a can of lychee fruits and simply stuff the little devils with grapes (try mixing red and green grapes). Serve in a hollowed out gourd. Serve this down with Vampire blood. Any red-coloured drink will do. Simply serve it in small pumpkin-type gourds that have been cleaned out. Use black liquorice for straws, and start sucking.

Frog’s Eye Salad 
1 cup Acini De Pepe
2 cups mandarin oranges
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
3 egg yolks
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
1 reg. size Cool Whip
Boil Acini De Pepe in salted water til tender, but not soft (about 10 minutes) and drain. Drain fruit. Thicken fruit juice, egg yolks, flour and sugar. Add drained Acini De Pepe while dressing is still hot, then let the whole mixture cool. When cooled, fold in marshmallows, fruit, and Cool Whip. Chill.

Graveyard Treat
Crush a full bag of Oreo cookies and spread some in the bottom of the pan. Reserve the other half for the top. Next mix chocolate pudding and coolwhip, and spread over the crust. Spread the remaining crumbs over the pudding, covering completely. Use cookies to represent the tombstones, oval cookies are best, you can even pipe on saying with icing (R.I.P. etc) I have some bats on sticks that I stick down in the cookie tombstones (if they are sandwich cookies). Just use your imagination to decorate your
graveyard. Enjoy this ghoulish treat. Happy Haunting!

Kitty Litter Cake 
1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 pkg. white sandwich cookies
green food coloring
12 small tootsie rolls
1 pkg. vanilla pudding mix
1 new kitty litter box
1 new pooper scooper
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions. Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender. They tend to stick, so scrape often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food
coloring and mix using a fork. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Gently combine. Line new, clean kitty litter box. Put mixture into litter box. Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top, this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter. Heat remaining Tootsie rolls, 3 at a time, in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Serve with a new pooper scooper. This does take a bit of time. My friend made it for an adult’s Halloween party, I swear you can’t tell it from the real thing if you follow the directions carefully. Serves 24

Bone Sandwiches
Cut the crusts off of some slices of white bread. Spread peanut butter and jam on the bread. Roll the sandwiches up. Ta da! You have bones with blood and marrow for dinner!

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small to medium pumpkin
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
Cut off top of pumpkin; clean out seeds and pulp. Paint on appropriate face on front of pumpkin with pemanent marker or acrylic paint. In a large skillet, saute’ onion in oil until tender; add meat and brown.
Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven or until inside meat of pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate; remove top and serve. For your vegetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6 people

Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
vegetable oil
1.Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp but don’t wash the seeds.
2.Mix seeds, butter, salt, and stir.
3.Grease baking tray with oil and pour on buttered seeds. Gently shake the pan to even out the seeds.
4.Bake seeds at 200 degrees F. for 45 mins.

The Classic Apple Dunking
Apples
Water
A deep pan or a half barrel
Lots of people
You can blindfold the players or not. Put the water and apples in the barrel. Without using hands the players must pick up an apple with their teeth! (If you wear glasses then don’t forget to take them off.)

Pumpkin Cake This tastes like pumpkin!
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 c. dark molassses
3/4 c. milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
Mix together sugar, butter, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add one egg and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and milk. Combine flour and basking soda and add to wet mixture. Bake in a round pan at 325 degrees F. for 35 minutes. When cooled frost with orange icing.

Green Eye Pie
In a bowl combine 2 cups of washed and dried green grapes and 1/2 cup of sour cream. Pour into 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust. Right before serving sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

Gory Hand – Presentation is everything.
This is both a yummy treat and a great decoration to scare your friends. Use a clean rubber glove. Make a strong cherry or other red jello by using 3/4 of the recommended amount of water. Hang the glove over the sink by using clothes pins attached to thin strips of wood. When the jello has cooled pour into glove and place in the deep freeze. Be careful not to have the hand pressing against anything or it will ruin the shape. When the jello is frozen cut the glove off using small scissors. Keep your masterpiece in the fridge until ready to display.

alternate Gory Hand tip:
Take a clean rubber glove and fill it with water, tie it and put it in the deep freeze. Keep it in there until your party. When you’re ready take it out of the glove and put it in the punchbowl instead of ice!

Eyeball Snacks
1 lb. icing sugar
1 egg white
peppermint essence
black liquorice
blue or green colouring
Beat the egg white lightly and blend with a small amout of icing sugar and a few drops of peppermint essence. Mix until you get a fine dry paste. Using your hands knead the paste adding small amounts of icing sugar until the paste will absorb it. Separate a small quatitiy to make the irises, adding a few drops of blue or green coloring and mix. Roll the white mixture into small round balls. Press a hole in the top of the ball with your finger and add some of the colored mixture. Cut a small piece off of the
liquorice and place in the middle of the colored mixture for the pupil. Voila!

Spider Salad
1.Place one half of a canned peach on a plate, flat side down.
2.Cut eight curls off of a carrot with a vegetable peeler.
3.Tuck the curls under the peach to make spider legs.
4.Put raisins on top of peach for eyes.
5.Put a small piece of marachino cherry under the raisins for the mouth.

Easy Insects
1.Melt a 6oz. package of butterscotch chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
2.Remove chips from heat and stir in 1 cup peanuts and 3 cups chow mein noodles.
3.Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper and cool.

 

Drinks

Vampire’s Blood Shake
2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package frozen starwberries or raspberries, thawed
ice cubes
1 pint strawberry ice cream
1.Mix yogurt, vanilla, and berries in the blender.
2.Pour into tall glasses over ice cubes, or chill.
3.Top with a big spoonful of strawberry ice cream.

BLOOD RED ICE
For deep red ice, try cherry Kool-Aid®. It Can even be frozen inside a plastic glove, now this really adds some snap to a punchbowl! MYSTERY PUNCH 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 quarts apple cider 3 cups water 12 ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate Stir all ingredients together until well blended. Chill 1 hour. Serve cold with blood red ice mold (above) To serve warm, after chilling, bring mixture to a boil, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

BOILING WITCH’S CAULDRON OF WHAAP
Get one of those plastic witch’s cauldrons from your nearest Halloween supply store usually available at large retail outlets around Halloween. Wash it out real good. Purchase some frozen lemonade, lime-lemonade, and whatever other flavor you want to use as your base taste. Then proceed to add a couple liters of lemon-lime tasting soda such as 7-UP, Sprite, Squirt or even Ginger Ale. Add a whole bunch of cut-up fruit: watermelon, strawberries, musk melon, cantaloupe, oranges, and of course your favorite style of grapes (they make good eyeballs). To darken the mixture you may want to add a couple of packages of grape or blackberry Kool-Aid®. For added effect you can purchase some plastic bones, eyeballs, bats, spiders or whatever else you can find. Lastly you will want to add dry ice for the boiling effect and to have “steam” rolling over the edges.

A WARNING ABOUT DRY ICE!!!! IT CAN BURN SKIN BY HANDLING IT OR SOMEONE’S THROAT IF THEY SWALLOW IT! BE SURE TO WARN YOUR GUESTS OF THE DANGERS BEFORE THEY GET AT IT OR MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF SIGN TO WARN THEM. WE CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUGGESTING IT’S USE.

There’s Bugs in my Drink! 
Put raisins in your punch for bugs!

A Gruesome Brew
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 quart apple cider
5 cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
toads and salamanders
1.Mix lemon juice and cider in a saucepan.
2.Put spices in a tea ball and add to cider.
3.Bring mixture to a boil over low heat and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes.
4.Cool slightly, remove tea ball, and serve. Also good cold.

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Bonfire Night Poetry KIDS POEMS

Colours

Colours

Colours
I like it when they fade away
They shine on my face

it’s Bonfire night
The rockets explode with
gold yellow red
pink silver and white

Jonathan, Class 4

Acrostic Poem

Bangers bang in the sky Boom !!!
Oh !! what lovely sparkles
None of the babies like the sound
Fireworks flash in the night
I watch the fireworks and fantastic flames
Rushing rockets rush in the air
Everyone comes to see them, WOW !!!
No one hates the shiny sparklers
I enjoy the spinning wheels
Going crack and kaboom all around
Happy children love the rockets
Toffee apples at the fireworks marketJade, class 3

FireworksFireworks go up
Fireworks go up
Please light up in blue
And light blueCclass 5

Alliteration Poem

Rockets Rushing in the dark
Sparklers Sparkling Siver and gold
Fierce and Fiery, what a display
Bonfire Burning Bright
Scarey Sounds up in the Sky
BANG !! BANG !! BANG !!Remini, class 3

A Poem for SparklersSparklers shine silver and gold
Sparklers spin round and round
It makes your eyes go funny
Sparklers spitting coloured fire
Sparklers can’t always be safe
You need to wear some gloves
Sparklers are very nice things to watchBianca, class 3 Fireworks and Food The firework goes bang
And the colours are
Red pink silver and yellow
You can buy hot dogs and toffee apples
It’s greatRussol, class 4

Acrostic Poem

Bombs go Bang !!!
Out of the window I watch
Noises make me frightened
Flames go very high
I am very happy
Rockets zoom
Everyone is looking at the fireworksBurhan, class 3

Alliteration Poem

Rockets Rockets go Round and Round
Sparklers sparkle glittery gold
Rockets Rockets Race around the sky
Sparklers sparkle, stars in my eyes
Rockets Rockets Rise in the sky
Look in the sky and you will see shining starsSohie, class 3

In the Sky

Fireworks go bang !
And go in the sky
And they go high
They are all different coloursJamie, class 4

Colour

Matthew, class 5

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How to Keep Your Dog Safe on Halloween

It’s Halloween night and the door bell is continuously ringing…

This may be very frightening to your dog or cat or other pets. You need to have a game plan for them, as well, on Halloween night. Have a room set up for them and keep them behind closed doors during trick-or-treating hours. Have food, water, a toy or two and a litter box if needed all set up for them.

• You saw the cutest costume for your pet! Just because you think a certain Halloween costume for your fur person is cute doesn’t mean that they will enjoy wearing it! Try it on them in advance and see how they react. If they don’t like it, don’t force them to wear it.

• If you own a cat and let it go outside, remember that this a bad time of year for cats. Keep them inside for a few days and nights. While they may whine a bit because they are used to going outside, they’ll be safer in the house where you can keep an eye on them.

• Having an adult party? Remember, dogs, cats, birds and other animals do not like being intoxicated. Some people at may think it’s funny to get an animal drunk but it can kill them.

• As much as your dog or cat may beg for some of your Halloween candy, always remember that chocolate is deadly to them in any amount. There’s a chemical that naturally occurs in chocolate that they can not tolerate.

• The wrappers, such as tin foil, can get stuck in your pet’s digestive tract and make them ill or cause death. There are plenty of recipes for making home made Halloween dog and cat treats.

• Large dogs can have strong tails when it comes to wagging them. Don’t leave any lighted candles or Jack-O-Lanterns where they could be knocked over by a swinging tail or a curious cat. Not only could your pet start a fire but they could severely burn themselves in the process.

• If you are going to dress your pet in a costume, keep in mind that unless the dog or cat is extremely receptive to this kind of thing, you could be causing it discomfort and stress. Some animals don’t mind at all but others do not want to be bothered with this kind of thing. They’ll be under enough stress with the festivities going on outside and people constantly at the door so don’t cause them any more stress then you have to.

• If a pet costume comes with a mask, don’t use it. While some dogs will love dressing up, they usually aren’t too keen on masks. If you do use a mask on your pet, make sure that it’s eyes have plenty of room to see and that there is nothing covering it’s nose or confining it’s mouth.

• If you are having a indoor party, make sure that you put your dog or cat in a room where they won’t be disturbed. Even if your pet is ultra friendly and doesn’t mind loud noises, music and lots of people you should keep them separate for the night. Also, be careful your cat or dog doesn’t dart out through the open door as you hand out candy. Best bet is to just put them in a room with some food and water for the night and check on them once in a while to let them know everything is fine.

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TOO MUCH SUGAR

 

Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet.

It can have harmful effects on metabolism and contribute to all sorts of diseases.

Here are 10 disturbing reasons why you should avoid added sugar like the plague.

1. Added Sugar Contains No Essential Nutrients and is Bad For Your Teeth

You’ve probably heard this a million times before… but it’s worth repeating.

Added sugars (like sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) contain a whole bunch of calories with NO essential nutrients.

For this reason, they are called “empty” calories.

There are no proteins, essential fats, vitamins or minerals in sugar… just pure energy.

When people eat up to 10-20% of calories as sugar (or more), this can become amajor problem and contribute to nutrient deficiencies.

Sugar is also very bad for the teeth, because it provides easily digestible energy for the bad bacteria in the mouth (1).

Bottom Line: Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients. It also causes tooth decay by feeding the harmful bacteria in the mouth.

2. Added Sugar is High in Fructose, Which Can Overload Your Liver

In order to understand what is so bad about sugar, then you need to understand what it is made of.

Before sugar enters the bloodstream from the digestive tract, it is broken down into two simple sugars… glucose and fructose.

• Glucose is found in every living cell on the planet. If we don’t get it from the diet, our bodies produce it.
• Fructose is different. Our bodies do not produce it in any significant amount and there is no physiological need for it.

The thing with fructose is that it can only be metabolized by the liver in any significant amounts.

This is not a problem if we eat a little bit (such as from fruit) or we just finished an exercise session. In this case, the fructose will be turned into glycogen and stored in the liver until we need it (3).

However, if the liver is full of glycogen (much more common), eating a lot of fructose overloads the liver, forcing it to turn the fructose into fat (4).

When repeatedly eating large amounts of sugar, this process can lead to fatty liver and all sorts of serious problems (5).

Keep in mind that all of this does NOT apply to fruit. It is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

There is also massive individual variability here. People who are healthy and active can tolerate more sugar than people who are inactive and eat a Western, high-carb, high-calorie diet

Bottom Line: For people who are inactive and eat a Western diet, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.

3. Overloading The Liver With Fructose Can Cause Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

When fructose get turned into fat in the liver, it is shipped out as VLDL cholesterol particles.

However, not all of the fat gets out, some of it can lodge in the liver.

This can lead to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), a growing problem in Western countries that is strongly associated with metabolic diseases (6).

Studies show that individuals with fatty liver consume up to 2-3 times as much fructose as the average person (7, 8).

Bottom Line: Excess fructose gets turned into fat, which can lodge in the liver and cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

4. Sugar Can Cause Insulin Resistance, a Stepping Stone Towards Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

Insulin is a very important hormone in the body.

It allows glucose (blood sugar) to enter cells from the bloodstream and tells the cells to start burning glucose instead of fat.

Having too much glucose in the blood is highly toxic and one of the reasons for complications of diabetes, like blindness.

One feature of the metabolic dysfunction that is caused by the Western diet, is that insulin stops working as it should. The cells become “resistant” to it.

This is also known as insulin resistance, which is believed to be a leading driver of many diseases… including metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease andespecially type II diabetes (9).

Many studies show that sugar consumption is associated with insulin resistance, especially when it is consumed in large amounts (10, 11).

Bottom Line: When people eat a lot of sugar, it can cause resistance to the hormone insulin, which can contribute to many diseases.

5. The Insulin Resistance Can Progress to Type II Diabetes

When our cells become resistant to the effects of insulin, the beta cells in our pancreas make more of it.

This is crucial, because chronically elevated blood sugars can cause severe harm.

Eventually, as insulin resistance becomes progressively worse, the pancreas can’t keep up with the demand of producing enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels down.

At this point, blood sugar levels skyrocket and a diagnosis oftype II diabetes is made.

Given that sugar can cause insulin resistance, it is not surprising to see that people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages have up to an 83% higher risk of Type II diabetes (12, 13).

Bottom Line: Because of the harmful effects of sugar on the function of insulin, it is a leading driver of type II diabetes.

6. Sugar Can Give You Cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is characterized by uncontrolled growth and multiplication of cells.

Insulin is one of the key hormones in regulating this sort of growth.

For this reason, many scientists believe that having constantly elevated insulin levels (a consequence of sugar consumption) can contribute to cancer (14).

In addition, the metabolic problems associated with sugar consumption are a known driver of inflammation, another potential cause of cancer (15).

Multiple studies show that people who eat a lot of sugar are at a much higher risk of getting cancer (16, 17, 18).

Bottom Line: There is considerable evidence that sugar, due to its harmful effects on metabolism, can contribute to cancer.

7. Due to its Effects on Hormones and the Brain, Sugar has Unique Fat-Promoting Effects

Not all calories are created equal.

Different foods can have different effects on our brains and the hormones that control food intake (19).

Studies show that fructose doesn’t have the same kind of effect on satiety as glucose.

In one study, people drank either a fructose-sweetened drink or a glucose-sweetened drink.

Afterwards, the fructose drinkers had much less activity in the satiety centers of the brain and felt hungrier (20).

There is also a study where fructose didn’t lower the hunger hormone ghrelin nearly as much as glucose did (21).
Over time, because the calories from sugar aren’t as fulfilling, this can translate into an increased calorie intake.

Bottom Line: Fructose doesn’t cause satiety in the brain or lower the hunger hormone ghrelin nearly as much as glucose.

8. Because it Causes Massive Dopamine Release in The Brain, Sugar is Highly Addictive

Sugar can be addictive for a lot of people.

Like abusive drugs, sugar causes a release of dopamine in the reward center of the brain (22).

The problem with sugar and many junk foods is that they can cause massive dopamine release… much more than we were ever exposed to from foods found in nature (23).

For this reason, people who have a susceptibility to addiction can become strongly addicted to sugar and other junk foods (24).

The “everything in moderation” message may be a bad idea for people who areaddicted to junk food… because the only thing that works for true addiction is abstinence.

Bottom Line: Because sugar causes a large release of dopamine in the brain, it can cause addiction in a lot of people.

9. Sugar is a Leading Contributor to Obesity in Both Children and Adults

The way sugar affects hormones and the brain is a recipe for fat gain disaster.

It leads to decreased satiety… and can get people addicted so that they lose control over their consumption.

Not surprisingly, people who consume the most sugar are by far the most likely to become overweight or obese. This applies to all age groups.

Many studies have examined the link between sugar consumption and obesity and found a strong statistical association (25).

The link is especially strong in children, where each daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a whopping 60% increased risk of obesity (26).

One of the most important things you can do if you need to lose weight is to significantly cut back on sugar consumption.

Bottom Line: Because of the effects of sugar on hormones and the brain, sugar dramatically increases the risk of becoming overweight or obese.

10. It Ain’t The Fat… It’s SUGAR That Raises Your Cholesterol and Gives You Heart Disease

For many decades, people have blamed saturated fat for heart disease… which is the #1 killer in the world.

However… new studies are showing thatsaturated fat is harmless (27, 28).

The evidence is mounting that sugar, NOT fat, may be one of the leading drivers of heart disease via the harmful effects of fructose on metabolism (29).

Studies show that large amounts of fructose can raise triglycerides, small, dense LDL and oxidized LDL (very, very bad), raise blood glucose and insulin levels and increase abdominal obesity… in as little as 10 weeks (30).

These are all major risk factors for heart disease.

Not surprisingly, many observational studies find a strong statistical association between sugar consumption and the risk of heart disease (31, 32, 33).

Take Home Message

For people who can’t tolerate it, added sugar is incredibly harmful.

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The coming of Goose Fair By Malcolm Bradshaw

MORE GOOSE FAIR POETRY COMING SOON?

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Goose Fair by Malcolm Bradshaw

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Tips for nurturing a child’s interest in reading

Reading should be a shared experience between parent and child in order to ensure a love of books from an early age.
Ensure your child sees you reading regularly whether it’s a book, a newspaper or a magazine as it will instil a love of reading for pleasure.
Let your child help you choose the books you read together. If your child doesn’t like a book, don’t force him or her to read it. Let them put it down and come back to it after reading something else.
Read in a place that’s comfortable for both you and your child. During and after reading a book talk about the story and take time to discuss the ideas in the book in order to ensure a greater understanding.
Give your child plenty of praise while reading. If they have a favourite book or author let them read them again and again but also introduce an author or book similar in style. Our Like-for-Like feature (see below) will help here.
Parents can enjoy online-time with children as much as watching TV with them. Specialist websites like Lovereading4kids are not only fun for online browsing, but have developed specialist tools such as the facility to download free Opening Extracts and search author Like-for-Like functions.
Many of today’s parents are not aware that there are whole rafts of childrens’ books written by great authors especially for them. These days, children don’t have to be forced to read Dickens or Bronte. Harry Potter is not alone!
Above all, make reading fun.

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TAKE CARE

 

Look right, Look left and right again

Before you start to cross the highway

For if a driver fails to stop

“Ouch” is the last word you may ever say

 

Zebra crossings were not made for animals

But to ensure we can cross in safety

But if a driver fails to obey the code

You could well end up in casualty

 

So look right, left and right again

Even if the green man says you can go

For drivers are not always attentive

Something that by now everyone should know

 

So look right, left and right again

To ensure that you can cross in safety

If there is any doubt don’t take a chance

Make sure you are not in casualty

Ron Martin

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