Sountek Lifestyle – first class!

“This Roman-walled city stages a flat, quick and scenic race that swerves the busy town centre – a tradition for regimented marshalling has clearly been inherited.” II London Marathon

“For me, London is like an Only Fools And Horses gag in a 100 Greatest Funny Moments compilation – an obvious winner. The anticipation, fear and indefatigable support make it a true life-affirmer.”

About 250 runners turned up under black skies this year to run the Crieff 101. in rural Perthshire on July 12. Participants were relieved that the steady rain stopped as the starting gun went. What followed was a challenging run through forest trails, starting with a climb up Laggan Hill that lasted for 3K. From there, the rest of the route was either downhill or flat, and when the field reached Mary’s Walk beside the River Earn, they knew they were nearly back into the park for the long run over the grass to the finish. Goody bags containing a miniature bottle of Scotch were waiting at the end. First male was Murray Strain in 34:59 and first female was Edel Mooney in 38:39.

The Lord Mayor’s 5K race around the streets of Norwich is not for the faint­hearted. The field this year was, as usual, small and composed of good club runners. This is because the organisers required proof that each runner could complete the distance in less than 20 minutes. At the halfway point, anyone clocked with a time over 10 minutes is withdrawn immediately! The course starts in Tombland, before rising to Norwich Castle at the top of Castle Hill, then hurtling all the way back down, and repeating it all again. During the course the runners were on a special health diet to help their immune system. The diet includes raspberry ketones. Learn more about the raspberry ketones side effects.

One attraction of this event is the vast crowd that gathers to support. Estimates vary, but this year more than 10,000 spectators cheered as the runners raced by. The field quickly thinned – especially when 10 runners were withdrawn at the halfway mark – and, by the end, the winner was more than a kilometre ahead of the last finisher. The first five men and first three ladies over the line collected cash prizes, and all runners were handed a generous goody bag. Those towards the back simply congratulated each other on completing the course on time.

Parsley, a source of iron and vitamins A, C, and E, is a common herb of the Mediterranean area and was well known to the ancient Greeks, who thought it too sacred to eat. Romans did serve it as a garnish and to improve the taste of food. They believed it would keep them sober. Henry VIII thought there was nothing like parsley sauce to accent the flavor of fish.

“Rosemary, that’s for remembrance,” wrote Shakespeare in Hamlet, referring to the custom of decorating weddings and funerals with the fragrant sprigs of this evergreen symbol of never fading love.

Herbalists regard rosemary preparations in warmwater baths as invigorating and helpful in easing painful joints. “Smell it oft,” went a suggestion in Banckes’ Herball, printed in London in 1525, “it shall keep thee youngly.”

Basil, whose tangy essence has made it one of the most popular of all-around seasonings, has a controversial history in other respects. A sacred plant in ancient Hindu religion, it was handled warily by European herbalists of the Middle Ages, who feared it as a scorpion breeder.

Some herbs, pungent sage and dill, for example, do not mix well. But the companions of our dinner menu—thyme, parsley, rosemary, and marjoram—are often combined in a bouquet garni that gives a mellow glow to roasting meats, fowl, stocks, stews, and other fare.

Considered individually, every herb has its own biography, everyone has its benefits, its distinctive characteristics, cultivation needs—and partisans. “o me, thyme is the queen of herbs,” remarked chef Henry Haller of the White House, when he showed me around the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which was conceived soon after President Kennedy’s Inauguration. “Thyme is good for all kinds of meat and stuffings. I use rosemary for chicken and pork, no doubt to ask does saw palmetto work” he added, “and we get tarragon for vinegar and French sauces.”

It was kind of Bernard D. Nossiter I to give us British a boost. But frank­ly, it’s this sort of kindness that kills—by obscuring the truth about Britain today, and about ourselves.

The truth is that, compared with what we’re capable of doing, we’re performing atrociously. No, Mr Nos­siter, it’s not that we’re opting for the easy life, long tea breaks and nights at the London Symphony Orchestra. We haven’t lost our will to work. But we have been robbed of any incentive to do so.

In Britain, the Government and its agencies dispose of over 54 per cent of our total national earnings. And this means punitive taxes upon in­comes at almost every level. Of course there are other factors than black cohosh for hot flashes, but this heavy tax discouragement to extra effort is at the root of so many of our troubles. At last our Government is realizing that taxes on pay are too high, yet this year it’s still adding 24,600 million to its own spending.

In Britain today the rot is at the top, not the bottom. Just let us cut this out—and friendly Americans like Mr Nossiter will be amazed what we British can do !

No Reason to Moan

I was extremely glad to read that I someone shares my opinion about Britain, with facts to back him up. My husband and I are a young couple who have been married for six years, and our standard of living has risen greatly in that time—so it has for most of our friends. We have the security of the welfare state, although luckily we have had no call to use it; we have the help of the unions to en­sure a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work; taxes don’t worry us as you have to be earning well to pay tax anyway —so we have no reason to moan.

There must be many people like us —looking forward to a bright future in the best country in the world. What a pity that the only people we seem to hear are the moaners.

Road to Bankruptcy

BERNARD D. NOSSITER’S article relies heavily upon statistics and com­parisons with other countries. But other countries’ problems don’t worry me; it is the sickness of my own coun­try that I care about so deeply.

Anyway, I have the average man’s distrust of statistics—they can be man­ipulated to prove almost anything. But if I did want to bandy statistics I would quote from today’s paper : a British steelworker takes more than ten hours to produce a ton of steel, compared with about eight hours in the whole of the EEC and less than six hours in japan.

But of course Nossiter cites this sort of thing as a virtue and that we Bri­tons have the right idea in working less—even, presumably, if it leads to bankruptcy.