The Good, The Bad And The Just Plain Ugly

The Good, The Bad and the Just Plain Ugly

21 February 2022|Health, Nutrition, Research papers, Sustainability, Testimonials

No spaghetti western comments follow, no hunting for treasure either, but there is a reflection on my ‘week of animals’.  

A cow behind bars

It began last Monday evening with the JUST PLAIN UGLY (I’m working backwards here).  I’d signed off on last week’s Something New, flicked on BBC1, curled up on the sofa with a mug of hot herbal tea and 10 minutes later I was in tears.

There’s no-one more passionate about a cause than a reformed character:  ex-smokers, weight loss peeps, ex-meat eaters… We’re all super conscious of those that still smoke or have continued with the diet we ‘used’ to follow.  I hadn’t seen the trigger warning of ‘contains some upsetting scenes’, so there I was crying into my tea.  It’s available on BBC I Player, a hard watch, but I’m glad, and surprised, it made it to MSM (Main Stream Media).


Alaskan husky in a forest

The BAD: Mr P left us last Tuesday evening.  This is him smiling in the sunshine a couple of week’s ago, when we headed off in a campervan with him and his young girlfriend Venla.  

He’s now smiling once more after a really difficult time with a cancerous leg, too much for his 13 year old human years/ 94 year old dog years self.  Run free Mr P, so painful losing a loyal pet.

Which brings me, in a back-to-front way, onto the GOOD:  Frantic pleas via social media at the weekend as a friend’s dear cat Herbert had gone AWOL for the first time.  Lots of ‘post sharing’, lots of prayers and tears and he’s home!

What a rollercoaster for Herbert and Mr P’s owners – and a shocker for us all as we watched an upsetting documentary, featuring animal cruelty.


Autumn Lewis seated, about to eat a vegan breakfast at Olives, Norwich restaurant

It may well be.  

But is it actually healthy

I would suggest maybe not.  There’s a large amount of processed food on that plate.  

Unhealthy veganism is definitely ‘a thing’.


French language conversation in speech bubbles

As I said above: ‘This makes me happy’: 

A friend began radiotherapy this week after surgery for breast cancer.  I popped around to her home with a huge aloe vera leaf, for her to break and smooth the gel onto her irradiated breast after her daily session.  She says that she often thinks of me and it gives her strength.  

Which reminds me of all those that I looked to that gave me strength 4 years ago.  Pay it forward.


Jake Humphrey Instagram feed

‘Manners maketh man’ they say and this young man very politely thanked us for sharing a price drop of his bestselling book ‘High Performance’ on Kindle this week.  You are very welcome.  It’s an inspirational read, so important for a healthy mind.


Freshly squeezed orange juice, white coffee and avocado on sourdough toast
First day of school holidays here in France today. How times have changed: No children in the house this morning meant a leisurely brunch and post-cancer living meant a very healthy one too: Organic coffee with oat milk, freshly squeezed, in season, organic oranges from nearby Spain. Mashed avocado with chilli flakes, broccoli sprouts, a splash of olive oil on sourdough. Get me!

Dr Rosie Becker seated, leaning on a table with a palm next to her

This young doctor is ‘one to watch’.  We’re following her site and enjoying the weekly blogs she’s posting.  

The first three are up: 

  • Beyond Beef vs beef: which is healthier?
  • Is plant protein really inferior to animal protein:
  • CoVid and diet – are we eating ourselves sick?

Challenging questions answered, with stacks of peer-reviewed research to back up her replies.

She describes her site as her ‘passion project’ – can relate to that Dr Becker.  You can expect to see it featured on our site once she gets her blog established!


The Gathering in green text overlaid of a line drawing of an olive leaf and olives
Thursday 6 March; 6pm UK time, 7pm CET. Listen… Speak… Sense… Feel… Ask… Learn… Share…

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By doublezero100

Denise Stevenson founded the health and wellness charity Double-zero.org in 2021 after healing from stage 3 breast cancer at (5-zero) and realising there was no one source to access the wealth of resources that had guided her back to health without the mastectomy her oncologist said was a certainty. Denise is a church founder and president, author and local councillor. She's English-born and has French nationality after living there with her husband and 3 girls for the past 20 years.

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