Another one bits the dust.

Another one bits the dust. so the line in the song says.

2016 gone but for me a good and bad year good for all i have got done in the house. Bad well that's personal.

It's time for me to wish you all well and i hope that the coming year will really be the best for you it can be.

So here's hoping all your wishes come true and you have a great 2017. Me i am opening a bottle of very old Hine Antique before i go out.

My best wishes to you all and to that one special person who is dear to me and still in Liverpool.

Happy New Year to you all.

Merry Christmas to you all

Well folks it's that time of year. For some it's been a good year and for some a not so good year.

All i can say is i hope you all enjoy the Christmas holiday and have a really great New Years eve and that your New Year is even better that the last year we are coming to an end of.

Last year i found a Santa cartoon that i found funny so this year i couldn't decide the one to post so you get two this year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. A special happy Christmas to YOU.

I'ved had that chair for more than 30 years.

Lots of little bits are coming together in time for Christmas. I was asked by a family member how i was getting on in my bedroom and i was reminded that i hadn't posted how it looked.
I still have one unit for my jackets to complete but here is the half near the window looking down the valley.

I am proud of what i have done because like everything i have done it by myself. It started with an idea and went from that simple idea to what you can see now.

 This is the other unit complete with my Jackets etc TV what more could i want.













I have the LED light's for the skirting between the units and the side of my bed.

Coving done

Now i have finished the coving and put the collar around the top of the chimney i can put my ladder away.
I must admit i found the coving a challenge until i watched a video on Youtube. I needed a Mitre block, i got Chicco to make me one that fitted the coving perfectly and after that it was easy.
I have one window frame to do in Chestnut if i get the  varnish in time and one wall to paint and it's time for a break for Christmas.

TV unit

I get my TV via the internet and so i need a computer nothing wrong with that. I needed somewhere to hide the base unit so i came up with this idea by putting the TV in the corner of the room.
Today i went to Chicco to collect the next piece to carry on making my TV unit. Like everything Chicco makes it was a perfect fit BUT i find i have no varnish left so it has to sit there until for now. I am waiting now for the 2 side pieces and the doors

Anybody can have the ordinary

But not me.At school i was not very good at wood work Unlike a friend who made an electric guitar and it worked and he used in a group he was part of in the 60's.

I have said it before and i will say it again i don't want in my house what you can by in the B & Q type stores i would rather dream of my own. Then plan what i have in my head and the picture below is something i have finished today.

On the wall is the main fuse supply that can't be moved but there was nothing to stop me hiding it. Behind the books is the electric fuse and my next plan is to have the books cut down so they don't come over the edge of the shelf. The bottom picture shows.

Not something you will find at B & Q. Plenty of Bee's wax gave it the look i wanted.

One thing i don't want is having anything hanging over the edge of the shelves. Shame the books have to be cut down especially as these books are all about Liverpool.

I made a feature underneath of the left side of the shelf. I joined two pieces of Chestnut together to show of just how nice this wood is that i use a lot of.

It's getting near Christmas

It's getting near Chritsmas and i am trying to get finished lots of bits. Under the roof space i have a vast storage area and today i fitted the door frame a loverly chocolate colour. While doing this i knocked a roof insulation panel out of position so that's to be done when i can get to it.

The door is going to have the type of hinge that you normally find on the doors under your kitchen units. Problem is i don't know how to mount that type of hinge but i know a man who can but he's away in the UK at the moment but when he returns he is going to come round to fit the door for me.













The picture below looks like the panel is not straight but it is it's just the angle of the camera.

You can see the painted part on the right and that's the size of the ceiling from the ceiling below to the floor above. Now from the light brown above the paint to the white line below the brown that's the new space between the lounge and bedroom. This is before i put up the door frame.

This is after i put up the door frame. It's 34cm from ceiling in the lounge to the floor in the bedroom.

Ceiling now finished

After much hard work i have now finished the ceiling in the front part of the lounge. The rear part of the ceiling is waiting for the electrician to complete the lighting and switches to be done. The ceiling has had 4 coats of paint today and then i could fit the lights into there position. To complete the job the ceiling fan was put up and tested.

Now i have to put up the coving but that's for another day.

Don't forget paint the Gnomes

I am please to say that one of the people who follow my Blog has become a good friend. His name is Ashley i mention his name because he said that the story i am going to tell was OK by him.

Ashley look me to see the house he found a little further South from where I live and he truly has found his place in the sun. I will post a link to his Blog as its not my place to tell his story apart from about his water supply.

On Ashley's property has a bore hole and it's 88 meters deep and the previous owner says she has used the water for drinking and cooking for so many years she has forgotten when she first started to use her own water. She also had water supplied by the local council because if there was a power cut she would still have water.

Where the bore hole is it has a concrete to on it to obviously protect it. On top of the concrete top the are four Gnomes who look to be protecting the water supply from thieves.  Sadly they have been on guard for quite some time and need a little bit of painting so Ashley your first job is to get your Gnomes painted and looking like they should be.

 

President Hollande

A little while ago i read a story on the BBC news website. It was about the French Government granting a medal to all the soldiers who took part in the invasion in 1945. I knew about the Normandy invasion and the stories of the beach landings.  My Dad was awarded a Campaign medal along with all those who took part on the first day of the Liberation of France. In fact Dad had three Campaign medals as he took part on three Campaign invasion in WW2. 

President Hollande at the 70th anniversary paid a tribute to to the brave British fighters who took part in the Liberation of France. The news story on the BBC website prompted me to contact the French Embassy. I received an email after applying for a medal for Dad and sadly i was turned down. It would have been nice to have the medal in place with all his other medals.

1st December it's here again

Well the first of December for me is the start of the Christmas period. Although the TV has adverts for Christmas since not long after summer for me it starts on the 1st December. Last night i got out my tree and decoration ready for putting them up today.

Each year i get Margaret out to sit on top of my tree. This year she has lights in the shape of Skulls all very prity.
She is now a skeleton because i never feed her before i put her away after Christmas some years ago. Without having anything to eat before going to sleep till the next Christmas she ended up and just a bag of bones, but my bag of bones.

These two are all i have left from my previous married life but better nothing to show for all those years.

What no cable

I made a pair of bedside tables sometime ago and also i made my own Table lights as well. Today i had a visitor and used my friend help me to put the bedside tables up. As they need to be fixed from the rear of the wall it's one job i need another pair of hands.

Table lamp in position and no cable hanging down. The socket is hidden under the bedside table out of sight. The one on the other side of the bed is the same as this side.

Christmas is cancelled this year

This  Christmas I'm not planning to go back to the UK this year I plan on staying here in my little piece of heaven. I have plans at the end of January  that mean I have to carry on here to complete the plans I have. So this Christmas will be different and Dave, Dee, Ashley, and one or two more will be having Christmas dinner with me this year.

Last Christmas was not the best I have had and I would rather forgive and forget last Christmas the past is long gone. The plans for the future mean I must stay here I have so much to do with my Organic Spices and now I have Organic Honey as well to plan for.

Iberianspices now does Mail order

Well it's  I had hoped but mail-order has now arrived. Today I went to the post office to get the prices of the various sizes of parcel I expect to deliver. But one thing I'm not happy with is having to display my email on Iberianspices but I will find a way to take orders without having to display my email but for now.  That's it my lord is up and running.

Below is a screenshot of part of the Iberianspices site.

The postal prices are for up to 350 gram is normal mail 1.40€ or rapid mail is 2.20€
The postal prices are for up to 1050 gram is normal mail 3.25€ or rapid mail is 4.60€

The reason for the odd 50gram is to allow for packaging so 3X 100 gram packs plus packaging comes within 350 gram.

A word of warning buyers who wish to pay via Paypal will be charged a surcharge imposed by Paypal of approximately  0.50€.

Nothing but dust.

I have been stuck in all week because my van is in for a service and won't be back till Friday. I decided as i couldn't go to Chicco's to get the timber for the jobs i am in the middle of i decided to get down on my knees and do the floor.

With my trusty belt sander i started by the fire first and it took all day to finish one section. Then it was a massive cleanup, the sander gives of so much dust everywhere was covered in dust. I expected the dust so i moved everything out of the lounge 

It's to much of a job to try and do to much due to the dust. It does look better than the picture shows. Tomorrow i will complete the area at the bottom of the stairs and then carry on by the fire.

Take care who delivers your parcel.

Much about GLS.  GLS are the Courier company who have a very very bad record for the delivery of parcels here in Portugal.  I have had problems with a  number of parcels delivered by GLS so I don't use Royalmail. Royalmail are the owners of GLS so it's no wonder that service is bad.

I needed a part for my car and the company used a Courier company called DPD. I gave the address details from a business card from the garage who will be doing the job on my car. Guess what they couldn't find the address even though the garage is very big and not a small one man band type place. Not only did they not delivery but they contacted me for address details to confirm the correct location.  Not only did they not deliver after checking the address but they sent the parcel back to the UK company who sent it to me in Portugal.

For my Spices I use UPS and have not had one problem with any delivery to date. Because I have a number of small parcels at my friends in Deal Kent I contacted UPS to deliver to him the part for my car and then he will send everything to me by UPS. Now there is a moral there use Pharosparcels and they will send the parcel via UPS.

Stuffed and mounted what a waste, a rare Liverpool beast

I go to the railway station today to see an endangered species found only in Liverpool The Superlambanana to give it it's full title. These beautiful creatures found only in the wild of Liverpool a few years ago are already on the endangered species list to to people wanting them as pets. But they are not suitable for being pets so if you see one in the wild leave them alone.

I was lucky to see this one that has been stuffed and mounted it would be better running free.

Hope Ashley likes this.

Just to many ingredients

Today I got myself a Pizza from a local supermarket as a treat to me. After reading the ingredient list on the back of the packaging I decided to leave the pizza to others to eat just look at the ingredient list below.

Is there any need to make a Pizza with so many ingrediets or am i being to fussy?

Jesus

i have been in Liverpool for the last few wet freezing days. The ground seems to be permanently wet and rain falling maybe because the rain had nothing better to do while I have been here.

I got to see my Mum today and the first thing I said was I Feel like Jesus walking on water. Well Friday I go home and can leave this rain sodden place behind.

A milestone

I am leaving on Monday morning for a fews days with my Mum in Liverpool. I had planned to get the ceiling finished and i have, apart for where the electrician has to does his work on the front and rear lights and the ceiling fan.

Lots of sanding to do but done but it will be a big help to keep the lounge warm over the coming winter.

Very economical LED lights when in place they will make the look i want in this my home.





Instead of cleaning the room i am letting all the dust settle then hopefully Sunday i can clean the lounge before i fly away on Monday morning.At the moment everything has a horrible film of dust everywhere.

A long time ago

A long time ago i posted a few pictures of templates i made to cut plasterboard. I was reminded yesterday just as i was making another template for a sheet of plasterboard for the lounge ceiling so here's another picture.

It's just as easy for more difficult shapes all i need now it to draw this on the right part of the sheet that is to get put on the ceiling and it will be a perfect job.

Another trip to Liverpool

Not long and i will be back in Liverpool to see my wonderful Mum and her new stair lift. I will get to see everybody i want but one will be away working and that's a worry at the moment as i know where he's gone.

The flight gets in mid afternoon so i have the rest of the day and the flight back leaves mid afternoon so i will get a few good days.

There is one who missed the school reunion who i would like to meet up with but i have heard nothing from Steve for a few weeks.

Ready for the winter

Does it never end. Being a home owner there is always something to do and at the moment installing my chimney for my log burner is top of the list of things to do. Each joint was drilled and riveted together now it should be toasty this winter and no rain water leaks like the last chimney was fitted by someone who was supposed to know what he was doing.

It's looking good now and it's ready for the winter months.

It started with Russia now it's the USA

A little while ago i started to get a lots of views from Russia Thousands and Thousands more than normal. These views lasted for a few weeks and then they almost stopped, now it's back to lower numbers of viewers.

The same has been happening now for a while but it's the USA. From the Statistics i get i only get to see the country. Today i noticed that a number of pages have been viewed by the same amount of people for all of the pages i can see have been read.

As each page has been read by the same amount of people then it can only be it's a school or other institution  so please if this is you please get in touch i would like to know something about the readers.

Scaffolding up in the lounge

Today i managed to get the largest part of the downstairs ceiling up and even got the lights in. I used a scaffolding tower to put the plasterboard up as each sheet is heavy. I have six LED lights for the ceiling but before i installed them i first put them all up in position to check them. I had to see first that six was the right amount for the size of room i have.

I should have took a picture before i put the plasterboard up while it was on the scaffolding tower.

At last the hard part is done i now have the sides to do and after insulating behind the aircon unit i can finish that section. Just a hole to cut now for the ceiling fan

Last insulation and plasterboard done.

After finding in my cellar today a sheet of insulation it was time to get the last wall to be insulated done and finished. Just one more joint to finish on the outside and all the parts of the chimney can be jointed together.

The gap round the hole is because of the possible heat from the chimney.
The pipe as it comes through the wall will also have insulation around it.

Plasterboard up and screwed in position now i need a tub of an adhesive type material like plaster to finish the joints etc.

Fame Fame who wants Fame

It's now been a couple of years since i met a couple in Lidl Arganil who recognized me from my Blog. They told me how they have been reading it from when i first mentioned it on Expats Portugal forum. They like others told me that the reason they moved here was because i gave my opinion of this place i call home.

Friday i was going in to pay for the Euro Millions lottery. As i walked in someone looked at me is if he knew me. I was then asked if my name was Peter again recognized but a bonus and it is a big bonus he is From LIVERPOOL. Again so it seems my Blog has helped someone to find what may be there place in the sun.

That to date makes a total of three couples and two individuals who my Blog has helped that does make me feel proud that is some small way i have been of help.

Roll out the barrel

i recently took a barrel i had in my cellar to get it cut in two. Today due to rain at the market i was forced to come home early so i decided to transplant my orange trees into the barrels.

All i need now is something better for my Lime tree, the Lime tree is the one in the middle.

Stuff what the supermarkets say in the UK

I have just been reading the news on the BBC website i read about Tesco and Unilever in dispute over prices. Unilever say they want to raise price because lots of there product comes in my outside of the UK and because of the effect of the loss in value of the £. Tesco says that they are refusing the increase because they are listening to there customers and are trying to keep prices down

I saw a food program some time ago and a family of farmers who grew Parsnips close there farm due to the supermarkets wanting perfect shaped products.
Well just look at the pepper i got from the market at Figuerio dos Vinhos a few days ago. OK not supermarket shape but tasting amazing, so if you are new to Portugal forget what the supermarkets are like in the UK and enjoy the amazing products available here in Portugal. I have already used the Tomato's but in the UK they would never have seen the supermarket shelves.

This pepper certainly tasted better than it looked but what's better taste or look's?

Today i got these at a market but what would Tesco or Asda say about them?.
Well i know they are fresh and i even know where they where grown and you don't get any fresher then these. One is already cooking in a tomato and basil sauce.

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday i found a place where i could get a short piece of chimney pipe just the length i needed.

Today i cut the hole in the wall and fitted the pipes through . When the outside pipework has been done a collar will go over the pipe and hide the gap round the pipe. There has to be a gap all round the pipe to stop heat causing damage to the plasterboard.








The plasterboard is not yet fixed as the wall behind has yet to be insulated and then the plasterboard can be finished.

Unable to find somewhere to get a short length of pipe the size i wanted i was prepared compromise and the picture i posted a few days ago was the compromise. I had to use a full length of pipe until now when i found a stockist who had short lengths of pipe.

Once i cut the hole in the wall i can fit the last sheet of plasterboard and that's the last of the plasterboard done in my bedroom.

This pipe should act like a radiator in my bedroom and when it's time for bed the room should be warm.

Meet my mate T

Today i was putting up the plasterboad where the chimney for the log burner has to go. To do it on my own would be difficult as i only have two arms.

This is my new best mate T. He may not have any arms but he proved invaluable and i couldn't have done the job on my own.

Chimney in but it needs to have more cut from round the pipe to avoid a fire hazard.

I even got time to cut the hole for the LED light one of six to be fitted  and put the fitting in position ready.

Reinstalling the logburner chimney pipes

It may not be getting to cold yet but my attention must go to finishing the log burner. I am rerouting the chimney pipe out of the wall in the bedroom because when it was up through the roof it leaked. The guy who fitted the original chimney came back but it still leaked so with making a bedroom in the loft i decided to have the chimney out through the gable end wall.

The problem is that as the floor has been raised even though it was only by a little bit it made fitting the pipes with the bend in them impossible to refit without having a fire risk. The picture below shows the option i have decided on and this gives me more surface area for the heat from the pipe to help heat the room.

The chimney pipes going from the log burner up to the bedroom above are now made from stainless steel. The original pipes where just in mild steel and due to the rainwater leak the had rusted badly and where a hazard from leaks in fumes.

 To move the bend in the pipework would have created to many problems so i will just have to live with it as it is. The black pipe will be cleaned to be the same as the rest of the pipework.

I can then look to put up the last sheet of plasterboard and get this job finished.

Nice shiny chimney but it will soon show signs of the heat that goes up and out after giving me a nice warm living room.

R.I.P Jose Alves

I came back from shopping in town to find a notice pinned on a tree by where i park my van. I went to have a read only to find the it was the first person i saw the day i moved into my house.

R.I.P. Jose Alves 91 anos

Whole meal bread

It's now over six years now that i have been making my own bread. I admit to be using a Panasonic bread maker and it's about the most important gadget i have and won't be without it.

I treated myself to 12 kilo of Allinson Wholemeal flour. The recipe I used was for a 50% mix of white flour and 50% Wholemeal because i don't really like brown bread but as it's good for me i have to give it a try.











I used the recipe that comes in the Panasonic manual when you buy a bread maker. Each loaf was life brown bread and not as good as i am used to. Today i used the recipe that is for white sandwich bread and it worked perfect just like white bread but brown. After cooking put a damp cloth over the top and it makes the crust as little softer.

Iberianspices Mail order

For those who don't know i sell Spices and most probably i have the best selection for sale at any market to be found in Portugal.

After being asked a lot about mail order i have decided to give it a go. Over the next few days the Iberianspices Blog will change.  A complete stock list with product pack size and price will be displayed.

I have a Paypal account and all i need to do is send via email a Paypal invoice and you can make payment from your card to Paypal. Please note you don't need a Paypal account to make payment.

As they say watch this space for news.

The market

Today was my first day at the markets since i returned from the UK. As a little treat i brought back a few treats for those English who can't do without English food.

This market is great undercover so no chance of rain or even wind as it's under cover and protected on most sides. 

As a bonus the market now has Wifi

The Reunion

While in Liverpool on my last trip i went to a school Reunion for those who attended Rosco Garsfild road school.

The night went well in fact a little to well but nobody got drunk after all we are all in our late 60's. The surprise to me was a number of ladies turned up, our school was in two halves and a fence between the two. The only disappointment for me was John Wild never turned up, i wasn't told till the end was that he passed away the week before. John and i used to help each other with homework and generally where good mates at school.

Seeing Steve after his accident was good he has made great progress and is now able to walk but not unaided.

I took loads of pictures on my digital camera and put the memory card in my wallet. The next day while i was in town my wallet was stolen and all the photos have gone i can only hope some of the others there on the night will have some pictures they can let me have.

Back and settling back into life in the Sun

It's only a couple of days and i am back and waiting for my first market. The highlight of the trip was seeing someone special apart from my Mum. We enjoyed some nice nights out together and i look forward to a trip over soon to see her again.

I got to see my Mum a lot and even cut her grass, i can't even remember the last time i cut grass. Of course i got to see my grandaughter always a highlight of any trip back.

Two thousand kilometers is a long drive but this time i had someone who wanted a lift back to the UK so it was nice to have company.

I have a new Spice supplier who also sells Organic Spices, i have found they have 12 Spices that i can but and sell for the same price as i did with normal spices. After speaking to both my suppliers they both tell me that over 90% of my Spices are in fact Organic. The difference being that most growers can't afford the fees to register as Organic. For four years the growers have to hae there land surveyed and certified as organic. After four years they can claim to be Organic but the cost is the prolem so they just sell there Spiees 

getting ready for the drive back

It may be a few days early but I have to get ready for the journey home some time so I stared a few days early. This time I am bringing loads of Organic Spices and I can sell them for the same price as my none Organic spices. My supplier tells me that most of the Spices I have been selling are in fact Organic it is just the cost to register and have yearly inspections that stop the growers from declaring they are Organic.

As I have room in my van I am also bringing back to sell at the markets English food. There are loads of people who don't or won't accept the fresh Portuguese food on offer and would rather pay extra for English food laced with all kinds of additives. Last trip the most popular thing I had was Custard creams and Cloudy lemonade and I have an order for 6 bottles of lemonade. I picked out only a small range of goods for sale and hopefully after two or three markets all should be gone till my next trip to restock.

Who said Scousers don't work

After seeing English workers during my time in business I was so surprised at what I saw while sat outside my daughters house. I arrived from Portugal at 6am in the morning and instead of waking her I stayed outside in my van.

My granddaughter is always excited to see me so I wanted to surprise her before she went to school. I told my daughter not to answer the door on the morning I was due. I knocked on the door at the agreed time and my granddaughter opened the door. It was worth waiting outside just to see her face she seems just as excited to see me as she always is.

Now back to waiting in the van. A little before 7am I saw someone walking fast with a long ladder and at first my first thought was he had stolen the ladder. Until I saw him put the ladder up to someone's window, then Oh is he going to break in but no another two guys came with ladders came and started to do the upstairs windows of a number of houses in the street. As quick as they came 2 more came to clean the downstairs now remember what I said about time it still was before 7am in the morning.

I do have a photo but the IPad won't let me download it so I have to wait till I get home and have access to desktop computer whe I get home.

Turmeric new Wonder Spice

After reading about the new wonder Spice Turmeric i had to have my say. I stock Turmeric but i am probably the only person selling ORGANIC Turmeric here in Portugal. So look out for me at the markets and get this wonder Spice it's certified ORGANIC.

Turmeric - Nature's wonder drug! The healthiest herbs & spices

• Herbs and spices have more antioxidants than any other food group
• Can help prevent the initial triggering of mutations in your DNA
• Taking a moment to spice up your life can have far-reaching consequences

By Dr Michael Greger For The Daily Mail

Published: 00:56 GMT, 1 March 2016 | Updated: 09:02 GMT, 1 March 2016

Ounce for ounce, herbs and spices have more antioxidants than any other food group.

This means they can help prevent the initial triggering of mutations in your DNA that could lead to cancer or other diseases.

So taking a moment to spice up your life can have far-reaching consequences. And the truly amazing properties of turmeric make it something we should sprinkle on our food every single day.

TURMERIC

What if someone could invent a magic pill that protected us from some of the worst diseases on the planet? Imagine the joy of the pharmaceutical companies - and what they'd charge us to buy it.

Ounce for ounce, herbs and spices have more antioxidants than any other food group

Well, I have news that Big Pharma doesn't particularly want to hear. The ingredients for that pill are probably already right there on your kitchen shelves: in a packet or bottle labelled turmeric.

Since the turn of the century, more than 50 clinical trials have tested curcumin - the pigment in turmeric that gives it that bright yellow colour - against a variety of diseases.

These show that the spice may play a significant role in preventing or treating lung disease, brain disease and a variety of cancers - including multiple myeloma, colon cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Curcumin has also been shown to help speed recovery after surgery and effectively treat rheumatoid arthritis better than the leading drug of choice. It may also be effective in treating osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions, such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease.

In the latest trial for ulcerative colitis, a randomised, double-blind study found more than 50 per cent of patients achieved remission within a month on curcumin - compared with none of the patients who received the placebo. And consuming turmeric with soya may offer a double benefit for osteoarthritis sufferers.

So how much do you eat - and how do you eat it?

'Turmeric is potent stuff. If I gave you an eighth of a teaspoon of turmeric to eat once a day for a week, then exposed your blood to an oxidising (bad) chemical, the number of cells with DNA damage could be cut in half'

Turmeric is potent stuff. If I gave you an eighth of a teaspoon of turmeric to eat once a day for a week, then exposed your blood to an oxidising (bad) chemical, the number of cells with DNA damage could be cut in half. All because you had a little bit of turmeric onboard.

Because this spice can have such powerful drug-like effects, I'd advise everyone - including pregnant women - to take just a quarter of a teaspoon a day.

Ultrasound studies show that even this small amount causes the gallbladder to contract, squeezing out half its contents. In doing this, it may help to stop gallstones from forming. But be warned: if you already have a gallstone, that turmeric-induced squeeze could be painful.

And here's a good tip. Try to have your quarter-teaspoon with black pepper.

There's evidence to suggest raw turmeric may have greater anti-inflammatory effects, while cooked turmeric offers better DNA protection

About five per cent of black pepper is composed of a compound called piperine. And one of the things this does is to prevent your liver from actively working to get rid of the curcumin you've just eaten.

Even the tiniest pinch of pepper can significantly boost curcumin levels in your blood.

You can buy turmeric from any supermarket - or get it raw from Asian shops and grate a quarter of an inch of the root into your food. There's evidence to suggest raw turmeric may have greater anti-inflammatory effects, while cooked turmeric offers better DNA protection.

I find that turmeric of any kind goes particularly well with brown rice, lentil dishes and roasted cauliflower.

But wouldn't it be easier to take a curcumin supplement?

No - because curcumin is not equivalent to turmeric - it's just one of its ingredients. The few studies that have compared turmeric with curcumin have suggested turmeric may work even better.

Against breast cancer, for instance, curcumin kicked butt, but turmeric kicked even more butt. The same was true against pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, multiple myeloma, chronic myeloid leukaemia and others.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3470432/Turmeric-Nature-s-wonder-drug-healthiest-herbs-spices-revealed.html#ixzz4JEEXMxwZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Figuerio dos Vinhos

This is just one roadway out of five at the Munucipal market in Figuerion dos Vinhos. I had to take three photos to give an idea of the size of the market.

If you look at the three pictures you can get an idea of the size of this place and this is only one roadway out of five.

Me ever the show off at my market stall.

This is to my left.

Directly opposite me.

This is down to my right.

Aircon done finished and working

It's taken a while to do a simple job but life at the moment has been a little busy till today. I got up early to finished the fitting of my new aircon unit. I went to get some plastic channel to go over the pipes that run down the wall but i couldn't get the same profile as i used on the other unit. I will have to wait till i get back from the UK when i will fit the same profile to both sets of aircon pipes.

Inside unit in fitted and working.

Just the outside cover to fit but that is the last job after it's been run for the first time.

Carglass great service.

All to often good service goes without mention well today I got service that deserves a mention and it's a company in Coimbra called Carglass.

First lets go back a bit I am insured through my bank for my car insurance. Not knowing what to do, who to call I went into my bank and met an assistant who spoke good English as my Portuguese is rubbish. He not only dealt with the insurance claim but also found a company for the replacement but also provided all the details on how to get there and who to see. That's serivice for you.

I duly arrived at the agreed time and a technician was waiting for me. After signing a form he started the replacement and an hour later the job was done and not a sign the car had been touched by anybody. He drove the car out and came back with the keys to tell me to wait 20 minutes for the sealer to take effect.

OK it's his job but it's a pity you can't record how good a job he did well it's here on my Blog. So if you have a glass problem the service is 100 per cent.

Going home to a reunion

I leave in a few days to see my Mum and go to a reunion, sadly i have heard that the closest friend i had a school John Wild has passed away Micheal, Steve who is now recovering well and Paul and Dave will all be there so it promises to be a good night. Sadly our school was a boys school and i don't expect that there will be any girls to attend.

Iberianspices now stock Organic spices

As the title says IberianSpices now stocks a range of Organic spices. Not only are they Organic but the prices are almost the same as the none organic stock. For example Cracked black pepper is cheaper than previous none organic stock.Turmeric is 10c more expensive.

Because something is sold as Organic doesn't have to be sold at a silly price because of the word Organic. I am having a banner made for me to collect when i go to the UK next week.

Organic Spices Normal Prices Someone who sells at Barril de Alva but sells for twice the price that i do for half the quantity. Rip off

Click the link on the left For Iberianspices or Google Iberianspices to see a list of all the Spices i sell. There are a number of new Spices on order and some have already arrived.

Himalayan Pink salt
Hungarian Paprika asta 80
Arrowroot powder
Fajita seasoning
Fennel powder
Celery seed
Celery salt
Paprika Organic

Helicopter Heroes

Today i could hear planes flying very low going in the direction of a place called Colmeal. Shortly after the beep thud and  drone of a helicopter flying low could be heard.

Here the helicopter is coming in to take on water.

Great shot of another helicopter coming in past my front door.













These guys are really true Heroes without them the forest fires would be uncontrollable and would cause much more damage.