HAIR LOSS

Ian
Have you any advise about how I can stop my husbands hair from falling out, he is beginning to resemble a beach ball. Thanks, Desperate Housewife by e-mail..

Reply
I think you are asking the wrong person! I had a thick mane when I was younger but like most men it thinned out drastically, so I shave off what’s left. My family has a history of baldness though. My great grandfather got a shiny top at the age of 21. His remedy was to retire to Switzerland in the hope that the fresh air would re-kindle the follicles. Alas it didn’t but he did enjoy fifty years of breeding greyhounds in his extensive leisure time, wearing a flat cap I might add. It is said that diet is a contributory factor in hair loss. A western diet rich in fat from red meat has been suggested to promote pattern baldness A wholesome diet, rich in silica, calcium and iron, will help reduce or prevent hair loss. Green, leafy vegetables, especially sea vegetables, are good mineral sources. Raw oats provide silica. Dried fruits are rich sources of iron. The balding process can be slowed down by taking a low-fat diet. Some scientists postulate that the male pattern baldness is tied to increased testosterone levels during puberty. A high-fat, meat-based diet raises testosterone levels, and that may adversely affect hair follicles. Anemia is one of the most frequent causes of hair loss. Get hubby to eat plenty of iron-rich foods, whole grain cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, eggs and dates might help. The only alternatives other than this would be to buy a flat cap for the shiny scalp or get a polishing cloth. Switzerland is nice this time of year as well, a ticket for one maybe!

Household.

COLD AND FLU REMEDIES

Colds and flu conversations seem to be very popular at the moment. When you are down with a dose there seems to be a certain comfort in letting someone else know how much bodily fluid your loosing. If you are like me then you also feel that you have the worst cold ever recorded in the history of humankind. Winter seems to be the time for colds, but it isn’t the weather that causes all the misery. It’s the time spent indoors and confined spaces with sick people. The viruses that cause colds and flu are highly contagious and all you have to do is to scratch your face after being in contact with someone with the sniffles and you are down with it too. Adults get around four colds a year and there is no denying that they play havoc with our health. One very wise sage once commented that a cold is nothing more than an oil change for humans. Others think that there is a cleansing out of toxins when we are suffering with the sniffles. There is probably some truth in this, as we do seem to feel great a few days after recovering.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF
No over the counter medicines or prescription drugs can cure the common cold, but this doesn’t really matter as the important issue is to take things easy and look after yourself. Some remedies from the chemist can make the symptoms worse though. The ones that come to mind are the antihistamine and decongestant combination drugs, which are supposed to clear the nasal passages. These can cause drowsiness, dry nose and throat and oddly enough, nasal congestion. Analgesics such as aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen, reduce fevers and relieve muscle pain. These have all sorts of side effects like nausea, heartburn, headaches and skin rashes. All of these things don’t seem to matter when we are ill, we just keep popping the pills and hoping for the best. A lot of the uncomfortable symptoms can come from these products. There are flu jabs that can be obtained for certain strains of cold. Drug companies have to gamble every year that they produce the correct one for the strain. The effectiveness seems to wane quickly and the effectiveness will also depend on the health of the recipient. There is an alternative to the injection. There is a method of putting a liquid up the nostrils, and it seems to be working well. Antibiotics have no place in the treatment of colds and flu either, unless the illness becomes complicated by bacterial infection. The fact that the law might change soon so we can freely obtain antibiotics over the counter at the chemist is a bit worrying as a lot of people seem to think that they are a wonderful cure all.

WORTH ITS SALT
There is a simple remedy for nasal congestion that you might find in the chemists which is helpful for colds and flu. Saline nasal sprays and drops. Spraying salt water up your nose can loosen things enough to clear your head. Some people use a small pot with a spout called a neti pot. The idea is to tip your head back and pour salt water in one nostril and let it come out of the other. It works apparently, but I have never been brave enough to try it. The pots are available from yoga equipment suppliers and they are great if you really want to be the centre of attention! Make your own saline solution by mixing ¼ of a teaspoon full of salt into some warm tap water. Make it fresh each day and put it into a spray bottle and use as needed, especially when the family are around.

HERBAL REMEDIES
There are loads of preventative steps to take to ward off the colds. Keeping up vitamin contents, eating a balanced diet are a good start. When it comes to herbal remedies though, some people swear by Echinacea. This plant extract stimulates white blood cell activity and increases the production of interferon, which is nature’s antiviral substance in the body. Research shows that if Echinacea is taken just as the symptoms appear, they can shorten the duration of the cold and also lessen the severity of the symptoms. However it may reduce immunity if taken over long periods. You will find Echinacea in the health shops but check with staff on how to use it effectively. Remember herbal remedies are still medicines and should be taken with professional advice.

HERBAL DRINKS
Try a herbal drink, you can sweeten it with some honey if you like, this will also sooth the throat and lemon added will keep the vitamin C intake up too. Elderflower and hibiscus are also high in Vitamin C. Try mixing herbs of your choice e.g. dried peppermint leaves, lemon balm leaves, elder flowers, hibiscus and yarrow leaves. Stew like you would normal tea (not too strong though).

The important thing to do if you have a cold is to look after yourself, curl up under a duvet and keep warm. If you must go to work then try and concentrate on less demanding jobs. And remember to cover your mouth when you sneeze!

Household.

GARDEN DESIGN-BACK TO BASICS

Photo: Our old veggie patch in Clonbeg merged well with the fields in the distance.

THINGS TO CONSIDER IN THE NEW DESIGN



STYLE
Try to keep to one style, it is a good idea to look at the style of the house (e.g cottage or new) and it’s surroundings to get some pointers. If you have a formal house with straight lines you might want to keep the idea running through the garden.



FLOW
A garden is more pleasing if there is a natural progression from one area to another. A path is a good way to join areas up. Think about how you would like someone to walk around your garden and view it. Focal points such as a sculpture, tree or captivating view will help to draw the eye and pull us into a new space.



SCALE
Here is an area that can go seriously wrong. Scale is about proportions-how the size and shapes of things relate to one another. A tiny shrub bed the size of your bathroom would look a bit out of place on a two-acre lawn for example. If in doubt when you are planning I find it is better to be bold and generous with the dimensions of the borders. The same goes for paths, they look a bit odd if they are too narrow.



RHYTHM
By repeating plants and materials you can bring a sense of rhythm to the garden. You might want to repeat certain plants throughout the garden or concentrate on certain types of plants such as grasses to give a soft feel to the garden. Try not to go overboard with repeating things though. As in music, variations on a theme can be very pleasing

SYMMETRY AND BALANCE
Symmetry and balance are important factors to take into consideration when planning your garden. Symmetry can be effective when you are thinking about including formal features in the design. Having a container either side of the door with a couple a choice shrubs can look very eye catching. If you have a formal garden, a line of lavender running either side of the path would be pleasing to the eye and smell lovely in summer. As in nature though we don’t really see that much symmetry. It’s more of a balance.

Balance in nature is something to add to a design. Look at how plants and flowers grow in the wild and how they complement one another. The balance is all about a pleasing visual diversity of plants and hard landscape features. Imagine a brick pathway winding through a large, lush green lawn or a clump of trees being balanced by a bed of hostas underneath and you are getting the idea.



TEXTURE
Plants have a tactile quality that can be used as a valuable design tool. Think about how the glossy leaves of holly, magnolia, and roses contrast with the suede-like foliage of lamb's ears, heliotrope, and coleus. Or how the fat and fleshy leaves of a sedum differ from the needle-like foliage of rosemary or the quilted leaves of a blue-green hosta. Flowers also provide textural interest. They can be rich and velvety like a rose, or as thin and translucent as a poppy. Even tree bark contributes textural interest - especially during the winter months.


COLOUR
Entire books have been written about using colour as a design tool. You can approach colour as a technician, using the colour wheel to create harmonious combinations, or you can use your own eyes and emotions to guide you in creating the look and feel you want. Combining colours in new and interesting ways offers a lifetime of exciting possibilities.As a general rule, red, orange and yellow are colours that jump out at you. They are lively and stimulating, and give the impression that they are closer to the eye than they actually are. If you plant too many hot-coloured flowers, and don't balance them with cool-coloured, less assertive plants, your garden will be a jumble of blaring trumpets. Green, blue, and violet are cool colours. In the garden these flowers create a more soothing, restful feeling, and tend to recede into the distance.

Horticultural.

GARDEN DESIGN-BACK TO BASICS

As I mentioned last week, I thought it would be a good idea to get back to basics with garden designing. It doesn’t matter if your garden only needs a bit of work or major surgery, the principles of the design will be similar. Over the next few weeks we will cover the initial site plan, putting your ideas down on paper, coming up with a workable plan, including any hard landscaping such as patios and soft landscaping with ideas for beds and borders. I’m afraid the cost of anything you do is down to yourselves though, which is something to keep in mind when it comes to putting the plan into action!



SITE PLAN

Here would be an excellent place to start. When the weather is fit, take a pencil and paper into the garden. Draw a plan of the garden; include buildings and features that are to remain in the garden, such as sheds and greenhouses. Include the house as well, as any structure can put your garden in shade Look at the neighbours house and trees to see if that puts you in the shade (In my garden the whole area is in total shade because of the house).

Existing trees, paths and beds can be roughly drawn in too. You don’t need to add features that you are sure will be removed. If you have a tree that is to go or an old shed that is firewood, leave it out of the plan it will only complicate things. The plan doesn’t have to be exactly to scale at this point but we can get more accurate measurements if there are to be hard landscaping features such as walls or ponds. One thing I would recommend is to get a compass and find out which way the garden faces, this will be important when deciding on where to put the patio and plant selection.

PUTTING DOWN THE IDEAS FOR YOUR NEW GARDEN

If you did your homework last week and came up with a list of wants for your new garden, you can start to draw in your ideas. (If not then go to the back of the class and come up with a list now!) Don’t worry if there is too much in it at this stage, features can be taken out and changed around later. Here are some hard landscaping ideas to take into consideration when you are putting in the ideas.

· If you are including paths, what will they be made out of and where will they start and finish? Sometimes it’s a good idea to end them at a specific place such as a building or feature. They can look a bit odd if they just end in the middle of the lawn.

· If you are putting in a pond and rockery, place it in a sunny spot and not too near trees, these will mess the pond up in autumn.

· Place the patio carefully to get the sun; you might like one at the house for morning sun at breakfast and a patio at the bottom of the garden to catch the evening rays.

· Will you need a shed, where is the best place?

· Allow an area for compost.

formal,
· If you have children, do you want an area set aside for them to play in? Sandpits, swings can be included.

FORMAL OR INFORMAL

Look around at other people’s gardens; they are a great source of inspiration. Glossy magazines and books are great for ideas as well. Think whether you would like your garden formal in design, which would include lots of straight lines and neatness. Or whether you would go for something informal with lots of sweeps and curves.
It is usually a good idea to try to stick to either formal or informal, as things get a bit messy if they are combined. Looking at the style of the house will give you a bit of direction.
If you have the space though you could have one section of the garden one style and have the rest of the garden another, but separate them with a hedge or fence. That way you will have the best of both worlds!

Keep playing around with your ideas and rub out anything that looks out of place and put it somewhere else. Play around with the paths and patios until the plan look balanced. Don’t make path edges wiggle too much either as you will find it very difficult to mow in summer. Keep it in pencil for now, don’t worry if it doesn’t come together straight away as we will no doubt be changing things as we go along.

Next week we will look at soft landscaping such as choosing plants and putting in the beds and borders. I will also explain the following important words in more detail. These are the key words for successful garden design and will help you come up with a winning plan over the next few weeks.

STYLE, FLOW, SCALE, RHYTHM, SYMMETRY, TEXTURE, COLOUR.

Horticultural.

WE ARE BEING WATCHED!

ANIMATION WITH A MESSAGE

Animated films make a huge impression on children. My mother still talks about the witch in Snow White, and that is nearly seventy years after going to the pictures to see it. It makes sense then to use animation to influence the young. The award winning Source Venue, which is part of the Playhouse in Derry, are planning to capitalise on the imaginations of the young by developing an animated film that promotes environmental awareness. The film will star RE3, the Sources very own superhero, who highlights the need to reduce waste and use the three Rs, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Once it is finished it will be distributed to over one thousand schools around the Derry and Donegal areas. The project, which forms part of the Source’s mission statement of rescuing waste from landfill sites and distributing it for art projects

Talking of influencing youngsters in a positive way, it was great to see children from all over Inishowen having a say in the future plans forInishowen "The "WoW - Wall of Wishes" is a large mural of colourful drawingsmade by children from all over the peninsula. Each piece has the child's wishfor the future of their area. With all of the meetings recently by residents of towns across the peninsula to combat crime and underage drinking it is hopeful that initiatives will be introduced that will give the youngsters fresh enthusiasm for their environment where they can learn to respect not only the environment but also other people and themselves as well. Inishowen, like the rest of the country needs youngsters to keep an eye on the daft things that adults tend to do.

Here are a few of their comments

Do not cut down our trees in Inishowen please.

I wish that we wouldn't have to have landfills and had more recycling bins.

I wish people would stop driving too fast.

Save the fish.

Do not pollute.

Stop littering.

Stop polluting the air.

Environmental.

TOP HOUSEHOLD TIPS

TOP TIPS
I took to the streets last week and asked members of the public if they had any top tips for the home. The response again was very uplifting and goes to show what a wealth of information we carry about in our heads!

HOLD ONTO YOUR MOBILE
One tip that someone recommended was about getting more life out of your mobile phone battery. I recently had to buy a new phone because after four years my battery gave up in my own phone. It got to the stage where I had to keep it connected to the mains permanently if I wanted to make a call. I was told to put the batteries (not the whole phone) in the freezer overnight. In the morning get them out and defrost them slowly before charging up. I did this to my old batteries and they have improved dramatically! I would not say that they are as good as new but the charge lasts about four days without being attached to the plug socket.

This handy tip not only saves on batteries, it will also mean that you can hold on for a while before buying a new phone. Unless of course you are a techno head and simply have to go for the latest models regardless of the batteries working or not!

Update: The batteries were as useless as before after a day. They ended up being takes to the recycling centre.

COOL DOWN
On these muggy nights when you get too restless in bed, try filling a water bottle with cold water. This will cool you down a treat.

CUT ABOVE THE REST
Instead of normal sandwiches for the kids, try cutting them into fun shapes with a cookie cutter. You will be surprised what the kids will eat when the sandwiches look like their favourite animals.

SINKING CURRANTS
When mixing the ingredients for a cake, dust the dried fruit with flour before putting them into the mix. This will stop all of the fruit from sinking to the bottom whilst being cooked.

HAIR SPRAY
Make your own simple hair spray by boiling up a cup lemon in two cups of water. It works as well at the stuff you buy in the canisters.

Household.

HOME SCHOOLING

Photo's: Home Education Network meeting (HEN) at Glendalough Co. Wicklow

(Click on the title for a link to the HEN website)

I must confess that I was a bit dubious about going down the home school route. Personally I had a very entertaining time when I was at school, although in reflection it wasn’t because of the textbook education I received. It was more because it introduced me to many friends and after school activities such as youth clubs. I realise more and more in hindsight that my own education was for the benefit of the local industry than my own personal growth as an individual. I grew up in a mining town in central England in the 1970’s. I attended a comprehensive school that had about 1500 pupils, which is a pretty large number to deal with on an individual basis. The school had very modern facilities such as a language department and a technical drawing department. I loved technical drawing but unfortunately the teacher had a habit of falling off of his moped and spending considerable amounts of time in a hospital bed in traction. What happened under these circumstances was that our class spent many house being looked after by teachers that wouldn’t know a compass from a T-square. I made the most of the time by doing what I did best in class and that is sleeping. The desks were at a very ergonomic 45 degrees, which was comfortable for precision drawing, but even more so for resting the head without being spotted by the substitute teacher who probably was fully aware that I was sleeping and wished the rest of the class would follow my lead. The language department was another fine resting place. It consisted of small booths where pupils would sit in isolation and listen to a tape through headphones. Depending on which year you started school you either listened to French or Spanish. This exciting method of learning was called Listen and Repeat or ecoute et repetee as it was known in French. The only contact that you had with the teacher was when you were overheard and you were told that the pronunciation was incorrect. The teachers voice would boom down the headset to remind you that you were doing it wrong. It served me well as an alarm as I was usually asleep in this lesson too. Some things never change. I still fall asleep in the daytime if I sit down. If you attended the Home Education Network weekend in Glendalough I was the person fast asleep on the back row. Usually waking up when the room was empty after the event or there was a round of applause, which startled me out of the slumber. It isn’t because I am bored, quite the opposite. But put me in a hot room with low lights and the gentle buzz of the computer, someone taking to me, and the kids out playing, what else am I going to do?

My school, I realise now, educated the local boys to either work in the coalmines or engineering factories for the rest of their lives. If you were a girl then you were trained to work in the textile factories until you fell pregnant. You were then expected to stay at home where the sausage plait that you learned to make in domestic science would feed your man when he got back from the pub in the evenings. I sound a bit critical here but do not mean to be. Life did resemble an old Hovis advert after all!

This was the education system that I remember. At no time at school was I approached to stay on in further education, so at sixteen years old I left school with very few qualifications, a 100% attendance record and a very large work ethic. This work ethic led me to various jobs away from the chosen local professions. Mining was far too hot and dirty and I hated the screeching noises in engineering factories. I spent my time dutifully taking on menial office jobs that at the time seemed of great responsibility. (When I wasn’t asleep at the desk I might add). It was when I was thirty in 1990 and constantly coming home to Julie, my partner, and moaning about another day at the office that she asked the question “What would you really like to do?” Without hesitation I said that I would like to work outdoors and be involved with nature and plants. I used to garden as a hobby but never thought that I could do something I enjoyed for a living. This wasn’t something that I thought was an option in my life. This was a revelation to me and within a month of being asked the question I was attending a full time college course in horticulture, working at something that I loved. This suited me well because it was outdoors and practical so I stayed awake for most of it.

Since giving up the 9-5 I have been free from the feeling of obligation to employers and I am now thankfully in a position to choose what type of work I want to do at a time scale that suits me. This method of working, like some attitudes to home education, can be seen as selfish and lazy as this is slightly different from the normal work ethic. I do hope that I am neither of those things. I feel self motivated and energised by this way of working. Being aware that you have a choice in aspects of your life is where the home school idea appeals to me for my own children. It sounds a bit corny but I would like my children to benefit from my rather drawn out path to realising that we all have the ability to realise our potential. It could backfire on me of course. I remember my mother telling me to get a job for life and keep my head down until the pension is due, which was the ideal at the time. I rebelled against that and so might my lads from my influence. I am reminded of an acquaintance that kept her young son away from toy guns and frowned on any play that included conflict. The son is now grown up and holds a high position in the army. He is also a marksman, holding many awards for being a sharpshooter.

Pat Farenga, the main speaker at the conference in Glendalough, commented that you really do not know how your life will turn out and where your experiences will take you. It is impossible to join the dots up before your life has unfolded it can only be done afterwards to show how you came to where you are. None of us know where these experiences lead us, but hopefully it will be an enjoyable journey.

On Julie’s insistence, we started our eldest lad with home education a little over a year ago. I was reluctant at first and to be honest I sort of hoped that the idea would fail. I initially felt that I was losing the hours in the day when the lads are at school. I used this time to work and do domestic chores. What I did initially was to totally ignore what I thought was home education. When we started home scooling I thought that I had to teach the school curriculum. I did what I did at school and totally ignored this and chose to include my lad in my work and domestic life. This appears to work well was most things that are done in the house such as cooking include maths, dexterity and co-ordination, teamwork, physics, chemistry, art and probably one or two things that I haven’t even thought of. As it turned out it has seemed to work out well as my lad is now very self motivated and sorts himself out with his other studies and interests. After saying that, Julie is very good at the more structured types of education. I have made changes to my weekdays, but the changes are slight and it really only needed a slight shift in my daily schedule and approach to the situation to adjust. I am lucky that I can incorporate my work into the home education process. We also have a younger lad who we feel is now benefiting greatly by doing flexi schooling. This idea isn’t widely publicised, or legal for that but Michael seems to be thriving on it.

It has taken me a year to adjust and I still have moments (quite long ones) where I feel as though I am not giving my kids the best education. I know I shouldn’t but I find myself making comparisons with people who appear to be far better and well equipped to do this that I am. Am I a positive influence? Are my lads watching too much television? Am I making their learning fun? Am I too controlling? Do they do enough in the house? I really don’t know. But I do know that I feel very upbeat about our decision to go our own way with education and do what we feel is best suited to our circumstances.



“The day the child realises adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them he becomes and adult”. Alden Nowlan a self educated Canadian poet.