Bread from a supermarket

I would like you to tell you about something that surprised me some time ago.

The three most important words to encourage customers to buy bread in supermarkets are: “warm", "crusty" and "straight from the oven". Unfortunately, in most cases, this "bread from the oven" is a specially iced mass, which first waits half a year in the magazine before going to to oven.

What we can find in the bread from the supermarket?

For example, L-cysteine which is an amino acid added to bread flour so that the dough will be soft and malleable. It is made from cereals, but it is not a cheap method, so another source was found. L-cysteine can be obtained from the duck feathers or even from human hair (which is cheaper) collected from hairdressing salons (human hair is one of the richest sources of this amino acid). This production method is so effective that in China it is applied on a large scale. Of course, the factories do not reveal what sort of production they use. What is more, human hair improvers is also present in Europe and it is very likely that we can find it in deep-frozen bread from supermarkets. In Europe we can not add the L-cysteine from human hair and what is used is made of pig bristles. The problem is that in the supermarkets, where bread is baked in place, mostly frozen dough are from China.

I was not conscious of this phenomenon, but at the moment when I discovered the truth about it, I do not buy breadstuff in the supermarket. Most of people do not know about it and they are taken in when the plugs advertise how the rolls are delicious, fresh and crusty!

"God never blinks"

Today I want to tell you about a book which I just have finished reading.. And I'm not happy about it, because this book is just excellent. Happily, I can always return to it. This time, it is not a novel. It is something like a guide. The title is “God never blinks” and it is written by Regina Brett. Despite this title, this book does not talk about God. The subject of religion returns relatively rarely. I am sure that you can wonder what means such title, you may have many ideas... The author of the book during 40 years of her life, was thinking that at the moment of her birth, God has blinked and he missed it and never learned that she was born. But when she already finds out what is the happiness, she considers that “God never blinks” and never forget about you.

The book is composed of 50 lessons, as the author suggests “for life's little detours”. Each lesson is rather short, but very meaningful. To portray what she wants to express, she employs some anecdotes about other people.

I think every person, regardless of age, can find something for itself and about itself, something that would help her change something for the better in her life.

I have applied some lessons and I am very happy with the results.

Brett was a columnist and her life lessons column became very popular and it inspired her to create this book which quickly became a bestseller. She said that the lessons were posted on blogs and websites by people all over the world. Her lessons affected many people, representatives of all religions, because they are universal.

I am so fascinated with this book that I would like everyone to read it. I strongly recommend it and I ensure you that you will not be disappointed. 

Universal basic income in Finland

I have read the article entitled "Finland begins to experiment with basic income", the author gives some information on the basic income in this country. This project entered into force on January 1, 2017, and consists of drawing by lots 2,000 people aged 25 to 58 who will be awarded 560 euros per month of universal basic income for two years instead of unemployment benefits, but with health coverage and housing allowance. In case of a higher amount obtained previously, the difference will be refunded. A big change is the fact that even if a person finds a job, and regardless of a salary, he will not lose the universal income. This ensures that the unemployed will not find themselves in a less advantageous position if they find a low-paid job.

This idea aims to examine the motivation to find work and to get into entrepreneurial projects of two groups of unemployed: benefiting from a universal income and those who normally receive social benefits. According to the Prime Minister of Finland, this project will promote employment, reduce bureaucracy and simplify the welfare system.

According to opponents, it will not give objective results because the group is too limited compared to the number of inhabitants of Finland. In addition, they find that the amount of income is not enough.

Inspired by Finland system, French politicians reflect on the introduction of universal basic income in France.

Five Days Left II

As I promised one week ago, I will tell you about another story in the book "Five Days left". It will be about a friend of Mara, who has the Huntington disease. They have never met, they do not know how the other looks like, they know each other only from messages, because they are chatting on the forum for adoptive parents. You must know that Mara adopted a girl and Scott, the second main character, who is a middle school teacher, is also a foster parent of a little boy. Her mother is in jail and her brother is not mature so Scott and his wife take care of the boy who is troubled. The story in the book starts at the moment when there are five days left (that is why the title of the book) to the end of the sentence of the biological mother.

Scott loved Curtis and it is extremely difficult for him to leave the child after one year. His wife is rather happy, she is pregnant and she wants to be calm. But Scott seems not occupy by his biological baby, he is thinking just about Curtis, so I agree with his wife who is nervous because of that.

We know that life is unpredictable. When the mother of Curtis came out of the jail, she overdosed drugs and she died. Now Scott and Laurie have to face a big choice: adopt Curtis or not. Laurie is opposed, Scott dreams about it. I will not reveal the end :)

The story of this family lets to think about the big choices in life concerning marriage, parenthood, if a child should come back to the biological mother even if she is very bad.

I loved this book and I will search other books of Julie Lawson Timmer. 

Five Days Left

This week I have finished reading an excellent book. It was "Five Days left" of Julie Lawson Timmer. One of my favourite writers recommended this book with these words:
“A beautifully drawn study of what is at risk when you lose control of your own life. Unique, gripping, and viscerally moving—this impressive debut novel heralds the arrival of an extremely talented writer.”

This is the story about a woman who four year ago was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. Her name is Mara. Over time, she was becoming weaker and weaker, until she finally had to leave work. You have to know that she loved her job, she was a workaholic and it was very difficult for her to leave her career as a lawyer. She knows that she will die, there is no cure for this disease. At the begging she does not accept her disease and she is bad with other people, her family, but she realises that she can not loose the time which is very precious. Sometimes, she thinks about suicide, but she is waiting for one sign which will indicate her that her state is bad and after that sign, then she will suicide next birthday.

One day in the supermarket she cannot control her bladder and she peed. The scene is witnessed by a little boy and his mom. Mom helps her cover the stain on light leggings. That day Mara decides that this is the sign. As it happens, for 5 days she will have her birthday. There are 5 days left, 5 days of life because she does not want to break the promise she made to herself.

She has a lot of memory trouble, so she writes everything she has to do before she dies. She says goodbye to everyone, of course, everything by steal. She secretly writes letters to parents, daughter and husband. This is surprising, but she manages to complete all the tasks from the list. I have to tell you that this book does not have a happy ending, Mara will commit suicide so that not to expose her family to the obligation to care for a sick person who will not understand anything and not react.

This book is sad, all the events are sad. But it is very interesting, touching and it shows that you should enjoy the life, the family, everything. This book impressed me and I think that I will read this book one more time, but I don't yet know when. I strongly recommend you this beautifully written book.

There is another story in this book and I will tell you about it next time.

William and Kate

We continue with the beautiful subject of the royal wedding.

The ceremony took place in the Westminster Abbey founded in 960. It has been the venue for coronations and some royal weddings. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams  conducted the marriage at 11:00 of a local time. The ceremony was attended by  about 1 900 guests - the bride's and groom's families, some members of foreign royal dynasties, diplomats and the couple's personal guests.  

Now, the dress.

The bridal dress was designed by the London designer Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The project dress was a closely guarded secret. The handmade lace for the dress was made by the Royal School of Tailoring and lace from the French Chantilly. Lace embroidered on tulle, creating a unique pattern of flowers symbolizing the United Kingdom: roses, thistles, daffodils and clovers. The workers had to wash their hands every 30 minutes so that not to dirty the lace and threads. Also  the needles were renewed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean.

The fashion experts gave much comment about the dress and it was very well received.

After the wedding, the dress was on public display at Buckingham Palace fans could have admired it. Even several hours after the ceremony, the wedding dress of Princess Kate had her first copies. This dress has become an icon of style, class and good taste. To this day, it is an inspiration for many brides and designers wedding dresses.

After the wedding ceremony, the young couple went to the ceremonial reception at the Queen Elizabeth II after which appeared together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. After the official part of the wedding the bride and groom also took part in an organized evening gala dinner at the Prince Charles, who organized a dance party, which was attended by friends and family of the newlyweds. In addition, a few days later, the couple announced already quite a private dance party with friends.

People in more than 180 countries could have watched the wedding. It was broadcast on television, internet, and radio. It is said that 2 billion people in over the world watched it. In London 1 million people watched the wedding and over 5000 street festivals were organized across the United Kingdom. As you can see, some people were totally involved. 

One more thing which is interesting for me. When it comes to title upon marriage, William became Duke of Cambridge with Catherine becoming Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Harry, the brother of William is not anymore the third in line to the throne of Britain after Prince Charles and Prince William. Harry is the fifth now after the children of William and Kate – Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The royal wedding

As the last time I talked about marriages in France, now I want to talk about one big mariage in the United Kingdom. Do you have any idea? Yes, this is the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and all the madness around this event. 

First of all I want to emphasize that the royal family has a big importance for British people.

The impact of the Queen to make any impact on the running of the country is rather limited. Her role is more symbolic nowadays. There are British people who love the tradition and spectacle connected with the royal family. The others think that this is the relic of the past which takes a lot of tax payer money.

Before the marriage there is of course the engagement.

The engagement took place in October 2010, during a private holiday in Kenya. Kate obtained the same engagement ring that the father of William had given to William's mother, Diana. It is made from white gold ring with an oval ceylon sapphire and 14 round diamonds.

The wedding day was a bank holiday – the day off the work. It had place the 29 th of April 2011. The price of the wedding was reportedly £20 million, but with the security and flowers it was around £32 million. The Royal Family and the Middletons themselves got to the expense of this event. However, the costs of security and transport were covered by Her Majesty's British treasury. I like very much the idea of William and Kate for the gifts. Instead of traditional wedding gifts, they asked that donations be made to charities.