Peas to remember the 5th of November, sunflower seeds and shallots. I see no reason why cauliflower unseasoned should ever be forgot - 10 / 10 club

[FrannyandZooey]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES EVERY DAY - if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion.

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY - can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more.

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being. Sign up below and post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and you can download more detailed information by following the link at the very bottom of the page

We have a peach tree in our garden. And a fig bush. They were here when we moved.

Idris, we're on!

You lot make me and my cooking apples sound boring! I'd like to have more fruit trees. I've got more apples than I know what to do with at the minute - I've given loads away today!

I think the figs might taste of fig, and things come off the peach tree, but I'm not sure how edible they are.

at having fruit trees and having no idea whether they produce anyuthing edible.

I have made a s&*e move

Rash? What rash?

Oh Possum, how wonderful!

Pink, where are you? We need apples. Our poor trees have been v. unproductive this year. I have considered asking on freecycle for surplus garden apples.

So has psw.

I have made another one.

Bother, I made a mess of typing acrabble and it went bold .

Boco has a rash .

Why does she have a rash?

It might be stress related. GP hasn't been able to work out what it is.

You know i share too much, but i've managed not to mention my rash for months because i'm afraid of turning into a caricature of myself. But yes, i do have a very very itchy blotchy red rash. If step-sis is here - she's seen it!

Oh TooT, we're going to my mum's on Sunday and if she hadn't moved house we could have dropped apples off for you! Try Freecycle, you never know!

I've just been looking at Thompson and Morgan. I might get a peach for Christmas.

Hmmm..... homeopathy? I can tell you how wonderful it is. I am an evangelist
But now I have to go to bed. Ds1 has to be at school extra early for a mosque trip.

Actually Boco, from a homeopathic point of view, a rash is quite a good thing. It may make you feel bloody miserable but the thinking goes that your body is expressing what's wrong on the outside, rather than hiding the malaise deep within you.

My homeopath described it thus: "the person who is never ever ill suddenly falls down half-dead with cancer; meanwhile those who have colds, fever and flu thereby recalibrate their body, take time to rest and recharge and hence remain in overall excellent health".

Possum that's good - recalibrating. I've been recalibrating for months though - it'd be good to find the cause and fix it. I'm so scratched, even my scalp. And, my neck glands are big and painful, - a small one at very of my neck. The dr thinks it's linked - and pressing on something so it hurts to move my head. See i wanted to avoid sounding like a grumbling hypochondriac, but maybe i need to face the music!

Boco what about reflexology?

Possum "the person who is never ever ill suddenly falls down half-dead with cancer" I'm never ill. [panic]

the rash is a (literally) red flag alerting you to the fact that things are amiss. You can't 'recalibrate' without maybe a change in your environment (eg a happier DH), a boost via homeopathic remedies which stimulate your body's own healing mechanisms, and maybe a general change in your routine which factors in more TLC for you. Maybe none of that is possible for you right now, so your rash keeps waving to you to remind you that at some point you will have to "face the music". It really is trying to be helpful - just in a very annoying fashion.

PSW, you're young and obviously healthy, I think my homeopath meant on a longer time scale, like my mother who is in her seventies, who makes a song and dance about how she is Never Ill but to my eyes is not genuinely healthy, who has more of martyrish "I'm coping and Will Not Grumble" attitude that masks minor ailments she won't admit to herself let alone to others, which may get much more serious over time if ignored.

That does make sense. I'm not sure where to start. I do have a friend who is a homeopath actually. I last saw her when i was pg and desperately trying to avoid induction and she gave me various things and nothing worked and i huffily decided after awful induction that i didn't believe in it at all. Maybe i'll give her a call. Thanks for explaining.

Maybe a homeopath who is not a friend but just an anonymous professional to you may be of more help. You might be able to be honest about your feelings (as valid as physical symptoms) to a stranger. Also a non-friend can assess you much more objectively, I would think. As TooT would say, make sure they are a classical homeopath - there are some strange permutations on homeopathy around which are not as Hahnemann envisaged.

There's actually a Natural Health Centre in my village, I will look into it. Thank you