Lucky Animals


Hello from a chillier London, it’s Easter again for many Orthodox Christians around the world. The orthodox Christian’s,apparently use the Julian calendar, as opposed to the Gregorian one. In my area of London there are quite a few Greek restaurants and a couple of shops. They are beautifully decorated and there are delightful pastries for sale, I think I’ll have to pop out and get some.
I received a promotional email a gambling company called lucky animals, the aim was for you to choose your lucky animal and place a bet on it. I deleted it but it got me thinking about why certain animals are considered lucky.
In Cambodia fish are considered lucky as bringers of good health, particularly the try Kantrop fish. This fish is associated with good health and used for treating anaemia. A physician called Chris Charles was doing research into this problem he came up with the idea of placing iron fish shape ingots during cooking, they didn’t affect the taste but increased the iron levels. Wonderful idea.
In many countries the crane is associated with longevity and grace, maybe attributed to their elegance and loyalty. Pairs stay together for life. Rabbits are said to symbolise fertility and prosperity. In America rabbits used to be given to children as gifts to bring good fortune. Many people carry a rabbits foot for safety. In fact many people in America on the first day of every month say rabbit three times on waking up, to bring good luck.
Frogs are considered an auspicious animal in many countries, they are associated with rain which means that crops will grow. Black cats were considered to be a sign of good fortune in ancient Egypt and many European think it’s a sign of good fortune if a black cat crosses your path.
I don’t have a particular lucky animal but I am very fond of frogs and robins.
I hope you have a good week over and out London.

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Mistakes

 I hope you are well and enjoying the beautiful Sakura, sadly most of the cherry blossom has gone but there are other beautiful flowers coming through. It’s Easter weekend and for a change, it’s very warm hotter than Greece on Saturday. For those who celebrate I wish you a happy Easter.

I read an article about a man who works for the local council in Somerset as a gardener. It made me laugh Somerset council apologised for the worker who was seen cutting the plastic grass at a roundabout. The council said they will provide their workforce with more training.

I also saw in the news a seal who had become obese. The seal was very friendly with humans and had become very partial to doughnuts and sandwiches. The seal is being rehabilitated to behave more like a seal and eat more appropriate food, it will be returned to the wild.

So mistakes happen, plastic for grass, the seal mistaking itself as a human. I read about people who made mistakes when they bought animals. One family thought they were buying a Tibetan Mastiff dog. They took it home and the dog had an insatiable appetite it turned out to be a black Asiatic bear.
Another family thought they had acquired an Alsatian puppy and it in-fact turned out to be a coyote. Mistakes definitely can and do happen.
Wishing you a good week over and out London.













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I hope that you’ve had a good week and spring fas finally sprung for you. It’s warmed up a bit here too.
I heard a wonderful article about an Afghan refugee called Shapoor Safari. He escaped from Afghanistan in 1996 and ended up in the capital of Sicily Palermo. He found Palermo to be a very beautiful place and the people very kind hearted. He said he never felt alienated. He has over time become the head cook at a restaurant called Moltivolti, he has a team of refugees working under him. The team come from all over the world and 3,000 people visit every month to enjoy food from all over the globe.
Moltivolti is a is an unusual restaurant it’s premises, also hosts other facilities such as GreenPeace and an NGO group promoting intercultural dialogue.
Palermo has a history of welcoming refugees and it is the most diverse city in Italy. The mayor Leoluca Orlando has transformed the city from a mafia stronghold to a beacon for migrants. In 2018 he ignored the government order to close its port to asylum seekers and sent out rescue boats.
Moltivolti in 2021 set up a campaign to get Mr Safaris family out of Afghanistan and housed them. Sadly the restaurant was struck by a fire disaster it burnt down last year. But thanks to Palermos generosity money was raised to rebuild it and it reopened last month. How wonderful!
I was delighted to read about Dirk the giant tortoise who finally became a father at the grand age of 70, he never gave up. Dirk lives in a zoo in Oxford well done to him. The answer seems never say never.
What could have been a huge loss of income to a ceramic company has become a success story. The queen is celebrating her platinum jubilee this year, however the merchandise produced made a spelling mistake and instead of jubilee the word jubbly appeared. More than 10,000 pieces of merchandise were manufactured. However for some reason they have become highly sort after. Mistakes can be successful.

Bloggers I hope that you have a good week over and out London.










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