Rash on my neck cured by "Soul Cream"

I have had an awful rash on my neck, which resembles eczema, for some weeks now and since I don't actually have eczema, I was wondering where the rash came from. The only explanations I came up with were that it may have been caused by my necklace which I have worn for over 10 years now, jewellery needs to be cleaned from time to time, so I took it off and gave it a good clean by washing it with soap and water and then wiping it all round with some spirit.

I thought maybe the rash was due to an allergy to something I ate (I eat junk food at times) or stress related. Stress can do strange things to a person, it can make your hair fall out and it can cause unexplained skin problems such as acne, eczema-like rashes etc.

I have been contemplating whether or not to visit my Doctor and ask about this rash, but I find that I have a Doctor phobia. I only go to see my Doctor when I feel like I am dying or something. This suits me personally, however, please don't copy me, my mother is a Nurse and I usually ask her for advice if I feel ill. So, if you feel ill, go and see your GP.

Anyway, my dad gave me this cream ages ago, which he tends to find really good. I think it smells quite bad, it is made up primarily of Sulphur and is conveniently named "Soul Cream". However, I think the effectiveness of this cream outweighs the smell of it. On the tub it states that it is natural skincare, which is good. The tub is quite tiny, it is 15g in size and very small and cute. On further inspection of the tub, the cream is made/supplied by Ujamaa CM.

The main ingredients in the Soul cream are Parafinnum Liquidum, Sulphur, Aloe Barbadensis, Petrolatum, Apple and Banana.

You can actually smell the mixture of apple and banana inside it, but the smell of the Sulphur supercedes all its other ingredients and is very strong. I recommend that this cream is used either at night or on days when you are staying inside the house.

Now, the cream itself is excellent at stopping itching on your rash or skin ailments. It is also wonderful because it miraculously heals up your skin and is very moisturising. The persistent and itchy rash that I had on my neck has nearly disappeared completely after using the cream for about a week. I usually apply it to my neck after a bath at night or after first cleansing the area.

I would recommend the Soul cream, it is excellent.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie: Strawberries, Nectarine and Green or White Grapes

Yes, I know I have been missing in action for a little while now, but I have some urgent things to do in my offline life...

Anyway, here is another one of my delicious fresh fruit smoothie recipes with pictures. This one consists of strawberries, green or white grapes, and nectarine. This smoothie is ideal to have with a light lunch or as a refreshing appetiser on a hot sunny day. You can leave it in the fridge to chill until you are ready to drink it.

I was reading in an old newspaper just today that smoothies count towards two of your 5 a day fruit consumption. I really don't pay major attention to these things but I do try to eat as healthy as I can and I guess these little tidbits of information help in a way.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Approximately 12 strawberries
2 handfuls of green grapes / white grapes
1 nectarine

Other things you will need:

Blender
Utensil to cut fruits
Drinking glass
1 small glass of water (chilled)
Sieve (optional)

Preparation and instructions

Wash all the fruits and cut them up as pictured. Take the stone out of the nectarine and if you have seeds in the grapes take them out.

Put all the fruits into the blender and add a small glass of water (as pictured).

Blend for a few minutes until smooth and pour into a large drinking glass. If you cannot have fruits with the seeds such as strawberries, then you can use a sieve to help to get rid of the seeds as some people may not like the bits but I find it does not bother me too much.

I hope you enjoy it.

This is a slight deviation from my usual health and beauty topics, but I need a gap filler. I am currently trying to do a hundred and one things at a time and I haven't had much time to blog, although I have a lot of things to say and write about.

This video is from Gerald Levert. I was watching it online a few weeks ago and thought I would post it here. This is one of the classics and reminds me of a time when people just sang good clean love songs, not all the stuff you hear these days, which they call music.

I have watched this video a number of times....I like it that much!

Gerald Levert - I'd Give Anything (Video Version)

Gerald Levert - I'd Give Anything (Video Version)

Memories of September 11 World Trade Centre 2001

I have been deliberating whether or not to post this....

I was reading another blog and the topic of the post was where were you on 9/11? I thought I would write something here.

I was working at a hospital in London in the Primary Care section, my colleague switched on the radio as she normally did every morning and we heard that a plane had flown directly into one of the twin towers. I thought this was some silly joke as the DJs sometimes mess about. All of a sudden another plane....I think we went to a few news websites and we couldn't believe the awful news and the drama as it unfolded....Nobody could really work that whole day as we just listened and watched online for news and people throughout the hospital kept calling to tell us what had happened and emails were flying in left and right.

Next came the conspiracies and there have been many ever since....Only God knows the true events that took place on that day.

Porridge oats - A Nutritious and Filling Breakfast

Some mornings I wake up feeling extremely hungry and feeling as though I have not eaten for days. On days like this, I like to have some porridge oats for breakfast. I usually buy the big box of Quakers Oats mainly because this is what we have always bought, but to be quite honest you can buy any own brand porridge oats as they are very similar.

Porridge oats are high in fibre and roughage. It is a very filling and satisfying breakfast. Once you start eating it, you can feel the holes in your stomach filling up, well I always do. Porridge is also a very good breakfast when it is cold, as it is nice and hot. My mother used to make porridge for us and it was great especially when the weather was cold. It is ideal with a cup of tea or orange juice to prepare you for your day.

Additionally, porridge is good for the heart and helps to reduce cholesterol and it helps to make you more regular as well. Actually, there are a number of health benefits to eating porridge.

Once you have cooked it, and it is easy to cook, you can add honey, sugar, some people like to put jam on it or fruit like bananas on top, but I usually just eat it the way you can see it in my picture with about a spoon of sugar or more if needed. Surprisingly, when made with semi-skimmed milk the porridge is still very creamy and appetising. I started drinking semi-skimmed milk when I was about 15 or 16 and managed to convince the whole family to drop the whole fat milk. In fact, I can no longer drink whole fat milk, but at first I thought that I would not be able to cope without whole milk.

As far as cereals go, I used to enjoy the cereals packed full of sugar, when I was a teenager, but I found that these cereals not only lost their appeal but after eating them I would not be satisfied and would continue to feel hungry.

I have some quick instructions on how you can make yourself a wholesome bowl of porridge for breakfast below.

You will need the following:

A cup or mug to use to measure the porridge
A pot
Wooden spoon
Milk and/or water
Sugar or honey


How do you cook it?

1. If you are making the porridge for one, use about half a cup or a standard sized mug to measure the porridge. It tends to expand when you start cooking it so cook only what you need.
2. Add enough water and semi-skimmed (green top) milk to completely soak up the porridge in the pot. If the porridge soaks up the water quickly, you can always add more water or milk later on while you are cooking it. It is a good idea not to add too much water initially as it is hard to get rid of it once you start boiling the porridge and then it will come out too runny. You can add the sugar or honey to taste before or after you cook it.
3. Put the pot on the cooker and heat up the porridge on a medium heat and immediately start to stir continuously until ithe porridge starts to bubble up. If the porridge looks too thick, add some more milk or water and continue to stir. The reason why you have to continuously stir it is that it can get lumpy if you just leave it unattended. If you stir it continuously, you will have a very smooth lump-free porridge.
4. Once the porridge looks as though it has absorbed the water well, pour it into a bowl (see my picture) and proceed to enjoy it.

If you are not going to eat the porridge straight away and decide to leave it to cool down, you can use a spoon to add a little milk or water to the top layer of the porridge to stop it forming a hard skin, of course some people like the skin, but others may not.

Measuring the oats in a cup

Porridge oats in a pot with wooden spoon

Semi skimmed milk

Cooked porridge

Well, hopefully this post will be useful for someone. Below you will find a short video I made of how to cook porridge oats on the stove.

Cooking porridge oats on the stove

Related External Links

The Health Benefits of Oats