What's the scoop about chocolate? by Vijaya Schartz

The young heroine in these books loves chocolate. See all of Vijaya's BWL books HERE

I recently autographed my books at the Glendale Chocolate Affaire just before Valentine's day. It made me think about chocolate and its influence on our society. But more interestingly, is it a health food? or is it responsible for weight gain?

Vijaya Schartz holding her latest BWL release, ANGEL OF LUSIGNAN

Writers are addicted to it... so are most readers. We are all guilty of this indulgence. Chocolate is addictive... but did you know it's also a health food?

The pre-Columbian rulers of Central and South America drank it and called it the food of the gods. It was said to keep them young, healthy, and beautiful. 

When the conquistadores brought it back to Europe it quickly became a sensation.

It was a favorite drink at the court of the French king Louis XIV and a beverage reserved for the ruling class. It's only in the 20th century that it spread to the working classes and became a favorite winter drink for all.

There are many ways to drink or eat chocolate. Not all are healthy. My Tai-Chi teacher drinks it with a little Cayenne pepper. Excellent for the heart.

Is chocolate really a health food? Did you know that eating a small piece of 100% dark chocolate every single day will keep your hair from falling? But there is a catch. To be effective as a health food, chocolate should not be mixed with a lot of sugar or other carbohydrates. Sorry. No chocolate cake or candy will do the trick. Only pure dark chocolate will do. I love it. It's a little bitter... an acquired taste. But hey, it works for me.

Chocolate is also touted to be a mood enhancer and I tend to agree.

Wishing you all a wonderful end of winter, with lots of hot chocolate.

Vijaya Schartz
  Action, Romance, Mayhem
  http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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What happened to Shrove Tuesday? Asks Tricia McGill

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As I have mentioned before, I attended a small church school for the first 6 years of my school days. I loved that little school as we got to go to all the religious festivities, my favourites being what we called Pancake Day but I much later learnt was Shrove Tuesday, and the harvest festival held at our local church. We would have to take a basket of fruit or vegetables along which the priest assured us was then distributed to the local disadvantaged people. 

I also loved Sunday School as we got to hear all those amazing stories from the best story book of all time—the bible. Call me a sinner but the only time I visit church nowadays is for a wedding or funeral and even these are few and far between as either my younger relatives get married in their garden or go over to Bali or similar and marry on a beach, and most funeral wakes are held at the funeral parlour.

Anyway, the essence of this post is to find out why we (or should I say I?) don’t hear much about Pancake Tuesday any more. Perhaps this is due to me not living in the UK now as it still seems to be a tradition that is held up over there to this day.

While searching online I came across an informative post at:

http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pancake-Day/  

My thanks go to its creator Ellen Castelow for the following facts and figures:

Shrove Tuesday is held before the start of Lent, which for Christians is the 40 days leading up to Easter (a traditional time of fasting) It always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday. The bell that would call people to confession was called the Pancake Bell and this apparently is still rung today. So that blows my theory of Pancake Day not existing any more out the window.

So, back to Pancake Tuesday which to me was a fantastic celebration. I’ve always loved them and we would have them at home with sugar and lemon or in good times with golden syrup atop. As most everyone knows they are made of batter and fried in a pan. The story goes that the tradition started as far back as 1439. Shrove Tuesday was the last chance the housewives had to use up the simple ingredients of eggs, flour, salt and milk before Lent. Even I, terrible cook that I am, can master such an easy recipe. I doubt I could manage the racing and tossing them as I go with much skill though.

A pancake race of some repute is held in Olney, Buckinghamshire each year and the original started some 600 years or more ago when a woman of this town heard the shriving bell calling them to confession while still in the process of cooking pancakes and headed off to church clutching her frying pan. Rule is that the women of the town must wear their apron and have either a hat of scarf on their heads. The pancake must be tossed three times during the race. 

Many towns and villages throughout England still carry on the tradition in some form. Also, some towns held a football match on the day, but a lot of these have died out.

Something I didn’t realise is that in some countries Shrove Tuesday is known as ‘Mardi Gras’, meaning Fat Tuesday in French. So, there is the connection with using up food before Lent. Mardi Gras celebrations are famously held in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Venice. And news to me, is that the Mardi Gras held in Sydney Australia each year is connected, although this year is to be held on 3^rd March.

Acknowledgements also go to this site for more information garnered about Shrove Tuesday: 

https://www.whyeaster.com/customs/shrovetuesday.shtml

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The Stages of Public Speaking

http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/sawka-randall-western-suspense/

This month my blog will be in stages. The wooden kind, that is.

In 2007 the release of my first book included a large book launch event in downtown Edmonton. This was my first time public speaking. Yikes. I was very uncomfortable. Thankfully a good number of friends and family were present. This allowed me to make a brief (very brief) opening statement and humbly asked for questions. They were mostly softballs or kidding. I made it through that.

I was certainly nervous about the national book tour. How would I react to speaking/reading/media?

The radio / TV / signings were actually quite easy. For some reason the readings were iffy. Still, I got through them.

With our move to Toronto I decided to train in public speaking. I chose acting and impov classes. My first few visits I shook before performing on the stage. It took four months to get comfortable. Now, it's second-nature to get on "the boards". What a change.

Even in front of the camera doing short comedy skits for my Sawka TV youtube channel are more fun than work. Way more fun than work. The biggest surprise is the comfort with improvisation. When your mind is clear the reactions just appear. The few seconds it takes seem long, but I now see that it's just the way it works.

So much fun!