From insect bites to dealing with past traumas.

Jamie is being badly bitten by something up his garden unlike previous years and asks Gill if she gets bitten more now than a few years ago as he has a theory.  Gill says she only has to walk outside and she gets bitten even through jeans, hence she never wears shorts or dresses! She reacts badly to bites with them itching constantly and they become swollen and red for days - she still has the scars from last years bites. Jamie thinks its because we eat 'cleaner and healthier' now that we have become tastier to the insects. Gill thinks it's because she doesn't drink as much alochol these days as she used to when she didn't get bitten! 

However she can't wait to tell Jamie that she is about to make something and see if it works. She's been hearing and reading about ribwort plantain balm being excellent for bites and stings. Having discovered they have loads of both sorts of plantain (flat broad lead and ribwort plantain) growing in their garden, of course  Gill being Gill has decided to make some to see if it is effective. 

They chat about how the more natural ways are often the best and how we have forgotten about so many of them that herbalist and naturopaths use or actually has marketing and big pharma steered us away from making our own natural remedies?

Gill had shared an IG post with Jamie about some research around trauma, which she had found interesting. It was looking at why after a trauma some people can move on and simply view it as a memory and others stay stuck in the trauma cycle despite therapy. In essence the research found that those that journal about it for 15 - 20 mins over 3 or 4 days can then move forward with their lives. Jamie says he has something he'd like to move on from and is going to give it a go to see what happens. They chat about what they used to use for writing from fountain pens to Quink ink, blotting paper and cartridge pens.