Not To Keep Going On About China and their attitudes to animals but....

In issue 25 of International Lifestyle Magazine we look at some of the work carried out by Animal Asia and today I read this article....

Commuters in China are being offered a supposedly healthy alternative to crisps and chocolates from underground vending machines - hairy crabs that are meant to be eaten while still alive.

The Dazha hairy crab, a popular delicacy in the southeastern province of Jiangsu, is on sale in three different sizes in the province capital of Nanjing.

Prices for the small, medium or large crabs range from the equivalent of £1.50 to £5.00.

The crabs are packed into custom-fitted plastic boxes and chilled to 5C, leaving them sedated but still alive.

If a customer gets a dead one, he or she will get three live ones for free.

"The customers were a bit sceptical at first as they were worried if the crabs were alive or not," Wu Zhendi, general manager of the Twin Lake Crab Co, told reporters.

"But now they see they are alive, they keep coming back.

"We are selling hundreds each day, and more at weekends."

The company now plans to expand its business and is even thinking of trying out sales in Japan, where vending machines are big subway business.

IS IT JUST ME OR IS THIS JUST WRONG ON EVERY LEVEL? Not only are these poor things pulled from the sea, or created in some factory farming system somewhere, they are boxed up and put on a shelf for people to view, buy and eat. Who exactly looks at a poor crab stuck in a piece of plastic and thinks "yummy that looks nice, I think I will take a large live crab and munch on it on the way to work". What is wrong with an apple or a bag or nuts or anything that does not involve eating live animals.

Sorry to pick on China but really, cruel circus tricks, live crabs in vending machines and that is just what we see.

Lynn
xx

Make People Smile!

Today lets make it a personal goal to make other people smile, even better, make them laugh.

There is so much doom and gloom around and yet if we can smile or laugh we can release chemicals in our system which will give us a natural high and therefore equip us better to deal with any problems.

Seeing a smiling face will instantly give you a high, make the effort to say ´hello´or ´morning´to as many people as you can, it is a completely natural thing to do here in Spain, and I know when I return to the UK that people tend to look at you as if you have lost your mind when you say ´hello´but to make a difference we have to start the change. Smile, say hi, and see how many smiles you get back. Give people a lift when you meet them by commenting on their appearance, remark on new hair styles, clothes anything, all this builds peoples confidence and therefore their self esteem. They then in turn begin to smile at others and spread the happiness.

It costs nothing, it takes a moment, but it makes a huge difference to you and everyone else!

Have a happy day!

Lynn
xxx

Christmas Presents!

I note, with some horror, that some people are already putting up their Christmas decorations which seems a little early considering that it is just October, however, it is also clear that people are now buying their Christmas presents. I would also like to point out here that I have not even considered this yet, too busy organising a halloween party for what seems like every child in the village, however, for those that are organised take a moment.

There are a million great gifts you can give which will truly reflect the meaning of Christmas.

Before you puchase expensive, sometimes unwanted, gifts think about doing something really positive. You can donate to so many people and make a real difference or you could buy vouchers for travel in the new year. There are so many great companies, with many great ideas, that you could give someone the best gift of their life, plus it will not be stuffed in a drawer by the new year, they will have something to look forward to.

You can sponsor an animal from around the world, you can purchase some brilliant gifts from some great companies who use the profits to make a difference to the world, so before you rush out and spend, spend, spend, take a moment to think about the person you are buying for and choose a gift that will make them feel thought of and special and make a difference to someone or something in the world.

Lynn
xxx

From Little Acorns

I heard a great saying just the other day,

"You cannot change the direction of the tides but you can change the direction in your sails"

I hear people often talk about all the negative things in their life, how they would like to change this, how they would like to do that not even contemplating for a moment all the good things in their life which really makes me sad.

If people put as much energy into positive thoughts as they do into negative thoughts think how much better the world would be.

There are always people worse off than ourselves and we should spare a moment of our time to consider these people. It is very easy to complain but harder to actually get off your backside and make a difference but you have to get out of your chair to make that journey.

If you have a dream or ambition then make it happen. Only you can do this, it cannot be done for you so use everything you have to achieve it. Do not instantly think that without money you cannot achieve anything, simply start with small goals to make your dreams reality then build on your successes.

My own moto is that there are never problems only solutions, in otherwords, find the positive solution to a situation and waste not a moment of your time on the negative alternatives.

We can all achieve anything, nothing is unrealistic, the only thing that can prevent us achieving anything is ourselves so do not hold yourself back just get out there and go for it, and the next time you see a huge oak tree, remember how it started out.

Lynn
xx

Digital Magazine Awards!

Today is an incredibly proud day for us as we are pleased to announce that we have been selected in the finalists for the Digital Magazine Awards!

This means so much for us as it brings extra light onto our publication which helps all our contributors and friends we have made along the way so we hope this will go towards helping us all.

We will keep you up todate on the results but in the meantime, keep all your fingers crossed and send lots of positivity!

Have a wonderful day and keep believing in your dreams.

Lynn
xxx