Hello lovelies, thank you as ever for your support, love and sign-ups! I hope the endlessness of January isn’t bashing you up too much!

I know, I know I promised I wasn’t one of those New Year/New Self wankers* but turns out I am a little bit of a git.*

I reason? I bought a blendjet thingy. It makes smoothies, juices and most importantly cocktails. And we all know the only way to survive the longest month of the year is to make cocktails.

(*British slang for jerk & mildly annoying pain in the ass)

It arrived yesterday which means so far I have made smoothies for the kids and one iced coffee - which was madness as we are currently experiencing a wind chill of -5ºC. But I can report it blends with a fury - I’ll let you know how cocktail hour goes.

The reason I have bought this hurricane of health is a concession to my swallowing being wonky enough that I am not eating with sufficient vigour. As in I give up after the eleventy-billionth spillage, usually, the final straw is a dollop of something landing in my cleavage. Then the swallowing, spraying and spluttering, frankly, who can be arsed with that much palaver? In short, it’s unlikely I am getting enough quality nutrition. In my readings, I came to the conclusion that smoothies may be a solution. We shall see.

Now we come to hydration. As a PwP, I am waterboarded with endless reminders to drink and stay hydrated. There is even a remind-you-to-drink-coaster…I kid you not!

I know it’s important. I grew up with a parent who insisted I remain waterlogged for good health. Not only do I have to pee frequently with Parkinson’s, but it’s also due to the reservoir that passes through my system daily.

My main complaint is it makes me so bloody cold. The water out of our taps here is very cold at this time of year, and as you know, dearest readers, I can’t tolerate the cold in any way. And everyone knows that hot water is vile. But I don’t want to drink too much tea or coffee and herb teas are…are…what’s the word? Well, I’d sooner drink the dog’s water. I know first-world problems. I suspect what I really want is to be sat in a lovely old English pub beside a roaring fire clutching a dark porter and waiting on something meaty, roasted and delicious.

Yep, I’m officially over winter.

With love

Emma xx

I’m adding a new section to the letter where I offer a few things of interest. The dark algorithms of the net have suggested these wonders this week:

• Moving & Shaking blog by the funny and candid Andi Brown. Grab a glass of something nice and start here!

• A brilliant long poem by the talented Kimberly Campanello exploring her diagnosis and subsequent feelings about PD.

• A lovely art and Parkinson’s project to enjoy or indeed join in.