CHOCOLATE AND JOKES - THESE ARE TWO OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

So sang Maria in that wonderful film The Sound Of Music.

Well I don't know about any of the above being my favourite things but I do know two that are .......

Chocolate and jokes.

And with regards to chocolate, its official chocolate desert is good for you. Well, when I say good for you research has shown that it makes you brainier.

Not just one but two studies have shown that polyphenols in chocolate (and red wine) increase the blood flow and oxygen to the brain which could boost its power, especially in 43 year-olds the elderly.

And for those of you who like both chocolate and wine its even better news as the researchers believe taking them together could be even more effective.

As for jokes ...........

Believe it or not I'm not a good joke teller in that I often get to the punch-line and can't for the life of me think what it is. Then of course there's the fact that I'm not always that quick on the up-take and often, much to the amusement of Husband dearest, only get the joke and start chuckling some minutes after everyone else has finished laughing OR worse again, don't get the joke at all so that Hd has to spend so much time explaining it by which time it isn't funny any more.

Anyway, I'm sure that many of you will have heard the expression 'it's how I tell 'em'.

Wellllllll, research has shown that its not actually how you tell them so much as who tells them.

Yes, researchers have found that how funny people perceive a joke to be depends on the person who is telling it and not the quality of the material - which just goes to show why you all love my jokes no matter how bad they are.

Sources: Richard Alleyne, The Telegraph (May 2011)  READ FULL CHOCOLATE ARTICLE.  READ FULL JOKE ARTICLE.

Oh and going back to chocolate .......

Thanks to chef Thierry Marx, its now possible to enjoy chocolate without putting on weight. Working with Havard professor David Edwards he has created Le Whif  (I think I have mentioned their 'breathable coffee before) - a spray that allows you to suck in the taste, but only has one calorie. It costs £1.99 and comes in 3 flavours - plain, raspberry and mint. Click HERE for more information.