Paeon, the Physician

Another of my favourite flowers - such beauty we have in this country...

Given to me by a friend of many years - we met when she came from Alsace to Birmingham to study English. She ended up marrying an Englishman, doing a doctorate at Oxford, and spending more years here than I have. Appropriately, her father was a physician, because this gorgeous flower is supposedly what Zeus turned the Greek god of medicine and healing, Paeon, into when another god of healing, Asclepius, became jealous of his powers.

Peonies have many healing powers, including against cancer. And the Chinese eat them, sweetened and parboiled. Still, their beauty is all I get from them for now - it's enough.

Made summer pudding for 30+ this morning at church, and going back now to make pasta bake and salad for the first course. Happily, my Mum has made enough progress to be transferred to another ward, and today, actually fed herself a fair bit of the pudding at lunch.