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Parsley is perhaps one of the most commonly used but therapeutically under-rated of herbs. How often one sees a dish in a restaurant garnished with parsley, and the waiter leaves the parsley on the serving dish or the customer rejects it as mere decoration.

Parsley contains more vitamin C than any other standard culinary vegetable, with 166mg per 100g (4oz). This is three times as much as oranges and about the same as blackcurrants. The iron content is exceptional with 5.5mg per100g (4oz), and the plant is a good source of manganese (2.7mg per 100g) and calcium (245mg per 100g). It is also exceptionally high in potassium, with one whole gram of potassium in 100g (4oz) .

In the Middle Ages parsley was used for many conditions including 'fastening teeth' (because scurvy which is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C makes the gums spongy and the teeth loose) and for 'brightening dim eyes' (bad eyesight is a sign of shortage of vitamin A). The old herbalists often had good results without their knowing the chemistry involved. The old Greeks were in awe of parsley because the herb was associated with Archemorus who was eaten by a serpent having been put on a parsley leaf as a baby by his careless nurse. Henceforward he became the harbinger of death.

On the bright side, they decorated the heroes of the isthmian games with parsley garlands and decorated the many maidens that sang at feasts in the same way. This last use may be associated with the great effectiveness of parsley in increasing menstruation and helping in regular process of monthly periods. This action is due to the presence of apiol which is a constituent of the female sex hormone estrogen. The plant was used against the effects of malaria with some success and Father Kniepp said it was one of the most proven of all remedies as a diuretic to cure water retention or dropsy.

Today parsley is a valuable therapy for kidney stones, as a diuretic, for rheumatism, menstrual insufficiency and as a general stimulant. It settles the stomach and improves the appetite. The high content of vitamin C is not only useful in its own right, but also assists the absorption of the valuable quantity of iron.

Parsley juice, being a herbal drink, is quite powerful and is usually taken in quantities of about 2 fl oz (50ml) three times a day and is best mixed with other juices. The leaves can be deep frozen and are easily stored. It is a good idea to use parsley in cooking as well as in the form of juice. Dried parsley is not a very satisfactory alternative to fresh and has a coarser flavor.

Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on home based natural cures and shows the importance of parsley which can cure many illnesses and other health problems.

However, I'd always assumed that when the time did come to utter these immortal words, it would be to make some romantic dash to an exotic location. I didn't realise that it would be because I'd the hangover from hell and was about to miss a flight home from Prague. Relying on the alarm on a mobile phone, will only ever work if you remember not to let the battery run out.

The taxi driver was great; he kept beaming at me in the rear view mirror, gesturing the universal sign for 'sore head from too much booze' as he put his foot down on the back streets to the airport. Despite all his best efforts, I did miss the flight, but it was one of those situations where there really was no one else to blame but myself. Luckily I managed to squeeze in on the next flight. Not so lucky was that this gave me time to recollect the events of the previous night that led me to miss the flight in the first place.

What is it about the last night of a holiday that seemingly incites us to undo all the good work spent unwinding and relaxing? In my case it was the discovery that beer is cheap in Prague because it doesn't seem to have much effect, whereas the cocktails, on the other hand, do and they're cheap. Sitting in the airport, nursing a sore head, the events of the previous night came back to me.

All I could conclude was that I'd been incredibly lucky. Lucky that I'd woken up at all. Especially after leaving myself an hour to sleep before getting to the airport, but failing to charge my phone. Lucky, because no amount of travel insurance would have covered me for damage if the tables I decided to use as a 'stage' for a 3am song and dance routine, had broken or collapsed. And mostly, lucky because I would never see any of the Australian backpackers, who'd been treated to my impromptu karaoke performance, ever again.

It could have been a lot worse. I managed to make it make to England only 8 hours late. Sheepish phone calls made, that put more blame on budget airlines than myself, it looked as though if I slept on the plane, no one would be any the wiser to my antics the previous night. Obviously, I swore, I was never going to drink again. Ever.

In my wildest dreams, I couldn't envisage that what was officially a 'Bad Day' could get much worse. Imagine my horror as I felt a tap on my shoulder after leaving baggage reclaim and heading into the orange glow of Gatwick airport.

"Hey!" said a friendly antipodean voice, "Thought I recognised that face. Weren't you the one dancing on the table in the hostel last night?"

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