The Pink Diamond salt used in our Himalayan Luxury Chocolate bar was first discovered by Alexander the Great during his Indian Campaign of around 320BC. Or to be more precise, the mineral was discovered by his horses, who were found licking stones leading to the salt mines.

However, the salt was first commercially traded by Mughals, former islamic rulers of the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughals were responsible for a vast amount of economic & cultural development in the region. The reign of Shah Jahan (below) especially saw a golden age of creativity for the Mughal Empire, including the construction of the Taj Mahal & hundreds of beautiful gardens & pavilions around Dal Lake (right) & Srinagar in Kashmir. The area of the lake also became the summer resort of the Mughal leaders, who loved cooler climate & dramatic Himalayan skyline.

The Mughals ruled the Indian region from the early 16th century until the mid 18th century, when they were replaced by Hindu Maratha Empire. To learn more about the Mughals, I highly recommend the 1950’s Bollywood classic, Mughal-e-Azam, which is loosely based on the adventures of Prince Salim, who falls in love with a common court dancer against his father’s wishes, leading to disastrous consequences. It’s a wonderful folk story, which looks & sounds incredible.

To any kind of twitcher living in the South-East of England, spotting a tree full of noisy green Parakeets could now be as commonplace as noting a flock of native starlings or jackdaws. I love seeing these birds in my local parks of North & East London. To hear that distinctive high-pitched squawk instantly sends my head skywards to try & catch a flash of the bright green whizzing by.

Many people wonder how such an exotic, tropical creature has managed to settle into the cold, damp climate of the UK. However, the natural habitat of the Ring-tailed Parakeet is actually the rainy foothills of Himalaya, while they’ve even been found in the region’s higher, snowier altitudes.

I’ve heard all kinds of interesting stories of how these birds managed to settle in this country. One common rumour is that a breeder from South West London released a flock during the 1950s. I’ve also heard that they simply escaped from the Shepperton set of the African Queen in 1951. However, my favourite theory is that rock star Jimi Hendrix bred them whilst living in West London during the 1960s – maybe Little Wing is written about his pet birds…..?