Monthly Archives: November 2018

Josē Pizarro Showcases Olives from Spain

Posted on by

Last week we were invited to a Spanish lunch dreams are made of; made with love by Josē Pizarro himself, the chef behind introducing tapas to the UK.

The occasion? the launch of Olives from Spain UK Partnership with Josē Pizarro with an exclusive taster of some of the newly developed dishes highlighting the delicious Olives. 

So who are Olives from Spain? A professional organisation created to promote Spanish Olives and celebrate them Worldwide. The collaboration between Olives from Spain and Josē began about three years ago as who would be a better advocate for taking one of Spain’s top exports and promoting them, than Josē. With a string of successful restaurants behind him and an ethos to create simple, top quality dishes, the olives are excellently showcased with recipes you can recreate at home. 

Why the Olive? As well as being one of Spain’s top exports, Olives have been at the heart of the culture and cuisine in Spain for more than 2000 years. Olives are a versatile ingredient and are one of the few foods in the world that naturally contain four basic flavours; bite, sweet, salty and acidic. They are easy to digest and lets not forget their amazing anti-oxidant properties. The mediterranean diet is proven to help you live longer! 

So we wanted to share one of our favourite recipes Josē created using Olives from Spain;

Hake with Tomato and Olive Salad;

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

200g mixed Manzanilla and black Hojiblanca olives

500g ripe mixed colour vine tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Handful oregano, leaves picked

Handful flat leaf parsley

2 tbsp white wine

1tsp sherry vinegar

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

4 x 200g hake fillets

Method:

The Salad;

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on a platter with the olives.

Scatter with garlic, herbs and lots of sea salt and black pepper, 

Whisk the white wine and vinegar with a little seasoning then whisk in olive oil and pour over tomatoes.

Leave to stand 

The Fish:

Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan, season the hake and fry skin side down, for 3-4 minutes until skin is crisp. 

Flip over and cook for a minute on the other side 

Serve with the tomato and olive salad. 

Olives from Spain will be showcasing their products at The Spanish Olive Festival at the Foodies Festival in London from 25-27th May 2019 and Brighton 4th-6th May 2019 where Josē will also be making an appearance. 

For more info on Pizarro and for reservations, visit here;

https://josepizarro.com/pizarro-restaurant/

Why not personalise a Christmas gift – we did.

Posted on by

 

The Frost Magazine team were talking about Christmas presents – rather desperately it must be said –  and ways to ring the changes. Someone mentioned personalised gifts. ‘But so expensive,’ said I. Then we came across PersonalisedgiftsShop.co.uk

 

‘Let’s give it a try,’ came the cry. (Have I produced a bit of a rhyme there?)

 

So we did. And here is the result. A personalised gin flask – mine. For ‘Him Indoors’ to give me, though he doesn’t yet know it.

 

It was simplicity itself to order from this 100% UK owned and family run concern, and the ‘personalised’ turn-around is immediate. This fabulous stainless steel flask with my own message on my own present arrived in about 36 hours, (they say between 24 – 48 hours)

 

The word GIN sits in the centre of the flask with the personalisation set around it.  In my case, Marg’s GIN and tonic. Don’t touch, which rather shows that I am not a sharing person – in some respects.

 

A fabulous product that I will be thrilled and surprised to unwrap on Christmas Day and Him Indoors will bestow it with pleasure, as it only cost him £14.00 plus £2.99 for the funnel. (What’s the point of a gin flask if the gin splashes on the way in. Such a waste and would lead to me licking the table – not a good look) I will of course, have bought myself, from him, a bottle of gin.

 

For a family the Prosecco Hamper would be a good idea at £29.99. What’s not to like. The personalised prosecco hamper includes a 20 cl miniature bottle of prosecco and a personalised prosecco glass to sip from. The hamper includes other goodies, including a Prosecco Made Me Do It bottle stopper and a bag of prosecco gummies. There’s a card for a personalised message.

This company, offers over 14000 gifts, all of which can be personalised ranging from gifts for a one year old to – well my age – let’s just put grumpy granny. And their are gifts for all occasions: birthday, wedding, anniversary … and next day delivery is available for last minute presents. They have been awarded the feefo gold award for the last three years for a plethora of great reviews.

 

We don’t often gush, in fact, never so I won’t this time. But from the evidence, I do feel PersonalisedGiftsShop.co.uk is a thoroughly excellent concern, and I just love that it is British and family run.

 

Personalised Prosecco Hamper – £29.99

Personalised Round Pink Hip Flask – £14

PersonalisedgiftsShop.co.uk

 

 

 

Wilko; Best Advent Calendar’s

Posted on by

If it’s great value for money you’re after this Christmas, look no further than Wiko and with December just a couple of days away, we wanted to make a list of their best value advent calendars all under £10. What’s more, there are currently huge savings to be had in-store and online making this a bargain you won’t want to miss out on. 

For the traditional chocolate lover;

Quality Street Advent Calendar; RRP £5

With a variety of their iconic individually wrapped sweets, there is something different behind every door. 

We love their signature purple packaging with an extra festive feel as we open the doors of a large Christmas estate we think this will be a hit with everyone. 

For the sweet tooth;

Swizzels Advent Calendar; RRP £5 reduced to £4

Don’t like chocolate? Fear not, we have something for the sweet tooth in you. A selection of your favourite childhood classics. Peel back the doors to Santa’s Workshop to reveal Love Hearts, Refreshers, Drumsticks and more all for £4 not bad. 

For a fragrance fanatic;

Wilko Candle Advent Calendar RRP £6

Because advent calendar’s don’t have to be all about confectionary. We have something that will keep your home fresh, festive and relaxing every day until Christmas.  This unique calendar contains 23 tea lights and one scented candle which will release the warming scents of Christmas including, Spiced Plum, Winter Berries and Cinnamon. 

For those who love to be pampered;

Glow Beauty Advent Calendar; RRP £10 reduced to £8

Containing 24 beauty treats and accessories, this one will make sure you’re glowing from top to toe this December. With treats such as scented candles, bath bombs, hand creams, lip balm and more, you will be fully stocked just in time for Christmas and if there’s something you don’t quite fancy, save it and use it as a stocking filler for someone else! 

For your fur baby;

Wiko Christmas Cat and Dog Treat Calendar’s RRP £2 reduced to £1.50 each.

Because why would we leave out our furry friends. Your cat will enjoy 24 delicious cat-nip festive treats and for dogs there are 24 special dog friendly chocolate treats. We think your pets will go Christmas crazy over them. 

For more information visit wilko.com

Hey, will it be a tie or Pickering’s Gin Baubles for Christmas? by our resident gin expert: Michael Rowan

Posted on by

Michael Rowan hopes to say goodbye to socks and ties and hello to Gingle Bells when he discovers the true spirit of Christmas

 

 

As Julie Andrews never sang, ‘Christmas and Gin are two of my favourite things.’ so, Pickering’s Gin Baubles should be the perfect gift to find under or indeed hanging from, the branches of my Christmas Tree. (hint to my wife).

I do find that Christmas can be a bit hit and miss on the present front, so should these gin filled baubles be on my naughty or nice list?

In fairness these would make a very welcome gift in the box of 6 (hint to my wife) or even as singles or pairs in my, I mean, anyone’s Christmas stocking.

Gin fans across the country can now deck their Christmas trees with these tasty baubles, marking the start of the festive season with a fun twist – mixing up the traditions of gold, red and tinsel with a burst of gin-filled fun.

Available in a rainbow of colours, the gin-filled baubles come in pink, blue, purple, yellow, red and green with a rose gold screw lid and a silk red ribbon, sure to add a splash of Christmas joy to trees and households across the land.

Pickering’s Gin Baubles are sold in a gift pack containing six differently coloured plastic baubles, each containing 50ml of Pickering’s Gin (RRP: £30.00). (hint to my wife)

Pickering’s Gin is based on an original Bombay recipe dating from 1947. The marvellously mixed gin is spectacularly smooth, refreshing and flavoursome and is handcrafted at Summerhall Distillery – the first exclusive gin distillery to be established in Edinburgh for over 150 years.

So far so good, but how does the gin taste? As a seasoned gin drinker, I can happily report that it is perfect for the Christmas Season (hint to my wife). Fresh, light with bold flavours of citrus and juniper giving way to intense warming spice of cardamom, coriander seed and clove.

Try it with Ice, tonic and a slice of pink grapefruit.

Should my wife be reading this and succumb to my subtle hints, I promise to help take the tree down, starting with the baubles of course.

These baubles are sure to sell out fast so I strongly suggest that you pick yours up from Pickering’s, Selfridges, Sainsbury’s (Scotland only), John Lewis, 31dover.com, GettingPersonal.com and over 200+ retailers across the country.

Pickering’s Gin Baubles are sold in a gift pack containing six differently coloured plastic baubles, each containing 50ml of Pickering’s Gin (RRP: £30.00). (hint to my wife)

Images courtesy of Michael Rowan

 

 

 

 

 

The Blessed Child by Rosie Goodwin

Posted on by

Wednesday’s child is full of woe…

Nuneaton, 1864

When Nessie Carson’s mother is killed and her father abandons them sixteen year old Nessie is determined to keep her family together. Coping with her flighty  sister Marcie and fragile baby brother Joseph is not easy, and with lecherous landlord Seth Grimshaw waiting for Nessie to default on the rent things are looking bleak. But Nessie is determined to keep the promise she made to her mother.

Along with her older brother, Reuben she finds a live-in position with the local undertaker, Andre Chevalier and things are finally looking up for the family. Joseph’s health deteriorates and Nessie meets newly qualified doctor, Oliver Dorsey. Although she is attracted to him she knows they can never be together.

But even in the darkest of times and saddest of places Nessie finds love, light and hope.

Nessie is a feisty, resourceful heroine in the best traditions of saga telling, filled with plot twists and turns, and larger than life characters.

This will delight fans of Rosie Goodwin. Another heartwarming and uplifting read and one for the Christmas stocking – if you can wait that long.

The Blessed Child is the fourth book in the Days of the Week series inspired by the Victorian Rhyme.

 

Rosie Goodwin is the million copy best selling author of more than thirty novels. She is one of the top 50 most borrowed authors from UK libraries.

www.rosiegoodwin.co.uk

www.MemoryLane.club

The Blessed Child is published by Bonnier Zaffre

Hardback RRP £12.99

Seussical The Musical       Theatre Review by Paul Vates

Posted on by

 

 

at Southwark Playhouse, London

“It is fun fun fun – and then some!“

 

 

Based on the works of Dr Seuss, but concentrating on Horton Hears A Who!, this show is a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, laugh-out-loud delight.

 

From the very beginning, the Cat In The Hat appears and cheekily pulls us into the Seuss-iverse. Marc Pickering plays the Cat with grace and confidence, a feline brimming with fun (and just a dash of naughtiness) although he could push the clowning a little further – flex his comedy muscles and be a tad more dangerous. I felt as though he is holding back from stealing the show.

Marc Pickering

 

That honour goes to Scott Paige. He plays Horton with humour, honesty and a purity that melts the heart. Amy Perry, playing Gertrude, breaks the heart with her yearning love for Horton and her stunning rendition of All For You.

Scott Paige and Amy Perry

 

There are some amazing set-pieces in the show which is crammed full of songs, music, comedy and, of course, dancing. The group numbers are performed in such volume and choreography like the show is in a huge West End venue – it all comes together best when James Tobias’ direction calms down and realises that the space is surprisingly intimate and that less is more.

 

 

This is a Theatre for Young Audiences Version, but does not hold back. The cast of twelve and live band give everything amidst a brilliant set and imaginative costumes. It is fun fun fun – and then some!

Photographer              Adam Trigg

Producer                     Immersion Theatre

Director                       James Tobias

Choreography             Chris Whittaker

Music & Book             Stephen Flaherty

Lyrics & Book             Lynn Ahrens

Co-Conceived by        Eric Idle

Musical Director          James Doughty

Set Designers             Justin Williams & Jonny Rust

Costume                     Rachel Cartlidge

 

Venue             Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD

Tube               Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo and Northern Lines)

Performances Until Saturday 29th December 2018

Times              7.30pm Tuesday to Saturday

3pm Saturday and Sunday Matinees

Extra shows in Christmas week – check website for details

Tickets            £25 (concessions £20)

Box Office            www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk and 020 7407 0234

Running Time 75 minutes (no interval)

Twitter             @swkplay, @Immersion_Thtr, @SeussicalLondon

 

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TAKE FOUR WRITERS – DIVIDING, EDITING, DREAMING AND TOURING

Posted on by

CLAIRE DYER: DIVIDING

This month I’d like to talk about my ‘other’ life. I see myself as both a poet and a novelist and people often ask which I prefer being. My answer is always that I like them both the same. However, there are big differences in the way poetry and fiction are published and so this does inevitably alter things.

For a start a poem is a constantly changing thing. Even when it’s been in print, a poet can change elements of his/her poem when it’s republished or collated in a collection. Secondly, putting together a collection takes YEARS! Novelists think it takes an age to get a book published, but collections of poetry can take mini-lifetimes. My last one, ‘Interference Effects’ kindly published by the very wonderful Two Rivers Press took five years from being a spark in my eye to a book in my hand.

The collection I’m working on at the moment contains poems first written in 2014, the manuscript is due to be delivered to the very wonderful Two Rivers Press in June 2020 and it will be a further year or so before possible publication. And this is fine because it takes patience, love and a whole heap of courage to be a poet. However, all this fades to nothing when a line comes that sets your hairline fizzing or you stand in front of an audience and read something that makes them laugh, gasp or (even better) weep.

Poetry books may be slim, time-consuming, delicate and easily lost in the noise of mass paperback sales, but they are things of beauty nonetheless.

 

LUCY COLEMAN: COUNTING

Finally welcoming in the good news this month, as a loved one is out of intensive care. It feels like a dark shadow has been lifted and the sun can shine again. Miracles can happen!

I’ve hardly moved from my desk with line edits and a cover reveal for A Greek Affair, in preparation for its release on the 28 December 2018 by Harper Impulse. And copy edits for The Writing Retreat on the Italian Lake, due for release on 5 February 2018 by Aria Fiction.

And my first audio book, for The French Adventure, is due out on 29 November 2018.

The good news keeps on coming and there’s even more, but authors get used to sitting on things for a while. So, my lips are sealed. But after the darkest of Octobers, I feel that Christmas has come early and I’m truly counting my blessings!

 

ANGELA PETCH: DREAMING

What about a monthly report starting with:  I’ve been dozing in my hammock on the island of Zanzibar, wondering what to do next. Ha ha! More like – I’ve been wondering how on earth to tackle my to-do list.

“Mavis and Dot” are on a blog tour and I’m relieved my two ladies/babies are appealing to readers. When you read comments from complete strangers like: “I could really see this gem of a book as a fantastic movie…”; “A must read…”; “This book was a total joy from beginning to end…” your heart has to sing. It justifies hours of sitting hunched over a pc. This month has been a mine-field of formatting issues but lovely authors have helped.

But I’m a hybrid and have just come off the phone from a chat with my editor at Bookouture. No peace for the wicked: I have major edits to carry out on my re-write of “Tuscan Roots”.

Where’s that hammock?

 

JACKIE BALDWIN: TOURING

November has been fairly busy as I have been on a Deadly Intent tour around some of the many libraries in Dumfries and Galloway with my partner in crime, Lucy Cameron. It’s been a lot of fun getting out and about to meet readers and some of the libraries have totally spoiled us. In Wigtown, for example, we were all treated to freshly baked scones with jam and cream!

As part of Book Week Scotland, we’re reading along with some other authors at a gin/rum night at The Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, which, coincidentally, is where my second novel, Perfect Dead, is set.

On 29th November, I’ll be on a wee jaunt to Edinburgh for Noir at the Bar which is always a fun night and a chance to discover some great new crime authors.

Finally, I’m pleased to report that my third novel is firmly back on track after all the thrashing about with it last month. I’ve now nailed down the plot which nearly got the better of me and I’m pushing on through the first draft.

See you next month!

 

 

 

The Mother’s Manual Book Review

Posted on by

the mother's manual , parenting tools

The Mother’s Manual is a comprehensive book on parenting. It is very thorough and covers everything you could possibly think of. It is full of great advice and is written in a manner which is very easy to read. I found the bits on sleeping and potty training particularly useful. Liu Yang says that not all of the advice will be relevant for everyone, and people might not agree with it all, I agree that not all of this was for me, but any new parent that is bought this book will find it very helpful indeed. A good book with great advice. 

It’s something that confuses most soon-to-be parents – how on earth are they going to be able to bring up their new bundle of joy without some kind of manual? Well, worry no more, because one UK healthcare practitioner, parent coach has written a guide that answers every question and challenge parents could possibly face.

‘The Mother’s Manual: Your Kids Won’t Be Delivered With A Manual, Here is Your Copy’ is the new Bible for parents of children up to five years old. In short, parenting no longer has to be a puzzle!

Synopsis:

The Mother’s Manual is a practical handbook on parenting children from birth to five years old. It provides easy-to-apply tips and practical tools and strategies that parents can adapt in their daily life to deal with some of the most common issues that crop up in those early critical years. The author draws on her 20 years’ experience as a healthcare practitioner, as well as on the latest research in child psychology and neuroscience on the understanding of children’s brainwave patterns and how this affects their behaviour. She explains in an easy to understand way children’s development at each stage to help parents better communicate with their children. After reading The Mother’s Manual, parents will be able to understand and experiment with more effective alternatives to time-outs on the naughty step and feel less frustrated themselves by instead using simple and direct suggestions that create miraculous changes in their children’s behaviour. Raising happy and confident children should be an enjoyable part of the parenting process, but sometimes being a parent can be stressful and bring up all sorts of emotions, especially for parents who didn’t have the upbringing they would have liked. The book talks parents through these difficult emotions and provides strategies for dealing with them, so that they can create the happy, relaxed family life.  Everyone knows that a job is easy to do once you have discovered thesecrets to how. The Mother’s Manual serves as a go-to reference book with quickly learn and apply simple strategies and easy-to-follow explanations of children’s developmental stages to guide parents through the daily challenges effectively to create the family life they desire.

“We’re of course pre-programmed with many of the skills and pieces of knowledge we need to be a parent, but my book gives them to you right now, without any trial and error,” explains the author. “Through proper bonding and communication in the early years, any parent can create theoutcome they want, to offer their children the best start in life that they deserve.”

Continuing, “We’re now selling books around the world and receiving hugely positive feedback, averaging five stars on Amazon. I’m so thrilled that my 20+ years of professional experience can now change the lives of people I haven’t even met!”

Indeed, reviews have been glowing. One Amazon customer comments, “This book was fantastic. I read it myself for helpful tips when babysitting regularly for my grandchildren then passed it on their mum to keep. It was full of suggestions with regards to weaning, etc. I’d highly recommend it.”

Another reader adds, “I work with mothers all the time and, not being a mother myself, I needed help to relate. This book helped me better understand the challenges of motherhood and the answers to problems, and now I can relate much better to my clients when I talk to them. It’s a very easy and fluid read as well, highly recommend!”

‘The Mother’s Manual: Your Kids Won’t Be Delivered With A Manual, Here is Your Copy’ is available now.