Author Archives: Frostie

Jaywalking, loonies, bringing a plate and spondoolies – knowing the local lingo before immigrating is key

Posted on by

sceneryIf you can’t tell your Australian pink lady from your Canadian loonie then you may need some assistance if you are planning on emigrating.

 

With The Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD) revealing that Australia has topped the index of national wellbeing for the happiest countries in the world and the best places to live and work, followed closely by Sweden and Canada, and the latest Global Visas report highlighting Canada (27 per cent) and Australia (22 per cent) as the top two destinations people wish to move to, the demand for cultural information is on the increase.

 

When immigrating to a new country, it is helpful to become clued up on the local lingo, laws and cultural aspects of the country to which you are destined to feel at home more quickly.  For example, a very common mistake made by foreigners to Australia is being invited over for dinner and being asked to ‘bring a plate’ which doesn’t mean digging out your best Royal Doulton dinnerware but bringing a dish of food to share with your host and other guests. Or in Canada you could be fined $400 for simply crossing the road, as jaywalking, (crossing the road without using a pedestrian crossing) is tightly regulated and leads to on-the-spot fines.

 

Out of a total of 257,398 requests for immigration solutions (excluding tourist visas) in Q1 of 2013, Global Visas, a UK business that provides people worldwide with international visa, relocation and immigration services, found that a growing number of people were asking for country-specific information.  As a result, it is launching a series of ‘Global Visas Destination Guides’, launching with Canada, on everything clients need to know about moving to the country including visas and permits, working, budgeting, housing, studying, healthcare and laws.                                                                 …/

Gary Smith, global sales and marketing director at Global Visas, says, “There is a lot you need to know and be prepared for before emigrating to another country, and familiarising yourself with common phrases will certainly steer you away from embarrassing conversations or offending locals. However, first priorities will include setting up home and settling into a new job in your unfamiliar surroundings. Our new handy destination guides help prepare clients for the change in lifestyle, allocating your budget, understanding work arrangements and getting to know the country a little more. It is very important to be clued up on the laws and culture of your new home to ensure you know exactly what to expect.”

 

Victoria Blackman, a New Zealander who immigrated to the UK, comments: “When I first arrived I found it difficult as an English speaking foreigner to understand the British language. I couldn’t get my head around why people kept asking me if I was alright (‘you alright?’) I didn’t know how to reply. Was this a question? Did they think I looked sick? To my surprise they were saying ‘hello, how are you?’. I also found myself in embarrassing and awkward situations when I commented on people’s pants which are not underwear where I come from! I’m still learning daily and recently was informed that an ‘ice lolly’ is what I refer to as an ‘ice block’ or an ‘ice cream’ on a stick.”

HotelTonight, the app for last-minute hotel stays, launches new destinations

Posted on by

hotelHotelTonight, the app for last-minute or spontaneous hotel stays,

launches new destinations in France, Italy, Spain and Mexico

 

HotelTonight, the first ever last-minute hotel booking app, has recently added more than fifteen new destinations to its roster of vibrant cities worldwide. This brings the total reach of the app to 12 countries and 100 destinations worldwide.

 

To tie in with the peak travel season in Europe, HotelTonight is adding popular European destinations, including Lille, Lyon, and Marseille in France; Barcelona, Madrid, and Malaga/Costa del Sol in Spain and Florence, Rome and Milan in Italy. The last minute hotel booking app is also offering its over five million global users new destinations in Ireland, Mexico and for those who prefer holidaying closer to home, HotelTonight has added Brighton to its list of best UK hotel deals.

 

This recent international expansion is part of its pledge to be ubiquitous and accessible to all last minute travellers and follows last week’s global announcement of new features including “Snap Your Stay” which allows customers to photograph and share images of their hotel with friends and other HotelTonight users, and the “HT Price Guarantee,” which guarantees its rates against competitors’ offerings.

 

HotelTonight is now partnering with almost 2500 hotels across the globe in the  ‘hip’, ‘luxe’, ‘charming’ and ‘solid’ categories. Hotels include the stunning 5 Star The First Luxury Hotel in Rome, and the charming Palazzo Vecchietti in Florence, the Kempinski Hotel Bahia Estepona on the Costa del Sol and the hip Music Hotel in Marseille. These hotels and others across Europe are perfect for an impromptu weekend break. There are also many more hotels more on the mid to basic level which are perfectly suited to business travellers’ needs.

 

At the same time as adding these new destinations, the company has also expanded its European operations, relocating to a new, larger office in London’s Covent Garden and building out the team with new Country Managers for Italy and Spain.

 

The Hotel Tonight app offers unbeatable deals on hand-picked hotels, with bookings opening at midday and closing at 2AM. Last minute travellers can book a hotel in less than ten seconds with three taps and a swipe, starting that day for one night or more.

Visit www.hoteltonight.com for more information and to download the free app.

 

For staycations, in the UK, cities include Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

Chore-dodgers given anonymity: Bring harmony to the home with new ‘covert cleaner’ service

Posted on by
cleaner
If you and your other half argue about cleaning then Frost magazine has come across something we think is quite cool: covert cleaning.
A recent survey found that 46% of couples that live together argue about cleaning; with nearly 2/3 of all individuals surveyed saying their partner’s cleaning abilities were below average – something start-up service Teddle has turned into a marketing opportunity by creating a new ‘secret service’ that disguises the fact a cleaner has been paid to complete household chores. You can even personalise the clean by adding in your bad habits for them to echo, such as to ‘leave the toilet seat up’ or ‘forget to remove the hairs from the sink’.
Those with an aversion to household chores have today been given a fresh escape from nagging partners by pioneering web service Teddle, which has launched the first ever ‘covert cleaner’ service to clean up conflict over housework. The award-winning start-up, which helps people search for, compare and book trusted cleaners in seconds, is testing the ‘cheeky’ service to prevent arguments in the home by allowing customers to dupe their partners into thinking they have completed the chores personally.

Alex Depledge, co-founder of Teddle commented:

“We have seen a big demand to ‘cover up’ our service and allow users to secretly book a cleaner without detection from partners, housemates and even mothers. We’re here to make life easier, so we thought why not make it easy for people to remove hassle from their lives without any consequences?”

“You always design the clean you want during booking, but now you can make the job seem more authentic by using the Teddle platform to request the cleaner misses out certain elements that make it more believable you completed the work.  The feedback we’ve had is that you can’t have it too perfect, or no one would believe it was you.”

Fiorelli Supports Race For Life and Launches The Hope Bag

Posted on by

FiorelliFiorelli has been making beautiful handbags for 25 years and to celebrate this landmark the brand is joining the fight against cancer by partnering with Cancer Research UK and Race for Life.

 

Fiorelli has launched the Hope Bag as part of their partnership with Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.

 

The mini barrel shape Hope Bag makes it the perfect smart grab bag to take you from work to weekend.

 

Available in 15 shades including cerise pink, dusty pink, nautical, snake and monochrome, the Hope Bag is a summer must-have. Functional and on-trend, this is the perfect investment to accessorise any outfit while proudly helping to support a remarkable charity.

 

Fiorelli will be hosting pop-up shops at the Race for Life events this summer selling limited edition canvas tote bags for £5.00 with all profits going to Cancer Research UK. They have also produced a pretty Hope Bracelet, available at events with a donation to Cancer Research UK.

 

Fiorelli will be running a competition at all their pop-ups to invite people to go online at Fiorelli.com and submit a name for Fiorelli’s next exclusive charity bag.

 

The Fiorelli Hope Bag is £30 and £5 will go to Race For Life. Available to buy now at www.fiorelli.com

The Fiorelli pop-up store will be at the following Race for life events:

 

Saturday 1st June: Regents Park

Sunday 30th June: Richmond Park

Sunday 7th July: Blackheath

Sunday 14th July: Hyde Park

Russell Kane, Paul Chowdhry, London Comedy Clubs unite as Foster’s brings 4 nights of live comedy

Posted on by

comedyRussell Kane, Paul Chowdhry, London Comedy Clubs and more unite as Foster’s brings four nights of live comedy to Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park

Monday 8th to Thursday 11th July will see live comedy acts take over the 450-seater Barclaycard Unwind Theatre

Today AEG Live and The Royal Parks have unveiled a stellar billing of comedians for four nights of first-class comedy as part of the amazing line-up at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.  Boasting big names such as Russell Kane and Paul Chowdhry, Hyde Park Comedy presented by Foster’s, the UK’s leading sponsor of comedy, will run from Monday 8th to Thursday 11th July, bringing together acts from The Comedy Store, Laughing Boy Comedy Club and many more for a series of laugh-out-loud nights in the park.

The Comedy Store Players get the laughs going in the Barclaycard Unwind Theatre on Monday 8th July as they take centre stage.  Best known for their performances at The Comedy Store in London, the collection of renowned improvisational comedians will use their innovation and sheer brilliance to create a night of sketches and comical dramas that have garnered international critical acclaim.

“The best ad-lib ensemble in the UK” Evening Standard

“Brave performers who arrive with no script and not the faintest idea of what will happen.  Through improvisation they create whole sketches and comic dramas that are amazingly inventive and sometimes take off into flights of surreal brilliance” Daily Telegraph

“Some of the finest improvisers in the world” Eddie Izzard

Tuesday 9th July brings together Kevin Eldon And His Very Funny Friends, featuring BBC Radio 4 AND Gloucester’s Bridget Christie, the determinedly non-metric Paul Foot, One Direction fan Robin Ince, and children’s entertainer and red diesel salesman Jeremy Lion.   (Plus poetry from Paul Hamilton).

Wednesday 10th July welcomes Laughing Boy Comedy Club at Hyde Park starring Charlie Baker “a superior take on the modern showman” The Guardian, Neil Delamere “the rising star of Irish comedy, a wryly brilliant live performer” Sunday Times, Kerry Godliman “Brilliantly casual and unpretentious” The Guardian, and Paul Chowdhry ‘Revives distant memories of Richard Pryor at his relentless best’ The Times

Independently run, Laughing Boy Comedy Club has put on some of the most successful shows in London over the past ten years and helped launch the careers of some of the UK’s finest stand-ups. This night is no exception as these top British and Irish comedians take control of the stage.

The series draws to a close on Thursday 11th July as Russell Kane hosts award winning rising stars Lucy Beaumont and Jarlath Regan.  Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Russell Kane is a multi-talented writer and performer who has firmly established himself as one of the best comics in the UK today and in Hyde Park he presents a hugely talented lineup not to be missed.

James Russell, Head of Events, The Royal Parks said: “What a fantastic line-up for our midweek programme. We’ve said from the start that Barclaycard British Summer Time is a new era for events and these four nights of comedy along with all the other amazing acts and entertainment planned will make Hyde Park the place to be this summer.”

Write Your Own Dating Rules by Jenni Trent-Hughes, the relationship expert

Posted on by

relationshipsJenni Trent-Hughes, the relationship expert from eHarmony tells Frost Magazine readers to rip up the rule book.

Eighteen years ago the dating world was introduced to a book called ‘The Rules’ that we were meant to follow in order to guarantee a perfect love life. In those days, before online dating there were rules like: Don’t ask a man on a date! Don’t ask him to dance first! Don’t call him first! Don’t accept a date for Saturday if he asks you after Wednesday!

If you’ve found that ‘’not accepting a date for Saturday if they asked you after Wednesday’ worked for you, then I’m not going to tell you any different.  However as you’re here reading this in 2013, I suspect that you have realised that there is no magic secret; but I’m glad to say there is one tip that will help to bring you success or at the very least, remove some of the obstacles you may have stumbled over in the past.

Rules are like walls and sometimes walls need to be demolished to let the light in. Step outside your comfort zone and see what happens – be the dater you want to be not the one you’ve been told to be.

My one tip is this: Write your own rules! No one knows you better than you know yourself. You know what you’re capable of. You know what your parameters are. What you will be brave enough to do and what is going to be totally against your character, and you know what feels right.

I’m not going to tell you what not to do! You can figure that out yourself. I’ll just remind you of some things to do to help increase your chances of success when dating online.

1.    Reach out: If you see a profile that you like the look or sound of then make contact. There is no point spending weeks peeking at each other through cyberspace – say hello.

2.    Step outside your regular boundaries: Online dating is a golden opportunity to interact with people you might not originally have considered. Remember the first time against your better judgement you chose coconut ice cream and now it’s your favourite? That person who is a little older, a bit younger, that you’re attracted to but doesn’t match up to your usual ‘type’. That might just be The One.

3.    If you want to ask them out – just do it: Man or woman, we are in the 21st Century and we can do things that are new without the roof caving in. Traditionally men might have been the first to initiate a date, however things have evolved and it’s flattering to be asked out whatever your sex.

4. Be honest: Be yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Forget mind games, just be yourself and eventually you will find someone who is exactly the person you are looking for and you to them.

5. Learn to let go: We all have baggage, but when it comes to dating try and leave any hang ups at the door. Negative experiences in the past can affect the way you approach a new relationship, and although it’s good to be cautious, it’s also good to go in with a fresh new slate. Have fun and let your true self be at the forefront.

The Storm of Oklahoma by Tyler Shields

Posted on by
Tyler Shields Drives From LA to Oklahoma to Shoot the Storm for the Red Cross
Tyler Shields said:

“Took a drive from Los Angeles to Moore Oklahoma and met some of the most incredible people I have ever met. Their spirit was so up lifting it really makes you realize the things you own do not own you, life is about living not about possessions I did not meet one person who complained only people happy to be alive. I met this women who told me the story of how her father build a storm shelter for her 30 years ago she never liked it and had never used it until this Tornado came she gathered her whole family into the small shelter and it saved all of their lives it was amazing to hear her tell the story about how she hated this thing and now the small slab of concrete will for ever be remembered at the savior of the family!

moore_oklahoma2

I will be auctioning these photos and all the proceeds will be going to the families of Moore Oklahoma if you want to purchase a photo please email info@tylershields.com”

disaster_girl

Fatboy Slim Honoured at Sixth International Music Summit

Posted on by

There was praise indeed for Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim at the sixth annual International Music Summit, where he was honoured at the IMS Legends Dinner held in Ibiza’s prestigious Cipriani’s in association with Nokia Music.

 

The music industry united in support of Norman, with video messages from the likes of Iggy Pop, who stated he wished he was in Ibiza with Norman, Talking Heads main man David Byrne, DJs Carl Cox, Rob da Bank, Nervo and finally, Wire star and future Nelson Mandela actor Idris Elba, who is djing with Fatboy Slim tonight at the UNESCO heritage site Dalt Vila.

 

Fatboy Slim states: “”It was a real honour to be the recipient of the IMS Legends Award for 2013. To follow in the footsteps of Carl Cox and Pete Tong is a big statement, two of my favourite contemporaries in the DJ world. Pete and IMS put on a very special evening for me. All a bit overwhelming!””

 

Highlights included a version of ‘Praise You’ by Ibiza’s Ibiza Choral choir; a 20-piece group, which was arranged by Latin composer, Hector Ponce, who spearheaded this unique take on Norman’s biggest hit. Other special moments included a Christopher Walken imitator replicating the award-winning video of ‘Weapon of Choice’, with a dance that resulted in him jumping into Cipriani’s swimming pool. The event, hosted by Mike Cuban, also featured a Fatboy Slim medley by African act Da Banda – a troupe of Angolan dancers.

Ciprianai-chosens-5

The dinner, which is in its third year, was in association with Nokia Music, who also host the annual Roc Nation brunch at Soho House, West Hollywood on the Saturday before the Grammy Awards. Previous winners have included BBC Radio 1 legend Pete Tong, and DJ Carl Cox.

 

IMS partner Ben Turner states: “The dinner has become a major focus of IMS. Fatboy Slim has inspired an entire generation of DJs. He was one of the first DJs to ever truly have global chart success and the love for him in the room was pretty emotional.”

 

The dinner was also in support of The Hepatitis C Trust, culminating in a special auction, which featured works of art of Idris Elba and DJ Luciano by urban street artist Fin DAC who painted the pieces live at the IMS, to raise funds for increasing prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C in the UK.