Category Archives: Life & Style

Daggers Drawn… the first Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award retrospective… Some famous names collected into one edition

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The first retrospective of the CWA’s Dagger Award winners gathers rogether some of the greatest names in crime fiction – get ready for blood on the floor scenarios, serial killers, world weary detectives, drug dealers, maybe forgers – yeah, let’s collect them all. Not sure a launch party would be a good idea though – all these fertile imaginations in discussion.

Ian Rankin  is there, within the covers, manipulating a Senior Curator at the Tate Gallery into constructing the perfect crime, or is it? Stella Duffy’s souring romance becomes a deadly obsession under her incisive pen. And what about parents who discover their child has committed the unthinkable or at least in Denise Mina’s imaginagion., and those are just a few.

I am beginning to like crime short stories – is it because the mystery is wrapped up quickly and satisfactorily, so one can get some sleep, with another to read tomorrow night? A well written sharp, incisive crime story (much like a dagger thrust should be) is a thing of beauty. There are many in this anthology.  Read and enjoy.

Edited by Maxim Jakubowski,  the well respected anthology editor with over 70 volumes to his credit – so applause to Maxim.

Daggers Drawn Edited by Maxim Jackubowski – 19 CWA Dagger Award-winning short stores from the best of best in crime fiction.

HB £17.99 Pub. Titan Books.

Books2Door offer HUGE discounts on Back2School Booksets

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Online book retailer Books2Door who are committed to encouraging a love of reading in all children are launching their Back2School campaign, offering exceptional book sets at affordable prices from treasured classics to the latest must-have series. We are fully behind them and cannot recommend them enough. Head onto their website now and grab some books for your little ones.

ks2, teaching children to read, books,

 

 

Reading Champions Developing Readers 30 Book Collection Level 6 to 10 (Series 2) – Ages 5-7 – Paperback

 

In this Reading Champions series, every book was carefully constructed to make for an effective means in helping kids develop important reading skills. Each book was designed to help kids mature in their reading journey step by step from the age of 5. Each book was not only designed to be informative and educational but also fun and engaging at the same time too! The themes and topics are very interesting with each book focussed on a different story making this collection always keeping kids wanting for more due to the new and unexpected storyline.

The books are colour banded, this makes sorting the level of difficulty much easier to organise. At the same time, this helps tutors and parents to monitor the progress of reading development, at the same time children will feel a sense of accomplishment as they level up. Reading Champions is one of the most effective reading series and has remained our bestselling collection on our entire website for many months, the Reading Champion series is a modern masterpiece for aiding kids readingdevelopment. Each book was designed by literacy experts to balance the books with enjoyment and education. The setting and characters are diverse, meaning readers are able to not only learn about reading grammar and language skills but also broaden their horizons in different contemporary topics to further increase the pleasure of reading. This series is a wonderful choice for the classroom and for additional homework at home, the amazing series is so well done and neatly organised together that it can make for a perfect gift for children. We have heard so many great stories and feedback from our customers and parents who noticed a massive improvement in their children’s reading skills. Reading Champion is published by Franklin Watts and will continually to remain an all time favourite for us and our customers. Be sure to check out our Home Learning and Featured category for more fantastic and useful learning tools.

Teach children to read.

The Science Behind Yoga – part 1 by Alex Bannard – Frost Magazine’s Wellness and Wellbeing Editor

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Anyone who has been to one of my yoga classes, will know that I do like to wax lyrical about the benefits of each of the poses. One of my clients called out on me on this, saying, “How do you actually know inversions slow the aging process?” Hmmmm, good question.

Let’s begin with some basics…

Firstly, yoga is ancient practice which is thousands of years old. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit ‘Yuji’ which means union. By uniting the body with the breath, we can help to clear the mind. Since yoga incorporates breathing exercises (pranayama) with physical poses (asanas) and conscious relaxation techniques this can lead to significant physical, mental, emotional & spiritual benefits.

Interestingly, what the ancients & we who practice yoga ‘know’, science is beginning to confirm. Michael de Manincour, a Psychologist at the Yoga Institute quotes a study done with a group of people suffering from clinical depression & anxiety. They practiced yoga everyday for 6 weeks versus the control group, also suffering with their mental health, who did not practice yoga.

The yoga group recorded a 33% reduction in depression & anxiety, reduced emotional & mental distress, increased resilience & an increase in the number of positive experiences they recorded along with a reduction in the negative experiences. The control group did not record the same benefits. What is even more staggering, is that those who practiced yoga did so for only an average of 12 minutes a day.

And this is not the only study: try typing ‘scientific benefits of yoga ‘into google & you will come across scores of studies reporting similar results.

We are not only beginning to understand the enormous benefits from yoga but why.

Dr. Loren Fishman explains, ”It (yoga) thickens the layer of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain associated with higher learning & increased neuroplasticity, which helps us learn new things & change the way we do things.”

Yoga not only benefits our mental health but it also helps us manage stress. There is no doubt we are living in increasingly stressful times. Our neuro-endocrine system has inbuilt mechanisms to help us fight stress. But if we are constantly triggered & not given the opportunity to reset ourselves, then stress hormones flood our system affecting our physical & mental health significantly.  Our automatic nervous system has 2 parts: the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for our fight, flight or freeze response & the parasympathetic nervous system which controls the activities our body does whilst at rest including digestion, healing, sleep, sex, learning & creation.

When these complimentary systems work in harmony, alignment & balance we feel great, harmonious & balanced. When the sympathetic system is overused, the balance is upset which creates dis-ease: illness & disease. Yoga helps us to restore balance because it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, balancing the hormones of stress, allowing our body to heal.

In yoga we work with our body & our breath to restore calm in our minds. This works on many levels. First the breath. It is one of the most powerful ways to impact stress. Longer smoother breaths send a powerful message to the brain & balance our automatic nervous system. We can also reduce our blood pressure by slowing the rate of our breath.  But yoga also helps to bring our mind into focus & coherence. Try standing on 1 leg if you are thinking about something else. Indeed, you can often tell how much someone has going on in their mind, by how easily they can stand on one leg. Try balancing on your hands and arms, which is almost impossible if your mind is wandering or ruminating. By focusing on what we are doing physically, this focuses our mind & this helps to change our brains. It’s called neuroplasticity. And this focus & coherence is incredibly healing.

Advances in science & the advent of MRI scanners have enabled us to see how meditative practices (& yes yoga is a meditative practice) can change the structure & activity within the brain.

By using MRI scans, we can monitor the activity in our prefrontal cortex. When we are balancing, we can see on MRI scans that redirecting our thought patterns helps to create new circuits in the prefrontal cortex, which helps us access these in times of stress, when we need them.  Not only are we beginning to be able to actually see the changes in the brain from practicing yoga & meditation but advancements in molecular & cellular biology & science are beginning to show biomedical changes in our neurons & the functioning of the body at both cellular & molecular levels. Almost every week there is a new body of evidence being published about how yoga impacts our body at this micro level.

And since there is so much to share regarding the science behind yoga we will expand upon this next time.

If you would like to put some of these scientific benefits to the test & practice yoga with Alex her YouTube channel offers free short classes for everyone & is available here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQlKZJ7MeyYc6lqkv6seISw

Alternatively all of her classes are streamed on live on Zoom, for more information message her at alex@alexbannard.com

Free resources are also available on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AlexBannardYogaMindfulness

And her website is www.alexbannard.com

Alex is based on the edge of the stunning Cotswolds & has been sharing her love for all things yoga & mindfulness for almost a decade, not just in the UK but also around the world. Her mission is to help everyone discover a more mindful way of living & to encourage them to embrace regular self-care practices for a happier & healthier way of being.

Frost Loves Sea Change Wines

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We love Sea Change wine. They are environmentally-friendly and have an organic range. We tried their Prosecco and it is to-die-for. Get your hands on some now. 
Sea Change are passionate about two things: protecting our oceans from plastic pollution and great tasting wine. Every bottle of Sea Change helps fund ocean conservation projects across the globe and our minimal packaging reduces waste and environmental impact.

They have an organic range available, the perfect accompaniment for your cosy fireside evenings or candle-lit dinner dates. Available in a lesser-known red varietal, Bobal (RRP £13.99), and a classic white Chardonnay (RRP, £13.99), the production process of these wines means only naturally occurring sulfites are present. So, every sip is gentler on the head and stomach than regular wine – excellent for a more relaxed evening.

As with all Sea Change Wines, both have minimal packaging, with the unnecessary plastic wrap covering removed from the neck of the bottle, and labels.


For Christmas, Sea Change’s Christmas Day Pack (£35 RRP) has got you sorted. The pack includes a bottle of their fruity, soft Prosecco, zesty Sauvignon Blanc and rich Malbec wines. Whatever your guests choose to drink, Sea Change is suited to everyone’s taste!
 
Amongst the excitement, Sea Change are committed to giving back this Christmas. With each bottle sold, a donation will be made to marine conservation charities fighting plastic pollution – ideal for those who want to do their bit for the environment.
 
The Sea Change wine collection is available to buy online at www.seachangewine.com. Free delivery is available for orders over £100.    

The UK’s first plant-based recipe box. We Review Grubby.

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I find cooking stressful. I also have no time. But I want to eat healthy and I do not want to damage the planet while doing so. Grubby attracted my attention for many reasons. It is plant-based and sustainable. I got sent two kits in impressive recyclable packaging. I hate how some recipe boxes have so much plastic.

The recipe card is so easy to follow. I made a superb mushroom stroganoff in 35 minutes. I think Grubby is fantastic and I cannot recommend it enough. The food is delicious and so easy to make.

Meet Grubby – the UK’s first plant-based recipe kit

Grubby are the UK’s first 100% plant-based recipe box subscription service on a mission to make plant-based cooking more accessible and convenient without costing the earth.

Championing British produce and suppliers, Grubby deliver delicious meals nationwide (excluding Northern Ireland and islands), with all London meals delivered via bicycle in partnership with PedalMe. Available from grubby.co.uk from £26 (£6.50 per meal) for two recipes.

Launched in 2019, Grubby has over 50 flavour packed recipes to choose from. In the box, customers can expect fresh, pre-measured ingredients needed to cook up two or three healthy and delicious, plant-based recipes with, on average, a variety of six or more fresh veggies in each box. Accompanying recipe cards make meat-free cooking simple, with easy to follow steps, cooking times and nutritional information, as well as QR codes to curated Spotify playlists to cook along to whilst prepping. Customers can also expect the occasional freebie, from drinks, desserts and more.

Founder Martin Holden-White comments: “When I first started adventuring into plant-based cooking, I found it really hard to approach. Mainly because I found ingredients hard to source, dishes weren’t filling enough, they lacked flavour and online recipes were hard to follow and full of ads. So with Grubby, I wanted to alleviate the uncertainty and stigmas around vegan cooking and eating and make our recipes accessible, simple, hearty, healthy and most importantly tasty! Grubby is for anyone looking for a little more adventure when it comes to plant-based cooking.”

With sustainability at its core, the packaging is 100% recyclable, compostable, ethically sourced, and produced in the UK in 95% of cases, with intentions to be completely plastic-free by 2023, in line with their efforts to reach B-Corp status. Determined to use ‘pedal power’ wherever possible, all London deliveries are made by bike and they have ambitions for bike deliveries in all major cities across the UK. Their food waste is offset through food waste partners and local food banks to ensure that no grub goes unused.

Passionate about giving back, Grubby donate a meal to a child in poverty for every box delivered through Uganda based charity 1moreChild. In 2020, Grubby also provided over 1,000 meals to London NHS hospitals.

Whilst solely plant-based recipes, Grubby do not see themselves as a ‘just-for-vegans’ box. “We are not preachy about eating solely plant-based. I’m a plant-based part-timer myself, and many of our team and customers do not define themselves as vegan.” says Martin.  “Instead, we want to invite plant curious individuals to give veggie-based cooking a chance with our tasty, quick to prepare meals, which are not only healthy but produced and delivered with sustainability at the core of everything we do.”

How it works:

  1. Choose your recipes & delivery date.

  2. Grubby delivers everything you need.

  3. You cook up delicious plant-based meals. No stress. Skip or cancel anytime.

To see what’s on the menu this week, visit grubby.co.uk

The Jolly Gardener’s and the Sunday Roast of Dreams. 

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A Northerner and Southerner go in search of a decent roast in London and what do we find…

The Jolly Gardeners and what a jolly good afternoon we had. Not only did it win the approval of my guest, the most discerning Northerner who is for sure the judge and jury when it comes to a decent roast, but they also make a damn good Bloody Mary, have a pretty decent schedule of entertainment and is by far one of the most pristine, welcoming pubs i’ve ever visited in my life!

If you live South of the river, you must pay them a visit. Just moments away from Vauxhall and tucked down a sleepy Lambeth side street you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you happen upon The Jolly Gardener’s. This place is bright and airy, full of foliage, just how I like it. A far cry from the pub which lay here before and perhaps more noticeably known as ‘The Drowning Trout’ from Snatch. Well let me tell you the transformation is epic. As soon as you step inside you’re met with a serene atmosphere, one of relaxation, of family and friends gathering around, big groups enjoying a pint and punters soaking up the joys of a Sunday. It has to be said, i’ve not frequented a pub for a long time mainly because I’m not massively keen on going back to the old ways of queuing up at the bar for hours on end, sticky floors and stale beer but this is certainly not that kind of joint. I’m actually a little bit in love with this place because it offers up all the joys of a pub without all the annoying bits and it’s no surprise really if you look at how this place came about. 

The Jolly Gardeners was the brainchild of five childhood pals who spent their lockdown coming up with their ideal boozer. Jon Kaye, one of the founders quotes, “Having the chance to open the pub with my friends has been the dream for so long. We all grew up in pubs and for most of us was our very first job. It’s great to go back to our roots and build a proper local pub. Supporting other independent businesses is important to us, we have also had so many nice people from the surrounding area helping us build and fix the pub.” Unsurprisingly, a decent meal was the central focus as well as making it welcoming, honest and a great place to enjoy a proper pint with mates. I can vouch for all of those things and trust me if I did live South sides I would be making this place my new local!  

I did mention the roast but let me mention it in depth because this really is one of the best pub/restaurant roasts i’ve had. My guest even went as far to say, “tastes like a family roast”, praise indeed! The attention here really is on the quality of the produce and the kitchen work closely with Lyons Hill Farm in Dorset for high grade meat. We tried both the ‘iron age pork loin’ and the ‘retired dairy cow silverside’ with both tasting as epic as their names. The roast comes with a host of sides including cauliflower cheese, greens, Yorkshires, sweet potato mash to mention but a few and the potatoes….oh the potatoes. The most luxurious but traditional roast potato you’ll get your chops round. Melt in your mouth, pleasure. What I really loved about the beef roast was how thin the meat was cut, i’m not a fan of shoving hunks of meat in my mouth at the best of times but this was just sliced to perfection, slightly reminiscent of how you felt after a school roast… schooliness aside… Please – I’m not doing it enough justice, you’ll have to try it out for yourself. Aside from these offerings there are also a couple of plant based options and a fish dish to try out too. Something for everyone even if you’re just digging into the sides alone – because they were a plenty. 

If a roast doesn’t tickle your fancy or if you’re planning on visiting in the week, they offer a weekly changing menu bringing you the best of what’s around the local area. Notable mention must go to their bread supplier… Alby’s Bakery who are also based in Vauxhall. They specialise in sourdough and was also developed in lockdown by some bread loving mates. I must confess, I haven’t touched the stuff this whole year but when this warm bundle of joy arrived on our table with lashings of butter it would have been rude not to especially seeing as Alby’s have nailed the crust to pillowy dough ratio. Lesson learned ALWAYS try the bread. The sharing plates are also something to marvel at and whilst the dishes may look similar to what you’d find on a pub menu their sharing plates are more reminiscent of tapas coming out of a decent restaurant than a pub and I guess that’s where you see the main attraction of The Jolly Gardeners. 

The food is of the highest quality in both presentation and taste, the place is visually stunning and they had a decent band on too, what a civilised Sunday ! But what makes a decent pub…? we all know it’s a cracking selection of booze. With house-pints for a fiver you might even be convinced you’re not in London anymore but when you check out their exhaustive list of what else is on offer there’ll be something to float everyone’s boat. With local offerings on draught, a whole bunch of speciality bottled beers, a pretty comprehensive list of wines including natural wines and of course a mouth watering selection of cocktails there’s no need to visit a bar or a restaurant because this place really does have it all. Did we mention they also have a secret garden?

So why do we love it? Well… need I say more? The Jolly Gardener’s is family and dog friendly, caters for a restaurant go-er, has the booze of a decent bar and still has the spirit of a good old pub. All that’s left to ask is, how fast can you open one North of the river?

The Jolly Gardener’s is open Tue-Sun and located at;

49-51 Black Prince Rd, London SE11 6AB

 

 

JANE CABLE REVIEWS TWO VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS READS

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Christmas with the Surplus Girls – Polly Heron (published 7th October)

I make no secret of the fact I love Polly Heron’s books, so the moment the review copy of this one was available I requested it and dived straight in. For a start, I think the premise of this series is brilliant; the stories of the women who had expected to marry, only for the First World War to kill so many men. Their battle to make something of their lives as single women in the 1920s is seldom told and quite frankly it should be.

A saga series needs central characters and in the Surplus Girls these take the form of unmarried sisters, Prudence and Patience Hesketh, who run a business school from their home to train women in the skills they need. In this, the third book, our understanding of their position deepens and their stories move on too, for one of them at least in a quite unexpected way.

Christmas with the Surplus Girls is a wonderful blend of the comfortingly familiar (characters from previous books making appearances, the orphanage as the heart-warming seasonal setting, and, of course, the love story) with quite a few twists and turns. There are moments when nothing is quite as it seems, as well as breath-takingly written passages of true drama, but to say more would spoil it for the reader.

For the saga fan, this is the perfect Christmas read. As ever with Polly Heron’s writing there is no mawkish sentimentality, there is genuine emotion, elegantly portrayed. And even better, if you haven’t read the other Surplus Girls books there is still time to catch up with them before it’s time to pour yourself a glass of festive cheer and settle down with this beauty.

 

Underneath the Christmas Tree – Heidi Swain (published 28th October)

While Polly Heron puts Christmas at the climax of her book, Heidi Swain’s has Christmas stamped through it like a stick of seasonal rock. Heidi is the absolute mistress of the contemporary Christmas romantic read and I think Underneath the Christmas Tree is her best yet.

Absolute genius to set the book at a Christmas tree farm, where there is every reason for the festive feeling to start in November. Nothing about the seasonality in this book is forced; it is there as a delightful backdrop to a cast of characters so brilliantly drawn you would want to meet them at any time of year.

At the heart of the book is the love story between Liza and Ned; you know it will be fraught with difficulties but you also know a happy ending could very well be written in the stars, because that is what the romance genre does. It is just that this particular book does it so very well and it was pretty hard to see how everyone’s happy ever after could possibly work out. The world Heidi Swain creates is as rich and warm and comforting as a mug of hot chocolate with a whole ton of marshmallows and cream, but never ever as sickly, and of course its entirely calorie free.

I was delighted to receive a review copy of this book but now I have a major problem. What on earth am I going to start reading when December arrives to get me properly into the Christmas mood?

 

 

 

 

SIMONSTONE HALL HOTEL: A LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES

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Jane Cable reviews a rather special country house hotel

Sometimes when you’re travelling, quite unexpectedly you come across a real gem of a place that you know you’ll go back to time and again. And that’s what happened when we spent a few nights at Simonstone Hall Hotel near Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales.

Arriving late on a wet afternoon, I have to say the building looked a bit grim from the outside; very grey and mullioned, but the welcome inside was as warm as could be, and our ‘estate room’, while not large, was extremely cosy. The bathroom was state of the art (so much so it had one of those extremely trendy rainfall showers that deluged half the floor), the bed comfortable, and there was proper coffee for the cafetiere. And that view… did I mention the view?

Simonstone still has the feel of a proper country house and we walked past a number of well-furnished living… or should I say drawing… rooms, overlooking the terrace with its rattan furniture and firepit, and perfect for curling up in with a good book or meeting friends for a chat. We walked past them because we’d had a long journey and were heading for the bar, where we received yet another warm welcome and a decent choice of drinks, including some locally brewed draft ale.

We were coming to realise that friendly staff and great customer service are at the heart of everything Simonstone does. You are quickly on first name terms with the people looking after you because they introduce themselves that way, and while everything happens as it should and when it should, there is still a very relaxed feel about the place, something you don’t always associate with a country house hotel. It was clear most of the guests were not on their first visit, and that in itself is always a recommendation.

The food was very good too. There were five or six dishes to choose from for each course and my gluten intolerance was catered for without fuss – there were even delicious warm bread rolls and quality gluten free crackers to accompany the cheese. Unlike a Michelin starred establishment we stayed in later in the week that thought it was OK to serve supermarket sliced GF bread. But I digress… at Simonstone the style falls just on the cheffy side of hearty, and my beetroot and goat cheese starter was absolutely exquisite. Mains were robust and delicious, in particular the Wensleydale beef and Texel lamb. There were some interesting wines on the list too, with bottle prices starting at £22 so no-one was going to feel ripped off.

On our one full day at Simonstone we left the car where it was and walked. There are some wonderful footpaths to follow with steep climbs (optional) and dramatic views (everywhere) so we tramped until we were desperate to take our boots off. Returning to our room mid-afternoon, the only small fly in our ointment was that we’d run out of the excellent coffee. It seemed no sooner than we’d thought it than there was a knock on the door. It was a young lady with a basket over her arm, filled with goodies. We’d run out of coffee? Take two… and some more mineral water. Did we need anything else? Biscuits? Tea?

It kind of summed up Simonstone. The warm generosity of the place, the nothing too much trouble attitude. We’ll certainly be going back.

 

Simonstone Hall Hotel is currently offering autumn and winter breaks and fabulous Christmas and New Year packages. Check them out at https://simonstonehall.com