SEVEN bestselling mysteries in one box set today. The Eric Ward Mysteries Books 8 – 14 by Roy Lewis for only 99p / 99c.   Praise for the Eric Ward series:

“Tightly written, well-paced and relentlessly accurate.” Oxford Times

“Lewis is at his well-rooted best in this drama of bent solicitors and corrupt businessmen living high. Well worked-out investigation, excellent characterisation and a tense climax. Highly recommended.” Sunday Telegraph

“Lewis is a master of his craft and pilots Ward through the shoal waters of business chicanery and physical violence with a sure hand.” Somerset Express

So, a good read is just a click away. More information: Joffe Books

Now, for more goodies,  have a look:

The Sisters Twin by Jane Adams  99p/99c

Lily Spencer asks Ray Flowers to investigate the death of her twin sister. The only problem being that she’s not dead yet — her death has only been foretold by a tarot reader.  Ray refuses to believe her, until a woman is stabbed to death, with a tarot card left at the scene.

“Takes the psychological suspense novel into new realms of mystery.” Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News

Constable over the Stile by Nicholas Rhea   £1.99/$1.99

The Yorkshire Moors are full of secrets.   Constable Nick thinks he knows his patch like the back of his hand. But events are about to prove him wrong. At Frost Magazine we love cosy entertaining books and this is at the top of the list, what’s more,  it is the series that inspired the ever popular 90s TV series Heartbeat

“It’s original, it’s funny . . . one of life’s little pleasures.” Yorkshire Post  

Read it, while drinking tea, and eating a cake. Make it a really good spoiling session.

The Searcher by Tessa Morris Suzuki   FREE UNTIL APRIL 4TH

Meet Adah Flint and discover the untold story of THE SEARCHER . . .  A young girl is found dead and Adah Flint must examine the child’s body to determine the cause of death.   Adah’s search for the truth takes her through the cosmopolitan backstreets of early 19th-century London, with its inns and prisons, street markets and prostitution, cruelty and compassion.

For more information on the books available, go to  Joffe Books
Now for something a bit different but so so interesting, just as Joffe has told Frost Magazine  if you want to know what criminal investigation is like in real life, then get ready for a podcast that puts YOU at the crime scene.

This series will look at the latest developments, the famous cases and how the forensic scientists are meeting the challenge laid down by a criminal who is forensically aware.

Lynda La Plante has always been fascinated by criminality and the people that solve crime. Her books are celebrated for their authentic depictions of crime scenes and police procedures – something she achieves through meticulous research with her colleague, CSI Cass Sutherland.

Over six episodes, Lynda and Cass will investigate six branches of forensics — discussing their own experiences, talking with experts, hearing how real life crime scenes are worked, exploring the latest innovations and demonstrating how CSI fact is just as thrilling as CSI fiction.

Easter’s here with those egg-shaped temptations poised to derail our post-lockdown healthy resolutions. What to do?

Fortunately Lizi’s have a healthy option for chocolate indulgence.

Frost has featured Lizi’s fabulous mueslis before. Lizi and Mick Shaw create wholesome foods with low Glycaemic Loads (GL), meaning they release sugars into your blood slowly. This is important because large blood sugar spikes after eating sweet foods and junk foods (even savoury ones) can trigger inflammation. This (unhelpful) inflammation has been implicated in heart disease, cancer and type II diabetes. The sugar spikes also make your body overreact and lower blood sugar too quickly – causing you to feel hungry again an hour later. So eating whole foods with low GLs is important to keep you healthy and slim.

The great news is whole foods don’t have to be boring – let me introduce Lizi’s new Belgian Chocolate Granola – it’s positively sinful. Dark, sumptuous real Belgian chocolate pieces paired with cocoa powder, vanilla, toasted oats, and a range of nuts and seeds.

But isn’t granola full of sugar? And what about the Belgian chocolate?

You’re absolutely right, as a doctor, I’m very interested in healthy diets, and normally I give granola a wide birth – but not this one.

It’s made from the best quality ingredients and is packed with flavanols. One 50g serving contains 249 calories, 14.4g healthy fats (from nuts and seeds mainly), just over a tea-spoon of sugars, 5.4g protein and 6.5g fibre. Served with 60g of milk, it has a healthy, low GL of 6.6. Unsurprisingly it’s vegan too.

So we’ve established it’s a healthy breakfast, which will keep you full until lunch due to the slow-release carbohydrate, protein and natural fats. But (important question) does it taste good?

Having road-tested (rather too much) I can reassure you unreservedly – it tastes amazing. The 5% Belgian chocolate is just enough to provide that smooth, decadent richness of a bar of the good stuff – and it turns the milk into choc-au-lait, which is a super bonus. Never has eating healthily been such a pleasure.

Where can you buy this heaven in a bowl? Lizi’s Belgian Chocolate Granola is available in convenient resealable packs from Ocado and from Lizi’s Website RRP £3.70.

If you want an Easter treat without the guilt, I highly recommend it.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Unusually, I feel that I should begin this review with something of an apology, as I am about to tell you how good they are without explaining exactly where or how you can acquire them.

Noctails, are cocktails that are made for the night, but to be honest, they will taste pretty good at any time.

The Nocturnal Cocktail Kit only available in their sporadic competitions but when you see it advertised, I advise you to act quickly as they are well worth winning.

This is the best advice I can give you is that these Noctails will be popping up throughout the year, so make a note and you can thank me later.

The full-bodied Sexton, Irish Single Malt Whiskey is definitely worth seeking out and is available from Amazon as well as Waitrose and other selected outlets):  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sexton-Single-Malt-Irish-Whiskey/dp/B07L15WVCS , and even if you can’t get hold of the kit, you can always get the constituents to make some seriously delicious cocktails.

Unconventional and edgy, The Sexton Whiskey satisfies even the most restless of spirits. A single malt to be drunk however you like…even in the dark.

I can thoroughly recommend the Rhubarb Sour, which was a clever balance of sweet and sour, but beware I found it to be addictively moreish, even the Maraschino cherry, (words that I thought that I would never write.)

The Noctail mixologists have really mixed things up (see what I did there?) so if you manage to get hold of the cocktail kit it contains all the ingredients that you need to make two exclusive cocktails made from ingredients that thrive in the darkness scientifically -proven to be sweeter than those grown in the daylight.

From forced rhubarb to dried mushroom, each ‘Noctail’ kit contains all the nocturnal ingredients needed to create two signature ‘Noctails’ – The Rhubarb Sour and the Umami Old Fashioned

The Umami Old Fashioned, a revision of the classic Old Fashioned, containing mushrooms, maple syrup, Angostura bitters and of course, The Sexton Single Malt Whiskey

The Rhubarb Sour, a midnight-take on The Whiskey Sour, featuring forced rhubarb, organic cinnamon, maraschino cherries and apple cider vinegar.

Hopefully, you know me better than to think that I would just tease you about Noctails so here is a link to the recipe for the Rhubarb Sour. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMUu_HTF9di/

Our eyes are incredible, aren’t they? Just close them for two minutes and try to walk around your house, or read, or work on the computer or even make a cup of tea … I rest my case.

Yet, often, we don’t treat these irreplaceable beauties with the care they deserve, so these sunglasses tips from eye expert Dr Andy Hepworth from www.essilor.co.uk  are essential.

Thinking of buying new sunnies for this great weather? What influences your choice? How much you’ll resemble an A-lister, or best protection for your eyes? Be honest.

I see? So, over to Dr Hepworth I think:

As well as a fashion accessory, sunglasses should protect eyes from excess UV light that can lead to premature ageing, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. It’s also been linked to corneal sunburn and retinal tissue damage, plus eye strain and headaches. For optimum eye health you should be wearing sunglasses all year round.

Check UV protection of your sunglasses

1. Check the label and paperwork. Look for a minimum UV 400 protection, with both UVA and UVB protection. A sticker on the lenses saying ‘blocks UV’ is not good enough.
2. An eye care professional or optician can measure the UV filters.
3. UV light may filter through scratched lenses so chuck damaged glasses.  
4. Price doesn’t always indicate quality and UV protection.
5. All sunglasses sold in the UK should have a CE mark to indicate compliance with regulatory standards, blocking out 95% of all UV rays below 380 nanometres.

Your Vision

1. Get an eye test if you may need prescription sunglass lenses or specialist coatings.
2. Larger frames and wrap-arounds can provide better UV protection.
3. Glare can be distracting and dangerous and aggravates light sensitivity (photophobia). Xperio Polarised technology can help by only allowing vertical light through the lens – making safer driving and providing a high level of UV protection.
4. Maintain clarity, contrast and colour perception with tinted lenses. For example, Essicolour Tints will reduce distortion to give good clarity. Graduated tint can give a trendy finish.
5. Just because lenses are ‘dark’ doesn’t automatically mean they offer the right protection.
6. Photochromic lenses adapt to changing light conditions, whether you’re indoors or out.

Remember, your eyes are extremely valuable and some damage can be irreversible so consider visiting your optician for your next pair of shades. If you’ve any eyesight worries the Essilor website has great information and advice too.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

July 1969, saw a spellbound thirteen-year-old boy, sat in his pyjamas in front of a flickering black and white television, to watch the first moon landing, and whilst he never grew up to be an astronaut as he planned that evening, he never lost that sense of wonder whenever he looks up the night sky.

From the technology of an oversized black and white television to Blu Ray, the intervening years have not diminished that sense of wonder.

Searching for Skylab, is an award-winning documentary from director Dwight Steven-Boniecki about the NASA space station.

It is a story that has largely been forgotten. However, the Skylab missions were responsible for an incredible array of scientific discoveries before it dramatically crashed into Western Australia in 1979. The missions have provided the scientific community with countless and invaluable information about our planet, the sun, space and the universe itself.

Occupied by three separate teams for 24 weeks between 1973 and 1974, Skylab is the forbearer of the International Space Station (ISS) and is one of mankind’s greatest engineering feats.

Using stunning re-mastered and never-before-seen footage, Searching for Skylab reveals the incredible feats of science and technology achieved by the space station and the NASA astronauts upon it.

Ed Gibson with Al Shepard

Additional interviews from the engineers and their families tell the story of those behind the scenes, and reveal the human side of what it was like to live through one of the most exciting times for space exploration in human history.

This is riveting stuff, a fascinating untold story /documentary, including all the history of the project to create the first American Space Station. It includes lots of interviews with the engineers, astronauts and scientists that were involved with it.

Ed Gibson just egressed Eva Hatch

It tracks from the early moments, through issues to fix, to its final days. It holds the attention so that it is easy to overlook some loose editing in the section around engineering, but perhaps people devoted to engineering would disagree.

This will appeal to space nerds everywhere and anyone even slightly interested in space.

There are so many tales of which I had no knowledge, and I loved the fact that it is a personal story with plenty of endearing anecdotes from the astronauts who spent time on the space station.

It is a very human story with lovely candid interviews.

Runs for 98 fascinating minutes that made me wish that I had become an astronaut after all.

Images courtesy of NASA

https://searchingforskylab.com/the-movie/

“If this kind of show floats your boat – you’ll love it”

Strictly Come Dancing professionals perform their own live touring shows with startling regularity. And why not? Without the status and popularity that the television show brings them, how many people would honestly say they would go and watch a 2-hour dance show? This has resulted in making dance a must-see theatrical event – the bonus being that fans get to see their favourites live on stage.

Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara have created their own franchise. Their first touring show was Remembering Fred, then came Remembering The Movies. Last year they were set to tour this show – Remembering The Oscars. Sadly, of course, all the venues closed. But they haven’t been twiddling their thumbs during lockdown! Instead, with an imaginative production team, they have planned the live tour for 2022 and produced this taster for online streaming.

With a strong ensemble of eight excellent dancers, Aljaž and Janette trundle through some of their favourite Oscar winners, sometimes creating medleys like the Disney routine – because there is so much to choose from!

I really like Strictly, yet always get annoyed when the cameras zoom around the dancers, thereby not allowing me to see the actual dancing. Sdaly, this does happen a lot in this show – but, when you do get to see the routines and the exciting choreography by Gareth Walker, it’s worth it. Special mention must go to the singers Giovanni Spanó and the gorgeous Janine Johnson.

Of course, as this is a taster of the live show to come next year – the full show will be amazing! If this kind of show floats your boat – you’ll love it.

Photography Show photographs – Ryan X Howard       Oscar photograph – Colin Thomas

Partner Venues Birmingham Symphony Hall, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Northampton Derngate, The Bridgewater Hall, Edinburgh Festival Theatre,

Cambridge Corn Exchange, Theatre Severn, Llandudno Venue  Cymru, St David’s Hall Cardiff, Marlowe Theatre, Octagon Theatre  and Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre.

Starring Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara  Producer Steven Howard for The TCB Group

Show Director & Choreography Gareth Walker   Musical Supervisor Rob Eckland

Tickets Tickets are £15 per stream and can be purchased online at

www.rememberingtheoscars.com.

You can purchase additional content such as, In Conversation

with Aljaž and Janette and Behind the Scenes with Aljaž and Janette for £5 each.

Performances Streamed until Saturday 17th April 2021   Running Time Just over 1 hour

Twitter @AljazSkorjanec, @JManrara, #RememberingTheOscars