Valentine’s Day can’t slip past without some boozy ideas…

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Margaret Graham

We are Frost Magazine after all, and do love tasting the odd little number – so here we go.

For Her

Żubrówka Embossed Bison Grass Bottle

MRRP £20.00
Available from Tesco Waitrose and Sainsbury’s

Żubrówka Vodka, the Original Bison Grass Vodka, has over 500 years of tradition and history. Żubrówka’s exceptional character is emphasized by a single bison grass blade that is hand placed in every bottle. Apparently the bison grass is hand-picked and dried under natural conditions, making each bottle of Żubrówka an exceptional gift this Valentine’s Day for Vodka lovers

For Him

8O8 Whisky

MRRP £32.00
Available at 31 Dover, Master of Malt and Selfridges.

8O8 Whisky, the new global whisky brand from music producer and DJ TommyD. Developed out of a spectacular collision between music and the beverage industries (heavens – whisky on the floor) and named after the celebrated Roland TR-808 Drum Machine, 8O8 will make a pretty good gift for the person in your life this Valentine’s Day.

Blended at North British distillery, Edinburgh’s last working distillery and one of the largest and oldest grain whisky producers in Scotland, 8O8 works both as a smooth and delicious neat serve while retaining a subtleness and versatility that makes it perfect for mixing in cocktails and club serves. The end result is a light, subtle, smooth tasting blend, which allows its flavour to sit on the tongue, whilst maintaining an irresistible back-beat and warmth when mixed – if we’re keeping the music analogy going.

For Him & Her

MRRP from £14.00
Available from etched drinks.com

A nice idea – Etched Drinks is taking the UK’s love of artisanal beer, wine and spirit brands and allowing customers to personalise the labels to suit any event or occasion. Having sourced a delicious selection of both soft and alcoholic options, from a range of the best breweries, vineyards and distilleries across the world, including Vintage Rhubarb and Rosehip, Mac & Wild Auld Pal, Blackwood Botanical Vodka, Duppy Share Rum and ready to drink cocktails, Etched customers are then given a choice of unique, quirky and beautiful ready-made labels, which can be adapted and modified to all specifications, or the option to create your own label from scratch.

Etched Drinks has created a truly unique offering, making them the perfect Valentine’s Day gift.

Give them all a go, and keep the aspirin handy for the next day.

Penclic B3 Mouse Review

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

I am always excited about trying something different and the Penclic B3 mouse is certainly that. It looks more like a joystick than a mouse. But it is stylish. Very much so. It is a beautiful piece of technology.

At first is feels a little strange to use. You have to get used to it. But it quickly becomes natural. The mouse is also wireless which makes it convenient. I am at my computer a lot so anything that reduces the risk of RSI is great in my books.

I like the Penclic B3 mouse. So much so that I reckon it will replace my own mouse. It can be used by right-handed and left-handed people. This mouse is great Swedish technology. I think it might even catch on.

For the last three decades we have used computer devices that were never ergonomically designed for long-term human usage. The negative effects of improper ergonomics are only now beginning to show on a generation of computer users. Mouse Arm Syndrome (MAS), is a form of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), and has been studied extensively in a number of countries. Much of the pioneering work has been undertaken in Sweden.

It’s well documented that prolonged use of a traditional computer mouse may cause pain, stiffness and even permanent damage to the muscles and tendons of the human body. A traditional computer mouse requires exertion from shoulder muscles, biceps and triceps. These muscles were never intended for such high precision tasks. Consistently using these muscles may cause static tension and injury. A large portion of the human brain controls the fine motor abilities of our hand and fingers. That is why writing with a pen is so easy, comfortable and naturally ergonomic. Due to this it focuses on harnessing the natural power and control within our fingertips.

The Penclic B3 is the ideal companion for left and right handed users. It enables the extension of our bodily movements and harnesses the natural power and dexterity in our fingers and hands. It creates a healthy and natural working position. Penclic‘s innovative pen grip counteracts RSI, obtained from using a traditional computer mouse.

The Penclic B3 looks, feels and moves like a pen. It’s responsive and intuitive and feels like the mouse predicts where you are planning to move the cursor. It allows users to be more exact and precise which leads to better results in less time.

Penclic Mouse creates a relaxed and natural working position which allows your forearm to rest on the work surface which contributes to less pain. The cursor can be moved all over the computer screen quickly and effectively. The mouse has 5 buttons and a scroll wheel suited for both left- and right-handed users with its symmetrical design, it has Bluetooth connectivity.

Features

The supported platforms for Penclic Mouse are all operating systems that support HID 1.1. These include Windows XP or later, Mac OSX version 10.1 or later and most Linux/BSD flavors. No extra software/driver installation is needed.
Bluetooth connection (not supported by standard iOS).
Operates on almost any surface without any pad or tablet.
Implements a 3-buttons and scroll wheel mouse.
AAA 1.2V NiMH Recharging battery (Everyday use last approximately 1 months before charging is needed).
Charging via USB.
LR 03/AAA/1.5V Alkaline None rechargeable battery can be used. NOTE: DO NOT RECHARGE
Energy saving mode starts after 10 min, press a button to start.
Wireless reach, minimum 5 metres.
Dpi settings 800 – 1200 – 1600.

The Penclic B3 Mouse costs £79.99 from Amazon

Icarus Theatre Collective presents: Hamlet UK Tour: January – April 2017

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Margaret Graham

Everyone should see several different productions of Hamlet. Make this one of them.

Icarus Theatre Collective presents their sexy, bloody and fast-paced tour of Hamlet. This gripping ensemble reimagining embraces Shakespeare’s brutality and amplifies the exhilaration and violence of one of the greatest plays ever written.

The King of Denmark is dead. Consumed with grief, Prince Hamlet avenges his father’s death with devastating consequences for his family and the Kingdom. Shakespeare’s most challenging play tells the tale of Prince Hamlet fighting the new King who stole his throne.

Director Max Lewendel comments, The King of Denmark is dead. His son Hamlet – whose depression is festered by the death of his father – shatters the narrative and drives it forward. The young prince is not self-pitying or self-indulgent. He is angry. He is infuriated by the world that envelops him. Torn and enabled by his mental malady, the Herculean character embarks on a self-destructive rampage to avenge his father’s death.

With a design inspired by the mythology of Greek and Roman Gods, this ensemble-driven production of Hamlet uses its dynamic cast to accentuate the constant conflict of the various elements the young prince’s psychology.

Using Shakespeare’s original words, Icarus invites us to encounter the text in a new way. Blending traditional and physical theatre with an original musical score, this muscular production brings to life some of literature’s most vibrant language and characters in a way you’ve never seen before. This is Shakespeare for the Game of Thrones generation.

Tickets are available from individual theatre box offices.

http://www.icarustheatre.co.uk/shows/hamlet2017.html.

@IcarusTheatre, #IcarusHamlet

Three Books For February: Our Top Picks

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Frostie

Nothing beats a good read so we have picked three very different books to entertain you this February.

Until You Come Home Ellie Dean

It is 1944 and Anne Black is making the best of a new life in Somerset, but bringing up her daughters so far from their father, her mother Peggy and their real home of Cliffehaven isn’t easy. The safety of Somerset makes separation bearable, until danger strikes and rocks Anne’s world.

Back in Cliffehaven Peggy Reilly is running the Beach View Boarding House with her usual love and warmth. The war is taking its toll however, and Peggy longs to have her scattered family home again. Until then she’ll continue being a mother to all, and maybe even find some time for herself.

As the fighter planes leave RAF Cliffe every evening all anyone can hope is that the war, like the night, will soon be over.

The heart-warming brand new Second World War novel in the Beach View Boarding House series from Ellie Dean, the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of Sweet Memories of You.

A riveting historical book that will have you in tears. But in a good way.

Until You Come Home is available here.

Echoes In Death J.D.Robb

New York at night. A young woman stumbles out on to a busy street – right in front of Lieutenant Eve Dallas and husband Roarke. Her name is Daphne Strazza, and she has been brutally assaulted. Confused and traumatised, she manages to tell them one thing. Her attacker wore a devil’s mask.

As Eve investigates this shocking case, she soon discovers a disturbing pattern. Someone is preying on wealthy couples, subjecting them to a cruel and terrifying ordeal. Worse still, the attacks are escalating in violence and depraved theatricality. Eve and her team are now in a race against time to find the man behind the mask – before he strikes again. But for Eve, this case in particular has unsettling echoes of her own troubled past…

Another book in the great series. Brilliant crime fiction.

Echoes in Death is available here.

New York, Actually Sarah Morgan

Meet Molly

New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine.

Meet Daniel

A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning…

Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is…

A gloriously fun romantic read.

New York, Actually is available here.

My Perfect Apple Crumble

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Christian Gott

As we are in the middle of Bramley Apple Week, you knew that didn’t you, I wanted to give you a failsafe recipe for that most English of desserts the apple crumble, and you cannot make an apple crumble without a Bramley apple. In 1809 a Southwell* resident, Mary Ann Brailsford planted some apple pips one of which still bears fruit to this day. In 1846 her cottage and garden were sold to one Matthew Bramley and apart from shelling out the cash that is his total contribution. A local nurseryman admired the quality of the apples and asked to be allowed to take some grafts to develop more trees capable of producing the fruit. Matthew Bramley agreed to this on the condition that if the apples went on to any commercial success they would bear his name. The Bramley is now famous and cooks love it for its flavour and excellent cooking qualities. It remains one of the most widely grown British culinary apples.

The crumble is a quick and easy pudding that can be adapted to suit the seasons and the different fruits available often partnering softer fruits with apples or pears and enhancing the flavour with the use of spices. Apple crumble is the most popular version of the dish and due to the keeping quality of apples traditionally a staple throughout long winters when very few fresh fruits were available. Apples such as Bramley’s would have been stored in a loft or attic to provide a valuable source of vitamin C from November to February. Today your apples are shipped into supermarkets from around the world to overcome seasonality.

However, if you want to go seasonal and reduce your carbon footprint here are a few ideas spring is when rhubarb comes into its own, I pre-bake mine with brown sugar, ginger orange juice, and zest to help keep the shape and prevent the crumble becoming soggy

During the summer there is an abundance of produce, tart gooseberries with plenty of sugar, cherries, or then raspberries, strawberries, and blackcurrants and that all liven up the last of the previous year’s apples when baked together. Spiced plums, pears, apples, and blackberries are the staples of autumn and on into winter.

Crumbles are best enjoyed hot, with liberal dollops of custard, clotted cream or a scoop or two of ice cream. You can change the basic recipe for the crumble topping by mixing in oats or a sprinkling of chopped nuts and adding spices such as ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

* Now in passing most people will know Southwell for its pretty minster and horse racing track but now you dear reader know Southwell is the home of the English Bramley cooking apple. The town holds an annual festival each October to celebrate the Bramley.

My Perfect Apple Crumble

1kg Bramley Apples

3 tablespoons of Apple Juice or water

2 tablespoons Caster Sugar ( approximately )

Juice of half a Lemon

½ teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg

120 gr Self Raising Flour

100 gr Caster Sugar

75 gr Butter

Optional

40 gr Rolled Oats

40 gr Demerara Sugar

Preheat your oven to 200 C / 400 F/ Gas 6. Wash the apples, peel and cut them into quarters. Remove the cores and slice each piece of apple in two. Put the apple pieces into a medium sized, heavy bottomed pan with the apple and lemon juice and cook over a low heat for about five minutes, until the apples start to soften. I like the apples to start to break up leaving some bigger pieces for texture. Taste the apples for sweetness, sprinkle with sugar as required and carefully stir in. Add the nutmeg and gently stir again. Transfer the apple mixture to a shallow ovenproof dish.

In a bowl blend the flour and butter together by rubbing with the tips of your fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, alternatively you can pulse together in a food processor for a few seconds. Blend in the caster sugar thoroughly ( at this point stir in the oats and the brown sugar if required ) and then loosely sprinkle the mix over the cooked apples in the dish. Place the crumble in the oven to bake for thirty minutes or until crunchy and golden-brown on top.

Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.

Time Bomb Instawow Sparkling Facial Mask Review

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

When I became a mother one of the things that became impossible were face masks. Sure I tried once or twice, but having any time to myself is rare. And when I do have some time I have a million things to do. Which is why I am now ruthless. Ruthless with my time and ruthless with my beauty products. Everything has to be quick and work well. Time Bomb Instawow Sparkling Facial Mask caught my attention because it is a five minute mask. I was looking for a five minute mask so it was lucky timing. So it is quick but does it work? Putting it on is a bit of fun actually. It fizzes and gives a fun bubbly blast to the face. You can feel it working on your skin. After using it I have noticed a difference. I feel that my skin is brighter and more clean. Even I can manage five minutes so I will be added it to my beauty routine now.

Need to reboot your skin’s radiance? Jumpstart your glow with Time Bomb’s new effervescent luminary: INSTAWOW Sparkling Facial Mask. In mere minutes, this bubbling blast purges pores, ignites your inner light and gives your complexion a glassy-smooth, translucent, luminous surface.

Moments after applying INSTAWOW gel mask, you’ll feel the fizzy business begin! Effervescent actives go deep down to bubble up make-up and debris, clarifying pores and leaving your skin remarkably lighter, brighter, tighter. Formulated with energising citrus extracts and sparkling, humectant-rich glycerine, INSTAWOW delivers a quick hit of nourishment and a fast blast of moisture. The result is major inner glow, major outer gleam…total INSTAWOW!

Time Bomb Instawow Sparkling Facial Mask…take your complexion from drab to fab, in under five minutes!

Available from timebombco.com, Amazon and qvcuk.com

When a Mother Isn’t The Best Person To Deal With An Anorexic Child

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Frostie

IT’S NOT A MOTHER’S JOB

Author and journalist Carol Lee spent many years helping her god-daughter, Emma, in her battle with anorexia and bulimia.

Emma’s first spell of anorexia seemed to happen suddenly. One minute she was a moody 15-year-old, the next she had locked herself in her bedroom and wouldn’t open the door.

I was called to the flat, only half a mile away, where her parents lived. Perhaps she would open it for me, the godmother she was fond of. But no. This was the beginning of her flight into anorexia, five years of Emma locking people out.

When I told friends about this, ‘What about her mother?’ they asked. ‘What’s she doing?’

But her mother was, in a sense, the last person who could help. She was the person the door was most firmly closed against. She was, in Emma’s terms, part of the problem and not yet part of the solution.

For a mother’s anxiety, her fear, her guilt, transmit themselves and a child with eating problems picks all of this up.

For although her mother was an excellent cook, Emma had rejected her delicious food for years. Instead, she raided the fridge for snacks. Her mother was a single parent who worked to provide for them both. It was tough. She was busy and tired and believing it was better for Emma to eat something rather than nothing, she gave in to Emma’s fridge-raiding.

Which is how I began to understand the importance of children having someone else to turn to. An aunt or a friendly neighbour. Someone not as close, intimate and worried as a mother. Someone who would respond more calmly.

Although Emma was fussy with food at my place too, she was easier with me. I wasn’t tangled up in emotions which had been simmering for years and she responded to me being both firm and relaxed.

But a godmother alone isn’t the solution to a teenager determined to take up with anorexia. I put it that way, because the condition is a choice. Being ill from it comes later when food deprivation causes things like critically low potassium levels and weakened muscles.

To deal with this, Emma was hospitalised many times. Initially locking out the doctors too, she refused to accept the treatment on offer. Finally, she ended up on a secure Unit for people with eating disorders. It was this stay which eventually worked.

For Emma’s problems were deep-seated. Life hadn’t given her enough of the love and attention she needed. There were few outlets for her bright, creative nature and for her deep need to give and receive lots of love. ‘I don’t know who to give my love to’ was one of the sad entries in her diary.

Anorexia was her way of dealing with this, a way of making her mark. Refusing and abusing food ‒ for she had bulimia too ‒ was her form of protest. She never wanted to die, although that wasn’t always clear to me at the time. Like Dickens’s Oliver, she wanted more ‒ more of the life opportunities and emotional nourishment she felt deprived of.

The expert help Emma received in a specialist Unit provided her with therapies which opened the door to her inner self. Music, art, group and individual therapy were all on hand and she began to flourish.

It still took five years in total for her to emerge from anorexia, but now, in her thirties, she remains well. She has a good relationship with her mother whose past difficulties she has come to understand. She is close to her stepfather, to me and to the friends she’s made along the way.

To Die For: The true story of a girl with anorexia and the woman who tries to help her by Carol Lee. Published as an ebook by Corazon Books, available exclusively from Amazon from Wednesday 8^th February 2017.

Devour by L A Larkin Review by Frances Colville

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Margaret Graham

Devour by L A Larkin is the first instalment in a series of thrillers with Olivia Wolfe as the main character. And what a feisty lady she is too, eminently suited to holding her own amongst the plethora of male lead characters who dominate this genre. There is plenty of action, lots of twists and turns and some interesting locations, ranging from the ice fields of Antarctica to the Nevada desert.

It feels well researched too, and indeed Larkin has gone the extra mile by visiting Antarctica herself, investigating real-life situations to include in her novel, and learning the art of self-defence to add authenticity to her writing.

L A Larkin is an established thriller writer with a growing reputation. She lives in Sydney and London.

Devour is published by Constable: pb (£8.99) and eBook (£6.99)

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