Baileys Launch New Iced Coffee Cans

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Kesh

Hip Hooray, the Sun’s out and finally we don’t need a fireplace to enjoy the delicious taste of Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur. Introducing the pick-me-up you’ve been waiting for… Baileys Iced Coffee. For the very first time Baileys lovers’ can enjoy the delicious taste of Baileys on the go in a convenient single serve can. Available in Iced Coffee Latte and Iced Coffee Mocha, the creamy, velvety combination of Baileys Irish Cream, pure milk and Arabica and Robusta Coffee go down as smooth as silk. Pure refreshing indulgence from start to finish. It’s a revelation, who doesn’t love an iced coffee, but on a lazy Saturday afternoon with the sun shining bright we like it laced with Baileys. So swap your regular Irish coffee with a Baileys Iced Coffee, we tried ours as a digestif and this will be firmly on our menu for all the warm summer evenings ahead of us…

Baileys Iced Coffee Latte (200ml, 4% ABV) and Baileys Iced Coffee Mocha (200ml, 4% ABV) will be available in a store near you for RSP £1.90.

Find out more here; Baileys

Funding Initiative aims to Provide all UK Neonatal Units With Personalised Video

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Frostie

Personalised video specialists, vCreate, today announce a new funding initiative aimed at ensuring that all 200 UK neonatal networks are equipped with personalised video by 2018. According to Bliss, the UK’s special care baby charity; over 90,000 babies are admitted to neonatal care in the UK because they have either been born prematurely, or full term but sick.

The decision to look for corporate sponsors to fund the provision of secure video within neonatal units will make technology, that would have previously been out of reach due to unavailable budget, accessible for the wider neonatal community.

Ben Moore, founder of vCreate, explains why he believes this innovative approach to funding will make all the difference: “It’s clear from our discussions with medics that digital technology such as this has huge potential to transform the way services are delivered across the NHS. Delays or lack of central funding can leave the people who deliver the care hamstrung; there’s a proven case for a solution, a need for change, but budget for such initiatives isn’t readily available.”

The team at vCreate is in search of corporate sponsors to fund instances of vCreate by neonatal region. With vCreate, staff are able to send short videos of babies to parents when they are away from this hospital. Ben added: “We’ve already seen how secure video is enhancing patient care following the successful pilot programme at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, and there’s been widespread media and public interest in the project.”

Royal Glasgow Hospital for Children is the first in the UK to trial vCreate in their neonatal unit.

Neil Patel, Consultant Neonatologist, explains how vCreate is supporting mums and dads through what can be an extremely stressful time: “The idea originally came from a parent of one of our patients. He uses personalised video in his work to connect with clients and asked if we could send him video updates of his own baby. We then asked more families who all told us there is nothing more reassuring than actually seeing their baby. It’s a personalised video platform that makes it quick and simple to create a video which can then be securely accessed by the baby’s parents on any device at any time.”

vCreate believes that the funding proposition delivers for both the public and private sectors. The public sector gains innovative video technology when they need it, and private sector sponsors have the opportunity to support families of premature babies.

As part of the sponsorship package, corporate sponsors can expect to see their company logo across the vCreate application which would be seen by the parents logging in to watch the videos; plus media coverage across multiple channels, and positive brand and CSR association.

For corporate sponsorship enquires in relation to vCreate, get in touch on 0333 121 8422 or via email at theteam@vcreate.tv.

The Hourglass By Tracy Rees Book Review

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

The Hourglass is a book that hooked me quickly and would not let go. Set in the present and the past: The Hourglass perfectly intertwines the stories of Nora, a woman in her forties who is troubled by anxiety and feels like her life is falling apart, and Chloe, a teenager in 1950. Both go to Tenby in Wales but have a different story to tell. Tracy Rees is an excellent writer. Her characters are so well rounded you feel you know them, and she really knows how to set a scene. I want to go to Wales now. The Hourglass is a brilliant, atmospheric, and multi-layered book that will leave you guessing until the end. Unputdownable

2014. Nora has always taken success for granted, until suddenly her life begins to fall apart. Troubled by anxiety and nightmares, she finds herself drawn to the sweeping beaches of Tenby, a place she’s only been once before. Together with a local girl she rents a beautiful townhouse and slowly begins to settle in to her new life. But Tenby hides a secret, and Nora will soon discover that this little town by the sea has the power to heal even the most painful memories.

1950. Chloe visits Tenby every summer. She stays with relatives, and spends the long, idyllic days on the beach. Every year is the same, until she meets a glamorous older boy and is instantly smitten. But on the night of their first date, Chloe comes to a realisation, the aftermath of which could haunt her forever.

The Hourglass is a moving novel about finding love even after it seems too late and the healing power of a magical place by the sea.

The Hourglass By Tracy Rees is available here.

The Business of Books: Bursting the Book Bubble

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Jane Cable

Jane Cable on Bookbub and other promotions

Another You has been on promotion again; partly thanks to Endeavour Press and partly off my own bat. When I heard the price would be dropped to 99p/99c for a good chunk of April in readiness for a Bookbub promotion I thought it would be worthwhile experimenting a bit myself.

I had heard very good things about Kindle Daily Nation (https://kindlenationdaily.com/). Very strong in the US market (where I’m not), they offer a number of sponsorship packages which start from $30 but I opted to splash out on one where Another You would be the only book featured in the mailshot. I’ve often found that the best way to sell my books is to offer a free excerpt and to do this costs $120. I uploaded my details and held my breath. Far from being the impersonal web-based process I expected soon I was receiving friendly emails from the team in New England who designed a great mailshot which showcased my book perfectly.

Did it work? Yes, in that the book shot briefly back up the Amazon.com charts and Endeavour were able to tell me that it sold 26 copies on the day of the promotion. Not nearly enough to pay for it, although more would have sold over the next few days, but overall the increased profile meant the experience was a positive one.

A week or so later Another You was featured on Author Shout’s Cover Wars (http://authorshout.com/cover-wars/). I had applied a few months before so the timing was purely co-incidental and I thought the promotions would bounce off each other well. Any author can apply, but be aware – this competition is far more about social media presence than the cover itself.

I normally work really hard on social media to make the most of every promotion I do and this time I could see it paying off straight away. I shared the link to the voting on the bookish Facebook groups I’m a member of, to my author page and on my personal Facebook account. I tweeted it every day. In Cover Wars you can vote every 24 hours and so many friends and fellow authors rallied around to do this I was knocked out by the support. It was neck and neck until the end, but I realised that the other author vying for top slot was in America so I had a last morning to gather votes before the competition closed. My strategy worked and Another You became Author Shout’s book of the week, featuring on their website and in their own social media. But whether I sold any more copies because of it I can’t really tell.

So on to Bookbub (https://www.bookbub.com/home/). Authors who have been featured rave about it, it isn’t cheap and there is a selection process to go through. Is it worth the hype? The answer is an emphatic yes.

Endeavour booked the promotion for the UK, Canada, Australia and India. It was so effective that within hours I had my first Amazon best-seller label, for 20^th century historical romance in Canada. Unlike when the book was available free these were real sales to genuine new customers. A week later the book is still doing pretty well there and in Australia. In the UK it shot up to 400 in the Kindle UK charts and is still selling strongly and in the top 50 for women’s historical fiction.

So, what have I learnt? Strive for the best – save your pennies or beg your publisher and try for a Bookbub slot. And when you do decide on a promotion, harness all your social media resources and work as hard as you can to maximise the impact. Otherwise your time and money are likely to be wasted.

THEATRE REVIEW by Paul Vates

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Margaret Graham

OUT THERE ON FRIED MEAT RIDGE ROAD

Trafalgar Studios 2, London

“If there is one play to see this month – it is this one”

Out There On Fried Meat Ridge Road is not one of the most accessible and catchy titles for a play, but it more than makes up for the tongue-twister.

If there is one play to see this month – it is this one. A bittersweet comedy that dashes at a frenetic farcical pace, absolutely full of laugh-out-loud one-liners. I haven’t heard such laughter in years.

[Flip, Mitchell and JD]

The storyline is, on the outset, quite simple. Mitchell (played to wide-eyed comic precision by Robert Moloney) appears to bounce from disaster to disaster, his life falling apart. He has answered an ad for a flatmate and finds himself in a ramshackle West Virginian motel room with JD (a bear of a man played sublimely by Keith Stevenson – by the way, he wrote the play!). JD believes in peace and love, even though there seems to be little of it about. The meth-addict neighbour Marlene (taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions by the excellent Melanie Gray) regularly bursts in, followed by her adulterous partner Tommy (Alex Ferns playing standard New Jersey-gangster #4, slightly cliched but enormous fun) and the perverted Motel’s Owner Flip (a little too-smoothly played by Michael Wade, not quite firing on the same number of cylinders as the rest).

[Mitchell and Marlene]

What can go wrong, does go wrong; all adding to Mitchell’s woes.

There is genuine feeling here, a warmth from the cast who obviously enjoy these bizarre characters – aided, no doubt, by the sounds of loud and regular audience laughter. The downtrodden motel room almost gets trashed throughout the unfolding chaos. Simon Scullion’s design is neat, messy and precise with some immaculate touches.

[Marlene and Tommy]

This play was first performed in California in 2012 and it has spawned two sequels: A Fried Meat Christmas and The Unfryable Meatness Of Being. On this showing, we deserve to see them all. Just as this show deserves another transfer (it came from the White Bear Theatre in Kennington) to another venue so it can run for a long time.

[JD – doubling up as the playwright]

Director Harry Burton needs hearty congratulations for bringing this play to the UK. I think it must be a struggle holding back the actors so the rhythms of the comedy have time to flow as it veers from zany US sitcom to standard British farce and back again. It’s a rough ride, which the majority of the time, is spot on – just the odd glitch and loss of focus, but the superb cast drag us back and off we go again… Lurching from bathos to high comedy, Out There On Fried Meat Ridge Road shows there is beauty and tragedy within us all.

Brilliant.

[Marlene, Mitchell and JD]

Venue Trafalgar Studios 2, Whitehall, London

Performances running until Saturday 3rd June 2017

Times Monday – Saturday 7.45pm

plus Thursday and Saturday matinees 3pm

Running time 70 minutes (no interval)

Twitter @TrafStudios, #FriedMeatRidge

Facebook @FriedMeatRidgeRdLondon

Website www.friedmeat.co.uk

Writer Keith Stevenson

Director Harry Burton

Production Designer Simon Scullion

Producer Wildcard

Photography Gavin Watson

Punts – is on its way

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Margaret Graham

Punts – Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW

Wednesday 31st May – Saturday 24th June 2017

You want me to have full penetrative sex with your son, right? I just wanted to, you know, check.

Punts is – well what? Actually it’s a hilarious and thought provoking new play by Sarah Page about a young man’s sexual awakening and its effect on those who orchestrated it. Drawn from the playwright’s interviews with sex workers, Punts – produced by Kuleshov Theatre (BU21, Cans) – explores love in all its complex and contradictory forms.

Jack, a young man with a learning disability, lives at home, cared for by his devoted parents. Like most men in their twenties, he has needs – his mates at the rugby club talk about nothing but getting laid, whilst Jack’s most erotic experience to date is the time he was winked at by the pretty cashier in Lloyds. Desperate for their son to not feel left out, his parents Alastair and Antonia decide that they should to bring in a professional. But Julia, the prostitute they hire, has a far more profound impact on the whole family than they could ever have imagined.

Writer Sarah Page comments, In researching Punts I interviewed a number of prostitutes, ranging from women on the streets, those employed in Soho walk-ups, to a retired dominatrix who used to earn an annual income higher than our Prime Minister. All of the women had, at some point in their career, worked with clients with disabilities. This production explores the question of whether sex is a human right – which should be accessible to all, whether disabled or able bodied.

Punts investigates the tensions of familial love, the excitement generated by erotic attachment, the jealousy of finding yourself loved less than another and the paradox of wanting to look after those you love while also wanting them to be free.

Punts was selected from over 1,200 entries as a finalist for the international Nick Darke Writers’ Award 2016.

Punts

Wednesday 31st May – Saturday 24th June 2017

85 minutes #PUNTS,

@kuleshovtheatre, @SarahGPage

Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW,

Tickets are available priced £15 (£12 concessions) Wednesday matinees are £10 Pay What You Can Saturday matinees Available from Theatre503

Box Office and https://theatre503.com/, 020 7978 7040.

Tuesday-Saturday, 7:45pm Saturday matinees on 10th, 17th and 24th, 3pm Wednesday matinees on 7th and 14th, 3pm

Might Make You Smile by Brenda Burling reviewed by Frances Colville

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Margaret Graham

This little book – Might Make You Smile by Brenda Burling – is designed to help you through diagnosis of and treatment for cancer by making you smile. The incidents related will be familiar to anyone who has had cancer or has supported family members through cancer treatment. Like a great many of us, I’ve been there. And I fully appreciate just how much being aware of other people’s experiences and even more importantly keeping a sense of humour can help.

All the stories in the book are based on real events from real people. They will make you smile but they will also make you think.

So if you know of someone about to embark on a cancer journey, consider buying a copy for them to help them on their way. And take a look at the stories yourself before you pass it on. By buying this book, you are also making a donation to the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity so it’s a win-win situation.

Published by Matthew James Publishing Ltd Might Make You Smile is available now in paperback priced £7.99.

The Anxiety Journal Book Review

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

Anxiety is on the rise. In fact, according to mentalhealth.org.uk, in 2013 there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK. There has been an explosion in how many anxiety books are published and magazines are full of articles on anxiety and how to cope. In 2017 the House of Commons guidelines state that the maximum waiting time for NHS mental health services should be 18 weeks. It would be fair to say we have an epidemic on our hands.

The good thing about this is the normalisation of anxiety. It is easy to think you are alone when you have a health problem, but anxiety is normal and it is possible to get help. Not only from the NHS, but also from the plethora of books and articles on the subject. The Anxiety Journal is such a book. Full of great techniques and information, I was mightily impressed. The journal goes through every aspect of anxiety: what you may be feeling, symptoms, the different types of anxiety, self-care, triggers, quotes, exercises to help, CBT and how to leave the anxiety mindset behind amongst other things. It has a great resource list and beautiful illustrations by Marcia Mihotich. This is a great journal which is essential for anyone suffering from anxiety.

While some forms of anxiety are natural, even helpful, anxiety disorders can lead you into a spiral of stress and worry, and interfere with your everyday life.

Practical, supportive and uplifting, this is a journal for anyone who struggles with anxiety, whether in the form of phobias, social anxiety, generalized anxiety (GAD) or day-to-day worrying. Beautifully illustrated by Marcia Mihotich, The Anxiety Journal by Corinne Sweet encourages you to use CBT techniques and mindfulness exercises to help you better understand your anxiety and help you to achieve peace and calm.

Whether you’re awake at 4am unable to turn off those racing thoughts, or struggling to get yourself together before a presentation, The Anxiety Journal will help to soothe stress and reduce worry, identify negative thought-cycles, and provide you with techniques to combat anxiety wherever you are.

The Anxiety Journal is available here.

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