CHRISTMAS PAST & PRESENT by Jenny Falcon

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Margaret Graham

The lights garnishing the tree twinkle

Peeping out from amongst the shiny baubles

Dotted between the dark green pine branches

The sparkling ornaments, the foil wrapped chocolates

The olive trees stand still, silent, protective

Lit by the myriad stars, one shining extra brightly

The leaves gently flutter, quietly applauding

Sensing their privileged position by the stable

The street is full of noise and colour

Crowds bustling in and out of bulging shops

Carols playing, children squeaking with excitement

Preparations reaching a festive crescendo

Inside the stable, it is peaceful

The donkey, a little restless, hooves muffled by the straw

Knows this day he’s carried a special load

His big brown eyes watch in awe

Supermarket tills are working to exhaustion

Trolleys groan under the weight of Christmas fare

Pyramids of goods, demolished in seasonal frenzy

Unbelievable quantities, gratuitous excess

The inn keeper offers some bread and gruel

He has little to spare, the inn is full

He promises a lad will milk the cow

To give to the young mother, cradling the infant

The smell of roasting turkey, goose or beef

Mixes with the rich wafts of Christmas pudding

Mince pies, crouching in their crisp pastry coats

And spicy cinnamon immersed in the mulled wine.

The hay spread thickly on the earthen floor

Smells sweet, though slightly damp

Wood smoke blows through, just gently

As the door to the inn opens and closes

Guests arrive, parcels are placed under the tree

Fascinating shapes, brightly wrapped and ribboned

Soon to reveal the secrets within

Leaving forlorn piles of discarded, crumpled paper

Shepherds shuffle in, sheep trot behind

The Wise Men, majestic, mysterious offer their gifts

The new parents, happy but bewildered, smile their thanks

The baby, focus of all attention, sleeps on

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Serves Gentleman’s Wager Cocktail at Mayfair’s Galvin At Windows

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL has created a beautiful bespoke cocktail

‘THE GENTLEMAN’S WAGER’

now being served at iconic GALVIN AT WINDOWS, Mayfair

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL, the leading luxury Blended Scotch whisky, has created a bespoke cocktail with whisky at its heart, to celebrate the launch of the short film

‘THE GENTLEMAN’S WAGER II’

The short film, starring Oscar-nominated actors Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini, tells the story of two men who enter a wager over a priceless vintage Delahaye 135S car.

As we follow Jude’s efforts to win the wager, we see that it is only through the gratitude he shows people along his journey that he is able to succeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzME9i03PpI

Boris Ivan, Bar Manager at Michelin star London restaurant Galvin at Windows, at London Hilton on Park Lane, created the cocktail with the beautiful setting of the film – Italy, France and Monaco – in mind. Ensuring the warming flavours paid homage to the stunning European landscape and cultures.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label forms the base of the drink, which is blended with Antica Formula, a particular type of vermouth from Southern Italy, and is of geographical and cultural importance to the area. The ingredient represents the location where Jude and Giancarlo start the race, and its warm and rich flavours embody the luxury and elegance of the Italian way of life.

By contrast, the nutty and sweet Creme de Chataigne represents Monaco, the principality in France where the race fishes, and evokes the flavours of wood given to whisky while aging. A touch of chocolate bitters completes the cocktail to give a round, rich finish.

Commenting on the launch, Boris Ivan states: “The Gentleman’s Wager cocktail is the very embodiment of The Gentleman’s Wager II and was inspired by the beautiful setting in which the short film took place. I wanted the cocktail to be warm and full of flavour, without overpowering the senses, so I drew cues from the rich and memorable tastes, sights and smells of Italy, France and Monaco, which all feature in Jude Law’s the journey to win the wager.”

The Gentleman’s Wager cocktail (£14) is available now from Galvin at Windows.

About Johnnie Walker Blue Label…

Johnnie Walker’s most prestigious whisky. Probably THE most famous super-premium blend, made up of the finest old-aged malt and grain whiskies. The Cristal of the blended whisky world, Blue Label’s bold, multi-layered palate and silky delivery ensure that it sits unchallenged at the top of the Johnnie Walker pile.

About Galvin at Windows…

Galvin at Windows has maintained a Michelin star every year since 2009. The restaurant has set the bar for French haute cuisine with Chef Patron Chris Galvin and Head Chef Joo Won at the helm in the Kitchen and is known for the outstanding service and attention to detail all overseen by General Manager Fred Sirieix. With over 30 awards to its name Galvin at Windows is one of the great success stories of recent years and a true star of the London restaurant scene.

www.galvinatwindows.com

About Boris Ivan…

Born in Poprad, Slovakia, Boris started his career in the bar industry whilst at University in Slovakia, working part time at different bars. In 2004 he moved to London and took a position at the Soho Hotel. After over two years working behind the bar Boris decided to and move to Prague where he worked as Assistant F&B manager at the Crowne Plaza. During the four months that he lived in Prague, Boris studied the art of Japanese mixology and together with Stanislav Vadrna worked as external bar consultant in award winning bar, UFO.

In August 2008 he left Crowne Plaza when he was asked to come back to the Soho Hotel as senior bartender before moving to Hush, Mayfair. At Hush Boris was part of the development team and won several awards for molecular mixology at the First Bar Show in Barcelona.

In 2010 he joined the Disaronno Mixing Star Competition and won 1^st place in early 2011 represented UK in European Mixing star final. After a busy year, Boris left Hush bar and accepted position in newly opened Mint Hotel, Tower Bridge, where he ran the Sky Lounge bar for the next 8 months. In August 2011 he left the Sky Lounge team and started as Bar and Club Lounge Manager in Le Meridien Piccadilly. In April 2013 he joined Galvin at Windows team as Bar Manager where he looks after every aspect of the bar and makes London’s best cocktails.

Borderfields British Infusions Gift Packs for Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Frostie

Want a healthy choice for cooking? Here it is: Borderfields Original Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil. It retains its health properties, even at a high temperature and they taste delicious. These are the perfect gift for foodies.

With the festive season drawing ever closer, Borderfields – the expert in premium cold pressed rapeseed oil – is calling on foodies to infuse some flavour into their Christmas cooking this year with the launch of an inspiring range of tempting infusion gift packs.

Fusing cold pressed rapeseed oil with a first-class selection of flavours – including aromatic garlic, fresh basil, fiery chilli and zesty lemon – Borderfields British Infusions Gift Packs are the perfect match for Christmas; offering the ideal way to spoil a loved one, impress at a dinner party or simply add a little zing to all manner of festive favourites.

Boasting all of the benefits of Borderfields Original Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil – including a high ‘smoke point’ which, unlike olive oil, means it maintains its natural benefits at high temperatures – the gift packs make a deliciously healthy, versatile and delightfully simple option for roasting, frying, drizzling, sizzling and basting.

What’s more, it contains half the saturated fat of olive oil, as well as near perfect blend of omegas 3, 6 and 9, and is made using a unique five-times filtration process. This sees each carefully selected batch of rapeseed gently pressed, filtered five times and bottled to ensure a pure, simple and top-quality product with a subtle, buttery flavour.

To continue the festivities after the big day, why not try inspiring your Christmas leftovers with Borderfields’ British Infusions? The perfect match for a turkey soup or creamy curry, mouth-watering gammon sandwich or hearty pie infused with flavour.

The Borderfields Infusions Gift Pack range includes:

· Borderfields British Infusions Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil Gift Pack (3x125ml)

o Including Garlic, Chilli and Lemon Infusions made with 100% British cold pressed rapeseed oil – RRP £7.99

o Available exclusively online from www.amazon.co.uk

· Borderfields British Infusions Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil Gift Pack (4x125ml)

o Basil, Garlic, Chilli and Lemon Infusions made with 100% British cold pressed rapeseed oil – RRP £9.99

o Available exclusively online from Amazon.

Share your festive cold pressed rapeseed oil creations with Borderfields on Twitter, @Borderfields, Facebook, and Instagram, @borderfieldsoil. For more information on Borderfields and delicious recipe inspiration, please visit: www.borderfields.co.uk

Great Christmas wines for a fiver

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Jack Shamash

Very cheap and very good

Anyone wanting to buy good wines this Christmas is in for a treat. There’s a bit of a price war at the cheaper end of the market. Aldi has been selling its very excellent ‘Exquisite Collection’ wines for just over a fiver and recently announced that it would be selling its wines on the internet, for home delivery. All of this has created consternation among the other retailers.

Asda has responded by putting some excellent wines on sale at a fiver and labelled them as ‘Extra Special Selection’. I bought about a dozen bottles yesterday and I can tell you that the ones I opened are excellent.Most of them are well known varieties such as Chardonnay – slightly floral and citrus – Sauvignon Blanc- flavours of tropical fruits. but there are one or two more unusual varieties such as Viognier and Fiano – which is from Sicily and has undertones of lemon and rosemary. They are superb wines and the sort of thing you might normally expect to pay about £8 or £9 for.

As part of the range there is a pouilly fume, which is a classy sauvignon blanc, which has a slightly flinty flavour. This cost £10.75 and was a decent wine and reasonably priced. It’s a well known wine, so it’s a good thing to impress your friends.

In the middle of the photo is a slightly smaller bottle. This is a bottle of sauternes, which was also a fiver. This is a dessert wine and very reasonably priced. It’s a lovely thing in the house to have over Christmas. It has a lovely, slightly resinous flavour of dried fruit. Serve it in small glasses and offer it to friends who come around. In Italy they drink it with biscotta or a slice of panetonne. But it would be equally nice with a mince pie.

Feelunique.com: 15% off Code Today Only.

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Frostie

Want to buy someone a great beauty product for Christmas? You are in for a treat. We have a discount code to give you 15% off feelunique.com.

Available today, Monday, 14 December, only.

Get 15% off by following this discount feel unique link and using the GIFTING15 voucher code.

Promotion Codes exclude the following brands; ghd, Moroccanoil & Philips and such excluded brands may be amended from time to time at our discretion. Unless otherwise stated Promotion Codes cannot be used on sale items, 3 for 2 offers, Unique Members Club discount or in conjunction with any other form of discount.

Please note you may only redeem one code at a time so we advise you to choose the promotion best suited to your purchase.

What will you buy?

Have a White Christmas with White Glo By Margaret Graham

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Get ready for party season with White Glo to ensure your teeth twinkle this Christmas. The toothpastes are clinically proven to give you a brighter, smile in just 2 weeks.

Need a quick fix? The White Glo Diamond White Series gives whiter teeth within 7 days and with no nasties it is the safest teeth whitening kit yet. The advanced formula lifts and repels every day stains from coffee, tea and even smoking. Every pack of White Glo includes a unique flosser, toothbrush which removes debris from the teeth, gums and tongue… ensuring you have a white Christmas all season long.

Professional Choice, £3.99
Coffee & Tea, £3.99
Smokers Formula, £3.99
2 in 1 With Mouthwash,  £3.99
Sensitive Forte, £4.99
Diamond White Series –  £14.99

White Glo is available at Asda.com, Superdrug.com and Boots.com nationwide

ManCave Natural Grooming – Ideal Christmas Gifts

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Here at Frost, the team really like ManCave, the supreme-performance, natural men’s grooming range with a premium fragrance. The four sets are: Supreme Skincare Set – RRP £12.99, Supreme Shavecare Set – RRP £15.99, The Wash Bag Set – RRP £22.9 and The Survival Set – RRP £29.99

These gift sets are launched on boots.com (now with click and collect) perfect for Christmas gifting.

The Wash Bag Set – RRP £22.99

http://www.boots.com/en/ManCave-Wash-Bag-Set_1765219/

For men on the go, this set includes a ManCave flannel.

Borage Moisturiser is an innovative natural moisturiser enriched with bioactives and UV absorbers (rrp £9.50) Willow FaceWash combines natural extracts to refresh, waken and purify skin without drying. (rrp £5.95)FaceScrub with Olive Stone to exfoliate skin and reduce blocked pores, blackheads and ingrown hairs (rrp £6.99)

Supreme Skincare Set – RRP £12.99

http://www.boots.com/en/ManCave-Supreme-Skincare-Set_1765215/

Good skin starts here – this simple two-step grooming regime has all you need. Borage Moisturiser is an innovative natural hydrating facial moisturiser enriched with bioactives and UV absorbers to create a soothing, easily absorbed formula. (rrp £9.50) Willow FaceWash combines natural extracts to refresh, waken and purify skin without drying. (rrp £5.95)

Supreme Shavecare Set – RRP £15.99

http://www.boots.com/en/ManCave-Supreme-Shavecare-Set_1765217/

Get the best out of your shave with this Supreme Shavecare Set. Natural ShaveGel featuring a built-in Pre- Shave performance with Meadowfoam Seed & Tea Tree oil for a premium shaving experience (rrp £5.99)

FaceScrub with Olive Stone to exfoliate skin and reduce blocked pores, blackheads and ingrown hairs (rrp £6.99) Post ShaveBalm with Aloe Vera to soothe, plus Vitamin E and Copper PCA to repair skin after shaving. (rrp £6.50)

The Survival Set – RRP £29.99

http://www.boots.com/en/ManCave-Survival-Kit_1765221/

For every situation, this Survival Set has got you covered. Lemon & Oak Shower Gel combines Lemon oil, Vetiver and Bergamot to uplift and stimulate for an aromatherapeutic showering experience. (rep £3.99) Borage Moisturiser is an innovative natural hydrating facial moisturiser enriched with bioactives and UV absorbers to create a soothing, easily absorbed formula. (rrp £9.50)

Willow FaceWash combines natural extracts to refresh, waken and purify skin without drying. (rep £5.95) FaceScrub with Olive Stone to exfoliate skin and reduce blocked pores, blackheads and ingrown hairs (rep £6.99) Natural ShaveGel featuring a unique built-in Pre-Shave performance with Meadowfoam Seed & Tea Tree oil for a premium shaving experience (rrp £5.99) Post ShaveBalm soothes with Aloe Vera, plus Vitamin E and Copper PCA to repair skin after shaving. (rrp £6.50)

www.mancaveinc.co.uk

Twitter – @ManCave Instagram – @ManCaveInc

Tactus iPhone Cases for Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

My lovely son-in-law has just broken his phone. I doubt he would have it he’d had the Omniwallet. So guess what he’s getting for Christmas?

Tactus iphone cases are really interesting. FrostMagazine likes the Omniwallet folio case in particular, because we like things that ‘earn their keep’. This not only protects your iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6 but brings together all your daily essentials and puts them in one secure place. Cash, cards and the phone are all in one package so no more wasted time while you search for one or the other.

The case has a protective detachable inner shell which is secured magnetically making the case usable without the wallet attached. Made of genuine leather, it has a front flap to protect the screen with stud clasp. There are card slots and cash pocket. There is a detachable inner protective phone case that can be used without the wallet feature.

So, what a great present for someone, and it’s under £20 too.

Tactus has a variety of iPhone cases, all interesting and innovative.

What about the jazzy and innovative LumiNova which glows in the dark and is available in 6 snazzy colours.

Or the extra protective, bright bumper case NeoGuard which uses clever technology to dual protect your phone, while looking funky in bright colourways.

For further information: www.tactus.com

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