Salomé, by Oscar Wilde, at The Space

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Paloma Kubiak

‘She is monstrous thy daughter’

As a teenager, one of the first classic books I read, incidentally, was by Oscar Wilde after a friend recommended ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. Wilde captured the true horror of a person’s character; physically Dorian was a picture of youth and moral standing, but in the portrait that represents Dorian’s soul, his spirit is decaying and putrefying.

And princess Salomé, the daughter of Herod and Herodias is a thing of beauty where many in the kingdom are told ‘not to look at her like that’.

However, just like Dorian, her mind is full of darkness and sin and her wicked motives are reflected in the changing moon – her skin is as pale as the shining sphere in the sky and throughout the play, it turns a deeper shade of red, symbolising that blood will be spilt by sundown.

After we hear the treacherous murmurings of prophet Jokanaan from the depths of the cistern, Salomé becomes intrigued and asks her servants if she can speak with him.

Despite refusing her request, a Syrian who is so taken aback by Salomé’s beauty grants her wish.

But Jokanaan does not succumb to her charm – he won’t let her touch his skin or kiss his lips and here the play becomes slightly erotic, as Salomé caresses herself below her waist.

The scene then turns to the banquet at the palace where Herod requests Salomé to dance for him and he promises to give her anything, even half his kingdom, if she will fulfil his wish.

Salomé, played by Liza Weber, gives an empowering, potent and sensual display to the delight of Herod.

All that she requests is the head of Jokanaan in return, and despite Herod’s pleas that something bad would happen, he is a man of his word and the deed is done.

He shouts ‘she is monstrous thy daughter’ to his Herodias as Salomé can finally kiss Jokanaan’s lips and stroke his skin as she dances with his head dripping with blood.

Salomé, a production by Théâtre Libre is a departure from The Space’s usual plays.

Having been to a number of performances at the fringe theatre in the Isle of Dogs, the idea to run Salomé was a bold one.

Théâtre Libre attempted to approach the little-known play by Wilde from a modern, feminist angle, exploring the objectification of women and how the gaze of male eyes shapes the character. This was reflected in the prolonged, sensual dance performed by Salomé showing that in order for her to get what she wants, she must display her body to please the powerful male ruler of the kingdom.

Produced by Oran Doyle, and directed by Kaitlin Argeaux who founded Théâtre Libre, at times the audience was exposed to uncomfortable and graphic scenes – quite rightly so – and this highlights the great performance by the actors with particular applaud going to Liza Weber and Christopher Slater (Herod).

Both were impassioned and true to their characters, and Herodias, Cheska Hill-Wood, came into her own as a mother defending the actions of her daughter and defending her honour against the ramblings of the prophet Jokanaan.

The stage set-up and lighting for the production of Salomé was of particular importance, especially with all the references to the colour of the moon and this was executed well throughout the play.

Salomé is showing at The Space until 19 September, tickets cost from £10.

September’s Food & Drink Picks

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Frostie

Fruit Heroes

These are delicious and healthy. Perfect for lunch boxes. They come in a variety of flavours. Even the adults at Frost loved them. Fruit Heroes are a healthy, natural, fruit snack bar for children. They have now uncovered and addressed parents’ most popular questions regarding their children’s health and diet.

After conducting a hugely successful research study in March, Fruit Heroes wanted to further their campaign to encourage children to eat fruit and clear up parents’ concerns about their child’s nutrition. Therefore, Fruit Heroes, with the help of Dietician and Nutritionist Dr Sarah Schenker, held a live Facebook web chat to answer parents’ questions and healthy queries. Here, Dr Schenker clears up the difference between the difference between good and bad sugars.

“Good sugars, also known as intrinsic sugars, are naturally found in food. These are mostly fructose found in fruit and vegetables as well as lactose found in milk and dairy products. Most other sugars found in food are artificially added such as glucose and dextrose. These are termed free sugars and too much of these types of sugars can cause problems with blood sugar and insulin levels which is linked to obesity and diabetes so these are the ones to watch out for.”

Two Chicks

Two Chicks has launched a new product called Liquid Whole Egg – a carton of pasteurised free-range eggs in liquid form. Following the success of the original Two Chicks Liquid Egg Whites. The carton has the equivalent of 10 liquid whole pasteurised eggs and is very convenient. It makes great scrambled eggs, is perfect for anyone looking for short-cuts in the kitchen and ideal for any bakers (especially as Bake Off season has just kicked off!) – You literally just pour out of the carton and get baking. It’s also ideal for quick and easy meals, such as scrambled eggs and omelettes.

Echo Falls Fruit Fusions

Echo Falls has launched two new sparkling varieties to its delicious Fruit Fusions range, offering a light and refreshing drink option ideal for summer picnics and garden parties. These are great as you don’t need a glass, they are ready to drink and come in cartons of four. They taste great and are perfect for parties and festivals.

Bottled in vibrant and colourful illustrations, Echo Falls Sparkling Fruit Fusions are the perfect bubbly addition for summer celebrations.

These exciting new options come in two distinct flavours including White Peach and Mango, a refreshing and tropical fusion with a crisp, smooth finish and Summer Berries, a sweet fruity rosé with aromas of raspberry and strawberry. Why not try White Peach and Mango Sparkling on ice with a slice of lemon for a citrus hint and a sprig of mint for freshness, and serve Summer Berries sparkling in a flute with a strawberry to really bring out the flavour.

Both flavours are available in ready-to-drink 275ml bottles which can be purchased as a handy 4 pack; providing the ideal drink to take to festivals and summer parties.

The range is currently available in Asda.com, £5.45.

Anne Hathaway Losing Roles To Younger Actresses At Grand Age of 32

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Being an actor is hard and being an actress even more so. An actresses career used to be over by the time she was 40. Thankfully, there are still some roles for actresses in their 40s now, but it seems that ageing is still a disadvantage for a woman in film. Women have always had a tough time in film but recently more actresses have been speaking out about sexism and ageism. Sometimes with depressing results. In this months Glamour magazine, cover girl Anne Hathaway said that she was already losing roles to younger actresses. “I can’t complain about it because I benefitted from it, When I was in my early twenties, parts would be written for women in their fifties and I would get them. And now I’m in my early thirties and I’m like, ‘Why did that 24-year-old get that part? I was that 24 year old once. I can’t be upset about it, that’s just the way things are.” She admitted.

Anne also says “…there are fewer roles [for women] and the competition is just as fierce as ever. I look around at my peers and I’m so blown away by their talent…and we’re all trying to get the same parts.” She had to audition for her role in The Intern. In the great interview she also says she doesn’t beat herself up as much anymore. Buy this months Glamour and have a read.

Meet the Sassy Stash The Sexy Way To Go Bag Free & Hide Your Belongings

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Frostie

Have you ever carried a handbag just to hold your lipstick and money? Want to go hands free and have somewhere to put your belongings? Then check out The Sassy Stash from firebox.com. We reviewed it and…we love it. It is well made and looks sexy. It is discreet and the inside gripes the thigh well to stop it slipping. It is a genius idea and also perfect to secretly stash your belongings away .

The Sassy Stash is an attractive garter that doubles as secret storage for your essentials. Designed to be adjustable and worn under clothes, simply pop your essentials into the pockets and secure around your thigh with the Velcro strap. The Sassy Stash is available in black and from firebox.com for just £24.99. Frost Loves.

Armada by Ernest Cline Book Review

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Armada arrived on my desk and as a total non-gamer I approached it with diffidence. Halfway through the first page, however, I settled down with the main character, Zack Lightman, as he daydreamed through another boring maths class at high school hoping something would happen to take him away from all this. And who hasn’t felt this?

Ernest Cline writes with a fine sense of empathy, and a deliciously casual sense of humour and it is this that works extremely well: I reminded myself that I was a man of science, even if I did usually get a C in it.

So there was Zack, glancing through the window, and lo and behold, along came a flying saucer – every geek’s dream. It is a flying saucer that happens to be straight out of the video game he plays every night. It is a popular online flight simulator called Armada, in which gamers protect the earth from alien invaders.

Suddenly, the problem is real, or is it?

I discovered there is a dormant area of geekism at my core as I enjoyed Zack’s skills which are fully utilized. Not just his, but millions of gamers across the world who have to raise their game to save the earth from what’s about to befall.

I kept thinking: reluctant students, beware the dream, as I read on, following Zack and his new comrades as they scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught. Plenty of twists, turns, and tension but also the emotional conundrum of his father’s premature death, and his mother who has fun, but won’t commit to any bloke … No, I won’t go on. Read it.

I found it satisfactory on many levels, not the least that it is accessible to young adults, and old ducks like me – a rare accomplishment. Armada is a journey towards emotional intelligence and understanding, a journey towards some questions answered, others posed – huge questions they are too. Armada’s a good ‘un.

Armada by Ernest Cline

Published in hardback by Century £16.99

Also available in ebook

Ernest Cline is the author of the bestselling Ready Player One

Interview With a Refugee. Destination: Freedom Author Lily Amis Tells All

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Author Lily Amis

What inspired you to write the book?

When I went through difficult times as a teenager in my early years in Switzerland, I always knew that I would someday share my story with others. I just felt that what my mom and I were experiencing as war-refugees was beyond normal and that I had to become the voice for other silent suffers like us. I felt it was my duty to share our story.

Also as a teenager drawing and painting was my way of self-therapy. But through long-term unemployment the older I got the more writing became my way of self-therapy.

You experienced many setbacks. Some were because of war, bureaucracy and medical reasons. What was the hardest and what did you learn from it?

The hardest setbacks were and still are dealing with bureaucracy. As a kid I was an outsider as a refugee. Than the older I got I felt unwanted as a foreigner. And today as an adult I still feel unwanted and not integrated because of stupid bureaucracy.

That’s why I always say once a refugee, always a refugee. Once a foreigner, always a foreigner. The problem is that I feel homeless and lost. Even though I speak fluent German, Swiss German, English and Farsi where ever I go, I feel invisible, like nobody takes notice of me.

I learned from early years on to fight for my right and this hasn’t stopped until now and yet. I’m still fighting for my right, for my freedom and my acceptance!

You use Asiacity and EUcity instead of the names of the countries. Why is this?

I used Asiacity for Iran because unfortunately I feel specially these days when you say you’re Iranian you have to deal with injustice and discrimination. People have a negative view on my birth country. They believe what they see and hear by the Media and think my country is evil.

To be honest I was afraid that readers wouldn’t show interest in my story because they don’t like my country. Which is a shame, because my birth city Tehran is actually a great city and Iranian people are the most loving, friendly and helpful people.

I used EUcity for Swiss because I didn’t want to point my fingers out on Swiss and blame them for what the refugee law has done to us. Because the law is similar in most European countries and our suffer could have happen anywhere else to. And we see that now more than ever daily on the news.

What do you think of the current migrant crisis?

There are no words to describe my feelings. I have mixed feelings. I watch the news daily and it breaks my heart to see so many desperate people, young, old, families, children coming to Europe with completely false hopes and expectations. They have NO idea that becoming a refugee basically means giving up on your life, your future, hopes, dreams and goals. You leave your identity, pride and dignity behind for NOTHING in return.

It is also the prove of Karma. Twenty-eight years ago my mom and I left our home because of war. And nobody showed any compassion. Instead we were punished with bureaucracy.

Today Millions of refugees are coming from all kinds of countries and finally EU has to act and the Refugee Law has to change. The governments finally realize that the Refugee law as it was until now can’t function any longer. They have to find a fast and human solution to integrate these people in EU ASAP. That was what I always wanted to achieve with my story: Change the Refugee law which is now happening by a higher power.

Should people use the term refugee rather than migrant?

I don’t understand why people make such a big issue out of these two words. For me a refugee is someone who’s fled from war to stay alive. For me these people are war-refugees who have lost everything they have because of war.

Than we have economic-refugees. For example people from East Europe. They have not much and wish to have a better life and future. Which is absolute legitimate. After all we all are just short visitors on planet earth and should have the same rights for a happy life.

For me Migrants are people who have a life. But for whatever reason they decide to leave their home country and start a new life in another place. They do it legally with Visas by Embassies.

So in other words all the people that we see now coming are Refugees and not Immigrants. Why? Because they have lost their existence and have no place to go back to.

What got you through the tough times?

My mums devoted Love, support, care and believe. She’s an incredibly strong woman. I admire her strength and trust in God. Also my art work was a big help. Drawing and painting was my way of getting through tough times.

I have two examples that I like to share with you. Both were done in 1996, the original size is 50X70 cm. One is expressing that my only hope to ever feel Freedom is death! And the other one is expressing how I felt as a Refugee in Switzerland.

What can be done to help refugees?

I waited for this question for twenty-eight years. The refugee law must be updated ASAP. It can’t go on like this anymore. Toying with peoples destinies must take an end. The whole process of taking or not taking refugees in must be handled faster and fair. And finding a human solution is easier than the EU believes.

Depending on the country the people are coming from and why the decision whether to take them in or not can be done in a short matter of time. It shouldn’t take fifteen years to get a proper residence permit like in our case. It shouldn’t be necessary to get married without Love just to be able to have rights.

And when the EU countries accept these people they should give them a fair chance for a normal life and future. First of all treat them with respect and not like a disease. Understanding, caring, compassion and support MUST be the main priority.

Secondly when they start a life in a new country, they should have all the possibilities that are the fundament for an independent and fearless Life. Such as education and work opportunity.

Because Education means independence and independence means liberty.

Let them become the next Albert Einstein, Freddy Mercury, Bob Marley, Billy Wilder, Marlene Dietrich or Sigmund Freud. Don’t stop them from improving just because of stupid laws and injustice.

But the best HELP of all would be to STOP the War & Weapon business by reach and greedy countries. Than we wouldn’t have any refugees at all. Every human being could stay at home and live a fearless, normal life without suffer and pain.

You returned to your home country. How did that feel?

The title of my book is “Destination: Freedom”. When you read the book you assume that I found my freedom in EUcity (Switzerland) by leaving my hometown Asiacity (Iran). But actually the opposite was the case. When I returned to my hometown Tehran after fifteen years I felt Freedom for the first time in my entire Life. Even though the circumstances were terrible and sad, I was happy and free. I felt welcomed and not like an outsider anymore.

When will the other books be out and what can we expect?

The second book “Definition of Freedom” will be out soon. It is ready for print in English and in German. I think the readers of my first book “Destination: Freedom” will be very surprised to read how my life continued as a former-refugee.

“Definition of Freedom” is a cry for help and the perfect example of how the future of a refugee kid will look like if EU don’t put an end to the refugee system and change the rights of Refugees. Otherwise the future of innocent refugee kids like me are damaged forever and filled with personal and professional setbacks.

Would you believe me if I tell you that it took me twenty-seven years to be finally a naturalized “Swiss”? And that nothing has changed and I’m still desperately looking for Freedom? A place where I feel home, welcome, accepted and integrated? Would you believe me if I tell you that I’m still struggling and fighting for a “normal” life? Well these are just a few topics that I’m sharing with my readers in the second book of the trilogy.

What is next for you?

I’m hoping to find Freedom in a country where I feel welcome.

I’m praying to be able to breathe and live an independent life without fear of existence and the future.

I wish to continue my writing and use my voice for the voiceless. I want to help other sufferers specially Woman who have to deal with issues such as long-term-Unemployment, fear of existence, bullying, emotional and sexual harassment, burn out, depression, social isolation, loneliness etc. which are the topics of “Definition of Freedom” and my third book “Definition of Love” which I’m working on right now.

Destination: Freedom is a warts and all book which tells the brutal truth about being a refugee. Lily Amis does not censor herself at all. You learn about her frustration as bureaucracy stops Lily and her mother integrating into their new environment. They escape unimaginable horrors and are held back instead of being helped. If they were helped and given visas they could work and pay tax in the country they arrived in (Switzerland). I hope people in power read this book and some changes are made. This book is timely with the current refugee crisis the world is currently facing. An interesting read from a brutally honest writer.

Destination: Freedom is available here.

An Interview With The Incomparable Salley Vickers by Margaret Graham

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Margaret Graham

I read Miss Garnet’s Angel a while ago now, and absolutely loved it and thought it would be fascinating to interview Salley Vickers, the author. At last I’ve managed to find a window in her busy life, and here she is to answer questions for Frost Magazine. What’s more you can hear her talking about The Boy Who Could See Death on 29^th September at the Windsor Literary Festival.

You had an interesting but complex childhood, and felt that you had a sense of some unspecified task to fulfill. Did that sense drive you? Does it still?

Yes, I think it does. My parents imbued me with a feeling that one should work for the general good. In my case, that is best done by conveying my attitude to life through my writing. But also they endowed me with a strong sense of the basic equality of all, and what people seem to like in my novels is finding aspects of their own hidden being there, which gives a sense of being understood. I feel sure this is part of the power of a good novel – the capacity to make us feel known and perceived in our most private recesses of being.

Most of us grow up with parents defined in some way by their past. If it is a traumatic past, it can lead us to have an enhanced ‘political’ sensitivity, in order to weave our way through the rocks. We learn what to reveal, and what to hide.

This is a skill I notice in your books, so would you agree that we authors write out of our past?

Inevitably, we write out of our conscious but, more powerfully perhaps, unconscious experience. The novel I have just completed, (‘Cousins’ published Viking March 2016) explores the way trauma recurs through a family history, even if the past is unknown to those in whom it re emerges. Nothing fascinates me more than how memory, both conscious and unconscious, lives on beyond the limits of any individual life.

You write with grace, but with ‘political’ care, holding back information, and then revealing. It gives an implicit tension. So – perhaps authors are not just influenced by their past, but trying to make some sense of it? What are your thoughts on this?

I am sure I write to discover what I already ‘know’. What we think we know, what we know we don’t know and what we know but ignore are very common human conditions which I often explore. A previous career as a psychoanalyst has taught me to reflect on these levels of seeming ‘knowledge’.

Or are we just story tellers, or both?

Everything is story, in my view. Even science is a series of superseding stories. We are hard wired to make sense of experience through narrative. In analysis the work is to find a more workable version of the story a person tells themselves about their life. A writer’s job is to follow a story that has its own organic truth and is not a ‘truth’ imposed by the author’s own prejudices or intent.

How did you start your writing career? With short stories, or straight into Miss Garnet’s Angel?

Miss Garnet began life as a short story and just grew. I had no idea of publishing it. Like much of real significance in my life it was a happy accident – as were both my wonderful children.

How do you work? Do you have the germ of an idea, spend time thinking and then planning? I ask this because your novels are multi-layered. They are psychological, mythical, in some ways fairy tales, but grounded ankle deep in reality. I believe I would need to think, and plan, and know where I was going, and what I wanted to say to achieve this level of complexity, and present it, as you do, in such an accessible way.

I never never plan. I hear a voice, revisit a much loved place, recover a memory and then let imagination, memory, sudden encounter, whatever accrue around it, rather like the grit of sand that through a nacrotising effect becomes a pearl. The excitement of writing for me is not knowing what is going to happen. I never know the end of a novel, or a story, until very near the end and then it is often a major surprise.

Do you enjoy writing or do you find that starting a novel is daunting because until you have finished it, you have half a foot, or more, in their world? I ask this because once I start, I find that I need to ‘be’ the characters. Well, not even need to be, I am, the characters. Someone once said, that an author is writing their life story so absorbed do they become in the world of their characters.

I love it once I’m in it. I tend to spend the first part of a book in a restless state of acute anxiety. Then once I get over a certain sort of hump I really let rip and can write for very long hours. But your unnamed authority is right: it does become one’s own life story and I think much of the excitement comes from living out a life that is both one’s own and yet not one’s own. I write out of myself lives I have never lived but live through writing them.

Of all the books you’ve written, which is your favourite?

Probably the last one I have written – but if you point a gun at my head it would have to be either ‘The Other Side of You’ or ‘The Cleaner of Chartres’.

Have other authors influenced you?

Oh yes. Many. I grew up in a reading household, for which I am ever grateful, and had read all the classics by the time I went to university. Henry James, George Eliot, Trollope, Conrad have all influenced me. Also Beatrix Potter on whom I learned to read and from whom I learnt about cadence (if you listen to Beatrix Potter the prose is exquisitely cadenced).

But of more contemporary authors, Penelope Fitzgerald and William Maxwell are my heroes. Penelope Fitzgerald did me the great honour of endorsing Miss Garnet shortly before she died. I’ve not had a higher or more precious encomium since.

What next?

Cousins and after that it’s a secret, even from myself

What do you do when you are not writing?

The usual introvert’s pleasures: read, walk, talk to friends, listen to music, go to the opera/ ballet.

What brings you joy?

Children (this is boast but I am reliably informed by my grandchildren that I am very good indeed at playing), birds, poetry, dancing, and I must confess also …. shoes…

Salley Vickers is talking at the Windsor Literary Festival on 29^th September at 7.00 pm. She will be discussing The Boy Who Could See Death. The boy is question is Eli, who is an ordinary lad with an extraordinary gift, or is it a curse?

For more information:

http://tickets.windsorfestival.com/Sales/Autumn-2015/Tuesday-29th-September/The-Boy-Who-Could-See-Death/The-Boy-Who-Could-See-Death

Little Angels Re-launches Range With a Mumsnet Stamp of Approval

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Frostie

Frost has been reviewing the Little Angels range at Asda. It comes with the Mumsnet stamp of approval so we had high expectations. Thankfully we were not let down. The Sensitive Cotton Soft Baby Wipes are fragrance free and suitable to use from day one, even on eczema prone skin. The Head to Toe Wash is just as great and gentle. It has a no tears formula and is paediatrician approved. Little Angels Baby Powder soaks up excess moisture and prevents chapping and the Comfort Dry Nappies are super soft and delicate. The nappies give up to 12 hours of dryness. We were impressed with the entire range. The products are just as good as any leading brand but are not as expensive. Mums and dads, head to Asda.com.

Mums looking for the very best for their little angels need look no further than Asda’s Little Angels own brand baby range, which now comes complete with a seal of approval from the very best judges of all: other real-life mums.

That’s right: over 100 products in the Little Angels range have been tested and endorsed by users of Mumsnet – the UK’s largest network for parents.

The highly-praised range spans everything needed for a baby’s routine, including nappies, wipes, toiletries and snacks and features exciting new products, formulas and packaging.

And now, having partnered with Mumsnet, mums can rest assured that every product they buy with the ‘Quality Approved by Mumsnet’ logo has gone through a vigorous testing process from a panel of mums just like them, before hitting the shelves.

The hugely popular Little Angels nappy range, the best selling own-label nappy brand in the UK, has seen a major revamp to become the only baby brand to offer mums a complete nappy journey for their baby from newborn to potty training. The super soft and absorbent Newborn, Comfort Dry and Supreme Protection nappies have all received the Mumsnet seal of approval and now, Little Angels have also added Swim Pants (£3) and Potty Training Pants (£4.50)to its already extensive offering.

All economy packs are available in the popular 3 for £12 offer and what’s more, the Comfort Dry, Supreme Protection and Newborn ranges feature a unique size guide on the back of the pack to help mums understand when to move up a size, so you can wave goodbye to leaky nappies! And the colour coded size guide makes it easier for mums to pick out the right size on the shelf.

A new innovation for the Little Angels Newborn range is DreamSkin® technology (£4.50) – new to the market and available at Asda. The unique DreamSkin® technology is designed to help soothe and protect even the most delicate skin, making it perfect for those little ones prone to eczema.

The extensive range of Little Angels wipes now contain thicker yet softer embossed towels, designed to help mum cleanse baby with ease. The premium Extra Care, Extra Protect and Extra Sensitive Wipes (all £1 each or 4 for £3)provide the very best protection against nappy rash by working with the skin naturals defenses, leaving delicate skin silky soft and protected.

All of the Little Angels toiletries, from nappy change and bath time right through to bedtime have secured a big thumbs up from Mumsnet users, and new to the range is the Vapour Bath (£1 or 3 for £2.50), featuring a eucalyptus and menthol fragrance to help sooth baby and comfort little noses. As part of the re-design, the popular Baby Powder(£1.35) now features a newly-improved ergonomic bottle design, making it easier to handle whilst still featuring the same great formulation and value for money.

When it comes to feeding, the Little Angels nutritious and organic snack food range, from Organic Puffs (67p) to Oaty Bars (£1.99), has also been ‘Quality Approved by Mumsnet’, including a brand new Baby Biscotti (£1.19)product suitable from seven months. Available in three flavours – plain, apple and banana – the biscotti are completely organic, with ‘no nasties’ and added calcium and vitamin B1.

Lauren Venters, Category Planner for Baby at Asda comments: “The world of babies can be a daunting place with a variety of brands, hundreds of products to choose from and, quite often, conflicting advice. We know that mums really value the opinions, recommendations and first-hand experiences given to them from other mums and we’re so confident in our Little Angels range that we decided to put it to the test with the harshest critics of all – a panel of Mumsnet mums – and we’re thrilled they passed the test! Having that stamp of approval across the range, should hopefully give mums peace of mind that they’ve made the right choice, leaving more time to enjoy motherhood.”

Justine Roberts, Founder & Chief Executive at Mumsnet comments: “Mumsnet users have really put the LittleAngels range through its paces, testing the products in busy, real-life family homes up and down the UK. Our users value each other’s recommendations highly and place a lot of trust in them, so we’re pleased to have the opportunity to extend this special mark of approval to some products in the Little Angels range, and hope that the wisdom of the Mumsnet crowd will benefit other parents”