Christmas, The Most Wasteful Time Of The Year?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Frostie

Christmas is a time of joy but also a time of giving. Unfortunately, it is also a time of waste and this Christmas is set to be a wasteful one, as new research today reveals Brits will throw out 4.2 million Christmas dinners across the country, amounting to the equivalent of 17.2m Brussels sprouts, 263,000 turkeys and 740,000 Christmas puddings.

The poll of 2,000 adults by Unilever shows that while we spend hundreds of pounds catering for the big day – on average £112 is spent per host on food alone – nearly 10% of every dinner plate is thrown away once the Christmas festivities subside, equalling a whopping £64m of squandered food.

Typically, there are six of us around the Christmas dinner table and we’re expected to eat £18.60 worth of food each. It would take the average family nearly 4 days to eat all of their food bought just for Christmas Day.

As part of Project Sunlight #ClearAPlate campaign, aimed at showing that ‘food poverty’ and ‘food waste’ are issues closer to home than many of us think, the research exposes the excesses of the festive season, with 75% of people admitting to overspending on their Christmas Day shop, and having too much leftover food. We all know that Christmas is a time for giving and, through the campaign this year, Project Sunlight are asking people to give just a moment to plan their festive food and think about what goes into the trolley. We’re also asking that if you do buy too much, don’t forget to drop some tins into your local food bank to help those that need it.

20% of Brits admit to buying traditional Christmas food they don’t necessarily like to eat, resulting in the nation discarding literally millions of roast vegetables. The amount of neglected Brussels sprouts alone would fill 1,000 wheelie bins, and all the leftover carrots could reach from London to Munich, end-to-end. Astonishingly, Brits could even fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with all of the wasted Christmas gravy!

Top 10 most thrown-away Christmas foods:

We throw away:

17.2m Brussels sprouts
11.9m carrots
11.3m roast potatoes
10.9m parsnips
9.8m cups of gravy
7.9m slices of turkey (approx. 263,000 turkeys)
7.9m cups of stuffing
7.5m mince pies
7.4m slices of Christmas pudding (approx. 740,000 Christmas puddings)
7.1m pigs in blankets

When it comes to the festive season it seems our eyes are bigger than our bellies, with one third of respondents admitting to serving themselves an excessive Christmas dinner that they can’t finish. Additionally, 36% of adults cite ‘getting caught up in the Christmas spirit’ as their excuse for buying too much food for the day.

Under 35s are the worst culprits for food wastage at Christmas, as they lash out spending more than the national average (15% spending up to £200), but confess to discarding 13% of their Christmas food shop.

Top 5 Christmas Leftover Recipes:

Best Ever Turkey Sandwich
Spiced Persian Turkey Soup
Marzipan Panettone Pudding
Bubble & Squeak
Turkey Meatloaf

The #ClearAPlate campaign pledges to provide an additional half a million meals to families in need through its partnership with Oxfam and calls on people to do their bit to address food waste, in order to help fight hunger.

People can show their support for the #ClearAPlate campaign through three simple steps:

CLEAR their plate of food and take a photograph
UPLOAD the image on their social media using #ClearAPlate to raise awareness of the issue
VISIT www.ProjectSunlight.co.uk to find out other ways to support the campaign, including donating meals or time to Oxfam. People can also find tips and advice on reducing food waste and clever recipe ideas

Miss Pageants UK 2015 … Your Opportunity To Shine!

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

Miss Pageants UK is one of the top Beauty Pageants in the UK, uniting the nation in the glamorous world of beauty, elegance and poise, creating friendships, supporting charity, and making dreams come true along the way. The main crowns and titles include Miss Pageants UK (18-29), Miss Teen UK (15-19), Miss Junior Teen UK (11-14) and Miss Classic UK (25+), plus there are a whole host of optionals, sashes and awards up for grabs … and FABULOUS prizes including the chance to compete internationally!

The 2015 Miss Pageants UK VIP Gala Grand Finals will take place at the stunning Hilton London Metropole Hotel on Sunday 15th March 2015, with the overall winner qualifying for a major international pageant (details to be confirmed). The grand final is a fun-packed, professionally produced glamorous VIP event unrivalled in the UK, featuring live entertainment, fabulous gowns and costumes.

Miss Pageants UK are delighted and proud to be supporting the MAKE-A-WISH foundation as their 2015 charity partner.

Entry applications are now being accepted from girls and young women aged 11 and over (including ages 25+ for Miss Classic UK) via their website online entry form. Applicants from all regions of the UK are invited to enter and must be English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish nationalities, or were born in the UK or live in the UK.

There is no height or dress size requirement but a desire to shine and a willingness to support charity are a must.

The organisers encourage and support entry applications from both experienced and new pageant girls, resulting in many of their entrants being débutantes and having never participated in a high level pageant before. If you are new to the world of pageants, there’s no need to worry as the team will be with you every step of the way and will make sure that you know exactly what you are doing.

Miss Pageants UK is a FREE TO APPLY Pageant competition supporting the MAKE-A-WISH foundation charity. However, those girls or ladies selected as Miss Pageants UK finalists will be required to find a Sponsor or fund Sponsorship. There are a whole host of benefits INCLUDED with the Sponsorship (unlike many other pageants) with all of the finalists being presented with a finalists sash to keep and a 2015 regional title to take to the finals. Full details are on the entry form page of our website.

Have YOU got what it takes? Enter Now!

http://www.misspageantsuk.com/enter/4585958764

Skip Hop Duo Special Edition Changing Bag Review

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

It is hard enough to find a bag you like in life without the addition of baby paraphenalia. Which is why changing bags have it so hard: they need to be functional and gorgeous. Parents don’t expect anything less.

First thoughts on the Skip Hop Duo Special Edition Changing Bag were good. It is a beautiful bag. It is well made and has a lovely design. It is so stylish and beautiful that I would actually buy it if it wasn’t a changing bag. But is it functional? Yes. The bag has wipable fabric and a cushioned changing pad. It has a total of nine pockets which included a personal zip pocket and two hidden insulated side pockets.

It has two pockets on the front of the bag which are very handy, and the pocket at the back has the cushioned changing pod in. The back pocket still has room for other things too. The front pockets have magnetic closure and one of the things I really love about the bag is that it is not bulky at all. It is incredibly well designed and you can tell a lot of thought and time has gone into making such an excellent changing bag.

The bag is a good size and I love a big bag. Other great things are the slip-resistant adjustable stroller strap & the rolled handles, the key fob zipper pull and the fact that the bag is BPA and Phthalate-free. This bag really is a winner: highly recommended. It is perfect for fashionable parents who want the best of everything.

The latest changing bag to come from the New York based SkipHop brand is the Duo Special Edition. The bag’s ultra-stylish, fresh design came about after Skip Hop cleverly incorporated all the style and functionality of its best-selling Duo Deluxe changing bag, but added three contemporary patterns and several extra special features, ensuring parents really stand out from the crowd.

With the Duo Special Edition, Skip Hop has cleverly combined high style with practicality. Mums will love the faux leather detailing, smart key fob zipper pulls and rolled clutch handles in addition to the slip resistant shoulder strap. And when it comes to the bag’s material, it looks just like a regular, smart fabric but in fact it’s a clever, wipe-able material that ensures the bag stays looking as good as new for years to come.

Other features on the Duo Special Edition include Skip-Hop’s special patented shuttle clip system which allows the Duo Special Edition to attach effortlessly to the buggy handles in seconds. The nine compartments let you organise all of baby’s essentials and keep wet and messy items separate; the pockets include a large, roomy main compartment with a zip closure to keep contents safe, large rear pocket for changing pad and nappies and two roomy front pouches. Contents are easy to spot with the contrasting lining and the convenient side phone holder and easy access pen holders ensure mums and dads have everything to hand. Parents will also appreciate the ‘quiet’ magnetic closures to help prevent waking baby. The changing pad is cushioned and waterproof and the entire bag is of course BPA and Phthalate free.

Parents have a choice of three fabric patterns: the smart black and white ‘Aztec’, chic ‘Blue Pin’ or the ‘French Stripe’, a classic ‘boating’ style navy striped fabric that looks just like canvas.

Skip Hop Duo Special Edition: RRP £65.00

STOCKISTS:

French Stripe – marksandspencer.com

Blue Pin – marksandspencer.com

Aztec – www.jaijai.co.uk

More Skip Hop Duo Changing Bag’s available here.

www.maguari.com

Top Christmas Picks | Christmas Gift Ideas

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Frostie

Robert Elms The Way We Wore

A cult classic, available to buy again. Hooray!

It’s back. For a few years now Robert Elms has had a stream of people asking where they can get a copy of The Way We Wore, the street style memoir he wrote back in 2004, and rather frustratingly he’s had to tell them all it is not available. Well, you could spend increasingly large sums on a second hand copy online – evidence of the fact that it has acquired something close to cult status – but it was impossible to get your fashion fix through the normal retail channels. Thankfully, you can now.

Robert Elms has teamed up with Autharium to republish The Way We Wore as an eBook and print copies are now available for a much more realistic price.

Robert Elms comments: “As part of this process I have re-read the book and I am still very proud of it, and it brings back amazing memories of terrible haircuts, great music, good friends and bad hangovers. So if you want to read about solatio box top loafers and pink pegs, bondage trousers and bowling shirts, ties in pins, hankies in pockets and shenanigans in Soho you can.”

This is the story of a life’s obsession. From Ben Sherman shirts to box-top loafers, from bondage trousers to Comme des Garçons, Elms has been there, seen it, and worn it out. It’s about why you’d rather not go out at all than go out in the wrong sort of brogues, and why you just had to have a Budgie jacket to cut it in the playground in 1970. It is ultimately a hilarious, passionate social history of London street fashion from the Teddy Boys and rude boys battling it out in his homeland of Notting Hill in the fifties to its end in acid house in the nineties. A fond memoir of working-class lads in tumultuous times and laity schmutter.

The Way We Wore: A Life In Threads

Baileys Mini Delights

We loved these. They are just incredibly tasty. Available in milk, white and dark chocolate choices, these tasty truffles have distinctive twists of coffee, caramel and hazelnut and that rich, creamy Baileysflavour. So yummy.

The Baileys Mini Delights are available for just £2.49 RRP (102g). Baileys boxed chocolates are available at waitrose.com They will be available from £5.00 RRP.

Tanqueray Export Strength London Dry Gin

This is amazing, superior gin. Export strength London dry gin made from premium botanicals and distilled four times for a distinctive, crisp taste. A great present for gin lovers. Available from drinksupermarket.com

Grand Marnier Orange & Cognac Liqueur

This liquor is delicious and to top it off Grand Marnier, the luxury liqueur that is the icon of Parisian chic, is launching a modern, playful and elegant limited edition bottle in tribute to French creativity to celebrate the coming of Christmas.

This years Limited Edition bottle harks back to the Breton striped top that was introduced into France midway through the 19th century. Known as the “Marinière”, worn by sailors and popularised by Coco Chanel, it is today the symbol of Parisian chic, which is emulated all over the world today.

The couture style label looks showcases the rich history of the brand through the family crest, while the blue, white and red striped ribbon that runs around the uniquely shaped bottle reinforces Grand Marnier’s home place – in the heart of France.

The translucent quality of the brighter rouge glass bottle radiates chic sophistication and creativity, while the glossy iconic red wax seal serves as an eternal stamp of approval from its founder Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.

It will be available in luxury retailer Harvey Nichols with an RRP of £26.05 for a 70cl bottle from mid October.

THE FRENCH ARTIST

In celebration of the new bottle, cutting edge Mixologist and GRAND MARNIER® European Brand Ambassador, Julien Lafond has created The French Artist. A cocktail that brings together flavours which best highlight the richness of GRAND MARNIER® and also echo the playful nature of French Creativity.

Ingredients

30ml GRAND MARNIER® Cordon Rouge

15ml VSOP Cognac

15ml French Dry Vermouth

20ml Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

20ml Homemade Redcurrant & Vanilla Syrup (or Grenadine Syrup)

20ml Egg White

Garnish: Redcurrants coated with icing sugar

Method

Pour all ingredients into a shaker

Dry shake (Shake without ice), to create the emulsion

Add some cubed ice and shake vigorously

Double strain into a coupette glass and add the garnish

Units per serving 2.5

Grand Marnier, is available from Ocado.com and DrinkSupermarket.com

The Leash Safe+ Phonestrap

Perfect for people who are prone to lose their phone. The Safe+ Phonestrap – The Leash – will keep your phone safe and always at hand. Using a powerful 3M tape, the button fastens to your phone or hardcover case. The Leash comes with two buttons, allowing you to interchange the Leash between your most favourite devices. Available here: The Leash – Phonestrap

The Leash – Phonestrap

Coding For Kids

This is an excellent book for little ones. Coding is an essential skill in the work place now and this book sets kids on their way. It has 15 fun coding projects and it teaches kids how to create games and apps, customise projects and learn real coding skills. The book is both fun and easy.

Coding For Kids For Dummies

The Compleat FoodBag

We love this at Frost. This is a space efficient and stylish lunch bag. The only lunchbox that makes a fashion statement. 100 % food grade silicone and BPA safe and dishwasher safe, you can easily pack it away after use. The Compleat FoodBag is stylish, handy and easy to clean. Perfect.

Foodbag by Compleat available here, StressNoMore.co.uk and iwantoneofthose.com

Paddington Bear Visits Selfridges At The Trafford Centre

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Keeley Watts

This weekend sees a Hollywood star visiting Selfridges at the Trafford Centre! Currently starring in his own movie Paddington Bear will receive his public at the ice rink on Saturday 13th December between 9am-11am before moving into the store to meet his fans.

The Selfridges ice rink holds 120 ice skaters and is a winter wonderland which echoes the Christmas storytelling theme of the Trafford Centre with forest greens and sparkly gold accents to bring the magic of enchantment and fairy tales to life.

The ice rink is covered meaning it is perfect in all weather with hot food and drinks available to keep you cosy.

Booking and directions information can be found here… http://style.selfridges.com/whats-on/ice-rink-selfridges-manchester-trafford or you can call direct on 0161 629 1204. Don’t miss your chance to meet a Hollywood movie star and help to bring the magic to life for your children this Christmas.

Le Fear II: Le Sequel Review By Jason Croot

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Frostie

After reading BFI advice on writing a review of your own film I thought why not!

Le Fear II: Le Sequel is a 90 minute 100% improvised feature film about the making of a film. Based in London U.K it follows the journey of hapless 22 times film director Carlos Revalos [Kyri Saphirs] who is about to embark on his biggest movie yet Le Fear II: Le Sequel a film noir horror love story. Carlos’s journey starts with a meeting with the shrewd movie executive Dirk Heinz [Andrew Tiernan] who agrees to back Carlos’s film as long as Revalos puts up some of his own cash as collateral, one other condition is that Carlos intertwines his movie with Nollywood [Nigeria] the fastest growing film industry in the world. Dirks Secretary Helga [Shona McWilliams]does the paperwork and the deal is done commence the movie.

The world’s worst director Carlos Revalos meets the world’s worst film producer Efi womonbogo [Seye Adelekan] the clash of the titans or rather the clash of the tits, because these guys each are as clueless as the other about filmmaking. Efi has his entourage, Africa special effects [Roxy Sternberg], Femu [Schee Bell] the runner and Witch Dr Charles [Sean Earl McPherson] none of which really have a clue what to do. Carlos has his film crew Jacques the French cinema photographer, [Hadien Mekki], Jessie [Leila Reid], the production assistant Chafarafa the Script Supervisor [Jay Croot] Berwyn [Catherine Balavage] the stunt coordinator and Queenie [Victoria Hopkins] the Makeup artist. Hollywood meets Nollywood this is where the fun begins, and Conflict time! Everything Carlos wants, romance, film noir and horror is not delivered by Efi who has a different take on it with his motley crew. Africa the vibrant special effects girl, who apparently worked on big movies, Efi Tells Carlos “Avatar and Pride and plagiarist”. Africa brings Carlos nothing but cheap sci-fi effects which she believes is the best thing since sliced bread. That’s the problem with the Nollywood guys they believe their shit is good shit, and Carlos the man who has his own money on the line £500000, is in deep lumber. Bring on the Piece de résistance the actors within the film. We have the fiery French actress Racquel [Denise Moreno] and the green drama school first time film actor Oliver[Jack W. Carter] they cause poor Revalos’s pain to deepen not only is he combating of a motley crew from Nollywood he has disgruntled actors to please now can it get any worse? YES. The film set is not a beautiful purposed built location but a make shift set the input of Efi, “I wanted to make a film noir not a camping film” Jacques tells Carlos. The plot thickens and Carlos calls Dirk to sort out this rabble “Dirks going to have your arse” Carlos tells Efi who replies “My ass is he gay?” Dirk arrives and puts Carlos straight, the movie continues we now bring in two other actors within the movie these hired by Efi Vanessa [Vampire] Eleanor James Dr Strange [Julian Lamoral Roberts] Bmovie actor, Vanessa drives Berwyn the stunt coordinator barmy and proceeds to act more like a L’Oreal shampoo advert than scare people. We also have a student filmmaker Mickey [Warren Taylor] who is filming behind the scenes of the film within the film.

The night scenes have to be the most classic and funniest ones we have Witch doctors, Lesbian Vampires, Alien Explosions and a very angry actress “SUSHI DE MERDE Carlos you are a piece of shit little man! I’m going back to Paris right now” Carlos now one actress short of a picnic or rather of making his worst movie, and now without a location when disgruntled land owner Tom Dickinson[Ian Cullen] arrives and kicks them off “my land what are you doing in my land are you filming one of those pornographic films?” Efi replies “I swear on my father’s grave and my mother’s goat”

Le Fear II: Le Sequel will go down in history if Carlos can manage to complete it won’t be the classic he longed for but his worst yet. Bring on a new actress Racquel replacement Lucy Lou [Aiko Horiuchi] a Japanese actress brought in by Efi she joins the madness. “Can we use it?” Carlos asks Jacques about the new location, “Yes but I don’t want my name on that movie” Jacques replies “At this stage fuck your name” Carlos tells him the film gets more crazier and continues to deliver humour right until the end.

Summary Comedy is complex some people laugh at Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers and Porridge all classic British Comedies others won’t get the humour of those classics! some will love Flight of the conchords and Curb your enthusiasm and others won’t, you can’t make everyone laugh no matter how good the comedy is, Le Fear II: Le Sequel has already made a few people smile and laugh and we hope to continue to do so, I’m not going to say we created the best film within film the world but we have made a film that me and the producers are very proud of we are proud of the cast and how hard they worked to create the humour the crew and how hard they worked to get the camera lighting and sound to be as good as it is the editor who has done a great job and the musicians who have supplied us with a great soundtrack.

I will leave you with some other funny lines from the film Le Fear II: Le Sequel

Cast Lines

Carlos Revalos [Kyri Saphiris]

“They Buy a bloody blow up doll, stick some sparklers up its arse, and call it special effects of a high budget production”

Dirk Heinz [Andrew Tiernan]

“You’ve got a fucking film to make, so pull it out of the bag”

Lucy Lou [Aiko Horiuchi]

“My English is very little”

Jacques [Hadrien Mekki]

“You’re just crazy fucking English people who want to drink tea; I just want to make a good film”

Racquel [Denise Moreno]

“If we die what happens? Because I don’t feel I’m going to come out this film alive”

Africa [Roxy Sternberg]

“It’s beyond Hollywood, Nollywood, Woody Allen my gosh we have it”

Dr Strange [Julian Lamoral Roberts]

“If Crossed I get cross if cross I need Blood”

Jessie [Leila Reid]

“Can you teach Carlos to keep the fire inside of him”

Vanessa [Eleanor James]

“I’m a professional actress I have been in god knows how many movies”

Queenie [Victoria Hopkins]

“Do you like it wet? I bet you do I bet you like it real moist Don’t you?”

Berwyn [Catherine Balavage]

“Oh I’m swishing my hair like I’m in a 1970’s fucking porn film”

Witch Dr. Charles [Sean McPherson]

“Ring Nigerian now £5, no problem”

Twitter https://twitter.com/Lefear2lesequel @lefear2lesequel

Facebook Like Page https://www.facebook.com/Lesequel

Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/163431550389968/
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1982759/

[Editorial note: Frost Magazine founder and owner Catherine Balavage played Berwyn in Le Fear, Le Sequel]

The Torn Images Reviver | Music News

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Frostie

Band/Artist: The Torn Images
Location: Fountain Valley, California
Styles: alternative rock, indie rock
Similar to/RIYL: Blur, Pixies, Nirvana, Coldplay, Blur, Muse
CD: Reviver

Members/Instruments:
Briand Arabaca (*aka The Torn Images) vocal/guitar
*A solo artist supported by indie artists in OC (Orange County, California).
Jonathan O’Brien – bass/guitar/keyboard/percussion (the producer in this project, member of indie rock band Workfriend))
Andy Hernandez – guitar (audio monitor/engineer of LA indie rockers Grouplove; past: work with Young The Giant)
Tyler De Young – drums

Production:
Produced/Mixed/Engineerd by Jonathan O’Brien at The Music Box Studios in Irvine, California for the whole month of August 2014 (1st – 27th). Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at TurtleTone Studio in Manhattan, New York for the whole month of October (1st – 22nd).

Tracklisting:
1. The Drifting
2. Mantle of Disguise
3. Out of Control (Into The Void)
4. Nearly Lost You
5. Life On A Standstill
6. Aimless Breath
7. Blind Fascination
8. Never Be The Same Again
9. The Elusive Vagabond
10. World of Meaning

Bio:

“Plays rock music that is catchy, moody, and edgy. In an unexpected moment of non-conformity, it gets loud, and proud!”

The Torn Images is an indie/alternative rock duo formed in early May 2012 in Fountain Valley, California. The group consisted of singer/songwriter Briand Arabaca (vocals / guitar) and Jayson Thompson (drums). The band’s influences ranged from alternative rock, British romantic movement (80’s new wave)/ mod revival, and indie folk rock.

The collaboration with OCMA (Orange County Music Awards) 2013 nominated producer Jonathan O’Brien and live sound engineer/ drummer Tyler De Young on Oct. 2012 created a unique sonic vision which is translated into a pure aural bliss.

The Torn Images released their first EP called The Dawning on March 2013. The delivery of such diverse palette of sound inherent on the band, is evidently heard on songs like: “The Sun and The Downfall”,”Path of Resolution”, and “Scent of Summer”.

The Dawning EP received critical praises from music press. A noted music critic/reviewer Alexa Spieler reviewed, ” The Torn Images provide listeners with insight into what the band is made of and the potential the band possesses. Though aspects aren’t entirely perfected, The Torn Images display that they aren’t following restrictions and don’t intend on following one-set path. Rather, the band intends to expand their musical horizons and to explore different materials, while remaining true to their musicality and artistry. An insanely connective, musically unique, and captivating release, The Dawning – EP is a strong, solid foundation for The Torn Images to unleash into the world.” A journalist and freelance writer from Knoxville, TN named Alec Cunningham of BLANK newspaper wrote, “All things considered, The Dawning manages to maintain a retro vibe about it while also sustaining a distinct diversity. They do this by transcending both multiple genres as well as multiple eras with their sound, allowing their fan base to extend through various genres and age groups also.”

On May 2013, drummer Jayson Thompson officially left the band and moved to San Diego for personal reasons. This prompted Briand Arabaca with a strong resolve, to continue that musical vision and aspiration. The Torn Images became his alter-ego.

On June 2013, Briand Arabaca collaborated again with Jonathan O’Brien as the producer, and together with Tyler De Young as the drummer. The first phase of the new recordings commenced at The Music Box Studios (Tustin, California).

On Nov. 14, 2013, the second EP of The Torn Images entitled “Bound for The Morning Sun” was released, and gained more recognition from music fans around the globe with the singles, “Back To You”, and “Come Alive”.

The Torn Images is back to the studio again in August 2014 for a first full length album recording with producer Jonathan O’Brien (who recently won the OC Music Awards 2014 “Best Producer”). The avant-garde drummer Tyler De Young will join in together with multi-instrumentalist Andy Hernandez (currently the monitor engineer of Grouplove).

On Nov. 19 2014, The Torn Images just released a full length album called “Reviver”.

The Allocacoc Power Cube | Christmas Gift Ideas

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Frostie

We still have some people to buy presents for and have been searching for the perfect present. Especially those who are almost impossible to buy for. Which is why we thought the The Allocacoc Power Cube was awesome. There aren’t many people who won’t find this nifty little gadget handy. Often you arrive at your office, at home, in a meeting, or somewhere else and find it difficult to reach for a nearby available power outlet to charge your notebook or mobile phone. The PowerCube will eliminate this problem as it allows you to mount multiple power sockets where it is the most convenient.

The number of outlets can be expanded according to your needs, creating a tailored power source within reach. The PowerCube is a versatile product, enabling you to place a power outlet anywhere you want. This is the most extensive version of the PowerCube with USB ports. It has a 1.5m extension cord fitted to it, so it can be mounted anywhere to have a power outlet within reach. To do this, a stick-on dock is included. An ideal location is your desktop: there is no more need to duck beneath your desk to plug in your laptop.

The Allocacoc Power Cube 1.5m Extended USB costs £27.00 from Littlewoods.com