I have picked my own choice of Joffe Books’ new titles for this week. But trust me, it was quite a task as they are all so scrumptious. Let’s start with the book of the week. 

A Body in the Cottage which is a gripping crime mystery full of twists from bestselling author P.F. Ford and is out for — just £0.99 * 

A woman is left badly beaten in a derelict cottage. Then the killer comes forward — an elderly man. Case closed.  But as another body is discovered, Detective Norman suspects a false confession . . . and that the real killer is still at large. It’s up to you to turn those pages to find out who dun it…

Below you will find my pick of the the rest. But crikey, talk about dithering. It’s so hard to choose, they are all such satisfying reads. But here we go:

      
Jack  Knife by Steve Parker £0.99/$0.99

It’s 1975. A young woman is found disembowelled by the side of a road. Detective Bill Roach will spend the next fifty years searching for the serial killer: Now, unsuccessful and ageing in a retirement home, eighty-year-old Bill might just be the closest he’s ever been to discovering the secret. This is an original take on crime. Read and chew your nails.

The Bluebonnet Betrayal by Marty Wingate £0.99/$0.99   As you all know by now I am a sucker for cozy crime. Blame M.C. Beaton and her glorious Agatha Raisin series. Here is a belter from Marty Wingate, USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR: beautiful blooms, a fabulous guestlist — and one dead body. Had Pru’s dream of working at the Chelsea Flower Show just turned into a nightmare?  But she won’t give up — not on the show or the hunt for the murderer. So very there…

Now, what about The Frank Doy Thrillers in this eleven book box set? That’s right, eleven books all with great characters, plot lines to die for – oops – well you know what I mean. All with a dash of  of humour too.  I thought them in the mould of Lee Child, Michael Connelly and Michael Grant.  Great price at £1.99/$2.99. On we rush:

New from Choc Lit:

Lucy Keeling’s ‘Friends’ box set – whether you like soft or hard centres there is something for all: slow-burn romances to friends-to-lovers and fake relationships:  £0.99/$0.99

Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery by Sharon Ibbotson

Is it trite to say, help yourselves to a scoop of delight? Probably, but I’ve said it because I loved it, almost as much as I love pistachio ice cream. Surly New Yorker Cohen Ford has a sweet surprise in store when he visits London and the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery one December.  Little does he know that his life is about to change . . .   £0.99/$0.99

Now, what’s new at LUME?

Kingfisher by Christopher C. Tubbs £0.99/$0.99   – historical naval adventure which really  gripped me as Ralph Wrenn, officer on HMS Kingfisher, navigated mayhem and terror, as he endeavoured to capture pirate vessels in the Mediterranean. But when Ralph meets a beautiful young woman, he must keep his wits about him — there is more to her than meets the eye. Never a dull moment.

Postman’s Knock by J.F. Straker £0.99/$0.99  is a classic British murder mystery as Detective Inspector Pitt is called to unravel the disappearance of the local postman. But the local residents are unwilling to help . . . they’ve all got something to hide. So, can Pitt dig deep and find the culprit before anyone else dies? Oh, go on, read it.

Now, a newbie coming on 24th October, and as I’m fond of Marlow I must mention it. 

The Marlow Murders by Biba Pearce £0.99/$0.99 is a great crime mystery: Debby Morris, mother of two, goes to a Christmas party at the historic Hollyhock Manor in Marlow . . .   And never comes home. Is it a planned disappearance or something more sinister?

Finally, a look at Joffe Books’ NEWS

Publishing Director Kate Lyall Grant is delighted to have signed a new two-book deal with bestselling psychological thriller writer Jane E. James

‘We’re really thrilled with how well Jane E. James’s first two psychological suspense titles for Joffe, Her Second Husband and Not My Child, have done. And Jane’s darkly imaginative genius shows no sign of running out of steam in her latest novel, Her Daughter’s Husband, which we’ll be publishing later this year. Her growing number of fans are in for a real treat.‘

Jane E. James

‘I’m thrilled to have signed a second two-book deal with Joffe Books and am looking forward to working with Kate and the rest of the team again. I can concentrate on writing even more of the mind-blowing twists that readers have come to expect from Joffe’s psychological thriller authors since I know I’m in good hands with them. The best readers are Joffe readers.’

For more information: Joffe Books

*Launch prices are available for a limited time only. Please check all offers are live and available in your location before purchasing.

I have fallen for Ringana. Their baby products are fantastic and I recently trialled their travel kit. The products work and they have no nasties in. I have had sensitive skin my entire life and these products never upset my skin. I love sustainability and freshness and Ringana are serving up both with a cherry on top. Top marks for this fantastic beauty brand.

Brand-new fresh products to expand your RINGANA beauty routine…

Right on time for the start of autumn, some fresh products have been added to RINGANA range, not only enhancing beauty routines, but also setting standards with regard to ageing care.

With three brand-new products – FRESH cleansing water, FRESH scrub face & body and our unique FRESH illuminating enzyme maskthe RINGANA cleansing and grooming steps are expanding, taking beauty routines to a whole new level.

In addition, the formulations of our two intensive better-ageing products, FRESH overnight face treatment and FRESH overnight body treatment, have been given a comprehensive update so they are now far more effective. And we’ve done all of this completely in keeping with our freshness and sustainability philosophy – just as you’d expect from RINGANA.

THREE FRESH PROSPECTS FOR YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE

1) Highly concentrated cleansing with a long-term effect

Thorough cleansing should always be the first step in the morning and at night. To complement our well-known FRESH cleanser, we are now introducing our new FRESH cleansing water.

It contains micelles, formed by mild sugar tensides, that envelop and remove accumulated dirt such as residual make-up, helping to minimised blocked pores. The oil-free formulation is suitable for all skin types, but is particularly good for skin that’s oily or tends to impurities because its bioflavonoids refine the pores and regulate sebum production. Hyaluronic acid hydrates the skin, promoting a firm, youthful look. FRESH cleansing water can be rinsed off after application, or left on to do its work.

125ml for £21.92.

2) Smoother and more radiant in just a few minutes

We recommend that once or twice a week you expand your evening routine by adding a further cleansing step, using our brand-new FRESH illuminating enzyme mask or FRESH scrub face & body. Afterwards your skin will be perfectly primed for other subsequent steps of grooming, and ingredients will be able to penetrate more easily into the deeper layers of skin:

FRESH illuminating enzyme mask is a gentle exfoliant made of enzymes from papaya, pineapple and kiwi fruit which effectively removes impurities and excess sebum from the surface of the skin. At the same time, kaolinreduces fine lines and wrinkles. What’s special about the mask are the fruit-derived enzymesand PHA – a gentle polyhydroxy acid – which is also very well-tolerated by sensitive skin. Coriander and rosemary extract soothe the skin and have an antioxidant effect. This innovative combination is unique and represents a completely new way of exfoliating.

50ml for £34.10.

3) FRESH scrub face & body contains upcycled exfoliating grains from raspberry, blueberry, apricot and pomegranate and removes dead skin cells, while helping to regenerate the skin and stimulate skin renewal. Circulation is boosted and the skin also gets a natural, healthy look. In addition FRESH scrub face & body activates the body’s own production of collagen and elastin. Orange fruit waterhydrates the skin, while almond kernel oil and sesame oil groom the skin and make it supple.

200ml for £41.41.

I have to be honest, I usually find board games a bit tedious. However, whoever thought up Goat Yoga must be a pure genius, plus possess a touch of madness maybe? What other game leaves the players collapsed in hysterics AND feeling like they’ve done an exercise class by the end of the game? Hopefully there’ll be no unscheduled trips to the Emergency Department due to the combination of a large glass of Rioja and an overenthusiastic Downward Dog pose – but it’s a risk worth taking, believe me.

The principle is simple, so no endless rules to learn (another bonus). The box contains a pack of challenge cards, a plastic goat (yes, really) and a score pad and pencil. You simply pick a card from a pack, and there are six random categories, so you could end up with one of the following:

Ready Set Goat: You need to hold a yoga pose AND balance the plastic goat for 5 seconds

Bleat to the Beat: Hold the pose (and the goat) whilst bleating out the melody of a song

Billy Buddies: Pick a partner and both hold the pose and the goat together (don’t drop the goat)

Float the Goat: Hold the pose and bat the goat like a balloon to keep it in the air – don’t drop it.

Buck Wild: These cards have a twist – beware. (And of course don’t drop the goat).

So I think you get the drift – lots of yoga poses, alone and in pairs, balancing plastic goats, pretending to sing like a goat and batting a plastic goat in the air like a crazy person. There is some scoring involved but I suspect that will soon be forgotten in the mayhem.

Personally I simply can’t wait for Christmas after lunch – no boring TV repeats for me this year. And if you want to join in the fun you can buy this brilliant game from Kikkerland for just €30 (free ship in EU and UK and global shipping also available).

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

I find wine fascinating, particularly Italian wines. I’m familiar with some of the big names – Soave, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Chianti – who isn’t? But I’d just love to sound a bit more informed when at dinner with some of my posher friends (yes I am that shallow). The problem is remembering all those wine names, and what part of Italy they’re from, not to mention the grapes involved. I suppose I could try just drinking more, but I’m not sure my liver could take it, and would I remember the names the next day anyway? Somehow I doubt it.

So how excited was I to discover this Wines of Italy Jigsaw, from Ginger Fox? It’s a fabulous map of Italy featuring the different wine-producing regions. The grapes grown in those regions and the famous wines are shown on the map too. As it’s a 1000 piece jigsaw, I’m confident that all that wine knowledge will be etched on my brain by the time I’ve completed it (which should be by Christmas at my current speed, but hey what’s the hurry?) Such a clever idea. I’ve just completed the Liguria region – so ask me anything you like about Barolo, Asti and Barbaresco and you will be impressed. The jigsaw also includes a fun fact sheet about Italian wines too – did you know that Italy has somewhere between 377 and 2000 different grape varieties – higher than any other country?

I’m considering an advanced game, which involves drinking the wines from the relevant region whilst completing that part of the jigsaw – only in the interests of research of course.

Thank you Ginger Fox – such a brilliant game and what an excellent Christmas present for the wine lovers in your life? Just £16.19 from Ginger Fox website.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

When Jodie and Paris Welton started to experience unpleasant peri- and post-menopausal symptoms, they decided to explore a number of plant-based supplements which might help. Thrilled with their success they decided to share, and Adaptogenic Apothecary was born. Working with a medicinal herbalist they have developed various formulations aimed at women’s health issues, including Freedom, to help menopausal symptoms.

Freedom contains Lion’s Mane, and Ashwagandha both of which are believed to improve anxiety, together with a number of other plant extracts including cacao, rosehip and cinnamon.

Menopause can affect different women in different ways – some sail through without a problem, many of us are not so lucky. Thankfully the medical profession are much more switched on to this these days, and there are some excellent menopause clinics which offer a diverse range of therapies to deal with whatever symptoms an individual is experiencing.

I do believe herbal treatments have an important role to play in managing some menopausal symptoms and Adaptogenic Apothecary use good quality ingredients and have clearly put a lot of thought into their products. If you suffer from the symptoms they list on their website it may well be worth giving their products a try.

Freedom can be purchased from the Adaptogenic Apothecary website on special offer at £36 for a month’s supply.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Frost Magazine can’t believe it is so long since Margaret Graham became over excited when asked to cut the ribbon at the opening of the wonderful Columbia Community Association Centre. Fortunately she managed to behave which was as well as her mum, Annie – Stan Newsome’s sister, sitting up on her cloud would have caused a roll of thunder.

Frost Magazine have so missed sharing the exploits of the indomitable Marion and Red Shoes Bob as they guided the renovations over the last 18 months of blood sweat and tears, laughter and chat, so  Margaret has nudged Marion into bringing us all up to date. As we have come to expect, the CCA has been busy busy busy. New events have been organised, new external programmes have been welcomed, and of course there has been an autumn influx of the fabulous creative sessions.

Gentle Yoga has been a great success, and has spiralled beyond belief, three sessions are now in progress. Guess what, the CCA now also has a HATHA energetic session. When asked, Marion confessed she had not yet had time to attend, but Margaret wonders if the word ‘energetic’ might have caused her to pause. Who can blame the woman. Heavens, she rushes around such a lot as it is, probably, dare one say, yelling, ‘Keep up,Bob.’

The fabulous  dancers continue to win competition after competition but ‘Boy do they practice, no school holidays for them, they practiced every Wednesday for 9am till 3pm, dancing their little hearts out,’ said Marion.

Cultural creatives are back for ten weeks, the cakes still keep coming and Phil from Di’s Diner thinks our new treasurer Trish works better after one of his freshly made fruit scones, strangely enough, she tends to agree with him. This sets her up for the digital training she delivers to the community users on a Friday morning before our coffee morning gets underway.

Maralyn                                    Edith                                    Denise and Trish

Bob has had a bit of respite due to the rain or should that read monsoon weather in respect to the plants in the  garden? A garden which is in full bloom, by the way, and looking gorgeous.

Louise, ceo of Gentoo (on the right above)  visited on September 19th with a photographer to take photos with Julie of Equans (on the left, Marion who so loves a camera, and Dianne, the chair of CCA in the middle, and of course a few of the lovely users.

Wednesday 20^th 6.30pm the CCA had a new evening event, Pie and Pea supper, with mushy peas of course, along with a quiz Marion devised and kept under lock and key until the day. There were 3 hand made Belgium chocolates for the winning team. Tickets went like wildfire and all 30 were sold. Marion is looking at a Halloween evening next, car park will be adapted to house all broom sticks.

Marion said, ‘Utility services never fail to amaze, in September 2022 we had a gas meter in the kitchen removed by SSC, all great, yesterday, we had a visit from the gas board to check if the gas had been turned off on the outside pipe. It appears that the Council own the pipe inside, but British Gas are in control of the external pipe. We are so delighted that we did not have a leak as I don’t think after 12 months, I would be writing this as we would possibly have been a misty memory

Food hampers are being made to raffle on Coffee Mornings with proceeds going to the Macmillan Cancer Support and Phil is the first winner. As always, Graham and Christine Thirlaway are donating so much food for this and the CCA is enormously grateful.

The next Coffee morning is scheduled for Friday 29^th. You can scan the bar code to donate, every penny makes a difference and is much appreciated.

Marion has the last word (as she so often does, and we love it)’There is always so much to say, we love sharing our stories with all the readers of Frost Magazine and I do hope we can continue to do so from time to time. We intend to start our Reminiscence sessions very soon and hope to share our stories of growing up in our wonderful Brady Square.’

Margaret will be there for some of the sessions, by hook or by crook. She can’t wait.

Information: Columbia Community Association  Columbia uk Community Forum

Memories of Brady Square

My older grandson has reached the age where he seems to suck up information like a souped-up vacuum cleaner.  In fact it’s a struggle to keep up with him, and now his younger brother is biting at his heels so I’m really starting to feel like the feeble old grandma of fairy tales, and they’re only seven and four years old – where will it end?

I gave them a challenging construction toy one week and within a few hours they’d not only mastered it but found it ‘too easy Grandma’. So how to stay one step ahead?

Well thank goodness for Geomag – a simple but very clever toy concept based on magnets, which is geared to all age groups from pre-school to teenagers. For the younger ones there’s the Magicube series – using magnetic cubes to build, and also to make simple words. Then there’s the magnetic rod construction kits – including multicoloured, glow-in-the-dark and glitter-covered rods which are just great for all kids and introduce them to magnetic polarities in a natural way through play. These sets are a brilliant buy, as you can add to them and it’s so easy to build ambitious but stable structures just using the magnetic rods and the bases.

However I’ve now discovered the next level – the Mechanics Gravity range – and I just love them. They really take educational toys to a new fun level, and importantly the 130 piece Loops and Turns set has kept my eldest grandson totally quiet for two hours and counting. I even managed a cup of tea and a little daytime TV (oops did I really share that out loud?)

You can construct all sorts of circuits, and then set off metal balls to career through them, powered just by magnetic force – no worries that a flat battery will unexpectedly end your child’s fun. Geomag provide clear instructions to help your child build amazing structures, and as they gain more experience they can experiment with their own designs too. It’s a fabulous preparation for developing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) skills through play.

Geomag Mechanics Gravity Loops and Turns set is available from ToysRUs for £36.99 and it really is a great longterm investment. And when your child’s in bed, it’s actually a lot of fun for adults too.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.