For The Mum Who Loves To Read.

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It will be mother’s day soon and we have found the perfect present for mothers who love to read, the Kobo Touch eReader is the perfect gift.

The Kobo Touch is a new kind of eReader that delivers a straight forward, clutter-free reading experience. Diminutive in size, a great travel companion which fits easily in your handbag and a perfect way to keep your ‘new you’ secret weapon just that!

So if mum likes reading the latest biography by Dawn French or get inspired by the recipes of Mary Berry or Lorraine Pascal or even get lost in the novels of the Brontes, the new Kobo Touch eReader is a wonderful present. With the Kobo Touch eReader, she can carry more than one book with her when she’s on the go and not be weighed down.

There are over one million free books and great savings on current printed books. Kobo Touch will allow users to read and store up to 1,000 eBooks, expanding to 32,000 with an SD card.

The Kobo Touch is light and stylish with a signature quilted back for comfort, which comes in four great colours: lilac, silver, blue and black.

It’s the eReader to be seen with – even if you don’t want to break a habit of a lifetime or try something new, use it to hold your classics, indulge in chick lit, or keep-up with the best sellers list.

Available at WHSmith Retail Stores or online at www.whsmith.co.uk, John Lewis and Asda

THE KOBO TOUCH EDITION £89.99 – Ultimate reading experience: lighter, faster, and with touch!

· Simple and intuitive touch screen navigation, that is just like reading a book with Real Touch™ technology

· Weighs just 185g

· Wi Fi connection to shop and browse the Kobo eBook store at home or on the go

· Free Previews – free excerpts of 15 popular books ready to read

· Newest E Ink 6 inch Screen with Pearl Technology and featuring 16 level grey scale for the sharpest reading experience

· A selection of fonts and font sizes, to customise your reading experience

Freedom to shop wherever you like

· Kobo supports ‘open’ books, which means you’re not restricted to buying titles from one site – you can shop around for the latest books from ‘open’ eBook retailers meaning more choice and always a competitive price

Freedom to read wherever you like

· Light and compact the Kobo Touch can go anywhere, but if you want to share your book with any other device you can

· Once you have bought your book, it’s yours to share with free Kobo eReading apps for smartphones, tablets and computers

Freedom to share your thoughts

· For the first time, avid readers can share their thoughts in the world’s biggest international book club, Reading Life

· The Reading Life function allows you to see the books friends have read and ask them for recommendations, see the books you have in common and invite friends to join Kobo via Facebook or email

First mother and daughter to engineer a double act

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Two female family members from Ayrshire in Scotland are believed to be the first ever mother and daughter to both gain a qualification in a profession dominated by male engineers.

Suzanne Flynn became a Chartered Engineer 35 years ago and her daughter Emily has recently gained the same status. Chartered Engineer is one of the most recognisable international engineering qualifications. Of the 191,224 Chartered Engineers in the UK, only 8,154 (four per cent) are female.

An electrical engineer, Suzanne, 64, is Principal Consultant at Cygnet Solutions Ltd, a professional IT services provider. Daughter Emily, 32, is an RAF Squadron Leader Engineering Officer, who has served in Afghanistan.

Suzanne said: “I am delighted that Emily has gained this prestigious professional qualification. Engineering is one of the most rewarding and varied professions and I am pleased that Emily can look forward to many years of career enjoyment.”

Emily said: “I am really pleased to have been awarded my CEng and proud that my mother and I are the first mother-daughter to do so. Mum has been an inspirational role model. The RAF has ensured that I have been given the opportunity to gain the competences required and is a fantastic place to be an engineer. Hopefully, we can also be the first mother-daughter Fellows as well!”

Both Suzanne and Emily are members of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Europe’s largest engineering professional body which awards Chartered Engineer to more recipients than any other institution.

Michelle Richmond, IET Director of Membership, and herself a Chartered Engineer, said: “Gaining Chartered Engineer status is a massive achievement in its own right. With engineering still a male-dominated industry, Suzanne and Emily join a very select group of females to have successfully achieved the qualification. We believe they are the first mother and daughter in the UK to both achieve this internationally recognised qualification and we are delighted for them.”

Outside of the engineering world, Suzanne’s interests include travel, opera, speaking Italian and beekeeping. Daughter Emily is a keen mountaineer and has been on two expeditions to the Himalayas. She is also Vice Chairman of the RAF Mountaineering Association and has represented the RAF, Combined Services and Scotland Under-18s in hockey.

Travel discounts with every Jameson Dublin International Film Festival ticket

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Film enthusiasts attending The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012 could soon be starring in their very own season of discovery off the big screen.

Adventure travel specialist Intrepid Travel is offering a discount to anyone who buys Festival tickets at the box office, worth €100 off their next holiday*. One lucky film fan will also win a free 15 day-trip to India**, where they’ll experience the spice markets of Delhi, the beauty of the Taj Mahal, and the marble palaces of Udaipur.

Now in its tenth year, The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012 is Ireland’s largest film festival and will include over 130 feature films, documentaries, shorts and events, and will showcase the best film-making from right across the globe, with films from a wide range of countries including Indonesia, Mexico and Cuba. There is also a ‘discovery programme’ of unexpected gems.

“Intrepid Travel has been helping people with a sense of adventure to get off-the-beaten-track and discover the world for more than 20 years,” said Daniel Pawlyn, Intrepid Travel’s Sales & Marketing Manager UK & Ireland. “We’re proud to be supporting The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival as it invites the Irish public to ‘celebrate the story and share the adventure’.”

The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival takes place from 16 – 26 February 2012, and the Intrepid Travel discount can be redeemed at www.intrepidtravel.com, by calling 01 524 0071, or at a local travel agent.

Get Your Flirt On.

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Office Attraction
Get your office flirt on…

According to new research revealed today, the office is the best environment to flirt in. Bars may be geared up for romance to flourish but the British public prefer to attract the opposite sex over the photocopier rather than over a drink.

Echoing the relationship of Dawn and Tim in The Office, the report, commissioned by Lynx, to mark the launch of Attract ‘For Him’ and ‘For Her’ fragrance, has found 37 percent of Brits use the work place to flirt compared with only 25 percent giving off amorous signals in bars and clubs.

Surprisingly usually reserved Brits were comfortable scouting for love in the supermarket, on the street or even public transport. It seems that attraction can strike us anywhere and the public are more than happy to act on it.

Top 5 Flirting Hotspots

Work – 37%
Bar or Club – 25%
Supermarket – 10%
On the Street – 8%
Public Transport – 4%

Flirting has become a weapon of love throughout the UK with men doing it 348 times a year and women making eyes at the opposite sex on 182 occasions.

Northerners have come out on top as the biggest culprits with 46 percent of people from Northern Ireland admitting to flirting at work, closely followed by North Easterners (45%) and Scots (42%).

On the opposite side of the scale, Londoners are more reserved in the work place (22%) and the majority choose to get amorous in night clubs (38%).

Kieran Danaher, Lynx Brand Manager at Unilever UK, said: “Men and women find it easier to flirt at work as they can read each other’s body language and interact closely with each other. Unlike bars and clubs the office allows us to use all our senses in order to attract the object of our affection. We can clearly see, hear and smell each other in the office”.

The Lynx report found that Brits adventurous nature to flirting in everyday environments extends to their attitude to getting intimate with each other. When the flirting works out and peoples attraction starts heating up Brits our comfortable going alfresco to get sexy.

A whopping 54 per cent have been intimate in their cars and 31 per cent have taken to the garden to take their intimacy to the next level.

The top 5 places men and women get intimate are:

The Car – 54%
The Garden – 31%
In a Club – 20%
Parents Bedroom – 17%
The Pub – 16%

Kieran Danaher, said “There seems to be an attraction epidemic in the UK. Inhibitions around flirting and public displays of affection (PDAs) have dissipated”.

New Lynx Attract For Him and For Her is available now.

BOYS BEWARE – 200,000 WOMEN ARE READY TO POP THE QUESTION!

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Over half (56%) of men who are in a relationship might say yes
A fifth of women (22%) in a relationship would consider proposing on a leap year

The ancient tradition that women can propose to ‘the one’ on the 29th February has historically led to men having sleepless nights as the date approaches. According to Opinium Research, 2012 should be no different.

This year a staggering 200,000 women are swallowing their fears and planning to take the leap! And while an inspiring number of women are gearing up to raise that all-important question, men who are not asked today should not breathe a sigh of relief quite yet. A fifth of women (22%) said they would definitely consider asking those four little words when a leap year comes around in the future.

When men were asked if they would accept their girlfriend’s proposal, only 14% said they would turn it down (believing that they themselves should pop the question), while 56% of men would consider accepting their partner’s proposal.

James Endersby, managing director of Opinium Research, commented: “Those crucial four words “Will you marry me?” are usually uttered by men but this year it seems that brave women across the country will encourage that convention to change and are wearing the trousers in their relationship instead. Hot on the heels of Valentine’s Day this opportunity only rolls around once every four years, so to all those women out there planning to pop the question – good luck!”

Spicy Filled Roasted Stuffed Onions

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Frost is going to be publishing a number of recipes all based around British onions. Here is the first one. Yum.

Spicy Filled Roasted Stuffed Onions

Serves 4
These beautiful roasted onions are filled with a delicious, spicy lamb mince. You can substitute
lamb mince with beef mince if you prefer.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

4 large British red onions peeled
1 tbsp oil
225g lean lamb mince
2-3 tsp Ras El Hanout spice mix
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
50g sultanas
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2tbsp freshly chopped mint
2tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
50g feta cheese, crumbled
125ml hot vegetable stock

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan oven 160°C, Gas mark 4,
2. Place the onions on a chopping board and cut off the top of each onion. Use a small knife
or spoon, remove the centre of each onion, keeping about2-3 layers of the onion. Finely
chop the removed onion.
3. Carefully trim the root end of each onion so they stand up and stand in an ovenproof dish.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chopped onion until beginning to soften. Add the
mince and cook for a further 5-7 minutes or until the mince is brown. Drain any fat or
liquid that may be in the pan. Return the mince and onion to the pan.
5. Add the spice and seasoning and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the sultanas, lemon zest, herbs and feta
7. Spoon the mince filling into each onion, packing tightly.
8. Pour the stock around the onions, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
9. Remove the foil and continue to cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes, or until the
onions are tender.
10. Serve the roasted onions with a mixed salad or couscous.

Christopher Shannon AW12

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Christopher Shannon AW12

Christopher Shannon’s collection was very interesting. Lots of blacks and whites, some onepieces. It was quite streamlined. The Central Saint Martins graduate took inspiration for his collection from Mathieu Kassovitz’s gritty 1995 film La Haine and also from youth culture outside of the United Kingdom.

The models were interesting. I am not sure they were professional. Most of them couldn’t walk and didn’t pose for the press at the end of the catwalk. This added to the air of rebellion and moody youthfulness. Christopher Shannon is one to watch.

Ashton Kutcher On His New Village.

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HELLO ASHTON KUTCHER VILLAGE!

NEWS OF ASHTON KUTCHER VILLAGE TAKEOVERS REACHES US STAR HIMSELF!

Residents from across the UK were left bemused as their villages of ‘Ashton’ became the first villages in the UK to be named after a celebrity, the Hollywood hunk and US actor ‘Ashton Kutcher’.

In a prank, orchestrated by Comedy Central to celebrate the new series of Two and a Half Men, residents across the UK woke to find their small villages of Ashton had been transformed overnight to honour the television star.


The one and only Ashton Kutcher loved the prank, prompting his 9.5 million twitter followers to take a look at the UK tribute. He joked that at ‘least they’re carbon-neutral’ in reference to the village sign in Ashton Hayes, Chester which states the village’s aim to ‘become England’s first carbon-neutral village’. US media are also going crazy for the story too, of the quaint little UK villages that we’re transformed in homage to the US celebrity.

In the early hours, village signs were mysteriously changed to ‘Ashton Kutcher’, flowers beds sprang up spelling out the star’s name and local pubs were re-named the ‘Ashton Kutcher Arms’, serving 3.9% Ashton Kutcher Ale – much to the confusion of many of the regulars.

A mysterious bust statue of Ashton Kutcher himself was also spotted in the local village shop of Ashton Keynes, plus a further statue taking charge at the bar of The Golden Lion in Ashton Hayes. Bus drivers later pulled-up at Ashton Kutcher bus stops to let on passengers.

Details of the phenomenon have now made it across the Atlantic to the real Ashton Kutcher.

From the north to the south of the county, the local residents of Ashton Hayes in Cheshire, Ashton under Hill in Worcestershire, Ashton in South Northamptonshire and finally Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire, were left stunned as their villages were ‘taken over’ and transformed last week – well and truly putting The Two and a Half Men star on the UK map.

Bamboozled locals were led to believe that it was the work of Ashton Addiction – a self-help group of fans completely obsessed by the celebrity, often resulting in strange acts of homage.

Alerted to the news by leaflets and posters, the message to locals was clear: ‘Congratulations! Your village has now been named Ashton Kutcher’.

Shopkeeper Tessa Mills, from Ashton Keynes said: “I think it’s fantastic, and if he could even be here in person, especially as we’ll be having the village shop official opening soon, if he could be at that, I think we’d have really hit the jackpot. We’re a bit light on celebrities in this village so actually, if we could have Ashton Kutcher as our own, that would be fantastic.”

Steve Falder from Ashton said, ‘I think there’ll be quite a bit of debate about changing Ashton to Ashton Kutcher. I think we’d have to discuss that at the Parish Council Meeting, and probably in the Old Crown Pub actually. A little beer might be required to convince everyone’.

Unknown to the residents, the Ashton Kutcher village take-over was orchestrated by TV channel Comedy Central, who decided to play-out the prank in honour of the Hollywood star and celebrate the return of hit series Two and a Half Men, in which Ashton Kutcher plays the part of internet billionaire Walden Schmidt.

Bill Griffin, from Comedy Central said: “It seems the UK has been gripped by a kind of mania for Ashton Kutcher. Even the man himself has commented on this mysterious phenomena. The stunt was genuinely meant in good humour and if any of the locals were amused, bemused or in any way inconvenienced I’ll stand them a drink at the Ashton Kutcher Arms”.

The new series of Two and a Half Men is due to air on Comedy Central on Monday 5 March, 9pm.