Christmas is all about the sparkle and glitz. When else do we get to dress up in such finery? I love the glamour of it all.
I have found the perfect party dress. This A-Line Scoop Asymmetrical Tulle Lace Cocktail Dress With Sequins. It’s so gorgeous and can be customised. If it’s not your thing they have plenty of other beautiful dresses for adults and girls. Go take a look now.
Ding Dong Merrily on high … As it grows ever nearer to Christmas the efforts of the CCA team continue unabated. Marion explained to Margaret at Frost Magazine that they are always on the lookout for opportunities that can be of help to the community at CCA, so they have contacted the Citizens Advice who have the use of an information vehicle named (SCABI) and are looking for locations within the Washington area. Hopefully, the CCA will be successful as a location.
It was a good start to the week in other ways too, especially when their neighbour, Jamie. dropped off a Sponge “Sharing Cake” forthe community centre; 14 slices of scrumptious delight. There is more news though: due to a fantastic donation, we are now able to offer 6 free places for defibrillator training – date confirmed as Thursday 15th December.
Kam
Kam the CCA’s Polish friend called to collect the cheque for money raised for the Ukrainian appeal and they discussed the importance of ongoing support. Winter is here and these people need help more than ever.
Fancy a sit down? Look no further.
‘Massive thanks to Trish Berstein for the Parker Knoll armchair,‘ said Marion, ‘Which is now happily living in the ‘Warm Spaces comfy room, and thanks too, to Lynn Walmsley and Sheila Parker for the wool they donated for hats for the seafarers, and Allison Chapman for the tins of Chocolates, which I promise I have not eaten. So thrilled, what a brilliant day.’ says Marion, adding ‘The big boss from Equans , Brian Spackman, paid us a visit and by sheer chance Stu rang from his sick bed. I was able to wish him well, for his operation, and sent love from us all.’ Include Frost Magazine in that, Marion.
The CCA enjoyed a visit from the “Washington Way” owner/editor Zoe Burn and Harry Chalmers, who delighted everyone with a lemon cake he baked. Marion said, ‘Would have been rude not to tuck in to it, wouldn’t it Margaret, and thanks for the scarf you knitted for Miss Polly.’
‘Oh dear me, rather big. Silence prevails,’ say Margaret
(Margaret doesn’t like to admit scarves are all she can do, except for a few fishermen’s hats, because armholes stump her.)
As the week progressed there was more good news at the CCA. They received an email from the surveyor, the lovely Richard. At long last CCA have lift off. Contractors plan to start work on the exterior of the building on their return to work after Christmas.
The team welcomed the visit from the prospective Sunday church group “Redeemed Christian Church of God”” who are looking for premises to hold their weekly church services. They were such fun, and good to see Lee, the CCA’s favourite joiner who finished off the window sills. The team feel he is part of their family now. As Marion said, ‘Brady Square have adopted him as one of their own.’
The CCA’s “Warm Spaces” days have been very popular this week, and the team just love welcoming the community into the centre, and having a good chin wag makes it perfect.
Everyone was very thankful to Beth Roddy Jones who popped in with a bag full of sausage sandwiches, which their guests enjoyed, the only downfall was, according to Marion, that there was too much cake to consume and as she so often says, it would have been so rude to refuse. ‘Undoubtedly, ‘ agreed Frost Magazine. ‘So, what about us?’
The council maintenance did their bit and gritted the entire car park making it safe for the centre’s “Warm Spaces” users. As we all know, there is more frost and ice on the way so it’s good to be prepared. Birthday party, Council ward meeting, Didddidancers and Wargamers were all in over the weekend and everyone can rest assured all H & S procedure have been adhered to,
The Community here at Brady Square would like to thank our boys in Qatar and let’s all remember – there will be a next time.
Information: Columbia Community Association Columbia uk Community Forum
Imagine a tiny village in Cambridgeshire, England…
It boasts one pub, one shop, one café and a garage. Just outside the boundaries stand a performing arts college and a posh hotel, and the Carlysle Estate and home farm snuggle around the village like arms.
I say ‘imagine’ because that’s what I did.
It began on a family car journey when I had a road atlas open on my lap. I loved the place names I was reading…Crowland…Eye…Whaplode Drove. For fun, I filled the gap between them by creating Middledip village and the nearby town of Bettsbrough. As we passed through the real-life village of Eye, I spotted a garage forecourt full of classic cars and mentally transferred it to Middledip village as MAR Motors, Ratty’s garage. A short, black, peacefully grazing pony in a roadside field became Snobby, Gabe’s cantankerous equine buddy. A few miles on, a stone pub looked just right to be The Three Fishes. A shop with one of everything in its window was perfect for Middledip, too, as was the village hall and playing field I borrowed. So Middledip took shape.
As we waited at traffic lights, I watched two women chatting. One, with long, strawberry blonde hair, looked awkward until children joined the conversation, and then suddenly she relaxed, smiling and laughing. That was when Tess Riddell was born – the first character to arrive in Middledip feeling lost and looking for a new beginning. (See Starting Over.)
Ten books on, I have a spreadsheet of characters that my brother maintains for me, because, although every visit to Middledip is a standalone story, I let earlier characters pop up so readers can see how they’re doing. There’s a spreadsheet for places, too, but I rarely need to refer to it because I just know that the cottages are stone, and there are also red-brick Victorian houses, like the neglected property that became The Angel Community Café. My hand-drawn map of Middledip (pictured) is probably the one item I’d try to save if my house burned down! A version can be found on my website here and you can click on the markers to discover where characters from various books live.
This year’s winter story is A White Christmas on Winter Street. As there was a foster carer in the village, Nan Heather, I wanted to bring back one of the children she had fostered – Sky Terran. I give Sky an overwhelming wish not just to visit the village but to 
truly be part of it, so let her buy a house on the corner of Winter Street. The Corner House has been neglected for so long that it can scarcely be seen behind an explosion of conifers and shrubs. Sky has the task of restoring it to order as part of the process of sorting out her life.
As ‘make friends’ is written at the top of her wish list, I provide her with every opportunity to find them, not just in Winter Street but via the pub quiz or grabbing a coffee at the community café where Christmas shortbread is in the shape of angels. I’ve been told by readers that reading a Middledip novel is like being in a Christmas movie – but I think it must be more like living in a snow globe because the village certainly sees an inordinate amount of snow and frosty wintry weather!
Just recently, Frost featured Grace Company Crafts – a Dnipro-based dance dress company who have remained extremely competitive despite operating throughout the war in Ukraine.
Having learned what another company, KACHOROVSKA are achieving I am simply staggered at the raw ‘Can Do, Will Do’ determination of these Ukranian companies – they are an inspiration and example to us all.
KACHOROVSKA, based in Kyiv, is a three-generations of women-owned company – initially launched during the cold war, it has been designing and making shoes since 1957 and, more recently, other accessories such as bags and clothes too. It ships around the world in addition to the home market and their shoes are frequently worn by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
Incredibly, despite frequently having no electricity, no internet and no water, this iconic footwear brand KACHOROVSKA have been developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for its newest shoe campaign called ‘We Speak Shoes’.
Alina Kachorovska, the brands creative director, and granddaughter of the founder, has always looked to the future and continues to push boundaries to delivering new innovative styles. She tells us that marrying fashion with AI technology in this way is setting an example for the whole fashion industry, and not even working in a war zone will quell her passion for innovation it seems.
To develop the AI, they created a mood board for each pair of shoes and visually matched the fashion style. Then using AI techniques, going back and forward, they generated the needed image style precisely. This process was repeated many times, adjusting the algorithm until the basis was no longer a mood board but an interpretation itself in the form of fractal reimagining.
Alina Kachorovska’s focus is on fit, and from measuring more than 40,000 clients’ feet the company have an expert understanding of the anatomy and structural unity needed to deliver customers a perfect match of style and comfort.
The brand focuses on high quality craftsmanship, environmental sustainability, a fair price, diversity, and an inspiring work environment for its 150 employees. Alina aspires to have the shoes worn by shoe lovers and fashionistas of all races, ages, and genders worldwide. As a proud mother of three children she is dedicated to her family and her Ukrainian roots.
I thoroughly recommend checking out the KACHOROVSKA website or Instagram – and don’t forget, there is currently no import tax on deliveries from Ukraine – so go treat yourself.
Images: owned by Kiko Gaspar Communications.
By Dr K Thompson, award-winning 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.
We love Joseph Joseph. Their designs are stunning and functional. The innovate brand have something for everyone this Christmas.
There’s something for everyone at Joseph Joseph, from a 4 piece chopping board set designed to avoid cross-contamination for the foodie, to a laundry separator basket to make the repetition of day-to-day tasks a little easier.
Here are six award-winning products that are perfect for Christmas.
Tota 90L Laundry Basket
Separate your lights and darks as you go with the two compartments of this handy laundry basket, meaning you’re all ready to go on wash day. This smart design includes dual 45-litre compartments for easy separation of fabrics, removable tote bags with easy-carry handles and a helper handle on the base of the bags that make emptying easy. The bags are also self-locating for easy return and the basket comes flat-packed for easy delivery.
Elevate Knives Steel Carousel
This high-quality knives carousel set includes 5 essential knives with a rotating stainless-steel block to store them in. Magnetic knife slots hold the knives securely when stored to ensure safety. With soft-grip, ergonomic handles providing extra comfort and grip, the blades are made from ice-hardened, German stainless-steel, strengthened with vanadium for increased durability.
Viva Pedestal Mirror with Cosmetic Organiser
This stylish design combines all your makeup needs in one organised unit. The large, racetrack-shaped mirror gives a better view of your face and neck and the smaller, 3x magnifying mirror, moveable for your preference, is perfect for finer, detailed work. The hidden storage compartment underneath is perfect for cosmetic organisation with the divider removable for easy cleaning.
Totem 60L Waste and Recycling Bin
The award-winning bin allows you to combine all your waste and recycling needs into one compact unity. It comes with a unique vertical design that maximises capacity in a compact space and integrated odour control with replaceable activated carbon filters. There are 2 x 30-litre compartments with a 3-litre removable food waste caddy with lid and removable buckets with liner retaining holes and carrier bag hooks.
Folio Plus 8-Piece Knife and Chopping Board Set
The best-selling Folio™ range has the iconic four colour-coded chopping boards with a sleek slimline case. Each chopping board provides knife-friendly cutting surfaces, stainless-steel selecting bars and non-slip feet. Along with this, the four Japanese stainless steel knives feature integrated tool rests that help improve hygiene and minimise mess when the knife is placed down.
Folio Steel 4-Piece Chopping Board Set
The best-selling Folio™ Steel range has four colour-coded chopping boards with a sleek steel slimline case. The included slimline Steel case, differentiating it from the standard Folio™ range, is perfect for organised storage, a tired design and stainless-steel bars on boards for easy selection. Not to mention the double-sided boards with knife-friendly, textured cutting surfaces and non-slip feet – a beautifully organised set for your worktop.
About Joseph Joesph
Twin brothers, Antony and Richard Joseph, grew up in a family with a long history of design and manufacturing. After both training as product designers and beginning their early careers, they founded Joseph Joseph in 2003. Since then, Joseph Joseph has launched over 1000 products in over 100 countries around the world, winning numerous accolades and awards along the way. This includes 14 prestigious Reddot Design Awards and two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, presented to them by HRH Princess Royal.
The head office in central London houses a state-of-the-art design studio with a highly skilled in-house team that oversee the development of the products. Some of their most iconic products include Chop2Pot™, the world’s first folding chopping board; Nest™ 9, a clever space-saving food preparation set; and Index™, a set of food-specific chopping boards in a storage case designed to prevent cross-contamination when preparing food. Their mission is to create desirable products that enhance everyday life and that stay true to their philosophy of creating Brilliantly Useful Design.
I’m always on the look out for yummy ways to spice up my food, and so I was excited to try Firelli Hot Sauces, which are hand-crafted in Parma, Italy from natural ingredients – is your mouth watering? Mine certainly was.
Well I wasn’t disappointed. I started with the original Firelli Hot Sauce. It was delicious. The slight sweetness of the roasted red peppers balanced the Calabrian hot chillis, and the porcini mushrooms, balsamic vinegar and natural herbs, spices and sea salt melded to provide fabulous complex flavours. It was spicy but didn’t blow my head off (Scoville rating of between 1,000 – 2,000 for chilli aficionados). It really tasted like something Nonna might have made.
Feeling brave I progressed to the Firelli Extra Hot Sauce which has the addition of Cayenne Peppers. Wow. This sauce definitely packed a punch (Scoville Score of 4,375) but still had the lovely fullness of the other ingredients and the slight sweetness to balance the heat – I loved it.
I gave my taste buds a little break before trying their newest sauce, which had been intriguing me – Firelli Truffle Hot Sauce. This has just been released for Christmas and what a fabulous combination of hot sauce with the distinctive flavour of black truffle – how luxurious? And it works so well – a little kick from the hot spices, balanced with earthiness and umami – quite unique and leaves you wanting more. Definitely my favourite.
Not only do this trio of amazing Italian hot sauces taste fabulous, but guess what, they’re healthy too – made with natural ingredients, they’re all low calorie, gluten free and vegan.
You can buy them individually or as gift sets which make a lovely Christmas present. They’re available on : Amazon, Hot-Headz and on the Firelli website – where you can find recipes too.
The Original and Extra Hot Sauces are both RRP £3.95 for 148ml, the Truffle Hot sauce is RRP £5.99 and the Firelli Trio Gift Set RRP: £15.99.
Buon Appetito.
You can follow Firelli on Instagram: @firelli, Twitter: @FirelliHotSauce and Facebook: @Firellihotsauce
By Dr K Thompson, award-winning 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 remember the Balkan war in the ‘90s. The horror of it all; of Sarajevo and Srebenica, of genocide and ethnic cleansing. I remember the Siege of Dubrovnik too, almost the place where the fighting began, but I didn’t understand why. I still don’t to this day.
We stand next to the Amerling Fountain, Mato and me, and we look at Mount Srd, beyond the belching buses and their fumes, above the terracotta tiles of the Pucic family’s elegant summer residence, beyond the houses stacked behind, and on to the mountain itself, sentinel as ever above the city.
My eyes travel upwards, following his pointing finger. Above the luxuriant leaves of cypress and pine, above the scrubland strewn with rocks, steep and ever steeper, up four hundred metres to the grey bulk of Fort Imperial perched on top. The fort that saved the city.
The Serbs and Montenegrins attacked from the south, sweeping a wave of refugees before them. The attack on the mountain began on 30th September 1991 and a day later the communications centre was captured and the power cut off. No electricity, no water, would reach the city below for months.
Pockets of resistance remained. Mato’s own family home was fought over bitterly, changing hands several times as desperate local defenders staved off an army. By the middle of November the invaders had taken all of Mount Srd. Everything, that is, except the fort.
And then Mato tells me of the greatest act of heroism of all. How thirty-eight men saved the city. And it happened in front of us, at the top of Mount Srd. The miracle of 6th December 1991.
Thirty-two men manned Fort Imperial. Exhausted men, hungry and thirsty, the enemy surrounding them on almost every side. An enemy with tanks and weapons that hadn’t been made in a converted broom factory. And ammunition. The men in the fort had nothing left at all, so under cover of darkness they started to creep down the mountainside.
Meanwhile, in perfect safety, the politicians were negotiating. The Serbs and Montenegrins had one demand. Give up the fort and we’ll stop shelling. Somehow, somehow, the message got through to a detachment of men climbing Mount Srd with ammunition. They met the shattered defenders coming down. The enemy thought they were still holding out. So they turned around and crept back.
Thirty-eight men with basic guns and not enough ammo. Thirty-eight men against an army. But what could they do? They went up to the roof and used them. As Mato explained, a man defending his home will fight like a tiger. An army of conscripted attackers is not so brave.
The fighting became hand to hand, the defenders desperate men, believing themselves as good as dead. But eventually they had to retreat inside. All felt lost, so they kept up their spirits by singing.
Most say it was a miracle, but Mato told me the fort’s unusual acoustics helped. Their voices filled the barrel vaults, swelling from shattered windows and walls. Sounding like a thousand men. Men the invading army were not prepared to fight.
We walk through the cool shade of the Pile Gate, into the main street, Stradun. In the walls of the buildings, on the glossy paving stones, the bullet holes are everywhere, once you know how to look. On the morning of 6th December alone almost 700 missiles landed in the old walled city; some from ships out to sea, the rest from Mount Srd.
Like the men in the Fort, it buckled, but it did not break. The world watched as smoke blackened the skies, a bombardment so heavy that finally, finally, the world condemned and the tide of the war turned.
9780571363933 | Hardback | £20 |
A cosy story tonight for a happy day tomorrow – A brand-new story collection for today’s child by the very best of Faber talent, and FAB Prize alumni, illustrated throughout by the one and only Sarah McIntyre.
The Faber Book of Bedtime Stories is a sumptuous anthology full of hope, courage and brimming with positivity. A gift of great beauty to be treasured for years to come, the collection brings together a selection of Faber’s favourite, bestselling authors and a host of rising stars.
Readers will be filled with optimism and hope by tales rooted in the magic of friendship and the natural world.
Claire Barker ‘Clementine and the Mighty Battle Honk’ Ayesha Braganza ‘Fairy Godmothers Don’t Exist’ Kieran Larwood ‘Queen Bea’
Lucy Farfort ‘Light Bearer’
Natasha Farrant ‘Abi and the Goldfinch’
Ingrid Persaud ‘Anansi and the Curse of Seven’ Emma Carroll ‘The Happiness Safari’
Ann Jungman ‘The Dinosaur’s Egg’
Reba Khatun ‘Sharing is Caring’
Lou Kuenzler ‘Do You Want to Swap?
Michael Mann ‘Bob and Pop’
Kate Saunders ‘Mooncamp’
Martyn Ford ‘Foxy Tall Tail’
Aisha Bushby ‘The Dream Jar’
Pip Jones ‘Bug’s Bake Off’
Hannah Lee ‘The Pink Palace’
Rashmi Sirdeshpande ‘When Bedtime was Cancelled’
I absolutely loved this book of bedtime stories. The cover is gorgeous and the stories are much loved by children. It’s a must have for parents. Your children will love these fabulous stories.
