Villa Maria Reserve Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Review

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Frostie

This wine is fruity and fresh. Savoury with the perfect balance of acidity: this wine is the perfect wine to bring in the New Year. Ripe fruit characters, intense aromas of passion fruit, grapefruit and blackcurrant with a subtle underlying of gooseberry on the nose. The palate is concentrated with tropical flavours and it has a long finish. Delicious.

Winemaker Notes

A classic Wairau Valley style bursting with the trademark ripe fruit characters found in this sub region. The nose displays pure and powerful aromas of peach, grapefruit, blackcurrant, and underlying fresh aromatic herbs like rosemary and lemon thyme. The palate is concentrated with an enticing array of gooseberry, melon and guava flavours, balanced by a fine thread of acidity, and a savoury refreshing finish.

Vineyards

The fruit for this wine comes from a combination of vineyards with varying soils and viticultural techniques throughout the Wairau Valley. The common thread between the vineyards was an unrelenting focus on vine health. This was achieved by careful yield adjustments and water management as well as a balanced approach to vine nutrition

Winemaking

All Sauvignon Blanc grapes were harvested at the cool of night to retain aromatics and freshness in the grapes. The fruit was destemmed, crushed, and pressed before cold settling. The clear racked juice was inoculated with selected aromatic yeast strains. Cool, slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks took place to retain distinctive sub-regional and varietal characteristics

Vintage

The climate in Marlborough has high sunshine hours, but temperatures during the growing season are regulated by the cooling ocean influence. In 2014, Marlborough had warmer than usual spring, followed by temperate summer. Overall, it was a bountiful harvest with excellent quality grapes; intensely flavoured and picked in pristine condition. All Sauvignon Blanc grapes were harvested between early March until mid April.

Food match

Enjoy with:

Fish/Shellfish
Salads & Picnics
Mild Creamy Cheeses

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc 100.0%

Region: Marlborough

ABV: 13%

pH: 3.00

Total Acidity: 6.80 g/l

Residual Sugar: 3 g/l

Drink: Now to 2 years

Reserve Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Best/Worst Movies of 2014

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Owun Birkett

Wahey! It’s that time of the year where movie critics get to round up their list what made 2014 great and. . . . well, not so much! As always, I will be listing the movies in alphabetical order rather than rank them because they’re all different from each other, and feel unfair when it is like comparing apples and oranges. Lastly, I like to apologise for being late on submitting this list. So with that being said, let’s get right to it!

BEST

This critically acclaimed Australian horror movie is nothing short but brilliant! Not a single jump scare was used, it’s all about tension building and atmosphere and that’s something you don’t find in a lot of horror films nowadays. Never has a horror movie made my skin crawl from start to finish and all credit goes to writer and director Jennifer Kent (making her directorial debut). You know you’ve done something extraordinary when the director of The Exorcist declares your horror movie to be the most terrifying movie he has ever seen. Seriously, it puts The Conjuring to shame!

This is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking! Immensely innovative with its direction and execution and could be Iñárritu’s most ambitious film to date. It deals with themes about the media, society and celebrity culture in such dark but satirical perspective that it’s both hilarious and tragic. Michael Keaton delivers an outstanding performance that more or less mirrors his own career and supporting cast do equally amazing jobs. Though the star was Emmanuel Lubezki, the cinematography is mesmerising and keeps you hooked to the very end.

This is quite possibly Richard Linklater’s masterpiece. How on earth can he top this inspiring movie that deals with time and told a coming of age story like none other before? It could’ve been easily done by hiring different actors to play different ages of the same character. Though Linklater decides to go with the ambitious route; capturing 12 years of one boy’s life to adulthood. It’s mind boggling the movie is 2 hours 45 minutes long and yet feels we only scratched the surface. This is my bet to win big during awards season because all the hard work deserves to be rewarded.

Probably one of the most talked about movies of 2014. That and also quite possibly the worst date movie of 2014. David Fincher yet again takes an average novel and turns it into one of the most entertaining yet bleak thrillers. Ben Affleck is actually good as a guy being constantly scorned by the media, yet it’s Rosamund Pike who steals the show as the most bat-shit insane wife from hell. I think the amazing feat is having Tyler Perry actually being amazing and not another one of his cringe-worthy Madea performances. The movie raises questions more than answers and it is more fascinating with that in mind.

Who’d knew that a Marvel Comics property that non-comic fans never even heard of would become a smash hit AND receive critical acclaim? This film was an absolute blast and wasn’t just from the kick-ass soundtrack. The entire Guardians team from Christ Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Groot all managed to make the whole thing work. Though writer/director James Gunn is the one to applaud to, as he managed to turn this sci-fi space opera something worth investing. Joss Whedon, it’s your turn to shine!

One of the most gorgeous looking movies of 2014. This hilariously stunning movie couldn’t be in better hands than Wes Anderson and he makes his best film to date. Ralph Fiennes delivers a genuinely funny performance that surprised me, and many others as we were accustomed to his serious roles from his previous work. The whole look of the movie played out as it was a pop-up book but with as much love and care you’d expect from Anderson. All the Wes Anderson regulars (from Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe etc) continue to make great performances but newcomers as Saoirse Ronan, F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law and Harvey Keitel all make a strong presence.

This may not be one of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, though I can’t deny the movie’s ambitions and scope. This is reminiscent to science fiction novels of 50s-70s, dealing about humanity and its venture to the unknown. Matthew McConaughey gives us a protagonist full of determination, even when put against all odds. Though both Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain steal the show as the young and adult Murph. The visual effects are mind-blowing and Hans Zimmer’s score is refreshing with its church-organ score. This is definitely a sci-fi movie worth exploring.

Hey, another movie with Chris Pratt being on my list! If there was one movie I would pick as my favourite, this is the movie. Phil Lord and Chris Miller (same duo behind 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street) have made a genuinely hilarious and charming animated movie. Everyone thought this would be a quick cash grab for LEGO but they delivered something special. Immensely creative and not only my favourite animated movie of 2014 but one of my top favourite animated movies of all time!

I must admit, I wasn’t really a fan of The Raid: Redemption. So I walked into this one with not a lot of expectations. My god, this movie blew me away! Not only is this one of the best action movies of 2014 but one of the best action movies I’ve seen in the past 5 years. Gareth Evans is a competent director and doesn’t hold back from the brutality this movie has in store. Sure, the story is something we’ve seen from a dozen other crime movies such as Infernal Affairs (and even the remake, The Departed) but it’s all done in a refreshing way. Just be warned, this movie will make you wince from its pain-inducing action.

The first movie I watched in New Zealand and it was the biggest surprise of 2014. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi creates a mockumentary that makes a unique and hilarious take on vampire lore. You fall for these characters as they are somewhat likeable and still come across being human than monsters. Definitely one of the funniest movies of the year and North American readers should definitely check this out when released in cinemas.

Ever imagined dealing with a school teacher from hell? Okay, a bit of an exaggerated question to ask but this movie shows us a teacher you pray you don’t come across. This film has such flair and energy that’s impossible not to get involved. Miles Teller is becoming an incredible talent and he truly shines as the emotionally tortured student on becoming the best drummer. Though not mentioning J.K. Simmons’ outstanding performance would be a crime, it is utterly electrifying that you’re preparing the unexpected.

WORST

This new Spider-Man series is anything but amazing. If the first movie didn’t make it clear that Sony Pictures had no idea what to do with Spider-Man franchise, this movie shows it clear as day (didn’t even need a hacker to prove that). This movie is not interested on telling a story with compelling characters, it’s more interested for the studio to keep the licence so it can make more sequels and spin-offs to make an easy cash grab. It’s heart-breaking that everyone’s top favourite Marvel superhero is treated this way. Edward Garfield is wasted with this directionless series and the villains were just cringe-worthy. This movie even makes Spider-Man 3 look good. . . . think about that!

This movie left me feeling uncomfortable. The movie comes across wanting to view this tragic but honourable soldier. However, it feels it is very one-sided and not having a clear direction on what story to tell. Is it an anti-war movie? Pro-war? It doesn’t really give any insight about the man, other than he wants to protect his country from the “savages” and those “savages” are purely evil (something I feel Paul Greengrass would’ve been a better director to handle this material). The movie doesn’t tell anything new and has been done better before in terms about the conflict and biopic about a military soldier (such as The Hurt Locker and Born on the Fourth of July).

Remember how The Conjuring terrified audiences and almost side-tracked with the doll that kinda went nowhere? Well they decided to make this movie and got the director of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. What we got was a horror movie with boring characters that have zero chemistry and investment whatsoever. If you find jump scares scary, this will absolutely terrify you. However, they grew tiresome and extremely irritating with each one that popped up. Anyone can make a jump scare, though that does not mean your movie is scary!

Imagine two of your favourite film series based on popular books (in this case, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games) and turn it into the most bland, generic movie you could imagine. It also reminded me of Equilibrium, though they left all the boring parts in this movie. Shailene Woodley has been in my radar since her performance in The Descendants and was also fantastic in The Spectacular Now. This breaks my heart to see her involved in this series that feels so contrived, it left very few surprises and ended up bored out of my mind.

Just to make one thing perfectly clear; Sleeping Beauty is one of my all-time favourite Disney animated movies. This movie, however, takes everything you loved about it and went with the completely wrong direction. The reason we loved Maleficent was she was purely evil, it even scared me when I was a child and didn’t hold back on killing the princess. Here, they decided turn her story into a tragic one and something I, quite frankly, thought we didn’t need. Though what shocked me was the adult subtext and kinda turns into a rape revenge story. None of the characters were developed enough to be invested and the whole movie was a complete mess.

A remake that didn’t need to be remade in the first place. The original 1987 movie by Paul Verhoeven still holds up today as being one of the best sci-fi movies of the 80s and wrote the book about action movie satire (something like Gamer failed to deliver). This was a dull, directionless remake that got neutered down to an audience friendly PG-13 rating and was worse for it. This movie also wastes talents like Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson. This movie should get a life sentence!

You know when somebody says “it’s just a kids movie”? Let me ask you this; would you let your kids watch a movie that’s based on a kids property that has one of our heroes saying this line when he first lays eyes on Megan Fox as April O’Neil “she’s so hot, I can feel my shell tightening”? The answer should be “no”! This movie is everything on what you should not do when making a blockbuster, especially based on a franchise everyone knows and loves. Director Jonathan Liebesman continues to deliver uninspired movies that have been done better. There’s absolutely no reason we should not even put enough effort to tell a basic story with characters we should care about.

This is probably the top contender of the most boring science fiction movie in recent memory. Wally Pfister’s directorial debut thinks it is making a thought-provoking sci-fi tale about technology, though when the movie’s extremist group can’t even make a logical reason why we should hate Will Caster and the technology he’s creating but instead pretty much say “technology is evil”. . . . okay, care to expand on that? None of the characters speak naturally and the third act’s action scene feels almost out of place. Sorry Wally, you aimed just a little too high with this one.

Both Boyhood and this movie are 2 hours and 45 minutes long. The former was engrossing, this one was a drag! Not the worst of the series (that still belongs to Revenge of the Fallen) but it is still lifeless and tedious. Even replacing Shia LaBeouf with Mark Wahlberg wasn’t enough to improve the things that are still wrong with this movie. This is probably the first movie that made me want John Goodman to stop talking! Also, they spent an awful amount of time explaining the ‘Romeo & Juliet’ act between the two teenage lovers and it pretty much encourages under-age love (even to the point of sex. . . . thank you Mr. Bay, that’s exactly what we wanted in a Transformers movie). When we do finally get to the Dinobots (after 2 hours and 20 minutes in), we’re beyond caring on what’s going on! This series does need to die out soon but it’s not soon enough!

Kevin Smith is one of those filmmakers I admire; he’s a symbol of everything about geek and no shame to it whatsoever. Unfortunately, the days of Clerks and Chasing Amy are long lost with this dreadful horror film. Based on a fake Gumtree ad and Smith let fans vote whether to make this film, it is a complete pretentious mess. Justin Long’s character is unlikable, so it’s hard for us to feel sorry when horrible things start happening to him. Also a certain cameo from an A-list star goes for far too long than needed. Definitely not worth the hype.

DISAPPOINTING MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Remember when Guillermo del Toro was, at one point, going to direct a two movie adaptation of The Hobbit? That’s what has been on my mind since watching the first movie and stayed with me till the end of this final entry of Peter Jackson’s trilogy. Stretching it to three movies was unneeded, the second movie had huge pacing issues. Though those issues for being too long were reversed, the 2hr 24min duration went by and actually made me say “oh, that’s it?” Those emotional moments in The Return of the King is completely missing in this movie. When characters get axed off, there’s little investment to care and it’s a real shame. The Hobbit could’ve been spectacular, instead it feels average in comparison to The Lord of the Rings (which I do admit is unfair to compare). Not terrible by any means but could’ve been so much more than it is.

MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIE OF 2015

It would be really easy to say Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and it is definitely up there. Though choosing from the line-up was incredibly difficult. You have from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Terrence Malick’s latest Knight of Cups, and return of James Bond in Spectre. I finally narrowed it down to this sequel to one of the most influential post-apocalyptic action movies of all-time. George Miller finally returns after having his run on making those penguin movies (have to admit, I wasn’t a fan) and Tom Hardy takes over from Mel Gibson as the titular role. Co-starring Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult and Hugh Keays-Byrne (returning to series since Mad Max). The movie looks edgy, raw and unbelievably fun! Looking forward to going back on the road.

Inaugural Kobo Book Report Reveals Top eReading Trends from 2014

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Frostie

All readers of Frost Magazine know that we love books. Supporting authors and sharing what we loved to read is very important to us. So we found the Inaugural Kobo Book Report Reveals Top eReading Trends from 2014 very interesting indeed. Gone Girl and The Fault in Our Stars are no surprises but there are a few others that we must put on our reading list from kobo.com

It’s been an exciting year in the world of publishing, and kobo’s inaugural Book Report reveals insightful 2014 eReading trends from its world-class platform, which includes a bookstore of more than 4.2 million titles.

“Overall, the eBook market makes up about $14.5 billion in sales globally and is expected to reach more than $22 billion by 2017,” said Michael Tamblyn, President and Chief Content Officer, Kobo. “The advances that we’re seeing year-over-year are incredible, with more publishers, users and authors changing the face of the industry at an unprecedented pace.”

“This year, we wanted to look beyond the bestseller. A book’s position on the bestseller list may indicate it’s bought, but that isn’t the same as it being read or finished,” said Tamblyn. “A lot of readers have multiple novels on the go at any given time, which means they may not always read one book from start to finish before jumping into the next great story. People may wait days, months, or even until the following year to finish certain titles. And many exercise that inalienable reader’s right to set down a book if it doesn’t hold their interest.”

The typical bestseller list often looks very different when you compare books purchased versus books read cover to cover. In fact, the most completed book doesn’t even feature on the UK Bestseller List (as seen below); Rotten to The Core by Casey Kelleher was the most completed book in the UK, with 83% of people reading it cover to cover. Whereas, the number one bestselling ebook in the UK, One Cold Night by Latia Lief was only completed by 69% of those who read it. Although James Patterson’s books do not feature on the Top Ten Most Completed Books of 2014 list, overall James Patterson was the most completed author in the UK for his entire portfolio of books.

Kobo Book Report’s UK Bestseller List – ebookshelf must haves

One Cold Night – Katia Lief
Gone Again – Doug Johnstone
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
My Sister’s Keeper – Bill Benners
The Husband’s Secret – Liane Moriarty
The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
Her Last Letter – Nancy C. Johnson
Twelve Years a Slave – Solomon Northup
Bloody Valentine – James Patterson

UK’s TOP PAGE-TURNERS – The Most Completed Books of 2014

Rotten to the Core – Casey Kelleher
The Tycoon’s Vacation – Melody Anne
The Traitor – Kimberley Chambers
Concealed in Death – J. D. Robb
Wrongful Death – Lynda La Plante
All Revved Up – Sylvia Day
Present Danger – Stella Rimington
The Empty Cradle – Rosie Goodwin
The Witness – Nora Roberts
The Promise (Fallen Star Series, Book 4) – Jessica Sorensen

Homegrown British Talent
As the book world becomes ever more international, British readers continue to love British writers, with a remarkable one third of the Kobo UK’s Top 100 Bestseller’s books written by British authors. Lee Child features heavily, with Not a Drill (A Jack Reacher short story), James Penney’s New Identity/Guy Walks Into a Bar (Storycuts), Killing Floor: (Jack Reacher 1), and Deep Down (A Jack Reacher short story) all featuring in the Top 100 Bestseller’s list. Fiona Gibson also featured twice with Take Mum Out, and The Great Escape. Other notable homegrown talent includes J.K Rowling (and her pseudonym Robert Galbraith), Helen Fielding – Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Kate Atkinson- Life After Life and E.L. James – Fifty Shades of Grey.

Different authors also show up in the UK’s Most Completed list, with 14 of the top 100 books being written by British authors. These include Adele Parks – The State We’re In, three books by Carole Matthews (A Place to Call Home, Summer Daydreams, A Cottage by the Sea), Jessie Keane – Ruthless, and Judy Finnigan – Eloise.

Beating the January Blues
Not surprisingly, self-improvement books, including cookbooks, health, and self-help books are more popular during the month of January than at any other time of year. More self-improvement books and books overall were downloaded in January than any other month, likely to kick-off some New Year’s resolutions.

It seems that Monday is the most popular day of the week to complete a book in the UK (16%), with Friday being the least popular day, with only 13% of book completed at the end of the week.

Opening up the Nightstand Drawer
Overall, Brits find Romance to be the most engaging genre, with 62 per cent completion, followed by Crime & Thriller (61 per cent) and Fantasy (60 per cent). Romance is also the most engaging genre in Italy (74 per cent), the Netherlands (67 per cent) and Canada (62 per cent), while the French (70 per cent), Australians and New Zealanders (64 per cent), and Americans (44 per cent) prefer a good Mystery.

Business and celebrity-focused books also enjoyed popularity in the UK in 2014. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis came out as the top seller perhaps due to his literary status of being the most famous non-fiction writer working today. While reality TV Geordie Shore’s Vicky Pattison’s I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends, David Walliams Camp David, and Lynda Bellingham’s heartbreaking memoir There’s Something I’ve Been Dying to Tell You, came top of the most completed celebrity biographies.

From the eScreen to the Big Screen
Several books made their big-screen debut late in 2013 and into 2014, including Twelve Years a Slave, The Best of Me, and Gone Girl. The release of Gone Girl on the 3rd of October in the UK this year certainly created a ripple effect which transferred into book sales. Over a three month period, 34% of book sales took place in the week prior and the week after the film release.

Kids Love Kobo
Kids are going digital! Children’s eBooks, including picture books, children’s and young adult novels are gaining traction as parents are realising the appeal of eReaders for a tech-savvy generation. Children’s titles, available at the Kobo Kids’ Store offering 100,000 titles, made up more than 6 per cent of Kobo’s overall 2014 book sales. This kid-friendly browsing experience even lets parents set up reading allowances so that kids have the freedom to select their own eBooks without needing access to a credit card.

And top kids’ picks for 2014? The younger generation is definitely in-the-know when it comes to new releases, so it was no surprise to see three of the most anticipated 2014 titles topping kids’ wish lists this year. The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney led the pack followed by Gangsta Granny by David Walliams and The Iron Trial by Holly Black.

The new 6.8-inch HD Kobo Aura H2O is available in black and retails for £139.99 online at kobo.com and in-store in the UK.

What was the best festival of 2014? Olivia Outram spills the Secret

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Richard Mylles

The Secret Garden Party

So with the initial line up for 2015 released this week, I think it’s about time to gush a bit about my festival of last summer.

The Music
As the sun went down over the main stage on a balmy Saturday evening Sub Motion Orchestra revealed themselves as the standout performers of the festival for me. Theirs was the kind of bass that makes the earth, not shake, that wouldn’t be the right word, but sway in a luxurious, sensual manner. Ruby Wood’s ethereally jazzy vocals were the cherry on a quite delectably sexy cake. Clean Bandit have really upped their game since doing the festival rounds in 2013, commanding the main stage with tens of thousands of festival goers singing back their lyrics. And for the late night lovers, Sigma “absolutely smashed it” (as Cheryl Cole might say) in Temple of Boom post 3am. My only personal disappointment was standing pride of place on the top platform of the Collisillium, having elbowed hundreds of people out of the way, waiting for this year’s secret act to perform (Chase and Status again…) at the stroke of midnight – Only to be left waiting… and waiting… and waiting… Rumour has it they finally rocked up over two and a half hours late. Not. Cool.

The Locale
This really was the ultimate adult’s playground, whether you like it colourful, eerie, hard-core or filled with sunflowers, there was a playground for every personality. There was also the option of swimming in the lake, which might sound spontaneous but after you’d donned your sexiest swimsuit you were left standing in line for the best part of an hour waiting to be refreshed (or, let’s be honest, have a replacement bath). To be fair the excessive queue was no doubt due to the scorchingly hot weather we enjoyed at SGP this year (Sorry (not sorry) to all of you who pinned your festival hopes and dreams on Glastonbury but forewent your summer glow for trench foot). From secret tunnels, floating dance floors, winding forests and colossal stages to fields filled to the brim with 6 foot tall giant sunflowers hidden behind a secret portaloo door – the one thing we can all admit is the hills of Abbots Ripton are transformed into something truly magical, that even Alice in Wonderland would gawk at.

Local Wildlife
The clientele cannot go unmentioned. It seemed like this year’s festival had an unparalleled supply of beautiful people – everywhere you looked you saw another “genetic lottery winner”, as one companion commented. As ever, body paint, glitter and “quirky” headwear were all the rage. Meaning the usually bold and unique individual fizzled into the crowd. Those who really wanted to stand out, and there were quite a few, dispensed with the outfits altogether, some choosing to don only carefully applied body paint and a few of the most adventurous opting for just the glow of the summer sun and a dab of moisturiser. For the sake of their nipples, I sincerely hope one with SPF.

Inevitable Celebrity Sighting
This bit all depends on your definition of “celebrity”… you could feast your eyes on pretty much the entire cast of Made in Chelsea. Alex Mytton even made the sought-after headlines of Daily Mail Online with his episode of “exhaustion”. For the more refined celebrity oglers, his royal highness (absolutely no pun intended) Prince Harry graced us with his presence in full Secret Garden Party glittery glory with his face painted a smirf-tastic shade of ‘royal’ blue.

Transcendent-moment-where-everything-makes-sense
As the sun dipped behind the horizon on the Saturday evening, it was replaced by a spectacle of fiery colourful delight with the annual SGP fireworks extravaganza. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a Secret Gardener who didn’t suddenly think their drink had been spiked with the best type of acid, when a plane flying low rained giant bubbles over the entire festival’s heads. This, combined with the darting lasers piercing the wobbly, translucent globules made for a truly incredible vision. The whole of the main stage appeared to be covered in glittering fairy dust. Either that … or the drive to the festival from the station with the utterly charming former Police Constable Simon, now of ‘Steve’s Cars’. Simon you are an utter legend.

words by Olivia Outram

Kennedy’s World Chocolate Forum 2014

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Paola Berta

I was lucky to be invited to attend the Kennedy’s World Chocolate Forum on Oct 2nd 2014 at the London British Library. Running for the past three years, it is the only Summit in the world that has been created to discuss chocolate. 300 producers attend the event and some are from the biggest companies in the world.

It was a truly extraordinary experience trying different type of chocolates and finding out about choices regarding their production.

Angus Kennedy, founder of the event, born into a publishing family that was already dealing with confectionary, is a very spiritually driven intellectual; he believes the soul will always lead you to what you are meant to do in the end. His major passion, beside chocolate of course, lies in writing and he has already written lots of books. He admits: “The best jobs are always the ones you create for yourself and not certainly the ones, you get offered!” A lot of people contributing to the production of chocolate are indeed entrepreneurs involved in creative stuff. Angus Kennedy, honestly admitted, despite every exams he took he failed, he became a prolific writer. He loves children and is aware of many issues that are often not addressed to make things better for them. He is currently writing a children’s book and, if he would ever become famous as a children writer, it would be quite ironic for children to get inspiration from.

Mr Kennedy is aware it is always extremely hard when you set up a new business but he remarks: ”Success is the ability to fail continuously and be happy every time because one day you will succeed”. He was very close to achieve his biggest dream, having a TV programme about chocolate, but it did not work out in the end. Life is made of many knock backs but it is important to have the ability to be happy with failure and proceed even when keeping on failing. His motto: “You can succeed all the times but one day you will fail and you can fail all the times but one day you will succeed”.

His latest published book: ‘Good Reasons for Bad Things’ [reviewed here on Frost] is made of 222 maxims such as: “I don’t buy chocolate to stay healthy but I stay healthy so that I can eat chocolate”. Mr Kennedy, which is into tarots, numerologist, universalism, etc. He started writing maxims as he kept on waking up in the middle of the night at 2:22am; he looked into the meaning behind it and this is how he has 222 maxims in the book. As it happened to him waking up at the same time every night, he realised to have been chosen to write about things as if inspired by external forces. He loves writing to make people laugh.

As I randomly open his latest book, I read a maxim: “One must not be too friendly to the English, they are not used to it and the shock can be highly damaging to our health.” And he admits: “Rude!” I have a good laugh at it and certainly do not let that bother my interview proceedings!

He remarks, there has got to be a TV programme about chocolate one day because chocolate is a product that is the expression of freedom and represents a moment of pleasure. Moments of freedoms are very rare nowadays in the society we live in where we are more and more concerned about time and making money when, at least over the weekend, we should definitely be taking time away to relax and let go the week past behind. And this is where came the idea of his blog Friday Light, which quickly raised from 50 readers to 13.000 ones! Really I could not say Mr Kennedy does not come up with the most interesting ideas!

Without denying chocolate is the second most fattening product in the world together with butter it has yet to be understood the more cocoa butter you take out during the chocolate making process, the less it becomes chocolate, so there is no point even conceiving a healthy chocolate… it will be like making wine without grapes!

The most heated argument at the forum was regarding the global transit which is going to happen within the next 5-10 years; China, South Africa, Brazil, India and Russia markets
will be all doubling in size, which means there is not going to be much cocoa left for Europe. According to this trend for 2020 it will be needed to increase the supply of cocoa for Europe and the producers are discussing where it is possible to invest some money to increment some farming in Ivory Coast ideally accordingly to fair trade standards. It has been argumented the only problem with fair trade production is often the increased costs attached to it since the majority of consumers tend to go for cheaper products rather than the fair trade ones but of course the issue has yet to be raised to support, for what it is possible, the importance and fairness of acting within the fair trade production standards.

Written by Paola Berta

Equal Pay Day: Female? You Will Work The Rest Of The Year For Free

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

Today is Equal Pay Day- so called because the average pay gap between men and women is so large that women effectively work for free from November 4th until the end of the year. Depressing, isn’t it? Something must be done about it. Maybe women should strike. I am up for it. A holiday from now until 2015? Sounds fun.

It is not just because women tend to bear the brunt of childcare, although more paternity rights and men picking up their slack in this area would help, read this brilliant article on equal pay from the Huffington Post. This year equal pay day is three days earlier than last year because the pay gap has widened. Truly shocking. For every £1 earned by a man, a women gets 80p.

On Equal Pay Day 2014, Iain McMath, CEO of Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services had some great comments on how pay differences are affecting employees and what employers can do to help:

“It is alarming to see that the difference in take home pay for men and women is actually increasing, despite it being over 40 years since the arrival of the Equal Pay Act. With figures now showing that women earn 15.7% less than their male colleagues, this inequality shows no signs of abating.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that women are suffering financial consequences of this disparity. According to our recent survey of UK workers, 54% of women say they struggle to put aside any funds due to limited disposable income, compared to just 40% of men, which clearly shows the impact that unequal pay has on financial planning.

Equal Pay Day serves to highlight the fact that there is still significant work to be done before men and women are treated equally in the workplace. Until this happens, employers need to be aware of the financial stress that many of their employees are facing, and must take steps to ensure they are helping staff to manage their money and reach their financial goals.”

Peter Pilotto Spring-Summer 2015

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

A firm Frost favourite, we fell head over hells in love with Peter Pilotto’s SS15 collection. We want EVERYTHING.

Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos explore a transcendent wash of light and colour in their SS15 collection as craft is elevated beyond print, through a myriad of treatments. Cyber florals join a constellation of swirling geometry as coils and fans of guipure lace meet technical macrame and custom dandelion jacquards with sparkling tinsel.

Peter Pilotto Spring-Summer 2015 peter and christopher

Peter Pilotto Spring-Summer 2015 catwalk

Peter Pilotto Spring-Summer 2015 catwalkpictures

Applied to iridescent organza, silk leaves and windowpane checks float over the skin, whilst grids of naive florals blossom on black denim. The collection’s spectral palette pulses energetically throughout.

The silhouette moves between a trim bodice, to ultra slim trousers to planed shifts, some with airy volumes explored as a handkerchief hem and the neat folds of an A-line skirt.

Giant paisley and abstract rosettes in Perspex are hinged and fractured amongst a scatter of Swarovski crystal. Studies of classical draping, paired with featherweight knits, melt into asymmetry, finished with a cascade of sequins. Interlocking chain motifs, realised in bright embroideries, vibrate throughout the collection.