The Christmas gift with a conscience

The Christmas gift with a conscienceHIV:ADIS

Think HIV/AIDS isn’t a problem anymore? AIDS is the leading cause of death for teenagers in Africa and the second leading cause of death among teenagers globally. 

 Introducing the Christmas gift with a conscience: Styloko.com and the new Red Box Shop: http://redboxshop.styloko.com/  for Christmas in aid of MTV Staying Alive Foundation

The Styloko concept is simple; a pop up online store selling a plethora of fabulous Red Boxes perfect for anyone with a serious love of fashion and culture. Each box is filled with desirable products, including jewellery, make-up, watches and even beautiful books, kindly donated by leading brands such as Chanel, The Cambridge Satchel Company, Timex, Radley, Fake Bake, Swatch, Kendra Scott Jewelry and Dana Rebecca Designs.

All proceeds from The Red Box Shop are going to aids projects around the world, particularly in Africa.  HIV/AIDS is still a  devastating global disease and the second leading cause of death among teenagers globally. The store will run through the 20th of December.

Every single penny/cent from the sale of the red boxes will go straight to helping raising global awareness for HIV/AIDS.

@mtvstayingalive  @styloko

The mission of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation is to stop the spread of HIV before it starts. They provide funding and training to youth-led HIV-prevention projects around the world, helping them develop the skills to build innovative, culturally relevant and sustainable organisations that lead the fight against HIV on the ground.  Their relationship with MTV means that the ground-breaking content they produce reaches millions of young people globally.

 Since the international grants and training programme was established in 2005, they have given US $5.3 million to over 500 youth-led projects in 66 countries, directly educated 2.7 million young people on HIV, distributed 7 million condoms and tested 200,000 young people for HIV.

 

 

Avoid Waking up Next to a Sad Cracked Phone Screen This Festive Season

Over a quarter of UK revellers aged 18-40 have damaged their phone on a night out. London named the clumsiest region (29%), and Newcastle the most accident-prone city (23%). Only 1 in 10 covered by insurance. Average amount spent on repairs is £49, roughly double the price of a protective case

Sound familiar? The Christmas party season is in full swing and we’ve all been there. A “get into the spirit” festive tipple turns into seventeen “IT’S CHRIIIIIISTMAAAAS” Jager bombs, or perhaps cocktails, and before you know it, you’ve a smashed phone screen staring back at you, accompanied by a hollow feeling of regret.

Ahead of ‘Mad Friday’, the last Friday before Christmas and most popular for office parties, it has been revealed that 27% of lumbering UK revellers aged 18-40 have damaged their phone on a night out. In the survey of 2,000 British adults, conducted by Griffin Technology, Newcastle topped the list of clumsy cities, while London is the region reporting most mobile emergencies.

As only 12% of damages were covered by insurance, our resident Griffin Gadgetologist, the brains behind the tough-as-nails Survivor phone cases, is on a mission to help the buttery-fingered amongst you.

So  here are some top tips to avoid having to fork out for a pricey repair, or even a new phone, come Christmas.

Avoid waking up next to a sad cracked phone screen this festive season

Resist the urge to take a bathroom selfie: tiled flooring and all that running water (amongst other things) spells disaster for your phone, both inside and out. Research shows water damage comes second only to cracked screens as the cause of smartphone failure, so do your phone a favour and protect them from the elements.

 

Watch out for office geeks in YOLO party mode: if you must grab that group shot on the dance floor, stand well out of the way of errant dancers. Christmas does funny things to people – we tend to get overexcited and fling our arms in the air like we just don’t care, cue phones being knocked out of hands left, right and centre.

 

Keep it zipped: the more barriers there are to your phone, the less chance it has of falling to its demise. Whether it’s a zipped compartment in a handbag or buttoned pockets, something to stop you reaching for it every 10 seconds can work wonders.

 

Invest in a super-sturdy phone case:if you’ve been known to hit the deck after a few shandies, it could be worth taking a good hard look at your phone’s attire to decide if it’s up to the job. Even if you’re the type to dance on tables, Griffin’s new Survivor Summit and Journey cases survive drops of up to 3 metres!

Avoid waking up next to a sad cracked phone screen this festive season griffins

Simplicity is key: everyone knows that nothing says it better than an emoji, but the tinier the buttons and more intricate your conversation, the longer it takes to text and the more likely your phone is to slip from your hand. Do everyone a favour and stick to the classic … “by the bar”.

 

Don’t drink too much: not a popular tip, but it works.


Finally, and perhaps the icing on the cake – try a tough case, and put your minds at rest: the toughest Griffin Survivor cases yet are available now from

http://bit.ly/GriffinTechnology

 

 

Burt’s Bees For Christmas

Frost loves these products, always have.

This Christmas they have a great range of these distinctive earth-friendly, natural health and beauty care products, which they’ve been making for 30 years. The 2015 Christmas gift collection  can be seen on www.burtsbees.co.uk

Frost has had a look at some  of their ranges:

Burt's Bees Vanilla Bean Lip Balm £3.99.

100% natural Wild cherry and vanilla Bean lip Balms.

rrp £3.99 – tube (4.25g)
rrp £4.99 – tin & squeezable (8.5g/9.92g)

These lip Balms are formulated to nourish and moisturise, protecting lips from winter’s cold winds.  If you haven’t tried them, then it would be a good idea to discover the naturally moisturising benefits. Available in Beeswax, honey, pink grapefruit, ultra conditioning, mango, pomegranate, Blueberry & dark chocolate, açai Berry, coconut & pear, Wild cherry and vanilla Bean.

Burt's Bees Blueberry & Dark Chcolate Lip Balm £3.99

But don’t ignore:

Lip Crayons ∙ Creamy ∙ Full-Coverage ∙ Matte Colour rrp £8.99 each (3.11g)

Available in six shades, these crayons are lightweight moisture for everyday wear formula infused with shea Butter, Kendi oil and Jojoba oil.

Lip Shimmer ∙ Luminescent ∙ Antioxidant-Rich ∙ Moisturising Shea Butter and antioxidant-rich fruit oils moisturise, nourish and soften lips naturally and lovingly. available in 11 shades, including fresh and flattering colours apricot and grapefruit.

Tinted Lip Balm ∙ Sheer ∙ Moisturising ∙ Conditioning rrp £5.99 each (4.25g)

These tinted balms give you a hint of colour with a soft, sweet flavour and natural ingredients that moisturise and condition your lips. available in 9 shades, including new Zinnia.

Lip Gloss ∙ Rich ∙ Pearlised

rrp £8.99 each (6ml)

Combined with natural oils rich in nutrients to leave your lips soft, shiny and 100% naturally beautiful. available in 12 shades, including new harvest time and solar eclipse.

Burts Bees have all sorts of products available for Christmas this year. 

And there are various scrummy gift packs.  Try:

Burt's Bees Naturally Beeautiful Collection £19.99 (

Burt’s Bees Naturally Beautiful Collection £19.99

And

Burt's Bees Naturally Gifted- Online Exclusive (Out of pack) £15.99.

Burt’s Bees Naturally Gifted- Online Exclusive £15.99

Have a look at www.burtsbees.co.uk

 

 

 

Chichester Christmas Market

Not another Christmas market I hear you mutter. Exactly. That’s what I thought as well as we drove into Chichester and saw the signs at every roundabout. Another market, same stalls, same goods on offer but I was delighted to find that it wasn’t like that at all. It was perfect serendipity – we had arrived for a business meeting and stumbled upon something quite special.

Photo_1_Choir

The tree was up in the square, the choir singing carols, lights lit a little too early but then it is Christmas after all. Even Joseph was there with the baby Jesus and two Donkeys – although Mary was nowhere to be seen.

Nativity Scene

We wandered along the stalls drinking in what each one had to offer. Yes, some stalls were repetitions of what you would find on any market but I was delighted to find most of them weren’t. I was immediately tempted by the festive wreaths at Farmyard Flowers, two of the florists busily working in the background to finish orders. They really were quite stunning and very affordable. A festive table decoration was £10 which won’t break the bank.

Farmyard Flowers

West Green Pottery offered something different for those wanting something more lasting. Potter Sue Mills has been hand-throwing stoneware pottery since 1976 and each item is beautifully decorated with hares, owls, mice, birds, butterflies and oak leaves. She also has an Etsy shop.

West Green Pottery

Dog lovers could be satisfied with the items on Bottle Green Homes. I immediately checked out the Springer Spaniel Tea towels – quite accurate with The VeryVeryVery Spirited Springer. Oh yes, I’ll have one of those.

Photo 6_Bottle_Green_Homes

Artist Rob Huxley was hard at work behind a beautiful display of his paintings and I was happy to stop for a moment to watch him transform a small canvas into a boat awash on a dark sea. I hope he didn’t mind me looking over his shoulder, it would drive me mad. Suddenly conscious of this I moved swiftly on.

Rob_Huxley_Artist

Working my way among the stalls I slowly filled my bags with a little something for everyone else  but managed to rein myself in before I damaged my credit rating. I’ve always fancied my very own War Horse and this family would look lovely in my garden but sad to say it was still there when we left. I didn’t think I could squash it into a Mini Cooper.

 Wooden Horses

We finished off with a pot of tea and a toasted teacake at The Buttery which is housed in an old crypt. It felt very Christmassy sitting there in the golden glow of the afternoon and I was loathe to leave but an aversion to traffic jams galvanised me to move.

The Buttery

The market is certainly something to plan for next year. There is a free park and ride but we always park in the Festival Theatre car park. It’s relatively cheap and you can use the underpass to get straight on to the main shopping thoroughfares.

 

 

CHRISTMAS PAST & PRESENT by Jenny Falcon

 

The lights garnishing the tree twinkle

Peeping out from amongst the shiny baubles

Dotted between the dark green pine branches

The sparkling ornaments, the foil wrapped chocolates

 

The olive trees stand still, silent, protective

Lit by the myriad stars, one shining extra brightly

The leaves gently flutter, quietly applauding

Sensing their privileged position by the stable

 

The street is full of noise and colour

Crowds bustling in and out of bulging shops

Carols playing, children squeaking with excitement

Preparations reaching a festive crescendo

 

Inside the stable, it is peaceful

The donkey, a little restless, hooves muffled by the straw

Knows this day he’s carried a special load

His big brown eyes watch in awe

 

Supermarket tills are working to exhaustion

Trolleys groan under the weight of Christmas fare

Pyramids of goods, demolished in seasonal frenzy

Unbelievable quantities, gratuitous excess

 

The inn keeper offers some bread and gruel

He has little to spare, the inn is full

He promises a lad will milk the cow

To give to the young mother, cradling the infant

 

The smell of roasting turkey, goose or beef

Mixes with the rich wafts of Christmas pudding

Mince pies, crouching in their crisp pastry coats

And spicy cinnamon immersed in the mulled wine.

 

The hay spread thickly on the earthen floor

Smells sweet, though slightly damp

Wood smoke blows through, just gently

As the door to the inn opens and closes

 

Guests arrive, parcels are placed under the tree

Fascinating shapes, brightly wrapped and ribboned

Soon to reveal the secrets within

Leaving forlorn piles of discarded, crumpled paper

 

 

Shepherds shuffle in, sheep trot behind

The Wise Men, majestic, mysterious offer their gifts

The new parents, happy but bewildered, smile their thanks

The baby, focus of all attention, sleeps on

 

 

Borderfields British Infusions Gift Packs for Christmas

rapeseed oil, gift pack, christmasWant a healthy choice for cooking? Here it is: Borderfields Original Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil. It retains its health properties, even at a high temperature and they taste delicious. These are the perfect gift for foodies.

 

With the festive season drawing ever closer, Borderfields – the expert in premium cold pressed rapeseed oil – is calling on foodies to infuse some flavour into their Christmas cooking this year with the launch of an inspiring range of tempting infusion gift packs. 

 

Fusing cold pressed rapeseed oil with a first-class selection of flavours – including aromatic garlic, fresh basil, fiery chilli and zesty lemon – Borderfields British Infusions Gift Packs are the perfect match for Christmas; offering the ideal way to spoil a loved one, impress at a dinner party or simply add a little zing to all manner of festive favourites. 

 

Boasting all of the benefits of Borderfields Original Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil – including a high ‘smoke point’ which, unlike olive oil, means it maintains its natural benefits at high temperatures – the gift packs make a deliciously healthy, versatile and delightfully simple option for roasting, frying, drizzling, sizzling and basting.

 

What’s more, it contains half the saturated fat of olive oil, as well as near perfect blend of omegas 3, 6 and 9, and is made using a unique five-times filtration process. This sees each carefully selected batch of rapeseed gently pressed, filtered five times and bottled to ensure a pure, simple and top-quality product with a subtle, buttery flavour.

 

To continue the festivities after the big day, why not try inspiring your Christmas leftovers with Borderfields’ British Infusions? The perfect match for a turkey soup or creamy curry, mouth-watering gammon sandwich or hearty pie infused with flavour. 

 

The Borderfields Infusions Gift Pack range includes: 

·         Borderfields British Infusions Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil Gift Pack (3x125ml)

o    Including Garlic, Chilli and Lemon Infusions made with 100% British cold pressed rapeseed oil – RRP £7.99

o    Available exclusively online from www.amazon.co.uk

·         Borderfields British Infusions Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil Gift Pack (4x125ml)

o    Basil, Garlic, Chilli and Lemon Infusions made with 100% British cold pressed rapeseed oil – RRP £9.99

o    Available exclusively online from Amazon.

Share your festive cold pressed rapeseed oil creations with Borderfields on Twitter, @Borderfields, Facebook, and Instagram, @borderfieldsoil. For more information on Borderfields and delicious recipe inspiration, please visit: www.borderfields.co.uk

 

 

 

Great Christmas wines for a fiver

four quality wines

Very cheap and very good

Anyone wanting to buy good wines this Christmas is in for a treat. There’s a bit of a price war at the cheaper end of the market. Aldi has been selling its very excellent ‘Exquisite Collection’ wines for just over a fiver and recently announced that it would be selling its wines on the internet, for home delivery. All of this has created consternation among the other retailers.

Asda has responded by putting some excellent wines on sale at a fiver and labelled them as ‘Extra Special Selection’. I bought about a dozen bottles yesterday and I can tell you that the ones I opened are excellent.Most of them are well known varieties  such as Chardonnay – slightly floral and citrus – Sauvignon Blanc- flavours of tropical fruits. but there are one or two more unusual varieties such as Viognier and Fiano – which is from Sicily and has undertones of lemon and rosemary. They are superb wines and the sort of thing you might normally expect to pay about £8 or £9 for.

As part of the range there is a pouilly fume, which is a classy sauvignon blanc, which has a slightly flinty flavour. This cost £10.75 and was a decent wine and reasonably priced. It’s a well known wine, so it’s a good thing to impress your friends.

In the middle of the photo is a slightly smaller bottle. This is a bottle of sauternes, which was also a fiver. This is a dessert wine and very reasonably priced. It’s a lovely thing in the house to have over Christmas. It has a lovely, slightly resinous flavour of dried fruit. Serve it in small glasses and offer it to friends who come around. In Italy they drink it with biscotta or a slice of panetonne. But it would be equally nice with a mince pie.

Have a White Christmas with White Glo By Margaret Graham

Have a White Christmas with White Glo By Margaret Graham

Get ready for party season with White Glo to ensure your teeth twinkle this Christmas. The toothpastes are clinically proven to give you a brighter, smile in just 2 weeks.

Need a quick fix? The White Glo Diamond White Series gives whiter teeth within 7 days and with no nasties it is the safest teeth whitening kit yet. The advanced formula lifts and repels every day stains from coffee, tea and even smoking. Every pack of White Glo includes a unique flosser, toothbrush which removes debris from the teeth, gums and tongue… ensuring you have a white Christmas all season long.

  1. Professional Choice, £3.99
  2. Coffee & Tea, £3.99
  3. Smokers Formula, £3.99
  4. 2 in 1 With Mouthwash, 
£3.99
  5. Sensitive Forte, £4.99
  6. Diamond White Series – 
£14.99

White Glo is available at Asda.com, Superdrug.com and Boots.com nationwide