Give a Little Local Box this Christmas

A gift that you'll want to give or to receive this Christmas is a Little Local Box.

Carefully and consciously selected regional gift boxes that are helpfully showcasing small independent businesses from all over the UK. 

Their ready-to-order gift boxes are entirely plastic-free, are guaranteed to be sustainable whilst also having a positive impact on the planet and its people. 

Their aim? To help conscientious and eco-aware shoppers support small businesses whilst allowing their loved ones to discover them when they open their Little Local Box.

There are gift boxes for her, for him, for parents, for grandparents, for fiancées, for friends, for teachers, for children, for teens, for tots, for siblings, for relatives including aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces and also for your pets!

And they provide Little Local Boxes for the rest of the year, too! And they have gift boxes for all budgets and all tastes.

To find out more please visit them at https://www.littlelocalbox.co.uk. 

Olive & Pip can really make your child glow this Christmas. For real!

This Christmas you can really make bed time a whole lot of fun with their Draw Your Own Pyjamas!

It's the ideal surprise gift for a child who loves to draw, these snuggly children's pyjamas can be made with their own artwork.

And if that wasn't enough fun, at night they'll come alive at night and glow in the dark! (Wow! I wish glow in the dark pyjamas had existed when I was a child!)

For children who find bed time a bit tricky, they can also add a print in your own handwriting on the sleeve with a secret message that glows in the dark for comfort. 

The designer reals a bit of a personal secret: "This was inspired by my own little one who suffers from separation anxiety, particularly at night."

So, forget your usual Christmas PJs that kids can only wear for the festive season, these pyjamas are perfect for Christmas Eve Boxes but are guaranteed to be fun all year round!

They are suitable for up to age eight and will cost £24.99.

​Check out Olive & Pip's website here www.oliveandpip.co.uk and see what else they have for the ultimate in Christmas gifting for every member of your family from the oldest to the youngest and for friends and relations.

Ideal Christmas gifts for animal lovers in your life

The porcelain cups and pin brooches from NishuraEast.com are the perfect gift for animal lovers for Christmas 2022. 

Carefully crafted in Seville by Japanese artist Yukiko Kitahara, each cup features a very charming animal which acts as the cup's handle.

The larger of the two cups feature a cow, or a sheep and lamb and are perfect for that morning cup of coffee. 

On the smaller cups you'll find a rabbit, or a horse and these are perfect for espresso, or are great for a drink of matcha, tool. 

There is also a Dove teacup, which comes with a saucer plus a cute stirrer which resembles a tree branch. 

As Yukiko makes each and every piece by hand, each one is totally unique and has its very own character. 

These delicate porcelain cups would be a perfect gift for that person who is perhaps not easy to purchase gifts for!

They also have a range of really cute and attractive porcelain pin brooches available, each with an animal that can accompany the gift's recipient as they go about your day. 

You can choose between a curious cat, a loyal dog, a flying dove, or a tranquil rabbit. Costing only £32 these little pieces of art are absolutely certain to put a smile on everyone's face!

And ultimately they have an elegant pair of porcelain dove earrings. The perfect piece of understated glamour, these birds will add the finishing touch to any outfit.

You can find out more about the cups and jewellery, and more about the artist, Yukiko Kitahara at NishuraEast.com.

Cocktail Recipes To Help You Spread Some Cheer This Festive Season from Swift and Moore

As the Christmas season draws near, Swift and Moore has a list of cocktail recipes to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

REGAL ROGUE

3-Step Apertif

Ingredients:

Regal Rogue Daring Dry (50ml) 

Indian Tonic (100ml)

A fresh lemon wedge and rosemary sprig

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients together.

2. Serve over ice in a highball.

3. Garnish with a fresh lemon wedge and rosemary sprig.

Lively White Negroni

Ingredients:

Regal Rogue Lively 

White

Gin and Suze. 

Lemon Wedge

Directions:

Mix equal Parts Regal Rogue Lively 

White, Gin, and Suze. Garnish with 

a lemon wedge.

For more recipes please visit https://www.swiftandmoore.com.au.

Nemesis

Nemesis is a novel from Sam Bell.

It explores many interesting and important themes. Such as Could a friend be an enemy? Could your enemy be your friend?

And could you even tell the difference?

Nick de Carteret meets Tselmeg Yusupov who is an oligarch-cum-president of Kuikbakhistan. Nick is unsure if he should hate him or if he should love him.

However, Nick comes from a very troubled past. Born in very reduced circumstances and faced with abuse, he left home as a young teen and he set out on a mission to become validated as a human and he wants to become very, very wealthy indeed.

Yusopov selects Nick to manage his vast wealth. But he wishes the work he undertakes to be untrammelled by moral or legal concerns.

The two men can be seen as mirror images of the other. Both want to be the best, to have the best. And have a "damn the consequences" attitude to their decisions and to life in general.

Their relationship develops but as it develops it turns into a death spiral of violence and extremes. And each man wants to be the man at the top, no matter what the consequences. 

Whilst reading this novel I couldn't help but think of several oligarchs who have been in the media over the years including the late Robert Maxwell. Perhaps that's a little unfair on Mr Maxwell?

This book will be an excellent gift for those in your life who like crime and mystery thrillers in their Christmas stockings.

It's published by Troubador at £10.00.

The Office of Future Storytelling

The Office of Future Storytelling is an intriguing and fascinating novel by Neil Powell.

It offers the intelligent reader a critical exploration of language and the problems that face humanity.

The storyteller in The Office of Future Storytelling is weary. He is said to be tired of the same old same same old. 

 He doesn't wish to continue writing stories about God, love and beauty. But what should he do next? He hits on the brilliant and somewhat cunning scheme of inventing an English teacher at Davenport College called Eric Crawford.

He then begins to explore what is required to tell different, new stories. As a result he sees freedom calling him.

He creates a life for Eric, which includes his lecturing and teaching, his romantic life and his family life. He creates a troubled student who interacts with Eric, a protest movement that challenges the role of art in modern life. He also introduces reports of violent crimes in the grounds of the college.

This novel will make a very interesting Christmas gift for students of language and literature, of storytellers.

It's innovative and stylistically written work and as it is the debut novel of Neil Powell and I feel that readers need to watch for his name in the future.

It's published by Troubador at £9.99.  

Grace Sisters Offer Ethical gift hampers from small scale makers for everyone on your Christmas list

Their new range of gift hampers are perfect for both men and women and even the hardest to buy for. Each one features products from ethical and sustainable small scale makers and is presented in either a cotton mini shopper or an organic cotton zipped pouch for use as a wash bag or make up bag.

Their clean beauty bags include Squeaky clean and Wash Day featuring organic and ethical clean beauty products for those who care as much about the planet as their skin.

For the foodies they have three hampers;

From Italy with Love a must for fans of Italy and let's face it who isn't after watching Stanley Tucci wend his way around this magical country, Tea Drinker and Chocolholic.

Finally their Heaven Scent bag is just perfect for candle lovers with three difference scents and a box of matches.

Their ethical beauty wash day gift bag includes a collection of earth friendly products from British small scale organic skincare makers Austin Austin.  Absolutely no artificial additives there; clean skin, clean planet.

This bag includes three products; organic body soap with soothing Neroli and Petitgrain and Bergamot and Juniper shampoo and conditioner.

£60

Their ethical beauty bag includes a collection of earth friendly products from our small scale skincare makers. Treat someone, or your skin to the gift of a totally natural, yet super effective skin care collection. 

This gift bag includes a super relaxing CBD bath bomb, a Rosemary and Sage organic shampoo bar both from Life Elements in California, a bottle of organic oil skin cleanser from Vemel, a small scale British clean beauty brand and a pack of three organic cotton, reusable and dual sided facial cloths from CloudCloth.

£70

Their ethical Christmas tea gift bag includes a collection of products from our small scale producers.

Includes a beautiful hand thrown cup and saucer from Scottish potter Samuel Sparrow and two boxes of tea from London based, award winning, Good and Proper.

£55

Their Chocolate lovers gift bag makes for a great gift for anyone with a sweet tooth and a keen interest in ethically and sustainably produced goods.

This features a scrumptious collection of products from our small scale producers, and includes two large bars of chocolate and a jar of drinking hot chocolate from micro bean to batch chocolatier Heist, coffee from all female Somerset based roastery Girls who Grind.

£49

Their From Italy with Love gift bag is perfect for anyone with a taste for all things Italian and in particular from Puglia

Includes a bottle of cold pressed olive oil from a small grove near Ostuni, a Fasano splatterware bowl and a bag of Taralli, a traditional Puglian baked snack.

£49

Their Heaven Scent gift bag makes for a lovely treat for yourself or a great gift for anyone who loves candles – and who doesn’t!

This set includes three hand poured plant wax essential oil candles in three scents, Tranquility, Fresh Linen and Fig & Vetiver plus a box of long matches

£60

To make your Christmas purchases visit Grace Sisters at https://www.gracesisters.com.

Gramps and the Shield Bugs

Gramps and the Shield Bugs is a new novel for young people by Louise Peregrina which will male an excellent stocking filler.

Life after her dad had left had been tough both for Caz and her mother and her brother. Caz feels resentfulness building up. Caz seems to have to do everything around the house. Why is her brother always so enraged all the time? And there's obviously something not quite right with her mother. But what was it that was affecting her so badly?

Eventually after her mother is suddenly rushed off to hospital Caz is sent away from the home she knows to stay in the untidy and cluttered cottage way off in the country where she must stay with her grandfather. But how will she cope? She hardly got to know her grandfather during her life, so what type of a man is he? Can she deal with living with him? And what does he think of the situation?

Despite her initial concerns Caz finds that she is getting used to his quaint, old-fashioned ways and finds that she is now becoming settled into the slower pace of life in the village with her grandfather. There's even some adventurers for the two of them. 

They become as thick as thieves and form a close bond. She teaches him of some of the problems of modern life whilst he makes her aware of the world of nature that surrounds his cottage.

It's a moving story of the trials, tribulations and love of a family trying to live through changing and challenging times.

It's a fantastic story and is published by Troubador Books at £6.99.

Mead a Break? Grab a Free Pint of Mead at Gosnells before Christmas!

Yes, it's true! Gosnells of London is promising Londoners a free pint of its refreshing new Wildflower mead.

Gosnells, which is London's only Meadery, is once again assisting its local community by offering a free pint of the very modern and very tasty 4%ABV Wildflower mead at its new taproom on the Bermondsey Beer Mile.

They are pledging an amazing 10,000 pints of their Wildflower mead at their new, honey-coloured, Bermondsey taproom.

Founder Tom Gosnell says: “Things are getting tougher for everyone. So, we want to make our visitors a little happier by inviting them to immerse themselves in our mellow yellow taproom while enjoying a drink on us.”

“Over the last few summers, we have focused on re-greening communities, feeding the bees and helping to bring sunflowers to Peckham. But why stop at summer, we want to introduce people to something they might not have tried before.”

This is simply their way of sharing their very modern interpretation of the World's oldest alcoholic drink. Gosnells of London is giving away 10,000 pints of Wildflower mead. Yes. Giving it away, between now and Christmas. Commencing today, Friday 4th November until Christmas on  Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Sign up here https://www.gosnells.co.uk/pages/free-pint via email to get one free code per person/email, to be redeemed in Gosnells Bermondsey Taproom, 72 Enid Street, Bermondsey SE16 3RA.

Play The Sock Game this Christmas

This Christmas families up and down the country, after Christmas dinner and Christmas pud and mince pies have been consumed, the sherry sipped and the first King's first speech has been watched, will be playing The Sock Game!

Invented by a pair of very competitive brothers called Jono and Nick back in 2015 (the back story involves a pair of their Dad's 'borrowed' walking sock and a whole host of other paired items that they found all over their family home.)

Over the years the boys have refined the game with what they describe as "the perfect sock" and they assure us that their Dad did, eventually, get his pair of walking socks back.

So, what happens? You get your special extra funky, colourful official monogrammed socks, two sets of 30 game items, two scoring counters a spinning score board and the instructions.

Before play commences put one identical set of 30 game items into each sock, then attach the spinner to the spinner score board. (Merely describing the bag of game items will not do them justice. You'll have to buy the game to learn the delights of the bag!)

How to you play it? Divide everyone into two teams. Each player must take a sock of items. Select a scoring counter and place it onto the allotted starting place on the spinner score board.

Choose a player from each team to go first and twizzle the spinner to choose an object. 

Call out the name of the chosen object then GO!

The first player to remove the object wins a point.

And then the game continues!

It's a fantastic game and can be as fast or as slow as you are comfortable with. And it's suitable for either two players or for two teams of multiple players, you decide! 

It's aimed at everyone from age eight to 108 and we feel certain that this will be a firm favourite with every family who receives one in their Christmas gifts this year. And at every family party for the rest of time. It's the kind of game that helps make family memories. 

It's available from https://www.asmodee.co.uk at £19.99. 

(I had planned on working a reference into this piece to the expression "Sock it to me" which was common back into the 1960s and early 1970s, used by Aretha Franklin in her 1967 version of the song "Respect" and also in the comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, 1968 to 1973, but as most readers are probably too young to understand those references, I decided not to bother!)