That's Books and Entertainment: Broccoli and Bloody-Mindedness

That's Books and Entertainment: Broccoli and Bloody-Mindedness: This is the story of Antonia Lister-Kaye as she takes a highly illuminating look back over her roller-coaster of a life. She was born pr...

That's Books and Entertainment: The Conisbrough Chronicles

That's Books and Entertainment: The Conisbrough Chronicles: This book, written by McMullen Country, tells the history of the Conisbrough family down through the last 1,000 years. Seen through the ...

May it Please You, Madam

May it Please You, Madam, by Neil Hickman, is just the type of book that I love.

It is sub-titled a little book of legal whimsy and it contains an enthralling and highly entertaining collection of legal anecdotes gathered together throughout the long legal career (over 40 years!) of retired District Judge Neil Hickman.

The book commences with a collection of approaches used to greet a judge, some which would have worked some which would have worked to bemuse or outrage the judge they were addressed to!

There are strange things people did or said in and around our courts, what they they tried to get away with and, in some cases, what they actually were able to get away with.

There are cases of dishonesty and, perhaps refreshingly, cases of honesty which come wuth sudden and perhaps consequences that were only to be expected.

Such as: " Are the contents of your statement true?" The unexpected response certainly strongly coloured the outcome of the court case: "No. It's what the man from the solicitors said I should say. But it isn't true."

According to Neil Hickman the trial lasted for all of 15 seconds as a result of this admission!

Well collected and beautifully written and nicely illustrated with some well drawn legal cartoons by the late Jeff Bowser, this book is an ideal stocking filler which everyone will want to keep returning to to to read just a few more legal anecdotes

It is published by The Book Guild at £6.99 and it is available for purchase here >>> https://goo.gl/AzQ0XD.

That's Books and Entertainment: Salvage

That's Books and Entertainment: Salvage: In  Dublin author's Bernadette Quinn's new novel, Salvage, she explores a situation of marital crisis and destruction. Based on ...

Dig In!

If you are looking for a great new game for the family this Christmas, then surely Dig In! will fit the bill?

It's billed as "The great game of frantic finding fun!" and that is exactly what it is!

It's an utterly new type of game where participants have to keep their eyes open and be ready to use their hopefully nimble fingers in a friendly battle against not only your opposing players, but also the clock in order to identify the six playing pieces that are on your card as you dig in for victory!

But in order to find what you need to win, you only have 15 seconds on your own to seek out and locate their figures, but then the mayhem begins, because then everyone piles on at the same time to try to join in the insane fun and track down the last remaining missing pieces in order to come out as the Dig In! winner!

The game is for ages 8 years of age and older and is for 2 to 4 players.

It is even more fun than you might think from the above description which, to be honest, does not even begin to do it justice!

It is made by Drumond Park and is available for purchase here >>> https://goo.gl/AzQ0XD at £17.95.

You can learn more about this game and other games in the range by visiting www.drumondpark.com.

Watch how the game is played here:-

That's Books and Entertainment: Emotions of a Book

That's Books and Entertainment: Emotions of a Book: In his book "Emotions of a Book" author Guido Parisi explores the links between the author and his novel. In a way that many m...

Eisberg wine. All of the taste, none of the hangover

There's big things happening at Eisberg non-alcoholic wines.

A long time ago alcohol free wine was either white or red.

But the wine experts at Eisberg have worked very hard over the years to make certain that people who love the taste of fine wines can enjoy all of the taste yet eschew the impact of alcohol on their body and mind.

There are many reasons why people do not want to consume alcohol. Religious sensibilities, the desire to be able to drink without risking getting inebriated for work reasons and to make sure they do not run the risk of driving whilst drunk, or perhaps they do not have the ability to properly process alcohol or they finds that alcohol triggers their migraines. Or perhaps they just do not like drinkinging alcohol.

Now there is a wide range of entirely different alcohol free wines that you can serve such guests or even enjoy drinking yourself throughout the Christmas festivities and the New Year period.

There is the Sauvignon Blanc wine, which is new to their range.

It was a typically fruity and interesting Sauvignon Blanc wine, but it was all of the taste with none of the alcohol!

What about the Chardonnay?

There was that typical Chardonnay nose, then the delicious hint of those lovely French crispy apples, with tones of honey and golden sunlight bursting through? (I wonder how a grape can taste like apples and honey? Yes, I know there's a technical explanation, but that was by way of a rhetorical question, to which the answer might spoil the magic!)

The Rosé?

Oh! The Eisberg Rosé! There was more than a hint of hedgerow berries, plus a tantalising mixture of soft fruits and maybe a hint of apples? No? Something else fruity, then that added to the enjoyable Rosé. Oh! The bottle's empty!

Cabernet Sauvignon

The real revelation has to be the Eisberg Cabernet Sauvignon!

A ruby red wine, with rich, fruity scents and the taste? Wow! The taste! My wife took one sip, then another and declared it the best Cabernet Sauvignon that she had ever tried, even those with the alcohol left in!

It has the full, rich flavour of the typical Cabernet Sauvignon wine, yet we knew we could serve it to our guests and know that they would not have to be concerned about them getting home in safety.

Though that plan does require us to go back out to the shops to buy some more Eisberg wines!

And there's another advantage, too, for those who are looking at their calorific intake, a 125ml glass of ordinary Cabernet Sauvignon will typically contain 85 calories, yet a 125ml glass of Cabernet Sauvignon contains on 26 calories!

And there are similar calorie reductions in the other wines in the range, too!

To learn more about these wines and where to purchase them please visit
http://www.eisberg.co.uk where you will also find some utterly delicious cocktail recipes that are all, of course, alcohol free! That is if you can prize it out of your guest's hands in order to make the cocktails. Better double up on the amount of bottles you buy!