Diwali 2022 Charity eCards released

Water poverty alleviation charity, Hope Spring has announced the launch of its annual Diwali eCard range. 

The charity which is based in Hereford, made the announcement on Twitter, today Tuesday the 11th of October. The organisation works with communities in developing countries to access clean drinking water.

The Diwali eCard was refreshed especially for 2022. Their new range includes over a dozen ecards and half a dozen video ecards. In the press release making the announcement, eCard platform manager Mr Abdulwasiu Abdulraheem said “Diwali eCards is one of our greeting cards range I love working on, for a start I love the title of Diwali; festival of light”. 

He went on to say: “This year we added a few more ecards and video eCards to our range to give us an improved range of Diwali eCards”.

Compared with last year, people sending Diwali greeting cards on Hope Spring eCard platform will be able to add detailed personalisation, besides sharing their eCard with friends and family via WhatsApp. Recipients can also reply to this year eCard via email, too.

Sending a diwali ecard on Hope Spring is as easy and quick as choosing an ecard from the range of diwali ecards catalogue, personalising it, making a donation and clicking send, and your ecard will arrive instantly. 

The ecard scheduling on the charity ecard platform also allows senders to schedule ecard ahead of time. While drawing attention to this feature, Mr Abduraheem said “those that have busy schedules can take advantage of our ecard scheduler.

This is quite handy. By scheduling a diwali ecard before diwali day, you sufficiently reduce the probability of forgetting to wish your friends and colleagues to zero.”

You can learn more about Hope Spring eCars, their work in water poverty alleviation by following them on their social media page or visiting their website https://www.hopespring.org.uk.

Although this is not a Christmas-related story, That's Christmas decided that we wanted to share it as helping provide the world's people with clean water is a good idea.

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Buy works of art for Christmas. Catching Moments in History on Canvas

The following That's Christmas post is provided by artist Peter Brown (aka Pete the Street).

There’s a long history of artists documenting important historical events, capturing on canvas important moments in time across the centuries. The resulting paintings hang in galleries around the world, providing us with portals to the past.

Bath-based artist Peter Brown (a.k.a. Pete the Street) is determined to keep the tradition alive, believing that a painting offers a unique perspective that a quick snap posted on Instagram can’t compete with.

Most recently, Peter documented the ten days following the Queen’s death.

“I was walking the dog in Bath in the early morning of 9th September, the day after the Queen died, and it suddenly occurred to me I should be painting Buckingham Palace, so I headed quickly home and jumped into the van.

“I completed five paintings of the public’s reaction to the proceedings over the following ten days up until the funeral – the crowds outside the palace, along the procession routes and in the royal parks. And then there was David Beckham in the legendary queue along the Thames.”

The spectacle of royal pageantry is appealing to Peter, having previously painted the flotilla at the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012, the sea of red poppies at the Tower of London, and more recently, local celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.

But it’s not all pageantry and patisseries, Peter also captures the nitty-gritty of everyday life in his work. Many of his paintings from the past few years tell the story of towns and cities and their people during the COVID pandemic. From the empty streets of Bristol (St Michael’s Hill and The Neptune Statue) and the closed West End theatres in London, painted as the first lockdown started to ease, through to bustling scenes of cafes and restaurants in Bath as people started to venture out for an overpriced coffee once again

His new exhibition ‘Bath, Bristol and Beyond’ includes two paintings of the ‘Multi’, a car park in Bath that is currently being demolished, and past scenes have included the aftermath of the Tottenham riots. Peter also attends Glastonbury Festival every year (pandemic permitting) to capture the energy, atmosphere and colour of the event.

And, of course, Peter captures moments from everyday life. Shopping streets, seaside scenes, commuters, park life, allotment holders, dog walkers and family scenes at home. He paints from life. In all seasons, and in all weathers. Even during snowstorms when he works outside wearing fingerless mittens.

Peter Brown’s new solo exhibition 'Bath, Bristol and Beyond' opens on 22 October 2022 at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, continuing until 15 January 2023.

The exhibition features over 100 new oil paintings by Peter and will also be available to view online from 15 October at https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/event/peter-brown-bath-bristol-and-beyond.

Peter will be at the gallery all day for a meet and greet on Saturday 22 October, with an artist talk at 11am.

The paintings, which will make absolutely wonderful Christmas presents, will be for sale.

The 12 Days of Discovery. Coffee Advent Calendar from Chimney Fire Coffee

Containing 12 bags of 70g coffee (either whole bean, or pre-ground) with a booklet, information and map. 

Chimney Fire's Coffee have launched their 12 Days of Discovery Advent Calendar is a specially curated collection of coffees from their 2022 Discovery Coffee range. 

Each coffee has been carefully selected by their roastery team to satisfy different tastes, and introduce a new and interesting coffee from around the world - be that a new origin or region, a new process or varietal, or something seasonal with a unique flavour profile; The unique sleeve illustration was created by Sïan Angharad, celebrating the contribution of each team member to their operation, with a Christmassy twist!

From Malawi to India, every coffee drinker will be sure to find something new and exciting this festive season to suit their tastes.

Available at ChimneyFireCoffee.com from early next month, November 2022. 

Chimney Fire Coffee is a speciality coffee roastery that's nestled comfortably in the Surrey Hills. They produce and supply ethical coffee products and subscriptions for both home consumers, and business customers (including end-to-end service, coffee beans, machinery, barista training, and corporate experiences, too). 

Their coffee range includes eight mainstay coffees, a rolling monthly 'Discovery Coffee' (where each month they introduce a new and interesting coffee from around the world), and most recently their Peru Classic Espresso Nespresso® compatible compostable coffee pods. 

They also offer coffee immersion tours at their roastery and run off-site coffee experiences, collaborate with talented local brands and makers and create new products including cycle jerseys, coffee-chocolate and coffee candles. Their recent launch, with Silent Pool Distillery, is the incredible Espresso Martini. 

They work hard to bring their customers coffee to suit every taste that supports ethical and eco-friendly practices, all the way from farm to cup.

Chimney Fire Coffee is all about sustainability from the ground up with direct and transparent sourcing, 100% compostable packaging and delivering social impact through donations to Re-Cycle, a small charity who refurbish bikes in the UK and send them to rural communities in Africa. They're also an Accredited Living Wage employer and are B Corp Certified, demonstrating standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.  

To learn more and to place your orders please visit them at https://chimneyfirecoffee.com.

That's Christmas would like to thank Amanda Bootes for helping with this.

Its Double Trouble for Seven Bro7hers Brand New Duo. Just in time for Christmas!

SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO is launching two dreamy web exclusives. A sweet and sour beer duo for the autumn. Which, to our minds, will make a great addition to your Christmas drinks cabinet. (Which in our house is our understairs cupboard!)

Tingling with fruity flavour, the 'Sour Dreams' offers a delicious blackberry sour tang whereas 'Sweet Dreams' is a DIPA packing a punch at 9% ABV.

Upcycling the left over 'sweet and sugary wort' from the DIPA the sour is made using the same mash – two beers one brew.

Head brewer Jack Dixon of SEVEN BROTHERS, described the brew. He said: “The concept is using the same mash for two different beers, instead of sending sweet sugary delicious wort down the drain we make a whole new beer.

“After we've mashed the high alcohol, sweet grains we shower the grains with hot water which rinses the sugars, because the grain bill on the beer is so big and sugary we are able to sparge (rinse) the grains twice to make two different beers.”

Jack added: “You could say the two beers are brothers!”

The Sweet Dreams is a citrus beer with floral undertones. Sour Dreams, 4.0% ABV is a fruity blackberry and mango sour that will send your taste buds wild. This tart beer is "sessionable" with a deliciously fruity edge.

The duo is the latest in the brother's line of special craft beers and both cans are available in 440ml cans. Sour Dreams is £4.50 and Sweet Dreams £4.75 per can on the web shop.

The brewery was founded in 2014 by McAvoy brothers, Guy, Keith, Luke, Daniel, Nathan, Kit, and Greg, inspired by their dad's home-brewing in their cellar at home.

https://www.sevenbro7hers.com.

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An advent calendar that helps you make a Christmas difference

Every day, you open a door on your advent calendar and discover what you’ve given; from clearing plastic from UK shores, to helping to provide life-changing medicine for a sick child. 24 donations, to 24 incredible charities!

Premium Advent Calendar

£32.95 from adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners.   

The original calendar is making a very welcome return for Christmas 2022. This latest edition of the best-selling advent calendar donates £1 to each of the 24 amazing charities; local, national and international.

With a stunning aesthetic and a delightfully muted colour palette, this premium advent calendar, which is entirely plastic-free, helps to give more with just one purchase. 

It's ideal for gifting to a friend, or bringing the family together back through giving, your purchase will support wonderful charities such as 52 Lives, the Cavell Nurses' Trust, PDSA, Willow and the National Autistic Society.

The Premium Advent Calendar is available online at adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners  

Advent Calendar

£17.95 from adventofchange.com      

Perfect for gifting or displaying proudly on your mantlepiece, this advent calendar donates 50p each day to one of 24 charities doing incredible work at home and around the world.

Daily charitable donations make opening your advent calendar on winter mornings even more special. Look forward to waking up and discovering how your donations have supported the vital work of organisations such as BBC Children In Need, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Tommy’s, Self Help Africa and animal charity PDSA.

The Advent Calendar is available online at adventofchange.com

Children’s Advent Calendar

£17.95 from adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners  

With child-friendly wording and family-focused charities, this children’s advent calendar features a fun, colourful design and is completely plastic-free. Entertain your little ones with the enjoyable game of finding Santa’s lost decorations when opening the advent doors, helping the whole family get in to the Christmas spirit whilst showing the importance of giving back.

With 50p donations to each of the 24 incredible family-friendly charities who showcase a broad range of issues, this calendar is the perfect choice for schools and young families, donating to causes such as Big Change, Made By Dyslexia, Think Equal, City Harvest and World Bicycle Relief.

The Children’s Advent Calendar is available online at adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners.

Other alternative advent products in the range for 2022…

Christmas Crackers

£25.95 from adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners  

Advent of Change’s most requested product for 2021 is back with a bang – these Christmas crackers really bring charity to the table, donating £2 per cracker to six wonderful charities. Pull the cracker and find out how your donation has helped those in need and read the side-splitting joke provided by celebrities such as Lorraine Kelly, Harry Hill and Joanna Lumley. Not forgetting the all-important paper hat to make your charity Christmas cracker experience complete.

Advent of Change’s commitment to sustainability means the crackers are all fully recyclable or compostable, plastic-free and designed to minimise waste and impact on the environment. Charities supported by the crackers include ABF The Soldiers' Charity, Baby Lifeline, FoodCycle, Marie Curie and Willow.

The Christmas Crackers are available in two colour schemes online at adventofchange.com

Charity Glass Bauble

£11.95 from adventofchange.com, John Lewis and Partners and Waitrose

New for 2022, this beautiful glass charity bauble features an intricate star design with 10 distinctive shapes. Each one represents a charity supported by the purchase, and the corresponding charity and impact can be found on the packaging.

Each decoration represents a donation of 50p to each of the wonderful 10 charities, including Equally Ours, the Marine Conservation Society, National Autistic Society, The Listening Place and Toybox. The elegant design means the decoration can be kept for years to come as a beautiful reminder of your goodwill in the 2022 festive period.

The Tree Decorations are available online at adventofchange.com, John Lewis and Partners and Waitrose.  

Advent Candle

£24.95 from adventofchange.com and John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose

An innovative twist on the classic advent candle, the Advent of Change version brings a charitable donation to every day of the festive countdown. The premium candle features countdown numbers and a booklet accompaniment to outline exactly what your donation has achieved, with a donation every day supporting 24 charities. Although perfect for the festive countdown, the candle has a chic and elegant design that works all year round, creating the perfect centre piece for your table or mantlepiece

From helping to protect wild animals and their natural habitats, to providing special days to terminally ill young people, each of the 24 charities has been researched and chosen specifically for its incredible contribution to making the world a better place. For those looking to support multiple charities with one purchase, the Advent of Change candle is the perfect gift.

Made from 100 per cent natural wax with no parabens. Manufactured in the UK from raw materials, not tested on animals.

Scented Candle

£24.95 from adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners  

Designed as the perfect gift to keep the Advent of Change giving spirit alive well into the festive period and beyond.

As your advent candle, scented with notes of eucalyptus and lime, burns down, it will reveal 12 stars, each of which represents a different charity. A miniature booklet accompanies the candle to offer details of the different charities and the amazing work they do in communities throughout the UK and worldwide.

The perfect gift for those who are always putting others first, the candle provides an 80p donation to each of the 12 different charities including Excellent Development, Groundswell, Pathway Project, Shivia and Surfers Against Sewage.

Made from 100 per cent natural wax with no parabens, the candle is manufactured in the UK from raw materials and not tested on animals.

The Scented Candle is available online at adventofchange.com and John Lewis and Partners.