Friday, 14 October 2022

Rock N Roll Nanny

Rock N Roll Nanny is an autobiographic book by Sally Arnold. It tells the story of how, in 1972, Sally Arnold took a job as a children's nanny in Paris in 1971. It was a job that was to totally change her life for good.

Why? Because the child she was looking after was Jade Jagger, the daughter of rock star Mick Jagger. 

Soon she finds herself working for the big legends of the rock music industry but not as a nanny. She became the music businesses first woman tour manager.

Readers will learn what it's like to prepare and cook Christmas dinner for Mick Jagger, what it's really like to go clubbing at the famous Tramp nightclub with The Who's drummer Keith Moon. And exactly how can you cope with the wives and girl friends of the entourage of the rock bands?

Eventually Sally finds herself with yet another career change. Organising massive charity events and having to manage and deal with mega stars such as comedians Billy Connolly and Rowan Atkinson.

Sally also worked with the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Diana, foreign dignitaries like Mikhail Gorbachev and even members of the world of poetry the Queen's Poet Laurate, Ted Hughes.

There were potentially difficult incidents with the somewhat salty language of Peter Cook and Mel Smith (what would her father think?) the problems of dealing with the contents of portable toilets, something which nobody really thinks about.

Other matters included arranging Vitamin B12 injections for the boys, her Harley Davidson, the problems of travelling round the world, working with the BBC and the Old Grey Whistle Test and how she coped with her own health issues including requiring chemo therapy. And how people who she should have been able to rely on turned their backs on her when she needed their support the most.

The book is wonderfully illustrated with a wide range of photographs from Sally's collection.

It is published by SilverWood Books www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk at £13.99 and it will make an excellent Christmas present for lovers of memoirs and of those who want to know the inside story of the rock n roll industry from someone who was at the heart of it. 

https://rocknrollnanny.co.uk

Chocolate Bombe Dessert from Cocoba

Cocoba has joined forces with Sophia from Baked by Bon to create an easy but delicious dessert that you can whip up in minutes, which will make an ideal Christmas dessert.

This very delicious and yummy dessert can be made using any of their Hot Chocolate Bombes and they highly recommend serving it with a scoop of ice cream for a truly decadent dessert.

Carefully make a small hole in the bottom of one of the bombes and fill it with other treats like small brownie chunks, honeycomb, or shortbread, before turning it upside down so the hole is on the bottom.




Ingredients (for 1):

- One hot chocolate bombe

- 50g milk chocolate

- 20ml double cream

- Fillings for the bombe (optional)

Method:

1. Melt together the milk chocolate and double cream in the microwave or in a pan on the hob until smooth

2. If you are adding a filling, gently make a small hole in the bottom of one of the bombes and place your fillings inside

3. Plate up the hot chocolate bombe and decorate the plate if you wish

4. Pour over the hot chocolate sauce and watch the bombe melt away to reveal the treats inside!

To learn more please visit https://www.cocobachocolate.com.

Thursday, 13 October 2022

That's Food and Drink: Diwali recipes brought to you by Romy Gill, MBE an...

That's Food and Drink: Diwali recipes brought to you by Romy Gill, MBE an...: Hot and Spicy Whole Roasted Chicken, Whole Roasted Sweet Potato and Leafy Salad Serves 6 Ingredients for roasted chicken 1.5kg of whole chic...

Chimney Fire's delicious Espresso Martini

You'll already be aware that 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. 

You might not be aware that Chimney Fire Coffee has introduced an absolutely delicious coffee Espresso Martini that will make an absolutely delicious addition to your Christmas drinks cabinet.

It is best served chilled, with or without ice. 

I rather like the idea of serving it with fresh, chilled cream! Maybe garnish it with cinnamon and other traditional Christmassy spices? Yum!

Chimney Fire's Espresso Martini is carefully blended with Wry English vodka.

You can order it here https://silentpooldistillers.com/wry-vodka-x-chimney-fire-coffee-espresso-martini.

A 50cc bottle costs £24 and the abv is 20%.

Whilst you are there, why not check out the other Silent Pool Distillers excellent products, all of which look to be great additions to your Christmas drink's cabinet!


Wednesday, 12 October 2022

Gift them the art of repair with Sugru

Fixing is the unsung hero of creativity!

There aren’t many people who haven’t shed a tear or two watching the BBC’s Repair Shop. Restoring the things we love can be joyous, fun and incredibly rewarding, too. 

So why not gift the art of repair this year? Choose from three gorgeous kits that are available at Sugru.com and give them to your nearest and dearest.

Kintsugi Repair Kit in Gold or Silver (£23.99)

Perfectly imperfect and truly unique! That’s the mantra of Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese art of repairing ceramics with visible gold or silver seams. No need to feel sad about a smashed plant pot or cracked tea cup, instead of throwing your broken items away, simply add a touch of magic! You’re able to fix up to 10 items with this amazing kit.



Multicolour Wool Clothing Repair Kit by Woolfiller (£19)

If you’re keen on easy repairs for your threads, look no further than Woolfiller. It's absolutely brilliant for fixing little holes in woollen jumpers (sweaters!), cardigans, jackets, hats, scarves, blankets, carpets, sofas, even car roof linings, in fact, any woollen textiles. 

And just check out how satisfying the felting needle process is here A new solution for an age-old problem, wool-filling is quick, simple and incredibly sustainable. 


Fix & Create Kit by Sugru (£10.99)

The Fix & Create Kit is designed with the repair revolutionary in mind. The friend who is keen to waste less, whilst crafting more. Projects cover everything from repurposing old jars and jewellery, to repairing and adding texture to simple plant pots. Upcycling and improving the things you love!

Best known for its award winning multi-purpose mouldable glue, Sugru has now filled its online shop with equally innovative products designed to inspire people to reimagine their home, garden, clothes and planet in a way that empowers their everyday creativity to beat the throwaway culture. 

Sugru invites you to unlock your imagination and find new ways to  repair, improve, organise, decorate and protect the things you love. Find an ever-growing selection of clever tools, kits, ideas and guides to get you started at Sugru.com  and let the fun begin!

We at That's Christmas are convinced that these presents from Sugru will be talked about with great pleasure for years to come!

Babbingtons Blends are ideal for Christmas gifting

Finding it Hard to Sleep in the pre-Christmas run up? Then you should enjoy sweeter sleep and sweeter dreams with Babingtons Blends.

Herbal teas can act as a brilliant aid to help sooth our bodies and our minds, in particular at bedtime, when our minds can often be racing at speed!

Sweet Dreams is a delicately flavoured floral and 100% natural bedtime herbal tea, prepared by blending chamomile flowers, rose petals, fennel, lemon balm, linden blossom and lavender together in a wonderfully balanced blend.

It's a very relaxing, cleansing herbal tea which also may aid digestion.

Gifts for Tea Lovers

Refreshing, purifying and anti-inflammatory, full of antioxidants & vitamins (A,B and C).

All Babingtons Blends teas are sustainably sourced, hand blended and are 100% natural with no artificial colourings or flavourings.

All packaging is biodegradable, too.

Tea Formats

Pyramids (x 18) from £7.99, Pouches (Loose leaf) from £6.99, Caddies (Loose Leaf) from £11.99, Caddies (Tea Bags) from £12.99.

All of which make excellent Christmas presents for those in your life who appreciate the finer, tastier things in their lives!

Visit Babbingtons Blends here www.babingtonsblends.com to find out what is available and to place your orders.

Butcombe Brewing Co Launches Tall Tales Pale Ale

Butcombe Brewing Co (part of the Liberation Group) has launched its latest snappy offering -  a Pale Ale with real bite. Introducing Tall Tales Pale Ale.

A thoroughly modern, delicious and easy-drinking Pale Ale, Tall Tales, is said to be the boldest beer in the Butcombe family of ales, is a refreshing, fruity and light beer. It's chock full of character with notes of grapefruit, pineapple and citrus. 

What is the origin of the name? The ale is named Tall Tales after the legend of a crocodile believed to have been lurking in Bristol's River Avon at Hotwells. 

The reptile, which prompted a police search but which was never discovered, has been reportedly seen floating beneath the surface of the muddy waters of the River Avon.

Marc McGuigan, who is the Group MD, Brewing & Distribution, of the Liberation Group says: “We're incredibly proud of Tall Tales, one of our biggest flavoured beers to date.  

"It's a vibrant and flavoursome Pale Ale brought smack bang up to date, by our amazing brewing team, for today's beer lover. 

“We were inspired by the tale of Bristol's mythical crocodile when creating Tall Tales. It's important that we keep surprising our customers so what better way to show the innovation and creativity of our award-winning brewery, whilst remaining faithful to our Bristolian heritage, than launching this incredible new beer.  Whether it's true or not doesn't really matter.  Who doesn't love a Tall Tale every now and again?” 

Tall Tales Pale Ale is available in 330ml bottles.

https://butcombe.com/brewery-shop-products/tall-tales-pale-ale

We at That's Christmas feel that Tall Ales Pale Ale will be a very welcome addition to the Christmas drinks cabinet as I absolutely adore a good pale ale with my Christmas dinner! My wife is a confirmed stout drinker, so we love to keep a good variety of beers and ales in stock for our Christmas dining and drinking!