Saturday 10 December 2016
That's Books and Entertainment: Living With the Leopard
That's Books and Entertainment: Living With the Leopard: Living With the Leopard is the latest novel from author Maggie Allder. It is the follow on novel to Courting Rendition. It relates the...
Greenwich Meantime Brewery. A must have for Christmas
There is something for every type of beer drinker and even the person who tells you: "Well, I don't normally drink beer, but I am more than willing to try some, now. What would you suggest?"
Myself, as a beer drinker of several years standing, would advise that you let them sample tastes of the entire range of the very different yet equally well brewed beers from the Greenwich Meantime Brewery range.
Though they may well prefer the Greenwich Meantime Pale Ale, often a good starting point with its lighter yet full bodied flavour with the distinct hoppy hit that one gets with this ale.
However, having said that, they may well take a shine to the London Porter (this is a very good re-creation of the type of London Porter beer that the hardworking Porters of old London Town would drink, as they needed something with taste, body and a goodly level of alcohol after a long day's hard graft) plus the Chocolate Porter.
Many so-called chocolate porter style beers do not, actually, have any chocolate in them at all.
But the Greenwich Meantime Brewery is very different. For during the maturation process they add real chocolate to the beer. Can you tell the difference? Yes, you can. So if your ideal drink would be beer with some chocolate, put the chocolate bar down and just give all of your concentration to drinking your Greenwich Meantime Chocolate Porter!
Beers in the range include: London Lager, Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, London Porter, Chocolate Porter, Yakima Red and Wheat Beer.
There are also some special limited edition beers that are available on draught only through selected outlets and there are a series of special pilot brews, details of which you can find at their website https://www.meantimebrewing.com.
You can buy direct or through a variety of supermarkets and specialist retailers throughout the country and through a number of better bars, clubs and pubs.
By the way, here's a word to the wise. Always buy more than you think you should, because once that person who doesn't normally drink beer finds out how much they love the beers from the Greenwich Meantime Brewery, you could find yourself running out of beer! And you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
Have Duerr's Marmalade for Christmas
But there's so much more to Duerr's than that!
When you make your mince pies, why not try replacing a third of the mincemeat mixture with whichever type of Duerr's Marmalade tickles your fancy?
Or why not make several batches of homemade mince pies with the different types of Duerr's Marmalade in each different batch?
They are certain to be a sure-fire winner with your family and guests over the Christmas season!
Or why not be even more experimental? Why not try making a batch of mince pies without any of the traditional mincemeat mixture at all? Why not make some Duerr's Marmalade pies, too?
How's that for a different festive treat for everyone? Because not everyone likes mince pies, surprising though this might be!
You will find that Duerr's Marmalades are so versatile that you can add some to home baked Christmas cakes, or, and this will really make for a different, yet utterly delicious Christmas pudding, as well as putting in a good few glugs of Scotch Whisky into your Christmas pudding mixture, why not add a good few dollops of Duerr's Marmalade?
Talk about a winning combination! The best of Scotland and the best of Manchester in a Christmas pudding recipe that would be hard to beat for moisture, texture and taste!
For a whole host of recipes -some festive, some not- please visit https://duerrs.co.uk/recipes/.
And to learn more about this fantastic family business, please visit https://duerrs.co.uk/.
You can also buy Duerr's at your local Tesco branch or as part of your online order.
Monday 5 December 2016
The Inventing Tubes
She has created an amazing collection of characters aimed at children aged 4 to 7 years of age, the Pasta Kidz and Petz Adventures.
The Kid -all pasta themed!- are all drawn by talent illustrator Julien Bray.
Children will meet Sarah Spaghetti, Rikki Ravioli and Camilla Cannelloni.
They'll also be introduced to their amazing petz, there's Mumbo the Macaroni Dog, Spud the Spaghetti Horse and Val, the Vermicelli Snake!
The characters get themselves into all kinds of weird adventures and often have to rely on unusual magical objects to help them. But! These magical objects often seem to have a life of their own!
Although the books will be aimed at being great fun for their readers, there are also some serious messages that underlie them. They show how kidz have their own unique, different personalities and how they help each other.
The first book, The Inventing Tubes, is to be the first of 40 books in the series and it tells the story of how Sarah and Marc Macaroni try their hand at inventing some fun objects. However, all they succeed at doing is creating a very grumpy PastaBall?
This is a wonderful story which is an ideal present for all boys and girls of ages 4 to 7 and their parents and grandparents, too!
It is published by Matador at £4.99 and it should be on your list of "must have "stocking fillers, which you'll be able to buy from our own gift and book shop, here >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
Dead End
(You may well have read his previous novel The London Sniper, published last year. It's still available.)
Dead End deals with the life and troubles of Matthew Crawford.
At 17 years of age, Matthew Crawford fathered a child, a daughter, and he never saw her even once.
Later in his life he marries and it is when he is doing the dutiful father of the bride shtick (the much rehearsed speech, which includes the highs and lows of his life, including the tragic and all too early death of his beloved wife, Rachel, plus a number of other anecdotes of family life, some serious, some amusing.
But it is this event,this in which he had to start thinking of his past in order to write his traditionally expected father of the bride speech, which sets him thinking more deeply about the rest of his life.
So it is that after 30 years Matthew decides to make a serious effort to trace his long lost other daughter, Sophie.
But when he does locate her the situation in which he finds her are far from auspicious, for she is in desperate trouble in southern Spain. Naturally he steps in to rescue her.
But it is then that their troubles really start, as someone decides to take out a retribution on Sophie.
An intriguing, yet unsettling novel, it will make an excellent Christmas present for lovers of hard, gritty crime novels and fans of his first novel.
It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and is available for sale from our own book and gift shop along with thousands of other books and Christmas gifts, over here >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
Hoping for the Best
The subtitle is "Three months in the life of a twin plus one mummy."
Sarah Berryman is my kind of writer. Anyone who quotes Maya Angelou as a major influence on her life really does deserve to have their voice heard!
Early on in her book Sarah uses a quote from Maya Angelou that, pretty much, sets the tone for the rest of the book: Ms Angelou wrote that she was: "hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between." This quote is taken from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", read by Sarah when she was 16 years of age.
Sarah reveals that she has “real children”. On page 1 we learn "They did not sleep through from day one. They did not master baby-led weaning. They have all had the norovirus, chicken pox and two of the three have had nits. They have bitten and been bitten. One has a hearing aid, one wears splints at night to stop him walking on tip toes and one has a speech delay. They play a little, bicker a lot, and are friends and enemies in equal measure."
Partly written in diary format the book is an amazing combination of diary, guidebook, prayer book (of a sort) and a ready antidote to all of the books written by super mummies who have perfect babies and live in Hampstead or some other such leafy location!
In a way one might describe it as if someone had written a modern day version of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, but called it The Art of Parenting, instead. When you read the sections that deal with the continuing battles with what one might describe as "authority figures" you will, I feel, understand why I formed the opinion that the book is, at least in part, a cunningly disguised guerilla warfare for parents handbook!
In part it's a serious book that deals with some very serious issues, but the 1 million candlepower humour and wit of Sarah Berryman keeps on shining through. As part 1 starts with: "Hoping for the Best" "Try to be a rainbow to someone's cloud" I think you will see what I mean.
The book is a substantial read at 412 pages and is published by Matador at £11.99 and you can order it at our vewry own gift and book shop which you'll find over here >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
It is the perfect Christmas gift for any mother, father or grandparent.
I certainly hope this is not the only book that Sarah Berryman will be writing. I feel that she could have a glittering career as an author.
Specsavers for Christmas?
This set me thinking. Wouldn't this be an ideal gift for the person who was shortsighted, farsighted or who had some other vision problem that could be corrected by spectacles or contact lenses?
All you have to do to learn more is to go to https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/full-store-list to find out where your nearest local branch is located.
Or you can order them now -any amount from £1 to £250- at
https://giftvouchers.specsavers.co.uk/giftvouchers.co.uk/index.html.
The gift vouchers are valid for 2 year.
And if you have a housebound relation or friend who needs to see an optician, they might be able to use the gift voucher you give them this Christmas to pay toward the cost of the Specsavers' Home Visit Scheme, where Specsavers' qualified opticians actually make home visits. Specsavers are one of the few -if only- High Street opticians that offers a home visit service.
You can learn more about this scheme by visiting https://www.specsavers.co.uk/home-eye-tests/eligibility.
To learn more about the Specsaver branches in other parts of the world visit www.specsavers.com.
Gift voucher offers will vary from country-to-country, so please check for availability and validity where you live.
Check your Christmas foods to ensure they will be within date for Christmas
This is because some poor souls have been caught out by ridiculously short dates on their Christmas foods.
For example we have seen examples of mince pies and Christmas cakes and some other special festive foodstuffs with use by or best before dates up to two weeks before Christmas!
This is quite obviously ridiculous as it could mean that a family will find out that over Christmas that the foods they wanted to eat were either not as fresh as they should be, totally stale or even no longer fit to eat.
So they could end up with a very limited spread over Christmas, with all the shops closed, meaning that they would be unable to obtain replacement supplies.
What That's Christmas is suggesting is that if you have any shop bought Chirstmas foods, treats or confectionaries that you check the use by date or the best before date on them all as soon as you can.
If there are any that have a best before or a use by date that is earlier that the Christmas period, then you should eat them before the date/s concerned and look to go to the shops this week to replace what you need to replace.
Please do forward this item to your friends and family members to make sure that everyone you know can check their Christmas food supplies well before Christmas.
Sunday 4 December 2016
Death in Winter
It's just four days until Christmas Day and there's a good covering of snow on the ground, and the villages and small towns of rural Lancashire are abundant in Christmastime good cheer and bonhomie.
Inspector Steve Carmichael is really looking forward to a rarity for a detective of his standing and experience in the force, a long and very indulgent break over the Christmas period in his own home, surrounded by his own family.
But there's the little -or not so little- incident which involved a woman who mysteriously disappeared after boarding a train home.
This has the unfortunate effect of totally ruining his plans for a traditional Christmas.
But this still leaves Inspector Carmichael and his equally dedicated team of police officers with a real conundrum to solve. What on earth has happened to Hayley Bell?
Interviews with her husband -is he really as eccentric as he appears?- and with her friends (or her "so-called" friends) seem to be less than helpful, as they start to dig through the facts and sift through what evidence they can find.
So... what really happened to Hayley Bell? Inspector Carmichael begins to form the impression that all is not quite what it seems in this case. And he is never wrong and never misses his mark.
Though readers will be kept guessing right through to the end of this intricately plotted crime novel.
If you have a crime novel fan you need to buy a Christmas present for, then you seriously do need to buy them this novel!
It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.
You can purchase it via our very own online bookshop (it's powered by Amazon) and you will find the bookshop here >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
James and the Amazing Gift
It is debut children's picture book by author and polymath Nicola J. Rowley.
It tells the story of a little boy called James. And James has an amazing gift. He doesn't just like ot smile, he absolutely loves to smile!
From the moment he was born, people realised that James was a very special little boy. For he loved to smile all the time. And he was happy all of the time.
And he had an even more special gift. He could make other people smile, too!
And as he grew older, he used his amazing gift to help other people to feel happier and to smile, too.
Actually as I am writing this book review, I am smiling, too, so James' amazing gift does work!
Please do buy this beautifully illustrated children's book.
It is published by Matador and costs £7.99.
You can buy it here at our very own gift and bookshop >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
You can also purchase it here http://amzn.to/2gW9olM.
Please do note that every copy of this book that is bought and put into a Christmas stocking this Christmas will result in money being donated to a very important charity, called Contact The Elderly, it is a UK-based charity that aims to stop loneliness amongst older people.
Beyond All Doubt
Intrigued by the recent advances in the uses of DNA in the solving of crimes and several cases where a previous conviction has been overturned by the re-analysis of DNA samples with the use of new and advanced techniques, Paige Elizabeth Turner has been inspired to write her debut crime thriller set within this very arena.
The body of Juanita Morale's is discovered in the River avon in the small English market town of Evesham. This was after she took a late afternoon river cruise on the boat of river cruise operator Barry Simmons who is suspected of having murdered her.
There's a lot of gossip about her death and Trevor, her fiance, decides to launch his own investigation to try to get to the bottom of what actually happened to Juanita.
But is Trevor really all that he seems? Is he as pure as he wants the other residents of Evesham to think? Perhaps he isn't.
Other bodies start to appear and when a journalist working on the local paper the Evesham Record who was investigating Juanita's murder is, herself, found murdered in her car, people began to question if there is a link between the killings.
DI Marchant and DS Olivia Watts are investigating the murders and despite the extreme misgivings of DS Watt, DI Marchant arrests Barry Simmons and charges him with murder.
During the subsequent trial CPS lawyer Godfrey Postlewaite presents a compelling case, yet defence barrister Belinda Pace gives as good as she gets.
But which one of them is right? Who is the murderer of Juanita Morales? And is her murder really related to the other deaths?
This is a remarkable debut novel published by Mastador and it will make a super Christmas present for the crime thriller fan in your clan. And at £8.99, it's a real snip.
You can purchase it here at our very own book and gift shop >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
The Great Wizard Wars
It's an exciting story about the battle between good and not so good (well, bad, really!) wizards.
Many, many years previously, there had been a terrible wizarding war, which had caused untold misery until eventually, common sense had prevailed and a binding truce had been signed.
Now, modern witches and wizards are going about their professional, yet extraordinary, lives in a peaceful and peaceable manner, keeping themselves hidden from the rest of humanity.
However, the ancient truce has been smashed in two and a Dark Army of witches and wizards with evil and mayhem on their minds has arisen and it is their avowed aim to destroy the descendants of their foes, the good witches and wizards of long, long ago.
Well, that was the plan. The reality is a good deal more comical than you might presume. For the evil witches and wizards are backward and despicable and they launch their attacks on the modern, peaceable witches and wizards with magical weapons that or just so out of date, it's unbelievable!
They also have control over some remarkable scary mystical creatures who they can employ to do their evil bidding! But not really! For the mystical creatures all have mystical minds of their own and which are completely out of the control of the bad witches and wizards!
The bad witches and wizards also cannot decide who should be their leaders, so they begin fighting amongst themselves in a truly mind-blowing way!
Four heroic young witches and wizards find themselves in dangerous situations as they fight off the evil hoards, yet a curious twist of fate forces them to participate in a very unforeseen showdown.
It's a wild and very interesting read -I think you'll like Gnashers the giant talking snake- and it will be a welcome addition to the Christmas stockings of many a young boy and girl this Chirstmas.
It's published by Matador at £6.99 and is available for purchase at our very own gift and bookshop which you will find here >>> https://goo.gl/qPctIy.
Georgina A song of youth
It relates the story of Georgina, who is an extraordinary woman.
She is somewhat stifled at home. Her mother is overprotective and her father is demanding and very ambitious.
So, what is Georgina (Gina, or Georgy as she is more usually known to all save for her poor mother) supposed to do?
Simple! She runs away from home and finds herself living in France.
But as with much in life, that might, actually, mean leaving one set of problems and finding them replaced with an entirely different set of problems.
For Gina's story is set in the late 195os, when times were somewhat different and the life of a very young woman living by herself in a very foreign foreign country might prove, to put it diplomatically, a little problematic?
However, Gina does have one advantage over many of her contemporaries, in that she is exceptionally beautiful and is able to take up a career as a model. So long as she can evade the clutches of predatory males who mean her no good whatsoever!
But Gina manages not only to evade the lotharios, she even prospers and becomes a hugely successful woman in her own right becoming very rich in the process and carving out a life for herself which also included long lasting happiness.
It's an interesting novel, which allows you to share the life of an very remarkable woman and the friends which she shares her life with.
And yes, it will make a very good Christmas gift and you can purchase it here at our very own book and gift shop >>> https://goo.gl/apr0hq.
It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99.
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