Review: Barclaycard’s amazing May deals
So do you have a credit card? Not being fantastic with money, I’ve always resisted. But with the better weather on the way, we’re all tempted to splash out – maybe on a few new summery bits for the wardrobe, or even a nice holiday to grab some guaranteed warmer weather.
Barclaycard have announced a nice range of new offers. And as I don’t currently own a credit card, I was tempted by the offer for new customers of 0% interest on all purchases for the first three months: a perfect way to afford that holiday, and an incentive to pay it off as quickly as I can too, thus making it a nice easy introduction to owning plastic. The card has an APR of 29.9% (5 percentage points lower than the current Capital One Classic) and new cardholders will be offered a manageable starting credit limit as well as text and email alerts to help them manage their account. Not so scary after all, then?
If you’ve already got a credit card, there are some other offers that might suit you better, such as
· 22 month 0% balance transfer with £30 off the transfer fee (for transfers over £2,500)
· 15 months 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers
· Low fee (1.6%) balance transfer for 17 months
David Chan, chief executive of Barclaycard Consumer Europe said:
“We’re very excited to be offering even better value and such a huge amount of choice to new customers; from those wanting to manage their money better, to those who are seeking to build a credit history.”
If you want to take advantage of the deals, you’ll have to move fast, though. The improved deals will close to applications at midnight on 31st May 2012.
To find out more and for full details of cards and to apply online, just click here.
Review: Getting Personal with personalised presents
So with both the Death Wish Dude’s birthday and the Mad Prof’s coming up in quick succession, I was rather pleased when the chaps at gettingpersonal.co.uk asked me if I’d review their lovely website. Here are my top picks for personalised presents that are fabulous pressies for boys:
First up for the Death Wish Dude, chocoholic extraordinaire, I thought this personalised chocolate bar would be spot on:
You can’t beat a bit of chocky on your birthday, and chocky with your name on turns it into something special. He’ll love this.
Next, I thought that the photo phone covers were really cool. I was thinking that I’d suprise him by turning one of his action ‘seconds away from death’ photos into a cover for his iPhone.. maybe this one?
And now for the Prof… he loves a bit of Top Gear, so a poster revealing that he’s really The Stig would go down well:
… and this personalised superhero mug would make that morning cuppa extra special:
Oh and finally… I know this was supposed to be about the boys, but if anyone’s thinking of buying me a pressie, I’d LOVE this gorgeous slate cheeseboard:
My verdict, then? A nice looking, easy to navigate site with tons of ideas for pressies for all ages. Delivery is cheap (£2.99 and free for orders over £30.00) and checkout is quick and efficient. Highly recommended.
The February roundup: this month I have been loving…
I love all their personalised gifts, LOVE the fact that they have a whole section of ethical gift ideas, and also love love love the fabulous memo board they sent me, which now takes pride of place in my office and is practical as well as beautiful.
Still on my WANT list is the wall mounted herb rack and all the lovely gardening bits and bobs (I’m determined to have beautiful, scented pots on my patio this summer).
The Death Wish Dude and English Dad are both addicted to coffee. They adore our Tassimo machine, but we try to keep it for special treats, as ten or more cups of coffee a day start to become very expensive! The DWD pronounced that this new Carte Noire coffee is ‘as good as filter’, which is a pretty hefty claim. It certainly smells nice (I’m more a coffee in cake person).
On a purely practical level, I also like that they do the coffee in packs as well as tins… I like to use my own containers and I think the move towards less packaging is great. Thanks to the lovely chaps at Carte Noire for sending us this.
Next up is albelli.co.uk who have all sorts of fab products for photos. They offered to put one of my favourite photos in a frame, and I chose this lovely Dubai beach shot that I’ve used as a background on Travelling And Arriving.
It’s finished in a shiny acetate and already has the fixings to hang on the wall attached (as well as some little rubber ‘feet’ that means it hangs level on the wall).
I absolutely love it. It takes pride of place in my office and every glance transports me back to that sweltering beach.
Yup, I know what you’re all thinking, they’re Uggs. And yes, they really are, as it turns out that ugg is not just a brand name, but an actual type of boot. Whooga make uggs with gorgeously thick sheepskin in a nice range of colours and styles and offered me a pair to try (and compare to my beloved Uggs). I chose a pair of short, black ones and they’re so deliciously comfy (you wear them with bare feet, and no, they don’t get stinky because the thick fleece allows lots of air to circulate – they don’t get ridiculously hot either) that they’re rarely off my tootsies. The care tips are really helpful and when disaster struck and I whooshed an entire bucketload of water and Milton fluid (I was whitening pilot shirts if you must know) over them, I had no choice but to rinse them. Dried carefully, stuffed with lightly scrunched newspaper, they were as good as new. I was impressed. I’ve since treated them with some suede protector, just in case.
This lovely planner came from Personal Planner. They’ve sorted it so that it starts from Feb 2012 and it’s even got my name written on the front! Inside it’s just as pretty and it’s got a week to a page with plenty of room to write appointments. There’s also little squares for ideas, notes and things to do.
When you order one you get to pick your own colours, text and picture for the covers too.
I’ve got a gift card to give away for a personal planner. If you’d like to win it, just mention it in the comments.
I’m a massive Soreen fan and they sent me some of their fabulous new snackage: first up is the new Malt Toastie Loaf, which is already sliced, meaning that you don’t squish it while you’re slicing – a Soreen hazard (of the best kind. It’s still really low fat and is fab for breakfast, priced at £1.39 for a loaf.
And then there’s the little snacky packets of loveliness that are the 5 packs of Malt Snackers and Fruity Five Snackers – little individual packs of slices of either the traditional Soreen Malt Loaf, or their ‘Fruity Five’ loaf which has all sorts of raisins, cherries, orange and stuff in. Both yummers but I’m afraid I’m a traditionalist. The Soreen Snackers are exclusive to Asda, selling at £1.28 for a pack of five.
And finally, I have to give a massive big up to the fabulous chaps at Polaroid, who, on hearing that the poor Death Wish Dude had squished his cool shades and broken the arm off them, sent him a fabulously cool new pair. Check out these bad boys (they’re called Horizon):
Even better, they sent me a pair too, so both of us are going to look ‘hawt’ all summer long.
Thanks guys, you absolutely rock!
Review: The Village Gate, Wendover, Bucks
We’ve had a bit of an up and down relationship with the Village Gate. We went there en famille (and we’re a grande famille, trust me) for my Mum’s birthday last year and had an excellent time. The place is absolutely gorgeous: a typical village pub revamped in a really clever, stylish way. The menu was great – creative and varied, the service fast and friendly and the food was as good as the menu promised.
So when we got an email through offering a table on New Year’s Eve for £30 a head we jumped at the chance and booked. The whole evening was a bit of disappointment, to be honest. Even though the restaurant was relatively quiet it took 45 minutes for our starters to come out (by which time we’d already finished one bottle of wine and frankly, were a bit past caring about the food), and then waited nearly as long for mains which were a bit disappointing. My sea bass was okay, but the tiny portion was full of bones and the crab crust made it difficult to catch them before you put them in your mouth, resulting in a bit of embarrassing hiding behind the napkin and fishing them out.
The desserts were disappointing too and to add insult to injury, we were charged £35 a head, not the promised £30. I emailed several times afterwards but never received a response.
But then, just when we’d given up hope, a new General Manager appeared on the scene. He’d read our email, he said, and would we please come back for a meal ‘on the house’ so he could show us what the restaurant could really do? ’Too right’, we said, leaping at the chance in an ungainly fashion.
And I’m happy to report that John (who is lovely, and very passionate about his food) has totally turned the place around. For one, it was packed (always a good sign), not just with diners but with people just in for a drink, giving the place a delightful background burble of happy conversation and chinking glasses. The menu is still fabulous – the Death Wish Dude and his dad were delighted to discover that the whitebait was still on the menu – and I was happy to see that John tries hard to source a lot of his produce locally (obviously not the whitebait, unless they came from the Grand Union Canal…). They also have creative gluten-free options.
My starter of bubble and squeak was topped with a perfectly poached egg and some delicious crispy pancetta, and was smothered in creamy hollandaise. It was absolutely massive, but that didn’t stop me polishing off the whole thing. The whitebait, I am assured, was delicious too.
For our mains, the Death Wish Dude and English Dad went for 28 day dry-aged Aberdeen Angus sirloin steaks which were cooked perfectly to order and were melt-in-the-mouth tender. The Prof went for beer-battered North Sea haddock, generously served with nice fat chips and a creamy pea and mint purée. All yummy. I went for the slow-roasted pork belly with a sweet potato dauphinoise, parsnip crisps and apple sauce. It was absolutely delicious, with tender flesh that pulled away in gorgeous flakes and an amazingly crisp crackling. Top drawer.
We were really a bit stuffed for the desserts, but the boys managed to force down a few of the ice cream flavours. All in all, we were delighted, and although we only paid for the drinks, we agreed that we would happily have paid for the whole lot. The service was friendly and attentive and John was around to give advice on the compact but very interesting wine list. We’ll definitely be back. Maybe even en famille. Brace yourself, John.
The Village Gate is in the beautiful Chiltern village of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. If you pop in, tell them English Mum sent you. Thanks to John and his staff.
Review: Bread Revolution by Duncan Glendinning and Patrick Ryan
There’s an awful lot of hype surrounding bread at the moment, what with the ‘Fabulous Baker Brothers’, Henry and Tom Herbert’s recent TV show (and the shock news that one of their loaves sells for over twelve quid – I kid you not – over £20 if you want it couriered), and lots of people reverting to the more traditional kitchen skills of baking their own bread, making butter, etc.
I do make my own bread, but it tends to be a batch of sticky iced buns if I’m feeling like a baking session, or an easy Irish soda bread on a Sunday morning, so when I was asked to review Bread Revolution I was really interested.
Duncan and Patrick own The Thoughtful Bread Company in Bath and really want to encourage us all to bake (or at least buy) proper bread. There are all sorts of wonderful recipes (don’t miss the Cider and Apple Bread), and great step-by-step guides to mixing, kneading, shaping, etc, plus loads of interesting stuff about ingredients. The one that fascinated me, though, was the sourdough. Basically, you make a sourdough ‘starter’, which ferments and becomes your very own living, breathing yeasty friend who lives in the fridge.
Ours was called Fluffy (someone on Twitter told me to give it a name – apparently this helps you ‘bond’). It’s relatively easy to make (a mix of live yogurt, skimmed milk and bread flour), but you do have to remember to feed it, otherwise it dies. We had a little wobble when I opened up mine to find mould all up the side of the tub, but I managed to rescue it, and with a new, sterilised pot, Fluffy thrived. The boys (find them on Twitter @thoughtfulbread) were really helpful, and shared my immense pleasure and pride when my very first sourdough loaf came out of the oven.
Seriously, I don’t think there are many things quite as satisfying as baking your own bread, and having Fluffy in the fridge ready to go whenever I want to bake makes me more determined than ever to keep going. That, and the chewy-crusted, soft-doughed gorgeousness that is a fresh-from-the-oven sourdough loaf.
What a wonderful book.
Bread Revolution
Review: Cartmel Village Shop Puddings
I get sent quite a few things, and generally my neighbours are very good at taking parcels in for me if I’m not around. The agreement is reciprocal and often sweetened by the odd freebie here and there. Today, though, when I dropped round to my neighbour, clutching my ‘your parcel has been left at number 2′ card, he seemed rather reluctant to hand over the parcel.
This may have had something to do with the fact that my parcel was labelled ‘Cartmel Village Shop Puddings’, and contained not only one of their famous Sticky Toffee Puddings, but a rather promising looking Sticky Toffee Apple Crumble too. All this pudding love is, in fact, dearest reader, because I’ve been invited to join the Cartmel Village People Pudding Panel. Not an easy title to pronounce, admittedly, but I’ll suffer it because, well, the hours are good and the remuneration is paid in pud!
On to the task at hand then:
The crumble was easy to bake (just stick it in the oven for 20 minutes) and first impressions were pretty good – the crumble topping was a golden brown with sticky toffee sauce bubbling up at the sides.
There followed a ten minute family debate on whether crumbles should be more fruit or more topping. I obviously won the argument (I favour more crumble than fruit) and I’d say the ratio of this particular crumble was just about right. Digging in, we found nice little chunks of apple coated in lovely sticky toffee sauce. The apple had a really appealing tart edge to the flavour, meaning that the whole dish wasn’t overly sweet, plus the crumble was nice and crisp on top, with the added bite of some oats, if I’m not mistaken.
The packaging says that it serves four to five people, but if you’re a greedy family, I’d say more four than five!
Our verdict: yum.
Next up, apparently is Lemon Drizzle. I’ll be watching our neighbours very closely.
For more information, click on cartmelvillageshop.co.uk
Review: Vax Voice consumer testing: the Vax Air Total Home cylinder cleaner
So as you’ll know if you read the last review, I’m part of the Vax Voice team. Basically I get to try out Vax products and give honest feedback about them. This time I let English Grandma have a go (I was going to tell her it was her Christmas present, but she’d already read about me being a Vax Voice reviewer – dammit).
Grandma got to try out the new Vax Air Total Home cylinder cleaner (model number: C89-MA-T). Over to Grandma, then:
Opening the box proved rather daunting as I was faced with numerous, [11 in all], parts and attachments, and feared my lack of assembling skills would hinder using the machine!
However, most of the packets turned out to be attachments [hard floor brush, crevice, dusting and upholstery tools etc] and the vacuum cleaner itself only needed minimal assembly – I have to say I haven’t yet tried out all the extras. It is a bagless cylinder model, light and simple to use, easily cleared of blockages, with a separate little compartment to catch the occasional coin or child’s game part lost under the bed or sofa!
The Vax Mach Air was an immediate success on my carpets – the dirt container was soon full of pet hair from my, as I thought, reasonably clean sitting room carpet, and it gave me great satisfaction to empty [and re-fill!] it twice more on going through the house. Now I do know my dog is extra hairy and seems to moult all year round, but I am now confident that I can make my carpets practically hair free with the new machine, which obviously they hadn’t been before.
It stores compactly too, with a ‘parking slot’ to keep the extension tube tidily in place when the cleaner is not in use.
And English Grandma’s verdict?
Much recommended, and I will try out some of the attachments in the future.
Big thanks for Vax for providing the machine for review, and a big, mahoosive snog for our tester, English Grandma xx
For more information, check out www.weloveclean.co.uk and www.vax.co.uk.
Review: hellofresh.co.uk
Did you watch the Sport Relief version of the Great British Bakeoff? I was actually quite struck by how, if you don’t cook much, it’s actually quite difficult to get your head around it (case in point: Arlene Phillips not knowing that you had to line a pastry-filled tart tin before pouring in the baking beans). The same goes for healthy eating, really – if you want to move away from chucking a pizza in the oven when you get home from work, but have no clue how to do it, where on earth do you start?
This thought occurred to me again when I was approached by hellofresh.co.uk. They offer a delivery service with a difference – they basically deliver all the ingredients PLUS a recipe that’s easy to follow, taking all the hard work and guess work out of it. I was quite impressed. Tell me more, I said to Caitlin.
So first you pop to their website – tell them how many there are in the household and choose how many meals you want, and they do the rest. They do all the shopping, and it appears at your door on a Monday evening between 5 and 9pm with recipes, all ready to go. All the meals area easy to do and take under 30 minutes to prepare, with no fancy schmancy cheffy tools required.
The sample recipe was, I have to say, very impressive: a chicken breast with creamy rocket risotto and tomatoes for 2 people:
My top ten gorgeous books for under the tree
I think cookbooks are sometimes overlooked as Christmas presents. Maybe it’s the ‘domestic’ element of it? I’m not sure. I remember when the brevren were small, English Dad bought me a breadmaker for Christmas. At the time I was devastated and offended and saw it as insulting that he’d bought me something so ‘homey’ and boring. I don’t know what was the matter with me – I’d love it if he got me one now!! Anyway, if you’ve got a food lover in your life, here’s my top ten of some of the more recent books that have been released. I’ve reviewed some of them before, and have provided links to my reviews. I’ve also given you links for books on the WHSmith website where I can.
Allegra McEvedy’s Bought Borrowed and Stolen has become one of my absolute favourite cookbooks. I’ve reviewed it here so you can read all about it. A beautiful travel/cookery book written in a no nonsense style that is truly unique.
Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet - a perfect pressie for anyone who loves to bake. Dan’s friendly nature (he’s lovely on Twitter – look him up) comes across really well in this chunky book full of sweet treats. I know I’m probably silly, but how a book looks and feels is important to me and this one is gorgeous – I love to be able to flick through photos and pick something that takes my fancy. If you’re like me, you’ll adore Dan Lepard.
Jamie’s Great Britain - I’ve LOVED the series on the TV and this book is a really great accompaniment. Not only are there all the recipes from the series but tons more besides. I know Jamie has his critics but I absolutely adore his food – big flavours, creative combinations and no fiddly twiddly bits. The book is split up into nice easy sections – my fave being breakfasts (I’ve had a go at the Yemeni pancakes – they’re delicious) and mmmmm bubble and squeak with a runny egg on top. Heaven.
Donna Hay’s Fast Fresh Simple - Aussie Donna Hay’s book is absolutely gorgeous to look at and the recipes don’t disappoint either. I really like Donna Hay’s no nonsense approach to cooking, and her books reflect it really well. There are some fab shortcuts and inventive ways to get classic recipes on the table in half the time too. I love it.
One Sweet Cookie - Another really lovely looking book (making it perfect to be given as a gift, in my opinion) full of all sorts of yummy baking. The author, Tracey Zabar, herself famous as a jewellery designer, and stylist on Sex and the City, approached some of the most famous chefs in America (which is why you may not recognise some of the names) and asked them for their favourite baking recipes. The result is a treasure trove of amazing recipes.
Silver Spoon - Phaidon have recently published a new edition of this absolute monster of a classic cookbook. It’s got loads of new photographs and a really luscious red cover. Any foodie would be delighted to discover this one under the tree – everything you could possibly need to know about cooking Italian food.
Leith’s Cookery Bible - I was lucky enough to be given one of these after my recent trip to Leith’s. It’s another real weighty tome but it’s got absolutely everything in it – every recipe you can ever imagine co0king is laid out here, clearly and succinctly – I love the wine tasting section too. Really interesting. This would be a great pressie for a serious amateur cook. It really is a bible.
The Great American Cookbook - this one is quirky and fabulous. I adore it as much for the story behind it as for the actual recipes. Back in 1948, Clementine Paddleford set out on an epic journey to travel across the United States seeking out regional recipes, bringing them together in one enormous tome which was published in the 1960s. This reprint has all the spirit of the original and every truly great American recipe will be found nestling in its pages, from Creole cooking to New York cheesecake and Southern fried chicken. A fantastic read and a really great reference for any keen cook.
Next up will be my top ten Christmas books. Happy shopping!
Win a Tassimo coffee machine!
We are, dearest reader, a household divided. Nothing new there, you might think – we’re already divided into the pasta haters vs pasta lovers (that’s us three against English Dad), the creamy sauce lovers vs the creamy sauce haters (yup, that’s us three against English Dad too)… hmmm, there seems to be a pattern emerging.
Anyway, we’re two for two on the tea/coffee debate. I have the largest mug in Christendom (pink Minnie Mouse), which I fill on a fairly regular basis with builder’s tea, liberally topped up with milk. The Mad Prof is a tea lover too, whereas the Death Wish Dude and his Dad are confirmed coffee lovers.
Since we’ve been testing this Tassimo whatnot though, the house has been filled with the delicious smell of coffee, and I’ve even had the odd tongue-scorching, molten lava temperature cup of espresso. I know – not like me at all. It’s like when you really don’t fancy a mince pie, then someone warms one up and you smell it and really want one.
Anyhoo. Digressing. The Tassimo has these little plastic yokes that you pop in and press down on the thingy and then, voila! you get a freshly brewed mug of coffee! No filter papers or coffee grounds or any of that messy stuff. I love it.
Happily, I’ve also got one to give away. Pop over to my Facebook page here and leave me a comment (say hello, say ‘bum’, say whatever you like) on the Tassimo post and you can be entered into the draw. Good luck!
Draw closes Sunday 27th November. No cash alternative. Winner chosen at random.
