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28 marzo Beijing Olympic flavourFancy a little Olympic spice in the build-up to the Beijing games? Walkers Sensations have just introduced a new flavour to celebrate the event, Szechuan Spice.
Described as a mixture of sweet, sour, aromatic and fragrant, the Asian-inspired crisps taste of ginger, zesty lemongrass and fragrant coriander, with a dash of soy sauce and a warming kick of chilli.
Over in Microsoft Towers our team were happily munching on them all yesterday afternoon, and our Movies Ed, er, Ed described the taste thus: "Like a warm panaroma of exotic flavours rushing across the palet". So there you have it. Szechuan Spice crisps, yours for 43p, are recommended for a taste of the other-worldly. Get 'em, before Lineker chomps the lot.
26 marzo Demi Moore: lovin the leechesFancy looking half your age? Well take a leaf out of Demi Moore's book (and no, we don't mean having £220,000 worth of surgery). Instead we're talking about something all the more traditional, albeit unusual. Yes, Demi has turned to the healing power of leeches to keep her feeling tip top. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites, and the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, which is native to Europe, has been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years. Today they are often deployed in plastic and reconstructive surgery, because the anticoagulant they secrete fights blood clots and restores blood flow to inflamed body parts. Demi told viewers of the David Letterman Show: “I feel like I’ve always been someone looking for the cutting edge of things that optimise your health and healing. I was in Austria doing a cleanse and part of the treatment was leech therapy. These aren’t just swamp leeches though - we are talking about highly trained medical leeches. These are not some low level scavengers - we’re talking high level blood suckers. "They have a little enzyme that when they are biting down in you it gets released in your blood and generally you bleed for quite a bit - and your health is optimised. It detoxifies your blood - I'm feeling very detoxified right now. "I did it in some woman's house lying on her bed. We did a little sampler first, which is in the belly button. It crawls in and you feel it bite down on you and you want to go, 'You b*****d!'. Then you relax and work on your breathing just to kind of relax. "You watch it swell up on your blood, watching it get fatter and fatter - then when it's super drunk on your blood it just kind of rolls over like it's stumbling out of the bar." To aid the detoxing process, Demi explains you have to bathe in turpentine first (natch) and advises shaving: "Leeches don't like hair so if you are hairy be prepared to do some waxing - they much prefer a Brazilian." Fussy little blighters. And now for the science bit - here's how it works: The leech - a carnivorous creature - attaches itself with an anterior (oral) sucker formed from the first six segments of their body. They also release an anesthetic to prevent the host from feeling their presence (how kind), before using acombination of mucus and suction to stay attached and secrete an anti-clotting enzyme into the host's blood stream. After removal or detachment, bleeding may continue for some time, due to the leech's anti-clotting enzyme. (And don't try this at home folks, but the wound should be cleaned with soap and water, and bandaged, if you ever fall victim to a preying leech.)
20 marzo Taken to the cleanersThose clever investigative peeps behind Which? magazine have been conducting an interesting survey. They sent 48 identical skirts to dry cleaners across the UK, each covered with splashes of red wine, dollops of double cream and a dashing of vinaigrette. Stains which experts say are easily removable. Yet shockingly they're investigation found that only four of the skirts were returned to them in an acceptable condition. Thirty-one of the outlets (that's 71 per cent) failed to clean off all of the stains. And nine of the cleaners who did remove the stains successfully managed to shrink or stretch the garments. One skirt lost one and a half inches of its waistband in the cleaning process, making it unwearable. Furthermore four of the dry cleaners didn't press the skirts to an acceptable standard. Which Editor Neil Fowler said: "It's not cheap to get clothes dry cleaned, yet we got shoddy results from the vast majority of the cleaners we tested. Most didn't even own up when they'd failed to properly clean the clothes we'd taken for cleaning - they just kept quiet and charged us anyway. But the industry has vowed to clean up its act after seeing our report - and so it should. All the stains were easily removable when pre-treated with an off-the-shelf kit. Most of the cleaners didn't do this, or didn't do it properly." The Textile Services Association, which many dry cleaners are members of, has pledged to carry out more spot checks following the investigation. 19 marzo Scrumdiddliumptuous chocolatesMmmm... it was another tough day for the Life & Style team yesterday when we were whisked to a Neuhaus chocolate shop, force-fed strawberries dipped in melted dark chocolate (absolutely one of the most scrumptious taste sensations ever) and champagne. Superb.
The reason? We were being given the chance to make our very own Easter Eggs, using professional moulds, techniques and luxury Neuhaus chocolate. Ah yes, gone are the days when we were satisfied with a little number from Woollies. Now, chocolate connoisseurs such as ourselves have gone all upmarket and started creating our own. Well, for one day only at least! Choc facts: did you know? Four pieces of dark chocolate contain as many anti-oxidants as one glass of wine. The consultant surgeon at Liverpool General Hospital recommends dark chocolate to his heart patients. The first cocoa plantation was made in 600AD in South America. In the 1500s the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez was known to consume large quantities of 'Chocolatl' – a chocolate drink - before entering his harem, in the belief that it was an aphrodisiac. The first people to import cocoa beans on a large scale were the Spanish, over in Seville. It was a Frenchman who opened the first chocolate house in 1657, but a Brit, by the name of Dr Joseph Fry of Bristol, who developed a steam engine for grinding cocoa beans and taking it into mass production, in the form of a chocolate bar in the 1800s. He joined forces with the Cadbury brothers in 1849 and the rest, as they say, is choc history.
But for a more sophisticated chocolate experience, it took a Swiss, Jean Neuhaus, to develop the world’s first filled chocolate, the praline, in 1912. Today Neuhaus is the market leader in the luxury praline sector in Belgium and Luxembourg, selling more than 2,400 tons – yes tons – of the stuff worldwide. Chocolate tasting: what to know
If a chocolate crumbles when you bite it, it’s not a good chocolate. It should crack.
You should chew a chocolate just two to three times, before pressing it to the palette and then letting it melt, because that’s when it releases its aromas and fragrances. The darker the chocolate, the longer the after taste. If milk chocolate has an aftertaste, that’s a bad thing, as it could mean it contains too many hydrogenated fats. White chocolate only has cocoa butter in it, not the dark cocoa that gives chocolate its anti-oxidant qualities, so it has a lot more calories. To order scrummy chocs from Neuhaus, or find out more, visit neuhaus-chocolates.com. 18 marzo Get some spring sparkle* If you're crying out for colourful new kit for the spring/summer season, look no further than Mac's new FAFI line. The cool collaboration with modern French graffiti artist, FAFI, includes colourful, vibrant, and girly cosmetics with colours that remind you summer has well and truly arrived in your make-up bag, if not outside. Prices start from £8 for nail lacquer. The FAFI collection is available now at MAC locations nationwide and online at www.maccosmetics.co.uk * You don't have to appear on TV to get a hair makeover from Andrew Barton. The 10 Years Younger hairdresser has used his 25 years of experience to create a new line of hair products, Shiny Happy Hair. "When you have great hair, you feel happy and immediately have a smile on your face. Shiny Happy Hair gives you great hair, everyday", Andrew says. The new divine smelling range of shampoos, conditioners and styling products are available exclusively at ASDA stores nationwide. Prices start from £3.95. 17 marzo Choc alternatives for EasterBanish chocolate altogether and cuddle up with a cute Easter bunny. Throughout March, Paul Smith Parfums is giving customers who buy any 50ml or 100ml fragrance a Limited Edition Bunny, which features the brand's famous signature on its foot. Available from major department stores nationwide, fragrances include Paul Smith Women, Men, London, Rose and Floral. Prices start from £26 for 50ml EDT. You'd be hopping mad to miss it...
Boys can smell as delicious as your favourite choc snack for Easter with Lynx's new Dark Temptation fragrance. Dark Temptation mixes the fragrance of chocolate and whipped cream - yum! The deodorant is available nationwide now priced £2.79, and anti-perspirant and shower gel is also available.
Fancy a delicious chocolatey beauty treat? Check out our article here.
The straightening hairdryerSick of hoarding endless styling products to straighten your hair? Look no further than the Babyliss BEliss 2x. The hairdryer tackles three jobs in one - de-tangling, smoothing and straightening your locks as it dries the hair. Babyliss spokesperson and hairdresser Beverley C says: "The BEliss 2x is a multi-functional dryer that enables you to achieve straight styles in half the time and without the fuss of juggling a dryer and hairbrush." The time saving device costs £35, available at Argos, Boots and leading electrical retailers. Call 08705 133 191 for stockists. Kate Moss's new addictionWhat's this, Kate Moss has a new health addiction? Apparently the Croydon-born supermodel discovered a super juice with anti-ageing benefits while recently on holiday in the Maldives, and has been sipping the fruity drink ever since. Called Mangosteen, the juice is packed with xanthones - a powerful type of antioxidant that help to protect against free radicals. And it tastes great too, combining a fruity mix of strawberry, kiwi and grape.
A two-week supply of Mangosteen Gold 100 per cent costs £17.95 and is available from www.superfooduk.com.
13 marzo Deary me, DeliaVeering off the subject of fashion and beauty for a sec, did anyone see Delia’s return to TV this week? Honestly, what a cheap gimmick.
Flying in the face of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver (who have worked hard to prove that battery farms and cheap chickens are bad, and that schoolchildren should be fed more nutritious meals than Turkey Twizzlers and chips), Delia showed off her culinary flair, how? By opening a packet of oven-ready potato wedges. Thinking she had something to teach the nation by showing us how to prepare ready meals (honestly, are we really that stupid?) Delia opened a tin of mince and introduced frozen mash to an oven. Quite frankly, the programme’s premise was insulting. One viewer grumbled to the BBC: “This wasn’t a cookery programme. Nice few quid for Delia but I came away with no ideas and as for tinned mince, well, words fail me.” While another commented: “I sat open mouthed as I watched frozen mash being produced.” To me it seemed one long advert for supermarket food. And apparently Tesco has claimed that sales of Aunt Bessie’s mashed potato have since shot up by 45 per cent. Some supermarkets are even sticking ‘Delia cheat product’ on labels. The big food bosses must be rubbing their hands with glee. But as licence payers, I believe we deserve more baking for our buck. 05 marzo How to be a good wifeGood grief, have any of you seen the email that's doing the rounds about 'How to be a good wife', taken from The Good Wife Guide in 1955?
We nearly fell of our chairs. Sometimes you just feel so grateful to be born in a different era. We've taken a look at the guide's top tips and suggested some modern-day comparisons.
Tell us what you think...
1955: Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return.
2008: Go to the supermarket together and choose a load of your favourite meals to cook at home. Order take out at least once a week. 1955: Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking.
2008: Know that you are gorgeous and don't put yourself down, he loves you just the way you are.
1955: Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
2008: Make sure you both take time out to relax together and do things you both love doing. 1955: Your goal: try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquillity where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
2008: His goal: make sure you share the housework chores as otherwise resentment will build. Better still, if you can afford it, get some help around the house. 1955: Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
2008: Do lots of social things together, entertaining, going out for meals and getting dressed up. If he stays out all night regularly, consider divorce.
1955: Catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
2008: Looking after one another and doing things that make each other happy will give you both immense personal satisfaction.
1955: Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time.
2008: Honestly! Listen to each other - about all things. Communication is the key in every successful relationship. Keeping schtum will only mean feelings will boil over and cause more problems in the long run.
03 marzo Monthly MailbagThank GOD the worst month in the entire calendar is now over. I can just about cope with January as I'm still riding high on the festive break. Or knee deep in detox, which requires a lot of concentration. But by February the dull weather, long dark nights and howling winds get me wondering whether a life with Valium might be a better alternative.
Fortunately, just as I forget what it ever felt like to have the sun on my back, the buds start to appear on the trees, the birds start twittering in the garden and the daffs pop up. Aaaaah bliss, normality is returning, my spirits are lifting already.
Anyway, enough of all that. For look back to February we must because it's time (drum roll) for the monthly mailbag! Yup here's where we check out what got everyone going over the last few weeks, starting with Valentines Schmalentines Day.
We had a bit of a moan about how commercial the whole thing is and how couples often prefer to be spontateous with their romantic gestures, rather than be 'dictated' to by a date in the calendar. Darthgrumpy agreed: "Why should we have this day at all!" he said "Although I did go all out this year for my fiancee (because I wanted to I hasten to add) I don't see why we HAVE to. You feel presurised into doing something because its the 'done thing'. I agree completely that romance should be spontanious. However, I have seen and heard people say its the only time of the year where my partner shows me any romance so I guess it does have its place to a certain extent."
Rowan, however begged to differ; "As much as it sucks looking around the common-room to be greeted with twenty pairs of snogging couples, you've got to admit, there is just a smidgen of excitment injected into the day," he said.
Many of our readers got distracted on the post about Magic Tights, which talked about a new material that (wait for it) mends itself! So it's goodbye to ladders, holes and snags, ladies. Sadly, the discussion was infiltrated by the stocking-loving brigade who kind of missed the point, but it's great to know you care.
On the subject of the Nubrella, a new hands-free umrella, Linda commented: "As someone who walks with crutches or uses a wheelchair I think it's a pretty good idea." While one mother of two added: "I think its a great idea. It's hard to push a double buggy in the rain and hold on to an umbrella. I don't drive so I walk everywhere as getting a double buggy on a bus is almost impossible. I am always complaining when I get soaked and now someone has done something useful for mothers everywhere. Well done."
And finally, huge congratulations to the reader who replied to our Ladies - It's Time to Propose blog on February 29: "I asked my man to marry me at 12.01 this morning!!!!!! He said yes!!! Wonderful news."
Is the perm making a comeback?If sales of home perm kits at Superdrug are anything to go by, then the answer is yes, yes, yes!
The high street chain is reporting soaring sales figures for the numbers of kits being snapped up, with 50 per cent more being bought by shoppers than this time last year. And last week, the store sold more in just a few days than it did for the whole of February 2006.
If the hairdos on the catwalk at Vivienne Westwood’s London Fashion Week show are anything to go by, crimpers are also set to be making a big comeback this year. Oh yes, hair is set to be big, loud and proud for 2008. And Eighties style is also creeping into make-up ranges, with electric blue mascaras selling like hotcakes. Superdrug’s director of toiletries Peter Newbould revealed: “Scarily, the people buying into the Eighties now probably were born in the Eighties.” Sigh... time goes by so fast. It seems like only last week we were saying everything was 'Wicked and ace'.
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