November Blog Review

With the leaves now thick on the ground and the weather turning colder and wetter, my mind this month turned to indoor activities. In the first of my ‘Winter Outing’ series I reviewed some of the attractions keeping their doors open for the winter season. Suggestions included the Horniman Museum, the Jorvik Centre, Leeds Castle and a selection of English Heritage properties. Remember to look out for the great value membership deals for English Heritage, allowing unlimited visits to their properties for a whole year. Look out too for more featured winter attractions in my December blogs.

Christmas shopping has now started in earnest and this month I explored the voucher options and ‘No Wrap Gifts’. Animal adoption schemes and magazine subscriptions may not be the first things that you think of when choosing gifts, but they certainly make a welcome change.

Of course, I have continued to review a number of products including skincare items and limited edition products such as Marmite Gold (doesn’t work for me) and Carling Zest with Spiced Orange (love it).

November also saw me take a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about Chef Square Shaped Soups, Milk Tray bars, Chillo ice cream mix and the old style British Home Stores. I’d love to hear about your shopping related nostalgia, so let me know at comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

My big project of the month has been to attempt to spread awareness of Hypermobility Syndrome, a condition that I suffer from, that can be very painful and debilitating. It’s a much misdiagnosed, mismanaged and misunderstood condition; so do read more at www.shoppersjoy.co.uk/features

Mince – Making a Meal Of It

Minced beef is a really versatile ingredient when making family meals. There are budget varieties available such as Sainsbury’s Basics mince 400g for £1.32, but I prefer to buy a leaner steak mince such as Country Menus Steak Mince £2.69 for 500g at Tesco. Here are some of my favourite minced beef recipe ideas.

Chilli Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add a medium, chopped onion and soften, then add mince and brown. Add a teaspoon or two of chilli powder (depending on personal taste), can of chopped tomatoes, small can of kidney beans (drained) and a splash each of tomato puree (I use Tratorria Verdi 35p for 200ml at Tesco) and Worcester sauce. Crumble in an Oxo cube and stir in a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of vinegar, a little water (depending on how much liquid you like) and a generous splash of red wine. Place in a casserole dish and cook for an hour at 175C (gas 4).

Spaghetti Bolognese I used to make my own from scratch, but now cheat and use a jar of sauce when I want a quick family meal. I love Tesco Bolognese Sauce 750g for £1.49 (smaller jars also available).

Cottage Pie Heat oil and soften a medium, chopped onion. Add mince and brown. Stir in a dessertspoon of plain flour and cook one minute, and then stir in ½ pint of stock. Add some finely diced carrot, a few peas, a splash of tomato puree and Worcester Sauce and a glug of red wine. Simmer whilst you make some mashed potato. Place meat mixture in ovenproof dish and top with potato and grated cheese. Bake at 190C (Gas 5) for 25-30 minutes.

Enchiladas I like to use an Old El Paso Enchilada kit, but substitute the recommended chicken for minced beef as it goes great with the cheesy topping.

Or why not use minced steak to make your own burgers or meatballs?

What is your favourite mince recipe? Email comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

Winter Outings Part 2 – Our Heritage

A large number (though not all) of the many English Heritage Properties around the country do stay open for the winter season, although some venues do restrict their opening days and times during this period. Check out their website www.english-heritage.org.uk for details.

Remember English Heritage members get unlimited visits to all their properties throughout the year, so do take advantage of the different membership options available. Here is a selection of their properties to visit this winter.

Lullingstone Roman Villa, Kent is open Saturdays and Sundays between 5^th November and 17^th February, admission Adults £6, children £3.60. The excavated remains of this fascinating Roman Villa are housed within a modern, ‘protective’ building where you can view the great floor mosaic, an interesting selection of relics and watch an informative film. Children will love to play the Roman games and to dress up in costume.

Audley End, Essex, although the actual house is closed here for the winter, you can still view the extensive grounds and explore the service wing, including kitchens, dairy, dry larder and laundry, and the stables, which house a variety of interactive displays. This is one of my favourite places to visit with or without the house. Visiting between 3^rd November and 17^th February costs £9 for adult non-members and £5.40 for children.

Eltham Palace and Gardens, Greenwich, is open from 10a.m. to 4p.m. during the winter season, £9.60 adults, £5.80 children. The striking house containing a wealth of Art Deco features and furnishings (you may recognise some of the rooms from episodes of Poirot) contrasts with the impressive Great Hall in the adjoining Medieval Palace. The gardens are a great place to wander too.

Amongst the castles under of the care of English Heritage that stay open for the winter are Dover Castle, Kent, Framlingham Castle, Suffolk, Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall and Carlisle Castle, Cumbria. Some of these only open at weekends at this time of year, so do check their website details.

Where do you like to visit during the winter months? Let me know, comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

Whatever Happened To …

When I was a child I could tell the day of the week by the meals my mum served. Sundays always meant a roast, whilst Mondays we ate the remaining meat from the joint, either served cold with mash, peas and pickles, or if it was lamb, chopped finely and turned into a shepherd’s pie. And so the week went on …

But during the 70s all manner of convenience foods were introduced to the shops – what you couldn’t buy in a packet wasn’t worth having. Some were great and stood the test of time, others, well, you can see why they’re no longer around.

Here is a selection of the good and not so good.

Chef square shaped soups show how a good soup should be. Loved the tongue twister, can’t remember much about the taste, but do know that my mum sometimes added one of these to a casserole.

Winnie the Pooh Hunny Pudding, a variation of Angel Delight/Instant Whip with added honey flavour. I actually loved this one.

Chillo, an ice cream mix to whip up at home, don’t remember it tasting much like any ice cream I knew, however.

Sweet Tops, a crème caramel style dessert mix, but in place of caramel, the toppings were fruit-flavoured – I adored the pineapple.

Rise and Shine, a packet mix to which you added water to form ‘fruit juice’. It had an ok taste, but I much prefer the cartons of juice that I buy today.

Vesta Chicken Supreme, a boil in the bag meal with rice, which in our house was an occasional Saturday treat. Other varieties were available (in fact I have spotted some in recent times) but this was our firm favourite.

Not a packet mix but – Cadbury’s Milk Tray Bar, literally (like a box of) Milk Tray in a bar. I loved the lime cordial barrel. A plain chocolate bar was also available called Plain Choice.

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Christmas Gifts Episode IV – The ‘No Wrap’ Revolution

It can be tricky trying to decide what to buy friends and family for Christmas each year, so why not try some of these more unusual ideas. The added bonus is they don’t really need wrapping – great if you’re as hopeless at it as I am.

Magazine Subscriptions

It can be great to curl up with a good magazine and there are so many available, ranging from general women’s/men’s interest, to specific hobbies and children’s favourite comics. There are currently plenty of good subscription offers around, providing the recipient with something to look forward to all year round, when their favourite mag arrives on their doormat with a satisfying thump. IPC Media have some great value 12-month subscription deals currently available including: Marie Claire £18.99, Woman & Home £24.99, Living Etc £26.99, In Style £18.99 and Rugby World £35.99 – all available with a gift card as part of the deal.

An Evening Out

Gift cards for places such as Cineworld, Nandos, Zizzi, Ticketmaster etc make great presents. Instead of buying your loved ones material goods that they can never find a place for, it can make a real treat to provide them with an evening out instead.

Adopt An Animal

For animal lovers it’s possible to adopt an animal in their name at one of the many wildlife parks and zoos that offer this service. Check out some of the animal attractions local to the person receiving the gift, so that they can use the tickets included in the package to pay a visit. For example, Colchester Zoo, Essex, offers a gift adoption package for £45 including adoption of animal of your choice, a personalised laminated certificate, information sheet, 3 issues of Zoo Matters newsletter, mounted photo and two day tickets (usual adult entry price ranges from £12.99 in winter to £17.99 at peak season). Drusillas Zoo, East Sussex, offers packages for £40 (including one entry ticket), £50 (2 tickets) and £60 (3 tickets).

The story continues…

Let me know your ideas comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

Love It Or Hate It?

What has happened to Marmite? I’m actually one of the ‘love it’ camp when it comes to Marmite, but am a bit bemused by their latest offering – Marmite Gold (Limited Edition), 250g jar now at ‘Special Purchase’ price of £3 at Tesco (rrp £5.99). Apparently the old favourite has been blended with gold-coloured flecks to give it a festive touch, and put in a ‘gold’ jar. It’s Marmite for goodness sake, we love it (or hate it) for its taste not its gimmicks!

On the other hand I love the latest limited edition offering from Carling Zest. Following the refreshing lime summer version, a new seasonal variety is now in the shops – Carling Zest with a hint of spiced orange. A subtly flavoured, gorgeously refreshing drink, it is currently on sale at Tesco for £2.50 for a pack of 4 (330ml bottles). Grab it while you can!

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Hypermobility Syndrome – My Experience

Hypermobility Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder, which causes joints to be overly flexible and can result in a variety of joint problems (e.g. dislocation, severe pain, recurrent injuries) and other related disorders such as hernias.

I was diagnosed with the condition six years ago, but of course it has affected me all my life. Unfortunately as I have got older I have experienced more pain and injuries, suffer from a hiatus hernia and am aware of other related problems such as poor balance.

Supple is not always good

Although awareness of Hypermobility Syndrome is growing, there are still many people who have not heard of the condition. What is more worrying, however, is that many members of the medical profession still fail to diagnose the problem (some believing that sufferers are making a fuss over nothing) or diagnose it but do not follow it up with the correct advice or care.

I am fortunate that I attend a Hypermobility class at my local physiotherapy department, as many other sufferers do not have this opportunity. In an attempt to further raise awareness of the syndrome, I have written an article of my own experience.

To view the article visit shoppersjoy.co.uk/features