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Sunday 22 November 2015

Craft Beer World

Craft Beer World is the must-have companion for anyone who appreciates decent beer. The last few years have seen an explosion in the popularity of craft beers across the globe, with excellent new brews being produced everywhere from Copenhagen to Colorado, Amsterdam to Auckland. With more amazing beers available than ever before, it's hard to know which ones to choose. That's where Craft Beer World comes in. Gathering together over 300 of the most innovative and tastiest beers you need to try, and divided into 50 different categories, you will find the best of the best each style has to offer. 




Every category comes with an explanation of the key characteristics of the style - whether it's an American IPA bursting with citrusy C-hops or an Imperial Stout full of dark roasted malts - along with an example of a classic brew and a selection of cutting edge versions that are certain to become instant favourites. So whether you're looking for bitter beers or balanced flavours, a hit of hops or a hint of coffee, the reviews will point you in the right direction to find the perfect beer to suit your tastebuds. Also included throughout the book are interesting nuggets of beer information, covering everything from the catalyst that has caused the astonishing growth in craft beer through to matching beer with food and how to serve your drinks.

Hard Cover £14.88   buy it here 

Sunday 15 November 2015

Black Friday Shopping What is it ? When is it?

Stuck for ideas for your special gift this Christmas?

John Lewis has the answer- read on 
Black Friday incites many reactions. Some people love it, some hate it, but one thing’s for sure. It definitely puts the “shopping” in shopping season.
So where did this shopping holiday tradition come from? The term “Black Friday”dates back to the 1960s and got its name from the traditional way stores used to track profit. Accounting records were kept by hand and red ink traditionally indicated a loss, while black meant the store had turned a profit, hence the name “Black Friday.”
Though the name may have been coined in the 60s, it turns out Black Friday has been an unofficial holiday since as far back as 1924, during the start of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and has been celebrated by savvy shoppers ever since.
So how can Black Friday make your life a little easier when it comes to choosing that ideal gift for a loved one or best friend.
Here are a few ideas we have put together for you, so you too can make the most of the holiday festivities without getting too stressed out.

Something Special For 'Her' this Christmas. 

Guys are you struggling to buy for the girl who has everything? 

How about a classic leather handbag?

You can't go wrong with one of these, it will always fit and will never go out of style. 

click on the bags for some great deals 

Saturday 14 November 2015

Friday 6 November 2015

Social Eats: Food to Impress Your Mates

Jimmy Garcia is not a man who does things by halves.From cooking elaborate five-course meals for his university friends to expanding his culinary knowledge by catering for Arabic royalty on yachts for three summers, his enthusiasm and zest for life are clear. 

His impressive skills have gained him a wide and dedicated following. 

CLICK ON BOOK TO BUY

In Social Eats, he shares his best pop-up secrets to show you how to turn your meals into gastronomic events to be remembered.
Divided into three sections - Pre-party (salads and quick fixes At the Party (cocktails, canapes & little dishes; crowd pleasers; the great outdoors; celebrations), and After Party (breakfast, brunch & comfort food)

Social Eats is packed with fun and flavour and features recipes whose variety and imagination are sure to inspire even the most jaded palate.


Jimmy Garcia Buy his new book SOCIAL EATS   click on the book to buy 

Thursday 5 November 2015

KRAFTWERK VINTAGE CONCERT POSTER 1981 BERLIN METROPOL "MENSCH MASCHINE" ORIGINAL


Original vintage 

Kraftwerk concert poster from 1981. 


Real collectors item and hard to find. Poster is in mint condition and has the size 84 cm x 59 cm ( 33 x 23 inch ). Shipping from Germany is FREE incl. tracking and insurance WORLDWIDE. Delivery comes in a very hard cardboard tube from Germany and can take between 10 and 45 days. Paypal and international bank transfer is always welcome.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO BUY 


Andy Warhol Cologne


Launched in 1999, andy warhol by andy warhol is a spicy, sweet scent 

This manly aroma is classified as a refreshing scent. Andy warhol is a masculine scent that possesses a blend of tarragon, jasmine, moss and with hints of musk. Andy warhol is perfect for daytime wear. 
All products are original, authentic name brands. 


CLICK BOTTLE TO BUY 




History and background of Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928. In 1945 he entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) where he majored in pictorial design. Upon graduation, Warhol moved to New York where he found steady work as a commercial artist. He worked as an illustrator for several magazines including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The 

Wednesday 4 November 2015

ANDY WARHOL POSTER - MARILYN MONROE



1967 LONDON EXHIBITION in MINT


click on image to buy 
Original Andy Warhol Popart poster. 


Very good quality with super thick paper. Real collectors item and hard to find. Poster is in mint condition and has the size 75 cm x 55 cm ( 30 x 22 inch ). Shipping from Germany is FREE incl. tracking and insurance WORLDWIDE. Delivery comes in a very hard cardboard tube from Germany and can take between 10 and 45 days. 
Paypal and international bank transfer is always welcome.


Friday 30 October 2015

Beer can make you better in bed , Say Scientist







Men who favour a pint as their regular tipple will be pleased to hear science has made a compelling argument that drinking beer could make you perform better in bed.According to sex expert Dr Kat Van Kirk, beer provides men with four different benefits beneath the sheets, Medical Daily reports.
Firstly, sloshing down a couple of brews can delay premature ejaculation. Phytoestrogens in alcohol overload the body and are proven to delay orgasm, according to Dr Van Kirk.
Drinking darker beers can also act as an aphrodisiac, boosting the libido and giving longer, more intense erections. The iron in darker beer helps red blood cells create haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body. This improves circulation and gives a stronger erection says Dr Van Kirk.
The third benefit of beer drinking is an increase in sexual stamina, according to research published in the European Journal of Epidemiology. The study found 31 per cent of moderate beer drinkers had reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to non-drinkers. This means beer drinkers are less likely to suffer from heart attacks, strokes or heart disease, according to the study, and when paired with exercise, beer helps keep your heart healthier, giving you more cardio endurance.
Finally, Dr Van Kirk says probiotics and B vitamins in beer “can help fortify your overall health" and settle the stomach meaning men are less likely to "feel sluggish during sex” after a cold one.
Brewers have even concocted a pint specifically aimed to get you feeling frisky. Named “50 Shades of  Green” and developed earlier this year by Scottish brewers Innis & Gunn, it is made up of 50 kinds of hops as well as other ingredients claimed to have stimulating properties.
The beer also contains ginseng which the brewers claim will “get your sex drive firing on all cylinders”; ginkgo to “get blood pumping to all the right places"; and nerve damiana “to help hit the sweet spot”, The Grocer reports.
Beer-lovers should be warned, however, that in order to reap the rewards of your pints in the bedroom, beer should only be drunk in moderation.
'Gowaan click the picture and buy some beers'






Meantime down at Majestic



GET YOUR CRAFT BEERS AT MAJESTIC



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Thursday 29 October 2015

Pub tenants fear beer tie loophole

Ben Martin from the Telegraph writes.

A draft of the Pubs Code has been criticised for allowing pub companies to avoid offering tenants the opportunity to end the tie.


The Government has been criticised for opening a loophole that means pub companies can avoid offering their tenants the option of breaking the beer tie.
A draft of the new Pubs Code, published today, caused consternation among tenants who believe it enables companies to side-step giving them the opportunity of ending the tie at rent reviews. Under new legislation, a tenant that does not want to be bound by the tie can choose what is called a Market Rent Only option (MRO).

What is the 'beer tie'?

The tie is a 400-year old system requiring pub tenants to buy beer from their landlords rather than on the open market. The price they pay is typically above market rates, but in return tenants receive benefits such as lower rent. The MRO, which is to be introduced next May, is designed to offer tenants who want it the option of a free of tie rent arrangement.
The document unveiled today said that a tenant “will gain the right to request an MRO offer following the receipt of [a] rent review proposal – so long as the rent proposed by the pub-owning business is higher than the existing rent that the tenant is paying”.
The clause was seized upon by Chris Wright, the head of the Pubs Advisory Service, which offers guidance to tenants, who claimed it meant firms could easily prevent their tenants from breaking the tie by not hiking rents.
“It’s only offering the MRO for higher rents, not for all rents,” he said. “It’s easily dodged, because every single pub company that wants to avoid it can keep their rents the same or drop them by a penny. My members are freaking out about this.”
Rents that rise in line with inflation would not trigger the MRO.
Last November, MPs voted to amend the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment bill to include the MRO, a measure that means companies with more than 500 leased and tenanted pubs risk the tie being severed.
It has sent shockwaves through the industry, with Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns, the two biggest leased and tenanted firms, considered the most vulnerable to the changes.
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills said: “The Code has been drafted to try to strike a fair balance between pub companies and tenants but if there are areas that people feel could be changed or strengthened then we want to hear from them during this consultation period.”



Now just in case you find this all  tedious I will point you in the direction of a drink just click on the photo below and you can order some beers delivered directly to your door














Wednesday 28 October 2015

How Being Busy Makes You Unproductive

Being busy has somehow become a badge of honour. The prevailing notion is that if you aren’t super busy, you aren’t important or hard working. 

The truth is, busyness makes you less productive.When we think of a super busy person, we think of a ringing phone, a flood of e-mails, and a schedule that’s bursting at the seams with major projects and side-projects hitting simultaneously. Such a situation inevitably leads to multi-tasking and interruptions, which are both deadly to productivity.

Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, TIME, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.

(The full article can be read here 
 http://fave.co/1jOq0wX


This is my view.
The above article came into my inbox this morning from Linkedin,the website that seems to have established itself as the preferred choice for professional networking. 

So why do we associate busy people with success? 

And- Who was it that said ''If you want a job doing quick , then give it to a busy man'' ? 

Well if you Google that question you come up with a plethora of names attributed to that saying - anyone from Benjamin Franklin to Lucille Ball.

And some people would say  
'If you really want a job doing quick, then give it to a busy woman'

Several years ago I had a business partner who always seemed to be very busy and was always doing some important deal and juggling several tasks at the same time, well that's how it looked to anyone observing him.

The truth of the matter matter was, he was very good at making lots of noise and getting the ball rolling but far too busy to control where the ball was actually going. Hence he always crashed the car and ended up in a ditch-needing a bail out.

He was merely re-shuffling his fathers well earned fortune, the same fortune that had paid for his place at Eton and his wine account at Cambridge. 

We often here people talking about a work life balance, but in today's world of Austerity , Welfare cuts and Tax credits do any of us have the luxury of a work life balance?

We may all be very busy for some for time to come.!

Travis Bradberry's book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 

can be bought here just click on the book.



Monday 26 October 2015

Sunday 25 October 2015

Canon 70 D repair at Jessops


I bought my Canon70d in April 2014 from Camera World in Wells Street London


I recently lent it out to a friend and it came back to me with a fault. The rear touchscreen monitor was displaying some hazy pink noise and then suddenly it completely failed and would not power up.

I had taken over 9000 images with the camera and up until this point I had not experienced any problems at all.
I can thoroughly recommend the 70d as a great camera for both stills and video, the 70d has an excellent auto focusing system which makes it great for fast moving video .


Unfortunately the manufacturers 12 month guarantee has now expired and so I will have to pay for the repair. I took the camera into Jessops in Shrewsbury last week and I have now had the news that the repair is going to cost me £228.00 , apparently a circuit needs to be replaced and then the camera also needs a full service. 

This sounded rather a lot of money but I feel it was worth it as the camera to buy new is still close to £1000. My moto from now on is Don't lend your camera out to no-one.

Jessops have a deal where they charge you £25.00 upfront to send the camera off for assessment of whats needs doing, they then take the £25.00 off the bill when you agree to the repair being done, which seems a fair system to me.

My last piece of advice when buying these expensive item cameras is try to shop somewhere that will give you a two year guarantee like Jessops.

Friday 23 October 2015

Sunday Lunch at the Half Moon Pub



This was the Sunday lunch we produced at The Half Moon Pub when I was the licensee just over two years ago.

Roast beef medium to rare , roast carrots and steamed broccoli



Sunday Lunch has returned as one of the most popular dishes of the week for the British public.
It is also one of the hardest meals to perfect if you are in the kitchen trying to produce it in a pub and make money from it and sell it a reasonable price. 

You set up your kitchen to cook for 60 -80 people, who will all arrive at the same time into what is an already busy pub. 

The football is on the big screen, its Arsenal V Man U and its three deep at the bar.

Oh and I forgot to mention everyone who orders a Sunday Roast in your pub is also an expert at cooking it him/her self at home.

They know exactly how they like their Beef cooked - Medium rare to pink, well thats half of them and the other half like it medium to well done. 

They all want an extra Yorkshire Pudding because we do them so well.
The trick we found with Yorkshire puds was to leave a gap between each row so the air could circulate around them, not sure how accurate this was but it worked for us in the pub.

Don't get me started on where would you like your gravy Sir? Over your parsnips or on your Brussel sprouts. This problem was negated by the small jug of gravy on the side, they get to pour their gravy wherever they like and it also stay warm in the jug. 

It took us about four weeks to get it down to perfection.

The beef is the crucial one , you don't want to over cook it whatever you do or all the flavour will be gone. The roast potatoes have to be perfectly crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside. 

The Roast chicken has to have lovely crisp skin and still be juicy on the inside. So we chose Half a small chicken and we cooked cook it in  our Pizza oven at very high temperature, it worked perfectly as you can see below and the roast spuds were to die for.



Rosemary and Lemon Roast Chicken
We even managed to get our South American chef to produce a decent Yorkshire pudding and not one of those fancy big hat jobs produced with a blow torch, just a nice Yorkshire like you mom would make for you. 



All together delicious and all the plates always came back emptied and the customers loved them.

Sunday Lunch was a great challenge and one we got just about right.







Wolverhampton Market

This morning we went for a trip to Wolverhampton to pic up the weekly veg.
  
The fruit and veg market is not what it used to be when I was a kid, but then again nothing is these days.




We visited the indoor market where we found The Spice Centre to stock up on all the ingredients you need for a curry.



We then made our way outside to get some Vegetables from Bradleys, They have been trading in the market for over fifty years.



However they are very concerned that when the redevelopment of the indoor market happens there will be very little left of the outdoor fruit and veg market. 

This problem is not exclusive to Wolverhampton, Markets have been disappearing all over the country , no doubt they are forced out of business when a huge supermarket springs up right next to them as happened here last year when Sainsbury's opened a new 60 million pound store.

Towns like Wolverhampton are suffering up and down the country and the problem is a hard one to solve.

The supermarkets have large amounts of cash to invest in deprived areas which can be very tempting for local councils.You have the likes of Tesco etc offering incentives like paying for new pedestrian crossings etc, to help their planning applications go through a little quicker. Small independent retailers and market stall holders can't compete with that. 

We need to find a balance to our retail economy and this is one of the biggest challenges facing the national government and local planning departments. 

Mary Portas had good intentions when she launched her campaign to rejuvenate the High Street a couple of years ago.  

A trip to Wolverhampton would tell you there's much more work to be done. 









Friday 20 March 2015

Rory McIlroy goes in search of the Slam


Golf fans always get excited at the prospect four days in front of the telly watching the US Masters. Commencing the first week of April it’s the first Major of the year and the superbly manicured Augusta course always has a starring role to play in the tournament.



This year there is added interest for Rory McIlroy fans as he chases the final piece in his quest for a career grand slam.  Having won the British Open and the USPGA last year and the US Open in 2011 Rory only need the Masters to complete the Full House.




Only five players, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tiger Woods, have won all four of golf’s major titles and McIlroy is a strong favourite to join them.
If McIlroy wins the Masters then the pressure really piles on him when the US Open starts in June. If he were to win that one too then he would hold all four major titles at the same time, no one has achieved that since Tiger Woods in 2001.

McIlroy has made a lightning start to his professional career at only 25 years old he is already well up the list in the medals table and is fast securing himself a place in the golfing record books. It will be interesting to see how his career progresses with the constant comparisons with Woods and Nicklaus who had a similar amount of success at the same age.

There have been some classic Masters tournaments over the years; the great champions always seem to win in dramatic style. 


Think back to Jack Nicklaus becoming the oldest winner in 1986 when he overhauled the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman and Tom Kite in the final round.


Lets hope Rory can finally bury the memories of his final round meltdown a couple of years back and put on that famous green jacket.