Clare Macnaughton's Blog, page 27

Fab PhArtHaus Beach Canvas by Photobox Donated to Friends of PICU Quiz

You may or may not know this, but Hagar and I run a photography photo business called PhArtHaus - capturing the world that passes you by.

Follow us on twitter @pharthaus

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Photobox offered to produce one of our landscapes on canvas for us and we decided that we would offer this fantastic canvas print as a raffle prize at a quiz  local to me raising funds for the charity Friends of PICU.

PhotoBox is Europe’s leading online digital photo service with over 30 million members. They  help people create memories and keep them alive through Photobooks, cards, wall decor, mugs, t-shirts, and more. They have built an active and extensive online community that sparks much of their innovation  and are always finding new ways to engage and share the joy of PhotoBox.

My favourite PhArtHaus print came out spectacularly well.

The PhArtHaus canvas – Pimms on the beach – 100 cm x 76 cm – was very impressive and went in a small way to support the fund raising of just short of £1000 on the night! Friends of PICU are a registered charity who support the Peadiatric Intensive Care Unit at Southampton General Hospital who provide first class care and treatment to 900+ critically ill children every year from all over the South of England and the Channel Islands.

Friends of PICU aim to support the children and their families by providing vital equipment and services that are not normally provided by the statutory authorities. The charity maintains the family accommodation on the unit which has recently undergone a major refurbishment programme.

The charity is also funding a psychologist for a period of 3 years to provide help to children and their families. The psychologist provides support for patients, families and staff on the Unit. Many people find that the experience of time on PICU can be traumatic. Their psychologist can help people to discuss their feelings and help them to reconcile these feelings.

The quiz was lots of fun and hugely supported by the local community, which was wonderful to experience. My team The Mentalists came 4th and I delighted that we could help support such a fantastic cause through PhArtHaus, the blog and Photobox. I love it when a plan comes together.

 

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My New Favourite Champagne is Lanson Rosé Label

Anyone for tennis? Well, now that Andy Murray is out of Wimbledon I am going to have to drown my sorrows in my new favourite tipple Lanson Rosé Label. It’s luscious, light, slightly dry and crispy fresh. Best served chilled and slowly quoffed lying in the sunshine on a sun bed, preferably by a pool. I could drink it all day every day. Although obviously nothing would get done but on the plus side I would be very happy indeed.

 

 

Why not celebrate the summer with Champagne Lanson and enjoy the fresh, zesty flavours that make their champagnes the perfect start to summertime gatherings. Lanson is one of the oldest Champagne Houses, making Champagne for over 250 years. Aged for a minimum of three years in their Reims cellars, the wines are made in the traditional way and with mouth-watering fruit purity as their trademark.

Lanson Rose Label, the UK’s favourite rosé Champagne, is a blend of the three classic Champagne grapes; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier resulting in ripe red berry aromas and fresh fruit flavours. Serve as an aperitif or try with a bowl of fresh strawberries.

Lanson Black Label, my other favourite,  is a champagne classic but for a fresh twist on the Champagne serve, try Lanson White Label. Add a slice of lemon or orange rind, or pop a strawberry in the glass to bring out the flavours in the wine. As the official Champagne partner to the Wimbledon Championships, the perfect days’ play starts with Lanson and now that Murray is out, this is the perfect apperitif to endure the rest now that our hopes have been dashed.

 

•     Champagne Lanson Rose Label RRP: £38.99, available from all major retailers (Tesco/Sainsbury’s/Waitrose).

•     Champagne Lanson Black Label RRP: £33.99, available from all major retailers (Tesco/Sainsbury’s/Waitrose).

•     Champagne Lanson White Label RRP: £38.99 available from Sainsbury’s.

•     Lanson International UK Ltd. is the ‘House of Brands’, offering Champagne solutions to fit all categories in the sector. Lanson International’s brands include Champagne Lanson, Lanson Extra Age, Lanson Noble Cuvée, Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines and Champagne Tsarine

•     To get your free copy of our Little Black Book of Champagne please register at http://www.lacademiedelanson.co.uk/lbb/

 

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Nandos New Menu at New #Nandos in #Salisbury @NandosUk

I love a bit of spicy chicken and post Breaking Bad Nandos is the nearest we’ll get to Pollos in the UK. So when Nando’s PR said do you want to sample our new menu who was I to say no to a bit of spicy chicken. As I live in the middle of the Shire I asked the PR fella ’where is my nearest Nandos?’ to which he replied ‘Trowbridge’. TrowVegas!! Although I know that Trowbridge gets a bad wrap and to me in a way it will always be the home of Bowyers pork pie factory and Trax nightclub but I think some 20years on Trowbridge has a bit of a face lift. It has a swanky new Odeon which is nice. But then I discovered that there was a brand spanking new Nandos just opened up in Salisbury, a mere 9 miles away. I am sorry Trowvegas but Salisbury won it for me, with it’s twee shops and lovely old market place. The new Nando’s fits in likely a brightly coloured beacon of yellowness, with fabulous al fresco style dining on the  Milford St pavement too.

Nando’s is the home of legendary Portuguese Flame grilled Peri-Peri chicken and it has shaken up it’s menu to include four brand new items, including boneless chicken thighs and a butterfly burger. Now, I went with my girl chum Mrs Sparkle and she is a bit of a korma-sexual who doesn’t like it to hot. Me, I like it hot, hot, hot and this is where Nandos works really well because you can spice your chicken right up and your korma-sexual friends can have it as tame as they like too.

As always I am constantly trying to lose weight while still eating crisps so the great thing about Nandos is that you can lard it up with a side of chips or you can go light with a side of salad. I can’t wait to take my kids because it’s almost fastish food but with healthy options and I know that I could give them a reasonably priced balanced fast foodish meal that they would actually eat. Plus they would love the bottomless fizzy pop and the water and ice machine. My only quibble would be the chicken skin was not crisp and I think Nando should offer a crisy skin or skinless option and then it would be utterly fantabulous.

 

 

 

 

 

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Five Famous Celebrity Bodyguards

5 FAMOUS CELEBRITY BODYGUARDS

1. Laurence Tureaud

Many may have thought that he was just acting the hard-man in 80s US TV series The A-Team, but Laurence Tureaud, aka Mr. T, was a real life bodyguard, and a very successful one at that. In his early years he is said to have protected people from all walks of life including prostitutes, welfare recipients, preachers, bankers, school teachers and local store owners. Once his reputation as a hard man grew, he went on to protect some of the world’s biggest stars including Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and even people who should have been able to look after themselves, like Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier. During his bodyguard years he also claimed to have protected five models, three politicians, seven clothes designers, seven judges, six sportsmen and forty-two millionaires. I pity the fool who tried to mess with anyone on that list

 

2. Christopher “Big Black” Boyk

Christopher “Big Black” Boykin was brought to fame as a 375-pound, 6-foot-6-inch bodyguard after staring in the the MTV show Rob and Big from 2006 to 2008, where he can be seen trying to protect skateboarder/actor/producer Rob Dyrdek as he attempts to break numerous world records and skates and stuff. Unable to do much serious body-guarding during the filming of the show Boykin set about to break some world records of his own, managing to set Guinness World Records for peeling and eating three bananas in under 60 seconds and for eating five powdered donuts in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Thought to be worth an estimated $3 million, Boykin also has his own clothing range called ‘Big Black’.

 

3. Chris Ryan

Sergeant Chris Ryan (actually Rowlands Gill) is famed for his role in the ill-fated Bravo Two Zero project with Andy McNab and has since released a series of best-selling books, as well as becoming a TV personality in his own right. However, what many people don’t know is that he is still working in the security services as a private bodyguard, secretly looking after many clients such as the US billionaire Dart family.

 

4. Moshe Benabou

Moshe Benabou is an ex-Israeli military machine, specialist in the deadly Krav Maga, and well-known tough guy who is probably most famous for suing Justin Beiber after the teenage pop idol punched him in the chest backstage after a performance. Despite his imposing frame and martial arts skills the ex-soldier tried to sue Bieber for assault, battery and emotional trauma. Bieber settled out of court but fans are hoping for a rematch to be announced very soon.

5. Brodus Clay

WWE wrestler Brodus Clay may now be a world-wide wrestling star but in a previous life, as George Murdoch (his real name), he was actually very well known as . Here are Brodus Clay’s own words on the matte

“Snoop and I just hit it off, because he liked my sarcasm, and honestly, (being a bodyguard) was great in terms of being able to cut promos and get personality. I was always the bad guy with Snoop. I was always the heavy, the one who would say no, and I enjoyed it. ”

TORO Crew is a specialist event crewing and logistics service. We provide stage crew, riggers, sound and lighting engineers, general event crew and more.

 

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I Am Not Sure Who Hates Homework More Me Or Them!

Tuesday night is homework night at my house. I am not sure who hates it more, me or the kids.

Here’s some top homework tips to ease the homework pain!

Five ways to help your kids with their homework (and without simply doing it for them!)

Homework – we all remember it. While it’s good to encourage your kids to do their homework as soon as they get in each night, it’s sometimes difficult to know how much help to give them when they actually go through it.

With a few helpful tips, you can really make the difference from the start and here’s how

Use it as play time

In Pre-Preparatory school, “learning as play” is a great way to retain early numeracy skills, even counting up to 20. One way to make it fun is to be active; try reciting the times to a game of catch.

Make up some cards with vocabulary your youngsters may find tricky, draw a picture to describe it so the child connects fun with the words, and hide them around the room for a fun and educational treasure-hunt.

Telling the time could be as simple as walking into the town and looking at as many different clocks as possible and rewarding your kids for getting the time right. Even getting them to time you doing simple tasks like brushing your teeth can help.

Use praise and rewards

Tell your kids how great they are when they get a spelling right or they’ve understood six times four. Keep noticing all the good things they do and offer praise.

This positive reinforcement boosts your little ones’ confidence. Treats, in moderation, can be useful too.

Swot up on modern methods

Let’s face it, teaching methods have changed from when we were at school and any “homework” refresher evenings at your pre-prep school could help you and your kids.

Find a quiet, non-distracting place

With all the screens and distractions it’s easy to get diverted from homework.

Turn off the TV, make the room comfortable and have plenty of colouring pens, rulers, glue and craft materials ready so your children have no excuse to get up from their workstation.

Whatever the homework, if the environment is nice then this will help.

Join in, while letting them find the right way to do it

It’s easy to get too involved when helping your kids with their homework. Try letting them have a go themselves and if they encounter difficulty then help them with on one particular part of the homework by explaining what they need to do or offering visual cues.

You should then get them to attempt the next part of the homework themselves or present them with a similar question to the one they struggled with and ask them to solve it alone.

 

 

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Bingo Calls provide light relief starring our Jerry the Indian Running Duck #costabingocalls

Bingo Calls provide light relief

A stressful morning has just been made a little easier thanks to a fantastic series of videos available on the YouTube Channel of Costa Bingo.

Their Bingo Calls campaign has got bloggers (like me!) to put together short clips on common bingo calls and the results are pretty entertaining if you ask me! Finding ways to represent our favourite calls in a visual form, the videos offer a unique insight into the fun of this popular game and the second video for bingo call One Little Duck: Number Two is my personal favourite. After all, how can you not love a short clip of a duck running to the pond when life is getting on top of you? Especially when the duck is Jerry, our Indian Running Duck. They are so funny and she’s a great layer!! What’s not to love.

A great option to watch with the kids, I can’t wait to see what other videos there are in the collection. I might even pay a visit to the Costa Bingo website and see what else they have to offer!

You can watch the cute little duck run from the camera right here with the video for One Little Duck: Number Two!

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Je Deteste Le Menage – #PrêtàLire

I have just self-published via Createspace and Amazon Kindle Direct the french language version of my book. Then I subsequently learned that French people don’t like Amazon and they don’t own Kindles. Doh! #putain

Fingers crossed the French Canadians love it! Help! If you know any French speaking people that read books then please recommend mine.

J’ai juste auto-édité par Createspace et Amazon Kindle Direct, la version française de mon livre. Ensuite, j’ai appris par la suite que les Français n’aiment pas Amazon et qu’ils ne possèdent pas Kindle. Doh! #putain

Croisons les doigts les Canadiens français adorent! Aider! Si vous connaissez des personnes francophones qui lisent des livres alors s’il vous plaît recommander la mienne.

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Guest Post: Not just a man’s world: famous female drivers

If your idea of a girl’s day out is a million miles away from a spa-based snooze-fest, you’ve probably already got a Ferrari driving experience on your to-do list (if not, why not?). In case you didn’t know it, women have been competing at the same level as men in motorsport – and more often than not, beating them, since the year dot. Here are a few examples…

Dorothy Levitt

Women have been involved in motorsport right from the beginning and Dorothy Levitt was one of the early trailblazers. She actually started out in motor boats – having clocked up the first water speed record in 1903. By this time she had her sights set firmly on the motor racing world – coming top in the Southport Speed Trial in a Gladiator. She narrowly missed out on a gold medal in the Hereford 1000 mile trial and went on to compete internationally.

Odette Siko

The 24-Hours Le Mans race has seen a steady flow of female participants over the years and Odette Siko was the first. Along with Marguerite Mareuse, she was part of the first ever all-women crew in 1930 and finished seventh overall in a Bugatti Type 40. Two years later, Siko was back at Le Mans and finished fourth in an Alfa Romeo 8C.

Pat Moss

Sister of Stirling, Pat Moss was also a member of the British show jumping team. In 1954, she bought a Triumph TR2 and never looked back. She came fourth in the RAC Rally in 1958 and later achieved the same position in the Rome-Liege rally. Further success followed in the Coupe des Alpes, the East African Safari Rally, and the Rallye Deutschland. In 1961, she married fellow rally driver, Erik Carlsson and the pair went on to compete in 11 international rallies.

Michele Mouton

Without doubt the most successful female rally driver ever, the Frenchwoman clocked up a total of four World Championship rally wins, nine podium placings and 162 stage wins. Her career began in 1973 and she won three European Women’s Championship titles in a row in the mid-seventies. Mouton’s greatest triumphs occurred when she joined the Audi team. The first of her four World Championship wins came in 1981 in Sanremo. Three further victories came in 1982 – in addition to coming second in the RAC Rally, Portugal and Sweden. Michele Mouton currently heads the FIA’a Women & Motor Sport Commission, which aims to get more women involved in motorsport.

Lyn St James and Danica Patrick

While women are yet to make their mark on Formula 1, the same is not true of US motorsports. In 2008 for instance, Danica Patrick became the first female winner of a race in the IndyCar Series. A year later, she notched up the highest finish by a woman in the Indy 500 – coming third in the table overall. Lyn St. James was a big role model for aspiring female drivers in the 1990s. Two victories in the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona race and a win in the 12 Hours Sebring sportscar race was followed by five Indy Racing starts. St. James also competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Susie Wolff and Simona de Silvestro

Are we about to see a woman take her place on the starting grid for a Grand Prix World Championship race? Only two have ever achieved this in the past: Lella Lombard in the 1970s and Maria Teresa de Filipis in the 1950s. Currently, there are two names to watch very closely. The 31 year-old Scot, Susie Wolf drives for Williams whereas de Silvestro, a 25 year-old from Switzerland has recently signed with Sauber after gaining plenty of IndyCar experience.

The four decade wait for a woman to take her seat at the top table of Formula 1 could be about to end.

 

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Watches are the shoes of men

Hagar says that he loves watches like women love shoes and handbags. He definitely has a bit of a watch fetish as he flicks through the internet and covets the big, hard shiny timepieces.

He doesn’t need one. They are very expensive and in case you hadn’t noticed there’s a recession on. And yet magazines are brimming with adverts for power watches – and the industry goes from strength to strength.

Watches are big business these days. During the last ten years their has been growth in the sector. For example,  the Swiss watch industry’s exports grew from £2.5bn in 1986 to £10bn in 2008. It doesn’t matter that the primary function of the watch – to tell the time – is obsolete by our obsessive phone use. So why are we still buying them?

Men are still buying and cherishing quality timepieces despite that fact that in the early 1970s, the watch industry thought its time, excuse the pun, had come. Technology hasn’t dealt a fatal blow to the watch. Men covet mobile phones as well as, not instead of, their timepieces. Watches are one of the few things that a man can wear that he believes display true character, a sign that he is a member of a certain club – whether it’s an Brietling or a Swatch – it is a male indulgence  that can be done without, generally, drawing criticism. Watches are an ok piece of male jewellery: bangles can be weird, signet rings passé, ear studs noway and gold chains comedy. A Rolex or a Heuer Carrera, however, be it gold, platinum or stainless steel, is considered acceptable.

If the price is £50 or £5,000, men check the watch in the same way a women might note of another’s shoes. It’s their thing. And the watch industry is chuffed about it. Father’s Day is June 15th pop over to The Watch Hut and maybe a nice timepiece will do the trick this year.

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Who wants to be a millionaire?

Cole Porter sang, ” who wants to be a millionaire?” and the reply was ‘I do’. What do women want? If you had a Millionaire Genie what wishes would you have granted. Aladdin may have needed a magic lamp to grant his wishes, but you could also try the Millionaire Genie slots game at 888ladies because he knows what women want!

Obviously, after ‘world peace’ and ‘ending poverty’ I would clearly want to eat as much as I want not get fat. Right now, in the wet weather that is the summer half term and the kids are slowly unravelling my house if money was no object I would have a housekeeper and p.a so that I wouldn’t feel like my life is snowballing out of control to help my file, tidy, wash and keep sanitary the aftermath of muddy people. Then I would have a gardener, to keep my lawns trim and help me make my raised beds, teach me about planting seasons and help me harvest in the autumn so that I can prepare my jars of jam, homemade pickles and preserves, juices, cider and wine. I would energise my house with renewable energy solutions, install a wood burner and stock up on coal and wood for the winter. Then I would whisk my family off on an adventure holiday where the sun shone every day and it was fun, fun, fun in the sun.

This is just me. What would your dreams be? Maybe you’d have your house re-decorated, a new bathroom, a new kitchen or maybe you spend some time at the spa and anoint yourself in creams and potions to detoxify the tiredness. New nails, hair, shoes and maybe some new outfits. Dinner out at a Michelin star restaurant with the love of your life. Champagne every day? Or maybe just a few pints down the pub? How about a vintage VW so you could have away day adventures by the sea. Dreams can come true so maybe it’s time to start building a wish list.

 

 

 

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