New Drama on Sky 1

I wasn't particularly a fan of Sky 1 before. We would watch the obligatory new episodes of the Simpson's now and again, and maybe they would do a decent documentary on occasion. But nothing that we would avidly watch.
I dont know who has changed the programming over the past year or so, but bloody well done! We now watch more of that channel than ever, and its not just the programs they have bought that I am enjoying. They are also starting to make some really good shows aswell.
There are some excellent shows coming from the U.S. such as Modern Family, and The Middle (which I swear is based on my family!), but the best by far for me has to be the shows that Sky are making themselves.
Trollied and The Cafe are definite favourites. The Cafe more so because I was brought up close to where they film in Weston-Super-Mare, but the writer also comes from the west country, and I just seem to relate to the whole thing! I just love it!
They also have some new shows coming out, and the latest one, which is due to air in July, is called Parents. It looks like its going to be very funny.
Take a look on Sky 1's website for new and returning shows. They look like they have some corkers coming!

Supermarket Heaven

We are lucky enough to live in a semi rural area, where we are on the doorstep to every thing, but it is still nice and quiet. 

The bonus to this as a family, is that we have just about every conceivable supermarket known in the UK in a 2 mile radius of our house! I know this seems hard to believe when I said we live rurally, but its true! We have Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, M&S, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl and Farmfoods. Then there are the smaller chains like Spar, Co-op and Cost cutter.

As a result of this, we can shop around for our weekly groceries without the petrol cost of getting from one to another (which eventually defeats the object of shopping for a bargain). We have worked out, that by living where we do, we can save around £40 ($63us, 50 Euro) a month on our shopping!

If we sell our house, we can say 'close to all amenities', and mean it!!!!

Preview Bar - Cribbs Causeway - Bristol

This week, we decided to meet up with family members. So we all met up at the Mall at Cribbs Causeway as it is easily accessible for everyone. The other reason for meeting up there, is a little place called The Preview Bar.
It is an absolute must if you have to visit the South West at all. It is situated in an entertainment park called the Venue where there is a cinema, and bowling complex aswell as restaurants like TGI Fridays. We however LOVE the Preview Bar. It is an all you can eat buffet bar, and the prices are really reasonable. Mid week, before 5.30pm It is only £6.95 per adult for all you can eat, starter, main course and dessert! And if you want drinks, there are unlimited soft drinks for £2.25. Children under 10 pay £4.95.
It is a little more expensive at the weekend, but Saturdays, kids eat free with every full paying adult! So it can work out cheaper than going during the week  (after 5.30). Give it a go if your in the area  :))

Euro 2012

Well England have got off to a fighting start in their Euro 2012 campaign. After their first two matches, they stand second in the table to France on goal difference. They only need 1 point from Tuesdays match against the Ukraine to go through to the next stage of the tournament.
Their first match against France, was a little slow. But seeing as they were pitched as the underdogs of that particular match, they did fantastically well to come out of it with a draw. What they did take from that match however was bags of confidence which shone through in their next match against Sweden.
I dont think one particular player shone through in the game (although I have to say, Theo Walcott came on,only touched the ball 3 times and managed 1 goal and 1 assist! Not bad for a late sub!) But I think they all played brilliantly together as a team, where they so often fail, they so obviously pulled together.
This has been put down to the manager by FA vice chairman Sir Dave Richards. According to Richards, Hodgson  has brought "a midas touch" to Englands fortunes. Bringing the team together is down to Hodgson, no doubt. I really do think they believe in him, but more importantly they now believe in each other.
Roy also had plenty to say about Danny Welbecks progress. Despite the strikers positive impact on the team, Hodgson has urged    "I would do well to encourage you not to put too much pressure on the lad," said Hodgson as England prepared to face Ukraine on Tuesday.

"Before we build him up to the skies to knock him down, we should remember he has a lot of time ahead of him.

Hodgson added: "I am happy with the progress he is making. The fact is he has broken into a team like Manchester United, then got games in the national team when he could still play for the Under-21s.

"He had a wonderful season with Manchester United and Sir Alex [Ferguson, United boss] has high hopes for him."

Lets hope they carry on their decent form.......next up, Ukraine, Tuesday 19.45.

Come on lads !!!!!

Get Money Off as a Loyal Virgin Media Customer.

For the past 4 years, we have been with Virgin Media for all our media services. We receive, phone line, TV and broadband with them and are very happy with their products.
One day last week, I was looking around the MoneySavingExpert.com website and there was a list of ways you could decrease your monthly out goings. One of them was to phone your service provider, and see whether they could give you some money off for being a loyal customer. So I did, and the result was £20 off my monthly bill. Not bad for 10min phone call, and I am exceptionally happy!
I did not threaten to leave at any time as this could easily backfire. I just explained that I needed to reduce my monthly outgoings and was there any way they could help.
Give it a go, but I must stress, do not say anything if you are not prepared to follow through. Many years ago, before the times of the yearly upgrade, I tried to do the same with my mobile phone contract. I threatened to leave if they didnt give me what I wanted............guess what?  I had to leave !!! Not my brightest moment as I was quite reliant on the phone and contract.

Alcatraz TV Show Review.

This week saw the season finale in the UK for the Fox TV show Alcatraz, which, to my families distaste, I have grown quite fond of watching.
Briefly, in 1963, all the prisoners and guards on Alcatraz disappeared, now in present day San Francisco,  they are coming back and it is up to three people to find them, and find out what happened all those years ago.
So, after 13 weeks of having to record and then find a suitable time to watch the show when no one else is around, I watch the season finale and then decide to look and see when the second season will be shown..........only to find that on the 10th May this year, Fox decided to cancel the show!! NOOOOOOO.
I cannot believe they are happy to leave us all hanging! I am also gutted that I have, in effect, wasted 13 hours of which I now know I could have been doing something a little more productive!!

Euro 2012 Begins.......

The first few of matches of the tournament were absolute belters. Lets hope it carries on that way.
There was a shock win for Denmark against the Netherlands on Saturday night, aswell as an awesome game between Russia and the Czech Rep on Friday in which there were 5 goals in total, with Russia winning 4-1.
There was an incident after the match however that UEFA are now investigating against the Russian fans where four stewards were seen put in hospital. Hopefully, this was an isolated incident.
The other two match results were Germany 1-0 Portugal and Poland 1-1 Greece.
Todays matches will be Rep of Ire v Croatia and Spain v Italy. But the one we are all waiting for is Englands first match against France on Monday evening. It will be a 5 o'clock kick off, so lets see if I can run home from work quick enough to catch it!!

F1 Canadian 2012 Grand Prix

This weekend see's the Canadian Grand Prix back. Remember last year? What a memorable, if not a little long, race that was. I wonder if Jenson Button cant do a repeat performance?!  For those who don't remember, Button came from dead last to win the race. Lasting 4 hours with five safety cars, I think Button was in his element, and was later to say it was his best win ever. I can understand why. It really was spectacular.
But that was last year and here we are again with Sebastian Vettel in pole position and Lewis Hamilton in second.

1 S Vettel - Red Bull

2 L Hamilton - McLaren

3 F Alonso - Ferrari

4 M Webber - Red Bull

5 N Rosberg - Mercedes

6 F Massa - Ferrari

7 R Grosjean - Lotus

8 P Di Resta Force - India

9 M Schumacher - Mercedes

10 J Button - McLaren

Vettel has dominated the weekends practice and qualifying, lets see if he can follow it through to the race, but lets face it, on past form, he probably will! It seems the little set back that Red Bull had with the legality of their cars has not effected their performance at all.

English steak and ale pie

INGREDIANTS

• 500g (1lb) mushrooms
• 20ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
• 60g (2oz) butter
• 6 Silverskin onions
• 900g (2lb) chuck [stewing] beef, cubed
• 15ml (1 tbsp) flour, plus extra for dusting
• 35ml (2 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
• 30ml (2 tbsp) fresh thyme leaves, or 5ml (1 tsp) dried thyme
• 15ml (1 tbsp) English mustard or add to taste
• 250ml (1 cup) ale
• 250ml (1 cup) beef stock
• 225g (½lb) puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/356°F/gas 4.
2. For the filling, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan fry the mushrooms in the oil until softened then drain on kitchen towel. Add the butter to the pan and gently sweat the chopped onion and carrots until cooked but not coloured.
3. Add the beef and flour to the pan and brown. Add the softened mushrooms, then the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, mustard and ale.
4. Place the lid on the pan and place in the oven. 
5. After 30 minutes, turn the temperature down to 140°C/fan 120°C/275°F/gas 1 and simmer for another hour.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
7. Turn the oven to temp 220°C/fan 200°C/425°F/gas 7.
8. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Add the filling into a pie dish. Brush the beaten egg around the rim of the dish. Top with the pastry. Make a hole in the pie lid and then brush with egg. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

THEN AND NOW

THEN

AND NOW

Money Saving Expert.......you certainly are!!!

It was announced yesterday that Martin Lewis has sold his Money Saving Expert website to web comparison site MoneySuperMarket.com. The deal will need to be approved by the office of fair trading (OFT), but Lewis is set to gain an initial payment of £35m plus £25m of shares in the company. After 3 years he may also receive an additional £27m in cash and shares.
Lewis will remain editor in chief of MoneySavingExpert.com which will also retain its editorial independence
When asked Lewis said "This is great news for MoneySavingExpert.com and its users, ensuring, with or without me, the site will be around for many years to come, maintaining our ethos of 'cutting your costs and fighting your corner'.
"MoneySavingExpert.com has become part of people's daily lives, far bigger than the man who founded it, and now is the right time for it to stand on its own two feet."
In the past 12 months, Moneysavingexpert.com has generated revenues of nearly £16m, of this, 59% was earned from referral fees paid by Moneysupermarket.com!!
Now we know why they wanted to by it!!  To save themselves some money!
Its nice to see that not all nice guys finish last.......well done Martin :))

Canadian Scientist Cures Cancer?

Around 4 years ago  Evangelos Michelakis, a cancer researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada, discovered that a non toxic chemical called dichloroacetate, DCA for short, seems to hinder the growth of cancerous tumours in mice.
After the testing of mice, Michelakis and his team tested human cancer cells in a Petri dish, followed by trials on humans with cancer with the help of private funding. Encouragingly, four out of the five test subjects they used had their lives extended.
Their findings were published in 2010 in Science Translational Medicine. So this is all a couple of years ago now, so why haven't we heard of this amazing new break through in the hunt for a cure to one of the most feared diseases known to man?
Money. Pure and simple. 
Because DCA is inexpensive, the pharmaceutical companies don't want to go near it, as it wont make them a profit!
I don't believe that in this day and age, every thing really does revolve around money and power.......but perhaps that's just me and my naivety! 

Jaguar Jealousy

I work with a lady who is a little above herself most of the time. You now the sort.....she earns more than you, her husband earns more than EVERYONE! Her house is better than yours, and she drives....... a Jag!
Well the car thing does really wind me up. I love Jags, and she has just upgraded her old S Type for a brand spanking, sparkly, new XKR ..................I was absolutely gutted. It has to be the most stunning piece of machinery I have seen in my entire life. All I could do was look in awe as I muttered obscenities under my breath as she drove into the car-park.
But then........someone was looking down on me and heard my pain...........as she reversed her pride and joy into  the infamous concrete post that jumps out at you when you are not looking!
It took all I had not to wet myself laughing there on the spot.
Karma is a wonderful thing, that might teach her to be a little more humble.....but I doubt it!

Long Weekend...........Yayyyyyy

I am one of the most Patriotic people I know, I am really looking forward to all the festivities to celebrate our wonderful monarchs 60th year on the throne. What I am looking forward to even more though is having 4 days off work! Now if I had thought this out properly, I would have booked the rest of the week off aswell, but I didnt, so its just the four days for me.
I wasnt the only one to make the most of the long weekend though, most of the motorways were clogged in our area by 7.30 this morning with holiday traffic, as the kids also have half term this week.
But there is a down side to all this merry making. Each bank holiday is said to cost the economy £2.3 billion, and scrapping them all would boost economic output by £19 billion!! And only 15% of the economy, such as shops and attractions do well over a bank holiday. We all need to tighten our belts at the moment, but please dont take away our bank holidays.......they are one of the only things we have to look forward to now!