Tag Archives: british

Free Poetry Book To Celebrate National Poetry Day

Posted on by

poetry, poetry book, poems, women authors, Scottish writers, poetry book, female writers,Today is National Poetry Day and to celebrate you can get a copy of What Do You Think? A collection of poetry from Catherine Balavage, Frost Magazine’s owner and editor-in-chief. One of her poems is below.

 

Loved person

Broken promises I knew you could not keep
You only ever tried to love me and in gratitude I lay at your feet Because I was in love too, but my love was different

My love was the notion of life, a good one
All I wanted from ear to ear; a smile from my own mouth
It did not work
You loved me so selflessly I could not leave
Although I know now it was only through your love for me that I loved you You lost your own identity
You chose mine but I wanted mine to keep

Still. Here I am
This time only crying at your ever loving feet
I owe you too much to leave
So for the rest of my life. If I never find the courage I will be the living, loved dead
Even though I see
Your love in an otherwise cruel world binds me Forgive me. I doubt for all that I was ever worthy

 

Get your free copy of What Do You Think? now.

Exclusive Paddy Ashdown Interview ‘I Am Devoted To The Liberal Democrats’

Posted on by

Here is part three of our exclusive Paddy Ashdown interview. Take a look at part one and two.

That’s a good answer. In your diaries you are clear about how close you were to Labour before and after the ’97 election, and that PR was the price of coalition. Given that the Lib Dems eventually went into coalition with the Tories, with just a promise of a referendum on AV, how do you think events would have unfolded if you’d accepted a similar deal in ’97?”

I don’t know. I mean I can’t take you through the what would have happened parts of history. I suspect the circumstances would have been very different if we also had the referendum on a sensible system rather than a lesser sensible one. I don’t think you would have had the leading party in the country at the time deliberately doing what they could at the time to destroy the motion and the national newspapers at the time supporting them. That is the ‘what would have happened’ bits of history and we could all spend hours deciding how the world would be different  if Britain hadn’t won the battle of Waterloo; It’s very interesting but it doesn’t bear much relevance.

Paddy_Ashdown_3You also said in your diaries that you were worried that the party would start with Gladstone and end with Ashdown, what do you think was your greatest achievement as the Liberal Democrat Leader?

I have never ever believed that I am a good judge of my own achievements, I leave that to others to decide on what your achievements are. I was very proud to lead the Liberal Democrats for eleven years, I loved it, I am devoted to them. I was also very proud to be the International High Representative in Bosnia for the British Government.  No doubt I made mistakes in both of those jobs, probably quite a lot of them. When you have the privilege of doing jobs like that you can use it to your advantage and I quickly realised what I was good at and what I was bad at.

What do you think will happen with the Liberal Democrats in 2015?

I actually think all the polls now are wrong. I have to rely, as I always have done, on the good judgement of the british electorate, I think we have a good story to tell, we have been in government, everyone said we couldn’t do it. I think we have been more united than the Tories, tougher than the Tories, and played a really serious role in bringing our country through a crisis. If I know the British electorate at all well, when the moment comes, I think we’ll reap the dividends of that. I also think that the British electorate probably, having had the benefit of the coalition may not be very happy returning to absolute power in anybody’s hands. Also, having a coalition of some sort forces people to work together instead of spending all their time scratching each other’s eyes out. Maybe that is a much better system than what we had in the past. Those two things will help us I think.
Who Is Your Favourite Politician?

I think as someone said to me; ‘Who is my hero?’ and I said William Wilberforce who is as unlike me as you could possibly get, apart from Gladstone of course, who is the greatest Prime Minister this country has ever had both internationally and domestically, he was a man who said, “We did not march across the law of anti-slavery, we did not march towards a monument in the distance, we gathered friends like flowers along the way.” and I think he was an extraordinary politician.

Do you think we should have intervened in Syria?

No, I don’t. I’m against intervening in Syria while the opposition is so fractured and defused. Anyways, they’re being funded by extremist elements and encouraging extremist elements so, no, I thought that would lead us towards an engagement in what I think is a widening religious war. I did however think we should intervene in defense of one of the principles pillars of international law; a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has stood since 1926 and strained even Hitler and Stalin, and I thought that unless we were prepared to show strength to Assad, not by intervention because we wouldn’t have done, but there was a price to pay that was painful for breaking this principle of international law, then it would only have encouraged the wider spread of chemical weapons. So, no, I don’t think we should have intervened in Syria but I do think we should defend International Law and indeed one of the most important pillars of the international law that preserves some semblance of civilised behaviour in the prosecution of wars.

You testified against Slobodan Milosevic. Was that scary?

No, it wasn’t scary. It was more scary being bombarded by his troops. I mean, I testified about being in the middle of the Albanian villages when they were being bombarded by the main battle units of his army, that was much more scary.

I can understand that. You have done a lot of different things in your life. What is your favourite?

I think there is nothing I’ve done that will match my sense of pride of being a member of parliament for my own community of Yeovil. There is no thing you could ever do that matched being the representative in Westminster of the community you live in and love. So if somebody said you can have one line to put on your gravestone it would be ‘Member of Parliament for Yeovil’.

What was it like being an intelligence officer?

I was a perfectly ordinary diplomat

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Never stop learning.

Thank you Paddy.

 What do you think?

Exclusive: Paddy Ashdown On Clegg, The Tories, The Liberal Democrats & The NHS

Posted on by

Part two of our Interview with Paddy Ashdown. Here he talks about politics. Part three will be up tomorrow. Let us know what you think. Part one, where he talks about writing and his books,  is here.

Do you mind if I ask you some political questions as well?

No, go on.

Would you prefer the Liberal Democrats to side with Labour at the next election?

That is a matter not for me or my preference but it is a matter for the British electorate voting in the ballot box.

Do you think Nick Clegg has been true to liberal values?

Absolutely. I think he is remarkable. I think he is…I am devoted to the man, I think he is one of the most brilliant politicians in Britain today. Hugely, publicly, under-rated. He’s got very, very good judgement. He’s got extraordinary courage and he is a liberal down to the marrow of his bones. So I think he’d undoubtedly make the best Prime Minister that you could have today.

He has a very hard job. Doesn’t he? 

It’s a thankless job. I did it for eleven years and let me tell you it is the most thankless job  because you represent the only philosophy: liberalism, that makes any sense.

He has it tough because generally people don’t seem to like the Tories

No they don’t like the Tories and I don’t like them either. I spent my life fighting them. If the public elects a coalition where the only coalition that can have a majority in the House of Commons inherently, mathematically, adds up to ourselves and the Tories do they really want people that don’t listen to them?, the public democratic view. And you better ask yourself what they like best. Do they really like the complete and utter corrupt mess this country was left in by Labour, which would have bankrupted young people for the next twenty years or do they like two parties that put aside their differences for the national interest and work together to get us out of the worst recession we have had since the 1930s and back on the path of growth. Which of these two would you prefer?

I agree with that, Labour left the country in a very big mess.

Absolutely. People have likes and dislikes in politics and what I’m interested in is doing what’s right for my country. That is what I have always been interested in and if the Liberal Democrats pay an electoral price for that, and I think they will by the way, if they did, if I was doing what I believed to be right for my country and helping it out of a crisis then I am proud of that and that’s what politics is for.

Do you think the Liberal Democrats made an error over tuition fees?

Yes, they made an error by promising it when it couldn’t be delivered. We’ve been in opposition for a hundred years, we haven’t been in government, so of course from time to time decisions which were driven to a certain extent by opportunism. I said at the time that we were making a promise that I didn’t think in the economic climate could be delivered. If we had been in government by ourselves I think we might have decided to sacrifice other things in order to deliver what we promised but we weren’t in government, we were in coalition. So, no, neither parties manifesto has been in operation. Both parties have had to make some compromises. I don’t call that anti-democratic. I call that the operation of democracy.

Do you think the NHS is being privatised?

What concerns me more than anything else isn’t who owns the NHS but how the public is served. How the citizen is served. For instance, even under the last government, under Mr Blair’s government, I had to have some health checks done and I went to a private organisation run under contract from the health service as an alternative means of delivering health services, that is; free at the point of delivery health services, and they did a wonderful job. Now I could have gone to a health service hospital, it’s all paid out of our taxes, it’s all paid by the national health service. One of those organisations was privately run, one was publicly run. It doesn’t matter who runs it. I don’t believe in private health but if there is a private provider providing to the health service under health service conditions and they can do it better for the costumer, then that is surely what you want. I mean I don’t believe the argument that says private/public is the necessary argument. I am strongly in favour of public services being offered free at the point of delivery and paid for on taxation, but who actually runs the organisation that delivers it is far less important to me than how well the citizen is served.

I agree with that. That is a question we get asked a lot but I got an MRI on my back and it was done through the NHS via a private company and they did an amazing job. Very professional, very quick.

Yes, that’s right. If you had a monopoly public service I don’t even think it would be a better public service. It needs competition. It makes people live up to the mark. I bet you there were more people abused and receiving bad service and ignorant service when the NHS was a public monopoly. I don’t believe in public monopoly. I believe in things being paid for either by taxation, free at the point of delivery but then who does that?, providing it is subject to inspection and national control is a matter of irrelevance.

 

TheBruvs – Animated Comedy Series

Posted on by

Why hasn’t there been a massively successful UK animated sitcom – in the style of US juggernauts The Simpsons or Family Guy?

That’s a question that got me thinking about 10 years ago. Just over two years ago I decided to try to do something about it. That is how TheBruvs.com was born.

Short, punchy comedy animations featuring a family of London villains trying to go straight in Essex – and failing, the films feature brothers Doug and Den, their dad, sister Janice, her son Jason and the lovely Chanterelle.

It’s my first proper venture into animation, although I was lucky enough to write a piece for Homer Simpson, no less, for a message to Simon Cowell on his This Is Your Life programme.

My background is news, current affairs, comedy and entertainment TV shows. Throw in projects with Jeremy Clarkson and some Top Gear credits and that makes up my CV – working with a lot of household names along the way.

But I wanted to do animation. I had the idea for The Bruvs and touted it round broadcasters and production companies. The costs and time involved with animation put all off.

Then I managed to persuade award winning animation director Eoin Clarke and sound and editing wizard Paul Richmond to come in on the project with me.

It is a passion project – which means persuading others to work on something with you on less than a shoestring.

We decided to have a go and put the films on YouTube. We also set up a website. And I had to get to grips with social media… setting up The Bruvs’ facebook, twitter, tumblr and instagram accounts.

Two years on and we have 17 films on YouTube – and 11 films running on the UKTV channel Dave and their on-demand service UKTVplay.

We have many more big ideas. I’m not saying we are anywhere near The Simpsons, American Dad or South Park but The Bruvs is growing and there has been a lot of positive feedback from round the world.

To have taken something – literally – from page to screen – is very rewarding. The instant feedback from the social media sites is also a great encouragement – on the most part. Our hope is to gradually lengthen the episodes and develop them and the characters into more of a sitcom style. We have many plans for all the characters.

Now we have music too – thanks to the very talented Stig Winslet and Pete Harbour – who have brought a new dimension to The Bruvs with songs about their antics. If something we come up with amuses us, we tend to put it into the films – subject to our budget and time constraints.

It’s still relatively early days, but The Bruvs are growing and are finding their feet on the world stage.

They have come a long way since they moved to Essex. It might be something in the water.

By Ian Brown

TV writer and producer / co-creator TheBruvs.com

THEBRUVS

CREDITS  

Writer : Ian Brown

Director : Eoin Clarke

Sound : Paul Richmond

Music : Stig Winslet, Pete Harbour

 

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI5al_Dl4V0kh-dxBsbjyig

twitter / facebook : @TheBruvsTV

instagram: thebruvstv

 

The Great British Family Report 2017

Posted on by

Frost magazine found the The Great British Family Report 2017 very interesting indeed. How do you match up?

bigstock_Family_travelling_by_car_6563169

NO MONEY, NO TIME, NO PATIENCE – BUT NINE IN TEN BRITISH FAMILIES ARE HAPPY

 

  • Great British Family Report paints picture of typical family in 2017 – from work to finances
  • Biggest worries include money, children’s happiness and lack of quality time spent with kids
  • Mums much more hands-on with chores – but also control the purse-strings
  • But despite pressures of family life, 91 per cent of British families are happy and content

 

A portrait of British family life in 2017 reveals parents are under constant pressure as they juggle finances, kids and responsibilities, according to a new report. But despite the burden of family life, more than nine in ten parents (91%) are happy with life.

 

Nationwide’s Great British Family Report was commissioned to produce both a snapshot of the average family but also to highlight the pressures affecting parents – from the costs of living, to the struggles many face in fulfilling their roles as parents, partners and workers.

 

The report, which polled 2,000 families, shows that, on average, families have two children, a pet dog, an income of £29,688 a year, live in a three-bed house and drive a Ford Focus. However, the insight also shows parents work an average of 30 hours a week and invest as much time doing household chores as spending time together (18 hours).  The survey also reveals that women are far more likely to manage the household finances than men and also do an average of seven hours more housework per week.

 

Average family

The poll shows that British families tend to have two children (45%), while around a fifth (19%) have three and nine per cent have four or more. The average age for starting to have children is 27 years old, with the second child arriving at the age of 30. Those with three children tend to have their third at 33 years old.

 

As well as children, the families surveyed had an average of one pet, with a dog being the companion of choice, closely followed by a cat. In terms of the cars they drive, the most popular family vehicle is a Ford Focus. The average amount spent on the main family car is just under £9,000 (£8,911).

 

Two thirds (67%) of parents are married, according to the research, with one in ten (10%) either single, divorced or separated.

 

British families also enjoy an average of two holidays together a year, one in the UK and one abroad.  While one in eight families (13%) aren’t able to go on holiday together at all. Nearly a third of families (30%) spend more than ten per cent of their annual income on holidays per year – demonstrating the importance many place on relaxing and having dedicated time with loved ones.

 

Family finances

The survey shows that women are more likely to control the family finances, with over a third of women (38%) saying they manage the budget, compared to just a quarter (27%) of men. The average household earns £29,688 a year, with one in five (20%) earning £18,000 or less. Families have an average of around£8,000 squirreled away in savings for themselves, while the average savings of the eldest child is £2,723. Families owe an average of £1,618 on credit cards, £1,315 on personal loans, £1,496 on student loans, £896 on car finance and nearly £500 is owed to the bank of mum and dad. Around one in ten families polled (11%) have more than £20,000 in savings.

 

When all the main bills have been paid, families polled say they’ve got an average of £183 of disposable income a week to spend for the whole family, which amounts to around £46 per person, per week, assuming a family of four. While two in five (41%) say they have less than £115 spare cash.

 

But with most of their money going on bills, entertaining the kids, paying school and childcare costs, parentssay they only spend an average of £30 a month per household on themselves for things like hobbies and luxury items.

 

Childcare and school costs

Just over half (51%) of British families surveyed use childcare, including breakfast and afterschool clubs, with children attending sessions two days a week on average.  This costs families around £2,000 each year. However, school is also expensive, with clubs, activities, kit and extra tuition costing families a sizeable £800 per year on average. This comprises of:

  • £171 spent on clubs at school
  • £224 spent on school activities
  • £261 spent on school kit
  • £145 spent on extra tuition

 

Our house

The poll shows that British families have an average of three bedrooms, two toilets, one family room and one toy room.

 

Parents spent an average of just under four-and-a-half times their household income when they bought their family home, with the majority (78%) of families having a mortgage of £164,695 still to pay off.  Althoughone in ten (10%) are lucky enough to own their home outright.

 

Technology plays an important part in the modern family home, with families saying they own an average oftwo televisions, two tablets, two laptops, one computer, three phones and two games consoles.

 

The average overall value of these household tech items was £806 for televisions, £398 for tablets, £560 for laptops, £381 for computers, £562 for phones and £379 for game consoles. Toys around the house tally up to an average value of £587.

 

Happy families

According to the Nationwide poll, 91 per cent of parents’ class themselves as happy with family life, with nearly a third (31%) saying they are extremely happy. This is despite parents conceding they argue with family members on average twice a week and find themselves spending the same amount of time doing household chores (18 hours on average) as the time they spend together (18 hours).

 

The research also found that families spend an average of ten hours a week watching television, but only six hours a week spending quality time together – defined as time spent with children completely undistracted. Getting in the way of this includes work (44% of parents reported this as the top reason), household chores (34%) and children using TV and gadgets to pass the time (25%). Nearly double the amount of women (40%) than men (22%) say chores get in the way of family time, while more men (58%) than women (36%) say work is to blame.

 

However, the tradition of the family meal is still a firm staple for British households with the poll showing that families eat together at the table on average four times a week, compared to only twice a week in front of the television. British families polled have an average of one family takeaway together each week.

 

Family routine

Research into the household routine highlights that mums and dads work an average of 30 hours a week, with men doing around 35 hours and women doing around 25 hours.  The average family day consists of:

  • 6.50am – get out of bed
  • 8.10am – leave for work
  • 7.45pm – put the kids to bed
  • 8.11pm – relax for the evening
  • 9.58pm – go to bed (parents claim to get just over six-and-a-half hours sleep a night).

 

Entertaining kids

Families spend an average of £558 per annum keeping their children entertained or busy, although many manage to keep their offspring busy without needing to spend a penny. The top five ways parents keep their children busy are:

  1. 65% watch a film at home
  2. 53% go for walks or outdoor activities
  3. 52% discuss their day or week
  4. 50% help children with homework
  5. 48% let their children entertain themselves

 

Gadget time also plays a large part of keeping children entertained in British households, with a third (35%) of parents admitting to using gadgets in this way.

 

Family chores

Parents despise a whole range of chores, with constantly tidying up after children considered the worst chore of all. The top five worst chores include:

  1. Constantly tidying up after children (27%)
  2. Getting jobs done around the house (22%)
  3. Disciplining children (18%)
  4. Getting children to bed (16%)
  5. Getting them to put the iPad down or turn the TV off (16%)

 

Women despise parental chores more than men, with more than one in five (21%) men saying they don’t have a problem with any of them, compared to just one in nine (12%) women. However, women do a good seven hours more household chores a week than men.

 

Worries

When it comes to worries, money tops the poll for two in five (41%), while around third (34%) worry about their children’s happiness and almost a third (31%) feel they don’t spend enough quality time with their children. Men’s worries centre around work, with over a quarter (27%) concerned about work life balance, compared to nearly one in five women (19%). However, women’s worries centre around children, with nearly a third (31%) concerned that they are not a good parent, compared to nearly one in five men (19%).

 

Regrets

Two in five (40%) families wish they had saved more, over a third (37%) regret not travelling more and a quarter (25%) wish they had earned more. Around one in six (16%) regret working too many hours, with men (20%) regretting this more than women (13%). While 13 per cent wished they had more children, although this was more of a regret for women (15%) than men (8%).

 

Guilt

Losing patience with children so easily (45%) topped the poll when it comes to guilt, followed by allowing too much gadget time (27%) and wishing they had spent more time together as a family (24%). This may be the reason why more than a quarter of parents (27%) are concerned that they might not be good parents, or are not doing enough for their family (21%).

 

Phil Smith, Nationwide’s Head of Current Accounts said: “Our report shows that family life isn’t always easy, with home ownership, striking a work-life balance and keeping the children entertained a fine art. But while it is clear that time is at a premium and finances are being squeezed, it’s heart-warming to know that through thick and thin the vast majority of us are happy.

 

“As Britain’s biggest building society, we naturally see lots of families in our branches. One of the things we notice is that regardless of their financial circumstances, they all have the same need – to have peace of mind that they can manage their money”.

 

 

Try the Best of British at newly vamped Boyds Grill & Wine Bar

Posted on by

Boyds Entrance area

This week saw the re-launch of Boyds Grill & Wine Bar situated in the heart of London’s Trafalgar Square. Created by Charles Boyd and designed by Paul Clarke and Nick Preece, this masterful creation has a menu every bit as striking and luxurious as the fine furnishings and exquisite chandeliers. It is the distinct personality of Boyd’s that really does set this restaurant apart with quality touches such as their innovative use of the finest British produce to create their varied menu.

Boyds0216Food-18

At Boyds, the use of British produce doesn’t have to mean ‘Pub Grub’ and Executive Chef, Nate Brewster really has pulled out all the stops to showcase his international cooking techniques to the finest British ingredients. The Sipsmith Gin Cured Salmon was particularly impressive served up in Sashimi style pieces with Daikon and Buttermilk Sorbet as well as the Seven Hour Braised Lamb Leg with Carrot and Apple puree. The meat dishes on the menu are particularly impressive with lamb so tender it will literally melt in your mouth. But fear not, if it is classics you’re after, your needs will be met with a Nate Brewster twist. Try the Mac and Wookey Hole cheese bite with BBQ sauce. It really is every bit as indulgent as it sounds and will leave your mouth-watering for more.

Boyds Kitchen Bar area

The space has been designed to suit all needs whether it’s for a casual bite at the bar or a more formal dining experience. Boyds have ensured that the same menu is available in all the areas and please don’t let the historic Victorian clad interior fool you into thinking only fine fayre is on offer. Boyds have ensured that it’s a venue you can pop in for nibbles after work, pre-theatre or for a quick bite at lunch. We recommend trying out the tapas style meats and cheeses on offer, all British may we add. The fine selections have been sourced from top UK producers such as White Lake Cheese and Trealy Farm only the best at Boyds.

Boyds0216Food-20

As well as their great British food offering, Boyds Grill & Wine Bar will be serving the very best of wines at good value prices as well as a selection of tasty cocktails. All the wines can be enjoyed by the glass, thanks to the newly installed ‘By the Glass’ machine which preserves the wines at their peak.

IMG_6555

All in all, Boyds has a very unique and pleasant feel. The beautiful bronze bar and stunning artwork really transport you to Old England with a contemporary twist and the impressive, well thought out menu will leave you more than satisfied. Every dish is Instagram-worthy may we add, so if you’re looking to wow your followers with some impressive looking dishes or wow your date, mum, manager, new client with some outstanding food and ambience than look no further than Boyds Grill & Wine Bar.

Boyds0216Food-79

The restaurant is open all day and evening Monday to Saturday from 8:00am – 11:30pm.

                                                                                      Boyds Grill & Wine Bar


8 Northumberland Avenue,

London, WC2N 5BY

Tel: 0207 808 3344


www.boydsgrillandwinebar.co.uk

Discover bagsy Make-Up. Your Handbags New Best Friend.

Posted on by

British-born bagsy started out big, working for global beauty brands. From all of their expert knowledge they decided to take the best of the market and curate a perfectly designed capsule collection that’s easy-to-choose and easy-to-use. The products are effortlessly fuss-free and stand alone as individual, clever formulas presented in iconic, compact packaging and a colour palette to compliment any shade of skin.

We tried out some of bagsy’s top picks for darker skin tones and here’s how we got on;

IMG_5629

First up Pretty Cheeks blush £16;
Shade; Velvet Coral.

With it’s high pigmentation, this is designed to perk up your complexion whilst still appearing soft and subtle. This creamy blush is so light and almost feels like a layer of mousse across your skin without looking too ‘caked’ on. I absolutely loved the texture of this and it was so easy to apply with its dome-shaped design. This lasted all day on my skin and instantly gave me a little face lift and a softer appearance. It’s convenient to apply on the go and this really has become a staple in my make-up bag. This has been a stand out colour of any blush I have tried in the past, with just the right balance of glow and radiance, the Velvet Coral gave my face an instant lift and also enhanced my contour routine.

IMG_0191

Ray of Sunshine bronzer £18
Shade; Medium Dark

This matte bronzing powder compact is effortless, luxurious and gave a natural radiancy to my skin. I’ve always had difficulty selecting certain bronzers as many brands tend to have a lot of sparkle pigments in them which can look like i’ve swept a big line of glitter across my face, but this bronzer was designed to give you an effortless glow and to even out skin tone, which is just what it does. The packaging is chic and bagsy’s nice little touches such as the quotes they have chosen to print on their products/packaging will never fail to make you smile.

Wow-Lips-Killer-Heels-combined-600x600

Wow Lips lip pencil £12
Shade; Killer Heels

The Wow Lips collection as with all of the bagsy range, is presented in a smart box with a few striking and highly pigmented colours to choose from. This chubby lip crayon is long-lasting and really moisturising as well as giving good coverage. This was my favourite product out of the collection as it really was such a high quality and lasted most of the evening with very little touch-ups. The formula used to make Wow Lips contains nylon and spherical powders which is why this brand new make-up bag staple has a serious comfort-factor as well as stunning coverage.

IMG_5648

The bagsy range is available to buy from Feelunique.com and launched into Debenhams stores nationwide October 2015.

http://www.bagsybeauty.com

One In Eight British Adults Are Now Vegetarian

Posted on by

Leek And Lentil Hotpot Recipe Vegetarian FoodcookingSomething is afoot. A change in our eating habits which has become more than a trend. Sparked by people becoming more environmentally conscious and not wanting to contribute to the damage that cheap meat causes. More people are becoming vegan, pescetarian (eats fish but no meat), vegetarian and flexitarian (has a mostly plant based diet but occasionally eats meat. I would put myself at the end. I have tried vegetarianism before but it never worked out. The first time I got really ill and when I started eating meat again I always made sure it was organic, free-range meat and that the animal had had a good life). To be honest the thing that most put me off vegetarianism was, and is, aggressive vegetarians. There are few things worse in life than an aggressive vegetarian who is always getting on their high horse and telling everyone else what to eat and how to live their life. Debate is fine, not lecturing. My husband is now mostly pescetarian, we eat mostly vegetables at home. This has been a learning curve when cooking meals and has also been a trial whilst pregnant and constantly craving meat. My husband and I are not alone however.

According to Mintel, around 12 per cent of people now follow vegetarian or vegan diets – rising to 20 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24. Millions more are flexitarian. A staggering one in eight British adults are now vegetarian. The truth is, we are all eating less meat. The meat-free market is now worth £625million a year and growing all the time.

That is quite something. We will be doing more vegetarian recipes on Frost and will also be doing a lot of cooking videos on our YouTube channel. So watch out for both and let us know what you think.