Tag Archives: cheap

How to get the most out of that special meal, the best restaurant tips from toptable

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Eating out is always a treat, whether it be for a celebration such as a birthday or anniversary, a hot date or even just a catch-up with an old friend or family member. Special meals can be made even more memorable if you bag a hard to get reservation at an exclusive restaurant, secure the best table or even get more for your money by receiving money off your meal.

 

Lucy Taylor, head of restaurant relations at toptable, the leading consumer destination site for restaurant reservations in the UK, shares her top tips on how to ensure that you make the most of your dining experience:

 

Eat at a less popular time to bag a table: If you have always wanted to eat at that exclusive restaurant but have never been able to get a reservation why not to make a booking at a time that is less in demand such as dinner before 6pm, brunch or lunch.

 

The time of day and week that you go out can also have an impact on how much you spend with some restaurants offering mid-week or ‘early-bird’ special offers. Look out for toptable’s special 1,000 point booking slots at top restaurants that allows users to earn bonus points for booking at selected restaurants and times. Book two 1,000 point tables and receive a £10 dining cheque, which can be used at most restaurants on toptable

 

Don’t be afraid to make a special request: If you want to impress during your meal and make it a memorable experience, don’t be afraid to put in a special request upon booking. Are you celebrating? Tell the restaurant. Do you want that table by the window? Well why not go ahead and ask. It is however, important to arrive on time and be polite and well-mannered at all times as first impressions do count.

 

Special Offers: Look out for special offers and money off vouchers, these allow your money to stretch further when eating out. The toptable mobile site and app available for iPhone, iPad and Android, allows you to see a list of all restaurants that have special offers available within close vicinity of your current location.

 

Try something you wouldn’t try at home: When dining out, try dishes that you wouldn’t be able to make yourself at home. Instead of a pasta dish why try delicacies such as sashimi or monkfish and try deserts such as chocolate fondant or crème brulee to ensure a truly memorable experience.

 

Always read the reviews: If you are venturing somewhere a bit more lavish for that special meal, always ensure that you read up on the restaurant first to ensure that you are happy with your choice, that it works for your budget and that you like the menu it offers.

 

Diner reviews can often be deciding where to eat. toptable.co.uk features reviews that are written by people that have actually visited and eaten at the restaurants. These reviews can be filtered by categories such as ‘good for kids’ ‘good for romance’, ‘good for special occasions’ and help to ensure that you pick the right restaurant to suit what you are looking for.

 

 

Morrisons Christmas Range: What To Buy For Christmas

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It may seem strange to see a Christmas article so early but there is a reason: most companies have their Christmas PR days in July. There is always a lead up needed for Christmas articles. It is the same in acting, you film the Christmas specials six months early. By the time Christmas comes I feel I have been celebrating it for at least half the year.

Morrisons has launched an excellent Christmas range. The food is well-selected, reasonably priced and sourced by professionals in their field. Here are some reasons why I think Morrisons is great for Christmas….

Morrisons source livestock straight from farmers. They also sell black summer truffles at £99.99 a kilo…which means you can buy your own truffles for £3 or £4.

In 2011 they pledged to have more than 50 promotions each week to make it cheaper for customers to get their 5 a day. They average 93 promotions a week.

None of their fruit or veg goes to waste, what is not good enough for customers is given to animals.

I was lucky enough to taste some food made by Neil Nugent who is Morrisons Executive Chef and Head of Innovation, Ray Craven, meat specialist and Martin Clayton, bakery specialist. I have picked out my highlights below from the UK’s fourth-largest grocer.

Mince Pie & Cream Flavoured Popcorn.
The acronym OMG was made for this popcorn. It just tastes divine. Available from October 15.

Morrisons Best Champagne Brut has won the Which? Best Champagne Award twice.
“I am very prod of our Morrisons Best Champagne Brut as I handpicked the blend myself. It is multi-award-winning and adds a certain elegance and style to any meal or celebration.” Arabella Woodrow, Wine Specialist. I have tasted a lot of champagne and this is now my favourite. It just tastes amazing. No wonder is has been voted Best Champagne twice.

Beetroot Smoked Salmon, Smoked Halibut and Smoked Salmon
This salmon is delicious. I really liked the Beetroot salmon. The halibut was good too. A tip from Morrisons is to buy your salmon in advance and freeze it. Salmon has a long shelf life.

Christmas Tree Tear and Share Bread
This tastes great and it looks fun too. Wrap uneaten piece in cling film to make them last longer.

Panettone
Freshly baked and with 15% more fruit this year. Morrisons makes good panettone. I will be buying this again for Christmas.

Other highlights: Soda bread by Bryn Williams, White Christmas Pudding created by Claire Clarke MBE, Crusted Turkey by Nigel Haworth and Rustic Country Pate created by Pierre Koffmann.

Pay Less For Your Prescriptions.

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Check if you qualify for free prescriptions

People in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all have free prescriptions. People who live in England are not so lucky. However, if you are on some benefits, are pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months then you will be entitled to free prescriptions. Check with your pharmacist.

Use An Alternative

Check that the medicine you have the prescription for is not available over the counter. It could be cheaper to buy it without the prescription. A lot of commonly prescribed medicine is available over the counter.

Prepay.

You can get something called a prescriptions prepayment certificate. It covers all of your NHS prescriptions for a certain period.

For example, if you need four prescriptions in a three month period, you would be better off buying a three-month certificate which costs £29.10. You can get these from the NHS Prescription Pricing Authority website nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx or call 0845 850 0030

Ask Your Doctor To Buy in Bulk

You can ask your doctor for a single prescription to cover a certain amount of time. It is not well known but this means that a 1-3 month prescription would only cost £7.65. Instead of buying four different prescriptions over that time, which would cost £30.60. Talk to your doctor about prescription charges and how you can save money.

Other ways to save on medical bills it to take out temporary medical insurance. Your health is the most important thing in life so invest in it as much as you can.

Found! The most tight-fisted male daters in the UK

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Frost exposes the most tight-fisted male daters in the UK

Male daters from Bolton are less willing to splash the cash in the search for love, according to FlirtFinder

Mobile dating service FlirtFinder.mobi, has revealed that Bolton boys are the most stingy when it comes to romance. According to the results, they are only happy to pay to respond to one in four messages implying that they would rather keep their wallets tightly sealed.

Based on the 1.2 million conversations that have been initiated by the female members of FlirtFinder, the results revealed that the lads of Llandridnod in Wales reply to over half of the messages that they receive from women, suggesting that they are happy to invest a few pennies in the search for their perfect partner.

 

Tightest daters in UK Most generous daters in UK
1)    Bolton 1)    Llandrindod Wells
2)    Ilford 2)    Telford
3)    Torquay 3)    Halifax
4)    Twickenham 4)    Carisle
5)    Sutton 5)    Dumfries
6)    Harrow 6)    Inverness
7)    Truro 7)    Worcester
8)    Huddersfield 8)    Gloucester
9)    Durham 9)    Taunton
10) Portsmouth 10) Reading

 

Justin Battell, managing director of FlirtFinder says, “When we looked at the differences in how our members use FlirtFinder, we found the areas where the men are most receptive bears no relationship to how affluent that region is.”

“There also doesn’t appear to be any evidence of a north and south divide, or any truth in commonly cited regional stereotypes, as the tightest and most generous areas include towns from all over the UK.”

The results are based on the probability of male members buying a message credit and replying to a woman who has contacted them directly.

FlirtFinder is a pay as you go mobile dating service where members buy credits only when they need them, rather than charging a recurring monthly subscription fee.

For more information on FlirtFinder, or to become a member, please visit: http://www.flirtfinder.mobi/

Finicky – Bespoke Shirts that Measure Up

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If you want a classic white shirt, and who wouldn’t?, then Frost Magazine has found an online shirt specialist, Finicky, which offers the affordable luxury of a world class tailor at your fingertips 24 hours a day.

Years of travelling abroad with access to bespoke, yet affordable shirts, entrepreneur and Finicky founder, David Buisson, wanted to share this shopping experience, and all from the tap of a keyboard in the comfort of a customer’s home or office.

Finicky’s team of highly skilled tailors can create any shirt, from a personalised quintessential classic (no wardrobe is complete without at least one simple white shirt…) to individual colourful masterpieces. The wide and varied choice of quality fabrics and style options available via the website ensures each shirt is as individual as the wearer.

With a contemporary and easy to navigate website, customers can create their own personalised online shirt portfolio, by inputting their measurements only once. The details are then saved for future ease of shopping.

Finicky takes pride in outstanding customer service dedicated to nurturing individual client relationships. Not only is there a unique loyalty programme where customers accumulate “shirt miles” – the shirts are also delivered free of charge anywhere in the world – and come with a full 100% money back guarantee whatever the reason.

Bespoke shirt from just £64.95, visit www.finickyshirts.com

Cheap and Easy Ways To Be Greener

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Doing your bit for the environment needn’t be boring and expensive. Here are Frost’s top tips.

1) Always turn lights off when you leave the room.
2) Don’t leave appliances on standby and don’t leave things plugged in when not in use. A TV on standby uses 40% of the energy it does when it’s switched on.
3) Only boil as much water as you need.
4) Have a bag for life. Always refuse plastic bags when shopping. They are not just bad for the environment, they also kill animals and wreck ocean life.
5) Turn the thermostat down. You can cut your heating bills by up to 10% by turning the thermostat down by 1C.
6) Fix leaking taps and don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth.
7) Replace old light bulbs with new, energy-efficient ones. This will save you around £37 a year on your bill. The old ones are being phased out anyway.
8) Buy less stuff. Really, consuming less is the best thing you can do for the environment. I always get depressed when I walk past somewhere like Primark and see all their cheap clothes that will last for a few months and then go to a landfill site. Make a stand.
9) Invest in draught excluders, get your heating checked by a professional and fit a central heating thermostat so you can only heat rooms that you are in. Any expense will quickly be recouped.
10) Use eco-friendly paints when decorating. There is a range of natural paint free from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are known to cause allergies. They are non-toxic, made from renewable sources and avoid issues with damp.
11) Subscribe to The Ecologist. It’s cheap, you get a free gift and it will have lots of articles and advice on how to live a green life.

Do you have any tips on being greener? Add them below.

Have Fun On The Cheap

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In this economical climate you would be foolish to pay full price for anything. However, it can be hard to find inexpensive stuff to do now that the recession has kicked in. The answer is to have fun on the cheap. There is still fun to be had, and relatively cheaply if you look around. Frost has done the searching for you and has come up with a number of things to do without breaking your budget.

You can buy Peter Pan Tickets. I have seen it and it is an amazing experience. If you are a sports fan you can get San Diego Chargers Tickets at a reasonable price. There are few things more fun than a night of American football.

If sport is not your thing, music fans can get Celine Dion Tickets
Celine is quite the performer and that will be an experience you will never forget. If Celine is not your cup of tea you can get Rascal Flatts Tickets

If you are feeling more cultured then you can get Trans-Siberian Orchestra Tickets cheaply.

Everyone deserves to have experiences they will never forget, so just buy them at a price you can afford. Have fun!