Tag Archives: valentine’s day

Frost’s Valentine’s Day Special

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So it is that time of year again, where the lovers of the world show each other how they feel. Gift buying can be a nightmare so Frost has put together a guide.

You cannot go wrong with The Body Shop. They do not test on animals and always have great products. They do excellent gift sets and underwear may be a cliche but most women love something from La Senza.

Perfume is something that pretty much all women love. Get some at halfpriceperfumes.co.uk and then take your other half out for a meal with the money you save.

Shoes are the way to a women’s heart, and men are partial to them too. There are some beautiful shoes at zalando.co.uk

Get some excellent grooming products for the man in your life from mankind.co.uk

uk.loccitane.com products are classy and smell divine. I buy their hand creams for the people I love in my life.

Fifty Shades of Grey is still selling like hotcakes and it might get your women in the mood. No, not that one, the good one. You can get her the book on Christian Grey or some other erotic books from Amazon.co.uk.

Benefit Cosmetics are sassy, cool and well packaged, and that is before you even use the product. Perfect for the wow factor.

Forget the Valentine’s Day clichés, if you’re looking to ignite your lover’s imagination this year, then the Kobo Mini eReader is the perfect gift, at just £59.99 from WH Smith.

Proving that great gifts come in small packages, the Kobo Mini is the world’s smallest and most stylish eReader currently on the market. Preload your lover’s Kobo Mini with romantic poetry and love stories to truly get hearts racing – and with over 3 million ebooks to choose from and one million that are absolutely FREE, the Kobo Mini is a thoughtful gift that’s sure to seal the deal.

Coming with a 5” screen and device that holds over 1,000 ebooks, the Kobo Mini perfectly slips into a clutch bag or jacket pocket. Available in either black or white, you can customise your eReader by choosing from Kobo’s selection of signature quilted back interchangeable back covers that come in a selection of colours, designed for comfort.

Other great gifts include the Kobo Glo eReader – which comes with front-light, and Kobo Arc – Kobo’s new tablet which comes with tapestries to hold all your favourites so you can easily find them on the interface.

The Kobo Mini is available from WH Smith at £59.99 and all good retailers.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, award winning online marketplace notonthehighstreet.com is helping people make a truly meaningful romantic gesture this February with their innovative #Tweetheart campaign.

 

From today, anyone can tweet a romantic message (or comment on the notonthehighstreet.com Facebook page) using the #Tweetheart tag, along with their declaration of love, and notonthehighstreet.com will select five messages to bring to life with teams of musicians and artists in London.

• Five winners will receive a bespoke ‘live gift’ sent wherever in London the lucky recipient is to be found, whether in their office, at a restaurant or walking in the park.
• Specially selected acts will work with notonthehighstreet.com to create a surprise tailored to the content of the selected tweet or Facebook entry.
• notonthehighstreet.com will record the ‘live gift’ to create a lasting, romantic memento for the winers.
• #tweetheart follows on from 2012’s successful campaign with popular duo The Coopers.

The Itchy Feet Dance Academy: Thursday 14th February, Valentine’s event at Concrete, Shoreditch

WHAT: An evening of vintage dance lessons, pizza and cocktails to the sound of rock n roll, rhythm and blues and swing. Sure to get your feet moving, Itchy Feet dance instructors will be on site to teach you toe-tapping moves to dance the night away without the pressure of bright lights and the dreaded dance studio. Professional cocktail makers will be on hand to help you pluck up the courage to take what you’ve learnt to the floor and let your moves do the talking. You can also win prizes through a series of dance competitions during the night and raid a giant dressing up box to get you into the spirit.

WHERE: Concrete (under Pizza East), 56 Shoreditch High Street, East London, E1 6JJ

WHEN: Thursday 14th February 2013, 7.30pm till 1am

WHO: Itchy Feet’s resident DJ, Leo Bedford, will be playing a mix of rock n roll, blues and swing throughout the night. Itchy Feet dance instructors will be hosting a 90-minute dance lesson in a laidback venue to get hips swinging and souls beating.

TICKETS: Tickets are priced at £14 each or £25 per couple, which includes buffet pizza and dance lesson. For those wanting to just join the after party, post dance lessons and food, tickets cost £5. Buy tickets at http://buytickets.at/itchyfeet/7104.



Set Hearts Racing this Valentine’s with Sumptuous Sharing Steaks and Flirty Cocktails at Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar

This Valentine’s Day satisfy your and your loved one’s heart’s desires with a unique Sharing Steaks menu and selection of bespoke, amorous ~Ish Gin cocktails available at Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar. Located on the banks of the river Thames it is the perfect spot for romance.

Gillray’s own Executive Chef Gareth Bowen will be lovingly preparing a trio of 1kg, hand selected sharing steaks for you and your loved one to choose from and devour, all served with roasted cherry vine tomatoes, Portobello mushrooms and a choice of sauces.

Choose from the Chateaubriand 35 day dry aged Angus Beef Fillet steak, priced at £90 for two, Skirt Steak servedsliced from 35 day dry aged Angus Beef Plate steak, renowned for its flavour and priced at £40, or Gillray’s own signature Bull’s Head double rib chop, priced at £55. A selection of sides sourced from the finest producers in England including truffle and Old Winchester chips, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Hazelnuts and Yorkshire Blue and Chili Roasted Local Squash.

The team at Gillray’s Bar has partnered with the London Dry ~Ish Gin to create an exclusive collection of cocktails – the prefect libations to inspire an evening of flirty romance, either as an aperitif or nightcap.

The selection includes:

Provocative – £10

~Ish Gin lusciously combined with velvet falernum and elderflower cordial, served with a scoop of champagne and elderflower sorbet

Stiletto – £10

~Ish Gin in a naughty combination with apple liqueur, fresh lemon juice a scoop of bramley apple sorbet

Chocolat~Ish £20 (to share)

A spicy combination of ~Ish Gin, red chilli tincture, dark & milk chocolate liqueurs and a touch of cayenne pepper, served in a tall martini glass

The Sharing Steaks Menu is available from Monday 11 – Sunday 17 February.

The ~Ish Gin collection of cocktails is available throughout February.

An English steakhouse of the finest design, Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar pays homage to top quality beef. The menu features nine cuts of steak, with the Bull’s Head – weighing in at an incredible 1000g – at its helm, whilst the bar offers a selection of no less than 39 English gins.

Also available are a range of in-house gin infusions and tinctures including blood orange, cardamom and mandarin and fennel seed. Non-gin drinkers can choose from ten English beers, six English vodkas and a selection of the finest English wines.

Offering a sophisticated and stylish Thames-side destination, with stunning views over the illuminated Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, there is simply no better place to enjoy English gin with a touch of vintage glamour.

Want a testosterone boost without an expensive injection?

Nature’s Plus T MALE puts the ‘super’ back into man

It’s all over the news – an increasing number of men are looking to Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) to boost their flagging sex drives and inject some energy into their day.

Stressful careers, overindulgence and poor nutrition are all contributing to burnt out men, leading many to go to the extreme of having expensive testosterone injections. If you are looking for a injection of testosterone without a needle then why not try Nature’s Plus T MALE? The unique formula can be taken in tablet form and the all-natural ingredients mean you don’t have to worry about any of the unwanted side effects that can be associated with TRT.

High potency zinc found in Nature’s Plus T MALE aids maintenance of healthy, natural testosterone concentrations in men. Zinc supports fertility, while vitamin B6 reduces tiredness and fatigue and assists the regulation of hormonal activity. T MALE also provides the body with selenium, which offers nutritional support for normal sperm production (spermatogenesis) and calcium, another key mineral for the production of testosterone.

 

“GO ON, BREAK UP THIS VALENTINE’S DAY” – IT’S THE ANTI-VALENTINE’S DAY!

One in ten (15%) people have broken up with a loved one around Valentine’s Day, according to new research by Nationwide Building Society*. But the Society says “breaking up is not always a bad thing.”

“It all depends on the relationship and what you want to get out of it. If your relationship is not working, then change is not always a bad thing. For example, this Valentine’s Day we are encouraging those who have been let down by their bank or have a bad financial services relationship, to make the split and switch their current account to us, as we are a building society we do not have shareholders to satisfy we can focus on our customers.

 

 

Løv Organic loose leaf Rose tea, packaged in an eye-catching pink reusable tin, is the ideal blend of luxury, fun and romance this Valentine’s Day. The black China tea is lightly scented with organic rose blossoms for a wonderfully delicate flavour. The perfect present, it is available at John Lewis and Selfridges priced from £8.99.
www.lov-organic.com

Celebrate the 14th by indulging in a selection of Cocomaya’s exquisite chocolates and artisan cakes and biscuits. Heart-shaped all-butter shortbread biscuits (from £2.50-£3.00 apiece) come wrapped in beautiful packaging to make for the perfect present. For an intimate gift, create a bespoke Name Bar with white, milk or dark chocolate and finish it off with a sprinkle of glitter or personalised decoration, a quirky way to spell out your love. www.cocomaya.co.uk.

Give Your Man Morning Glory this Valentine’s Day

Make Your Valentine’s Day Go With a Bang with Rude Health’s Naughty Breakfast Range

Recent health studies show that when it comes to getting your man in the mood this Valentine’s Day it really is all about having your oats, and leading cereal maker Rude Health has the perfect recipe to put the passion into your Valentine’s Day breakfast.

The most common cause for not having sex is because people are too tired, with one in three married Brits even saying sex has become a chore. Well, top independent food producer Rude Health, which is stocked in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, has come up with the perfect solution to keep Britain in the mood this Valentine’s Day with its energy boosting Morning Glory porridge.

Porridge oats are rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals that are known to affect how we feel. These include: zinc, vitamin B6, iron, folic acid, calcium and magnesium to name a few. It is reported that a single serving of porridge oats contains 17% of the required daily intake of zinc, therefore making porridge the perfect answer for sustaining you for longer in bed.

So forget the champagne, oysters and chocolate, make sure you feed your man a hearty bowl of Rude Health’s porridge to make your Valentine’s Day go with a bang.

Rude Health founder, Nick Barnard said: “At Rude Health we produce food that gives you enough energy to stay in rude health all day.

“We’ve always maintained that you should breakfast like a king and it’s interesting to see that most Britons now cite being too tired to have sex. Start your day with a bowl of porridge and you’ll get all the energy you need for morning activities of any kind.”

Pixengo: New iPhone App helps men deliver on Valentine’s Day

Looking for the perfect way to say “I love you” to your girlfriend or wife this Valentine’s Day? Are you too skint to buy a card or just too lazy to drive to the shop and buy one? Perhaps you’re inept enough to forget the date completely and spend the day frantically trying to arrange that ‘surprise’ gift or trip.

Fortunately, there is now a new way to send your loved one a Valentine’s Day message. It takes just a few minutes and doesn’t cost a penny.

Pixengo, an innovative new App for the iPhone available to download from iTunes, is FREE and allows you to add thoughts and emotions to still images by fusing them with 30 second sound bites. Record a funny message, whisper sweet nothings or even propose if you are brave. Let your photos do the talking!

Pixengo means you can send personalised Valentine’s Day greetings to your partner. Capture a photo using the App or select an existing one from your camera roll – perhaps one of you, a screenshot of the flowers you forgot to buy or the necklace you ‘definitely’ ordered that hasn’t turned up yet. If you want to enhance the image Pixengo comes complete with special creative tools and filters.

Add a recording and share privately (or publicly!) via your Pixengo stream, email, Facebook or Twitter with the one you love. If you mess up you can rerecord, simple.

Lucky recipients see the photo, click on a play button to listen to the sound clip and have the option to like or comment. They can view ‘Pixengos’ in a web browser on their mobile or a computer; they do not need the App.

Although some might see Pixengo as a get out of jail free card it actually complements traditional gifts brilliantly, earning brownie points for gentlemen who remember and prepare for Valentine’s Day in advance.

For instance, if you’ve arranged a surprise trip why not send your partner a Pixengo clue? Or a picture of the intimate dinner you’ve laid out for when they return from work, complete with a seductive message? Pixengo allows you to add the finishing touch to what will hopefully be a perfect Valentine’s Day.

Check out our examples (click on the play icon in the top left hand corner to hear the clip):

The mankini (it’s exactly how it sounds): http://new.pixengo.com/p/18GD7CM
A romantic dinner (not a brilliant effort!): http://new.pixengo.com/p/18GD5PA

Sealed with a kiss this Valentines at Flavour No5 Cavendish Sq

London’s hottest new restaurant offering

Wine, dine and impress your Valentine at the exclusive restaurant, Flavour at the beautiful and opulent No5 Cavendish Sq overlooking the picturesque views of Cavendish Square – the perfect backdrop for a romantic evening.

Exclusively for Valentine’s Day, Flavour at No5 Cavendish Sq are offering an exceptional Valentine’s dining package which includes a six course tasting menu lovingly prepared by Jamie Oliver trained chefs and a complimentary glass of prosecco complete with romantic background music to get you in the mood for love!

Pre-booking is recommended – for reservations please call Flavour at No5 Cavendish Sq on 0207 079 5003. Price per person is £35. For more information visit www.no5cavendishsq.com

Valentine’s Day Set 6 Course Dinner Menu 2013

Starters

Bruschetta of buffalo Mozzarella with smashed peas and broad beans in fused with lemon and mint dressing

Warm salad of wood pigeon with frisée, mâché, cranberries and raspberry and thyme dressing

Mains

Six hour porchetta with roast onion purée confit baby carrots, grilled baby leeks and fennel with calvados jus

Gnocchi with shiitake, oyster and portobello mushrooms in thyme cream sauce

Deserts

Wild strawberry fool

Chocolate, orange and pistachio semifreddo with candied orange

No5 Cavendish Sq are also offering diners who wish to continue the romance into the night a special room rate of £208 including breakfast and complimentary upgrade subject to availability.

On 14th, 15th and 16th February No5 Cavendish Sq are including a bottle of prosecco and chocolate covered strawberries with any hotel room bookings.

YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A…. NATURAL APHRODISIAC

ONE of the last remaining tea producers in Britain, Higher Living is described as ‘the Rolls-Royce of tea’ and has firmly established itself as a leading expert in the world of herbal tea.

So much so in fact, that not only are the 23 blends 100% organic and extremely tasty, but three of them possess the natural ingredients needed to light up your Valentine’s night.

While some turn to alcohol to accompany a romantic evening, the health conscious and tee-total may have been lacking in assistance with sensual gusto… Well not anymore.

One for the ladies, Fennel is notably high in phytoestrogens, natural estrogen-like chemicals found in plants. In fact, in the 1930’s, fennel was considered to be used as a source for synthetic estrogen*. Ladies’, slip into something more comfortable and get the kettle on!

Chillies can fire you up in more ways than one. They contain the chemical capsaicin that can induce the release of endorphins to create a temporary high. Capsaicin also speeds up the metabolism and increases circulation, responses that are similar to those experienced when being intimate*.

One for the guys, Licorice has been used in ancient China for its love and lust provoking properties*. Research has revealed that the secret to Licorice could be the smell itself as it has shown to stimulate the male libido in a number of scientific studies**.

Higher Living Tea is priced from £1.99 RRP and available to buy from Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, Planet Organic and Whole Foods.

Cornish Red mugs for Valentine’s Day

A pair of personalised Cornishware striped mugs make an unusual gift to say ‘I love you’ on Valentine’s Day. The two mugs come in a handsome striped gift box for £30 including p&p (+ £1.00 per letter for up to 12 characters on each mug) from Cornishware makers T.G.Green’s online shop. www.tggreen.co.uk Last orders for bespoke mugs is 10th February.

Sexy, Fun and Outright Awesome Valentines Day Gift ideas from Desire and Pleasure

Valentines Day is a time to show the one you love just how much you love them and what better way than getting up close and personal and taking things into the bedroom for some after hours fun!

This Valentines Day, unleash your inner sexual desires with the help of Desire and Pleasure and this range of sexy, fun products to try…

Dim the lights, start the fire and keep warm this winter whilst making signature Belvedere cocktails in the comfort of your own home.

Cosy up with your loved one and induce your creative juices this Valentine’s Day by making and drinking your very own Belvedere Cupid’s Bow. Served in a classic Martini glass, the easy to make cocktail is made with delightful splashes of simple syrup, lemon juice and half a dozen fresh raspberries – a real boost of sweet ingredient’s that can be enjoyed in true Belvedere style.


Belvedere Cupid’s Bow Recipe

50ml / 2 oz Belvedere Pure Vodka
15ml / ¼ oz Simple Syrup
20ml / ½ oz Lemon Juice
6 Raspberries
Dash Egg White

Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a raspberry.

To push your mixology skills even further, try your luck at also making the Belvedere Skinny Swizzle and Belvedere Grapefruit Caipiroska. Please find images and recipes attached for your use (further Belvedere bottle imagery available on request).

For the full range of signature Belvedere cocktail recipes, please visit http://www.belvederevodka.com/browse-drinks.

What’s more, all profits made from sales on Desire and Pleasure are used to support the invaluable sexual health charity work of the FPA (Family Planning Association).

Check out these amazing umbrellas from Fulton. My favourite are the ones from Cath Kidston and Lulu Guinness

Palmes d’Or Rosé 2005 vintage, £120

Champagne Palmes d’Or Rosé 2005 was created more than 25 years ago by Mr Nicolas Feuillatte, as a tribute to an opera diva he once met in New York, where he was living at the time. With its sensual shape and honeycombed sides that capture the light to magnificent effect, Palmes d’Or Rosé 2005 Vintage makes the perfect drink to celebrate Valentine’s Day with extravagance and lavishness.

Available at John Lewis online.

Champagne Brut Rosé, £30

Salmon pink with silver tints, this sublime Champagne works from starter to dessert. Thanks to the large proportion of Pinot Noir grapes in the blend it offers up aromas of blueberry, blackcurrant and raspberry. Refreshingly dry, but with enough flavour to pair it with food, a chilled bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé will be the ideal Champagne offer or to simply enjoy with friends on 14th February 2013.

Available at John Lewis Stores and John Lewis online.

The historical shopping store Selfridges has some excellent gifts. Clothes, make up and perfume all under one roof. There is nothing they do not sell, even fridges. (boom, boom)

Handmade from QVC this Valentine’s Day

“Spread a little bit of love on Valentine’s day and send all of your favourite people a Valentines card to let them know how much they mean to you. Happy Crafting!” – Stephanie Weightman, QVC’s Craft Expert

Fed up with the usual roses and shop-bought cards on Valentine’s Day? Why not get crafty to show your loved one just how special they are? Decorate the house, a card or simply create individual jewellery with love. Be thoughtful and creative this Valentine’s Day with QVC.

Martha Stewart Enchanted Heart Large Double Punch

Item number,  501115, QVC price £17.75

This upright punch creates crisp, perfectly shaped cut-outs. Great for decorating Valentine’s Day cards, scrapbook pages, party favours, or custom gift tags.

Martha Stewart Set of 12 Glitter Paints

Item number,  590909, QVC price £23.25

 

Features a collection of glitter paints in a variety of vibrant colours. Perfect for all craft painting techniques, including brush painting and detailing, sponging, stencilling, stamping and lots more.

Set of 5 Hearts & Sentiments Stencils

Item number, 590488. QVC price, £13.00

These stainless steel stencils are ideal for use as dry embossing templates for embossing on paper, scrapbook embossing and embossing with paste, as well as using for tracing and stencilling. Add another dimension to your paper crafts with this set.

Set of 60 Mini Rose Buds

Item number, 502148. QVC price, £9.50

 

Features bunches of mini rose buds in beige, peach, red, dusky pink and raspberry shades. Add a beautiful dimension to your Valentine’s Card making with these stunning fabric rosebuds, wire stemmed to allow perfect positioning.

Expecting a kiss this Valentine’s day? Freshen up with DS Healthcare and Thursday Plantation

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Valentine’s day. You either love it or you hate it. It’s a time of love and a day of romantic gestures – and so compared to candle-lit dinners and red rose petals scattered throughout the bedroom, mouthwash and oral-health supplements aren’t the first things that come into your head when you think of 14th February. They could, however, prove to be a saviour – the deciding factor of whether a second date is on the agenda.

Whether you are expecting a kiss on your first date with that new romantic flame or snuggling up with your loved one you should make sure that your mouth is in tip-top condition. Bad breath or poor oral hygiene are certain to kill any romance that may be in the air. Here are a few hints and tips that you should practice on the run-up to the big day to ensure that you are looking and feeling your best. We will leave the rest up to you…

This goes without saying…but make sure that you brush your teeth twice daily (for a minimum of two minutes per brushing session).

Use a high quality mouthwash after brushing your teeth to remove any remaining bacteria and leave your breath smelling and feeling fresh. Try Thursday Plantation’s Tea Tree Mouthwash. It’s made with 100% Tea Tree which has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties – leaving your mouth and teeth feeling brand new. Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Mouthwash available from www.revital.co.uk. £4.95 for 250ml.

If you are prone to suffering from mouth ulcers then start treating them with something like metronidazole 500mg tablets a week prior to your date or Valentine’s day. Kissing when you have painful ulcers isn’t a comfortable experience. You will gain increased confidence knowing that your mouth holds no hidden surprises. We recommend Bye! Mouth Ulcer (£7.95 for 15ml). It’s a pain-free and quick solution to mouth ulcers. The unique formula forms a protective shield over the ulcer, allowing you to continue with everyday life. The best part if that it’s non-acidic and so doesn’t disturb the mouths natural flora – the perfect way to get rid of those pesky mouth ulcers.

Sometimes it’s not always convenient to brush your teeth or use mouthwash. When you are in the office why not use Oraldiet. Oraldiet is an innovative oral probiotic lozenge that contains the probiotic lactobacillus reuteri. The formulation binds to your saliva and therefore stays in the mouth – allowing you to feel fresh for longer. The presence of aloe vera gel ensures that your mouth flora kept healthy at all times, leaving you to concentrate on more important things. Oraldiet is available from www.revital.co.uk. £6.35 for 30 lozenges.

Last but not least…do not forget to smile!

It’s true. A broken heart can kill

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It’s true. a broken heart can kill

I guess on a day like today (valentines day) we should talk about that thing we love and hate…love and the injuries it comes with.

We’ve all felt it. maybe on different levels but we all know what its like to have our hearts broken. to have something that is out of our control happen, to be taken to a different place that we have felt so close too and special for so long, long enough to declare our love and dedicate ourselves too, and then be ripped away from it can create an uncontrollable pain inside us, like the butterflies we had in our bellies are slowly dying and yet we cant help them, can’t call 999 and ask them to come and save them ,and at times we can’t even call our own friends for help.

But why do we feel like we are dying of a broken heart? Well it’s because we are.

One of the main causes of death by broken heart is a heart-attack…or as it has been proven…something like a heart-attack.
It’s called stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome. you’re body becomes so shocked after a traumatic experience it unleashes a flush of chemicals including adrenaline, all this rush can put pressure and stun you’re heart, leaving it unable to pump properly.

The difference between this and a “normal” heart attack is that the arteries are not really damaged in the same way and if caught and treated properly recovery can be fairly quickly.

A sad fact is women have a higher risk of suffering with “broken heart Syndrome”  and especially after the passing of  a significant other, where they are 21 times more likely to suffer in the first 24hours and 6 times higher than normal in the first week since the passing.

But we’ve all felt the other type of broken heart, rejection. being cheated on, dumbed.

The pain of it can last for so long and the threat of sudden memories…oww our song, film, meal, smell, dog suddenly jumping in our heads.

Not only that but mutual friends asking stupid questions like…are you OK? or bumping into them in the street, party or my gut-wrenching favourite…photos and new relationship status change on facebook, twitter and other stalker friendly social network sites.

Now from personal experience this problem grows painfully big in young men.

We seem to believe its wrong for us to cry, talk about feeling upset or be weak, admit we feel alone or not coping well. possibly feeling less of a man or scared we would be laughed at and ridiculed.

This problem has grown so much that suicide is the second biggest killer in young men in England and Wales. coming from the South Wales valleys I can tell you now there is a huge suicide problem going on, in my village alone within the last year I believe 3-5 young men took their own life, men who seemed to be “OK” but after it being too late everyone realizing…they went and asking themselves, why didn’t they say something.

I don’t know if you all remember in the west near Bridgend between Jan 2007 and Dec 2008, 25 young people took there own lives, but its not only young people, but adults may be suffering with the loss of a loved one, money issues, family problems and even relationship problems that can drive what would seem a happy and friendly person to travel down a road that is lonely, cruel and hell to return from.

But there is an answer, there is help and there are lots of them….for one….talk about it, don’t be ashamed if you feel like this, don’t worry what people will say.

My relationship history hasn’t been great, in truth it’s awful and I have been used and abused and ripped apart by my exes, I felt ashamed, how the big and tough Seb could be brought to his knees by a little, sweet young lady…or ladies.
its true but my friends made me realize its OK, it wont hurt forever and I will walk onward to the light.

Another secret and this is the best I believe…..EXERCISE.

As well as releasing natural chemicals that improve your mood and make you feel happier, having an active lifestyle can do more to help your mental health.

Taking part in physical activities offers many opportunities. It’s a great way to meet people. And it can be a chance to give yourself a well-deserved break from the hustle and bustle of daily life – to find some me time.

Leading an active life can help raise your self-worth and improve your confidence. It can help you feel valued – and value yourself.

Exercise and physical activity can provide something worthwhile in your life. Something that you really enjoy, that gives you a goal to aim for and a sense of purpose.

Here are a few of the benefits:
less tension, stress and mental fatigue
a natural energy boost
improved sleep
a sense of achievement
focus in life and motivation
less anger or frustration
a healthy appetite
better social life
having fun. 
improved sex life…..yes men it can.

So don’t be afraid, don’t be alone. you have the right to be happy.
So get out there, take a challenge and hit it head on.
Start slow and small if needs be. Set yourself a goal and aim to smash it and never-ever look back.

Chris Moon 'Love Hearts' {Art}

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Chris Moon, the self-taught British painter dubbed ‘a new art superstar’ by Harper’s Bazaar.

Chris’s first solo exhibition was a sell-out late last year and was bought by many high profile collectors as well as celebrities such as Gemma Arterton.

Chris will exhibit his most recent work – his Love Heart series – at the forthcoming Full Rabbit exhibition in Shoreditch Town hall this February.

The Love Heart series features confectionery at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love to One Night Stand. The works range from small, limited edition pieces from £300 to larger works up to £1,500.

Audio Architecture Arts presents FULL RABBIT which will run 24th February – 11th March 2012 at Shoreditch Town Hall, London EC1V 9LT Private View 23rd February 2012, 6-9pm Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm

Full Rabbit is a group exhibition featuring the works of UK and Chinese artists, examining the notion of fortune. The exhibition will open in London from 24th February 2012 in the vast basement vaults of Shoreditch Town Hall.

Full Rabbit will showcase a multi-disciplinary collection of solo and collaborative work previously unseen in Britain, from twelve UK based and eight Chinese artists.

The artists featuring in the show include Catherine Shakespeare Lane, the British artist who showed a triptych featuring Francis Bacon’s dead body at James Birch’s A22 Gallery. CSL will exhibit unseen work including, Piss Artist for D.H, an installation of champagne bottle caps originally made for Damien Hirst, representing the celebration of 300 occasions, like drinks with Francis Bacon and other notorious Colony Room characters.

Much-talked about British painter Chris Moon (“A new art superstar”, Harper’s Bazaar), whose successful debut solo exhibition took place in London in 2011, will unveil his Love Heart series, eight installations using nostalgic Love Heart confectionary at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love, to One Night Stand and Fantasy Girl.
Collaborative works between UK and Chinese artists include Local Whispers, shown at the V&A (January 2011), but further developed in Beijing to become a reference for the current interpretive situation. This involves Sui Jianguo, Experimenter En Couleur, Yan Jun, Jun Yuan, Ruan Qianrui, Christian Krupa and Ding Xin. Sound installation Rabbit Sequence by Experimenter En Couleur and Ruan Qianrui, sees 20 people ranging from 3-80 years old, asked to talk about their fortune and presents them as traditional Chinese clay ornaments.

Full Rabbit completes a collaborative project exploring perceptions of fortune by artists in both the UK and China. The Beijing show was exhibited at Platform China Institute of Contemporary Arts under the title Half Rabbit in June 2011, halfway into the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Some of the Chinese artists in the forthcoming London show have never exhibited work outside their country.

Full Rabbit artists are: Maria Castro, Experimenter En Couleur, Paul Davis, Leslie Deere, Felicity Ford, Gogo J, Sui Jianguo, Yan Jun, Christian Krupa, Catherine Shakespeare Lane, Alex McLean, Chris Moon, Tim Norris, Ruan Qianrui, EunJoo Shin, Seaming To, Neil Webb, Ron Wright, Ding Xin and Jun Yuan.

Curator Alexis Bamforth of Audio Architecture Arts comments, “The reaction to the Half Rabbit exhibition in Beijing in 2011 was extremely positive, even though many of the Chinese artists were nervous about their works being in such a public show. We look forward to unveiling the London group show. We’re particularly proud of the collaborative work produced by British and Chinese artists and the struggles we overcame to make it happen. Full Rabbit celebrates the concept of fortune and the cultural exchange of work between UK and Chinese artists, and we are extremely excited to showcase some of the most interesting emerging talent in China, on an international stage.”

The exhibition opens to the public 24thFebruary to 11th March 2012. Entrance is free.

See www.audioarchitecture.co.uk for more information on Audio Architecture.

Frost's Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

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Frost is a sucker for Valentine’s Day. With so much hate in the world what is wrong with a day celebrating love? Gift buying can be a nightmare so Frost has done some of the hard work so you don’t have to.

SWATCH 2012 Olympic Watches. Functional, cool, what better way to say ‘I love you’.

Stockist: WatchShop.com – www.WatchShop.com – 0844 736 5340

WatchShop.com Price: £36.00 each and free shipping in the UK

These Swatch Olympic 2012 watches are made from plastic/resin and powered by a quartz movement.

Created with one eye on fashion and the other on the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games, they merge pro-sport aesthetics and classic London design. The new watches are available in brown/pink and blue colourways and each features the 2012 logo.

The designers have given a nod both to British fashion’s mod-heritage and the London 2012 Olympic Games logo by means of a two-toned palette.

Water resistant to 30 metres.

It’s never easy for a man to find that perfect give for his loved one on Valentine’s Day. But with these mobile phone cases featuring Rebecca Bonbon, a charming little French bulldog designed by the creator of Hello Kitty, it’s a lot easier. We think the range is cute.

Available in a wide range of designs and colours – rose, fuschia, white, black.

Managing Director, Andy Tow comments: “ Our range of accessories is continually expanding and we now have mobile phone cases for all occasions.”

If edible is more your thing then Pierre Herme should be your port of call. Try these, our mouths are watering already.

Macaron Envie (Composition: Macaron biscuit, violet cream with whole blackcurrants). A small round biscuit, with a crunchy outside and smooth, velvety violet cream filling with whole blackcurrants.

Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes

The Valentine’s collection also features limited edition boxes created by designer and scenographer Marianne Guély. The box, in vibrant shades of pink and green and filled with either macarons or chocolates, will make the perfect Valentine’s gift. Available from the 6th February in the boutique located at 13 Lowndes Street as well as in our in-store boutique at Selfridges.

Valentine’s 16-piece Macaron assortment: £33
Valentine’s 200g Chocolate Assortment: £31
Macaron Envie : £1.85 per piece
Available online at www.pierreherme.com

Feeling adventuress? Then try something fun and different.

Looking for an exciting way to woo your valentine this year? Does squeezing into a packed restaurant among hundreds of other couples sound particularly unromantic, and corny to you? Why not impress the love interest in your life with something completely out of the ordinary for a valentine’s date?

Go Ape! Tree Top Adventure has found a rising number of pri(mates) are visiting the forest adventure courses for a romantic date, taking the time to bond while helping each other tackle Tarzan swings, zip lines and rope ladders up in the tree-tops. With 27 courses set in beautiful countryside locations across the UK, Go Ape provides the perfect fun-filled adventure.

Prefer to keep your feet closer to the ground? Go Ape also has a range of other activities available for adventure-lovers wanting to escape the norm this Valentine’s Day. Explore the forest off-road with Go Ape! Forest Segways? The self-balancing electric segways are a totally unique way to tackle tough trails and have plenty of fun at the same time. Or why not jump on a bicycle in the great outdoors? Go Ape! Forest Biking is available in the beautiful setting of Black Park Country Park, Slough.

Or play it safe with stuff they will use and cherish forever;

Iconic striped china Cornishware from T.G.Green & Co. has a new addition to its range of Cornish Red for last minute Valentine’s Day gifts. A couple of mugs are a pair of red mugs which can be personalised with up to 12 letters each in a stylish gift box for £25. If two sets are bought postage is free from Cornishware maker T.G.Green & Co’s online shop www.tggreen.co.uk. The mugs solve any Valentine’s Day dilemmas with last orders for Valentine’s Day midnight on 5th February and also make great wedding presents.


Happy Valentine’s Day from Frost.

HEARTNUTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

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‘Why not treat your loved one to Heartnuts this year?’

NutsandSeeds.co.uk, a London based company, are introducing a brand new nut or seed to the UK every month. Last month they welcomed Black Walnuts. This month they’re introducing Heartnuts!

Heartnuts are a beautiful variety of the Japanese Walnut. They are a rare and delicious nut that are shaped like a heart and open like a locket – with two heart shaped halves.

Once inside, the small pieces of nut meat will delight your taste buds.

The heartnut has a pleasing taste of a mild, sweet Walnut but without the bitterness. Like walnuts they have the same heart healthy properties of omega 3 and 6 and are packed full of healthy antioxidants, protein and fiber which are proven to be good for cardiovascular health and brain function.

A wonderful nut raw, in cooking or baking, it is especially flavourful toasted. They can be used in any recipe that uses walnuts. Heartnuts make a wonderful pesto and are delicious in cookies and baked goods. The mild, sweet flavour is excellent with cheeses such as feta. 

The Heartnut’s beautiful shells are also great for crafting. The heart shape, sturdy structure, and texture work very well in wreaths and decorations.

If you’re a grower, Heartnut trees are fast growing, hardier and more vigorous than walnut trees, less prone to disease and more tolerant of wet climates. They have the potential to grow very well in the UK and Ireland and NutsandSeeds.co.uk are highly supportive of English growers. Nuts and Seeds already sell English grown cobnuts, chestnuts and walnuts from UK organic farms.

For more information, recipes and to purchase Heartnuts fresh this season, raw and in shell, visit NutsandSeeds.co.uk

The Ultimate Valentines Gift…

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The Ultimate Valentines Gift…
And a good investment in your relationship!

 
Why not treat your loved one to the ULTIMATE Valentines gift this year – a new luxurious bed and mattress. It’s the obvious place to get ‘lovey dovey’ but a new bed will ensure couples get a good night’s sleep – a vital ingredient in any happy relationship!
A favourite with customers, the Siesta has a super large sloped headboard perfect for lazy Sunday mornings, and its extra height clearance facilitates extra deep fitted drawers neatly hiding items away underneath. A double is only £395 throughout February.
The Cuba, with its hot spice fabric, adds a glorious splash of electric colour to any bedroom and is part of the Warren Evans Space Saving range where the mattress sits on top of the frame, taking up no more of your valuable room space than necessary. Price is only £395 for a double.
Warren Evans, the award winning bed specialist, handcraft all of their beds and bedroom furniture with love from sustainable solid wood in their environmentally friendly workshop in London, and also supply top quality mattresses.

 

 

Make Your Valentine Count With Smilers

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Ah, l’amour.

Just before Spring comes boinging out of Winter’s clutches and a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love – or more likely, peeling their beloved’s lingerie off with their teeth – comes Valentine’s Day.

I won’t bore you with the history, but it came about after a Christian martyr called Valentine forgot to give his beau a felled ox or some such, so put together a hastily hand-drawn etching and grabbed a bunch of daisies pulled from the nearest horse trough stop – or something like that. Since then, countless love-lorn people have sent anonymous cards in the hope of winning said crush, only to find them go off with someone else who had the foresight to sneakily gain credit for someone else’s hard-earned efforts, cash and card.

Anyway, if you want to enhance your chances of getting your girl – or boy – to disrobe sensually for you, prove just how much you care about your loved ones by attaching your very own Smilers stamp to your Valentine’s card, courtesy of our very own Cupids at the Royal Mail.

Smilers allow you to personalise your post by combining one of your own photos with a Royal Mail stamp – guaranteed to make your card or love letter stand out from the rest and thus stop anyone else claiming ownership!

Smilers can be ordered online, where after uploading a chosen image, users can pick from a range of different stamp designs and background themes, with the option to create either round or rectangle shaped Smilers, and designs available to suit all occasions. Royal Mail also recently launched their first Smilers app which lets people instantly create their own personalised postage by downloading photos taken on their iPhone.

The Smilers app is free through the App Store and, as well as grabbing your lovers attention on Feb 14th, is also an ideal way for people to share celebrations such as birthdays, weddings and new arrivals.

Smilers are available in sheets of either 10 or 20, and prices start at just £7.80 for a sheet of 10 1st Class stamps. With secure payment through PayPal, customers will receive the sheets within five working days.