3 Alternative Things to Sit On For Your Home
There’s a lot to be said for sitting down on a comfy sofa, putting your feet up and stretching out to enjoy a night in front of the TV. For most households, a three-piece suite from the local household furniture superstore is enough to serve your living room seating needs, but how about the rest of the house? And what happens when you need some overflow seating during visits from friends or when you throw a party? Here are 3 alternative things to sit on that are secure, extremely versatile and look pretty cool too.
Beanbags
Still consider beanbags as overblown floor cushions that are manufactured from cheap material and difficult to get out of? Obviously you have not been introduced to the Fatboy range.
Beanbags aren’t just additional seating options for the living room, they can be used as a sofa replacement in student digs, a chill-out chair for a teenager’s bedroom or even a spare bed if you want to put up your mate overnight. Have one or two of these cool seating options convenient for impromptu events or any time you’ve got more visitors than your permanent seating can cope with.
Hammocks
The simple mention of the word conjures up images of hazy summer days, swinging between two trees beneath the shade of branches while enjoying a long, cool drink. Yet isn’t a hammock just for the warmer months? In fact, it’s not. And before you ask, no you won’t need two trees to tie it to either – at least not with modern hammock technology because a steel-frame manages things.
A hammock can easily be placed in the house as out and should you be short of furniture in your conservatory it’s ideal. When you do need to take it easy in the great outdoors, or when you need something a bit more comfortable than the standard bistro chair and table set in your garden, then a hammock is a good substitute.
Gaming seat
Okay, this one may appear like it’s simply for the gamers and geeks but as a substitute seating choice it’s as adaptable as they come. Should you be of the Playstation or Xbox generation then you may be all too familiar with sitting forward on the sofa, straining to get nearer to the action. Instead of attempting to drag your sofa a couple of inches closer to the box, pull up a gaming seat.
Not only will a gaming chair take care of your comfort while challenging the latest level of Halo, it’s versatile enough to turn into a footstool or an occasional seat for social events if you require further places for friends to park their bums.
What Makes A Great Pizza?
There’s no doubting that pizza is one of the most popular types of food in the world whether you’re picking one up from your local Clapham takeaway or dining out a restaurant. Given it’s so popular you’d be mistaken in thinking pizza’s been eaten in the UK for centuries but in fact Brits have only been enjoying the dish in their own country since after the second world war.
Despite its relatively short history in food terms (the first shop selling the dish opened in 1738), pizza has become the most widely eaten dish across the planet with billions of slices sold each year. Although the people of Europe and North America consume the most, every continent and country has a love of a good pizza. Asia is now closing in on America in terms of the revenue generated from demand for the dish.
Toppings vary depending on where in the world you are and they typically reflect regional tastes and cultural preferences. If you find yourself in India, you can expect the locals to have toppings such as mutton, cottage cheese (known as paneer) and pickled ginger. The Russians like a fish combination of sardines, mackerel, salmon, red herring and tuna. Japanese people like a pizza topped with eel, squid, mayo, potato and bacon. Take a seat at a local Clapham pizza restaurant and you’ll find most British diners enjoying pepperoni with extra cheese. Of course just because these toppings are considered the most popular in each country, doesn’t mean that’s what you have to order.
The beauty of the dish is that no matter what your food tastes, there are many ways and unlimited topping combinations to ensure you can have a delicious meal. The basic constituents have remained consistent as bread base, tomato sauce and cheese, but even these elements have been developed and improved by restaurants in different countries. Changes to the type of cheese, the tomato sauce and even how the dough for the base is made produces remarkable and delicious results.
Pizza is also considered a healthy food when the ingredients are well balanced and the cooking method is correct. Depending on the use of toppings it can provide a nutritious meal largely because of the health benefits of tomatoes, vegetables, olive oil, garlic, herbs and spices. These elements form the basis of the ‘Mediterranean diet’ which is considered to be the healthiest in the world. This is due to the ingredients containing antioxidants which help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer. In fact, recent studies have shown pizza can be beneficial in reducing rates of throat, skin and colon cancer.
So what makes a great pizza? Well, we all have our favourite toppings and preferred bread base whether its thin, deep pan or stuffed crust. However, you have to base a good pizza on the original recipe created by the Neapolitans in Italy because everything else is just personal preference. The base should light with a chewy crust and the dough made by hand each day. Top it with a sauce made from the best crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella (from cow’s milk) and basil. Ideally it should then be cooked in a brick or wood-fired oven which can achieve a high temperature (900 degrees or more). Get this right and the pizza emerges with a light, sumptuous, and slightly charred base with oozing cheese and a tangy, fragrant sauce. Perfect.
The ‘Eco’ Friendly Clapham Restaurant
What does good eating mean to you? Is it the quality of the food, good service and a great atmosphere? Perhaps the provenance of the ingredients is high on your list of priorities when dining out. Maybe you look for a healthy menu or the ‘green’ credentials of the restaurant. Now, what if you could find a Clapham Common restaurant that caters to all of those criteria? Well, there is one, and it’s aptly named ‘ECO’.
The healthy approach
This Clapham restaurant questions the way it sources ingredients, cooks them and then disposes of surplus waste. In doing so they’ve developed a healthy approach to eating and a healthy approach to the environment. When dishes are created fresh, the food looks and tastes better and with that comes a reputation for serving fantastic meals. And when a restaurant builds that type of reputation they naturally become the destination for discerning food lovers.
How food is grown, gathered and delivered is a high priority for cooking nutritious meals but today’s consumer is also looking for convenient menu options that are of the highest quality. The need to eat on the go, or when there’s no time to fit in a home-cooked meal, puts the emphasis on restaurants and takeaways to step-up and offer food that people really want. Unfortunately, the food in most high street establishments just doesn’t cut it.
At ECO, the provenance of ingredients is vital in creating fresh, delicious pizza and pasta dishes and preparing food the right way increases efficiency of output (to help reduce wastage and energy costs). As an example, the base of their famous ECO sourdough pizza is the lightest and healthiest in the country. Although created using a slow fermentation process, dough is prepared well before the torrent of orders come flooding in so the chefs can load pizzas into the ovens and have meals delivered to hungry customers quickly (but with an eye always on quality).
As a popular Clapham pizza restaurant they also take their responsibility to the local community and the wider population seriously. Rather than sending food waste from the cooking process (not from the customers’ plates because there’s rarely ever anything left!) such as peelings, bones and skins to landfill or incinerators, ECO operate an environmentally friendly program that sends it all to be bio-degraded. Now that’s socially conscious dining!
The ECO experience
Of course all the quality and convenience of the food is sometimes meaningless if service and atmosphere fall flat. Until you experience it, you’ll have to take the word of the local Clapham community and their understanding of good dining out.
Take a stroll to Clapham High Street and see for yourself how many people enjoy the ECO experience. If it’s not happy diners it’s happy children spending a Saturday morning at the restaurant’s unique kids pizza school. They really do cater for everything and everyone.
Myths About AGA Ovens – Part Two
When making a purchase the buyer should investigate all the options available and gen up on the pros and cons. The same goes for buying an Aga cooker although an Aga should be considered more of an investment than a purchase because it’s likely to be in your possession for a lifetime. As a range cooker it is quite simply second to none and any current owner will tell you they can’t live without it.
While researching which model to buy – whether it be a heat storage gas range cooker or a a duel-fuel – you’ll find plenty of positive reviews, but also a few negative ones. The fact is, not everyone will extol the virtues of an Aga but a lot of the opinions you’ll read are based on misinformation or from poor operation of the appliance. Many myths can be dispelled by learning how to operate the cooker correctly and the best way to learn is to book yourself on an Aga demonstration.
Some of the common misconceptions about Agas are listed, and answered, below.
“They’re dangerous if you’ve got kids. The hotplates are always on and give no indication or warning so horrible burns can occur.”
It’s true they’re always on but you’re aware of that because it gives off heat. The same goes for the hotplate so if a child lifts the lid they will feel the heat from it. If your child is tall enough to lift the lid, chances are they’re at an age when they know hot things can burn.
“You’ll have to throw out all your old pots and pans. Agas need flat-bottomed, thick base cookware and will ruin anything that isn’t.”
This isn’t true. Aluminium and stainless steel pans work fine and don’t have to have a thick base. Most pans these days are flat-bottomed anyway but if yours aren’t they’ll still be okay. Of course, if you’re buying a quality oven it’s a good idea to include some quality Aga cookware.
“The hotplates are so large but you can only really get one pan on satisfactorily. What if you need to put more pans on?”
Owning an Aga does require you to learn new ways of cooking and that includes relying less on the hotplates and more on the ovens. An Aga cookery demonstration will teach you how to do this. However, if you prefer cooking with pans there are other models available that will provide up to six gas burners.
“You can’t control the temperature so all your old cookbooks become redundant. You have to buy Aga cookery books.”
Not at all. You’ll learn where to find the different temperatures of the ovens. For example, slow cooking is done in the simmering oven, pie crusts are best on the floor of the top oven and the roasting oven changes temperature from top to bottom. Once you know where to put things, you can use your old cookbooks as well as your new ones.
“There’s no timer. What if you want to have something ready for when you return home?”
That’s true about the timer, but you can slow cook your dinner so it’s ready when you get in. And don’t forget, the oven will already be up to temperature so when you come in from work there’s no pre-heat waiting times and you can start cooking immediately.
The Siamese Cat
The exotic and somewhat mysterious Siamese cat originates from the country of Thailand. They had always been a well known breed of cats, some even living in royal palaces. Siamese cats, in the past, were trusted to protect royal palaces and monasteries from evil spirits. These cats were also thought of as bringing good fortune to their owners as well.
During the early 1800’s, the very first Siamese cats began to make their way to England, when they were presented as gifts to a British general. Following that, they eventually made their way over to America. Nowadays, Siamese cats are one of the most recognized of the breed. Siamese cats are without a doubt the most popular short haired cat and among the top 3 in the entire breed of cats.
Even though there are several different colours to this breed, some question what makes a cat a true Siamese cat. These cats have always been known for their bodies which are lighter in colour, with darker areas throughout. The more darker areas found on their bodies are normally around the feet, tail, legs, or face. They can weight anywhere between 6 – 16 lbs, with bright eyes that are normally slanted – which is another clue that the cat is a true Siamese.
Traditionally, Siamese cats are robust, with round heads and a truly muscular build. They are well known throughout the world for their colour points and unique personalities. Unlike other breeds, Siamese breeds have a talent for communicating with people. If you are looking for a cat that is nice and quiet, you wouldn’t want a Siamese cat. These cats love to play, love to make noise, plus they also happen to be the most social breed of cats out there.
Siamese cats demand a lot of attention, because in their minds, they believe that the world revolves around them. For this very reason, they can tend be quite dependant on their owners. They love to play, and crave interaction. If you leave them alone for too long, they won’t like it. They like to get attention, love to play, and hate to be left by themselves.
Even though Siamese cats are emotionally high maintenance, they don’t need lots of maintenance They need a minimal amount of grooming, which involves bathing every once in a while, and brushing maybe once or twice a month. If you like cats with minimal maintenance, Siamese cats are perfect. Their hair is short to their skin, so a gentle brushing is all you need. They can get sick however, which is to be expected with any breed of cat.
Siamese cats have a life span that is similar to other breeds, which is normally around 15 – 20 years, sometimes even longer. As long as you feed him on a daily basis and take him to the vet for his regular checkups and shots, he will be around for a long time to come. Most people who have their Siamese cat for over 10 years, find the cat to be more like a child than a pet.
No matter how you look at it, a Siamese cat is a great pet. Although the Siamese breed does require a lot of attention, they are outstanding pets that you can spend a lot of time with. They are great for kids as well, simply because kids can spend a lot of time with them. So long as you give your pet the attention he demands – he will be your life long friend for as long as you have him.
Looking for pet products online? Try www.petproducts.me, the UK’s leading online pet supplies shop
Autumn Range Of Leather Jackets – Perfect For The British Weather (All Of It)
As the good old British weather rolls lazily from a bleak, unpredictable and generally damp summer into a bleak, unpredictable and generally damp autumn, thinking about kitting out your autumn wardrobe with one or two leather jackets is a great idea. But there’s more choice that you might think, and if you are thinking about braving the elements then it’s worth knowing one or two things about choosing leather jackets for autumn before you head off.
Of course, one of the first things to think about is whether to head off to the shops, or buy online. Obviously if you’re in the shops you can get to try on a variety of leather jackets to see what you look like in them. On the other hand you will probably face a very limited range, and often the choice is either between reasonably priced poor quality leather jackets which feel like wearing reinforced cardboard, and high priced leather jackets which look good, and feel good, but lighten your wallet a little too much for you to be able to afford to ever go out in your jacket anywhere.
Buying leather jackets for your autumn wardrobe is certainly a lot quicker and easier online, and you generally have much more choice. Because online retailers have very few overheads the price is usually very much lower too, meaning that you needn’t compromise on quality. This is important because with the British weather generally damp and very changeable it’s important to have leather jackets and coats which can cope.
Buying Discount Leather Jackets Now Could Spare You A Cow’s Backside Later
Have you thought about buying discount leather jackets for Christmas? Bear with me a minute, because although I know Christmas is still a long way off, I want to give you a great tip that’s well worth thinking about. Only don’t think about it for too long unless your wallet is so full it’s getting a little heavy and you are looking for a way to lighten it.
Leather jackets make great presents, especially if you choose good quality leather. It’s perfectly possible to find cheap leather jackets of course, and if you’ve been thinking about buying someone a leather jacket or coat then you may just decide to go for one of the discount leather jackets you can find at almost any time of the year at those clothing stores you find on the high street.
Except that do you really think that giving someone you love a bit of a cow’s backside for Christmas really says the right thing? "Hello friend, merry rump!" Because in truth that’s what a lot of these cheap leather jackets are made of.
And you can tell, because wearing leather jackets made from cow’s rear ends is a little like wearing a suit of armour. They’re about as flexible as wearing a drainpipe on each arm, and with very little benefit in terms of keeping you warm. The good quality leather jackets aren’t made from cows, they’re made from the leather which comes from sheep, goats and even lambs.
Luxury Leather Goods are a Great Gift
Hip flasks are one of the luxury leather goods that seems entirely British, and is certainly proving to be an established tradition that’s in no need of a revival. As popular today as ever, good quality hip flasks are more than just a way to carry an invigorating tipple with you when out on a cold winter’s day. Like most professional leather products, hip flasks are an iconic tradition, as beautiful to see, touch and hold as they are convenient and welcome.
For many people hip flasks are one of the more popular luxury corporate gifts, and certainly they’re a welcome change from watches, gift vouchers or clocks. Professional leather products today are manufactured from soft, high quality leather that’s not split, but sourced from lambs and goats, giving them a beautiful soft, supple and smooth feel that makes them every bit as inviting to touch and hold as to look at and admire.
Hip flasks may be a display item, but they’re also very handy when out and about on a hunt or a walk. Whether you enjoy a strong coffee, liquor or a little of Scotland’s finest oak matured water, hip flasks are available in a wide range of styles, sizes and appearances.
From 4oz hip flasks to 6oz and even 8oz hip flasks, the choice is often available to have a decanter, cup, or glass incorporated into the design, making them perfect for sharing. Of course, luxury leather goods are not the preserve of men, with hip flasks continuing to prove very popular with ladies too, and today there are several beautiful designs available, giving ladies the chance to warm their cockles on a cold winter’s hunt.
Self Hypnosis Downloads – The Safest Way To A Happier You
A growing number of us are starting to realise that self hypnosis downloads are now a very real, mainstream solution to a whole raft of problems for which the only usual alternatives are often prescribed by doctors and require you to abstain from operating heavy machinery, driving or eating celery. If you look around for self hypnosis MP3s you’ll find a massive range now available, meaning that self hypnosis downloads are a convenient alternative.
For a long time very few people really took the idea of self hypnosis very seriously, although meditation and relaxation were always popular. But as more people have come to realise that self hypnosis is simply a form of deep relaxation, self hypnosis downloads have rocketed.
Just as you may well have gone out to purchase a deep relaxation CD in the past, ideal for unwinding at the end of a stressful day, today you can choose from a range of self hypnosis MP3s, download them immediately, and then either play them through your hi-fi, transfer them onto your MP3 player, and listen to them wherever, and whenever it suits you.
Guided mediation downloads and self hypnosis downloads are now becoming available for a number of purposes, offering benefits as diverse as simply alleviating stress, depression and anxiety through meditation and relaxation to helping stick to a diet, quit smoking or even sleep better.
British Superbikes Championship
With the penultimate round of the British Superbikes Championships coming up in September, there’s a great deal of interest in seeing some of the world’s most astonishing superbikes at Silverstone, being ridden by world class riders that are certain to provide breathtaking entertainment and an adrenalin fuelled day out for everyone.
Although that’s not strictly true, because when it comes to enjoying British motorcycle racing you’re either right there at the heart of the action, or you’re on the outer limits of the event, with less involvement than if you were sitting at home watching the whole thing on television. The only real way to enjoy the British Superbikes Championships is to be there, right at the front with a ringside seat.
If you’ve ever considered VIP racing hospitality at Silverstone then don’t hesitate, because unless you enjoy the thrill and excitement of seeing a handful of wasp like shapes buzz past in the distance, that’s about all you’ll see. VIP racing hospitality at Silverstone is two things: unbeatably entertaining, and very limited. To get a golden ticket you might just need to get on your bike!
With almost any sport it’s clearly preferable to be there where the action is, but with motorsports such as the British Superbikes Championships it’s even more important, because all of the senses are involved. It’s the kind of rare sporting experience where all five senses are involved in giving you an unbeatable experience.