If you are happily married and live in Britain then you could be in the minority. Recent statistics from The Office of National Statistics (ONS) have found that nearly half of all British marriages end in divorce. In fact 45% of all marriages end in divorce before a couple’s 50th anniversary and half of these splits occur before couples reach 10 years of marriage. The statistics have also found that less people are getting married with 2006 having the least number of weddings for 110 years.

We met up with some friends last night for a beer tasting evening at Brouge at The Old Goat in Fulwell near Twickenham. It was certainly a slightly different evening. The staff at the pub started by telling us a little bit about some of the beers and we then got to sample some. Apparently they serve over 60 different beers and by the end of evening it felt like we had tried all of them, although in reality I think we had sampled just over a quarter of the beers on offer. We had a honey beer, an apple beer, cherry beer and even champagne beer. They were not all too my taste but I did find a particularly nice ale called De Koninck which I really liked. The food at the restaurant was a mix of burgers, sausages and sea food. It was nice and quite reasonably priced but nothing special. I do recommend going here for the beer though.



Picture showing just some the many beers.




Me with a large glass of beer.

I read this interesting article that suggests you can make quite a difference to the environment just by paying your bills online. The article is based upon a study done in the US and claims that if just one household stopped receiving paper statements and instead paid their bills online it would save 24 square feet of forest every year. This calculation was based on the fact that an average US household receives 19 bills or statements from credit card companies and banks per month and makes seven payments by paper per month. Apparently if just 10% of US households gave up paper bills, it would save 75,469,808 pounds of paper, that’s about 905,638 trees. It would also avoid producing 1.96 million pounds of greenhouse gases which is the equivalent of taking 162,861 cars off the road.

Personally if I won the lottery the first thing I would do is give up work, or at least pay people to run my businesses for me. One man who won the lottery, however, missed his job at McDonalds’s so much that despite quitting, he asked to go back. Despite the fact that he is £1.3 million richer after his lottery win Luke Pittard still gets up every morning and goes to his £5.85 per hour job where he spends his time flipping burgers. Surprisingly he earns more money in interest on his winnings per week than he does from his job. He must really love his work.

This rather sleepy looking fox was found by Terri Strick when she opened her chicken coop to feed her chickens. When she had last opened the chicken coop it contained, chickens, however the fox managed to crawl inside and after consuming all the birds settled down for a well earned nap amongst the remaining feathers.

There are many expenses associated with selling a home but one fairly new cost is the home information pack or HIPs. HIPs have been promoted by the Government as a way to provide key information to buyers and also speed up the purchase of a property. However a recent report from Which? has found that HIPs have little value and that 41% of buyers find the packs make purchasing a new house more difficult. HIPs have also been opposed by estate agent trade bodies, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the legal profession. The general opinion appears to be that they are simply a waste of money.

New Ofcom proposals could mean that we will soon have more frequent commercial breaks on TV. Currently ITV1, Channel 4 and Five are allowed to show an average of seven minutes of advertising an hour. Advertising is also restricted to one period per half hour programme and two per hour long programme. Under the new proposals these timing restrictions could be dropped meaning you would have two breaks in a half hour show rather than one. You could also have adverts in films every 30 minutes instead of every 45 minutes. I feel there is already enough advertising shown on TV so if these measures are put into place I will simply record everything I want to watch on Sky + and forward through the adverts.

This article suggests that solar powered clothing could be coming to the shops soon. Fujitsu Siemens are working on incorporating flexible solar cells into items of clothing and say the device could only take a year to perfect. The solar cells would work by converting light into energy which would then be used to power devices such as mobile phones or MP3 players. It sounds interesting although as sunlight is required, it might not work so well here in the UK, after all we don’t see the sun very often. It could be a good device to take on holiday though.

Having used a few stink bombs before I know how unpleasant they can be. Saying that, they still wouldn’t be my number one weapon of choice if I wanted to rob a bank. A lady in Austria, felt differently. On entering a bank, she took out a box which she said contained a deadly explosive. She then smashed it on the counter breaking the vials of stink bombs and filling the bank with a dreadful smell before running outside. The staff also quickly retreated outside to escape the horrible smell. It seems her plan failed and she left empty handed, perhaps she should reconsider her choice of weapon before trying again.

I read this article that suggests addiction to the internet is now a recognised illness. Some symptoms of the disorder include excessive use, withdrawal and feelings of anger when the computer is not accessible and the need for better computers and more software. A case study carried out in South Korea found that 10 people have died of blot clots because they remained seated for long periods of time in internet cafes. It also found that around 210,000 children are affected and are in need of treatment. Apparently if you answer yes to five or more of the following questions you could suffer from it.

• Do you feel preoccupied with the internet? (Think about your online activity or anticipate your next online session.)
• Do you need increasing amounts of time on the net in order to achieve satisfaction?
• Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop internet use?
• Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop internet use?
• Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
• Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the internet?
• Have you lied to family members, a therapist or others to conceal the extent of your involvement with the internet?
• Do you use it to escape from problems (eg, feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?

I answered yes to just the fifth question. How many did you answer yes to?

I have long been disgusted by the number of people in this country who feel that it is their right to claim benefits. Whilst I realise that there are some people who cannot work due to illness or disability, what really annoys me is the growing number of people who could work but choose not to. I read this article that sums this up nicely.

It highlights a case of one family where three generation have never worked and from their comments it seems they never intend to. In this particular example the family of ten people consists of four adults, none of whom work. They do not see this as a problem, instead they are dissatisfied with their three bedroom council house and feel that they should be provided with a ten bedroom home, no doubt so they can produce yet more children who will also have to be provided for by the state. The grandmother says that the reason they cannot work is because there are so many children to look after. Call me stupid if you like, but does it really take four adults to look after six children? It seems to me, that at least three of the adults should be able to get a job. What I find shocking is that there are 20,000 similar households in Britain that pocket more than £30,000 a year in benefits.

Another example in this article highlights the case of a lady who has not worked for over 40 years. She has three grown up children, two of which are also on benefits and seems to think that this way of life is acceptable. In fact she says of her situation "My own dad worked down the pit, but my mum didn't work, so I suppose I wanted the same life that she had when I grew up. I just wanted to be at home and live off other people.” Her son Steven has a similar attitude. Although he did initially have a job as a plumber he gave it up because “They paid £27 a week, but it was so boring looking at pipes and sinks all day. When I told my dad I was bored, he said I should never stick with a job I didn't like.” He also says “So, eventually, in my 20s, I thought: "I've tried security work and plumbing and I've even been a taxi driver for six months, but I just don't like working" and “It's my right to claim benefits. We're all entitled to do what we want in life.” I completely sympathise with this view (sarcasm) I don’t like working either but what about the right of the tax payer not to have to subsidise these people who just can’t be bothered to get a job. We see the pattern continuing with Stephen’s daughter who seems to think that it is normal to live off of benefits. She too has left school without any qualifications and has claimed benefits ever since. She says "Because my gran, Jean, didn't work either then I suppose it's just normal in our family not to have jobs” and "I don't like the idea of having to be bossed around at work and I don't want to go to college or anything because I like to stay in bed in the morning. In the meantime, it's my right to claim benefits. One day I'd like a council flat." There is little hope, then for the fourth generation of this family.

The article has reinforced my view that there is a new underclass (rather than working class) of people in this country that feel they have a right not to work and should still be provided for by the rest of us that do work. The question is can we change the way these people think, especially when the attitude is passed down through generations. I suppose it annoys me so much because I was brought up with a strong work ethic and personally would rather take a job, no matter how menial or boring, for me claiming benefits is fundamentally wrong. I have been mulling over how the problem can be solved. Should benefits be reduced to such a level that are no longer adequate to support a family and thus encourage people to get a job, or would this just hurt the people that do really need them? Perhaps a form of tax relief for those on lower incomes might help, after all it is near impossible to live on an income of £12,000 or £13,000 and that’s before the tax man takes his cut. I also wondered what would happen to these people if the benefits system was suddenly withdrawn. If they had no income, would it force them into work? What I find most surprisingly of all is that this issue seems to be largely ignored by politicians. Perhaps the money spent on benefits is small when compared with other issues such as defence spending of money put into the health service but it can’t be good for a country to have such a large proportion of its potential workforce being supported by state and in effect by the hard working taxpayer.

I just opened a bottle of Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 which I purchased from Sainsbury for £6.99. The wine is from Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. I was browsing the South African wine section at Sainsburys and I must admit my attention was caught initially by the bottle because it has a picture of a porcupine on it. The blurb on the back of the bottle says very little about the wine and more about porcupines, making me wonder exactly how this is relevant to the wine. Apparently the only connection is that porcupines live in the area where the wine is produced. This said, the wine itself is really good and even my husband who is not that keen on red wine loved it. It is quite full bodied and fruity, tasting a little of blackcurrants. At 14.5% it’s a rather strong wine but good value for the price and very drinkable. I give it a rather respectable 4 out of 5 stars.

A couple from Newcastle have had jumpers made out of their dog’s fur. Beth and Brian combed their carpets for dog hair and also saved the hair when they groomed their pets. The hair was then spun into yarn and knitted into two jumpers. The jumpers are apparently very warm and nearly waterproof. I wonder if this works with cat fur.

The weather report predicts a white Easter for the first time in 25 years. Whilst I feel it is unlikely that we will get any snow, as we rarely do in Egham, it did make me recall the last white Easter. At that time I must have been about 4 years old. I remember waking up on Easter morning and looking out of the window to see several inches of snow. I also remember my great excitement at seeing footprints in the snow. My mother of course used this to her advantage and told me that the Easter bunny must have visited in the night. I now know that it is more likely the footprints were left by either a cat or a fox but still remember my excitement when I saw those footprints.

This is quite cool. It is called the Tardis House and is probably Cornwall’s smallest office. It measures just 7ft by 6ft so there is barely enough room for a table and chair and not much else. In fact it is so small that you can stand inside with your arms outstretched and touch the walls. The building which was originally built as a toilet has recently gone on the market for a surprising £19,950.

Regular readers know that I have lots of cats which is why I was happy to come across this article that suggests owning a cat can actually be good for you. Apparently having a cat can cut your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke by almost half. Scientists have found that stroking a cat helps to reduce stress and anxiety and so protects against cardiovascular disease. In fact cat owners were found to have a 40 per cent lower risk of suffering a heart attack. What the article doesn’t tell you is that cats also cause stress when they are climbing your new curtains or scratching up a favourite piece of furniture.

Further to my blog post a few weeks ago we are gradually moving towards getting the house ready to sell. Moving our stuff into storage has taken a bit longer than expected and we still have things that we want to move out of the house. We did initially plan to have moved everything into storage by now, but suffered a set back at the weekend as Rory was not well. We now plan to finish this over the Easter weekend and hopefully start doing some painting.  Regarding looking for a new place, we did look at two properties a few weeks ago, one which we hated and another which we really liked. Unfortunately as our house is not yet on the market we were unable to put in an offer on the house that we liked and have now heard that this one has just sold. It’s a shame as the property was just what we were looking for, but I’m sure something else will come up.

The Sat Nav trolley could soon be coming to Britain. The device will help shoppers by guiding them around the store to the items they want to buy. It will also suggest recipe ideas based on the food that you put into them. The trolley is made by Media Cart in conjunction with Microsoft and could be in UK supermarkets by 2009. It will also be able to download your shopping list and plot the quickest route around the store, depending on what you want to purchase. The trolleys are fitted with a location device so they know where in the store, they can they work out what the best route is from the current location to the product the customer requires. It seems like an interesting idea, I wonder how well they work in practice.

I drink rather a lot of tea so was pleased to see this article that suggests it could have health benefits. The article suggests that women who drink three cups of tea a day are less likely to have build ups of fat and cholesterol in their arteries meaning there is less likelihood of strokes and heart attacks. Unfortunately it appears to have no effect for men.

These rather strange looking glasses can help you find things. You just need to tell them what you are looking for and they will play a video to show you the last time you saw the item. The built in camera takes a constant record of everything the user sees, with the display inside identifying the items scanned. It’s an interesting idea but obviously this experimental model is a little bulky for everyday use.

It appears that despite recent conservation projects aimed at protecting tigers that the world’s tiger population is still declining. The World Wildlife Fund has warned that the world’s tiger population may have halved in the last ten years. They have also said that there might only be 3,500 tigers left in the wild and have warned that one species in South China, could soon be extinct. The main threat to tigers appears to be the demand for their body parts which are used in traditional Chinese medicine with destruction of habitat also being a factor.  A survey has found that despite being on the red list of critically endangered species the body parts of Sumatran tigers are being offered on open sale in Indonesia. One in ten retail outlets surveyed in 28 cities and towns across Sumatra were found to be selling tiger body parts. The lead author of the survey Julia Ng said "Sadly, the decline in availability appears to be due only to the dwindling number of tigers left in the wild.” It seems this lack of enforcement will soon mean an end to the wild tiger population. You can read more about ending the tiger trade and what you can do to help here at the WWF website.

Questions are being asked about the safety of the lithium batteries used in iPods after a customer in Japan reported an incident where their iPod gave off sparks. The Apple iPod nano started emitting sparks whilst it was being recharged. The problem was put down to the battery used in the device. A spokesman for Apple has said that the company is aware of the incident but that no one was available to comment. Japan’s government has ordered Apple to investigate the incident which affected the older Apple iPod nano with the model number MA099J/A. Apple has previously warned that iPods might overheat while being charged in certain carrying cases. Information on its website advises: "Charging your iPod, iPod nano or iPod shuffle while in certain carrying cases may generate excess heat, which can affect battery capacity.

Lefkos Hajji had it all worked out, he would propose to his girlfriend by giving her a helium balloon with a diamond ring inside it. Unfortunately he had not taken into account the rather windy weather. He took the ring the £6,000 ring to a florist who put it inside the balloon for him but on leaving the shop a gust of wind blew the balloons away. Although he chased them for over two hours he eventually lost sight of the balloons and his ring. He is still hoping that someone will find the ring and return to it him.

This is an interesting idea, a mobile phone that also helps to keep you fit. It is called miCoach and is being marketed as the latest “must have” accessory for your mobile phone. Basically it monitors your heart rate, tells you how fast you are running and how many calories you are burning during your workout. The device allows you to find your own fitness level and a goal to generate a series of workouts. It also has helpful motivational comments to let you know how you are doing and lets you customise a music playlist to match your workout.

After my first experience of bath bombs from Lush a few weeks ago, when I tried the Fairy Jasmine bath bomb, I decided to try a couple of others. My experience of the Fairy Jasmine product made me steer clear of anything that contained glitter. I did, however, try two really nice products this week. The first was called the Big Blue. This product (pictured below) turns the bath a really deep blue colour and has a lovely smell. It contains lemon, lavender and bits of seaweed. Initially I was a little dubious of the seaweed, but I found that it sinks to the bottom of the bath so is quite easy to clean up afterwards. After getting over the fact that the seaweed looks a little bit like spiders legs, I really liked this product and will certainly buy it again.


The second product I tried was the Blackberry Bath Bomb. I liked this immediately because it turns the bath water my favourite colour, deep purple. It contains bergamot, frankincense and berries and is perfect for relaxing after a really stressful day. After using this I went straight to sleep and didn’t wake up until late the next morning. I will be getting some more of these.

I found this article that suggests there will soon be a skiing game for the Wii. The game is called We Ski and it is due to be released in the US in the spring. The game allows up to four players to ski across virtual mountains and uses the balance board along with the remote and the nunchuk to give you that authentic skiing experience. It looks quite interesting although I’m not sure it’s for me. Still, its worth checking out the video to see someone giving the game a go.

I found this picture today which seems to prove that cats can't read.

I went to a friend’s hen night yesterday and whilst I have been forbidden from divulging any of the details or posting photos on my blog (how mean is that?), I think I am allowed to talk about the restaurant where we had lunch. It was the first time I have been to The Roof Garden. It is just off the high street in Kensington on the 7th floor of the building. The restaurant overlooks several gardens, one of which has flamingos in it. Unfortunately on the day I visited it was very cold so although I did step outside briefly to look at the view, I think I may have to go back in the summer to fully appreciate it.

The food and the service in the restaurant were excellent. The Saturday lunch menu costs just £16.50 for 2 courses or £19.50 for 3 courses. I tried the Golden Cross Goats Cheese with apple crisps, beetroot, baby red chard, wild honey and walnut dressing followed by plaice cooked in a beer batter and was impressed with both courses. The goats cheese worked really well with the beetroot and the apple crisps and the second course of plaice had a really good light fluffy batter which was good without being too heavy as batter often can be. The only negative thing I noticed about the restaurant was that the wine is a little overpriced but I would certainly eat here again and will probably go back with my husband in the summer.

A man in South Thailand shot dead eight of his neighbours because of their awful karaoke singing. Weenus Chumkamnerd had warned his neighbours about the noise and has threatened to shot them if they didn’t stop. His neighbours, however, ignored the warning and continued their party. Weenus later returned to the party and murdered eight people including his own brother in law. With this in mind I might have to turn the volume down next time I do karaoke.

If you find it hard to keep track of exactly how beers you have had, you might want to try this beer counting bottle opener. The gadget is called the Beer Tracker and records the number of times it is used to lift the lid on a bottle. It keeps track of the number of beers opened with a digital display, unfortunately though it only seems practical for the beers you drink at home, so won’t help for trips to the pub.

We have spent the last few days packing up as much stuff as possible to try and declutter our house prior to selling. The result is that I currently have a house full of boxes instead of a house full of clutter, not a vast improvement. We do have a van coming today to take all the boxes to the storage area so hopefully later on today I should be able to walk around my house again without encountering a box mountain.

This article suggests that balance transfer deals are disappearing in what appears to be a clamp down on easy credit. Research has shown that there are only nine credit companies offering a long term 0% balance transfer deal. This is compared with over 200 companies a year ago. The research which was carried out by www.fool.co.uk found there are now only 20 cards from 9 providers that offer a 0% balance transfer for a minimum of 10 months. It looks like it could be time to pay off that credit card balance.

Nationwide have increased the minimum deposit required to secure its best interest rate. Previously anyone putting down a 10% deposit could secure its best rate but this has now been increased to 25% of the value of the property. The move will mean that anyone with less than a 25% deposit will pay 0.2% more interest.

I thought I was seeing things when I came across the headline “Tony Blair launches artistic career”. It gets much stranger than that, however, when you learn that the Tony Blair to whom the article refers, is a rat. The artistic rat has been causing quite a stir in art circles with his masterpiece which is made entirely out of avocado. The rat has also produced another piece which features a gnawed four leaf clover which he calls “Am I still Lucky?” Tony’s owner says "I first noticed his creative potential when he walked across some clay tiles and left his paw prints and it went from there." I must see whether any of my cats are hiding an artistic talent.

A house in Kensington has sold for £80 million making it London’s most expensive home. The previous record was £67 million for a property in Kensington Palace Gardens. This property is five storeys high and has an underground swimming pool, a sauna and a gym.

I came across this really cute article about a boxer dog called Billy who has adopted a goat called Lilly. Billy has become Lilly’s constant companion, sleeping with her, cleaning her and protecting her from danger. How cute is that?