If this article is correct then it might be harder than usual to get your Christmas tree this year. According to the article the poor exchange rate is making is less profitable for foreign producers to export to Britain. This could mean that many popular varieties of trees are likely to unavailable this year and could also mean that the price of other trees will be considerably higher. Denmark would usually export around a million non-drop Nordmann fir trees to the UK but this year are only expected to supply 300,000. It appears it is simply more profitable to sell the trees to other European countries and to the former Soviet Union. Many British farmers will also be exporting their trees to the continent where they can earn 30 per cent than usual. Personally I was going to cut a branch from one of my conifers this year to use as a tree. After a house move we need to save some money and it seems the cheapest option.

This article suggests that some supermarkets are misleading customers with bargains that are not all they seem. The main focus of the article is a half price deal being offered by Tesco on Bernard Matthews turkeys. The turkeys are being offered at £20 which Tesco claims is half price, however, the turkeys have only been on sale for the full price of £40 for a short period of time. Tesco began selling the turkeys on the 3rd of September and made the price cut on the 1st of October allowing the birds to be at half price in the run up to Christmas. The chains rivals, however, say that the product should retail at just £20, the price they are all charging. It seems then, this particular deal is not such a great one. I wonder how many other offers are real reductions.

According to this article drinking a bottle of wine or six beers every day can cut the risk of heart disease in men by half. Researchers have found that the protective effects of a daily drink are not just limited to those who drink a moderate amount but also extend to those who consume higher levels of alcohol. Research was carried out on 15,000 men and 26,000 women aged from 29 to 69 years. They were studied over a period of 10 years. The results showed those who drank a little such as a glass of wine or a bottle of beer a day had a 35% lower risk of a heart attack than those who didn’t drink. Moderate drinkers, those who consumed two or three alcohol drinks a day had a 54% lower risk. Those classed as heavy drinkers, however, had a 50% lower risk of a heart attack making them half as likely to suffer an attack as the teetotallers.

According to this article case of superbugs that are resistant to all antibiotics are increasing across Britain and Europe. Intensive care doctors have reported a rising number of patients with infections that are resistant to all available antibiotics meaning there are no drugs to treat them. It is thought that part of the problem is the overuse of antibiotics for minor diseases. A survey carried out among intensive care doctors found that half of them had treated a patient with an infection that was totally or partially resistant to antibiotics within the last six months so it appears the problem is getting worse.

According to this article a bottle of champagne from Sainsbury’s that costs just £16 has performed better than some brands which cost twice as much. The champagne beat Moet and Chandon and 11 other champagnes to come second in a blind tasting. A total of 14 champagnes were tested, nine from major supermarket chains and three from big champagne houses. The Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs champagne was only beaten by Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label which received 90 points whilst the Sainsbury’s champagne received 89. At half the price though you can’t help thinking you might be better off going to Sainsbury's. The cheapest champagne tested was Aldi’s Veuve Monsiny which costs £9.99. It managed 10th place with a score of 84 points.

According to this article a whisky company is preparing an expedition to try and locate two crates of 100 years whisky. The whisky was shipped to the Antarctic by British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1909 expedition. It is now thought to be frozen inside in the icecap. The company that now owns McKinlay and Co who made the whisky are hoping that they will be able to conduct tests on the bottles with a view to re-launching the Scotch. One thing is for sure it will certainly be nicely chilled.

If you don’t have much time to exercise but want to keep fit then it appears it is possible to get a good work out at home. According to this article the exercise games available on the Wii are as good for you as real exercise. The article suggests that people use more energy playing Wii Sports or Wii Fit than they would if they went for a brisk walk. Whether the games are a substitute for a morning run, however, is debatable. Still its a good way to get some exercise when the weather is too bad to exercise outside.

According to this article nearly half of cheddar sold in Tesco is actually imported despite the pack implying that it is British. The packaging may say that the cheddar is packaged in Britain but it means just that. It is actually made elsewhere and imported. Nearly half of it is made in Latvia, Ireland and New Zealand and is simply packed in Britain. Whilst this might not seem like a big deal, people have different reasons for buying British and in this case it seems they are led to believe a product is British when it clearly isn’t. Personally I prefer to buy British produce where possible because I would rather support British farmers especially during the recession when times are tough. I also believe that the less distance my food has to travel the fresher it is likely is to be and of course the impact on the environment is less. I will certainly be checking the labels much more closely and will steer clear of anything marked “packed in Britain” in favour of “made in Britain” in the future. 

According to this article hundreds of horses are likely to be shot this winter as owners find they can no longer afford to keep them. Animal charities and sanctuaries have already reported a rise in the number of animals needing new homes but as they are already flooded with demand many have been turning away unwanted animals for months. As a result euthanasia is often the only option especially for older animals. Currently around 10,000 horses a year are killed in British abattoirs with much of the meat being sold on the Continent.

According to this article thousands of microscopic worms have been sent into space. The worms which were collected from a rubbish tip in Bristol have boarded the Atlantis space shuttle for a mission to the international space station. It is hoped that studying the worms will help scientists explain how astronauts build and lose muscle as they circle the earth. The worms will be exposed to conditions in space for four days before being frozen and returned to the laboratory where they can be studied.

The New Oxford American Dictionary has named the word unfriend as its word of the year. It has beaten other finalists such as hashtag, intexticated, sexting and funemployed to win the title. If you are confused as to the meanings of any of these words there are explanations here. I find it interesting that most of them are only likely to be used by regular users of social networking sites and probably not in everyday language.

According to this article a new chocolate has been made that could help you lose weight. The chocolate is supposed to taste just like regular chocolate, it does, however, have a disturbing green tinge. The chocolates are designed to be eaten before a meal and are supposed to make you feel full so you want to eat less. They contain the dietary supplement spirulina and vitamins A and B12 which all have weight loss benefits. At £5 for a box of five they are not cheap and they are currently only available in Spain so it may be some time before you spot them in your local supermarket.

According to this article lost golf balls are becoming something of a problem. That’s because they can take take anything between 100 and 1000 years to decompose and are becoming something of a litter problem. When they do start to break down the balls release a high quantity of metals including zinc. When submerged in water this poisons the surrounding flora and fauna damaging the environment. I wonder if there is such a thing as a biodegradable golf ball.

This video made by Simon Tofield appears to have become a hit on YouTube. Inspired by his cat the simple video features an animated cat trying to wake his owner up. Most cat owners will identify with the persistence of the cat which starts by prodding its owner before resorted to hitting him with a bat and then pretending to be asleep. Sometimes the most simple things make the best viewing. Simon’s cat now has his own website where you can check out his other videos.

If this article is correct the recession is responsible for a rise in middle class shoplifters. Rather than stealing goods to sell them on it appears more people are stealing to maintain the lifestyle they have become accustomed to. It seems when people have less money rather than cutting back, some decide to simply steal what they can no longer afford.

According to this article an indoor market in Luton is currently looking to recruit an ale taster. They are looking for someone with a “genuine love of food and drink” and although the role is on a volunteer basis so is unpaid it does have some rather obvious advantages.

A man has been arrested by Brazilian police after he was caught trying to smuggle 1,000 live spiders out of Brazil. The man who is a pet shop owner in London was stopped at the airport when police became suspicious about his luggage. He was found with boxes of live spiders in his suitcases. It could have been entertaining if one or two got loose on the plane.

According to this article Aldi and Lidl are both selling a bottle of champagne for just £9.99. Aldi’s Vue Monsigny and Lidl’s Comte de Brismand both sell for just under £10. They get mixed reviews from critics with some experts suggesting the taste is not that great but others calling it elegant and fruity. Unfortunately I don’t have an Aldi or a Lidl near me otherwise I would buy some and post a review. Have you tried either of these bottles of champagne and if so what were they like?

If you want to lose weight then you could try eating more slowly. According to this article people who eat their food quickly are more likely to overeat than those that take their time. The reason is that eating quickly stops the release of a hormone that tells the brain that the stomach if full leading you to overeat. The findings come as a result of a study which looked at diner eating a 300ml serving of ice cream. Those who took a leisurely 30 minutes to finish the ice cream described themselves as feeling fuller than those who ate the the food more quickly. So next time you are tempted to bolt your food it might be worth eating it a little more slowly.

It looks like its good news for water voles if this article is correct. The creature which was declared an endangered species in 2008 now appears to be becoming more common and there were twice as many spotted this year as there were last year. According to the article water voles have been the UK’s fastest declining mammal with numbers declining due to unsympathetic farming and watercourse management. Most of the recent sightings have been on the Kennet and Avon Canal between Reading and Bristol.

According to this article two companies with rather different products are currently developing wines specifically for Asian food. Taylor and Shroff wines and Atul Kochhar have both developed wines that are matched to the food. Kochhar has worked with classic sauvignon blanc and merlot and developed them to complement complex curries. Taylor and Shroff on the other hand have created cherry, apricot and ginger wines that are designed to be drunk over ice. The Taylor and Shroff wines are currently available at around a dozen restaurants and Kochhar sells his wines at his restaurant in London and Southampton so they are not yet widely available. I will be interested to try both, I wonder how long it will be before they come to a restaurant near me.

New legislation means that it will now be possible to create protected marine zones in areas which contains endangered species. The Marine Act will allow conservation groups to stop practices such as scallop dredging and trawler fishing in areas that are under threat. Species such as the Atlantic salmon, the pink sea fan (a type of coral), the harbour porpoise and seahorses should all benefit from the new protected zones.

According to this article tomatoes could help you lose weight because they make you feel full. Apparently the fruit suppresses the urge to snack and makes you feel full longer. The findings came after researchers looked at the benefits of enriching white bread with fruit and vegetables. A group of people were offered cream cheese sandwiches on white bread with added carrots or tomatoes, with the tomatoes found to be more satisfying. It is thought lycopene, the pigment that gives tomatoes its colour also helps to dull appetite. This seems interesting but unfortunately I hate tomatoes.

It seems GPS has a wide range of uses. In this this case it has been used to pinpoint some rare ants nests in order to save them from destruction. The nests are located in forests in Northumberland, however, The Forestry Commission is due to remove 10,000 conifer trees from the forest. It was feared that the ants nests might be damaged in the process. Foresters will now be provided with the GPS co-ordinates of the ants locations so that they can be sure to avoid them.

According to this article there has been a rise in the cases of scurvy reported in children in the UK. The disease which is more commonly associated with sailors is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C usually caused by a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. It seems that the disease has soared by over 50 per cent in the last three years with 61 children being admitted with the disease in 2004/2005 and 94 in 2007/2008. These figures only cover those who have been admitted to hospital and it is thought that the problem is much more widespread. It makes me wonder what sort of diet people are eating to get this disease today when it is possible to buy large quantities of fruit and vegetables at low prices especially if you choose the supermarkets own brand value range.

According to this article a daily portion of dark chocolate could help protect the skin against the aging effects of the sun. A study found that just a few squares of chocolate every day can help to prevent wrinkles caused by UV light. Dark chocolate is very high in flavanols which occur in the cocoa beans and it is these antioxidants which protect the skin from the harmful UV effects. I’m not entirely sure if I believe the claims but its a good excuse to eat more chocolate.

Marks and Spencer have announced that they will hold a Penny Bazaar on Friday. The sale which will last one day only will see 15 different items going on sale at just 1p each. Items include socks, card games, puzzles, handkerchiefs, money boxes, tea towels, mugs, notebooks, ties, knickers, keyrings and chocolates. Marks and Spencer have previously hosted a similar event which saw people queued outside stores trying to pick up a bargain. If you want to get your hands on some of the cheap items customers are limited to five purchases each and you can check which stores are offering the promotion on the website.

If you face a long stressful commute to work every day then I expect you have tried any number of things to make the daily grind more bearable. If the strong black coffee and bacon sandwich just isn't hitting the spot then you might want to try this new book released by a retired Hertfordshire bishop. The book has been designed specifically with the commuter in mind and is designed to combat “the turbulence of the working day”. It includes prayers and reflections which are supposed to help the stressed commuter. Extracts of the book are also available as a podcast.

I have suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for a number of years now and have learnt to control the condition with a combination of diet and exercise. Until recently I had got to the point when I was only suffering the problem every few months and usually when I had eaten something that I knew would trigger the symptoms. I was surprised then, when after my move back to Sevenoaks I found I was suffering from the condition every day.

At first I didn’t occur me what was wrong I assumed that the symptoms were a stomach bug, but after a month and half of symptoms I realised that the IBS was back with a vengeance. I went back to square one keeping a food diary, cutting out any known triggers completely and making sure I exercised every day but the symptoms still continued. That’s when I realised that the only thing that had changed was the fact that before our house move I was drinking water only from the filter tap. The new house had no filtration system installed and since we had moved house I had been drinking water straight from the tap. It seemed a long shot but I stopped drinking the tap water and started buying bottled mineral water. After a few days my stomach which had felt like a beach ball for nearly two months finally went back to normal and all the other symptoms stopped soon after.

Since then I have continued to drink only mineral water and will later be installing a new filtration system. I am now back to the occasional IBS flare up when I eat something I know will upset me but I like, such as cheese or red meat. I can only assume that there is something in the tap water that not only triggers my IBS symptoms but makes them much worse than usual. I have read reports that suggest fluoride in drinking water can trigger IBS but up to now have been sceptical and as I have no idea whether the tap water in Sevenoaks contains fluoride I am unsure whether this is the cause. What is clear, however, is that I can’t drink the water.

If this article is to be believed then it appears that Cadburys are planning to get rid of the Roses tin. Tins of Roses are usually to be found in most supermarkets in the run up to Christmas but Cadburys has decided to replace the tin with a cardboard box. The move comes as part of a drive to save on packaging. The new cardboard box will include the same amount of chocolates as the traditional tin and will cost the same but should be a little easier to recycle once you have eaten the contents.

According to this article it is possible to cook Christmas dinner for eight people for just £2.78 a head. The Good Housekeeping Institute priced 11 ingredients mainly from Lidl and Morrisons and some from Tesco and Sainsbury’s. It found that it is possible to buy a turkey from Lidl and Morrisons for just £9.99. Lidl also came out best for some of the trimmings such as sprouts, carrots and parsnips whereas Tesco had the best value Christmas pudding at just £1. If the article is correct it appears that you can find a bargain if you shop around.

I would describe myself as a pessimist so I was mildly pleased when I came across this article which suggests being grumpy could be good for you. Apparently being grumpy makes you better at decision making and less gullible whereas those annoyingly happy people tend to make more mistakes because they are more inclined to believe what they are told. The findings come after a psychology expert studied the effects of positive and negative emotions. He found that when you are more grumpy you get more problems sorted out and make less errors. This works quite well with my way of thinking.

Our cat Oliver is notorious for being very timid, he usually hides when we get any visitors and get beaten up by our other cats. Bearing this in mind we were very surprised when a large fox wandered into the garden and approached him. Oliver and the fox regarded each other for a while before the fox rolled on the ground. It was obvious to us that the fox wanted to play but Oliver seemed to miss the point and chased him away. You can see pictures below of the encounter, click on the images for a bigger version.

According to this article it is becoming more acceptable to wear track suit bottoms in public providing they are worn with the right shoes. The track suit bottoms in question should be the more flattering type, bootcut at the ankle and low cut on the hips rather than the traditional gathered waist variety. Apparently they should also be dressed up with a stylish top and a pair of high heels. Follow all these pointers and apparently track suit bottoms can be trendy. Personally I’m not convinced I will save mine for the morning run.

I get several thousand spam messages a day so tend to notice the latest trends. It seems that emails pretending to be from Facebook are becoming more popular at the moment and whilst other spam does still outnumber them, I am currently getting a few hundred a day. The emails tend to ask you to log in to update your details and do look like genuine Facebook emails so I can see how some people might be fooled. Bear in mind, though just as you would never click on an email to update an account or change details for a bank account the same applies to Facebook. I have noticed a number of people whose Facebook accounts have been compromised recently, I wonder whether its because they were fooled by one of these emails or whether their account was compromised by another method.

Staff at a supermarket in Australia could have been justified in asking a customer this question when he was spotted behaving strangely. It appeared he was stealing food and had stuffed several sausages down his trousers before trying to walk out the door. He was stopped and searched and the sausages were confiscated. The manager of the supermarket was keen to point out that the sausages had not been returned to sale.

If you are planning on building a bonfire this bonfire night, then make sure you look out for hedgehogs. Unfortunately this is just the time of year that hedgehogs are looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter and a pile of logs makes the perfect place to hibernate. If you are planning on building a bonfire the advice is to assemble your fire a few hours before the event rather than several weeks before hand. It is less likely that animals such as hedgehogs and frogs and toads will have chance to crawl inside. As scientists predict that hedgehogs could be extinct by 2025 they need all the help they can get, so taking this simple step could mean far less casualties.

According to this article junk food could be as addictive as heroin. Apparently a diet of junk food can programme your brain into craving more foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat. After some time the junk food starts to become a substitute for happiness and eventually people become addicted. The finding comes after research was carried out on the dangers on a high fat and high sugar diet. The results showed that the brain can react to junk food in the same way that it reacts to drugs. On that note, I fancy a burger.

This cute little guy was found in a bag of rocket salad in Edinburgh by restaurant manager David Neil. The salad had been imported from Israel along with the live eight inch long Lebanon lizard. The lizard which has been nicknamed Rocky is now living in a temporary enclosure whilst a new new home is found for him.

It seems the recession is good news for the restaurant chain Taybarns which runs all you can eat restaurants. The chain offers a choice of food including fish and chips, carvery, pizza, pasta and Mexican all for a fixed price. Customers pay £5.99 during the day or £7.99 in the evening and can take a plate and help themselves to whatever they fancy as many times as want. The business model appears to working, whilst other restaurants are closing at a rate of a 100 a month Tayburns has seen a 3% increase in sales in the last six months and serves around 10,000 people a a week in their most popular branches. They are planning to open 30 new branches to take advantage in the growing popularity. I can see how the restaurant might appeal to cash strapped families who are struggling with the bills. It is certainly interesting to see that even during a recession it is possible to capitalise on certain markets.

Gravy is one of those things that can be really really good when it is done well but can also spoil a meal when done badly. Now it appears that The Royal Society of Chemistry have come up with a recipe for the perfect gravy. They have published the recipe as part of their Food Year and hope that it will become widely used for Sunday Lunch. The secret ingredients appear to be dark soy sauce and iodized salt. If you want to try the recipe it is available from the link to the article or below where I have added it for my own reference.

Ingredients:
The juices from a roast joint of meat, preferably beef
Flour
Vegetable water (cabbage)
Iodised salt
Teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
Pepper
Gravy browning if you prefer a darker gravy.

Method:
The joint should be cooked on a bed of halved onions, carrots and celery on to which juices from the meat will slowly trickle. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the roasting tin along with the vegetables. Sprinkle a small amount of plain flour over the meat juices and fat. Stir to form a dough (roux) gradually adding the water in which vegetables have been cooked, preferably cabbage water. Ensure all the meat juices and Marmite-like deposits on the bottom of the roasting dish have dissolved. Then add iodised salt to taste and a teaspoon of dark soya sauce (rather than gravy browning) or a little red wine. Simmer to reduce the volume of liquid to the right consistency, stirring occasionally.

Two red squirrels have been found near Bangor, the first to be found in the area for a decade. It is thought the squirrels may have crossed the Menai Strait from Anglesey to Gwynedd using one of the two bridges. Scientists are waiting for the results of tests to prove that they came from the Anglesey colonies. Around 300 red squirrels live on Anglesey but this is the first evidence that they have started to colonise new habitats on the mainland. The discovery has been hailed as a breakthrough for the endangered species.