January/February Competition

Not one to disappoint, although it’s a bit late, but fancy winning a Breville Hot Cup?? Thought you would, then do what you usually do and pop on over to the Competition Page for the link to enter.

Good Luck

Jacqui

January/February Competition

Wellness® Dog Food Review

I’m pretty picky with what I feed my dogs as I think that if you give them food that’s not very nutritious then your animals won’t get the best out of it that they would if it was of a decent quality.

Our lot were really lucky this last week as they were asked to test a US dog food which has just started to grace the shelves here in the UK. Whenever they try different food it’s always best to do it slowly. Don’t ever put a dog straight on a different food as you will just be faced with runny bottoms or dodgy tummies. Best way to do this is (click image for larger size):

This is an easy way to transition between different foods so it’s taken us a few days a while to get through the food (rather than give it to all 6, we just chose 2, Pea and Daddy Bo) as we wanted to make sure they didn’t suffer any digestive problems.

Wellness® are a Family Owned Natural Pet Food company. Based in the US, their philosophy is to provide proper nutrition to give a foundation of wellbeing, to give our pets a healthy, happy, long life through the power of natural ingredients. Being a pioneer in holistic nutrition they know the importance of a healthy lifestyle so are more than able to look after the health of our beloved furry friends.

I myself tried hard when our Biscuit (RIP) was initially diagnosed with liver nodules to feed him good quality fresh food that would support his poorly liver while he was recovering from his operation. This in turn lead us to keeping him alive and well for nearly 2 years after diagnosis. If only we had known earlier then we would have done that from the word go. It’s only now that we understand the utter importance of what you put in their bowls. These days we only feed our dogs low salt, no sugar, low fat dog food. So trying Wellness was definitely a yes when we were asked.

We slowly introduced the food to Daddy Bo and Pea. One day they both tried half a tray of Chunky Centers and from us peeling back the foil, their noses were in full sniff mode. Turning it out to cut it in half, it looked like a meat pie. Cutting into it was surprising as I thought it might be hard, but out oozed a delicious looking centre with lush looking gravy. It didn’t smell like dog food either. Sometimes you can open a tin of dog food and you get an overwhelming whiff of boiled beef. This smelt incredibly pleasant. Filled with chicken, chicken liver and spinach, I was over the moon when it was the first thing that Daddy Bo picked out of the bowl (as he’s super fussy) and continued to munch on before his regular Denes. Perhaps it was a fluke though, first day trying something a bit different so we’d wait until the next day when he’d get to try another of the Chunky Centers flavours.

Pea isn’t that fussy. He’s what, a year and a month old now and will basically eat anything and everything (even some of his rope toys too if we don’t keep an eye on him) but we’ve been gradually moving him from puppy food to adult food over the last month anyway, and being smaller portions in the foil trays made this a little easier as he could have half a tray and not even notice the difference. He didn’t hesitate at all. Straight in and gone within a few minutes.

Ideally I would have wanted to try our Shelby on it but she has been living with a bit of a dodgy tummy the last week so we’ve been told just to stick to bland food for now so sadly she had to sit this test out.

Next day Daddy Bo got a handful of the Core Grain Free Dry Formula (Ocean) but I wouldn’t give it to the puppy purely because it’s a high protein food. He already has very smelly urine, so the trainer advised us against high protein food just incase he has a kidney issue which as yet they have not diagnosed but if we’re not sure, we’re not going to chance it. Bo doesn’t have any issues with his kidney so we poured a little bit of water on the triangular kibble sized food so it was a little softer for him but again, he scoffed the lot. Pea was sniffing around the bag so he had 1 or 2 handed to him out of it, but no more.

As we received quite a few of the Chunky Centers and Petite Entrees, they’ve had quite a nice week trying the different flavours. Pea’s favourite though which he had a whole tray of to himself yesterday afternoon was the Chunky Centers Turkey, Duck and Sweet Potato. He couldn’t wait for Andy to get it out of the tray as he was pawing at him to just put it on the floor. It’s lovely when they’re excited to eat something new. Pea wasn’t a big fan of the Petite Entrees though because it was a little wetter and more like a casserole, but what he didn’t eat, Daddy Bo finished so it was team work.

We also have the bag of Simple Salmon and Potato. Again we did want to test this with Shelby as she suffers with her skin and as its ingredients list flaxseed this would have been ideal to keep her scale at bay. However, we are going to keep this and try her on it when her tummy has settled in a few days. Daddy Bo though had a big bowl of these today purely because Salmon is one of his treat foods. Whenever we have smoked salmon in the house Bo will camp out by the fridge until he gets some. Daddy Bo thinks he’s a cat you see. He will wave his tail about just like a cat and creeps around like one so salmon is always a big, big favourite. Result? He scoffed the lot. I don’t think I’ve seen Bo eat all his dinner as speedily as he has on Wellness. It certainly ticks all the boxes with what I think food should be like and what it should contain. So far, so good.

Looking at the complete range Wellness® produce, it’s clear that they’ve thought of everything from puppy food to dogs with allergies or who have limited diets. I’m incredibly impressed and thrilled to have been asked to trial it with our rabble.

But you might be thinking, well I don’t have a dog! No fear. Wellness® also produce a whole range for cats. Cats always seem to get the rough end of the stick as there’s clearly not enough range on the market for them but now cats can get in on the act too. Real meat, fruit and veggies with lots more tastes and textures will give kitty a superb assortment that won’t hurt, or hinder their health.

Things cannot get any better than Wellness®, no, they truly can’t. Welcome to the UK.

If you want to try Wellness® for your little furry friends, then check out the range at Pets at Home.

Jacqui

Wellness® Dog Food Review

Grab Last Minute Things From East of England Co-Op

If you’re still filling your trolleys with food for the festive period but are missing a few bits, then pop on over to the East of England Co-Op and grab some of their Sourced Locally festive goodies. Unfortunately our large Co-Op is shutting at the end of December (making way for an Asda sadly) so they didn’t have much stock on the shelves so we had to travel to a couple of different ones in our area to finish our shopping.

If you’re a fan of the Mallow Whirls, well they’ve jazzed that there firm favourite for Christmas with a little white chocolate and the cutest little holly making them look uber festive. If you don’t fancy that, then grab the hand crafted Mince Pies from Leggs Bakery, all crumbly shortcrust pastry hugging the sweet and juicy mincemeat below! Pour yourself out a glass of Golden Ale and pile your plate with Fairfield Crisps for an evening in front of the TV.

Sourced Locally is by far my most favourite of ranges that incorporates all of our amazing local producers in East Anglia, and shows what makes this county great.

For a quick snack, we popped the pasties and sausage rolls in the microwave from Hollybush Farm and for dinner used the leftover pesto from the sensational Butternut Squash and Feta dish we tend to eat once a week, smothering spaghetti in it’s fresh green creaminess piling the bowl high with the tomato and herb focaccia – again locally sourced.

If our largest Co-Op had still had their shelves stocked high then I’m sure we could have showed you many more delights to whet your appetite but sadly the small ones don’t carry very much.

I had been looking forward to trying “Tinsel Toes” seasonal brew from Woodforde’s, the Sage and Onion Scotch Egg from Wolff Evans and Sons, and Cranberry Sauce from Stokes Sauces. All total favourites in their regular everyday forms and which look so mouthwateringly good in their festive forms, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be this time around.

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Jacqui xx

Grab Last Minute Things From East of England Co-Op

Christmas For Pets

We mustn’t forget our little furry friends this festive season, so we’re going to take a look at what’s available for them in a bit. First, it was my little fur boy’s 1st birthday on Thursday so we decided that we’d organise a little party for him and the furries so they could have a bit of a treat.

I ordered a cake from Pets Pyjamas a few weeks ago and it arrived Wednesday morning via Doggylicious and unfortunately didn’t look as neat as the picture that promotes it. The yogurt icing was quite messy and it actually looked like they’d kicked it about a bit before putting it in the box. It was incredibly dry too which was a shame. I actually wish I’d purchased the cupcakes or birthday cake from Barkers of Suffolk because they look more moist and scrummy. But nevertheless, once we put it all out on the table, Pea couldn’t wait to try everything.

Armitage Pets so kindly sent Pea some Christmas presents, but we thought that we’d use some of them for his special day, so we poured out for him:

Pack of Good Boy Succulent Festive Bangers

Pack of Duck Bites (from the Doggy Deli Pack)

Pack of Chewy Chicken Strips (from the Doggy Deli Pack)

Pack of Good Boy Festive Cranberry Choc Drops

The Festive packs are taken from the Christmas Festive Range by Good Boy which include regular choc drops, Christmas Pud & Christmas Reindeer squeaky toys, Flashing Christmas Nose Balls, Mince Pies, Christmas Dog Stocking and Chocolate Orange Mini’s which were consumed the night we received the parcel as Pea and Ali wouldn’t leave the box alone so we had to open up a packet to quell their curiosity. They’re not that expensive either, so if you want to get your furry friend a little something for under £10 they’re pretty good value for money keeping them happy while you tuck into your Turkey.

Needless to say Pea’s party went down a storm, all bangers were consumed and albeit looking a bit dry, the cake went down a storm with Pea trying to steal his furry friends pieces for himself. Typical Pea really.

Christmas For Pets

Back In Your Box You...

Over the last few days I’ve reached out to a few old colleagues, mainly just to say hello and ask how they are. It’s been met with a deathly silence apart from one person. The only person to have come back to me is an old hospital radio colleague who still presents hospital radio and has no grandiose ideas of becoming famous. Just a lovely down to earth bloke. Shame the others weren’t the same.

On guy I messaged write a nice little bit about himself, and once I showed him who I was ignored me. The others have been active on their feeds but have just totally blanked me. What I find insulting about that is the fact that these people have gone on to be “well known” yet never seem to discuss their past (probably ashamed of it) and so me, saying hello has been a bit of their past popping up that obviously has no influence on them now to help their careers. I was there at the start but now I serve no purpose I’m ignored. And people asked me why I wouldn’t attend a reunion….

Probably is when they have a taste of stardom, they change, they become notoriously big headed, self centred and more interested in friends that can influence their career than those that grafted with them at the beginning teaching them their trade. I had more respect for my teachers at school than they have of me.

Sometimes I feel like an intruder when I try to reach out. Shunned to a life forever back in my box. Don’t get me wrong, a few people in the past that I’ve spoken to have been more than happy to take time out of their lives to chat to me, find out how I am and if there’s anything they can do for me because they thought highly of me. More surprising when these people were the ones that I never called friends. The ones I called friends are now it seems to far up their own arses, pretentious little wannabes that I’m far too common to even pass the time of day with.

Thing is, I still have a bit of influence, and if I so wanted could knock a few bricks out of their fairytale castles but I wouldn’t because I’m not like that, but I can bet you now. You used me and my talent on the way up. I’ll be waiting when you’re on the way down with the carpet corners in my hand to pull it from under your feet. Time will tell.

Back In Your Box You...

Where Have All The Personalities Gone - Radio

I was having a discussion with Andy this morning as I turned my computer on and loaded up Radio Jackie for another day of listening and writing. Paul Coia standing in for someone or other was chatting away in his Scottish accent and something struck me (no, no flying dog toys or anything like that thankfully) just a thought that these days radio has no personality any more. Long gone are the days when you’d load up a CD, or get a record cued up with your backtiming sorted to the news, and your notes of what you fancied chatting about and in has crept huge conglomerates buying up each and every station to add them into the big world of automation, same playlists, same chat, same ads. What the hell has happened to all the personalities now?

Graham Gold © http://sparkleagency.com/

DJ’s rock up to do their slots, sit down in front of their 2 screens with everything already loaded, they type in what the producer tells them that they’re going to talk about and when and that’s it. The same playlists loaded over the radio groups multiple stations to play the same thing at the same time, just different person doing the segways. No more Kenny Everetts, Chris Tarrants and the like, personalities shining out from your radio with their own opinions, favourite music and quirks that lead you to tune in day after day.

I think I know what’s happened though. Back when I started (after volunteering at mainstream originally as general dogsbody) we did the hard graft. Hospital Radio although got frowned upon was usually where DJs of that day had learnt their trade. Ward Radio where I volunteered was responsible for more than one well known DJ including Graham Gold, Steve Hyland, Sutish Sharma, Andy Milburn, Darren Spence, Steve Reed… oh the list goes on. But back then hospital radio laid the groundwork for mainstream and personalities were nurtured. Our station never had much money but we made sure our presenters were fully trained, had access to the most up to date equipment (as then) and were ready to send their aircheck tapes off to “proper radio” if they so wanted. Then along came reality TV and these nobodies with no talent started to replace our personalities. Kate Lawler rocks up as a DJ on Capital Radio and sits there whilst other people around her do the work. Mark Wright does the same. Now we hear Georgia Moffatt is lined up to do some radio show up north. All the hard work done by hospital radio to train the DJ’s of today tossed aside like an old chip wrapper for some bit of totty seen on TV that’s got some Radio Executive’s loins a twitching. What the actual eff! These talentless scripted reality himbos and bimbos get thrust into the limelight because they’re perceived to be “totty”. As far as I knew totty sold magazines not music (unless it was just in music videos) so radio executives have their priorities wrong. It’s them that have changed my once loved career into a laughing stock. No talent needed now, just “tits and teeth”. Sad and shameful.

Where Have All The Personalities Gone - Radio

Christmas Party Playlist 2015

I don’t know if I’m the only one that’s noticed but this year we seem to have quite a few funky tracks gracing the airwaves unlike the usual drivel of slow, moody stuff, or music from TV talent shows (famous last words, you watch). So to celebrate this I’ve put together a little playlist of my own (feel free to ignore it though, I’m no Simon Cowell after all). Give me your verdict if you too think December is is bouncing with top tracks?

This one is my absolute favourite at the moment, originally released in October this year, but didn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar until now.  Le Grind – Pillow Talk (check out the video – who needs big budgets these days when you’ve got a cracking tune).

Take That – Hey Boy. Gets me waving my arms in the air.

Take That – I Like It. Now this one I’ve sent over to Mastermix asking them to mix it with 2 other tracks which mix perfectly! They need to mix it with Rachel Stevens – Some Girls and Goldfrapp – Strict Machine (you could even add a little 2 Hearts from Kish Mauve’s original, or Kylie’s one at a push if you speed it up a bit).

Wouldn’t be Christmas without a little bit of Kylie so this one with little sis Dannii seems to do well. Well it’s played pretty much on every station I tune into.

I’m no fan of Asda but the marketing team found a corker with Fleur East I guess. I was shaking my bits in a fury after hearing this for the first time so I guess it’s got to be on the playlist.

It’s only taken them 12 years, obviously no hurry for decent music in that time. Darkness – I Am Santa. Not as good as Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells) but nice to see the return of jingling bells at least.

Last one, I’m throwing a bit of a curve ball out there. I love it, but the video is a bit creepy and to be desired. Ah well, you make your own mind up.

Over to you lot now. What tunes will you be loading up this Christmas. This lot will probably be on Andy’s DJ list no doubt (well I’ll damn well sneaky in there if I have to myself just to get my “groove on” at any parties he has to do).

Jacqui

Christmas Party Playlist 2015