Shoe Zone Back to School savings.

In these harsh economic  times when your finances are being stretched by the ever increasing cost of day to day living, it is nice to find a company who offers good quality and good value.  Shoe Zone is the "No 1 Value Footwear Retailer" with over 550 shops across UK and Ireland.  They sell approximately 30 million pairs of footwear per annum...which is about 57 pairs every minute!!  Prices are kept keen with an average price of 40% of the national average.
They sell a great range of shoes for Men, Women, Boys and Girls at really competitive prices.  Their range includes footwear for fashion, work, school, sport and fun. I has sent lots of pairs to review my son has adult size feet. So there was no way he could road test girls and boys size 10 shoes impossible. So I am sending some of the shoes out to be road tested by some bloggers, well not the bloggers but their children. Also road testing are some people who aren't bloggers so who knows after this they might.  Prices start from just £1.99 so take a look and see how much you could save.


So I will be able to report back to you in a week or so exactly what they and their parent s thought of the  shoes from Show Zone and we all know how fickle children can be.

Shoe Zone offer an online click and collect in store service, free delivery on online sales, free return to any store and next day and Saturday delivery (chargeable).  

Check out this season's new arrivals online at www.shoezone.com or instore now.

Here is what one of the ladies thought about the shoes I sent her.

"I received a pair of Shoe Zone girls lace up Brogues to review. They are black, slightly pointed toe brogues with thin laces and my first reaction was would my daughter like these as they are quite different from the normal style of shoes she would wear. I showed them to her and she was very excited – new shoes (what girl wouldn't be?!!).

She tried them on immediately and they were a good fit and seemed really comfortable. Being a budget style shoe they are synthetic rather than leather but the upper seemed quite soft and supple. The laces were thin and round, so were easy to put a double bow in to stop coming undone during the day. My daughter hasn't yet mastered the art of tying a shoe lace but hopefully she'll get a lot of practice with these!

Overall we were happy with the shoes, they are a very fashionable style, with brogues being seen in all the shops at the moment and look great with skinny jeans/leggings for the perfect little daytime outfit."




Another blogger gave his reaction or rather his four year old did!!!


"The shoes look really lovely. Yusuf has another pair of school shoes from a very popular shoe shop especially for kids.  We prefered these, they looked nicer and felt a lot lighter which is good when your thinking of an energitic almost 4 year old on the go all day!!  Yusufs' take on the shoes was:  "Daddy am I wearing the top quality shoes today?!"   I promise that these words were on his own behalf (top quality is a popular thing with him at the moment!!)  We think coming from a 4 year old that says quite a lot."
 

Grandsreads Ginger wine and traditional lemonade.

I was sent all four flavours of Gran Stead's, I can tell you that the Traditional Still Lemonade is a trip back in time and the Ginger  wine will have you sending Dug the dog to farm warn warn them that little Timmy has fallen down the well. Refreshing and tangy it hits the spot.

And then there the wild one....
We call this “lemonade with attitude!”

Our newest drink combines the refreshingly zesty flavour of Sicilian lemons with just enough ginger to give it a gentle hum of spice. It’s a fusion of our two other drinks, Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine and Gran Stead’s Traditional Still Lemonade. We spent a lot of time trying out various combinations, consulting our customers all the way. We believe our new drink is unique and we hope you love it as much as we do.


Naturally, it’s absolutely free of artificial colourings or flavourings.

What’s in it?
Simply water, Sicilian lemon juice*, sugar and ginger
(* contains a trace of sulphur dioxide – this is added in Sicily to help it keep its fresh, lemony colour)


It’s gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Once opened, it will keep in the fridge for four days.

 Gran Stead's Non-Alcoholic Ginger Winehowever,  Fiery and sweet the perfect drink to match Mr T's personality ( I am joking rfeally . Mr T is a pussy cat reallly) !!

Gran Stead's say its an invigorating, alcohol-free drink made in Sussex from natural ingredients. The historic recipe is over 150 years old.
This hearty concoction, prepared with exotic spices and years of know-how, is simply brimming with character. 
Rich, smooth and vibrant, Gran Stead’s Ginger has broad appeal and won’t leave you gasping for water. 
That’s because the heat is expertly balanced with a welcome hint of sweetness. 

Christiana Stead was born in 1898 in a small country village called Middleton-in-Teesdale in the North of England. Her ginger wine recipe - now over 150 years old - uses all natural ingredients and the result is a mellow, versatile drink for all seasons.

We liked it so much we bought the business”

In 1994, Len and Dot Knox bought the recipe for their favourite drink. They began preparing Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine from home and selling it at craft fairs. As word spread and demand grew, they moved on to farmers markets and began to build a list of stockists.

The business was given a marvellous start by the hard work of Len and Dot and we’re delighted to say that fifteen years later it continues to grow. Today it’s  their son Chris and daughter-in-law Rosemary, who take care of the day to day running of the business and production has moved to a local farm. Sadly Dot passed away in 2008 but Len is still an important member of the family team and you may well know him, as he is often out and about offering tastings as he continues to spread the word about his beloved Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine.

http://gransteadsginger.co.uk/stockists.html

There are some wonderful recipes on their website , so please do take a look there drinks are a very pleasant alternative to wine.

Forgiveness ... Do you? would you?

A conservation reared itself today which made me upset and think back to a conservation I had with an old boss.


Working in a schools its hard nigh on  impossible to get time off only for deaths ,family emergencies etc.

So a few years ago when my Nan died I had to arrange the funeral, family matters made it impossible for my mother to do this. So I went to my boss at the time and asked for time off to arrange the funeral and to grieve . Her response to this was NO you get one day off for the funeral and have to be back in work the next day. My Nan lived over 250 miles away in Kent , so I had to arrange the funeral for half term, leaving my Nan in the morgue as a connivance to my boss at the time.

So can I forgive my old boss for this in away No its always there but I can respect the qualities she did have , even if humanity at the time was not one of them.

So could you forgive a situation like this, we all make mistakes don't we but our some mistakes too big to forgive for?

Munchy Seeds review

Pack a Munchy Picnic!

This balmy sunny weather is the perfect excuse to be eating outdoors with friends and family, 

enjoying delicious British picnic food, barbecues, al fresco dining or festival food.  Whatever 

your summer eating occasion, Munchy Seeds have spent all their working hours carefully 

blending and gently roasting premium quality seeds which make an ideal healthy addition to 

pack for your picnic feast! 


Even though its nearly Autumn we can still enjoy those Indian summers we will be having!.

Seeds are an excellent natural source of essential vitamins, minerals, oils and fibre too so enjoy 

them as a healthy snack or sprinkle them on just about everything from jazzing up summer 

salads, to using them in baking cakes, flapjacks or muffins. The best, classic picnics are lengthy, 

sociable affairs, so seeds are great to graze on through the afternoon too.... 

There are seven moreish varieties to choose from, some are deliciously sweet, some are 

savoury and some are sizzling hot.  All are free from artificial colourings and preservatives and 

pack a punch with masses of crunch, flavour and goodness.  

The Munchy Seeds range includes Omega, Pumpkin, Chilli, Vanilla, Munchy Granola, Original 

Mix, plus the delicious new Choccy Seeds. 

Omega Mix – Savoury roasted 7 seed blend (pumpkin, sunflower, 

sesame, linseed, flax, hulled hemp and rape seeds) 

Pumpkin Mix – Savoury roasted 3 seed blend (pumpkin, sunflower 

and sesame seeds) 

Chilli Mix – Hot savoury roasted 3 seed blend (Apricot kernels, 

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds) 

Vanilla – Sweet roasted pumpkin seeds dusted in vanilla icing sugar 

Munchy Granola –Roasted oats, seeds, sultanas and orange zest drizzled with honey and maple 

syrup. 

I particularly like the Vanilla Munchy seeds and also the Pumpkin mix which I added to my Moroccan cous cous.

Relax with Wilkinson at Bath time

When you have had a hard day at school working with children and a space hopper has smacked you in the head for the 100th time you know you need to relax when you get home. I have a lovely bathroom , though I was feeling it was a little hotel bathrrom like if you know what I mean. A few little touches make all the differance, so the lovely people over a Wilkonsons sent me some products to jazz up my bath time. And they didn't send me a space hopper which I was most grateful for.

Back in the mists of time I had taken Wilkinsons Skinology range on holiday obviously the products were not there for the amazing Cornish view but to mantain if you have spotty spotty skin.

There are many products within this range and I have to admit I am impressed with the product. My son tested these products as he's getting to that spotty age, I have to admit Wilkinsons was a place I just used to run into and just grab my cleaning products. Though I can see now a great deal of thought has gone into the look of their products and , making sure they actually deliver . So my son is looking less spotty and rather happy bit odd for a child that has just turned into a teenager.

J relaxing with the cottage cat on holiday.

So when we got back off holiday and the summer holidays had ended boooooooooo and I was back at school getting smacked in the head by space hopper and embarrassed by 7 year old by being told that their ipad 2 had told hem our bones turn to fossils when you die, I really need to relax. So if I wasn't busy comping with my cat.

A bath sign! this is just £5.00 from Wilkinsons!

I love this it transform my bathroom from something that looks like a  hotel bathroom to something that is individual to my personality. Also there was a bath pillow to relax with ....

So I will definitely be heading off to Wilkinson for more bathroom items and other products to accent my home. Thank you Wilkinson for brightening my bath time. You can't find all these items over at Wilkinson's except my cat wearing a tea cosy

(I was sent the Wilkinson Products for review, the space hopper was provided by my place of work )