Suspended Coffee ~ cup of human kindness

It's #BlackFriday if you hadn't notice by the ten squillion emails about said subject in your email inbox , sell, sell, need need . The world has gone  bonkers , deals to be had , thought you didn't need it well you do now ! Like the sofa adverts of this world , surely everyone has a sofa by now ? Consumerism can eat at out soul , a black most descends and very often we are convinced that you need the item wether we really do or not.

I crave adventure , I crave familiarity   I don't however crave the contempt of some of the human condition , never overly opinionated am I . Now that's not to say I didn't partake of some Black Friday deals but sensible buying was my mantra.

Human kindness for me this week was a suspended coffee, not a coffee that is somehow suspended but a charitable act. I went to my regular haunt when in town , my regular haunt is the cathedral tea rooms where often I'm the youngest by decades , none of this matters.

I ordered a jacket potato and a cup of tea , the jacket was my first meal in a week through illness , I felt rough as houses but my illness is nothing comforted to the suffering of some. I bet you are wondering still want a suspended coffee is ?

There was a shabbily dressed man sitting at one of the tables , doing no one  any harm , before I realised what I was doing I hid my phone . Moe shame me ! How dare I presume ! The waitress came over to him and asked 

" Would you like another suspended coffee?"

The chap shook his head and just quietly sat.

I was gripped.

Finishing up, I went to the till and brought my son a flapjack to take home and asked

" What is a suspended coffee please ?"

The young waitress answered me 

 "When people come in for a coffee for themselves, they also pay for one or more for someone who can't afford one. Perhaps they're living rough or on the streets, or just very poor. There are more and more these days with the cuts. Someone in that situation is welcome to come in and ask if there are any suspended coffees available, and if there are, they can have one"

The price of the suspended coffee was £1

I brought one.

That was a lesson I was happy to learn.

Of course they can have tea if they don't like coffee .

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Ultimate Colour Pop #MacysParade

Macy's Parade is the the ultimate colour pop , a show stopping burst of colour that once coloured my world in 2007 and to this day it has stayed with me. The ultimate parade there is nothing like this world like it and the feeling of elation and joy that is instilled within you when you watch it is second to none.

You stand practically cheek to cheek with people , it is a very long parade and you do shuffle bit , no doubt seasoned watchers will be able to offer you tips and tricks and the best paces to see. What inspired em to take my family that was the film Miracle on 34th street ,and if you haven't seen the film then do put it on your to watch list.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a tradition since 1924 , for us the magic started when we stopped to watch the skaters glide by at the Rockafellar centre with the biggest tree that you ever did see there. It is here you begin to grasp that over 3.5 million descend upon Manhattan to see the grittiest parade on earth more than 1.550 dancers and cheerleaders are involved, 1000 clowns and 30 parade floats.

Tips for a Great Macy's Parade visit

The inflation of the balloons in itself has become a big event this takes place in the read around Columbus Avenue and 79 Street literally tens of thousands people descend upon this area around the American Museum of Natural history which in itself is well worth a visit. This was another visit inspired by Night at the Museum ! I would avoid taking a pushchair in the area as it would be a night mare with the crowds. 

You can get caught up with jostling for the best spot , but you know what as long as you see the balloons while you are there relax and enjoy and sing along with the crowd.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was a once in the life time adventure for us as a family and it ignited a spark of wanting to go back to New York . This must be why so many people sing about it and so good that they named it twice , being part of this American tradition was truly magical never had I had such an enthralling time in a city.

Goodness gracious it's Dolly Parton ! Queen of country music !

I do love Bright lights Big City!

Different Types Of Fraud And How To Help Prevent It

The tool was created with data that was compiled by the Financial Fraud Action and takes users through the 11 most common types of fraud, highlighting how much this costs the UK each year and providing advice to protect others from becoming a victim. The tool aims to inform users fully on the different types of fraud and help them with the prevention of it.

Earlier this year I was a victim of a card theft from a machine , I needed to get £20 out of a cash machine in London , I am one of those people who only gets cash out as I need it. I put my card into the ATM as I normally would shielding my number and it all seem to go through  until the machine stopped. I panicked , luckily I was with a friend , all of a sudden a man stepped up from behind me to show me a piece of paper warning people not to use the machine, I thought this was highly suspiscous as surely if the machine was faulty it wouldn't accept any more cards, immeadiately I went back to my hotel to ring the bank. I couldn't go into the bank as it was very late at night , this experience has made me wary of using ATM and using this tool will help me in future.



Disclosure I am being sent a gift in association with this post all though words and opinions are my own, Fraud is a very important subject that we should all be aware of and help try and prevent.

What Hipster Cats Love To Eat

5 Am 

Rolling in time for hipster Shoreditch cats, except we live in Derbyshire but hey that is a moot point!

I truntled downstairs to get a glass of water as I  have a poorly throat still  , the cats are in bed with Rollie sleeping on top of his Igloo bed don't ask ( read here to find out more about his sleeping habits ) no passing here for sympathy * cue dead pan laugh *  I spy that Jack has his eyes focued on a spot under the kitchen storage trolley I look under there is a mouse, now it wasn't doing a song and dance routine I hasten to add neither was it holding cheese or being middle class quinoa. it was just simply sitting there doing mouse actions , not the YMCA but just twitching.


The Mouse

The mouse the lambasted in many a cartoon and comical moment except when it is in my kitchen remembering it is 5 Am so then I call the husband instead of gently whispering in his ear to remove the mouse I bellowed up the stairs. House woken , grumpy husband , grumpy teen bemused

"Hello Monday"


The Cats

Rollie nor Jack couldn't give a flying paw about the fuss they had caused and I blame them of course * coughs After all the fuss that died down and the mouse had been released , I swear it was mocking the cats. Then I got to thinking about how much do I really know my cats and this is where Applaws come in as they have a questionnaire on Facebook about how well you know your cat or your dog, and going on this morning I though that the answer to the first question would be that cats spent most of their time catching mice but apparently this isn't the case, I'll not spoil it for you but do go on and have a go for yourselves.



Dining choices for Rollie and Jack 


In reality I am sure Rollie and Jack would like 5 star dining and I was quite shocked when I looked at A recent infographic that some pet foods only contain 4% natural food where as Applaws contains 70% . I mixed feed both Rollie and Jack and after this I shall be looking to at petted a little bit for carefully as cats have delicate tummies too .

Disclosure: Rollie and Jack are being a hamper as a thank you for this post, as I speak they are stalking the postman , we are on postman number 2 we don't know what happened to the first one , all that was left was his postman bag .....  I did hear something heavy being dragged through the cat flap one day but I am sure it wasn't a leg .....

Silent Sunday November