by Olivia | Oct 25, 2016 | Featured, General
No more than a decade ago I remember my father being a complete irritant to us kids by singing the praises of the then unfamiliar superstore chain Lidl. As a struggling writer on a very small budget and a large family to support, he now explains that in those days it was a real ‘find’ as he was able to stock up on tins of food, cleaning products and bottled water and do a ‘man shop’ that my mother refused to do.
Nowadays it’s a different story, and the rich and famous are seen in domains such as Lidl and Aldi, glamorous wealthy ladies who just a few years ago would only be seen in the more upmarket outlets, and who are putting their image to one side and going for a massive saving on their weekly shop.
Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and even Asda are now having to rethink their strategy and their prices in the race to sustain their regular customer, as everybody is getting supermarket savvy whatever their income or budget.
In my quest to find out why Lidl was becoming so popular I have been doing my own research, and with careful selection, you can make a big saving on their meat and fish, with some great offers on kids clothes and even cooking items, not to mention their champagne. I would strongly advise you to stock up on the latter for Christmas even if you buy one bottle a week.
Like most people, I always imagined that their low prices were due to their dubious imports of fish and meat, which is why their recent television campaign has been so clever – putting to rest the public’s assumption that their fish was caught ‘in a ditch’ or their meat from some far off slaughter house. On the contrary, and I don’t know how they manage to keep their prices so low, but they compare favourably with any other competitor including the W chain.
But for those of you who prefer to ‘cross shop’ then make the most of the best offers in all the superstores and take a few minutes to plan by checking out the best offers as they do change by the week in all of them.
Ignore the ‘special offers at the end of the lines, as these are not always the best bargains, but stroll down each isle and watch out for their special offers as you go.
There are for instance some fabulous clothes for Christmas in Asda with their George brand and watch out in Waitrose as they add to their Essentials range with competitive prices.
Put your pride to one side and always check the last minute offers in all of the supermarkets, it only means that you have to use them up sooner rather than later, and good if you are entertaining or feeding a family that day with the last minute offers. I picked up some great desserts in Tesco last week at a third of the original price.
Hope I have helped guide you and saved you a bit of cash, that you can now spend on yourself. After all. every lidl bit helps. Sorry, couldn’t resist that one!
by Dee | Oct 20, 2016 | Celebrity, Featured, GloWellness
The Caravan Club is an extraordinary organisation – and since I have had the privilege of being part of their events and activities, it feels more like an extended family with the support and genuine care that is offered unconditionally to its members.
TCC was started more than 100 years ago, when caravanning was for the wealthy adventurer, and before it became available as a more popular holiday for families on a budget.
In recent years we have seen a resurgence of the caravanning holiday with celebrity endorsements and high profile events covered by all forms of media. Lorraine Kelly, Dame Helen Mirren and Jamie Oliver are just some of the ‘A’ listers who are part of the caravanning brigade, and they are helping to put it back on the map as a five star holiday experience.
I spoke to Nikki Nichol who has been a big part of the TCC team for more than 20 years, who has her finger on the pulse and works relentlessly to ensure that she covers all aspects of the club’s needs from the endorsement of high profile celebs to the awards events and entertainment.
I also had a chat with Brian Morgan who has been with The Club for 2 years and is the Head of Communications and Events, he works very closely with Nikki and they have a great synergy, as she tells me he has a fantastic strategic brain! This is evident in his appreciation of the Club and their plans for the future.
I was then introduced to the very gracious Chairman Grenville Chamberlain, who made me feel special as he welcomed me into the fold – a real Gentleman in the old fashion sense, but with modern ideas and with a passion for the club and caravanning that is contagious.
I was positioned on a table at the recent awards dinner event at the NEC with legendary Olympic Gold Metalists Jamie Baulch and Roger Black, who are also great supporters of the Club and sat alongside the likes of Vicki Michelle and Arthur Bostrom of ‘Allo ‘Allo fame.
I know that my love of this club and newly found ‘family’ is supported by my own experience of caravanning dating back to when I was 6 years old, and have fabulous memories of when my grandparents would take me on caravan holidays across the UK. I do believe that some of my fondest childhood memories were from those very special days and nights, where the caravan held a kind of magic as a child.
It is great that so many families from all walks of life today are taking their kids back to nature – exploring country and coastal regions – only possible with the freedom of touring. There is more freedom with cooking too of course, which is why so many people are abandoning the hotel break and going for a caravan vacation.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, and you may want to watch this space and Glotime.tv as we explore over the next few months exactly what The Caravan Club has in store and one thing for sure – it is guaranteed to come packaged with shed loads of TLC.
by Olivia | Oct 17, 2016 | Featured, GloKitchen
I have tried a variety of stir fry recipes over time, but it takes a lot to beat this one for flavour and you can guarantee a request for second helpings.
The entire recipe from preparation to finish takes no longer than 15-20 minutes.
Serves 4 people.
Ingredients:
4 frying beef steaks
Two red onions
One clove garlic
Four stems of pak choi
Pkt of dried or fresh noodles
Half a cup of Amoy Chinese rice wine
Amoy soy sauce
Method:
Finely chop onions, garlic and beef steaks
Cut a thick slice from the pak choi root to separate the leaves. Rinse and drain.
Heat the wok and then add olive oil
Add onions and garlic and gently soften
Add beef steaks and blend
Stir in Amoy Chinese rice wine
Add pac choi
Blend together and stir in noodles
Add Amoy soy sauce to flavour
Serve hot
