Showing posts with label things to do. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things to do. Show all posts
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Do It Now
Friday, December 02, 2005
Mairead's Christmas Survival Tips
- Stuck for a present for the man/woman who has everything?
- Cookery Crisis?
- Worried how to get through a crucial Christmas visit without offending anyone?
Christmas Cards
A good way to give to charity easily is to buy charity Christmas cards and gifts. Buy online at:
Cancer Research UK
RSPCA
St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin
Oxfam
Pressies
If you are truly stuck and can't think of anything to get the sister/partner/mate who has everything, try some of these life-saving websites:
cd-wow.com - CDs, DVDs etc. at rock-bottom prices
unbeatable.co.uk - TV, hifi, computers and gadgets
photobox.com - make gifts out of digital photos
asos.com - designer fashion, grooming and more
iwantoneofthose.co.uk - when you REALLY need inspiration!
figleaves.com - beautiful undies
lastminute.com - weekends away, flights, interesting "red letter" days
Deck The Halls
These great websites will find you the perfect table settings, Christmas decorations and everything else you need for the best Christmas parties ever:
bonnefete.co.uk - table settings for special occasions
christmastreeland.co.uk - the best trees delivered to your door
confetti.co.uk - gifts and ideas
deliaonline.com - any culinary crisis fixed!
lakelandlimited.com - the best kitchenware website in the world
kelly-turkeys.com - order a fresh turkey online
teddingtoncheese.co.uk - specialist cheeses for home or gifts
majestic.co.uk - good deals on bulk-buying of wine
Borough Market - London's larder - the very best of British fresh food
NHS Direct - for when it all goes wrong!!!!
Another great number to keep by the phone is the Turkey Hotline - they will help you with all your turkey-roasting problems, right up until 5pm on Christmas Eve. What a great service!!! Call 0800 783 9994.
Entertainment
How come, even when we have all these satellite channels, there is never anything on TV except Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Die Hard 45? Here are some tricks to keep you entertained without leaving the house:
digiguide.com - all your TV listings in the one place
screenselect.co.uk - sign up for their free trial and get your DVDs by post!
Good Manners
There is no excuse for good manners, and Christmas is a great time to dust off your old-fashioned gentility. Why not actually write thank-you notes this Christmas for all your lovely pressies? And don't forget that Christmas is only one of the feasts of the holiday season - some of your friends will be celebrating Hannukah or Kwanzaa.
Learn how to act appropriately at your office Christmas party, or how to be the perfect houseguest.
Check out www.ehow.com - it will teach you all this and more!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
In Case of Emergency
East Anglian Ambulance Service here in the UK have launched a national "In Case of Emergency (ICE) "campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston and in association with Vodafone's annual life savers award.
The idea is that you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Click here for more information!
The idea is that you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Click here for more information!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
10 Things To Do To Welcome Summer
1. Buy new shoes
Nothing says “new season” to any woman more than new shoes. Now is the time to make the shoe shop your favourite haunt, as you browse the new season’s treats, and decide what your wardrobe absolutely cannot do without.(NB handbag obsessives can replace shoes with bags if they absolutely must…)(NB2 have no idea what blokes can do. Maybe buy a new spanner set or something)
2. Spring Clean
Yes I know it might sound weird, but the lovely bright evenings and other changes to the weather bring out the spring cleaner in me. Maybe it is because what we could hide in dark corners in winter, now call out for sorting. In any event, use that new energy you have to attack one room in your house and get it the way you want it.If housework sound the same any way you dress it up, use your enthusiasm to brighten up your garden instead – give yourself an additional room to live in this summer!Check out www.organizedhome.com for tips for indoors.Or follow www.thegardenerschoice.co.uk for garden inspiration.You know you secretly want to!!!
3. Eat fruit
Forget healthy eating – eating fresh exotic fruit is a sure-fire way of feeling summery. Fresh strawberries for dessert, your favourite melon for a weekend breakfast, or a whole pineapple chopped and soaked in rum is what you need to make you feel pampered and tropical.
4. Learn how to make a good rum punch
The old Jamaican rhyme goes:
One of sour
Two of sweet
Three of strong
Four of weak
Sour is lemon or lime juice.
Sweet is (originally) sugar cane juice but we boring Europeans can substitute sugar.
Strong is rum (of course). Preferably a very good quality, and preferably not white rum. Golden or dark rum has a better flavour.
Weak is fruit juice. Better if it is fresh, and a mixture is best. Don’t wimp out and go for straight OJ.
Chill all ingredients beforehand so you don’t have to dilute everything with ice.
And top off with a sprinkle of nutmeg, and a generous dash of grenadine to make the “sunset” colour scheme we all know and love from our holidays.
A mate of mine swears by a good dash of gin to add to the kick. It works.
Finally – don’t skimp on the rum!
5. Book a holiday in the sun
It’ll make you feel better – honest! And it’s a good encouragement to get fit for your new beachwear!
6. Volunteer your time - May is environment month
www.yearofthevolunteer.org
www.volunteering.org.uk
www.idealist.org
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
www.csv.org.uk
7. Reclaim your local open space
Within 5 miles of our house, right in this huge city, is a lovely rare bird sanctuary with a sailing club on a lake (Welsh Harp reservoir), another with ponds you can swim in and a National Trust house (Hampstead Heath), and a protected wetland (Barnes Wetland Centre).There are hundreds of miles of bicycle paths all over London too.Other cities in the world are the same! Get out there and enjoy the open spaces your taxes pay for!
www.londoncyclenetwork.orgwww.ramblers.orgwww.visitdublin.com/gardenshttp://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info
8. Celebrate someone who inspires you
Inspiration comes in many forms – and in many aspects of life. We all have people in our lives who inspire us, either with their courage or persistence, or their hard work, or just their ability to see the best in people and make others smile.Let your inspirational person know you are inspired by them! Send a card (even an e-card). Give them flowers, or take them out for coffee. Or just give them a call and tell them you think they are great.
9. Practise elegant economy
It finally hit me a few years ago that the art of living within one’s means is just that — an art. It is all about enjoying, not spending money. Like the ladies in Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1853 comic novel, Cranford, I have tried to learn the art of “elegant economy”. Those ladies would walk home because, they claimed, the night air was refreshing, rather than because they could not afford a carriage. Cotton was nicer than silk, they assured each other, because it washed better, not because they could no longer afford silk.
Here’s a simple way to start: Write down everything you spend, in a little notebook or pocket diary. It works straight away: just as writing down what you eat makes you eat a bit less, writing down what you spend makes you spend a bit less. Then aim to have a few no-spend days a month. After a while, it becomes a game: how can I run my life today without writing anything down in my little blue book? How ingenious can I be?
As you claw your way out of debt, you may notice a strange thing. Money that you actually possess feels completely different from money you owe. When contemplating spending money that is sitting solidly in your account, as opposed to spending money you don’t own on a credit card, the prospect of giving up your hard-earned cash strangely seems to pall.
10. Vote
It’s a big deal for us UK-dwellers right now, with election day right upon us. But even if you are reading this after the fact, or you live in another country, take this reminder to confirm that you are still registered to vote, and at the correct address. Or register for a postal vote so you won’t have any excuse next time!People died to get us our vote. We have a responsibility to use it!
Nothing says “new season” to any woman more than new shoes. Now is the time to make the shoe shop your favourite haunt, as you browse the new season’s treats, and decide what your wardrobe absolutely cannot do without.(NB handbag obsessives can replace shoes with bags if they absolutely must…)(NB2 have no idea what blokes can do. Maybe buy a new spanner set or something)
2. Spring Clean
Yes I know it might sound weird, but the lovely bright evenings and other changes to the weather bring out the spring cleaner in me. Maybe it is because what we could hide in dark corners in winter, now call out for sorting. In any event, use that new energy you have to attack one room in your house and get it the way you want it.If housework sound the same any way you dress it up, use your enthusiasm to brighten up your garden instead – give yourself an additional room to live in this summer!Check out www.organizedhome.com for tips for indoors.Or follow www.thegardenerschoice.co.uk for garden inspiration.You know you secretly want to!!!
3. Eat fruit
Forget healthy eating – eating fresh exotic fruit is a sure-fire way of feeling summery. Fresh strawberries for dessert, your favourite melon for a weekend breakfast, or a whole pineapple chopped and soaked in rum is what you need to make you feel pampered and tropical.
4. Learn how to make a good rum punch
The old Jamaican rhyme goes:
One of sour
Two of sweet
Three of strong
Four of weak
Sour is lemon or lime juice.
Sweet is (originally) sugar cane juice but we boring Europeans can substitute sugar.
Strong is rum (of course). Preferably a very good quality, and preferably not white rum. Golden or dark rum has a better flavour.
Weak is fruit juice. Better if it is fresh, and a mixture is best. Don’t wimp out and go for straight OJ.
Chill all ingredients beforehand so you don’t have to dilute everything with ice.
And top off with a sprinkle of nutmeg, and a generous dash of grenadine to make the “sunset” colour scheme we all know and love from our holidays.
A mate of mine swears by a good dash of gin to add to the kick. It works.
Finally – don’t skimp on the rum!
5. Book a holiday in the sun
It’ll make you feel better – honest! And it’s a good encouragement to get fit for your new beachwear!
6. Volunteer your time - May is environment month
www.yearofthevolunteer.org
www.volunteering.org.uk
www.idealist.org
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
www.csv.org.uk
7. Reclaim your local open space
Within 5 miles of our house, right in this huge city, is a lovely rare bird sanctuary with a sailing club on a lake (Welsh Harp reservoir), another with ponds you can swim in and a National Trust house (Hampstead Heath), and a protected wetland (Barnes Wetland Centre).There are hundreds of miles of bicycle paths all over London too.Other cities in the world are the same! Get out there and enjoy the open spaces your taxes pay for!
www.londoncyclenetwork.orgwww.ramblers.orgwww.visitdublin.com/gardenshttp://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info
8. Celebrate someone who inspires you
Inspiration comes in many forms – and in many aspects of life. We all have people in our lives who inspire us, either with their courage or persistence, or their hard work, or just their ability to see the best in people and make others smile.Let your inspirational person know you are inspired by them! Send a card (even an e-card). Give them flowers, or take them out for coffee. Or just give them a call and tell them you think they are great.
9. Practise elegant economy
It finally hit me a few years ago that the art of living within one’s means is just that — an art. It is all about enjoying, not spending money. Like the ladies in Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1853 comic novel, Cranford, I have tried to learn the art of “elegant economy”. Those ladies would walk home because, they claimed, the night air was refreshing, rather than because they could not afford a carriage. Cotton was nicer than silk, they assured each other, because it washed better, not because they could no longer afford silk.
Here’s a simple way to start: Write down everything you spend, in a little notebook or pocket diary. It works straight away: just as writing down what you eat makes you eat a bit less, writing down what you spend makes you spend a bit less. Then aim to have a few no-spend days a month. After a while, it becomes a game: how can I run my life today without writing anything down in my little blue book? How ingenious can I be?
As you claw your way out of debt, you may notice a strange thing. Money that you actually possess feels completely different from money you owe. When contemplating spending money that is sitting solidly in your account, as opposed to spending money you don’t own on a credit card, the prospect of giving up your hard-earned cash strangely seems to pall.
10. Vote
It’s a big deal for us UK-dwellers right now, with election day right upon us. But even if you are reading this after the fact, or you live in another country, take this reminder to confirm that you are still registered to vote, and at the correct address. Or register for a postal vote so you won’t have any excuse next time!People died to get us our vote. We have a responsibility to use it!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Donate Your Time
We live in a global village, they say, Friends are the new family, they say. So when in your week do you spend time helping others, like we did in the villages and extended families of years ago?
I bet you have a spare hour or two each week, or maybe a week or two each year, that you can give to a cause you believe in.
www.do-it.org.uk
www.timebank.org.uk
www.volunteer.com.au
I bet you have a spare hour or two each week, or maybe a week or two each year, that you can give to a cause you believe in.
www.do-it.org.uk
www.timebank.org.uk
www.volunteer.com.au
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Get Creative
Maybe you are already in touch with your spiritual self. Maybe, then, it is time to find the creative being inside you!
Or why not make your holiday something a bit more special? | ||
Here's one I made earlier, called Hard Pause - it is exhibited online at
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Change The World in Five Minutes
How have you helped your planet or your fellow man today? Check out the links below for instant ways to change the world!
Come on - you've got 5 minutes to spare don't you? It needn't even cost you money!!!
What you can do TODAY
Instant Inspiration - www.wearewhatwedo.orgS
hare your old books - www.bookcrossing.com
Improve your manners - www.ehow.com
Help cure cancer - www.cancerresearchuk.org
Register for Organ Donation
UK - www.uktransplant.org.uk I
reland - www.ika.ie/irishdonornetwork/
Australia - www.organdonors.com.au/
Give Blood
UK - www.blood.co.uk
Ireland - www.ibts.ie
Australia - www.giveblood.redcross.org.au
Come on - you've got 5 minutes to spare don't you? It needn't even cost you money!!!
What you can do TODAY
Instant Inspiration - www.wearewhatwedo.orgS
hare your old books - www.bookcrossing.com
Improve your manners - www.ehow.com
Help cure cancer - www.cancerresearchuk.org
Register for Organ Donation
UK - www.uktransplant.org.uk I
reland - www.ika.ie/irishdonornetwork/
Australia - www.organdonors.com.au/
Give Blood
UK - www.blood.co.uk
Ireland - www.ibts.ie
Australia - www.giveblood.redcross.org.au
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