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The Nutcracker opens and we celebrate Sir Peter Wright’s 90th Birthday
What signals the start of Christmas to you? Putting up the decorations and the tree? Starting the shop for those special gifts? The Coca Cola advert on the TV (holidays are coming, holidays are coming…). Well for me, Christmas comes when I go to see The Nutcracker staged by the Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Last night this was made even more special and unforgettable by being both the opening night and also being the 90th birthday of the legendary Sir Peter Wright, the genius behind The Nutcracker. He chose to spend that special night in Birmingham, coming on stage for a standing ovation and a chorus of Happy Birthday. This was…
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Achieving work/Life balance this Christmas
We lead increasingly busy lives, and as we head towards Christmas, the one thing guaranteed is that they will get busier still. We still have to work for a living, but now we are also trying to shop, put up decorations, visit family, write cards, drop off presents, enjoy an increasingly busy social life and then finally reach Christmas and hope we just don’t drop with exhaustion. We’ve all enjoyed that Sainsbury’s advert about the best present you can give being yourself, but if you’ve already burnt out, there may not be anything left to give. So what can you do in order to chill out, avoid creating extra stress and strain, and…
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House of Fraser are sorting out your cocktail needs
We are getting very close to the festive season, and that means that it is almost cocktail season too. On Monday night I attended a very special Christmas event at the Wolverhampton Grand, and one of the things on the menu was creating Christmas cocktails, with a Snow Queen being a particular treat (coconut cream, Malibu and blue curacao in case you’re wondering.) Forget the Eggnog and the Mulled Wine, Christmas is about cocktails, glamorous, decadent and elegant. House of Fraser are getting into the party spirit in style and have created a cocktail wheel which can help you to create a series of classic cocktails. You spin the virtual…
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Collarless Faux Fur Pocket Coat from Simply Be
It is one of those strange paradoxes that when the weather starts to turn colder, we say we want to be cuddled up warm inside, and yet spend even more time in the great outdoors. This week is a case in point. So far we’ve spent time trick or treating with our kids, standing around a bonfire and watching fireworks, and tomorrow I’ll be standing on the freezing cold touchline as the temperature is set to plummet. In the next few weeks, the Christmas market will be arriving in Birmingham, and I’ve got a trip planned to Lincoln to walk around yet another Christmas market, drinking mulled wine and trying…
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Pick of the Christmas Lights
[affilinet_performance_ad size=468×60] November 1st! That means we have less than 2 months to wait until it is Christmas – in fact we will be eating that turkey in just 55 days. And, as I said in my post yesterday that looked at Christmas party dressing, it does mean that quite a few of my posts are going to be looking at all things festive. Today I am turning my attention to Christmas lights. Christmas lights are now such an integral part of our Christmas celebrations, adorning our homes both inside and out. Outside lights can look so beautiful, especially if your front garden had trees and bushes that can also…
