Gold, frankincense and eughhh! Christmas shopping hotspots found to potentially harbour TWENTY TIMES more biological matter than a toilet seat From cash machines to escalators, swabbing research by Initial Washroom Hygiene discovers a typical Christmas shopping trip could be a touchpoint minefield Christmas shopping could be a bacterial obstacle course for Brits this year, with shoppers touching surfaces with potentially high levels of microbial contamination (germs). New figures, based on real-world swabbing tests, found that many of the hard-to-avoid things shoppers will touch could be harbouring 20 times more microbial contamination than a toilet seat. The swab tests were conducted by experts…
Author: Editor
This year, nearly 10% of the nation is looking to ditch traditional Christmas dishes in favour of plant based options so it’s unsurprising that searches for ‘vegan christmas dish ideas’ have increased by 64%, as home cooks look for dish inspiration for their festive spreads. To deliver on taste, here’s a meaty plant based dish that’s quick, easy and delicious for any festive meal. It’s rich in Christmas flavours with a touch of festive elegance from the clean label plant-based meat brand, Planted. Festive Orange & Cranberry Plant-Based Feast with Couscous and Pomegranate Marinade: 3 tablespoons orange marmalade 3 tablespoons…
HomeNow, the innovative rent to buy scheme is now extending the scheme to benefit landlords. Originally, the scheme was established to facilitate home ownership for first time buyers unable to afford deposits HomeNow co-founder, Jonathan Potter: “We’re launching the new HomeNow scheme, specifically to help landlords who provide essential rental housing to the UK population. In the next 12 months, more than 25% of buy-to-let landlords plan to sell their properties in the face of increasing tax and regulatory burdens, growing mortgage costs and unmanageable repair bills. We believe this new scheme will allow them to remain in the sector”. With this scheme, HomeNow…
Is toilet paper a bum deal for our environment? Would you be offended by a bidet as a present this Christmas? “Our goal is to educate and make bidet use more accessible to everyone, contributing to a greener healthier future for bums and environments” says Chakow founder Bikke Chettri. “One bum at a time” adds wife Kelsang Shakya. Overview: We use a lot of loo roll over Christmas It can be bad for our environment There are alternatives to loo roll available Loo Roll Facts: People use the toilet about 5 times a day The average person is said to…
In many countries, people enjoy traditional cuisine that’s influenced by their culture and location in the world. People living there focus on eating certain foods more often than others, which can lead to better health than the typical Western diet. In the Autumn 2023 issue of The Menopause Exchange newsletter, Gaynor Bussell, freelance nutritionist and writer, discusses popular traditional diets from around the world, including Nordic, Mediterranean, French and Japanese diets, and how these impact on people’s health and life expectancy. “The traditional Western diet is typically high in processed foods and tends to be rich in saturated fat, sugar…
PITCH: “UK Retail Workers Least Favourite Xmas Track – Mariah Carey” A retail satisfaction expert has said stores need to do more to protect overworked staff being driven insane by listening to the same festive songs. UK retail workers manning Christmas tills are unable to escape the horror of listening to the same Christmas tunes on loop says Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of HappyOrNot, the creators of smiley-face feedback terminals, which appear in stores, shopping centres and airports around the world, that measure happiness of customers and staff at busy times. The least favourite Christmas track according to UK retail workers according to a…
BRITS ARE LYING ABOUT WINE AT CHRISTMAS Half of Brits admit to completely winging it when it comes to choosing their Christmas wines New research has revealed that almost half of Brits (45%) have admitted to fibbing about their wine knowledge at a dinner table in order to impress others. Despite more than a quarter (26%) spending more than £26 on a bottle of wine on average, 41% admit they have no idea what they’re looking for and just choose their vino based on whether it has a nice-looking label. In fact, more than one in five (22%) admit they…
The slowdown in venture capital-led tech sector investment hasn’t proven to be a setback for Cloudsmith, a Belfast-headquartered software supply chain management firm, which has today, Tuesday 28 November, announced $11 million (£8.8 million) in Series A2 financing. The company will use the funds to scale operations as it serves its global client base, including leading software companies such as Shopify, PagerDuty, Font Awesome, HP and EnterpriseDB. The funding, led by MMC Ventures, will bolster Cloudsmith’s ability to deliver the world’s most powerful software supply chain platform. Cloudsmith gives organisations a single, reliable source for managing all their software assets,…
Not having enough space in the oven (37%), timing issues (37%), and cooking multiple dishes at once (34%) top the list when it comes to yuletide dinner dilemmas The Samsung Series 7 Bespoke AI Oven can relieve the cooking stress, help hosts stay chilled and enjoy more quality time with family and friends According to research by Samsung UK, nearly half (47%) of Brits are stressing over the Christmas Dinner. And when in charge of the cooking, over a third (33%) feel like they miss out on spending quality time with family or friends on Christmas Day, because of kitchen…
For all ‘Christmas Kranks’ who are trying to dodge Christmas, however, might have a change of heart – Gopuff is launching a last-minute Christmas Day Lunch (or dinner) delivery service, where you can order a festive dish with all the trimmings delivered on the day (in minutes), for just £6. Enjoy ‘Bacon wrapped turkey parcel with sage & onion stuffing’, along with ‘Swede and potato mash’, ‘Crispy potatoes’, ‘Brussel sprouts’, ‘Pigs in Blankets’ and gravy to complement. For a bit of extra budget, you can also add a ‘Christmas antipasti platter’ to start, and ‘Mince pies and brandy sauce’ to finish –…