Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
It has been nine years since the final instalment of one of cinema’s finest movie trilogies. Nine years of DVD and Blu-Ray releases, box sets, [...]
Archive for July, 2012
Is There an Afterlife?
“That undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns, puzzles the will…” (Hamlet, William Shakespeare) Is there an afterlife? Where do we go when we die, or do we just vanish back into the nothingness from whence we purportedly came? Philosophers for centuries have been exploring these questions, and religions of the world have attempted [...]
Bare Faced Beauty
How do you feel when you look in the mirror each morning? Do you like what you see? What does your skin look like… how does it feel? My aim is to help you ladies out there to feel confident within your skin. So many magazines promote all sorts of skin care products, your skin [...]
Chilli Con Carne Pie
Keifer Derrin of food blog DonkeyFodder.com shares his recipe for a Mexican influenced Chilli Con Carne Pie. Sounds odd but tastes delicious. When I was first told the name of this dish, I bulked at the idea as I really didn’t like the sound of it. Chilli con carne pie, the thought of a delicious [...]
I Read “Mummy Porn” Before It Was Cool
My first foray in the world of adult literature was at the young age of ten or eleven when my mother gave me a huge stack of Mills & Boons novels to read. At the time my reading and spelling abilities were below the average for my age and my mother assured me that reading [...]
ACL Reconstructive Surgery – Knee Destructive?
Damage of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee is one of the most common serious injuries in young athletes and, reflecting individual activity, is habitually treated surgically. ACL reconstruction, the gold standard, requires the harvesting of a hamstring or patella tendon graft, which is used as scaffold for new ACL growth. Cadaveric ligament harvesting [...]
Theatre Review: South Pacific
South Pacific was on at the Ambassador Theatre in Woking. I went to the Thursday matinee. I was delighted by the whole show and cast. I was most surprised by Samantha Womack, who was in Eastenders as Ronnie Mitchell, a role I didn‘t like much. Seeing her live however has completely changed my mind about her. [...]
Explore, Dream, Discover
Change is an evitable process we all have to go through. Sometimes we chose to make changes, starting new jobs, changing careers, new relationships, moving home. At other times in our life we have to adapt ourselves to a changing environment, for example, redundancies, divorces and illnesses. As humans are creatures of habit, we feel [...]
Happy Birthday Cher Lloyd
On 28 July, City Connect celebrates the birthday of Cher Lloyd who was born on this day in 1993. Cher Lloyd rose to fame when she finished fourth in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. Shortly afterwards, Cher Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Music subsidiary Syco Music. Cher Lloyd’s [...]
Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan may have inadvertently created the hardest job in cinema – directing the reboot to the Batman franchise. There almost certainly will be one at some point, whether it’s in a couple of years or ten years. Nolan has taken a franchise that looked dead in the water of the debacle of Batman & [...]
Lip Balm
This week’s article is a little shorter and sweeter than the others, but it is important nevertheless. Last time I spoke about lip glosses but I feel like I needed to mention the all-important product to use on those magnificent pouty facial features… lip balm! Lip balm comes in varieties of a gloss form, squeezy tube [...]
Can Hypnosis Help Me?
Thank you very much for your question. We often get asked if hypnosis can deal with this type of health issue so I thought it best to clarify what hypnosis can help with, what life coaching can help with, and when it’s time to seek a different therapist. Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that [...]
Musical Review: The In-between
Young composer Laura Tisdall is the changing face of the West End. At only 24 she has already written her second musical, The In-between and now she is bringing it to the west end with little more than a concept album. such as Lauren Samuels and Hadley Fraser, stars of We will rock you and [...]
Happy Birthday George Bernard Shaw
On 26 July, City Connect celebrates the anniversary of the birth of George Bernard Shaw. He is well known for his play “Pygmalion” which was made into the popular Hollywood musical “My Fair Lady” starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. However there is a lot more to Shaw than meets the eye. Read more about [...]
Pizza Bread
Delicious savoury bread with italian pizza flavours. Preparation time – 20 minutes Cooking time – 40 Minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: 240 grams / 8 oz wholemeal flour 240 grams / 8 oz plain flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1/2 cup yogurt 1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated 1 teaspoon italian seasoning [...]
Talad Rot Fai: Bangkok’s Hippest Market
For the hip young things, Bangkok’s Chatacak market is old news. Overpriced, crawling with sweaty tourists and baby bunnies in tutus, swelteringly hot, row on row of the same stuff all held in a purpose built market. And, let’s be honest, a purpose built market? Who does that these days? If you’re all about the [...]
Film Review: Top Cat – The Movie
This movie has something most don’t. A plot from beginning, middle and most importantly an end. The ending doesn’t make you wonder why was I sitting here two hours for that?! Fans of the cartoon and kids will love this movie version of the crafty cat. It stays true to most of the elements of [...]
Beauty: The Math
Why it’s OK to splurge on the important stuff if you don’t mind scrimping on the essentials! It is true to say that I do love me a beauty product. I’ve never quite got the shoe thing though, I know for instance that Posh Spice is quite happy giving herself bunions pouring her feet into [...]
Sport Psychology – How Does Emotion Affect Performance?
If you have read my first article for City Connect in this field you will know that I have been working in Sports Psychology for a number of years now, triggered by my love of rowing and tennis which both tend to get a tad competitive. With the Olympics 2012 coming up, the demand for [...]
Butternut Squash and Split Pea Tagine
Keifer Derrin of food blog DonkeyFodder.com shares his recipe for this easy to make tagine inspired by Australian Woman’s Weekly Moroccan and the foods of North Africa. I was a vegetarian for over 12 years, but could not resist roast chicken and ended up eating meat again. However I decided it was time to start [...]
Spicy Sweet Potato Juliennes
A lot of health magazines are classing sweet potatoes as one of the most nutritious vegetables. I will leave that debate to the experts. I grew up eating sweet potatoes in curries, chips and crisps and enjoy them as they taste slightly better than the potato. There are two varieties of sweet potatoes sold [...]
Love Labour’s Lost
Remember when Aristotle claimed that ‘Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies’? Well no, of course not, but we have all heard the quote, we have all dreamed and desired to love someone as passionately and ferociously as that, but have we all lost faith in relationships and worse still, irrevocable love? [...]
Happy Birthday Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist. He turned 48 years old this year and was born on 21 July 1964 in Essex. Kemp became a celebrity when he rose to fame after playing the role of Grant Mitchell in BBC’s Eastenders. His gritty portrayl of tough guy Grant Mitchell in [...]
Barefoot Running
Before roads were created and shoes were produced, humans have been running in the most comfortable and safest manner possible. There are three ways to land when running, on the Forefoot, the Midfoot or the Heel Studies show that forefoot or mid foot striking can alleviate injuries such as repetitive stress, plantar fasciitis and runner’s [...]
Get Cheeky With Blusher
Blusher is a less is more product, main use to give your face a bit more life and a fresher appearance, if you over-do it you will look like you’ve rolled around in your make-up bag. You can get a variety of finishes and types of blush, from powder to cream – don’t forget to [...]
Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
Cast your mind back to the beginning of 2010. Remember anything strange happening that month? Perhaps the sound of a thousand keyboards being hammered within an inch of their lives echoing around your street? That was the sound of Spider-Man fans going postal after they heard the news that Sam Raimi and Toby Maguire would [...]
Is There Anything Wrong With Tax Avoidance?
Ben Franklin once said: “Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” I would amend that quote to add at the end: ‘….and that people will try to avoid them both’ Before I start this discussion I’m going to leap into a comment: Tax avoidance may be immoral or at best ethically suspect but it [...]
Ask City Connect
Ask Tom – Serving Wine
Dear Tom
Can you give me tips on how to serve wine properly ?
There are a few of things you need think about when serving wine to get the most out [...]
Style
Savile Row – How to Draft a Pattern
All Bespoke suits are cut from a hand-drafted pattern. Here are the main three main drafting methods used by the very top-end, Savile Row tailors:
1. Pattern Manipulation.
This is the most [...]
Relationships
Dating Etiquette – Keeping Your Man
Now you have got your man, the next important step is to keep him which means traversing the potential minefields such as meeting his friends, going on your first mini-break, meeting the parents and behaviour [...]
