Coke: Sharing or Selfish?

Coca Cola have long been the masters of marketing. They may (or may not) have dressed Santa in his distinctive red cloak, but they've had some memorable marketing campaigns. Their current one could yet be the most successful as well as the simplest yet.

Over recent months they've been printing the 150 most popular names in each country. They've even added another hundred names under popular demand. The full list is here. If you watch the ad (this is the Irish version below), or read the cans and bottles carefully, the campaign is focused on altruism: 'Share a coke with...'



It's a nice idea, even if it's rank commercialisation. You share a coke / diet coke / coke zero with someone whose name you see on the bottle, for lots of different reasons. The company wants us to share, to give, to be generous. Now, some people might be doing that, but as with so much of life, the buzz on Twitter and Facebook seems to be selfish. The goal is to find a coke with your own name on it, rather than being given one by someone else...

Its depressing that finding a coke bottle with my name on it has been the highlight of my week #firstworldproblems

— AJ Jameson (@AberrantAdam) August 15, 2013

I FINALLY FOUND A COKE WITH MY NAME ON IT pic.twitter.com/QGQrWKVBPU

— Elagabalus' Lion (@Orla_White) August 15, 2013

10/10 to @CocaCola for marketing! Was actually excited to finally find a bottle of Coke Zero with my name on it!!! pic.twitter.com/vTbdXgkcZS

— Adrian Kennedy (@AdrianFKennedy) August 14, 2013

None of those Coke 'Share a Coke with' bottles have my name on them. I FEEL SO ALONE.

— Blake ✌ (@blakesteven) August 1, 2013

Some are even taking it badly (!):

Me looking for my name on a coke bottle: pic.twitter.com/8rK5KpAAaZ

— br(ok)en (@y0itsShelby) July 31, 2013

This is just a small sampling of the vast numbers of tweets about the Coke name campaign, and the majority are all about us finding our own name, rather than sharing. Something as simple as a bottle of pop, but when the fizz settles, we're all still selfish.

And no, I haven't seen a Gary on a Coke yet...

PS As with any other topic, Twitter excels at bringing out the comedians. Honourable mentions for these two:

You all get so excited when you find a coke bottle with your name on it. Pepsi got me covered for life pic.twitter.com/ZEIjFXLSpc

— Maximillian (@MaximillianMJ) August 10, 2013

If you've been chuffed to see your name on a coke bottle then imagine my joy on every visit to B&Q.

— Matt White (@mattyfwhite) July 17, 2013

HMV Face The Music

Another new year, another major UK music retailer is facing hard times. Two years ago the shops formerly known as Virgin Megastores, repackaged as Zavvi closed in Belfast and across the UK. This was the same time as Woolworths shut up shop, and things looked bleak for the UK music sector on the high street. At the time, HMV purchased some of the Zavvi stores, including Abbeycentre and (possibly) the Victoria Square shop, and HMV was (in Belfast anyway), the only major music retailer.

Almost exactly two years later, and now HMV are reporting problems, with plans to close 40 HMV stores and 20 Waterstones branches this year. While they haven't announced which shops will close, it's fairly likely some of these will be in Northern Ireland, which raises the question of where we'll be able to actually go and buy a CD in and around Belfast in the next year.

It seems that Apple downloads and Amazon mp3s and online shopping is bringing about a big change in the music market. Rather than having to go into town to actually buy a cd, now you can lie in bed, hear a song on TV and within a minute or so buy it, download it, and be listening it on your iPod. How can high street shops compete with that? Tough times are ahead, and not just for the staff who will be laid off as these shops close.

Adbusting: A 'Very' Expensive Christmas

Have you seen the adverts for the latest online department store? Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby feature in it, throwing in the word 'very' very often in the dialogue, as a bunch of ice skaters dance around and then arrange furniture on a frozen lake, before the name of the store is revealed: Very.co.uk.



What's very concerning, though, is that it could turn out to be a very expensive Christmas if you do your shopping on the website, using their credit services. Their typical APR is 39.7% variable, which is very bad on its own, but in the smaller print under this very big figure, the conditions state that: The actual APR applicable to you may be different from the typical APR based on your credit status. (bold original to website)

So if you have a very poor credit rating score, they'll punish you even more by giving you a higher APR which will push up the amount of interest you have to repay. A very expensive Christmas.

Yet that's not the worst of it. Imagine you've had a hard year, the credit crunch has taken hold, and you're wondering how you will manage for Christmas presents and giving your kids what they want. Imagine you had the chance of a buy now, pay later offer - would you take it? Christmas now, and pay for it later, when the economy has recovered and you're back in employment?

Very also offer a Buy Now Pay February 2011 service. What's so bad about that? Well, first of all, you can have all the joys of this Christmas 2009, escape paying for it, have another Christmas in 2010 before the bill comes in for Christmas 2009 in February 2011. You simply cannot keep deferring payments forever - the credit people at Very will come looking for their money.

Secondly, the bill they come looking for will be very big.

Interest will be calculated from the date of your purchase but it will not be charged to the account until the expiry of the Buy Now Pay Later period. You can avoid paying interest on the products purchased on this offer by paying the cash price in full prior to the expiry of the Buy Now Pay Later period. Typical 39.7% APR Variable. The actual APR applicable to you may be different from the typical APR based on your credit status.

So while you have an interest free period of time (which customers probably wouldn't use if they had the money in the first place), when the clock hits February 2011, the full weight of interest calculated from the day you bought the goods (December 2009) will be applied to your account. That's 14 months of interest of at least 39.7% (depending on your credit rating again) on top of whatever Christmas cost you. And that adds up to a very expensive Christmas.

By the Buy

Perhaps I should have been a sub-editor. Spelling mistakes just leap out at me. They call out wherever I turn, and give me no piece peace. There's a couple on the same 'loyalist' mural down on the Newtownards Road - I always mean to stop and get a photo of it, but haven't bothered yet - the two words in question are 'repubiclan' and 'miltary'.

Today I spotted an interesting one in a shop in Bangor. There was a basket containing packets of crisps which were reduced because it was: 'Past sell-buy date.' First of all, I haven't heard 'sell-by' being used in ages - it's always 'Best Before' or 'Use By' these days. But these crisps were past their sell-by date! Somewhat confusing, though, for the sign writer, what with buy and by sounding the same... I didn't risk the out of date crisps - I didn't think they would be a good buy!

Marketing Failure?

Last week it was reported on the BBC news website that Hamley's the toy shop was pulling out of Victoria Square shopping centre.

This was a big shock to me - not at the loss of another trader from Belfast's newest development, but because I didn't even know it was in Victoria Square in the first place!

The company is claiming that they are ending their association with House of Fraser, and pulling out of having small Hamley's branches within big House of Fraser stores, to instead concentrate on having stand-alone Hamley's stores.

I'm sure I'm not the only person in Northern Ireland that didn't know that there was a Hamley's store in Belfast. In fact, I only realised it was there when I saw a friend's photo of the House of Fraser store on Flickr. Situated on the top floor of House of Fraser, it wasn't somewhere I had ventured, and there didn't appear to be any signs highlighting its existence.

It will be sad to see it go, and perhaps is another sign of the uncertainty of the times, as it leaves in the wake of Zavvi, Crombie, and even possibly French Connection.

Is it simply a marketing failure, by not getting its message out, so that people weren't even aware of its existence? Perhaps. Farewell Hamley's. I'll see you in London!

Goodbye Woolworths, Hello Wellworths!

Following the closure of Woolworths stores across the UK, one entertaining store manager has re-launched her branch under a new name, which was opened today by Chris Evans. Yet for people from Northern Ireland, the name will be a familiar reminder of days gone by.

The new shop's name is Wellworths. Yes, the old Northern Ireland department store's name has been resurrected by Claire Robertson. It's certainly not a new name for an alternative to Woolies. Wellworths used to be in nearly every big town in Northern Ireland - I can certainly remember one in Banbridge, on the opposite side of Newry Street from Woolworths. Back in 1996, the chain was bought over, with the smaller shops bought by the Musgrave Group, trading as Supervalu, and the larger ones were taken over by Safeway (which became Morrisons, which became Asda).

I wonder though, who owns the trading name of Wellworths? My guess is the Musgrave Group / Supervalu, as some stores were Wellworths-Supervalu for a while before the Wellworths name was dropped. The Wikipedia article is saying that the new shop won't be selling CDs or DVDs, so things are drastically changing.

No matter the controversy about the name, we wish Claire well with her venture - it's good to see people investing and creating jobs in the current economic climate. Shopping at Wellworths is well worth it - just like in the old days in Banbridge!

Sunday School Musical

Yes, you read that right! The other day I was in Tesco, and noticed this on DVD. Buying into the huge High School Musical trend, Faith Films have produced a direct-to-DVD film called Sunday School Musical. Currently at the bargain price of £4 in Knocknagoney, perhaps because it hasn't been selling, since being released last October.

It's probably a good thing that Christians are getting in on the act, but surely many useful conversations could be had with kids who are into the HSM stuff rather than having a poor imitation coming from Christian media? Plus, I noticed that Sunday School Musical has a 15 certificate in the UK - which would surely limit or remove the very target audience they are seeking to reach - especially if Christian parents are more wary of certificate ratings and not exposing kids to unsuitable material?

I've found the trailer on Youtube if you want to have a look:

Zavvi Belfast: Going, Going, Gone

I've been following the story of Zavvi's demise since it went into administration just before Christmas. Now, it seems, the story in Northern Ireland, at least, is finally over. Following the initial relief that Northern Ireland would escape the first closures of 22 stores, it then emerged that four of the five stores in the province would close. Just Zavvi in Victoria Square remained. By tomorrow, however, the shutters will have come down for the last time as Zavvi ceases trading in Belfast.



It's sad to see it closing down, the with resultant job losses, and the decline in competition for music sales on the streets of Belfast. Even more so when we consider that it has all happened so quickly. The initial shop closures were on the 8th January, and Zavvi Belfast (Victoria Square) has had just one month of reprieve before the death sentence falls on it.

With the credit crunch crisis still hitting hard, it appears that people are cutting back on their consumption, which takes the cycle round again and threatens more jobs. Where will it end?

Blue Monday

How are you doing today?

Psychologists reckon that today is the most depressing day of the year. And so soon into the year as well! Seemingly it is a combination of the weather, the amount of post-Christmas debt (and the time delay until pay day at the end of the month), the time since Christmas celebrations, the time that New Year Resolutions generally fail, having low motivational levels, and the feeling of a need to take action. The day has been dubbed 'Blue Monday' by some.

Thankfully, the only thing blue in my life is my car! Yet for many, this may be an especially difficult time, as December credit card bills arrive taking into account the Christmas spending, especially on Santa's presents. The temptation may be to only pay the minimum amount, but in the end, Christmas will be much more expensive, and the debt will be around for longer. Experts recommend paying off credit card bills in full each month, to avoid high charges and the development of interest.

Yet for the Christian, no day is more depressing than another - in fact, no day need be depressing at all. Rather, each day is a new day to rediscover the love of God in fresh ways. Amazingly (and perhaps slightly ironically), we discover this in the book called Lamentations:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Belfast Zavvi Store to Close

Previously, the Belfast Zavvi stores were safe, but now the axe has fallen. Following on from the closure of 22 shops on the 8th January, the BBC is reporting that a further 18 Zavvi stores are to close, wiping out most of the Northern Ireland Zavvi presence. Not only will Belfast's flagship store on Royal Avenue (part of the Castlecourt shopping centre) close, the Zavvi stores in Newtownabbey (in the Abbeycentre), Newry (in the Buttercrane Shopping Centre), and Londonderry / Derry (in the Foyleside Shopping Centre) are also set to shut up shop.



These closures and the subsequent redundancies will mean that there will only be one Zavvi store in the whole of Northern Ireland - ironically the newest store, in Belfast's Victoria Square development. Sad times, not just for the workers, but also for music buyers in Londonderry, Newry, and the Belfast area.

On Saturday, I was in the Belfast Zavvi stores, but with the big bargain-hunters, the stores were total chaos, and half-empty shelves looking as glum as the staff. Maybe Richard Branson got out in time. Either way, bye bye to Zavvi - we never had the time to get to know you.

Belfast Zavvi Stores Safe For Now

One of the big stories of today is that 22 Zavvi stores will close immediately. Since going into administration on Christmas Eve, things haven't been good for the former Virgin Megastore chain of music and game retailers. Even the clearout post-Christmas sale hasn't seemed to help, and so today the announcement was made by the administrators that 22 stores will close.

On hearing the news, I was convinced that one of the casualties would be one of the two Belfast city centre stores, on Royal Avenue and in the new Victoria Square development. Yet this list on the BBC website seems to suggest that all closures are on the mainland, and that the two Belfast stores, as well as Zavvi in the Abbeycentre are safe. For now.

It's a terrible time for the economy, and you can't help wondering what will be next. Shoppers seem to be revelling in the great bargains available, but at what ultimate cost, with Woolworths now gone for good, and other shops and companies in serious trouble. It will be a hard winter for the British business world.

Goodbye Pic n Mix, Farewell Zavvi Too?

I've just noticed that today is the day when Woolworths stores in Northern Ireland are beginning to close down. By the end of the day, Ballymena, Armagh, Enniskillen, Lurgan and Newry will be no more. (Just the Woolies shops, not the actual towns...) A sad day, and more to follow, with all 19 stores to close by 5th January. Woolworths couldn't even see out the Twelve Days of Christmas 2008.

I have fond memories of Woolworths from childhood. On Saturdays, mum would take us up on the bus to Banbridge to see granny, and Woolies (and Wellworths as well) was a vital stopping point. Woolworths was where the pic n mix was bought. Woolworths was where the bargain cds were bought. Woolworths was where the pogs were bought. (Remember those?) Woolworths was where the football sticker album stickers were bought - always too many of one player and not enough Man United players! Woolworths was where the cheap novelty Christmas presents were bought. Woolworths was where my Coca-cola yoyo was bought from. Yes, happy times, with the promise of a pound or so from granny to spend on the way back to the bus.

Yet it appears that where Woolworths went wrong was that it lost its clear market focus. It got lost amid its own comprehensiveness, and ended up specialising in nothing. The world of retailing has moved on from cassette and later cd singles to iTunes and mp3s, at significantly reduced cost. Woolworths just couldn't compete.

There's a lesson there, both for anyone in business, but also for the church. It's important to keep the main thing the main thing. Know what you're about and do it. Wholeheartedly. Sadly Woolies didn't really know what they were about in the end, and the staff will suffer as a result, as well as our High Streets and town centres which will miss the familiar face of Woolworths.

Even worse, it now appears that in the decline of Woolies, it may take others with it - Zavvi (the shops formerly known as Virgin Megastores) have called in the administrators and a massive clearance sale has been launched.

It could be a very bleak new year indeed.

*** Bonus marks if you spotted a slight musical allusion in the title - I thought this might fit in well to the song 'It's a long way to Tipperary' replacing the line 'Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square'. OK, maybe you don't see it. Fine!

Welcoming the Stranger

Last week I was in the Tesco Lisburn store getting in some groceries. A regular part of the routine. Mum always complains when things are moved around the store, as she then forgets some essentials, not seeing them on the traditional route through the shop. I noticed last week that the back wall has been taken over by a new section called 'World Foods.' A major element is a whole variety of Polska (Polish) foods, as well as other cultures and countries.

Is Tesco trying to cut off the small food stores that rise up where there are significant numbers of immigrants in one area, supplying familiar food from home, tastes that they are used to? As Tesco would say, 'every little helps' to make the foreigners feel at home. Plus, it will boost their profits as well.

It got me thinking, though. If business like Tesco are going out of their way to make foreigners feel at home and to build up community, then what is the Church doing about it? No matter who you talk to, from across Northern Ireland, they have stories of the immigrant communities in every town and village. Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, etc.

These are people who need to hear of Jesus just as much as the Northern Ireland born and bred people. What are we going to do about it?

Could we start English language classes to help people learn the lingo and be able to understand natives better? Could we make available Bibles, books and tracts in their own languages? Could we have a drop-in to help them, and to help them see that the Church is a place of warmth and welcome?

Just a few ideas. In the past, Ireland was a source of missionary endeavour, whether it be Saint Columba or Saint Gall in the 5th century or so, or the misionaries with CMS and other mission agencies. Now, the world is coming to Ireland. Mission fields are on our doorstep. What are going to do about it?

The Christmas Shop

Now don't worry, I'm not speaking about those awful shops where all the year round, you can buy tree decorations and baubles. Rather, I'm talking about the Christmas shop - the big grocery shop for Christmas.

I remember in years gone by, we looked forward to the Christmas shop for several months, the time when multipacks of crisps and lots of extra food were bought in! Mum and dad don't drive, so we did it in J & J's - the biggest supermarket in Dromore at the time. One year I can even remember us bringing it all home in the trolley with dad pushing it through the town!

Anyway, today was the designated day of the Christmas shop. Just mum and me this year, and surprisingly, Tesco wasn't overly busy. Busy enough, but not as bad as I've seen it in previous years. And even more surprisingly, we managed to get everything we were looking - except for one thing.

You'll never guess what was out of stock in Tesco Bentrim Road in Lisburn... Digestive biscuits! McVities and Tesco own brand and any other brand were all sold out! After braving Tesco, we then had to call into Sainsbury's on the way home.

So, in the familiar words of the harvest hymn, all has been safely gathered in for the Christmas celebrations. What a pity that for so many, the over-indulgence is their only thought at Christmas, rather than the Christ child at the heart of the celebration.

Suits You, Sir

To mark my birthday, and also because I'm always very hard to buy presents for, the parentals decided to buy me a new suit. That being the case, there was only one place to go. For as long as I have been buying suits, I have been a customer of the same place, and now recommend them to you, my readers.

Collar and Tie in Lisburn is the best place to buy suits! Raymond, the guy who always advises me knows his stuff, having been in the suit business for a long time. He's also good craic, and keeps us entertained while I try on the various styles. But the best thing has to be their prices. Go and see for yourself, but let's just say that for the price marked on the suit alone, I was taking away the suit, two shirts and ties, socks, and a new pair of black shoes.

The Man Comes Around

Have you ever heard a song and, without knowing what it is, know you really like it? Then you can't find out what it is, so the song (or snippets of it) go round your head over and over?

That happened me yesterday afternoon. I was in Vital Records in Banbridge, and a song was playing. It was something about the end of the world, and contained quite a lot of Biblical references, to angels and the four beasts, and virgins trimming their wicks. I was going to ask the girl working in the shop what it was, but she was otherwise engaged.

So over the past day I've been trying to remember bits of the song to try and find out who sung it, or what CD I could find it on. I thought it might have been Bob Dylan, thinking I had heard the word hurricane... but that was just a blind alley.

So this evening, I suddenly remembered that I had heard the start of the next song on the CD, which was 'I hurt myself today.' Armed with this knowledge, it was back onto the internet, and behold, I have found the song! It's Johnny Cash, singing 'The Man Comes Around.'

Good old Youtube has supplied a video version - or rather, a sound version with a picture in the screen, which you can see and hear below. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


And here are the lyrics - will you be ready when the Man comes around?

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse

There's a man going around taking names and he decides
Who to free and who to blame every body won't be treated
Quite the same there will be a golden ladder reaching down
When the man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up at the terror in each
Sip and each sup will you partake of that last offered cup
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the man comes around

Hear the trumpets hear the pipers one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to a big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its alpha and omegas kingdom come
And the whirlwind is in the thorn trees
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn trees
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks
Till Armageddon no shalam no shalom

Then the father hen will call his chicken's home
The wise man will bow down before the thorn and at his feet
They will cast the golden crowns
When the man comes around

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the man comes around

Hear the trumpets hear the pipers one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to a big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its alpha and omegas kingdom come
And the whirlwind is in the thorn trees
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn trees
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks
In measured hundred weight and penny pound
When the man comes around

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And it's name it said on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

Immobile

Sometimes I think I would forget my head if it wasn't attached... Today ma and da decided that they wanted to go somewhere seeing as ma was off and da had finished his working week this morning. So off we went to Bangor. Culchie day out. Or something like that. Why Bangor? I don't know... we seem to go there quite a lot, but the parentals like it, and there's a decent bookshop called Bookends so I can handle it. Oh, and quite a few charity shops for books too!

The M1 citybound was hectic today... really busy... so much that we were queued back to beyond the Stockman's Lane bridge. But we got through anyway, and as we were going along the Sydenham bypass, suddenly it dawned on me that I had forgotten my mobile phone. Quick check - no, it isn't on the dashboard, and it isn't in my pocket. So in my getting ready I had forgotten to lift it off the bedside table. No problem, sure I'll text Lynsey from ma's phone when we get to Bangor to let her know I'm ok and just a bit ditsy. [I wasn't really expecting anyone else to text, and if you had, I'm sure it would have waited until I got home again]

Except when we got to Bangor, I completely forgot about texting, and ma and da were away off before I remembered... Oops!

It seems that the forgetfulness was spreading though. Being an Ulster lad, I quite like a bowl of champ. So I went into a cafe chain which does a good bowl of champ for about £2, and went downstairs to await my lunch. Ten minutes later it still hadn't arrived, and I got a bit concerned... were they planting and harvesting the spuds for me? Just then one of the workers arrived down bringing someone else's lunch, and she was very apologetic for them forgetting about me!

So anyway, back to my being beyond contact. It led me on to think that God is never out of range - he can always hear out prayers, if we will but call on him!

The World According to...

Jeremy Clarkson. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he's a good writer. I recently finished reading 'The World According to' by him. It's a collection of his Sunday Times columns - although I didn't realise it at the time I bought the book in a Dublin charity shop.

While I don't always agree with his analysis of the world, he does make some valid points. But more than that, he is a compelling writer - using his skill to round off a short article by linking it back in to the whole. There's normally a sting in the tale. Or a humorous remark at the very end.

How I wish I could write like that! Let's hope that I develop my writing skills as time goes on... maybe some day this blog will be worth reading!

Dundee again!

And so here I am in Scotland again, my first visit of 2007. Following the excitement of Thursday, with the self-appraisal interviews, and some provisional curacy news for the final year students, it was a very early start on Friday morning - 3am, to be exact! The M50 was quiet enough at that time, you'll be unsurprised to hear, and so I was in the airport nice and early. Yes, I'm the sort of person who likes to be nice and early to appointments, and especially the airport. Plus, it means I can sit and read, or watch the world go by.

I mostly chose the reading option, which meant that by the time I had landed in Scotland, I had read through Max Lucado's new book, 'Facing Your Giants.' It's on the life of David, and revolves around the maxim: Focus on giants - you stumble. Focus on God - your giants tumble.' Lucado is generally 'light' reading, but the illustrations are great, and his stories are always good. He is definitely a wordsmith, the way he turns memorable phrases and word plays out. Plus, he is always focused on Scripture, and teaching the message of the passage.

However, in my people-watching, I noticed a rugby team from Old Belvedere in Dublin who were flying out to Spain. Their destination was San Sebastian, and brought back good memories of last summer to me, and our day trip to the coastal town in Spain... and the heat of the place!!!

Having landed in Edinburgh as the dawn was breaking, I got into the city and left off my bag in the station. Then off for a wander, taking in breakfast in a wee cafe at the foot of the Castle Mount, with a great view of Edinburgh Castle. Pictures to follow on Flickr and here! I then couldn't miss my regular tour of bookshops in Edinburgh, along the Grassmarket and on out round the back of the Castle.

It's been great being back in Dundee and seeing Lyns again! Today we got a trip to the hospital (no, don't worry, neither of us are sick, bad and bokey) and then into the city centre for some book browsing and other shopping. Tonight the meal was in Rancho Pancho, and was delicious - Mexican food, so a wee bit spicy - my usual order of fajitas!

But the weekend is too short, and so tomorrow it's back to Dublin again...

Smooth (ie) Operator

So yeah, I'm a smooth operator... As I previously blogged about, I bought a smoothie maker machine with my Christmas money. And so, our family has a new Sunday afternoon tradition - the making of smoothies! They are truly delicious!

And now I've discovered that Tesco stock frozen smoothie mixes - bags of fruit frozen and ready to go into a smoothie! Yesterday I was in a smaller Tesco store and they only had the tropical one. So it was dutifully bought and consumed. Really good stuff!!! And a good start to a regular week.