The Sopranos - end of an era

Am a bit shell-shocked having watched the final two episodes of The Sopranos on Saturday. Wow. Great ending. Amazing final series: script, acting, lighting, design.

The Sopranos has been around for the past seven years, most of my thirties... now I'm 40 and the finale has come and gone.

What next? What TV series can fill the void? Currently love Californication, Men In Trees. But there's not even a SATC... next series of Desperate Housewives can't come close even.

Sniff.

my-wardrobe.com

Talking of www.my-wardrobe.com, I, ahem, failed to mention that I had also got my hands on a stunning teal and gold bead jersey dress by Antik Batik. Looking forward to wearing on the beach in South Africa at Christmas; and with a pair of heels or boots for chillier meetings for work in Blighty.

Those Cacharel birds...

There's another Cacharel dress out there from a couple of seasons ago which had a tropical bird print which I wish I'd bought, but for now, until I can find that on ebay or somewhere, for a lovely price in the www.my-wardrobe.com sale, this gorgeous number will more than do. Will see me through a sea of black sequinned prom dresses this season, eh.

I love Cacharel designs, but I still hear ringing in my head a Dawn French/Jennifer Saunders sketch based in a department store's make up floor "Wel-come to the world of Cash-a-relle."

Celtic Sheepskin Company

Been a fan of the Celtic Sheepskin Company since I bought my first pair, the Celt knee boot seven winters ago. Not cheap, but a dependable classic for every winter. I also have the Celt ankle boot and have just taken delivery of my new mocha popper boots. SO warm, so brilliant, it is like putting on a pair of radiators. They will last forever...

Three Horseshoes

Also know to local as 'The 'Shoes' or Nell's Bar, (it's run by the charming landlady, Nell...), this is a great local country pub in the village of Cheddington, Bucks. Nell serves smashing home cooked food in massive portions. Nell changes the specials every day, but favourites are rack of lamb, spicy chicken wraps, mushroom risotto. My other half zooms in for steak and guinness pie or steak and kidney pudding all served as fresh as can be. I've eaten there many times and have never been disappointed. Good pub grub at very reasonable prices. There is a large garden with kiddy-entertainment stuff and an outdoor patio with heating. Two rooms inside, one which used to be the non-smoking bar and another one to watch the sport in. The 'Shoes succeeds for me where so many country pubs serving food fail - I look forward to eating there rather than being sorely disappointed, yet again, at inedible pub food. It's a 10 minute stroll from Cheddington Station, 40 mins from Euston, so worth a visit if you fancy escaping the big smoke for lunch. And the locals are very friendly.

Noooooo! Just say no to Crocs!

WHY? Just say no to Crocs. Especially people over 55 with varicose veins wearing bright pink or yellow ones. Stop it. Now.

Weekend in Norfolk

Now we've got the Landy we're planning a series of minis - checking out the weather and traffic and heading where it's best. This weekend we went to the north Norfolk coast - really beautiful. I had been there once before years ago with my mate Robin. We stayed in a good hotel called Roman Camp Inn which had lovely garden space and really good food. But we are fed up with shelling out loads of money for hotels that are nice, OK or crap - would rather stay in a top dollar place once in a while and camp the rest of the time, which is just what we're going to do from now on. So we're on a mission to buy a new tent and some camping cooking gear and next weekend we'll be off! Really looking forward to it. Great way to discover the country.

Today for instance, we drove through Melton Mowbray, which looked really lovely.

Anyway, we were up early Saturday, out before 6, arrived to look around the Cley nature reserve, then a pub called the Kings Head for a drink then back to the hotel to check in. Lunch, nooze, dinner.

Yesterday we were up and at 'em to walk from Cley to Blakeney Point, which was lovely but a bit of hard work in the blazing sun. Would have been stuck without a hat.

Randomly we met someone we knew on the beach, which was fun.

I loved getting back to the Landy, sitting swinging my legs on the tailgate in the breeze. Lunch in the Dun Cow, where we had a great crab salad. Being near Cromer and all.

Back to the hotel for a shower and some wine and early dinner in the garden, reading the Sunday papers. Very civilized. Getting up at half hour this morning to drive Paul to a meeting in Leicestershire before heading home wasn't so, but it was fun to drive the Landy.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Really liked it, several unexpected twists and turns. Back to War & Peace....

My cat is a serial killer

Twice in two nights - George has brought in a bat - pipistrelle we think. So cute... Paul takes them outside so hopefully they have survived. These are added to the list - weasel, squirrel, rabbits, mice, shrews, voles, blue tit, great tit, bullfinch, song thrush, blackbird, pigeon, dove, wren... every night we are woken by the crunching of bones and every morning we have to look where we are putting our feet to avoid various entrails. And he looks as though butter wouldn't melt in his mouth...

Buy British - Liz Earle's Naturally Active Skincare

It's all very well to demand the provenance of our food, (there were apples from China in Morrisons the other day, I mean, really!) but it should stretch to other things too, such as skincare and clothes.

I've been a fan of Liz Earle's range Naturally Active Skincare for a few years now, and repeat order rather than come and go. They always wrap everything beautifully (recyclable packaging) and always pop in a present of a tester size of something or other. Bit jealous of the Isle of Wight shop on the beach location of her business too...

The best pub food I've had in yonks

FINALLY, hurrah, jig up and down on the spot. We've found a local (ish) lovely pub in a lovely village serving amazing food, the kind you dribble about and dream about. This place is definitely where we will be going to for any celebration, and as I have just won some new business, the next time the sun deigns to come out, this is where we will be heading.

Stand up and take a bow the Alford Arms, Frithesden, nr Berkhamstead. I had pork belly with scallops and mint pea puree (on diet, obviously) and Paul had Coq au Vin. We shared a plate of british cheese which, for once, was so worth it. We'll be back.

Best Ads on the Internet

Dynamic Logic

IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE…

THE BEST ONLINE BRAND CAMPAIGNS IN THE UK

London, July 16, 2007

Dynamic Logic measured the in-market performance of 111 online brand advertising campaigns within the U.K. and Europe across 2006. The top campaigns overall were determined by Dynamic Logic’s ad effectiveness research, conducted in 2006 to evaluate the in-market campaign performance, and were the most noticed, most persuasive and most favourable. Campaigns are listed in alphabetical order by brand:

Brand Advertised: Adrift
Parent Company: Pathé
Media Agency: BLM Quantum

Creative Agency: Yahoo!

Brand Advertised: Opodo
Parent Company: Marriott
Media Agency: MediaCom UK

Creative Agency: Wheel

Brand Advertised: Palmolive for Men
Parent Company: Colgate Palmolive
Media Agency: MEC Interaction
Creative Agency: Pro Creation

Brand Advertised: Philips Streamium Wireless Music Center
Parent Company: Philips
Media Agency: Carat Digital

Creative Agency: Tribal DDB

Brand Advertised: Sheila's Wheels

Parent Company: eSure

Media Agency: Carat Digital

Creative Agency: Pre-Loaded

Brand Advertised: The Sentinel

Parent Company: Twentieth Century Fox

Media & Creative Agency: Starcom UK

Brand Advertised: Tassimo

Parent Company: Kraft Foods

Media & Creative Agency: Starcom UK

Brand Advertised: Volkswagen Jetta

Parent Company: Volkswagen

Media & Creative Agency: Tribal DDB

Brand Advertised: Yahoo! Search

Parent Company: Yahoo!

Media & Creative Agency: Profero

Also amongst the top performers, but not shown here, was a campaign produced by Zed Media.

Note: The criteria for inclusion those with the highest Online Ad Awareness scores, which were characterised by statistically significant increases at 90% or above. Additionally, the top-ranked campaigns performed as either “above average” or “excellent” compared to other online campaigns within their industry category in either Brand Favourability or Purchase Intent, the two measured persuasion metrics.

Suzanne Moorey-Denham, managing director, Dynamic Logic Europe, said: “These campaigns represented a wide variety of brands and categories, including travel, FMCG, entertainment, and automotive. The most noticed ads tended to be very-well branded and did not try to convey too many messages. The research also showed that the results were not driven by baseline awareness levels. Not only did these campaigns break through the clutter to generate higher awareness for their brands, but they were also persuasive. Influencing consumers’ attitudes towards a brand and shifting intent to purchase are typically the most difficult metrics to move. These branding campaigns help to identify and illustrate some best practices in successful online brand advertising that other marketers may be able to learn from and apply.”

Dynamic Logic uploads hundreds of AdIndex^® studies, which measure online ad effectiveness, into MarketNorms^®, an online planning and benchmarking tool. Using this database, Dynamic Logic identified the most effective online campaigns in terms of online brand performance as compared to all measured European and UK studies last year. The top campaigns ran in the UK and were among the most noticed, with their Online Ad Awareness scores ranging from 8-20 percentage-point increases after exposure to online advertising. They were also highly persuasive.

Pathé Adrift: “The page take-over campaign was innovative and most of all eye-catching. We were delighted by its impact,” Alasdair Nicolson, marketing manager, Pathé Distribution Ltd.

“Not only were we able to talk to users in an interesting an engaging way; creatively, we were able to go some way in influencing their intent to see the film. This is critical to a successful opening weekend,” commented Nick Fisher, online media manager, BLM Quantum.

Tassimo: “The digital media strategy was to ‘inform and educate’ our audience through a combination of highly-targeted placements on female lifestyle sites and search-sponsored listings. The creative placements followed the key rules of online branding (logo on every page, clear call to action, product image, and limited frames) and allowed people to visit a website rich in product information and links to e-commerce partners,” commented Richard Hollidge, who was group account director, Starcom Digital, and worked on this campaign.

To see examples of the U.K. campaign creative executions or to view the best U.S. campaigns, please visit:

http://www.dynamiclogic.com/eu/research/2006top10.php

About Dynamic Logic:

Dynamic Logic (www.dynamiclogic.com) is a leading research company with expertise in measuring marketing effectiveness. Dynamic Logic’s research includes: AdIndex^® to test and analyse online advertising, CrossMedia Research^TM to evaluate multimedia campaigns, MarketNorms^®, a syndicated ad effectiveness planning and benchmarking database, and Link^TM for Digital, an online copy-testing solution developed jointly with Millward Brown. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in New York City with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Providence, San Francisco, London, and Tokyo. Clients include leading marketers, advertising agencies and media companies. Dynamic Logic is a Millward Brown company, which is part of The Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP.

week in the Lake District intro

Paul has been pining for a proper hike in the Lakes, without me huffing behind and slowing the pace, so we planned to go for a week, he'd do his stuff and I'd check into a hotel for a couple of days to do pampering or whatever, then I'd meet him over at George IV at Eskdale,

stay the night in a four poster (booked out, only three rooms) and then head back to Windermere to spend a couple more nights at The Mortal Man, Troutbeck, for a bit of walking and fishing.

We'd decided to break the journey in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, at The Merlin, which looked quite funky from its website and was open all day for food.

As it turned out we should have headed straight to the Lakes, as it was under 4 hours driving back, and The Merlin was pretty rubbish. The staff were all spaced, even the manager left us hanging there after a protracted check-in and I had to chase her to ask her where our room was. The place which is also a pub/restaurant was busy being a Sunday, the food was OK, service was shit. Glasses piling up everywhere and I cleared our table after half an hour of sitting amongst the rubble. I'm like my Dad on that one.

Also, being a Sunday, you couldn't get food unless it was in the restaurant after 6pm. So we walked to a fabulous Thai, Chilli Banana, up the road.

The hotel I stayed in for two nights whilst Paul was off Iron Johnning, The Regent by The Lake on Windermere was pretty rubbish. Very depressing dining area so I ate out at a very good restaurant The Water's Edge I think it was called.

And then, to pick Paul up in Eskdale, I had to drive up Hard Knott Pass myself. Eikesarama!


The Mortal Man we liked very much, and it had fab food with a spectacular panoramic view from our room and the restaurant.

Speeding fine

This REALLY gets my goat. Opened a letter from Cumbria Constabulary, with news of a speeding fine and a 3 point endorsement. I wasn't driving the car at the time, it was Paul. Really cross, he was doing, apparently, 49 miles in a 40 zone, on an A road which was veering between 40 and 50 as a limit, at 8 in the morning with no sign of any other car on the road.

Meanwhile, in our sleepy village of Mentmore, Bucks, anyone can drive through at any speed they like - usually 60 or 70 miles an hour plus round the sharp corners. The roads are full of potholes and the bends are much sharper than drivers think so there are numerous accidents.

Make the speed limit uniform across the country so you know what you're doing. 30 mph in villages - and not just the ones with schools in please. End of story.

never mind social networking - get some social stationery

Really like this company Announce It - got Mum some correspondence cards for her birthday plus some funky reading glasses from SightStation bought at The Piggeries, a pine and gift shop down the road in Tringford.

perils of living in the countryside #3

George brought a mouse in, was trying to find it in the bedroom. I found it, in my Louis Vuitton keepall. With mouse poo and it wee'd itself. Paul released it in the woods. I disinfected the inside of the bag...

it's all in the genes

Was sent a photo of my great grandmother (Dad's dad's mum) Sarah Yates by a distant relative who has been doing genesreunited. Not a looker, eh.

perils of living in the countryside #2 part 2

How gross is this on my ankle? Thanks gnat. Very painful. Had to put a needle to it this morning. Yeeuuuchchh.

I Heart Boston Legal

Boston Legal - it just gets better and better, the scriptwriters are genius.

perils of living in the countryside #2

Getting bitten constantly by gnats or whatever. Two new ones this morning on my ankles. I've had to send off for a mozzy plug in thing.

perils of living in the countryside #1

What I think was a queen hornet (it was HUGE) in my bathroom. Felt really bad but we had to get the Raid out, better kill one hornet than kill hundreds if she'd nested. Gulp.

Paul's new camera lens

That's it, I am officially a photography widow - Paul's latest arrival is a new lens for his Nikon SLR, an 180mm sigma macro which takes the most amazing close ups. I won't see him for dust.

I've cured my ebay addiction

Over the past few years I have been very, quite, not really addicted to ebay. I think I've cured it. I tried to fix it in my mind that buying clothes from ebay (not the new stuff but second hand, vintage darling) is being pretty green, recycling clothes and all. I even used to sell my clothes on it and made some dosh but I haven't got that kind of time so it's back to the charity shops.

But I think I've cured myself. I just got a much anticipated vintage Flora Kung silk dress which sounded amazing. And on the right person I am sure it is, but on me, I looked like a Dynasty victim/mother of the bride. It only cost me about a tenner but it is a tenner too much, as it'll go straight to the Red Cross shop. Enough already.

lovely to see Julia in Wendover

Traffic jams and useless needless redundant traffic lights aside, it was lovely to see Julia at the Shoulder of Mutton in Wendover last night - bar the teeth chattering, finger-numbing air con. XXX

chased by horses

I know nothing about horses, have "ridden" them just twice, so was delighted to be practically chased by them through a field at the weekend. They were hilarious, wouldn't leave me alone. Why is that?

WWF Petition China to End Tiger Trade - please sign!

I've added my photo and signed the petition.

great news for the great tit

Tiggywinkles tells me that the great tit we took in (from the clutches of George) has survived and indeed was released. Phew.

White Lion of Whipsnade

Learnt something new at The Travellers Rest Pub near Whipsnade Zoo last Saturday. The White Lion, which we can see from our house and for miles around the downs, was originally for advertising the Zoo, and also to warn low flying pilots from scaring the animals. (Photo by George Mahoney).

We like the pub, although the food is expensive and microwaved.

Sodding Mayor of London and Congestion Charge

Arghghgh! Have just received a congestion charge penalty for £50 - when I have the receipt to prove I paid online. I don't even live in bloody London anymore, don't clog up the roads there, escaped as soon as we possibly could. The ONE time Paul drives into London for a meeting since the CC charge was introduced and the bastards fine me. And can I ring up and complain and get it sorted? NO I have to put a formal submission in writing. Like I have the time to enjoy doing that kind of stuff. Makes me SO cross. Admin takes up most of your free time these days in this country.

arghhgh - I hate Neff

I hate Neff. Been without an oven since last October (including Christmas lunch, try it) and finally bought a Neff oven. Did some research at Homebase and then bought it from Jewsons. None of the fuckers tell you that you have to have an expert installer, that they cannot recommend anyone. Neff's head office treated me like an idiot - they only repair them not install them. WHAT? How does that work? And finding an IEE registered electrician (about the only thing Jewsons would pass on) is TOO HARD! I just want a bloody oven! Why didn't Homebase or Jewsons say that you couldn't fit it yourself? Bastards.

Blues' Penguin Shirt is Back

Birmingham City has just revealed its new season in the premiership kit - modelled on the 1970's famed penguin shirts at last the Blues have a decent strip.

bank holiday stormy weather

Typical - a bank holiday that's stormy and cold. A tree fell down on Mentmore Road by our house and they spent ages sawing and clearing it. It is SO cold! Last Sunday we had lunch outside (for 8 hours...) and just this Thursday I caught the sun when sitting in the shade, it was about 25 degrees.

ARGGH always the way - I've bumped my car again - this time it is my fault

Why does it always happen? Two weeks ago someone reversed into my car, so with all the fiddadling with their insurance, Zurich, see previous, it is now in to be fixed next Tuesday. So this morning, running late taking Paul to the station, I reversed and completely did not see the van that the man who has come to put in a new boiler (how cheap it that?) parked not in the parking space but in front of it (we live in a mews so their is practically no traffic and no-one ever parks there) so I just didn't even see it because I wasn't looking.

BAH!

We're Blogging Addicts

GLOBAL ‘EARLY ADOPTERS’ ARE BLOGGING AND SOCIAL NETWORKING PORTAL ADDICTS

May 2007

Global citizens are rapidly becoming blogging and online social networking addicts, according to Continental/KNOTS Research’s International Convergence 2007 Report, a poll of ‘early adopters’ habits and a snapshot into the world’s technological future.

Early adopters of technology were polled in the UK, Germany, Japan and the United States. Between them, these countries account for a huge proportion of the world’s technological innovation and consumers in these countries are some of the most sophisticated in the world.

Across all countries an average of 19% of early adopters have their own blog, with the Japanese leading the way at 28%.

James Myring, associate director at Continental Research, said: “Blogs are particularly popular amongst younger early adopters; with 25% of 16-34’s (across all countries) having their own blog compared to 14% aged over 35. Early adopters clearly see these as a forum to voice their opinions and share their views with a significant number. In years to come it will be interesting to see if an increasing number attach as much importance to their online personality as they do their real life version?”

Generally involving less maintenance than a blog are personal websites. Results are remarkably similar in each country with around 30% having their own personal website hosted on online social networking and fileshare sites such as myspace, facebook, youtube, jaiku and flickr.

Personal websites are especially popular amongst the young. 44% of 16-34’s (across all countries) have their own personal website compared to 19% aged over 35.

Myring added: “Could we reach a point where for young people having their own website is almost standard, and instead of sending CVs, people may just provide prospective employers with a link to their website? Already there have been instances of employers checking potential employees ‘personal website’ to see if this matches their submitted CV. It is now possible to live a virtual, online life (distinct from ‘real’ life) complete with a wide circle of friends & even lovers. How this will impact on people’s social skills and real life experiences is yet to be understood.”

Also in the report:

Broadband, mobile phones and television as convergence platforms, including downloading TV programmes, bundling and forecasts.

For further information:

James Myring, associate director, Continental Research, 020 7490 5944

www.continentalresearch.com

still hating Zurich...

So I get into a live webchat with a Zurich person via the website, who politely tells me to give them my claim number and they would get a representive to call me.

Have they hell.

ARGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

I still hate Zurich car insurance

And CAN I get through to the claims line (different from the original one once you have lodged a claim and have a reference number) - we apologise for the delay and are currently experiencing a high volume of calls you might want to call back later. It has been saying this all day. It doesn't even tell me what position in the queue I am so I can make a judgement call whether to hang on or not.

arghghghg

arrghhh! I hate Zurich Insurance!

I have just spent an agonising 20 minutes registering my claim against the driver who reversed his Merc into my car in a car park yesterday (seemed like a nice man, really shaken up by it, said his reverse beeper didn't go off). His insurers - Zurich - arghghgh. How not to be all Daily Mail about call centres in India? The conversations are agonising when neither side can understand the other and you have to spell every word out.

I just want my car fixed!

birthday present

So what to get for Paul's birthday? He is impossible to buy for, he's very particular about what he likes and doesn't. So a few months back, when we were at the Greyhound pub (as seen here on the left) in the village of Aldbury, we again discussed the display of art on the walls (up for sale) by local artist Brian Robinson. We always have a look at them all, and always had said we should maybe buy one. So I suggested I contacted him to see if he does commissions, and lo! he does. But only if he is inspired by the subject, he doesn't paint to order.

So, lucky us, he was willing to do a painting of our house. Very pleased, and Paul loves his birthday present.

ooh the drama - took injured Great Tit to hospital

George the serial killer caught a Great Tit this afternoon. I pull up from an errand picking up him indoor's commissioned picture of our house (more later) and he's rescued the bird, so we get the sat nav to take us the 45 minutes drive to Mrs Tiggywinkles, apparently the world's largest wildlife hospital.

Said bird makes a recovery in the car, biting him indoors, and pooping on his trousers. We hand him over, and are told we can call back in 10 days to see how it is doing. Smashing place.

Stopped off to eat some lunch at the Bugle Horn pub down the road from Mrs Tiggywinkles, and was very impressed. I had very decent duck with watercress, orange and chargrilled potatoes, and him had fishermans' pie. Would recommend, but I bet it is a 'mare on Sunday lunchtimes.

Then, a man came in to tell us he'd reversed his Mercedes into my car. So much for karma... but at least he did let us know. So one light is smashed and paintwork damaged. Hmm.