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January 31, 2012

Contemporary Accessories For Beer-Aficionados

Beer has always been a safe, thirst-quenching drink for Northern Europeans. Southern Europeans could grow grapes in their warmer climate and went down that path instead. The reason for drinking beer or wine rather than water, tea or coffee was easy.

Water was normally contaminated with urine and faeces and people did not know that boiling it cleansed it and beer and wine were made with boiled water and it would keep without going foul, because of the alcohol in it. Tea and coffee were either unknown or too expensive.

These regional tendencies carry on to this day although they stem back thousands of years. The lines have blurred with international travel and trade, but they are still obvious to see.

I now live in Asia, where people drink as much| as they do anywhere else in the world, but every time I go for a beer, guaranteed, 100% guaranteed, someone, an Asian, will say: “White men love their beer, don;t they”.

This is not meant as a criticism, it is a statement of disbelief. Where I live Asians drink a local whiskey. They have all heard about white men drinking beer, but in the countryside, where I live, most people have never seen personally.

Having said that, advertising is making beer gain ground each year particularly among the young and here are a couple of new accessories to make your beer-drinking experience more enjoyable.

The first is a collapsible beer glass, also known as the port-a-pint. This ‘glass’ collapses to fit in your pocket, so that if you are ever stuck for a clean glass on your travels you have your own.

It always raises a smile and is a great conversation starter in any country you happen to be. The port-a-glass comes in a carry case to keep it clean.

How about if you require both hands while you are holding a beer but are not close to a table? The floor is frequently not safe, so you have to neck your beer and not savour it. What if you could wear something about your waist like a kangaroo pouch, but which would hold your beer safe? You can now, if you have a ‘Hoodle’.

How about a belt for beer imbibers? You’ve seen chippies with hammers and other tools hanging off their waist? Well, this is comparable. The Beer Belt will hold six tins or bottles, will take an opener and has a zippered pouch for a credit card and a cell phone, in case you run out some way from replenishments.

Alternatively, you could get a Radio Controlled Beer Cooler. The cooler can hold 12 bottles or tins and can be called from up to 30 feet away. You click a button and have it come to you and all the while, the beer remains cool. Fantastic for sitting in the backyard, eh?

If you like a beer you will love any of these unusual presents for beer drinking aficionados. Great gifts for your Dad or boozy old uncle as well. If you would like to know more search the Net.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is presently involved with Real Ale in Wales. If you are interested in Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

June 13, 2011

Diet Secrets Of The Celebrities

The stars always look so fabulous, do they not? Both sorts of stars do. Celebrities too. OK, we do not see them while they arise in the morning or with a bad hangover, but if we do see them, they always look at the peek of physical fitness and dressed in perfectly fitting clothes. It is their work not just to act and learn their lines but to look good too.

most if not all of them have personal fitness coaches, dietitians and even chefs in order to help them tackle the flab, so it is not really so difficult for them as it is for us, but the penalty for gaining weight is more severe, they might not be offered much more work, which would mean falling out of the limelight and that would be a serious matter for any celebrity.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most stars have their own favourite tips for staying on top of the weight problem that faces most individuals every day of their lives. Here are seven celebrities’ pointers on how they accomplish it.

Jennifer Aniston: follows the 40:30:30 procedure of counting sorts of foodstuffs. That is:

40% of what she eats has to be slow-burning, low glycaemic foods like beans, root vegetables (like swede and potatoes), dark-green leaves (like cabbage) and fruit (such as bananas).

30% of what she eats has to be lean-to-fatless protein such as skinless chicken, tofu, turkey, ostrich, veal, fish and low fat dairy products.

30% of what she eats should contain essential fatty acids such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Kate Hudson; placed on 60 pounds during her pregnancy but was determined to lose it especially after the media was so cruel to her about her size. She did it in four months by concentrating on eating only high protein, but small meals often and training rigorously. This sounds a lot like the Atkins diet, but it worked for her and now she looks better than ever.

Oprah Winfrey: applies a similar plan to Kate Hudson’s. She works out at least five days a week and attempts to eat mostly fish, nuts, fruit, beans, seeds, chicken and vegetables. She is particularly cautious to avoid, but not totally cut out, white sugar and white flour and last but not least, she does not eat after 19:00 hours.

Gwyneth Paltrow: has a routine that is similar again. She too avoids white sugar and flour, but follows a macrobiotic diet of vegetables, brown rice and very lean meat and fish. She does not consume any dairy produce at all and does yoga each day.

Madonna: also does yoga every day and follows a macrobiotic diet of organic vegetables, brown rice and fatless protein. She has given up junk food entirely.

Claudia Schiffer: will eat only fruit before midday and after noon she adds salad and steamed vegetables to her diet, She drinks lots of tomato juice and herbal tea and is especially fond of black grapes.

Christie Brinkley: is a strict vegetarian, who has also eliminated all forms of junk food from her diet. She snacks on sweet potatoes and if she puts on a few pounds, she goes on a crash diet of fruit juices.

Do not forget that these celebrities have paid and almost certainly still are paying thousands of dollars for this advice, so if one of these outline diets appeals to you, do some more research and try it out free of charge. It works for them as you can clearly see.

If you would like to read more about Welsh food, food in general or the essentials for a healthy diet in particular, just visit Traditional Welsh Recipes

February 24, 2011

The Land Of Song – Wales

Wales has a long history of music and has been called the ‘land of song’ since at least the Nineteenth Century. This reference to Wales as the land of song, almost certainly comes from the enthusiastic singing in Welsh churches and at Welsh sports meetings, especially at rugby matches. However, Wales’ links with music go much further back than that.

Wales has a tradition of folk music which is closely linked with Scottish and Irish folk music. There are several kinds of musical gathering that are similar to those in other Celtic countries in the United Kingdom. For instance there is the twmpath (folk dance session), g?yl werin (folk festival) and noson lawen (a traditional party similar to the Gaelic “C?ilidh”).

Modern Welsh folk musicians have often resurrected traditions which had been suppressed or forgotten, and have competed with imported and native rock and pop trends. This has been particularly the case since the 1990’s.

Despite contemporary Welsh trends in music, Wales will always be connected with Male Voice Choirs such as the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Treorchy Male Voice Choir which benefit from world wide fame.

These choirs were frequently made up of workers from one village or one coal mine and so it was quite natural for men to sing when one town played against another, particularly when that game was Wales’ national sport of rugby. The first time the Welsh National Anthem, ‘Yr Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ (‘The Old Country of my Fathers’, usually translated as ‘Land of My Fathers’), was sung at an International sporting event was in 1905

Along side the choirs, brass bands sprang up in villages, working men’s clubs, churches and at work particularly in South Wales where brass bands are still very popular. In fact, the Cory Band is one of the most best brass bands in the world.

There were quite a few world famous Welsh singers in the Twentieth Century and some of them are still singing to jam-packed audiences worldwide. Ivor Novello was one of the first who became famous during the First World War as a singer songwriter. Then there was Geraint Evans and Delme Bryn-Jones during the Second World War.

After that, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey began their singing careers in the 1950’s and are still singing fifty years later. There were also popular bands during the Seventies and Eighties such as Man and Budgie and solo singers such as Shakin’ Stevens, nnie Tyler and John Cale (Velvet Underground).

In more recent times, we have seen the Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; the latter two bands being famous for lots of their songs’ lyrics being in Welsh.

There have always been operatic singers too such as Rebecca Evans, Aled Jones, Bryn Tervel and Charlotte Church. Cardiff holds the ‘Singer of the World’ competition and the Wales also has its very own Eisteddfod, where Pavarotti sang for years. It was because of Wales tradition as a nation of singers that Paul Robeson sang in Wales in the Fifties

If you are interested in a Welsh gold wedding ring, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

February 21, 2011

Welsh Music Traditions

Wales has a long tradition of music and has been known as the ‘land of song’ since at least the Nineteenth Century. This reference to Wales as the land of song, almost certainly comes from the enthusiastic singing in Welsh churches and at Welsh sports meetings, particularly at rugby matches. However, Wales’ links with music go much further back than that.

Wales has a tradition of folk music which is closely linked with Scottish and Irish folk music. There are several forms of musical gathering that are comparable to those in other Celtic countries in the United Kingdom. For instance there is the twmpath (folk dance session), g?yl werin (folk festival) and noson lawen (a traditional party comparable to the Gaelic “C?ilidh”).

Modern Welsh folk musicians have often resurrected traditions which had been suppressed or forgotten, but have competed with imported and native rock and pop trends. This has been especially true since the 1990’s.

Despite modern Welsh trends in music, Wales will always be connected with Male Voice Choirs such as the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Treorchy Male Voice Choir which enjoy world wide fame.

These choirs were frequently made up of workers from one village or one coal mine and so it was quite natural for men to sing when one town played against another, especially if that game was Wales’ national sport of rugby. The first time the Welsh National Anthem, ‘Yr Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ (‘The Old Country of my Fathers’, normally translated as ‘Land of My Fathers’), was sung at an International sporting event was in 1905

Along side the choirs, brass bands developed in villages, working men’s associations, churches and at work particularly in South Wales where brass bands are still very popular. In fact, the Cory Band is one of the most successful brass bands in the world.

There were more than a few world famous Welsh singers in the Twentieth Century and some of them are still singing to packed audiences worldwide. Ivor Novello was one of the first who became well-known during the First World War as a singer songwriter. Then there was Geraint Evans and Delme Bryn-Jones during the Second World War.

After that, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey started their singing careers in the 1950’s and are still singing fifty years later. There were also popular bands in the Seventies and Eighties such as Man and Budgie and solo singers such as Shakin’ Stevens, nnie Tyler and John Cale (Velvet Underground).

In more recent times, we have seen the Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; the last two bands being famous for many their songs’ words being in Welsh.

There have always been operatic singers too such as Rebecca Evans, Aled Jones, Bryn Tervel and Charlotte Church. Cardiff holds the ‘Singer of the World’ competition and the Wales also has its very own Eisteddfod, where Pavarotti performed for years. It was because of Wales tradition as a nation of singers that Paul Robeson visited Wales in the Fifties

Owen Jones,the author of this article,writes on a variety of topics,but is now involved with Welsh Music. If you would like to know more,please visit our website at Welsh Music.

November 28, 2010

Boarding Dogs In Kennels

Are you the type of dog owner who likes to take your companion with you wherever you go? If you are then you know that that there are times when you can do this, but there are also times when you can not, for whatever reason.

On the occasions when that happens, you will usually need to find a boarding kennels that will take care of your dog while you are away.

A vacation is a time for relaxing, so you do not want to be worrying about your dog, if you can help it. Within your own country, it is not usually a big problem, but if you go abroad, then taking your dog can be more trouble than it is worth. Not only for you, but for your doggy friend too.

If you can not board your dog with someone it knows, like a member of your family or a neighbour, then the only alternative is a boarding kennels.

I have put my dog in a bad kennel once and I learned a few lessons from that. I placed my Becky in a kennel in a respectable village just outside our town. I was happy with what I saw and the sales pitch of the owner, so I went to Spain, thinking that all was okay for both of us. I had a great holiday and went straight to the kennels from the airport on my return, although I had told them a fortnight before that I would pick Becky up the day after my arrival. I just could not wait to see her.

I went to the kennels and they were surprised to see me. Of course, I was a day early. They said that Becky was ‘resting’ and that it would be better to ‘come back tomorrow’. No way! So they took me to see her. I nearly cried. She was sitting in a good sized cage, but on newspaper sodden with pee.

She saw me and just looked down at her paws. I called her name again, but she did not want to know. I paid the bill and put her in the car on the front passenger seat where she always sat. She just looked out the window and showed no interest in me at all.

It took three days before she would speak to me again! The moral of this story is not to be impressed by big adverts or impressive locations as I was. Ask your dog-owning friends, write into the local paper inviting recommendations, phone the local animal protection society or the kennel club or look on the Internet.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

November 3, 2010

Coastal Cottages

Seaside holidays are extremely popular which is why every year, millions of tourists head for seaside beaches. Perhaps you like coastal holidays too. seaside holidays are fabulous, but that can be the problem too, because it frequently means overcrowding, queuing, rubbish and noise. Have you ever thought about renting your own private coastal cottage? Many only dream about it, but it is not that difficult or costly to arrange actually.

One point to bear in mind is that, public beaches are well-known and that is why they get too busy. However, private coastal cottages are often secluded or on private beaches, which makes for a much quieter holiday. Often, local people living only miles from the cottage do not know that they are there. In spite of this, most coastal cottages do not cost a fortune to rent.

These coastal cottages are available in many countries around the world. They are certainly very popular in Britain, Europe and the United States. The level of privacy and the amenities available will depend on where you go. A coastal cottage in Wales will give you a very different holiday than a coastal cottage in southern France or Coney Island.

Many coastal cottages are situated near a popular holiday destination. Not right in the middle of the venue, but normally a few miles or less outside, so that you can easily drive in or even walk in, if you want some livelier entertainment. Classic coastal cottage leisure activities include swimming, sailing, fishing and walking.

Of course, one of the important considerations when renting a cottage is the rent itself. Now the funny thing is that is not nearly such a big concern as you might think it would be. The macro location is more important than the micro location. So, Wales might be cheaper than the south of France, but within Wales itself, there is not a huge variation in price, when you equate like with like. Clearly, a five-bedroomed coastal cottage will be more expensive than a three-bedroomed one.

Another situation worth looking into is the ownership of the coastal cottage. Is it owned by a private individual who lives near-by or is it owned by a large company. Is the cottage a genuine, original cottage or is it a new, mock cottage building? If it is old, is it connected with anyone famous or a famous event? Knowing these facts can all enhance your enjoyment.

Make sure that you are given some maps or drawings so that you can find the spot easily. Particularly if you are going to the cottage in the evening or in the dark. Things often look considerably different at night than in the daylight, and if your chosen cottage is in a secluded spot, there may not be any street lighting

Finally, get hold of some pictures of inside and outside the coastal cottage you ultimately decide on and then book it early, because the best coastal cottages go earlier and earlier every year as this form of vacationing becomes ever more popular.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

October 25, 2010

Wedding Favours

There are many presents that can be given for wedding favours, after all the point of wedding favours is to show your guests that you are grateful for them coming to your wedding and expressing their support for your wedding. Therefore, you ought to really try to find wedding favors, that your guests will like.

Of course, the gift that most appeals to your guests, may not be one you would choose for yourself, but you are getting the wedding favours for your guests, not yourself. If you think about it, you should be able to come up with something that everyone will like and that you are proud to give. In order to help you get the job done, we will offer you a few tips below.

Love spoons are a prevalent souvenir at Welsh and other Celtic weddings. A love spoon was a wooden spoon carved by a love sick man for the woman he cherished. She would then either take or reject the love spoon, although she was not bound by the acceptance of the spoon. Miniature copies are often used as wedding favours. They can be carved with dates and names and symbols of love such as a hearts, bells, vines, key holes, anchors and knots.

Wedding favours can also be suitable to eat. There are a pile of choices open for couples who wish to give their guests some kind of edible favour. You can have many items personalized these days. Some firms specialize in personalized presents, which can also be given as wedding favours. Some examples of edible, personalized wedding favours might be: chocolate bars, mints, biscuits or gourmet chocolates. The box or wrapping could bear your photo or / and your names and the date.

Miniature wedding cakes are another concept for edible wedding favours. Small wedding cakes have a short shelf life so they will have to include a warning, which will probably be put on the wrapper automatically, but it is worth checking.

A half / quarter or small bottle of wine or other drink would also be quite easy to arrange as wine bottle labels can be bought in any home brew shop.

Picture frames are frequent wedding favors. You could give a picture frame and follow it up with a photo of the beneficiary of the frame enjoying your wedding reception. This might be costly and tricky to set up as you will have to keep records of who has been photographed and who has not. It would be dreadful to miss someone out, would it not? You will probably also need a professional photographer or at least a dedicated amateur.

Wedding favours can be anything really, but I think that they are best if they are useful. We gave very atypical bottle-openers away at our wedding. They had a design of a couple getting married, our names and the date. They also had a magnet in them to catch the bottle top as it came off. I have seen dozens of our bottle-openers stuck on our guests’ fridges over the years and the wedding was three years ago.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Welsh love spoons, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

October 13, 2010

How To Manage A Wedding Car Company

Have you ever thought about setting up a wedding car company? Although it can be demanding, because you do not want to let anybody down on their big day, it is also fascinating and exciting.

Some of the benefits are that you get to own beautiful vehicles – maybe a Rolls Royce or a Bentley and they are tax-deductible; you meet new people under happy circumstances and you are in the position to help them have a perfect wedding day.

It is a very demanding industry, because you always have to bear in mind the desires of your clients and think about how you can realize and expand their’ wishes. That is difficult enough, but you also have to stay competitive. I hope that the following tips will be helpful.

1] Take care of the conditions under which you keep your vehicles. If you can afford to garage them, they will not collect dust and bird droppings so the paintwork will look better for longer. Do not have a gravel drive, because of possible scratching to the coachwork of the cars.

2] Get one or two really lovely cars. You will need to do a bit of research to find out what couples in your area like, but as a rule of thumb a Rolls Royce or a Bentley are sure bets. Or maybe a stretch limousine. Old vehicles go down well too. Build up your fleet of cars step by step but increasingly. Offer your clients as much choice as you can realistically afford to do.

Many wedding couples will not only need the wedding car, but also vehicles for the guests. Many of them want limousines or old cars for their wedding day. But a lot of other vehicles are required for the guests. Be flexible and agree to bedeck the vehicles according to the couple’s wishes with flowers and ribbons.

2] Employ good, compassionate personnel. A fully trained chauffeur is a necessity, but a military style driver can add to your firm’s image.

3] It is a good idea to offer different packages or elements that a couple can use to build a package. So, you could offer transport from the bride’s house to the church as one element. From the church to the restaurant as another element and from there to the chosen hotel, the airport or the railway station, as another element.

4] Make sure that your clients know exactly how long they have exclusive use of the cars for. This is useful for them, so that they know precisely how long they have to take photos, eat or chat.

Transportation plays a huge and fundamental part in any wedding day celebrations. In fact, poorly timed or scruffy transportation can ruin a wedding day. If you let that happen, your firm’s standing will suffer badly, particularly in a town or village. You will need a high sense of responsibility; reliable, well-trained, sympathetic staff and high quality cars that look the part. White wedding cars are popular, but other colours are acceptable, especially for the guests.

If you are interested in a Welsh gold wedding ring, or Wales in general, go to our web site at Welsh Products Online

October 8, 2010

Decorating A Wedding Cake

Nearly every family or social event involves the eating of food and the imbibing or drinks in the celebration. Consider Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings. In this article, I would like to talk about that centre piece of the wedding reception: the wedding cake.

The guests come to eat, drink and be merry and the bride’s parents always put a great deal of work into the organization of the wedding reception. The wedding cake is the focal point of the top table and the whole function in general. The wedding cake has traditional significance and it is often considered bad luck not to have a slice of the wedding cake.

There are specific rules for the timing of the cutting of the wedding cake that have become part of tradition. For example, if the wedding reception takes place at lunch or dinner, it is traditional to cut the wedding cake just before the sweet is served.

However, if the reception is to take place in the late afternoon or early evening, the cake is served as soon as the guests arrive. In some traditions the bride and groom cut and eat the first slice together as a symbol of their vows to love, honour and obey each other. The remainder of the cake is generally cut by one of the assistants, like the maid of honour or a family relative.

It can be quite difficult to select the wedding cake. Traditionally, people go for a white cake with white icing for weddings, however these days, people are becoming more adventurous and are picking more exotic flavours and colours.

Some people prefer to have a wedding cake which has different flavours on each tier. While white icing is still the overwhelming favourite, people do have other colours like pink and yellow. Chocolate and mocha are also popular. These days you can have what you like. It is your day, after all.

Everybody likes the wedding reception. It is the most well-liked part of the wedding day and everyone looks forward to seeing the cake cut and sharing it with the bride and groom.

If you are considering becoming a cake decorator, you have a couple of options to go about it. You could buy a book or a course or get a video in order to teach yourself how to decorate cakes from the plain to the ornate. You could also go to a night school class to learn the art or cake decoration.

Without a doubt, the very best way to learn cake decorating is to take a course. DVD’s, videos, and books are all well and good, but you cannot converse with them or ask questions. If you take a class for three months or more you will learn more and get a more profound understanding of the art of cake decoration. You will learn how to put real emotion into the decoration of the cake and you will be able to translate the wedding couple’s desires into a cake that you and they can be proud of.

If you are interested in a Welsh gold wedding ring, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

August 21, 2010

The Ancient History of Barry, South Wales: Part Two

Barry Castle was owned by William de Barri in the twelfth century, but it was raized to the ground by Llewellyn Bren in 1316. Many believe that the Cavaliers rebuilt and that the Roundheads destroyed it again. Whatever is true, it was never rebuilt again after that.

The Norman invaders were thoroughly detested by the local people and they had to build large mansions to defend themselves from frequent assaults on them by the people of the valleys and the mountains. During the reign of Henry III, there were 12 castles within six miles of Barry. In Glamorgan, there were 30 castles and in South Wales as a whole there were 150 !

Porthkerry and the church lying to its west is said to have taken its name from Ceri, who is said to have founded a port, ie ‘Port Ceri’. People say that Ceri ap Caid, the King of Essyllwg, resided in Porthkerry before the Christian era and that his bard, Corvinor, was the first to have built a ship with sails and a rudder for the race of Cymru. Some believe that Ceri was a nephew or grandson of Caractacus (Caradog) and that he assumed the leadership of the government in South Wales when Caractacus was sent to Rome.

John Wesley preached in the Porthkerry Church and sometimes outside in the churchyard too between 1741 and 1743. Today, there are two very old churches still in use in Barry: St. Cadocs Church in Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan Church in Merthyr Dyfan. One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Cadoxton was the largest village in the Barry area: thus, in 1844 the Parliamentary register contained 25 names: 20 from Cadoxton and five from Barry. The one church was dedicated to St. Cadoc, who had been accustomed to spend Lent on Flat Holm and Barry Island. The village (Cadoc’s Town)took its name from the church, which was founded in 800 AD.

Merthyr Dyfan Church, situated in the north of Barry, was founded in 600 AD and the name means Dyfan The Martyr. There were two saints of this name: one journeyed to Barry to convert the inhabitants to Christianity; the second lived in the Sixth Century and was the son of a Welsh chieftain. His sister was also martyred and the town of Merthyr Tydfil is named after her.

The Christian faith grew exponentially in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the middle of the 2nd. Century, Llewrwg, Prince of Siluria, became the first king, anywhere in the world of all time, to be baptized into the Christian faith. He sent to Rome for more Chritian teachers and was sent Dyfan and Fagan. The former was martyred near the site of the church and the latter was canonized. St. Fagan’s just outside Cardiff was named after him.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, visit our website at Welsh Products Online

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