The Government has announced a new service, which will increase accessibility to the State Pension for those approaching retirement by making the application process available online, from the summer.

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Yorkshire is fast becoming the foodie capital of Britain, says a leading chef – and he’s going on national TV to prove it.

Tim Bilton is so sure of his county’s cuisine that he’s pitting it against all comers on the BBC2 series Great British Menu. (more…)

Twenty-three wines have been selected as this year’s Sauvignon Blanc de Loire Project Ambassadors. The wines, all from the 2009 vintage, were chosen by a panel of four UK wine professionals, led by Sam Harrop MW. The all-female jury comprised journalists Sarah Jane Evans MW and Sarah Ahmed, and buyers Christine Parkinson from Hakkasan and Cat Lomax from Direct Wines.

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Oz Clarke, the UK’s best known wine expert, teams up with Sir Cliff Richard to lead the country’s biggest online wine tasting.

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By Jude Palmer

A truly beautiful new book for all lovers of walking and the countryside –
It will be treasured as a source of pleasure and practical tips for years to come (more…)

Smokers are being urged to quit their habit or realise its danger, as statistics reveal that a third of those who die in accidental house fires, die in fires started by cigarettes.

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Obesity levels amongst pets are approaching the same problematic proportions as for people in the UK according new research from Sainsbury’s Finance. The research(1) conducted amongst vets has found that almost four in ten animals seen by vets are overweight, whereas Government studies suggest that more than half of all British adults are overweight (2). (more…)

Measures to improve skills and safety for new motorcycle riders, drivers of lorries and buses and new drivers who want to tow medium sized trailers were confirmed today by the Department for Transport (DfT) in conjunction with the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

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The first visitor centre in Scotland dedicated to chocolate, its origins, and the wondrous ways of turning cocoa into the most sought after and adored of all confections, has opened in Highland Perthshire at a beauty spot by the River Tay. (more…)

A new summer food event is being planned for June, The Richmond Food & Drink Festival. (more…)

New guide helps them to make sure their grandchildren are provided for.            

Couples with children whose relationships are breaking up are as likely to discuss separation issues with their parents as they are with professional advisers, including solicitors.  The influential role of grandparents is revealed today in a survey for Child Maintenance Options – the free and impartial information and support service.   (more…)

Sports Therapist Jane Franklin, a member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists was intrigued when she was asked to become part of a unique project to prove that an ordinary member of the public could become an Olympian, for the 2012 games in London. (more…)

Almost two million people still don’t have access to a current account
Banks are expected to be forced to offer all customers a basic current account at the very least in Wednesday’s Budget. (more…)

The Severnside Military Show this year will be held on the Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of June with a large gathering of armour, jeeps, trucks and enthusiasts. The event has moved from Kemble and will now be held at the Severnside Vintage showground in Cambridge, Glos. (more…)

Sign up for Marie Curie Cancer Care’s 15th Annual Bridge Tournament. You can help raise funds for essential home nursing care for terminally ill patients, simply by playing your favourite game. (more…)

by Louise Harwood

For the truth behind life on-set, look no further than the make-up artist’s trailer…

In 1916, a young cameraman, Ambrose March, was killed on the Western Front. His astonishing and beautiful shots of soldiers, living and dying, were testament to his talent and brought the horrors of war home for the first time. Fast-forward and now a major Hollywood movie is about to recreate his story… (more…)

A 19-year-old is leading the way in social care technology with a new service that offers peace of mind for relatives and carers for just £1.99 a week. (more…)

The UK’s leading guided walking holidays’ operator, Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, is offering an 11 day holiday in Basque country – straddling the borders of both France and Spain. (more…)

With over 3,000 kilometres, or 1,864 miles, of official footpaths on its doorstep, Leicestershire is just perfect for walkers.

Offering routes for every level, from short one-mile hop, skip and jump routes for the amateur rambler to the more adventurous 35-mile hike to suit the experienced trekker, Leicestershire boasts some of the UK’s friendliest walks through stunning open countryside. (more…)

The historic market town of Malton, North Yorkshire has established a reputation as a gourmet destination and the return of the Food Lovers Festival on Saturday, 22 May signals fine local food and drink will be the order of the day. (more…)

Shoppers should avoid big name stores when buying for the garden, according to new research from consumer champion Which? Gardening. (more…)

• Katori Hall’s THE MOUNTAINTOP wins Best New Play
• WICKED wins Audience Award for Most Popular Show
• SPRING AWAKENING and HELLO DOLLY! share musical titles
• Dame Maggie Smith and Michael Codron honoured (more…)

 - Historic artefacts, Tudor and modern beer combine for a new destination in Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site - (more…)

o Over 1,000,000 Brits live abroad and claim state pension
o Average pensioner abroad also wastes £300 a year in bank charges
o Tips for expat pensioners from currency experts HiFX (more…)

Credit reference agency first to make £2 Statutory Credit Report accessible online as Department for Business Innovation & Skills announces measures to improve people’s access to credit files (more…)

Peace follows the success of Libera’s best-selling albums Angel Voices, Free, Visions and New Dawn. Each CD has been characterised by the ensemble’s distinctive celestial, shimmering sound with mystical chords and ecstatic harmonies.  (more…)

Sir Terry Wogan, Amir Khan and ‘Corrie sisters’ amongst celebs that pledge to promote fire safety

Celebrities from across the music, showbiz and sporting worlds are backing the Government’s Fire Kills campaign with a “Push It Pledge”, to urge people to test their smoke alarm every week. (more…)

If you’re looking for the ultimate physical challenge, then what better way to put your stamina to the test than by conquering the world’s highest mountain! (more…)

This Easter the National Space Centre will be launching not one but three new experiences for visitors to enjoy, as well as unveiling some amazing new artefacts that chart our journey into space. (more…)

Snowball Oranges, One Mallorcan Winter By Peter Kerr is being re-released to mark the tenth anniversary of its original publication, (more…)

Latest research undertaken by PRS for Music, the organisation that collects royalties on behalf of composers and songwriters, today reveals that, ahead of St. Patricks Day, Dublin-based rock band, U2 is the Irish band the public believes is the most standout, taking top spot with an overwhelming sixty-eight percent. (more…)

Spring has sprung so why not get all the family together and enjoy some fun this Easter?
 
Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales we’ll be throwing ourselves into Easter celebrations; from Easter egg decorating and egg rolling to making bird boxes, there’s so much going on that no matter where you visit we promise it’ll be time well spent. (more…)

The Government today set out the expected charges for NEST (National Employment Savings Trust), which will give millions of people the opportunity to save to meet their aspirations for their retirement. (more…)

A novel of adventure and scandal based on a true story of a yacht that has played host to Nazis, British royalty, and spies

Struggling American writer, Alex Johnson, first sees the yacht Carina swinging on a mooring in Egypt. The once-luxury motor yacht is now over seventy years old, rather worse for wear and up for sale. From the moment he sees it, Alex becomes fascinated by the yacht and determined to find out her history.

As his research deepens, there are flashbacks to her previous owners: Göring in the 1940s; British Royalty in the 1950s; the romantic daredevil speedster of the 1960s; the ambitious, but ultimately discredited reporter of the 1970s; and, finally, the wealthy adventurous businessman and his American wife in the 1990s.

Part history, part adventure, part travelogue, this book is based on the true story of a ninety-foot yacht built in Hamburg, Germany, for Göring and his new wife Emmy in 1937, and its extraordinary and colourful history since World War II. Today the yacht is still afloat, on the Red Sea.

Valerie Langrish Warner is married with three grown-up children and has lived in Switzerland, Spain, the United States, Canada and France. This is her first novel.

29th April 2010
£16.99 Hardback

Circalit, the new social networking site for screenwriters that is making waves in the screenwriting community, today announced a partnership with The Script Factory, Europe’s premier script development organisation. (more…)

‘Believe’ – Deluxe Edition
UK Release Date:  29th March 2010

Following the success of Katherine Jenkins Top 10 best-selling album Believe, Warner Bros Records are pleased to announce the release of “Believe: Deluxe Edition” on Monday March 29th. (more…)

For the first time in modern chart history, a singer born not in the last century, but the one before, has stormed back into the Top 30. ‘Our Gracie - The Best of Gracie Fields’ has this week reached 29 in the UK Album Charts. When Gracie was born, in 1898, Queen Victoria was still on the throne and Gladstone and Bismarck were still alive.

This incredible return to the charts places the original pop star, Gracie Fields, alongside young song starlets Pixie Lott, Lily Allen and Rihanna, having overtaken Cheryl Cole. This extraordinary success is partly due to the sales of the cassette version, which has proved more popular than the digital download!

Gracie was the world’s most popular entertainer in the 1930s, but the phenomenal success of her recordings came before a UK record sales chart even existed! Now Dame Gracie Fields is making a remarkable comeback - 30 years after her death in 1979. The new wave of Nostalgia that recently propelled Dame Vera Lynn to the top of the charts looks set to bring renewed success to her fellow World War II entertainer.

This new collection not only presents all the favourites (‘Sally’, ‘Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye’, ‘The Biggest Aspidistra In the World’) but five ‘lost’ recordings drawn from Fairy Soap radio programmes broadcast on Radio Luxembourg in 1938. Almost magically these were twice saved for posterity, the master tapes first rescued from being scrapped by the record company, then again salvaged from a damp garage 72 years on. The album also contains the only CD version available of ‘Take Me To Your Heart Again (La vie en rose)’, the song with which, after her wartime ostracism, Gracie finally and completely won back her British public.

And especially for this disc, Jane Horrocks - the star of BBC4’s acclaimed drama, Gracie! - duets with her idol on Gracie’s hugely successful record ‘Now Is The Hour’.

Spokesperson for HMV, Gennaro Castaldo, commented:
“Whether it’s the current economic climate or a simple yearning for more optimistic times, you get a real sense that nostalgia has a growing appeal right now. Music fans are enjoying becoming re-acquainted with Gracie Fields, who was Britain’s first true pop star at a time when recorded music really began to take off among the wider public.”

Today’s chart position proves that there is nothing quite like Our Gracie.

“The King of Cool’s” greatest love songs out 1st March 2010 (more…)

DIRECTED BY
DAVID GILMORE
Like Father like Son… They’ll take you for a ride!

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New film raises awareness of hepatitis C

Rock ‘n’ roll antics of the rich and famous are being used to encourage those who might be at risk of hepatitis C to get tested and treated.  Hepatitis C is a virus that affects around 200,000 people in the UK, of whom about half could be unaware they have it. (more…)