Buy a book for Christmas and show them you care

Tags

365 words, A Word for Every Day of The Year, Adam Kay, Aled Jones, Andrew Ridgeley, Anne Glenconner, apron, bold, book, bottle of wine, but perfectly formed, camp, care, cash, celebrity, celebrity autobiography, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas classic, Christmas must-buy, cooking, cool, cutting, educate, empowering women, extravagant, faint hearted, festive season, film, first book, Fleabag: The Scriptures, fresh new pages, friend, George and Andrew, giving, glass of wine, go, gorgeous scented candle, great stocking filler, health, hearts, hospital success, ideas, illustrated, inspiration, inspire, intrigue, It’s Going to Hurt, Kate Young, knowing your worth, Lady Glenconner, Lady in Waiting, local bookshop, love, love it, lush, Me: Elton John Official Autobiography, mince pies, mouth-watering meals, music, pages, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, practical exercises, Princess Margaret, Raymond Briggs., read, relationships, royal life, seasonal, Secret Santa, self-care, Slay in Your Lane: The Journal, small, Small but mighty, smile, socks, Steven Poole, stunning, success, summer, The Little Library Year, The Nightshift Before Christmas, the person who has everything, The Snowman, tips, TV series, unwrap, Wham! fans, Wham! George & Me, worksheets, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené

You can buy them socks, chocolate or a bottle of wine, but there is something special about giving a book as a gift at Christmas.

Think fresh new pages, lots of ideas and inspiration as well as the chance for them to escape from life for just a little while.

We have some great books to share with you that should be stocked in your local bookshop and will make someone smile this Christmas when they unwrap it.

The Nightshift Before Christmas, Adam Kay
This Is Going to Hurt was Adam’s first book and his bold, poignant look at life inside a hospital was a massive success. His small, but perfectly formed follow-up, The Nightshift Before Christmas is a great stocking filler and while not for the faint hearted, it’s worth a read.

Slay in Your Lane: The Journal, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené
This stunning illustrated book is all about empowering women and with practical exercises, worksheets, and easy to follow tips for success, it’s a Christmas must-buy. It gives readers all they need to get ahead in relationships, looks at how to start a successful side hustle, knowing your worth at work comes into play as well as info on cash, self-care, and good health. Sound good, no?

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography
You might have seen the film, but we think the book is even better. This celebrity autobiography is cool, cutting, camp, extravagant and packed with disco-dancing, football club buying stories intended to make the reader laugh and cry. Go on, they will love it and might let you borrow it too.

The Little Library Year, Kate Young
Food and books, what’s not to like? This gorgeous book takes recipes onto a whole new level as Kate shares seasonal, mouth-watering meals and treats that will make the reader want to put on an apron on and start cooking right away. Oh, and summer might seem a long time away, but she knows how to pack a picnic basket!

Fleabag: The Scriptures, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
If they loved the TV series, they will love this book. We couldn’t put it down and they won’t be able to either. Perfect for reading with a glass of wine, with a gorgeous scented candle burning, so you might want to buy those too?

A Word for Every Day of The Year, Steven Poole
Small but mighty – this is the book for the person who has everything. As the name suggests, inside the cover are 365 words to educate, intrigue and inspire. We will warn you, if you start to read, you won’t want to stop until the end so maybe buy two copies and keep one for yourself.

The Snowman, Raymond Briggs
We can’t leave the kids out, so why not introduce them to this Christmas classic? Yes, you can watch the film on TV and sing along with Aled Jones, but turning the pages of The Snowman is as much a part of the festive season as Secret Santa and mince pies. Go up in your mum’s loft and you never know, you might find an original gathering dust.

Lady in Waiting, Anne Glenconner
Glitz, glamour and drama, no we aren’t talking about the office party but this beauty of a book! Lady Glenconner was Princess Margaret’s lifelong friend and this is a lush, compelling read all about them and a real look at royal life. The rich and posh – it’s all here on these pages to read and we think it’s worth doing exactly that.

Wham! George & Me, Andrew Ridgeley
Before we go, go – sorry, not sorry! This is an emotional read and Wham! fans may well need to get their tissues ready when they dive into this belter of a book. George and Andrew might have met in 1975, but their music lives on in our hearts today, thank goodness.

Got a book you love, let us know, we are ready and waiting to hear from you.

Team Pure Beauty

The perfect BBQ

Tags

apron, BBQ, beef tomatoes, butchers, chicken, Chops, chutney, cook, corn on the cob, courgettes, couscous, cucumber, Frech bread, green salad, grill, hydration, lemon wedges, lumps, nibbles, olives, organic, oven, pasta, pasts, pitta, recipe, recipes, sausages, sides, summer, supermarket, tomoatoes, tongs, twist, well-seasoned

Whilst the weather might not be playing ball, we are still certainly making the most of the summer days and longer, lighter nights.

Wearing an extra jumper, putting an umbrella in your bag and having a weather app on your phone are all ways you can be prepared for whatever the great British weather throws at you.

Another summer winning is being sure are ready for a BBQ at the drop of the hat – even if you end up wearing it.

First, things first, get your kit right. The real essentials are an apron, oven gloves (heavy duty), good quality (not plastic) fish slice, foil and of course a pair of tongs so you reduce the chance of losing those tasty burgers in the ashes.

It is essential to place your BBQ on a flat even level and keep it away from bushes and tress to reduce fire hazards. On a health and safety note, you might want to have a bucket of water close to hand – just in case.

Get the right charcoal. It is really easy to pick up a bag of bricks at the supermarket, but if you want your food to taste great, you need to choice your fuel carefully. Lumpwood charcoal is an excellent choice. If you want to go pro and really impress your guests, chicory wood chips add amazing flavour and a professional twist.

If you want to achieve the perfect BBQ, you have to be patient. The secret is waiting for the flames to die down and for the coals to be grey and glowing. Once you have got to this point, you then need to ensure you control the temperature to ensure your food is well cooked.

What to cook is next on the list.

Keep it fresh, healthy and where you can, organic. Yes you can go to the freezer section of the supermarket and go for those tempting BOGOF offers, but they don’t really make the perfect BBQ cut.

If you have the time, go for homemade burgers. These are super-easy to make and taste phenomenal. Get some fresh, organic minced beef, mix with a little salt and pepper, shape into patties and get them on the grill. Cook them all the way through, serve in focaccia or pitta and those natural flavours will really stand out.

Chops, chicken and sausages are other BBQ favourites as are jacket potatoes! Local butchers stock an outstanding selection of organic, well-seasoned BBQ options and will be happy to talk about how best to cook them and even what wine works well! You can also look at vegetable kebabs using peppers, courgettes and beef tomatoes with corn on the cob.

Put out nibbles of course but go for healthy sides if you can. Make up a crisp, fresh green salad with olives, tomatoes and spinach. Homemade potato salad and coleslaw are always winners. Couscous and pasta are popular choices as is chunky French bread and of course, classic burger buns. Ketchup, mayo and mustard, well they go without saying, and chutney is a pretty good addition too.

We know people love a pint or glass of wine at a BBQ but also offer jugs of iced water with lemon wedges and cucumber to maintain hydration levels.

Next week we will be looking at some great, easy to make BBQ recipes we know you are going to love.