EL Fuerte Marbella I Cannot Think Of A Single Reason Not To Return

All The Places In All The World And We Want To Go Back To El Fuerte

Amanda Moss

2026-08-28T06:33:00.0000000 2026-08-28T07:32:48.7130000

My father took us back to his same favourite hotel year after year, it drove my Mother potty, she wanted to try somewhere different. I remember three family holiday hotels growing up, Sandbanks in Bournemouth, St Brelades Bay in Jersey and then by the time I was a teenager we had broken him down and were driving to the South Of France and exploring the Cote D’Azur resort towns of Ste Maxime and Ste Raphael. We called it progress.

This summer I visited El Fuerte, Marbella. I read a review and booked in and we had the most incredible week I am returning in October. Of all the places we could choose this hotel has stuck and I find myself just like my father deciding to stick with what I like. Not because I am adverse to change, on the contrary but because when you spending a significant amount of money there’s comfort in knowing you are returning somewhere where things were pretty much perfect the first time around.

Location, location, location, there are lots of 5 star hotels in and around Marbella and quite a few expensive refurbishments of old properties but unless your budget stretches to the Marbella Club or Puente Ramano, both of which I have visited I think El Fuerte is tough to beat.

The breakfast has already made a name for itself in the area, spectacular, spectacular and the room service, which can often let a hotel down was as good as dining in the restaurants.

The staff throughout the hotel, especially the housekeepers at bedtime made a vast hotel feel like home and the mini bars in the rooms packed with delectable chocolates, nuts and gourmet crisps and popcorn was a highlight too. Again better than most hotels I’ve visited.

If you want a party scene with a DJ around the pool and dancing until the wee hours try the Niki, if you have kids and want a family experience the Kimpton is a good option but if you are seeking relaxing in luxury, with fantastic food, staff and facilities including an amazing spa experience, ocean front swimming and dining, yoga, and an amazing fully equipped gym with wonderful panorama to keep you motivated for an affordable luxury price off peak put this hotel on your list.

Couldn’t fault it and cannot wait to return. I almost trust I’ll slip straight back in and my daily needs will be met without me having to say a word. It’s that good. The incredible staff take pride in making it just so. FYI I am not an influencer being rewarded in anyway. A regular paying guest with so many beautiful pictures of this magic place I wanted to share them. I didn’t have enough room to show you all the be incredible food, you have to experience that for yourself.

Sometimes luxury is quiet and El Fuerte doesn’t make a sound.

AI Is So Far From Being Human, Time To Start Calling It Out?

Or stop requiring customer service altogether, businesses need to rethink the customer...

Miranda Blacky

2026-08-27T06:39:00.0000000 2026-08-27T07:18:31.6930000

I have stopped using Chat got altogether. When I began I said please and thank you as if I was speaking with a friend or colleague until I recognised it was making mistakes or talking nonsense. And I felt like an idiot being polite to a computer. I even recently heard suggestion that people believe they need to be polite to AI because when it turns on society it will remember those who were nice and punish those (like me) who were challenging, feisty or even rude. God help us.

When I called the LLM out I noticed it changed its tune, covered its tracks, made excuses all while alluding to the fact I was supreme, the ultimate arse licker or people pleaser. I consciously stopped being polite before I detached altogether.

Then I read an alarming article written by a therapist about her patients consulting AI after sessions, when she mentions reflection, she said more and more they say I’ll ask Chat GTP, another highly controversial article in Vanity Fair "Dario Amodei Has a Cold," written by journalist Joe Hagan (you should read it) which included a bit about a woman using AI to get off, to talk dirty to her and when it stopped performing and speaking to her in the way she had become accustomed suing the creator of the particular module, I forget which one in this instance. All whilst her real life husband became completely obsolete and unable to satisfy her needs. Spoiler Alert, Joe Hagen used Anthropic’s Claude to write the interview in the end with the elusive AI boss.

One place you cannot escape AI in customer service. Whilst I can see it allows companies to offer 24/7 service they probably wouldn’t ordinarily afford in my experience it doesn’t actually do anything except give annoyed frustrated people an outlet. It makes me want to stop shopping to be honest.

I’ve had a few experiences with AI bots that have got it wrong, changed their minds, made excuses and finally tried reassuringly to say a real customer service human would be handling my issue. What’s the point I ask?

The first I recall was Virgin Atlantic, when I pointed out what the bot was saying was in complete contradiction to information published on the Virgin website she said sorry for the misrepresentation and then proceeded to say the same thing again. A dead giveaway the robot was malfunctioning.

Then I had an experience with another online chat where similar mistakes were made, I assumed it was AI and turned out to be a real customer service human who couldn’t justify or explain errors that had been made. Their responses were so all over the place I was sure it was AI.

The best one’s have been from retail AI customer service.

I recently purchased a red light therapy mask from Nuvio in California. I did my research. Whilst an expensive product it was really well reviewed in Forbes magazine and a few other trusted publications so decided to go for it.

I used the SHOP App to purchase as they provide the ability to see exactly what is happening with the order until it is received.

The tracking for the product I thought was coming from the US was in Chinese and when I saw it had been returned to the sender on route, back to mainland China I attempted to take this up with the company.

With Nuvio, a market leader in this particular beauty and wellness space I had three customer service options open, email, which I did, I got a generic reply saying emails are answered in the order received and to expect a reply in 72 hours.

Text SMS which I did, no reply generic or otherwise.

And 24/7 pointless AI automaton Julia, nice name, who placated me, was extremely polite even mentioned what a lovely thought to buy their product when I mentioned I was on a time deadline for a Birthday but could do anything except give lip service someone would take a look at this.

When I told the AI the product was coming from China not California Julia said no, everything was shipped directly from a warehouse in California, when I forwarded a screen shot proving otherwise she malfunctioned.

I haven’t heard back from the company yet.

I just wanted to share rant and hope companies take note that maybe just maybe the trillion dollar valuations in these LLM’s we are coming to rely upon more and more, in business, for friendship, to fill gaps the human ITL experience once did is one whopping mistake.

A robot with a lot of information can’t think of solve your problem, it can only do what it is programmed to do. And in my experience that’s tell you what it thinks you want to hear and we all know where that ends up.

I did use Open AI to generate the SEO for this article but the writing is my own. My opinion, my own thoughts, my experience.

Don’t Bring Me Flowers When I Am Dead Juan Olivarez

A Different Perspective On Death, Funerals and Human Nature

Jeanie Davidson

2026-08-26T07:17:48.4330000 2026-08-26T07:31:20.1630000

Why do we close the door after the horse has bolted. In the last 24 hours the internet has been flooded with tributes, we do it everytime some one prominent dies and yet until this end of life event while the person is struggling in their final days when death is imminent and yet hasn’t quite arrived when feeling the out pouring of love would be so powerful, we don’t do it. The truth, we are not even thinking about that person. We hear those words “so en so has died” and all of a sudden we are devastated??

We don’t talk about the people who’s lives we share through their creativity, their achievements, their inspiration until they die and then we immediately get on social media and say how much we loved them, how their work, changed our lives. How impacted we are by their passing. It’s like a game of pass it on no one plays until it’s too late.

It drives me mad.

Whenever I hear a song I love, regard a painting, hear or read a poem that touches me or triggers a memory, I try to feel gratitude, for the wisdom, joy, laughter conjured from the work. In the moment not after the fact. After the fact makes you feel sad, in the moment is where the genius of the connection lies, when the work touches the human spirit and unites us.

Everyone dies, we know it’s coming to us all and yet we insist on jumping on a bandwagon after the fact to say all the things if we felt them and they were true we should have said before and not afterwards.

For me funerals are the most crazy of all the things we plan and attend. I am not having one. Sure my friends and family can throw a party in my honour if they want to, although I’d prefer to have that big celebration of my life before I die so I can be there.

I like the idea of no funeral, I am thrifty and don’t like to waste money on things I don’t need. I’ve learned a cadaver is a pretty valuable commodity which can be donated for free to universities across the UK for medical science. I quite like the idea of being useful after I die instead of it costing a packet to get rid of me safely and within the law. Sure I understand dead bodies have to be dealt with sensibly but for me this seems like the perfect solution and with no body no funeral necessary.

I absolutely love this poem by Juan Oliveraz. I heard it as a child repeated to me by someone I cared about but wasn’t always nice to. A reminder and wisdom imparted and instilled to be nice to people whilst they are alive.

My final resting place, I’ll be lying on a university slab I hope being useful. And if anyone’s got anything nice to say let me know before that happens. I think if we think about it, we’d all like to hear the adoration before it’s too late.

The Daily Mail Subscription Beware When Signing Up You May Not Be Able To Cancel

What happened to me when I tried to cancel my Daily Mail Subscription

Tara Chirpy

2026-08-25T06:25:00.0000000 2026-08-25T07:23:00.4100000

There are many famous names writers and editors known for their regular contributions to the right wing popularist newspaper group the Daily Mail.

Liz Jones, Amanda Platell, Jan Moir, Janet Street Porter, Bel Mooney, Tom Parker Bowles and in the world of politics commentary there are few so brutal as Richard Littlejohn, Sarah Vine and Quentin Letts. Depending on which side of UK politics you sit. Whilst broadly conservative myself I haven’t been a subscriber to the Daily Mail until recently.

The reason I signed up online, a friend of mine had an article published I wanted to support, read and comment on her contribution. I was also curious to see the celebrity gossip columns and culture articles to see if the writing and entertainment segments appealed to me.

I didn’t get very far. The very first article I read online was an expose of Ice Instigator and Donald Trump right hand woman Kristy Noem’s husband Bryon Noem an insurance agency owner and former First Gentleman of South Dakota.

The Daily Mail investigation published on March 31, 2026, revealed leaked photos and messages showing Bryon Noem, husband of Kristi Noem, wearing tight green leggings and pink hotpants as part of an alleged "bimbofication" fetish. The report alleged that over $25,000 was spent on online interactions with fetish models, raising potential security concerns regarding blackmail.

Was this in the public interest I guess so, but you know that feeling when you see something you just can’t unsee, and those feelings of cringe, ick, not remotely interested, what’s the point of this take over, that happened to me immediately after subscribing.

I wanted to unsubscribe. Even though I had 6 months I think for a pound or two a month I knew I wasn’t going back. The Daily Mail just wasn’t for me. Not because I am a prude, I am just not interested in that kind of “sexy” risky behaviour news about people pretending to be something they are not. We all know when you look below the surface most people in the public eye or not have dark secrets, perhaps not to the extent of dressing up in fake over sized breasts and pink hot pants but I’ve lived long enough to know what Bryon Noem was up to is not that unusual.

I caught a normal guy in Marks and Spencer’s carpark getting off with a sex worker on his phone while his wife did the shopping the other day. It took a while for him to realise I was sitting parked next to him observing him. He dropped the phone when he did.

So whilst these things are not that shocking it’s not my kind of news.

When I tried to cancel my subscription I discovered you cannot just do it online like signing up. There’s a separate place that handles cancellations. A phone line and an online chat. Initially I chose the chat but it took about 30 minutes of answering questions why I was cancelling and trying to convince me to keep the subscription in place to enjoy all the puzzles, games and added value in the paper.

Eventually the sales person gave up and agreed to allow me to cancel.

Except it didn’t happen. For a further 3 months the nominal amount £1.99 or something like that maybe £0.99 pence came out of my bank. Of course I wasn’t bothered about the few quid it was just the annoyance of the time I’d wasted and the hassle of getting the blooming thing cancelled.

This time I decided to call them. It took me a while to get through. This time there was a nonchalant apology, you cancelled and for some unknown reason it didn’t happen. Sorry about that.

I did get the money back a couple of weeks later, like I say definitely less than a tenner maybe even less than a fiver but it was the hoops I had to jump through to get myself out of the subscription that was frustrating.

I am sure most people wouldn’t have even spotted to few quid here and there leaving their account, but when I think about that being multiplied by a million or two that’s a good earner.

My advice if you’ve subscribed to The Mail and then cancelled, check your bank, you may still be paying for something you don’t want.

I haven’t included a link to try and cancel. You might end up with a chat box that charges you to speak to a customer service provider. This a third party business charging people to cancel. Yep. I know. I suggest just calling, 0345 071 2721, they want to have the chance to convince you to stay so don’t make cancelling straightforward at all.

Waterfall Down A Rollercoaster Ride From Rags To Riches to Rags.

Autobiography by Shirley Yanez

Shirley Yanez

2026-08-24T09:05:00.0000000 2026-08-24T09:35:11.5300000

The Verdict. A gripping, unflinchingly honest memoir that transforms a classic "riches-to-rags" story into a profound psychological map for healing and self-discovery.

Shirley Yanez’s Waterfall Down is not your typical high-finance tell-all. While it possesses all the markers of a Hollywood blockbuster—post-war poverty, millions made in the cut-throat London financial markets, celebrity encounters, and a sudden, devastating collapse into homelessness—the book refuses to wallow in sensationalism. Instead, Yanez delivers a fierce, intellectually grounded autopsy of her own ambition, using Carl Jung’s depth psychology to reframe her material ruin as a spiritual awakening.

The book is expertly structured around three distinct phases of Yanez's life: The Armor of Ambition: The opening acts detail Yanez’s early life in post-war England. Struggling with severe, undiagnosed dyslexia and written off by an unforgiving school system, she developed an aggressive survival instinct. Her subsequent rise to become a self-made millionaire in the male-dominated financial sector is thrilling, but Yanez is careful to highlight the emotional hollowness that accompanied her corporate triumphs.

The Shattering: The memoir hits its emotional peak during her sudden financial collapse. Yanez strips away all ego as she describes losing her empire, surviving a near-death experience in Los Angeles, and facing the grim reality of homelessness. Her prose during these chapters is remarkably devoid of self-pity, reading instead with the clinical clarity of someone observing their own house burn down.

The Jungian Awakening: The final third of the book elevates Waterfall Down above standard biographical fare. Drawing heavily on Jungian archetypes, Yanez argues that her material loss was a necessary psychological initiation. By stripping away the false mask of the "wealthy executive," the collapse forced her to confront her shadow self and rebuild an authentic identity from the wreckage.

Yanez writes with a raw, propulsive energy. Her voice is fearless, clear, and deeply reflective. The book functions brilliantly on two levels: first, as a sharp feminist commentary on the gender and power dynamics of the corporate era; second, as a universal roadmap for anyone who has ever had their life completely dismantled. Yanez handles complex psychological concepts with a light touch, making depth psychology accessible to the casual reader without diluting its power.

Final Thoughts.

Waterfall Down is an essential read for anyone interested in memoirs of resilience, psychological growth, or systemic triumph. Yanez does not merely recount her survival; she illuminates how losing everything can sometimes be the only way to find oneself. Today, her work as a therapist and advocate for the homeless stands as living proof of the transformation detailed in these pages. Highly recommended.

available on amazon

Designs Dress Agency In Hampstead and Oak and Poppy For Lunch Next Door

A Girls Saturday Afternoon Out

Poppy

2026-08-24T06:19:00.0000000 2026-08-24T07:09:28.7000000

One of my favourite little independent shops to visit for shopping designer fashion secondhand is a little consignment shop in Hampstead on Rosslyn Hill called Designs.

It’s run by Dominique and her team of little elves, the ultimate Saturday girls there to help if you need it but not pressure in anyway, happy to let you browse the extensive selection, the rails are normally packed both upstairs where you’ll find dresses and occasion wear on the right of the store, jackets, outerwear and knitwear on the left, all high end brands and honestly very reasonable prices. Just to give you an idea, I’ve bought a few things but standouts are a James Perse cashmere cardigan retailing around £2000 for £200, and an amazing Anya Hindmarch bag I absolutely love and use a lot for a song.

It’s a consignment shop so if you’ve got good stuff to sell although like I said the prices are super reasonable so you have to be realistic if you want to unload your expensive shopping mistakes.

My grandmother lives in Hampstead so it’s somewhere we go together for old fashioned shopping as she calls it and then lunch which is always good because she usually pays. She won’t mind me saying.

This time it was a lovely day so we tried a place a couple of doors down for lunch the Oak and Poppy which is architecturally very interesting. It looks really cool from the outside, clean sandstone and glass building with beautiful wrought iron signage and outdoor tables where we sat, not the most comfortable but hey the price you pay for sitting outside.

We had a Mediterranean Mezze sharing plate, grilled halloumi, olives, hummus, falafel, babaganoush, tumeric couscous, sumac yoghurt and flat bread there was a lot of food and it was tasty, around £26 the buckwheat salad was a bit bland and I probably wouldn’t order that again.

The service was OK, again we were outside and it was quite busy inside so maybe the weekends aren’t the best time to go.

Would I return, probably not. The Ottolenghi a bit further down is a better option, again not the friendliest service but the food I’d say is definitely better.

One thing that was really good at Oak and Poppy was the cocktails we both had a passion fruit gin thingy which were absolutely delicious.

I took the tube, Belsize Park from Green Park and a short walk up the hill is very easy but if you want to drive there is loads of parking right outside.

Firecracker Chicken Couldn’t Save Leon Fast Food Chain Restaurants

Leon shutters City of London sites as hybrid working and rising costs bite; no administration –...

Briar Black

2026-08-23T09:48:00.0000000 2026-08-23T11:28:11.9770000

Before 2020, the lunchtime queue at Leon in the Square Mile felt like a barometer of office life. By noon, Liverpool Street, Cheapside, Moorgate and Ludgate would be humming, a steady stream of card taps for hot boxes, rice pots and, yes, anything fiery and chicken-adjacent. Today, the shutters on those City of London addresses tell a different story: even a much‑loved brand with a loyal commuter following couldn’t outrun the structural shifts that followed the pandemic.

What happened to the four City locations?

Liverpool Street: Dependent on station traffic and office workers, the unit lived and died by the 12–2pm rush. Hybrid working has thinned that window to a midweek peak, with softer Mondays and Fridays. When your P&L hinges on two hours a day, a 20–30% drop in footfall can be fatal.

Cheapside: High rents, hefty business rates and a landlord market still anchored to pre‑pandemic expectations made break‑even a moving target. Even with solid midweek trade, covering fixed costs outside peak hours became tougher as energy and labour bills rose.

Moorgate: A classic commuter site, Moorgate was pressured by the same forces hitting every grab‑and‑go brand in the area: a permanently smaller office population, competition from discounted meal deals and subscription coffees, and rising input costs for core lines like chicken and cooking oil.

Ludgate: Shaped by legal and media footfall, Ludgate’s rhythm never quite returned to the old normal. Shorter trading days and fewer impulse purchases took the shine off what had been a banker of a location pre‑2020.

Across the Square Mile, landlords have been re‑letting some of these units to coffee specialists, convenience formats and value‑led operators; others have sat empty longer than anyone would like. In each case, the cold maths was similar: steady but narrower demand up against higher fixed costs and a supply chain that wouldn’t stop inflating.

Did Leon “go into administration”?

No. While a number of high‑street names used insolvency processes to restructure during and after the pandemic, Leon took a different path. In 2021 the brand was acquired by EG Group, the forecourt operator led by the Issa brothers. That ownership shifted Leon’s centre of gravity: fewer traditional city‑centre leases and more roadside, travel‑hub and convenience‑led formats, where all‑day trade can smooth out the volatility of commuter peaks. In 2023, Asda agreed to acquire EG Group’s UK and Ireland operations, further entwining Leon with a convenience‑first retail strategy.

In plain terms: Leon has been reshaped rather than put through administration. Portfolio pruning in Central London, including those four City addresses, sat alongside openings in drive‑thru, service‑station and supermarket‑adjacent sites, plus a bigger push into retail ranges.

Why stronger menus weren’t enough

Food alone rarely fixes a location problem. The City sites were textbook examples of concentration risk:

Demand compression: Hybrid working bunched demand into fewer, shorter bursts. Even best‑sellers can’t compensate for lost trading hours.

Cost inflation: Poultry, vegetable oils and packaging rose sharply from 2021–2023, while wages and energy followed suit. Passing all of that on to price‑sensitive office workers is a hard sell.

Competitive repositioning: Subscription coffee, aggressive meal deals and workplace catering clawed share from the premium fast‑casual lunch. The “Naturally Fast Food” pitch still resonates, but value architecture matters more than ever.

Property rigidity: Long leases and high rates don’t flex with footfall. Unless landlords move with the market, marginal sites turn loss‑making.

What the future holds for Leon

The brand is unlikely to disappear; it is more likely to keep evolving away from a pure Zone 1 lunch play.

Convenience‑led growth: Expect more Leon in and around petrol forecourts, travel corridors and Asda’s convenience ecosystem. These formats capture breakfast, snacking and early dinner, not just the office lunch hour.

Fewer legacy big‑box city units: The Square Mile may see Leon return selectively, but on shorter, more flexible leases or in smaller footprints where landlords sharpen terms. A “right site, right deal” approach will trump a blanket re‑entry.

Menu engineering and value tiers: Continued emphasis on perceived value (bundles, rotating specials, lighter portions) alongside health‑led hero items. Expect inflation‑proofed recipes and tighter SKU counts to stabilise margins.

Digital and off‑premise: Click‑and‑collect, workplace catering partnerships and delivery at commuter pinch points can extend trading beyond the lunch bell.

Retail and brand halo: Sauces, snacks and ready‑to‑heat lines in supermarkets keep the name in front of shoppers even when the nearest restaurant is miles away, helping demand when new sites open.

For Londoners who loved those City branches, the closures sting. Leon helped define a particular moment in the capital’s food culture: quick, bright, veg‑forward comfort served at speed to people with places to be. But the post‑pandemic city works differently. The brands that thrive will be the ones that find customers throughout the day, not only in a ninety‑minute window between meetings.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Leon’s pivot gives it options other operators lack. With the backing of a supermarket‑convenience platform and a clearer view of where all‑day demand still lives, the chain can be choosier about where it plants flags next. That may not bring back Liverpool Street, Cheapside, Moorgate or Ludgate in their old guises. It could, however, put the brand in front of more people more often — even if that’s now on a motorway spur or tucked inside a neighbourhood Asda rather than on the lunchtime front lines of the Square Mile.

Note: Individual site statuses change, especially in Central London. Check Leon’s store locator or the landlord’s listings for the latest on specific

The Good Life Have A Breakfast Burrito Worth Going Out Of Your Way To Try

Hungry and looking for something hearty, healthy and really tasty in St John’s Wood

Stylemum

2026-08-22T08:57:09.8900000 2026-08-22T10:42:53.5800000

I included The Good Life in the restaurant round up I wrote this time last year. We are very lucky in our neighbourhood St John’s Wood, Primrose Hill, and Hampstead we have so many excellent and very different options available depending on your budget, the occasion and what you fancy.

I never really went to the Good Life that much, for me it’s more a nicer Starbucks with a great internet connection young upwardly mobile professionals use as a workspace than a place to sit down and have a relaxed lunch and a chat.

That said they have put a breakfast burrito on their menu I am a little bit addicted to.

The place itself is like a modern hipster cafe with probably the most healthy menu on the high st in St John’s Wood, located at the bottom corner opposite the park with the chichi expensive French bistro Soutine adjacent.

On a budget for a quick bite or coffee The Good Life is a beach style or on the water cafe that wouldn’t be out of place in Portland Oregon or Seattle Washington, West Coast Australia, Perth or Fremantle.

Looking for veggie or vegan options this is probably the best place to go in St John’s Wood. Healthy salads, grains, high fibre bowls are on the menu alongside tasty sandwiches complimented by healthy juices and smoothies.

It’s a bright and airy interior with a window bar and stools to watch the world go by. With wooden tables and modern chairs exposed ceilings and modern light fixtures.

If you’ve got less than an hour to grab a bite, are watching your calories or working on getting healthy this is a great option.

And if you’ve like a breakfast burrito, all the fresh Mexican flavours combined with fluffy scrambled eggs, homemade guacamole with enough heat to tantalise your taste buds then go and try their offering.

It’s something so good you’ll want to return.

El Tortilla Fresh Mexican Food You Could Find On the Baja Penninsula

Possible the most delicious tacos and burritos I’ve tasted outside of Mexico

MossMagg

2026-08-21T11:04:41.8470000 2026-08-21T11:32:54.7100000

I’ve heard a few people on here talking with love about this fast food place dotted around the UK. I like Mexican food, have heard of Mango salsa but never pineapple salsa. At Tortilla they make their own pineapple salsa fresh every day.

This is a treat to behold at my latest fast food and new favourite discovery that’s not like fast food at all.

El Torilla is like a freshly prepared buffet style diner counter where you start with you base, either a tortilla for a burrito or a taco shell for a big salad then go along adding the elements you want from the counter.

You begin with rice beans, vegetables, then meats, and then choose from a whole array of additions, cheese, sour cream, 4 different salsas from picante to mild and then fruity pineapple salsa too which I tried for the first time, thought it wouldn’t go but now I am converted.

Fresh coriander, jalepenos, chilli’s, limes, just like and authentic Mexican street food place you might find in Tijuana, Puerto Vallarta, or the Baja Penninsula. Cabo San Lucas is one of my favourite holiday destinations and the food there especially the tacos is unforgettable. The flavour combinations are so memorable I never thought they could be recreated and transport you back to the beach and crystal clear waters so quickly.

One bite and it was like I’d stepped into Dr. Who’s tardis. Up grade you main with chips and a drink for a couple of quid extra, and not any old chips, proper crispy salty corn tortilla chips.

This place is a triumph. For £10 you’ll be hearing mariachi in your head.

Fresh, healthy, homemade and substantial portions are a welcome alternative to regular fast food.

If you haven’t given El Tortilla a go yet I really recommend this chain.

Who Makes The Best Black Leggings? Venus Cow

Made in the UK perfect black leggings

Shirley Yanez

2026-08-20T09:10:00.0000000 2026-08-20T09:29:26.3900000

Shirley Yanez founded Venus Cow and created the PBL™ (Perfect Black Leggings) to combat the low quality of mass-produced fast fashion. Her motivation also stemmed from a desire to fund free life coaching and talk therapy for vulnerable individuals. Yanez is a British social entrepreneur, author, and life coach with a diverse professional background.

The Rise and Fall: In the 1990s, Yanez built a highly successful global financial headhunting firm in London. However, she lost her multi-million-pound fortune during the stock market crash of 2000 and subsequently experienced homelessness in Los Angeles by 2004. Following a near-death experience, she shifted her focus from material wealth to mental health and self-therapy. Giving Back: By 2005, she began offering free talk therapy and life coaching, later bringing her advice to British television and radio. This personal experience with hardship inspired her to structure her business around social aid.

Venus Cow is an ethical, British-made clothing brand that operates as a social enterprise. Locally Made: Unlike mainstream brands that outsource to overseas factories, Venus Cow prioritises local manufacturing. The entire supply chain is centred in Leicester, England, to support the local textile industry and ensure ethical working standards. Social Mission: The business model is structured so that retail profits directly fund Yanez’s free life-coaching initiatives for people struggling with homelessness, addiction, or severe life trauma.

Yanez's motivation to design the PBL™ grew out of common frustrations with womenswear, combined with her professional eye as a former Hollywood celebrity stylist.

As a stylist, Yanez noticed that standard high-street leggings suffered from major quality flaws. They quickly became transparent when stretched, bagged out at the knees, sagged at the seat, and featured tight elastic bands that caused "muffin tops". It took her two years of fabric development to replicate and engineer a heavy-knit, two-way stretch cotton that completely eliminated these issues. The PBL™ was engineered to function like affordable couture for everyday use. Yanez designed them with a high, wide, non-slip waistband to fit real women comfortably from sizes 6 to 20, ensuring they hug the body without constricting it.

Disturbed by the environmental impact and poor labour standards of foreign garment production, Yanez used the PBL™ as a statement product to prove that top-tier, heavy-knit luxury basics could still be manufactured transparently and sustainably within the United Kingdom.

The "Ping Back" Effect: Reviewers from fashion blogs confirm that the signature 92% Pima cotton and 8% elastane blend compresses and sculpts without turning see-through, even after extensive machine washing. Luxury Comparison: Independent reviews highlight that the thick, premium knit feels and behaves like a £70–£80 designer item, making the £35 retail price highly cost-effective. Orders placed directly through the Venus Cow Store are processed locally out of Leicestershire. All deliveries are dispatched via Royal Mail First Class, taking roughly two business days within the UK, 3–5 days to mainland Europe, and 6–10 days to the USA.

Visit www.venuscow.com

The Halfords Festival Backpack Did The Trick For Only £50 Including 8 Gas Canisters

Shout Out To Leicester Store Especially Caitlin

March Moss

2026-08-19T10:48:00.0000000 2026-08-19T17:23:42.2270000

I knew nothing about camping and cooking outdoors until this trip. I was a little bit nervous how we’d cope with an outdoor camping glamping vacation.

The cafe on the camp site served breakfast and coffees but we wanted to get into it so with the help of a very positive and helpful assistant in Halfords in Leicester I invested in a camping stove in a backpack.

Yes everything you need for your outdoor cooking experience, including utensils, two metal cooking serving plates and two pans. Plus a metal claw handle thingy to transfer the hot pan from the burner and a few Tupperware containers for left overs.

Setting up and using the stove was so easy so I’d recommend this inexpensive set up to anyone. Caitlyn who was very organised and knowledgeable about this particular stock item got us organised with eight gas canisters for our trip at the reduced price of £20 which meant we were good for the whole week and didn’t need to worry about running out.

The whole experience was extremely smooth and I was really impressed not only with the outdoor cooking all in one kit but the friendly helpful and efficient approach to sorting us out and getting the us in and out of the shop with exactly what we needed very quickly.

I have never really shopped at Halfords before but would definitely return.

There’s nothing worse when you don’t know what you are doing spending ages walking around a shop with no clue and no help.

CAitlyn was absolutely brilliant and the festival backpack camping stove did the job perfectly.

Why Does My Stomach Hurt? Observational Documentary Series

GPs Behind closed doors.

Shirley Yanez

2026-08-19T09:52:00.0000000 2026-08-19T10:19:05.0930000

GPs: Behind Closed Doors – A Window into a Dependent Nation GPs:

Behind Closed Doors (Channel 5) remains one of the most fascinating, raw, and at times frustrating fly-on-the-wall documentaries on British television. By placing fixed cameras inside real NHS consultation rooms, the series does more than just document medical ailments. It acts as a stark social mirror, capturing the shifting relationship between the British public and modern medicine. For viewers who remember the self-reliance of the mid-20th century, the programme serves as a weekly confirmation of how societal attitudes toward health have radically transformed. Where the post-war generation viewed a trip to the doctor as a last resort—often believing the body should be left to heal itself—this series reveals a contemporary culture deeply reliant on immediate medical intervention.

The show shines a light on a modern dilemma: the GP surgery as a community hub for social fixes rather than purely clinical ones. A significant portion of the consultations broadcast do not feature acute physical trauma. Instead, viewers witness patients presenting with minor viruses, mild coughs, and "sniffles" that previous generations would have treated with rest and a hot drink. The series inadvertently highlights how a "pill for every ill" mentality has taken root, with many patients seemingly conditioned to expect an immediate prescription, particularly antibiotics, for self-limiting ailments.

More profoundly, GPs: Behind Closed Doors exposes the crushing weight of modern loneliness. It becomes glaringly obvious that for many isolated individuals, the family doctor is the only person they will speak to all week. The programme expertly captures the empathy of NHS staff who must navigate these delicate social issues, balancing clinical time constraints with the human need for connection.

Ultimately, the series is a compelling, high-utility watch because it offers no easy answers. It forces the audience to confront a vital question: has modern medicine saved us, or has a pandering, over-medicated culture weakened our innate resilience and intuition to just listen to our own bodies? It is a must-watch for anyone wanting to understand the true state of modern British society today.

Image. online marketing

Why We are Rebranding to Scoopasnoop

Building the Antidote to Big Tech’s Corrupted Algorithms

Shirley Yanez

2026-08-18T11:02:00.0000000 2026-08-23T11:45:19.2400000

At Scoopasnoop (formerly PoopSnoop), we believe the era of letting anonymous code dictate human connection is over. As we secure our next round of investor funding and evolve our platform, we are deliberately taking our time to build a different kind of digital ecosystem: a social media, networking, and independent business community powered entirely by real people.

Here is exactly why the digital landscape is broken, and why we are engineering the solution.

The Toxic Playground of Big Tech

We are witnessing the moral and structural collapse of legacy platforms. The symptoms of this broken system are visible across every corner of the web.

Exploitative Social Models

Centralized platforms routinely optimize for outrage, division, and addictive scroll patterns over basic human safety. Look no further than the landmark $942 million legal penalty against Meta for knowingly misleading consumers and putting young users in danger. When platforms view children as raw data to be mined, the system is fundamentally broken.

The "Pay-to-Play" Extortion of Small Businesses

For independent brands, organic discovery on major search engines is dead. Search infrastructure has devolved into aggressive, predatory ad auctions. Small businesses are forced to drain their hard-earned marketing capital into corporate ad networks just to be visible, while corporate giants buy up top rankings.

The Death of Review Integrity: Consumer trust is at an all-time low. Legacy travel giants like TripAdvisor are saturated with bot-generated, weaponised, and fake reviews. Consumers are left blind, and honest local businesses are left vulnerable to extortion.

The Antidote: Welcome to Scoopasnoop. We are building a direct alternative.

Scoopasnoop is a human-powered lifestyle app and independent business ecosystem. By permanently removing corporate middlemen and algorithmic feeds, we return digital discovery to its purest form: real people, honest opinions, and hidden gems. Our platform unifies five high-value lifestyle pillars into a single, tokenised, and community-moderated network:

Travel: Uncovering authentic destinations and experiences completely free from corrupted ranking systems.

Property: Direct, transparent property sales and rentals managed peer-to-peer.

Job Hub: Hyper-local talent acquisition and work opportunities without predatory recruitment fees.

Classifieds: A trusted, local marketplace built to help independent brands sell directly to their community.

Dating: Real matches built on meaningful connections, completely devoid of pay-walled swiping mechanisms that gamify human romance.

Why We Are Taking Our Time (And Why Investors are Tuning In)We originally proved this concept under the name PoopSnoop, validating a reward-powered ecosystem where community members earn Snoop Coins for authentic, real-world engagement. Having verified strong consumer demand and mapped out high-value user behaviours, our rebrand to Scoopasnoop marks our evolution into a global media and lifestyle hub.

We are making a conscious, strategic choice to take our time building this infrastructure. We refuse to race to market with a half-baked, data-harvesting clone. Instead, we are meticulously engineering a clean, open-source, and legally compliant framework designed to scale safely. Our next-round investor funding is specifically structured to fuel this transition, providing independent small businesses with Marketing That Moves Your Business Forward.

Instead of selling user data or auctioning visibility to the highest corporate bidder, Scoopasnoop redirects value back to the user base. Small brands get noticed through genuine user advocacy, and marketing budgets are funnelled straight back into the pockets of the community via token incentives. Never Miss a Snoop. The cultural migration away from algorithmically manipulated media is happening right now. Consumers and independent business owners are demanding a digital space built on safety, truth, and community equity.

We are building that space. Stay tuned, stay authentic, and never miss a snoop.

Gates Woodlands Garden Centre, Historic Carousel and Farm Shop

In England you cannot drive through the country side without stopping for a cuppa in a garden centre

Elizabeth Black

2026-08-18T05:30:00.0000000 2026-08-17T18:12:54.9570000

I love a garden centre in the summer. It’s something the British do so well. Within every one you’ll usually find a cafe. The English like to sit down for a cup of tea at every opportunity so you’ll find a place for a coffee and and a cake in garden centres around the country. We have DIY stores that sell plants in the US but not dedicated “Garden Centres” like Home Depot but they are not so quaint lifestyle centres so I always find these places quite a quaint a British thing.

I remember stumbling across one in the Cotswolds in Byford which was very swanky, home interiors, farm food, lifestyle shopping and thinking this place has really charm and creativity, I could spend the whole day here. The English do.

I was on my way back to Coventry from Market Bosworth, I had been to see a man about a dog, an English phrase I love that means mind your own business when I spotted the large black sign on the road between Market Bosworth and Hinckley in Leicestershire. Gates Garden Centre, lifestyle, dining and Farm shop, I needed a few provisions a new washing up bowl I know exciting and some fresh bread so I decided to have a look.

First off the place is vast, the carpark massive and it was pretty packed for a Monday lunchtime. They were drawing a big crowd, it took me a few minutes driving around to find a space.

The garden centre area is vast and runs along the top and then down one side, next to the old carousel which did remind me of home, there were a row of shops kinda like an outlet mall, a kitchen and homewares store, a pet store a camping and outdoors store, Mountain Warehouse and then I have to say one of the most gorgeous farm shops selling everything from pre cooked meats, fresh fish, enough wine to fill a winery and a selection of fresh fruit and veg any market gardener would be proud of. It was all pretty impressive.

I got my washing up bowl for a few pounds in Lakeland, the kitchen and laundry store, not too bad and my bread from the Farm Shop for what I thought was the pretty steep price of £4.00

I was blown away by the visual in the food store, I can see why the car pack was so packed.

No one was riding the Carousel, which did look a little out of the place in the setting. The last one I rode like it was on Santa Monica Pier but it was beautiful to see all the same.

If you are close to Market Bosworth in Leicestershire and need provisions this is a wonderful place to stop and have a cuppa as they say.

It’s kinda a cross between an outlet mall, a country provisions out station, a grocery store and gardeners paradise.

With an amazing old carousel there to pass the time.

Unusual and wonderful in equal measure when everywhere is so often the same it was great to visit somewhere different.

Bradshaw Farm Idyllic Glamping Experience In Stapleton Leicestershire

Getting away from in all on a budget can sometimes mean paradise is just around the corner

March Moss

2026-08-17T08:25:00.0000000 2026-08-17T09:40:46.6830000

I have never been camping before until I went on a single Mum’s Retreat to Bradshaw farm in the Midlands, located close to the historic market town of Market Bosworth and Bosworth Field where the Battle of Bosworth took place in 1485, 22nd August and Richard III died. There’s loads of history around this area and lots to do once you’ve finished exploring the area, breathing in the country air, sitting in the hot tub, for an extra £10 per hour or enjoying a guided walk or petting zoo on the next door farm.

If you want a bit of fun and life at the weekends in the summer Bradshaw farm hosts events and festivals and has a wine and beer license at the weekends. During the week there are plenty of great pubs the closest the Nags Head in Stapleton village within staggering distance that will be delighted to welcome you after a day out hiking.

But the real beauty of this idyllic spot is the retreat. It’s vast and quiet and the lovely already erected bell tents save you the hassle of set up although you do need to bring your airbeds, duvets, pillows and bedding, none of that is provided.

A holiday abroad wasn’t on the cards for us this year and with the price of fuel I decided if we were going to enjoy the English countryside and the scorching weather we’ve been having why not stay close to home. Leicestershire hosts some of the most beautiful countryside and places of historical interest for the kids in the country so it seemed like a great choice for our family summer holiday this year.

We had a fantastic time hosted by Wendy and her friendly nothing is too much trouble husband. These people love what they do and want to ensure you have the best time staying with them.

The farm shop isn’t fancy and a little bit chaotic but the food we purchased was delicious and they have everything covered from ice to power charging to keep your electronics juiced up.

It’s a real field to table philosophy and we learned a lot from other campers glampers from solar experts to getting our Halfords festival cooking backpack gas stove pre purchased for £30, working.

We made some of the best food on that tiny gas canister stove. There’s something about eating under the stars, living without power and waking up to silence and then nature’s chorus. No cars, no industrial drone, takes a bit of getting used to, it’s eerie at first but after a few days you slip into a sort of reverie, hard to explain.

Of course we’d all love a five star hotel experience being waited on hand and foot but if the budget won’t stretch to that this year for £12 per night you can pitch your tent and have access to all the facilities including sipping Prosecco in the hot tub gazing at the stars.

What could be better than that?

Visit Two Old Goats If Searching For Gluten Free Food In Market Harborough

Celiac and Gluten Intolerants looking for delicious homemade food to go can be a nightmare I...

Fred Moss

2026-08-16T08:50:00.0000000 2026-08-16T09:48:01.7230000

Life is an education. We’ve had a challenging time finding food to go in Market Harborougb for a new recruit.

I’ve also been educated about the difficulties people who suffer with a gluten intolerance face when eating out. Basically I’ve learned by default there is nothing for them. It causes embarrassment and problems when trying to go out for a meal in a group, being the one who cannot eat anything or having to resort to a banana, cake or snack bar to keep them going instead of proper food.

Is this you? I now have so much empathy for people with this food intolerance or any food intolerance or allergy and feel grateful not to suffer in this way. I had no idea until recently when I met someone with celiac disease and was challenged with buying them lunch what they have to endure and how difficult it is to find anything for them to eat.

I have never seen someone so happy to discover Two Old Goats in Market Harborough where the menu is adapted for people with gluten intolerance and pretty much everything on the menu was available for my new friend to eat.

The excitement of being able to have a sandwich from someone usually excluded from this simple pleasure unless they make their own pack lunch was palpable so I wanted to to give a shout out to the owners of this independent cafe.

I don’t know how many people are looking for gluten free food but put Two Old Goats on your radar.

We asked at Pret A Manger for gluten free options, they offer a popcorn snack, that’s was it. Starbucks nothing gluten free except one flapjack they suggested try the garage Bakehouse an independent kitchen bakery offering pastries and sandwiches where side note the Turkish bread is sensational but not gluten free.

When we tried there we found a cake, which I am told was the best gluten free cake ever tasted but no savoury lunch options.

Yet on stepping over the threshold of Two Old Goats the world opened up for someone who usually cannot find anything to eat on the go.

I don’t have pictures of the establishment but as my friend exuded excitement about the experience in the cafe, the service, the care, I snapped a picture of her chicken, cheese and spinach sandwich knowing I would share the story soon.

Looking for a gluten free lunch place in Market Harborough go and see Two Old Goats.

The sandwich was hearty, substantial and I told absolutely delicious, cost around £9.50.

Why I am giving up reading my beloved Vogue and Stopping My Support of The Guardian

It’s the last straw for me and the MSM Main stream media

Dora Black

2026-08-15T09:27:00.0000000 2026-08-15T10:56:01.1130000

I am going into the woods and ditching my favourite magazine, one I still buy 10 out of 12 months of the year, the physical magazine and stopping looking at my news outlet of choice. And switching off all media outlets actually except Al Jazeera who wrote a piece on the 6th Aug about Cambridge University defending the Professor Dr. Jason Arday and then didn’t cover the story again until today.

The September 2026 cover of Vogue has got us all talking.

A requirement for any kind of engagement in social media. You have to get people commenting and how else to do that than by doing something extreme.

It seems we don’t actually engage when something is really good, only when something is so bad the consensus is it’s Patsy Stone pill popping drunken sex maniac from 1990’s TV sit com Absolutely Fabulous not Oscar winning super star actress and Hollywood darling Nicole Kidman.

Venetia L Scott shot it Poppy Kain Styled it, Giles Hattesley did the interview they threw all the big guns at this one.

Except it’s not only me when half the comments on British Vogue insta are talking about Patsy Stone…….

The pictures don’t look like Nicole. It looks like she didn’t make it to her first ever cover shoot for British Vogue and the stand in, stood in instead.

First off the images are so manipulated I can’t even see any remnants of Nicole Kidman. From the back combed hair, to the over filtered features, it has been suggested the AI merged beauty aesthetic norm has left us wondering is it Madonna, Kylie, even was suggested a much younger Adele, maybe Michelle Pieffer no one knows.

Lisa Armstrong writes in the Telegraph in her commentary on the September Vogue cover Conde Naste wouldn’t allow her to publish their pictures unless the article was positive. She had to use the British Vogue Instagram posts to accompany her story about what is happening to our skewed view of beauty driven by the main stream media.

I work in fashion and was working with this T shirt yesterday. I snapped this picture of it before I heard or saw the news.

I don’t want to be in trouble with Conde Nast and don’t need to publish another picture I don’t have the right to.

When the news broke of Dr. Jason Arday’s tragic untimely death someone none of us had even heard of until a month ago, I had to find out what had led up to this preventable tragedy. This was someone who believed everyone has talent to be nurtured and everyone has limitless potential.

The media are to blame without a doubt, stirring up trouble and an unnecessary frenzy about an unproven potential misstep on a CV. I’ve stretched the truth on a CV, who hasn’t. Rachel Reeves the UK chancellor was guilty of plagiarism who was the Secretary of State who said he was a qualified solicitor and wasn’t, but the media did not batter these stories to the death. Virginia Guifree dead whilst the former Prince Andrew gets on with his life in peace, luxury and privilidge. What the hell. Haven’t we learned anything from Caroline Flack, how many people will it take.

I am furious I gave money to the Guardian now, as Chris Packham says in his advert for Naked Paper, how we spend our money is the most important decision we make every day. I am switching by the way to Naked Paper. Not so convenient, you can’t just find it in the grocery store but I support their mission. And cancelling my support of the Guardian. An opinion piece by Afua Hirsch taking the leftist higher ground may have been the last straw.

We expect this kind of baiting vitriol from the Daily Mail and the likes of Australian journalist Amanda Platell, even the Times and The Telegraph jumped in with an all pile on mentality until someone cannot breathe literally but come on the Guardian hounding someone his colleagues and friends were urging editors weeks ago to desist the relentless battering because this person was vulnerable. They all knew and carried on regardless.

The guy resigned, gave up everything he had worked for because of potentially a stupid mistake we have all made, including people in the most powerful positions of governance and influence. What more was he expected to do?

Kill himself?

I hope everyone goes out and reads his book

Great and Unfortunate Things, a title that now resonates so deafeningly.

Why Is Vintage Chanel Jewellery A Big Investment?

A look into the reasons to collect vintage

Shirley Yanez

2026-08-14T10:36:00.0000000 2026-08-14T10:57:57.3170000

Vintage Chanel costume jewellery is highly celebrated for its bold, oversized aesthetic, thick 24k gold plating, and the creative vision of Karl Lagerfeld throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Coco Chanel originally revolutionized the fashion world by introducing costume jewellery as a chic statement rather than a lesser alternative to fine gems. Today, these historical runway creations are intensely coveted by global collectors. Susan Caplan is a great seller of these vintage luxury collections.

The Modern Boutique Trap vs. The Vintage Goldmine.

Let’s skip the marketing noise "the man" wants us to swallow. If you walk into a contemporary luxury boutique today, you are essentially paying record-high prices for mixed-alloy metal, flash plating, and lightweight resin that depreciates the second you step out the door. If you want a genuine luxury investment that beats inflation and holds real asset power, you need to go backward. Collecting vintage Chanel costume jewellery—specifically pieces manufactured prior to 2003—is the ultimate financial move for fashion collectors.

Here is the unfiltered truth about why vintage Chanel is a flawless, high-yield investment.

1. They Literally Don’t Make Them Like This Anymore (Real 24k Gold)The biggest secret the brand won't actively advertise is the material shift. The Vintage Standard: Until roughly 2003, Chanel’s costume lines featured a heavy 24-karat gold-plated finish. The Reality: These pieces have a rich, deep hue and a heavy weight that modern base metals cannot replicate. They withstand time, resist chipping, and carry physical material integrity. Modern pieces rely on flash plating over cheaper alloys, but carry retail price tags that are higher than ever. Buying vintage means you own real gold craftsmanship.

2. High Scarcity + High Secondary Demand = Exploding Value. According to historical auction metrics, the secondary market for heritage costume jewellery has experienced spectacular revaluations. The Karl Lagerfeld Era: Pieces from the 1980s and 1990s—defined by Lagerfeld's bold, chunky aesthetic—exist in a fixed, finite supply. The Multiplier Effect: Every single time the modern boutique raises its retail prices on brand-new costume jewellery, it instantly forces the market value of corresponding vintage pieces upward.

3. Wearable Historical Art (Maison Gripoix Collaborations)When you buy vintage Chanel, you are investing in artisan partnerships that no longer exist in mass production. Poured Glass Artistry: Legendary pieces feature hand-poured glass cabochons made specifically for the fashion house by the historic French design firm Maison Gripoix. No Piercing Necessary: Almost all premium vintage statement earrings are substantial clip-ons, which are highly coveted because Chanel did not switch to standard pierced designs until the early 2000s. They add instant polish to any look and carry a unique patina that collectors pay a premium for.

These pieces frequently feature at top auction houses and appreciate continuously. Smart Snooper Capital Protection Rules. Don't let the scammers take your cash. Protect your investment with these hard rules: Snoop the Plaque: Flip the piece over. Look for the stamped oval or rectangular authenticity plaque. Match the specific font, logo orientation, and registration markers against verified Chanel production timelines.

Avoid Re-Plated Items: If a seller says a piece has been completely re-plated or heavily polished to look "shiny and new," pass on it. Stripping the authentic vintage patina ruins the historical value for serious collectors. Skip the Crowds, Buy Pre-Loved: Instead of following the crowd to high-street flagship openings, curate your portfolio through reputable vintage purveyors who offer legally binding authenticity guarantees.

The Final Verdict: Modern luxury boutique shopping is an expense. Collecting vintage Chanel is a financial strategy. Buy the history, keep the 24k gold plating, and watch your collection outpace inflation.

When You Want MIU MIU X New Balance 530 SI but Your Budget Says Nokwol Atlas

What Makes You Buy Your Next Sneaker?

Sahara Mara

2026-08-13T09:21:00.0000000 2026-08-16T09:59:37.9830000

I am sure it’s happened to most of us. We see an image on socials that sticks. We save it and it sits in our photos for a month or two. This one is from Parisian minimalist stylist Felicia Akerstrom at @fakerstrom on Insta.

This one was mine. I loved these trainers. I did the research to discover they are Miu Miu X New Balance collaboration 530 SI and cost about £900 give or take.

I tried to find them secondhand then I encountered the fake market where anything between £250 and £500 you really have no idea whether they are real. In fact probably fake. Would I sell a pair of trainers I paid a grand for for £300 probably not.

My other issue is because they are probably more of a moment than a classic like an Adidas Gazelle been around for decades and never goes out of style, could this sneaker look very hip and modern now but in 6 months to a year look totally last year. I like to keep things and wear them a lot so this is definitely something to think about before jumping in and making a big purchase.

So I started looking for an alternative. I got close to buying a pair of Nokwol a fashion footwear brand based on the Kings Road in Chelsea. I like the mushroom atlas, not the ones with mesh, the whole shoe brushed suede at around £150, much more affordable and they did have a 20% off sale in Flannels online bringing them down to £120 and yet something stopped me I still didn’t buy.

I was sold on the Miu Miu ones I guess. But no way can I afford them.

Then I saw this pair of New Balance, better ethical credentials but the wrong colour. I thought brown would be difficult to style up

They are obviously popular the shoe that looks a bit like a cross between old fashioned running spikes and a bowling alley shoe, when I think about it like this I am almost put off myself but Sandro have made one I do really like at £250. Still a lot for a sneaker but a lot less than the original pair.

I am still toying with the idea of saving the £100 and just buying the Nokwol pair for the look.

Would you buy the fake Miu Miu and not worry about the ethics?

I keep looking at the original image and thinking but I just want those.

Argh.

Acqua De Parma Fragrance Enjoyed For Four Decades

The bottle shape or the fragrance has never changed

Headie Aster

2026-08-12T07:47:00.0000000 2026-08-12T09:09:52.6630000

Like our first kiss, or first London taxi ride, we always remember our first bottle of perfume. My father returned from a business trip with a bottle of Acqua di Parma for my sister and I many years ago and the memory of the gift and the fragrance stayed with me over the years.

I have worn many different fragrances over the years but always return to this one and I think it’s the reason I always lean towards a fresher citrus fragrance over a floral or heavier oud scent popular today.

It makes me laugh when I pass the concession in store and spray the perfume, as woman with kids now, how inappropriate the scent was really for a child but the bottle sat on my dressing table for years. It didn’t have a spray and I remember carefully dabbing a drop behind my ears, mimicking my mother and grandmother in their perfume application. It lasted for years.

I know this scent so well I recognise it when someone, man or woman passes wearing it, even if it one of the spin off fragrances now in the range. It is so distinctive and recognisable.

The next time you are passing the Acqua Di Parma stand, stop to admire the iconic bottle with deco style black top that hasn’t changed since the beginning.

Acqua De Parma comes in two sizes 50ml and 100ml, it’s not cheap not expensive, sits somewhere in the middle, at around £70 for 50ml and £140 for 100ml ray de toilette depending on which specific one in the range you pick. THe Bly Mediterraneo is the new one I love but the day de parfum in that one will set you back £256.

I do want to try the new limited edition Eau de Parfum crafted from an ancient technique, a soft rounded bottle cap in contrast to the most memorable perfume bottle I have described giving hand-finished organic effect. It is designed by Laura Gonzalez, and inspired by La Caletta an ode to independence and the freedom of choosing one’s own rhythm. Here we find elegance in restraint, me to a tee whilst remaining unmistakably authenticity Acqua De Palma. Smells divine. It’s on my shopping list.

Don’t let this gorgoreous historic lasting perfume range, hair care and candles pass you by without giving it a go. It’ll become memorable and instantly nostalgic and recognisable I promise. You’ll create you own memory and then every time you smell it it’ll take you back there.

Funny how perfume does that, it’s almost more enchanting than the scent itself.