Friday, August 17, 2012

Top of the Pops: Listen live to British Radio - 95.8 Capital FM

Missing UK radio? Sometimes Britain just gets the top pop music hits a bit earlier than America. Never fear, Capital FM offers a "listen live" feature on their website.

Listening to Capital FM live will require you to enter a UK Postcode if you are abroad. However, you can enter ANY valid UK postcode. Are you an expat? Does your family still live in the UK? Maybe you're just over in America for a brief time on business? Type in your UK postcode and it should work just fine abroad.

-- Listen Live to Capital FM by Clicking on the Box on the Upper Right HERE --


Here's what the player looks like:


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Great British Sale: Whittard of Chelsea - Ships Internationally!


Whittard of Chelsea
Celebrating a Golden Summer
Up to 50% off Sale
Shop the full sale HERE.

FREE Shipping on all orders $40+ direct from the UK
(International Shipping to USA usually $15)
Everything $5.00 - $46.25
Fine Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, & Kitchenwares
Great gifts for family, teachers, & co-workers!


Here are my 14 favorite sale items:



Friday, August 3, 2012

It's Pimm's O'Clock: How to Make a Pimm's Cup




If you've been to England, especially during the summertime, you've probably heard of the popular British cocktail known as "Pimm's and Lemonade" or "Pimm's Cup".


Pimm's was created in 1823 by James Pimm, the owner of the "Oyster Bar" in Central London. While gin was the drink of choice with oysters at the time, it was too bitter to really be savored and enjoyed. So, Pimm created the "house cup" to serve to his patrons which flavored the gin with liquers and fruit extracts. You may notice that a Pimm's Cup uses Pimm's No.1 (made from gin). That's because Mr. Pimm also created a few varieties using different types of spirits. For example, No. 2 is made with scotch and No. 3 is made with brandy.

THE Recipe (according to Pimm's):

1 Part Pimm's No. 1
3 Parts chilled lemonade*
Add some mint, cucumber, orange, and strawberry
Fill the rest of the jug with ice & enjoy!

Here's a list of some other Pimm's cocktails:
http://www.anyoneforpimms.com/recipes/

* Lemonade refers to British lemonade (made by Schweppes) which is a bit like American lemon-lime sodas Sprite or Sierra Mist but with a more distinctively tart lemon flavor. You can purchase Lorina French Lemonade (the clear variety, $4.99), which tastes quite similar, in many stores throughout the USA including BevMo - where you can also buy Pimm's ($17.99)! You can buy the real stuff from Simply Oz, an online Australian grocery store based in Ohio, if you're willing to pay up a little more for it.


Check out yesterday's NBC Today Show segment in which British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver demonstrates how to make a proper Pimm's Cup with the help of London 2012's Olympic Gold medalists in Men's 3m Springboard Synchronized Diving, Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen from the USA:


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Olympic Athlete Profile: Helen Glover & Heather Stanning (Rowing)

Glover (Left) & Stanning (Right); Photo Source: Team GB Official Facebook Page

On an overcast August day at Eton-Dorney, Team Great Britain finally won its first gold medal of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The worthy recipients were Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the Rowing Women's Pair Final. Great Britain has won a gold medal in rowing at every summer Olympics since 1984; however, the British women had never before won an Olympic gold in rowing.

Although the pair was unbeaten in 2012, the team is a relative newcomer in the sport. Glover, a PE teacher, picked up the sport only 5 years ago when she noticed an ad in a local paper for the "Sporting Giants Scheme" seeking ambitious athletes for the upcoming Olympic games at home. She had no previous experience in the sport whatsoever but had run cross-country and played hockey in school. She is a native of Cornwall. 

Stanning, on the other hand, is a different story.  She was commissioned from RMA Sandhurst into the Royal Artillery in 2008 and took time out of her military career to train for the Olympics. Stanning currently holds the rank of Captain and is originally from Somerset. She will return to active military duty at Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire in September.

Legendary British Model Twiggy Makes a Comeback


Regardless of whether or not you were even alive in the 1960s, most women have heard of Britain's top style icon of the era, "Twiggy" (Lesley Lawson).  She's best known for her "boyishly thin" and "twig-like" stature, a look that has paved the way for many fashion models of today. 


Twiggy's interest in fashion started at an early age in her home of Neasden, Northwest London. As a child her mother taught her to sew and she used this skill to design her own clothing. Today, at age 62, Twiggy has continued to pursue her love of fashion. She has recently launched the Twiggy London line with the Home Shopping Network (HSN). All of her designs are very feminine and distinctly British.


Here's a peek of a few of the items in the Twiggy London collection:




Shop some of my favorite items in her collection:


The Barclays New York Cup: NY Red Bulls vs. Tottenham Hotspur



There were plenty of photo opps with the star of the show, the Barclays Premier League Trophy, won by Manchester City in this year's competition.



The New York Red Bulls started off with a 1-0 lead in the first half. However, the game ended in a Spurs victory of 2-1.




There were thousands of Tottenham fans in attendance, enthusiastically leading cheers throughout the entire game...and on the PATH ride back to New York City...and on the New York City streets after that!




The Barclays New York Cup took place on July 31st, 2012 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. Red Bull Arena is home to a season of exciting MLS games as well as many friendlies by visiting teams. Most recently, the Arena hosted an open practice for the Argentine National Team and the French Trophee des Champions Tournament.