Hidden Histories

Whilst searching for more information on the widely advertised 4 part movie event 'The Kennedys' on the History Channel website, I stumbled upon one of my more exciting discoveries to date. The History Channel has teamed up with Foursquare in an innovative way to help you learn the history all around you.   

With over 600 places to check into in London, keep your phone firmly at the ready as you walk the streets to uncover the secret history of your current location. Check in to any historical location enough times and you could unlock the limited edition HISTORY™ ♥ London badge. Bag the badge and you also automatically be placed into the History Channel prize draw to win a fantastic VIP weekend in London. 

Watch the video below for a guide to how to begin unlocking London.

Fun huh?! Whoever said history was dead and all in the past can be served up an ample slice of humble pie!

So start checking in and learn about the past. Today.

The Jennifer Aniston Sex Tape

On the off chance that you missed THE viral of the year so far, I strongly recommend you watch the new smartwater ad for a tongue in cheek campaign in response to the million dollar question, 'how can we make this go viral?'


The checklist: cross off when completed
1. Talk to the camera. 
2. Budget home edited 'quality'
3. Cute puppies
4. Dancing babies
5. Featured techy geeks
6. Shameless sexual plugging
7. Body popping of twitchy children
8. Dodgy soundtrack


This video succinctly highlights how stagnant and generic viral marketing really has become. It has, therefore, lost its original appeal and charm.  Viral to me, is something that you couldn't do again if you tried; Take 2 just doesn't exist. 


Maybe You've been Framed is more worthy of being noted than I would care to admit!

A potential recipe for disaster is innocently saved

So it would seem that my previous post on my love of the Innocent brand is something in the way of a tale of two parts.

Upon querying dear 'Grandmother's Lemon Merigue Pie' as a traditional dessert, I felt compelled to write to those in the know and put the question to them myself. My now good friend Tim was singled out as my chief point of contact and was awarded the following 'you have a new message'...

Good Afternoon Tim.

I hope you are just super on this Thursday afternoon and are looking forward to the prospect of packing away your halo tomorrow for a weekend of devilishly fun antics.

Before you do however, I do wish that you could help me on a small matter? I am led to believe that you are something of a fellow foody like myself - if I am correct in my assumption that you are behind the tantalising cheesecake blog post that is - and thus have you down as a chap who knows his brandy baskets from his bread and butter pudding.

Being originally from Manchester - and it is common knowledge that us northerners are particularly well adept in the art of baking - my grandmother has continually supplied our family with an assortment of sweet treats over the many years. She makes a mean Meringue, not too dissimilar from your own 'most popular' recipe in your Great Recipe Archive. I have noted that there does however appear to be one rather large difference. My grandmother makes a luscious lemon 'meringue' pie whilst yours makes a 'merigue' pie. Now I simply must enquire as to whether this is a traditional English dessert I know nothing about, or whether this is merely a sugar induced typo from one too many slices of cake.

I confess I would be much relieved if it were a case of the latter. Confirmation of such would be ever so re-assuring to my pudding prowess...

best wishes,

eve

True to the image I uphold of them, I received a warm and much welcomed response from Tim at the Fruit Towers.

Hi Eve
Thanks for taking the time to write to us. We’re not entirely sure what a ‘merigue’ is either. The Great Recipe Archive is of course user generated content and our website isn’t clever enough to pick up the finer culinary details like the misspelling of meringue. Then again maybe we’re both wrong and this is a yet to be discovered variation of the classic lemon meringue pie.

Have a fantastic day and don’t for get to have a Guinness or an Irish Coffee.
Thanks
Tim 

*****************
Hey, pressed O
Our favourite new squeeze is here
www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/juice

So I wish to lastly thank Tim for his speedy reply and inform him that when next in my local Sainsbury's, I'll be sure to be on the look out for his new squeeze.

Good Design that Tastes Good

I am sure I am not alone in my love affair for all things innocent. And no I am not talking about a possibly endearing character trait, but the rather scrumptious design from food and drink line innocent.

Now the design may be outrageously sweet but you can guarantee the food won't be. Oh no, this is a brand that prides itself on being packaged eye candy whilst perfectly balancing all things innocent for our insides.One tasty little Veg pot - the Moroccan pot being my personal favourite -washed down with a 250ml smoothie for your lunch, ensures you hit that all important 5-a-day target in one simple sitting.

For some food for thought whilst you chomp merrily away, the recycled cardboard sleeve provides some interesting reading material; including 101 things to do with your pot, how to make your very own veg pot gym for winter workouts and some additional serving suggestions too.

Innocent certainly do provide more than an apple a day to keep that doctor away; so committed are they to their 5-a-day campaign, that they have hit back at the Government's New Responsibility Deal just yesterday with their very own press release highlighting that by not including 5-a-day, they were missing the most important thing.

The company had in fact previously responded to the Government’s public health White Paper: Healthy Lives, Healthy People just last month with their very own colourful counterpart; the Orange Paper. Within this zesty covered Orange Paper, innocent recommended that:

• The Government makes healthier choices more affordable by exploring fiscal or public health interventions to make such food and drinks more accessible and affordable for

consumers

• The Government re-balances the messages aimed at children by maintaining stringent restrictions on the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks to children and ensuring that NGOs or those in the food industry that make healthier products do not fall foul of such restrictions

• The Government makes it easier for people to reach their 5-a-day by reviewing the scheme so that it includes composite foods such as soups and readymade meals that contain fruit or veg

• The media make better use of credible and qualified nutrition professionals to underpin their communications, by including more science and evidence-based reporting of nutrition or public health.

It is perhaps for this commitment that I will overlook that their deliciously designed recipe book contains the recipe 'grandmother's lemon merigue pie' as its most popular. Personally, I'm more preferable to a meringue pie, but each to their own as they say. Such a slight typo will most certainly not put a bitter taste in my mouth however for I am addicted to the brand and a fully fledged member of the innocent family.