My Two Pence

The hottest new trend for the winter season is colour blocking. To achieve this look, you will need to mix and match two or more different colours in colour blocks. It is advised that you do not mix more than three different colours for this look unless you are very young, in which case you might just pull it off.

Try teaming a pink top with a red skirt and yellow shoes for a funky party look which will definitely get you noticed on the dance floor. Tunics which are blocked into several colours and worn with jeans are another key way of wearing the colour block trend and are very versatile as they can be dressed up or down. If it’s a party outfit you’re looking for, you can’t beat a layered dress which combines 2 or 3 blocks of colour together for that winter party look.

Accessories are really key to the colour blocking look and the brighter the better. Yellows, oranges and blues are ideal and look great when mixed with pinks, reds, greens and blacks. The colour blocking look is bold and out there and you will have to be brave to try it out, but, once you do you won’t look back. The key is finding colours that suit you and sticking to them.

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One of the latest trends to hit the fashion world is gorgeous ruffle detailing. They are set to be huge this winter and all the catwalk models have been seen wearing them. They have featured heavily in many catwalk shows this year and we predict they will do big business this year. Ruffles can be worn in many different ways and can give a dramatic new look to your wardrobe. There are many different ways you can wear ruffles and they look great on all people of all ages, body shapes and styles.

One of the best looks you can achieve with ruffles is the romantic look which has echoes of the 1980’s new romantic style. You can achieve this look by wearing a simple white blouse with ruffle detail on the lapels and collar. You should team this with tailored black trousers and smoky eye make up for a perfect romantic look, ideal for lunch with the girls.

Want a flirty, fun look? Ruffles are great for creating a flirty feminine look with ease. Opt for a cute floral jumpsuit with ruffle detail, teamed with bold sandals and light make up for a fresh winter look.

For a sexy evening look, you can’t beat a sexy bandeau dress complete with ruffled detail and a sexy cinched in waist. Wear with killer heels and silver jewellery for the perfect night on the town outfit.

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We only had a couple of days of sun this year so if you didn’t get your maxi dress out of the wardrobe then it’s time to dust off the cobwebs. The maxi dress was very popular last summer, and, it is perfect for those winter parties. It is probably the ultimate item of clothing for the summer time and can be worn in so many different ways that it is impossible to get bored with it.

The maxi dress is a firm favourite with celebrities In LA during the summer months and Nicole Richie and Lauren Conrad seem to wear this trend all year round, well they do have the hot LA weather!, which much success. The good thing about a maxi is that it can be flattering for women of all shapes and sizes. Smaller women may be afraid to try the look for fear of getting swamped by the fabric, but, if they stick to a plain maxi with no pattern, they will look great as Sarah Jessica Parker has demonstrated. If your slightly bigger, go for big bold prints as you will carry them off with ease.

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Animal print is one of those style trends that gets recycled so often that it is pretty much always in fashion and this winter season sees it return once again. Leopard print clothing, in particular, has always been very popular with top designers including Vivienne Westwood and DKNY and many of today’s designers have brought out new collections for the winter season which are heavily influenced by not only leopard print, but, zebra print, giraffe print and even snakeskin. This summer truly will be dominated by animal print clothing.

Animal prints are often used to give a more edgy rock chick look with stars including Kelly Osbourne and Courtney Love being big fans of the trend. Animal prints are very easy to wear and there are so many different ways you can incorporate the trend into your look. If you want to use animal print sparingly you could opt for animal print accessories such as zebra print sunglasses or a tiger print bracelet. If you are more daring, why not try an animal print dress for a night out clubbing? Lily Allen is often seen out in leopard print as she parties with friends. Crocodile effect is also going to be big this season and this trend works best when used with accessories such as bags or shoes.

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We’ve had two deliveries over the last week. One good, one not so good. We thought we’d take you through them.

Delivery 1 – Fridge freezer

After the order was placed online we got a text to say the order had been confirmed and we’d get a phone call from the delivery company to arrange a date. We got the call the very next day and arranged the delivery for the day after. They said they couldn’t estimate the time of delivery at the moment but gave us a tracking number and a website where we could enter said number after 9pm the day before delivery. We did just that and got an estimated time within a two hour slot. The delivery arrived right in the middle of this slot – game on.

Delivery 2 - Bed

We ordered a bed online. We got email confirmation straight away. Four days later we got an email saying the order had been processed by sales and the lead time was two to three weeks. That’s ok we thought, after reading somewhere on the website it might take that long. After two weeks we were getting itchy feet so phoned the company. We waited on hold for 15 minutes and were told the bed was not in stock yet but we would get a call when it came in. At the three week mark we phoned again – “The bed isn’t in stock yet, we’ll give you a call when it comes in.” Four weeks have passed, we call again. “The bed isn’t in stock yet, we’ll give you a call when it comes in.” We get a call a few days later “Good news, the bed’s in stock, we’ll get our delivery courier to call you to arrange a delivery.” Four days later and no call. We phone back and are put through to the delivery company. “Yes, we have the bed we can deliver it a week on Tuesday.” “That’s 10 day away.” we say. “Yes, that’s the earliest we can do.” We are at seven weeks now and not very happy. We get an email from the delivery company stating the delivery date and a time slot of “7am to 7pm”. We have now hit The Rage. We phone them and after a lengthy discussion are told the driver will phone us one hour before the delivery so we can go out……he doesn’t phone, he puts a note through the door saying he had tried to deliver the bed. We phone the delivery company “Yes, sorry, the bed can be delivered tomorrow between 7am and 7pm”. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

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It’s the little things in life that are important like waking up to a sunrise or sitting down and eating a delicious meal. Because of this it’s often when these ‘little’ things start to go wrong that we get annoyed.

One ‘little thing’ that happened to me this week was an argument about the purchase of a fridge freezer. It went like this:

We were going to buy a new fridge freezer online but we thought we’d visit the local electrical store first to make sure it was ok. We’ll omit the name of the said electrical store and instead refer to it as the Tikka Masala store.

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“Yes, we have that fridge freezer in stock. It will be £22 delivery.”

Us
“But it’s free delivery when you order it online.”

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“I didn’t realise that, do you still want to buy it?”

Us
“If you give us £22 off we’ll take it”

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“I’ll have to ask the manager…Yes, we can give you a £22 discount, but, we will have to charge you the full amount and when the fridge freezer is delivered we’ll credit your payment card with £22.”

Us
“Why.”

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“I’ll have to ask the manager.”

Five minutes passes.

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“It’s company policy.”

Us
“Do you have a computer I can use?”

Tikka Masala shop lady:
“I’ll have to ask the manager.”

Five minutes passes.

Tikka Masala manager:
“I believe you’d like to use a computer to order one of our products online.”

Us
“Yes.”

Tikka Masala manager:
“I’m sorry that’s not company policy.”

We decided to go home and order the fridge freezer online. We also got an additional 10% off using a voucher code it took us about a minute to find.

Are you reading this Currys? Smarten up your act or become a shop where customers just browse your products before buying them online.

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Exorbitant fuel charges are crippling the whole of the UK. So when a debate about energy prices comes to the fore I’m not one to stand by idly and say nothing.

I’ve always maintained that the government have a conflict of interest when they talk to the ‘big 6′ energy companies. On one hand they are trying to give the appearance of being on the public’s side, but on the other they are raking in the tax from the high prices we currently see.

There’s thus no incentive for the government to make the energy companies reduce their rates, even though the wholesale price of electricity and gas doesn’t correlate to what as retailers we are expected to pay. It’s the same as oil. The prices go up but they rarely come down. Even when the wholesale price is much lower than it ever has been.

It’s obvious, as far as I’m concerned, that the government are trying to ‘deflect’ our attention away from high pricing and onto energy efficiency drives and ways to insulate our home. This makes them appear to be helping us to be green, but in reality is helping themselves.

Most people don’t want a two-for-one offer in the supermarket - we don’t want all that food.
Most people don’t want to get a free gift when they buy car insurance.
Most people don’t want to have to turn to ‘alternative’ ways to bring energy bills down.

What we want are realistic, fair prices with no gimmicks, no sale’s schmooze, no meercat toys and definitely no one making massive profits at the customer’s expense.

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Being British has its downsides. The awkwardness of certain situations unnerves us and we find ourselves shrinking away from confrontation.

Which option would you choose?

Our neighbour has just had a new fence installed. Before it was erected they came round and asked us if we minded. No we thought, We don’t mind at all. Especially as all attempts to try to see if any contribution was needed were turned down. However - the colour.

The colour of the fence panels is a horrific bright orange, not the nice muted grey/silver colour we were used to.

Do we:
1) Complain about the colour and hide in shame for weeks.
2) Say nothing and build up resentment.
3) Buy some fence paint and try to explain away why we painted it (while tryting not to drip the paint through the slats)
4) Smile and do nothing.
5) Ask if the neighbour chose that colour.
6) Ask if our neighbour is colour blind.
7) Get up in the dead of night and remove said panels before blaming their disappearance on the rabbit family from number 12.

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Although not commonly known by its name spheksophobia, the fear of wasps is one of the most common fears in the UK. Many people get stung by wasps in the UK every year and as such they are a much maligned arthropod.

It’s because of their ability to sting more then once which makes wasps so disliked. Where a bee only has one sting, a wasp can sting over and over again. Wasps also swarm when they perceive a threat and can actually cause real harm if a person is stung multiple times after a nest is disturbed.

So don’t be perturbed if you are slightly anxious when a wasp comes in through the window, there are countless others in the UK who are also spheksophobes.

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We’ve just had a letter from our energy company stating that the rate at which we pay for energy will be increasing. We found this out after labouring over the letter for around an hour and checking the previous rate at which we pay.

We buy both our gas and electricity from EON, we’ve had no problems with them in the past, and we would actually recommend them as a company to a friend. Our problem is not with EON, it’s with energy companies in general.

We realise that the wholesale prices of electricity and gas are rising but after checking the letter found that the price of electricity and gas in our instance was increasing by a whopping 15%. Our yearly bill is already around £1,000 so that’s a £150 addition we don’t want to pay.

Questions

Why has this increased so rapidly? Will it come down when it stabilises? Who is making all the money from consumers?

Answers

Because it’s not being managed properly by someone with more money than me. No, someone with more money than me will continue to make more money. Someone with more money than me is counting all their money on a luxury yacht in Monaco.

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