An iPhone App designed specifically to benefit walkers in Great Britain has been launched in the iTunes AppStore.

OS Grid Ref Compass calculates the current position of the iPhone on the Ordnance Survey National Grid, allowing map reading to become a doddle with the provided grid reference.

To aid navigation yet further, a handy on-screen compass will let the walker know their bearing, so alignment with their map can be a breeze.

The application also lists standard Latitude and Longitude coordinates, for if these should be of use for calibration of other GPS walking equipment.

These are available in OSGB36 (Ordnance Survey) and WGS 84 (GPS) formats.

A guide to the National Grid lettering system is also included within the app.

Developed by Mike Irving, a Cheshire based mobile apps developer.

More information can be found at: http://www.mike-irving.co.uk/portfolio/mobile-apps/os-grid-ref-compass

The application can be found in iTunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/os-grid-ref-compass/id515935554?ls=1&mt=8

Nothing New Under the Sun!

The concept of teleworking and earning a living from working at home may seem to many to be a 21st century invention brought about by the revolution in the telecoms industry and the global accessibility to the World Wide Web. However, history shows us that working from home, or even working from your bed, is not a recent idea. During the Tudor period, affairs of state were regularly conducted from the bedchamber of the Sovereign with advisers, courtiers and attendants on hand to deliver the royal proclamations; while during World War Two, Winston Churchill was notorious for never changing out of his pyjamas until lunchtime, preferring to fight the war effort from his bed in the company of his cats!

Statistics from the TUC show an estimated 3.5 million UK residents are now earning some kind of living by working from home. The current economic downturn has forced an increasing number of people to seek extra earning potential to meet the rising costs of food, fuel and energy. Home working provides great flexibility for mums with pre-school age children to look after, the active elderly who would like to earn a little extra income while keeping their finger on the pulse of society or the currently unemployed looking to remain financially viable until the economy improves.

One of the major pitfalls in finding legitimate working opportunities are the number of scam websites waiting to trap the unwary as they look for a home working opportunity. It has been estimated that up to 90% of the sites which appear from a general search engine enquiry contain some sort of scam. Using the services of a legitimate site with a great reputation such as Workfromhomejobs.tv can open the door to numerous employment opportunities with guaranteed earning potential.

What can Workfromhomejobs.tv offer?

Founded in 2010, to provide a free database of legitimate employment opportunities and practical advice to all those looking to launch a new career working from home, Workfromhomejobs.tv have now established a leading presence on the web as providers of reliable, accurate information, featuring the services of only the most trustworthy companies to endorse. The range of earning opportunities advertised are extensive and include jobs which will suit every type of interest and every level of skill; from non-specialised tasks such as envelope stuffing, pamphlet delivery or pet sitting, to the more skill based data entry, copy typing or proof reading. With the meteoric rise in the number of global websites, up 300 million in 2011 to a total of 555 million, and the number of Internet users now estimated at 2.1billion worldwide, one of the fastest growing home working jobs is freelance copywriting. It takes a lot of time and effort to supply the web content for all of those users to access and many companies are using the services of freelancers to do the job for them. Workfromhomejobs.tv provide details of – and links to – a number of reputable sites who will employ writers to produce text for them. The rates of pay are competitive and the work is regular, ensuring that the home worker can potentially earn a steady income for their efforts.

The company also have a presence on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, providing a global online community for their workers to interact, socialise, swap tips and experiences and generally benefit from some human contact. The life of a home worker can sometimes be quite isolated with no regular commute to the office, no chatting around the water cooler and no nights out with ‘the guys from the office’, Workfromhomejobs.tv has advice on how to cope with the down times’ as well as providing a great support network of like-minded people to help you through.

How to Work from Home and ‘Sit Pretty’ Too!

Workfromhomejobs.tv are running a photographic competition on Facebook offering the prize of an ergonomically designed Alphason Portland chair. We all know that good posture makes a huge difference to how we work. Feeling comfortable and relaxed will improve your productivity rate and the quality of your output will show the benefits. Alphason have 25 years’ experience of manufacturing high quality chairs and have developed a ‘Design First’ approach to their products, ensuring that their chairs not only look good, but feel good too! To have the opportunity of winning one of these amazing chairs and never having to suffer from the ‘keyboard stoop’ ever again, here are the details for entry:

What Workfromhomejobs.tv would like you to do is take a photograph of where you work from at home – this could be your study, home office, desk or even your garden shed. Indeed, don’t be shy – the more imaginative the better! Once you have your chosen photo, upload it onto the Workfromhomejobs.tv Facebook page along with your personal details and keep your fingers crossed. The winner will be decided by the most number of votes cast for each particular photograph. The deadline for entry has been extended to midnight on May 13th 2012 and the winner will be announced on May 14th 2012. Voting is currently open and will close at midnight on May 13th. The competition is open to all UK residents so come on, give it a go, you’ve nothing to lose – with the possible exception of backache and a terrible stiff neck!

Why would we want to have a bee-friendly garden? Simply because there is a mystery illness called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and bees are disappearing and need all the help they can get.

Bees are important to pollinate our crops, and because many of our pollinators are now scarce, we are totally dependent on the honey bee to do this job. So what is pollination? Well it starts when a bee crawls around plants and enters the blossom this is when the honey bee is dusted with pollen.

The bee will fly over to another blossom with the pollen in its hair, and when it lands, the pollen falls onto this blossom’s stigma. Bearing in mind other insects pollinate crops too, but without the pollination from the honey bee there would be one third less crops in the world than there is now.

It is a known fact throughout the world that honey bee stocks have been declining since 2004 simply because of CCD, also scientists feel there are many factors causing the problem, and intensive farming techniques, pesticide drift and climate change are also being blamed for the sudden decline in the bee population.

We should care about attracting bees to our gardens simply because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees. The bee is looking for two things when they visit your garden, Nectar, this is loaded with sugars, and is a bee’s main source of energy, and Pollen which provides a balanced diet of proteins and fats.

The bee is attracted to the colours blue, purple, violet, white and yellow, and if you plant your garden with all kinds of nectar-rich plants this will go a long way to stop the decline of bees. Why not use different kinds of perennials this ensures there is something in flower every month.

The best plant you can use is lavender, of course there are many other plants that provide plenty of pollen and nectar, like most herbs such as sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, mint etc, poppy, verbena, weigela, and many more.

The scented geranium is also a wonderful plant to have in the garden to encourage bees, but one should be careful about sprays of insecticides or pesticides, and if you must use a pesticide use one that does not affect bees and spray in the evening after bees have returned to their hives.

Think of vibrant colours on plants such as the begonia, rose, and honeysuckle, jasmine a brilliant white with wonderful scents that will draw the honey bee to its flower. Many gardeners create gardens for the butterfly, so it makes sense to create one for the honey bee, thus we are doing our bit.

A spokesman for Blooming Direct a family run nursery on the island of Jersey said “we have a huge selection of garden plants, trees and shrubs, and our website is user friendly. We also have a plant finder tool allowing you to search for garden plants by type, colour or season, as well as other special features. The plant finder will also help you identify plants suited to varying sun levels, and soil types. All orders to the UK are absolutely FREE, go online and check us out”.

For further information visit: www.bloomingdirect.com or you can visit their Facebook page to discover more offers.

Garden Affairs, a leading, nationwide supplier of high quality garden buildings are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with British summerhouse manufacturer: “Chelsea Summerhouses” to offer a unique range of premium quality summerhouses for Spring 2012.

Chelsea Summerhouses, is an exciting new venture offering the very best of British craftsmanship, from one of the most experienced teams in garden building design & construction. Using traditional designs that have evolved and improved over a period of 40 years, this unique range of handmade summerhouses, are constructed from the finest Western Red Cedar; known for its durability and resistance to the elements. High cedar shingle roofs with elegantly cambered eaves and traditional leaded glass are a few of the unique design features of this luxury range. The summerhouses are available with a double glazing and an insulation upgrade for those wishing to use their summerhouse all year round – perfect as a garden office, gym or artist’s studio.

Garden Affairs Director, Richard Squire said “Our customers come to us for premium quality garden buildings. We have been looking for some years for the right supplier for a range of Western Red Cedar Summerhouses for our discerning customers. When we were approached by Chelsea Summerhouses we were obviously delighted to be involved with such a high quality brand.”

Michelle Lower, Director at Chelsea Summerhouses commented, “We chose Garden Affairs as a supplier because we were impressed with their attitude and passion for premium summerhouses. They share the same principles as us when it comes to uncompromising quality and customer service and we believe that our summerhouses will be the perfect complement to their current ranges”.

Features include:

Leaded windows
Traditional styling
Cedar shingle roofs Solid brass hardware
Painted in a range of heritage colours
10 year guarantee

The Chelsea Summerhouse range can be viewed at Garden Affairs Display site in Wiltshire or via their website: http://www.gardenaffairs.co.uk/garden-affairs-brochures/chelsea-summerhouses-western-red-cedar

Members of one of the UK’s leading FREE pregnancy and baby websites are given £100 worth of money off vouchers for Argos, just for registering.

That’s £100 saved off specially selected essential baby items, clothing and equipment.

Current vouchers give great discounts on highchairs, baby feeding products, nursery furniture, car seats and more…

As well as being packed with useful pregnancy information, features and tools – like the due date calculator – the website’s partnership with some of the leading baby product companies enables it to pass on great savings to its members.

As well as Argos, other trusted names like Philips Avent, lights by TENA, Karvol, Dettol, Persil & Comfort, Avon and Huggies have their own zones on the site.
Simply log on to www.emmasdiary.co.uk to join us for FREE then download your vouchers.

EDITOR’S NOTES

www.emmasdiary.co.uk is by the same people who produce The Royal College of GP’s popular and award-winning handbook Emma’s Diary which is handed out by GPs when their patient’s pregnancy is confirmed. This valuable and trustworthy guide for mothers-to-be is considered by professionals as the essential guide to pregnancy.

The FREE-TO-REGISTER Emma’s Diary website is packed with useful features for pregnant women and new mums and dads.

Features are informative and cover practical subjects ranging from how to prepare a family pet for your baby’s arrival, to bonding with baby, getting your pre-pregnancy shape back or coping with crying.

There are sections where you can keep up to date with all the celebrity baby news, and family finance issues are covered by Scottish Friendly with handy live links through to essential HMRC information pages on maternity rights, benefits and grants.

Emma’s Diary website has some major trusted-name partners who have their own areas packed with practical information on everything from choosing baby equipment to breastfeeding, weaning, nappy rash, baby skin care and lots more.

You can use the site’s automatic calendars to work out your accurate due date and sign up to get weekly reports on your stage of pregnancy.

And you can chat with other mums and give feedback on what you’d like to see on the site with the live forums.

Best of all the site has lots of links to money-saving coupons, special deals and free baby samples with new offers coming along all the time.

And there is a mobile version of the site available for Smart Phones so you can check up on everything wherever you are!

For more information contact: emma@emmasdiary.co.uk

Global Business Excellence Awards has presented SerenataFlowers.com with the award for Outstanding Product.

The Global Business Excellence Awards, an independent awards programme, recognises and rewards businesses around the world and announces award winners four times a year. The entries are reviewed by an independent panel of judges.

“We’re delighted to have been presented with the Global Business Excellence award for outstanding product. At SerenataFlowers.com we take pride in offering only the best quality flowers and, using our flower emporium at Heathrow, we can ensure they are sent to customers at their freshest,” says Luisa Tramontano, Director of Media & Marketing at SerenataFlowers.com.

“We have seen a 50% increase in sales for 2011 compared to the previous year. To meet demand, we have extended our flower emporium to triple capacity and transform the way we service our customers,” says Tramontano.

SerenataFlowers.com offers a range of floral bouquets and arrangements starting from just £9.99, with free next-day delivery. SerenataFlowers.com offers a wide range of UK-grown as well as imported flowers. These are delivered daily to its centralised flower emporium, ensuring the freshest flowers are used to make all bouquets.

United Kingdom – The days of ‘Mum and Dad’ nuclear families have long gone – many are finding that alternative families are just as happy. A revolutionary new website, www.myalternativefamily.com, intends to help make it easier for people to build their own alternative families, and for existing alternative families to connect with each other.

‘Alternative family’ is a term commonly ascribed to any kind of family considered to be non-traditional, and includes gay and lesbian run families and so-called ‘choice single parent’ families (i.e. singles that decide to have a baby on their own). These people are often faced with lack of information and support. It also tends to be difficult for alternative families to meet other families like themselves. The challenges are not exclusive to existing alternative families. Same-sex couples and single individuals wanting to start a family via artificial insemination at a clinic often find this option prohibitively expensive. Also, many of these people understandably would like to get to know their donors beforehand. But trying to find legitimate, trustworthy sperm / egg donors without the help of a sperm bank is easier said than done.

The ground-breaking new website MyAlternativeFamily.com will make the world of alternative families a much smaller place. Becky Downrose is currently going through the roller-coaster experience of trying to start a family in the non-traditional way herself. She tells us more about the website’s background:

“My civil partner and I spent years trying to find the perfect co-parent with whom to raise children. We’re proud to now be in a position to start a family, but the process wasn’t easy”, says Becky. She continues “there just wasn’t much information out there and we had little opportunity to connect with others for advice and guidance. We’re lucky to have found our ideal co-parent, but we are really feeling our way through the process and generally improvising on what to discuss and agree on! It would also be great to meet other alternative families near us to share experiences and get some advice. But again, there is no obvious way to find and meet people like us. Hence, I decided to launch MyAlternativeFamily.com.”

The site will eventually combine a huge number of resources into one virtual library. However, the backbone of MyAlternativeFamily.com will be its communication potential. After finding profiles of interesting people, users will be able to connect through the site and get to know each other, possibly moving communication away from the site and into the real world.

Becky explains her ultimate goal:

“We want to establish MyAlternativeFamily.com as the go-to place for alternative families and people wanting to build their own alternative families. With strength in numbers, MyAlternativeFamily.com aims to give alternative families a voice in a world that can still be very prejudicial towards them”, Becky explains with clear passion.

To view a 3-minute entertaining and informative introduction video, please visit: http://www.myalternativefamily.com

About MyAlternativeFamily.com

MyAlternativeFamily.com aims to become the premier online portal for building and connecting with alternative families. The site provides the means to find and communicate with alternative families and with potential donors, donor recipients and co-parents. The site also offers helpful and interesting information relevant to alternative families.

The site hopes to attract a wide range of users, from same-sex couples through to singles who choose to conceive and raise a child on their own. http://www.myalternativefamily.com is founded by Becky Downrose, who is herself is in the process of building her own alternative family.

Last year The Walled Garden bistro, one of the best restaurants Preston, was awarded the ultimate accolade as Best Restaurant at the 2011 Hi-Life Dining Awards; and now the restaurant has been nominated again for the second consecutive year.

What started out as a simple vegetable patch has now been turned into one of the best voted restaurants in the North-West of England. The bistro prides itself on bringing its diners a unique experience and after winning the esteemed award last year, the experts have high hopes of winning it again in 2012.

As well as having an award winning bistro, Barton Grange is one of the leading wedding venues in Preston and has had a number of wedding enquiries for this summer as well as for the next two years.

After having a vast number of budding brides and grooms to their Wedding Open Day last weekend, Barton Grange is looking forward to organising many fantastic weddings this year.

If you’re thinking of getting married then get in touch with the professionals at Barton Grange; they are renowned for being one of the best hotels in Preston. Have a look at what vacancies they have for next year and you could secure a lovely venue to hold your dream day at. Whether you’re having your day in the smaller, more intimate Grange Room, or if you opted for more of a banquet for all guests in the Barton Suite, you’re sure to have a fantastic day!

Valentine’s bouquets were sent within London on 14 February 2011 than in any other UK city, according to a leading florist.

Londoner gents also spent 15% more on flowers than those in the rest of the UK a survey by SerenataFlowers.com, the UK’s largest independent online flower delivery service, has found out.

Glasgow residents were the second biggest sender of bouquets and, despite the economic climate, Glaswegian men are spending more each year on Valentine’s Day – an average 15% more in 2011 than they did in 2010.

The traditional red roses remain the number one choice across the UK. “However we do also receive some strange requests,” says Luisa Tramontano, Director of Media & Marketing at SerenataFlowers.com. “Last year’s weirdest ask for Valentine’s Day was to send a bouquet of bananas – the mind boggles!”

Research based on SerenataFlowers.com sales last year show that only 7% of Valentine’s bouquets were sent anonymously, while a mere 3% of men sent flowers to more than one woman – proving that British men are more romantic – and more faithful, than might be expected!

Interestingly, only 6% of Valentine’s bouquets were ordered by women. And the success of receiving flowers on 14 February may be measured by the fact that 33% of women questioned in a poll said they would be more inclined to sleep with someone who had sent them flowers on Valentine’s Day.

The three most popular flower arrangements last Valentine’s Day were the classic dozen red roses, £19.99; Oriental Breeze featuring an array of pink flowers, £19.99 and Narnian Dreams, which includes white lilies and avalanche roses, £34.99.

Brits’ Hair Concerns Revealed

• 80% are dissatisfied with their hair
• 57% believe lack of hair would make them less attractive to the opposite sex
• 43% of respondents feel thinning hair impacts job prospects A staggering 8 out of 10 Brits are unhappy with their hair, believing it damages their love life and career. Shockingly, two thirds of people worry that their hair will recede or get thinner in future. Research shows that hair loss isn’t just a male concern, in fact more women than men worry about their hair thinning as they get older.

More than half of Brits say hair concerns knock their confidence. 10% admitted they had even cancelled plans because of it.

More than half of Brits admit lack of confidence due to hair issues with 1 in 10 of respondents claiming they would cancel plans due to their concerns. Our major concerns are hair thickness, with 40% of us are concerned our hair is too thin, greasy hair (17%) and hair breakages (14%).
Nearly two thirds of us feel that having thinner hair will make us less attractive.

Chartered psychologist Dr Jayne McCartney comments on the correlations between hair and confidence: “Our hair plays a major part in our appearance. Thinning hair can be psychologically devastating for both sexes, but for women especially the loss of hair can have long lasting and profound effects. Our hair is one of the first aspects that people will see and comment on, so they can be extremely self-conscious about it thinning.” 43% feel thin hair would be detrimental to our career, with this rising to 62% in under 24′s.

The impact of thinner hair isn’t just personal, it’s professional too. Many of us feel that thinner hair would damage our careers in areas such as salary and promotion prospects.

Dr McCartney continues, “The research also shows a lack of understanding with hair loss; only 14% of women believe their hair will thin more after childbirth when actually up to a staggering 90% suffer with thinning hair. Therefore everyone should be well educated and knowledgeable in products that can reduce hair loss”.

Despite the abundance of celebrity stories and photos, an astounding 79% of us would never look to a celebrity for hairstyle inspiration. It seems we’re more comfortable making our own decisions when it comes to our hair. Corroborating this, nearly a fifth of people still believe hair transplants are socially unacceptable, despite the procedure’s popularity among celebrities like Wayne Rooney.

Elliot Isaacs, medical director and founder of Nanogen, commented: “We all cherish our hair and this research shows that hair deeply affects our professional and personal lives. It’s interesting to see where we turn for advice on such a sensitive issue – only 1 in 10 men would consult a professional about hair loss, and women would turn to their hairdresser rather than their friends and family.”

-ends-
Notes to editors

Telephone interviews available with Elliot Isaacs and Dr Jayne McCartney upon request For further information on results, please contact nanogen@lucre.co.uk or call 0208 332 9690 About the research:
Research was carried out in December 2011 by the UK National Research panel YourSayPays. Results were collected from a sample of 2,000 people across the UK.
YourSayPays is a national research panel and can be found at www.yoursaypays.co.uk. YourSayPays has over 25,000 panelists from across the UK.

About Dr Jayne McCartney:
Dr Jayne McCartney is an expert psychologist and consultant for many projects and has trained and is fully qualified in a variety of NHS and NICE recognised therapies. Jayne offers advice to all types of people in everyday situations from relationship problems to self-esteem issues. About Nanogen:
Nanogen is the industry leading provider of supplements, treatments and concealers for men and women with thinning hair. As a British biotech company, Nanogen scientifically formulates real solutions to deliver real results. Everyone has different needs, so Nanogen has three options to make anyone look and feel great:
1. A Thicker, Fuller Head of Hair in an Instant. Nanogen Concealers create a transformation in seconds, so even people with visibly thin hair can have the confidence they want from day one. 2. Healthy, Vibrant Hair from Within. Nanogen 2-in-1 Supplements nourish the hair to maintain healthy growth and vibrant hair condition.
3. Hair growing slowly, not as long as you’d like, or looking thinner? Try Hair Growth Factors. They’re copies of the natural signals that tell your hair to grow. A full range is available containing this cutting edge technology designed to boost even thinning hair. Nanogen is recommended by the world’s leading hair loss experts. Previously only available through professionals, Nanogen is now available to the public through Boots pharmacies.

For further information, please visit www.nanogen.co.uk or contact Emma, Laura or Nicola at nanogen@lucre.co.uk, 0208 332 9690.