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Archive for March, 2010

The slimming power of seaweed

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Could sea kelp hold the key to weight loss?

It’s all over the news… we need worry no more about the obesity epidemic! Biochemists at Newcastle University believe they have discovered the key to a slimmer nation in a natural fibre found in sea kelp called alginate. Apparently it can reduce fat absorption in the body by up to 75%, which is more effective than most weight loss supplements currently on the market. Its USP is that, unlike supplements, the alginate can actually be added to food as an ingredient. Now we can look forward to chocolate, cakes and biscuits aplenty and watch the weight simply drop off! The only downside is that they tease us now with this exciting story and it won’t be available to Joe Bloggs for another ten years.  Ah well, good things come to those who wait!

Vespa virgin gets her wings

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

When someone starts working on the Piaggio account one of the first things they do is book in to undertake their CBT (compulsory basic training) to enable them to start riding a scooter (unless they are already a fully-fledged biker of course).  Having just joined the team, it was my turn last week…

Although I was a little apprehensive beforehand, the guys at Metropolis were amazing and immediately put as all at our ease. We started the day pottering around a playground nearby, riding in between cones. It was amazing how quickly you get the hang of the bike and the throttle/break sequence isn’t as complicated as I thought it would be! Once we were all declared “competent” it was off to the classroom to go over the Highway Code and brush up on rusty and long-since forgotten driving theory. Some must have found the morning more tiring than others as one member of the group even nodded off during the lesson!

We were then paired off and it was finally time to hit the A roads. I was suddenly glad we had spent so long going over and over the brake sequence a few hours before as I certainly needed my wits about me to dodge the London rush hour traffic. Fortunately you’re linked up by radio with your instructor so I never felt safety was far behind me. After two more hours my scooter partner and I were feeling pretty confident we had aced the CBT and one wrong turn or two later we were back at the test centre and were then packed off proudly clutching our certificates – 125cc motorbike here I come!

Digital Switchover is a turn-off

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

The Focus PR team recently hit the streets to find out what the Great British public knew about the Digital Switchover, which is (in case you didn’t know) already underway, and will be complete by the end of 2012.

With analogue TV soon to be turned off and tuned out, every single one of us is going to have to switch on to digital or miss out completely. Shockingly – and despite millions of publicly-funded pounds being spent by Government - almost everyone we spoke to was still in the dark when it comes to preparing for the change.

Worryingly most Londoners we asked couldn’t tell us the different options available to them and they also didn’t know that the Digital Switchover takes place in the capital in 2012.  We can see the headlines now: ‘Londoners miss Olympics due to digital switchover confusion’….