The Bon Vivant  If your father enjoys the drama of popping corks and keeping everyone’s glass full gift him this Lachetaur Crémant de Loire. It is structured, fine and round with a good length and persistent effervescence.  A touch of lemon and berry fruits, lemon, tangerine, exotic fruits on the nose and translucent, brilliant, pale yellow with silver reflection. Serve as an aperitif or with seafood. Wine: Lachetaur Cremant de Loire Price: £16 Retailer: Ocado Link: https://www.ocado.com/products/lacheteau-cremant-de-loire-brut-300101011       ..read more

RESIDENTS in Bolton could have been forgiven for thinking remakes of several Hollywood blockbusters were being filmed in the town recently. For spotted on the streets were several Batmobiles, the Ghostbusters and their Ecto-1 ambulance, Transformers, Smokey and the Bandit’s Trans Am, cars from various Bond films plus the four wheel stars of other film greats like the Dukes of Hazzard, Tomb Raider and Back to the Future. Also Star Wars and Transformers characters plus dozens of Stormtroopers were on parade as Stars & Cars came to Bolton Arena. Raising an estimated £30k plus for Chorley’s De ..read more

Say farewell to winter and hello spring, with fresh homemade recipes from Tate & Lyle Sugars. Your picnic basket has never looked so tasty! Bake delicious savoury Spring Garden Foccacia, bursting with colour, nutrients and flavour, followed by a fuss-free No Bake Eton Mess Cheesecake, sure to put a spring in your step.   SPRING GARDEN FOCACCIA Ingredients Strong bread 500 g Strong bread flour 500 g Golden caster sugar NaN ml Fast-action dried yeast 7 g Pinch of herbs (rosemary, basil) Choice of vegetables cherry tomatoes, spring onion ..read more

SPORTY versions of family cars have been on our roads for decades and created a whole new category of vehicle – the hot hatch. Think Golf GTi, Escort XR3i and Peugeot 205GTi which all became motoring icons and the tradition continues today with Peugeot’s latest 308GT. I got to try out the hybrid version that has a 1.6 turbo petrol engine and electric motor which, working together, deliver 180bhp giving a sprightly 0 to 62 time of 7.6 seconds and top speed of 139. There is an even more impressive 225bhp model which shaves a little off the 0 to 62 time but delivers less electric only range. How ..read more

You don’t need to shell out on store-bought treats this Easter! Why not bake some home-made goodies using Tate and Lyle Sugars easy and affordable recipes! Create decadent Easter Egg White Chocolate Blondies or surprise your yolks with egg-citing Easter Egg Biscuits this Easter. Please see the full recipes below. Easter Egg White Chocolate Blondies  Quick and easy to make, bake gooey blondies stuffed with mini chocolate eggs and chunks of white chocolate! Great for customizing, swap out for any tasty combination you like to fuel your ..read more

Easter Egg Coffee Milkshake INGREDIENTS 3 scoops vanilla ice cream 250ml milk 1tsp cocoa powder 1tbsp Camp Coffee METHOD Add all your ingredients to your blender. If using an older or underpowered blender that sometimes struggles with shakes, let everything sit for about 10 minutes so the ice cream softens slightly. This will help it blend more easily without having to add extra liquid. Blend until smooth, pour into an Easter egg. Top with whipped cream and chocolate flakes.       Camp Coffee Sandwich Cookies INGREDIENTS 270g all-purpose flour 1 & 1/2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp b ..read more

40% of children don’t know that most of their food relies on soil and a third say they don’t have the opportunity to get their hands in soil Education charity, The Country Trust, calls for urgent action to give children more soil-based learning in schools and launches Plant Your Pants campaign to help close the gap A survey conducted by ChildWise[1] for education charity The Country Trust has revealed the worrying lack of understanding among children about the connection between the food they eat and the soil. The survey of children aged 7 to 17 highlighted a significant knowledge gap,&n ..read more

Mini Eggs Easter Rocky Road Recipe About With just 7 ingredients this Easter Rocky Road recipe is ready in a jiffy and infinitely customizable. Our Mini Eggs Easter Rocky Road version is the perfect no-bake treat to make with the whole family! Mini Eggs Easter Rocky Road Recipe Milk chocolate 350g Butter Unsalted 80g Lyle’s Golden Syrup 60g Digestive biscuits Broken into pieces 150g Hazelnuts (or almonds) chopped 50g Mini marshmallows (or fudge pieces) 50g Cadbury Mini Eggs Plus more for topping if desired 80g How to make Mini Eggs Easter Rocky Road Step 1 Line a small baking tin with ..read more

IF you want to stand out from the small SUV crowd then here is the car for you! Toyota have always been cutting edge with their designs but the 2024 C-HR really nails that stealthy something different look. The first generation C-HR was introduced here in 2016 and has sold very well but for this second incarnation a complete makeover means more kit, even sharper styling and impressive performance. Power train wise there are two full hybrid choices starting with a 138bhp 1.8 petrol engine then a 194bhp 2.0. Both come with a CVT automatic gearbox and our test 1.8 has a claimed mpg of up to 57.6 ..read more

GETTING to try new cars before they hit UK roads is one of the perks of this job and recently it was a double treat as BMW launched their new iX2 and partner company Mini the latest Countryman models. In glorious Cotswolds countryside I got behind the wheel of both cars to see just how comprehensive the changes are on these best-selling models from both manufacturers. First it was the Countryman in exciting John Cooper Works All4 guise. Now this is the range-topping version priced at a shade under £40k, which seems a lot for a Mini but it is a lot more car than Minis of old being SUV sized an ..read more