Shop Junction Blog

If you fancy a holiday on the Cornish coast, you might want to explore Bude. It’s a small seaside town situated next to some great scenery near to the Cornwall-Devon border. Whilst I was there, I used this Bude and Clovelly Ordnance Survey map to find my way around along the coastal path and the local geography. The OS maps are fantastic for exploring new areas if you are walking, cycling… or otherwise holidaying in unfamiliar territory.

I stayed in The Cliff at Bude which is a friendly hotel on, yes you guessed, the cliff top overlooking Crooklets Beach (one of two beaches in Bude). Walks along both beaches are a good way of blowing away the cobwebs of city life. We were lucky to have some sunny September weather during most of the visit which meant that beach walks were definitely a favourite pastime.

Overall

Bude is a nice place to stay. Typical small seaside town but not too over-developed. Great coastal scenery. Surfing is very popular.

» Try the Rough Guide to Devon and Cornwall for more information about this area.

Happy Go Lucky is a film by the British director Mike Leigh who is known for his character-driven films about British culture. It centers around the character of Poppy, played by Sally Hawkins, who has on overwhelmingly positive and humourous outlook on life.

The story revolves around her relationships with friends and people that she meets. In particular, the story focuses on her driving lessons with a driving instructor called Scott, played by Eddie Marsan, who has a completely different outlook and a sometimes threatening demeanour. Poppy’s attempts to inject some humour into the driving lessons and the effect of this on Scott are brilliantly done.

The driving lessons are the main story but the film covers quite a lot of ground, ranging from Poppy’s social life, her job as a primary school teacher, bullying at the school, Poppy’s relationship with her sisters, a meeting with a tramp, and the start of a relationship with a male social worker.

Overall, the film is more cheerful than some other Mike Leigh films that I have seen and I finished the DVD with a smile. The main character really shows her compassion and positive approach throughout the film and I found that it was impossible not to like this.

Buy Happy Go Lucky at Amazon UK

I don’t buy as many CDs as I would like but those that I do buy usually become favourites pretty quickly in my CD collection. That’s certainly the case with Lessons To Be Learned by Gabriella Cilmi.

It’s a great album from a relative newcomer who is being groomed for bigger and better things. I really like her voice and, although there a few echoes of Amy Winehouse and Duffy about Gabriella Cilmi’s singing, on the whole it’s a voice that you can easily recognise. Usually that’s a good thing!

Lessons To Be Learned contains the catchy title track but I like most of the songs because they are all quite different. From the slow piano and haunting melody of Safer through to the upbeat Got No Place to Go [my second favourite track after the title track] and the Echo Beach cover [the opening soundtrack for the recent ITV soap], the more I play it, the more I like it!

I am a bit of a mountain bike fan. Nothing too extreme you understand but I do like to get out and about on my mountain bike into the Sussex countryside near where I live. Despite living in quite a built-up area, it’s easy to get away from it all with a few miles cycling so that you find yourself in the middle of a forest with only the sounds of the birds for company. Great!

I know most of the trail routes near here but I am always looking for new routes to explore. A new book called Cycling in Sussex: Off-Road Trails and Quiet Lanes seems to be just the book I need to find some new rides!

The book is very nicely designed and each route has a map with some excellent and easy-to-follow directions. The routes are graded from family/easy rides through to medium and hard rides and the distances for each route varies from 4 km to 28 km. There should be something for everybody whatever your cycling experience or fitness.

One other useful feature is that each route has several nearby pubs highlighted! I always find that a beer stop is an essential part of any ride….

Related: Horsham Pub Guide

Summer is (finally) here and Kitbag have gone a bit crazy in the heat with a 20% sale. The new football season is nearly here – it’s a great chance to buy some of the new kits!

The Kitbag sale gives 20% discount off all orders with a spend of £40 or more. This sale starts at 10am on Wednesday 30th July, and will run for 2 days only (ending on Friday 1st August 2008 at 10am).

The discount will be applied automatically to the customer’s basket once the total reaches £40.  A great offer for Kitbag customers.

Coolbinz is a new website that sells sunglasses from Serengeti, Bollé, and Sundog. The website is clearly laid out and easy to use with a straightforward buying process.

La Redoute have an exclusive offer on Swimwear!

Receive 40% off Swimwear from Monday 30th June to Monday 14th July.  This is only valid for one single use.  Use Voucher Code 1714 to take advantage of this offer. The offer is valid on women, men and children’s swimwear.

There is a great selection to choose from in a range of styles, colours and sizes, including bikinis, swimsuits, tankinis and separates, so you can mix and match.  Buy now before before your summer holiday!

With prices seemingly increasing all the time, a website that compares supermarket prices might be just the thing!

MySupermarket is a new website that helps you shop, compare and get the best possible price for your grocery shopping at Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s or Ocado. The website enables you to choose a supermarket and import your favourites or browse top offers and supermarket shelves. You can save money and calories within your supermarket, or by switching to another.

MySupermarket is quick, easy and free to use – and is completely independent.

I am off on a bit of a cycling trip for a few days with a group of old-enough-to know-better mates. We are cycling the Wiltshire Cycleway which, I am told, is approximately 160 miles of country lanes between Salisbury and Malmesbury. Yikes, sounds like a long way! However, I have managed to get out on my Specialised Rockhopper MTB for a few practice rides in recent weeks so I am reasonably confident. Hopefully, it will be a successful ride and we will all get to the finishing point for a few celebratory beers on Saturday. Yay!

Ideally, a road bike would be best for this particular ride because it is mainly an on-road trip. I don’t have a road bike so my MTB will have to do. Mine is a bit like this Rockhopper from Evans Cycles. Everyone else has MTBs and/or hybrid bicycles so I should not be too far behind!

I aim to return with that tired, but not too painful, feeling that you get after a longish walk/ride/run. Wish me luck!

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