National Carrot Cake Day

I'm never sure how many of these 'National days' to believe… but this is one I'm happy to go with. National carrot cake day- an excuse to eat cake, does it get any better?!

I've dug out a carrot cake recipe from the BBC Good Food website so you can have a shot at making your own and really get involved with National carrot cake day!

What's on today?

Today sees the last day of the Milton Keynes Wedding Show, at Middleton Hall the centre:mk, so if you're getting married soon then pop down to see what there is, admission is free. Then in the evening there's: 'That time of the month' Comedy club over in Newport Pagnell, with Daniel Simonsen and Matt Rees at the Cannon. The Snozone Snobar has another open mic night this evening as well, so if you fancy belting out a few tunes… maybe a bit more professional than karaoke though; you may need to be actually able to sing! Make the most of Sunday and get out and see something that's going on, if you're completely stuck for ideas, there's always plenty of shops…

Hello February!

Pinch, punch, it's the first of the month! No returns and all that malarky...

Well, can we believe it- February is here. We've made it though January with no snow days (thank goodness) and we're finally at a point where the spring is in sight, be it in the far distance, but we're getting gradually closer to it that's for sure. Best thing about the first of Feb? It's a Saturday! Let's start the month off with an utterly relaxing lie-in (my apologies if you work weekends, you'll have to delay that slightly)

Hopefully you've received your Phonebox magazine though your door by now and can really get into the feel of February. Take note of some of the local restaurants advertised if you're planning a romantic dinner late in the month (you know the date!)

Back to those famous new years resolutions- if you've given up or didn't get round to making one, why not take the opportunity of the start of a new month to start something new?… It still gives you 11 months to keep at it or you could carry it on until January next year…no excuses now.

Sarah

National Backwards day

Sarah

However you choose to celebrate backward day, I do hope you enjoy it!

You could try talking backwards… !confusing be would that Now

Maybe writing backwards isn't that clever either.

You'd most likely fall over, knock into people and really not get a lot done!

I'm not sure how efficient it would be to propose that you do everything backwards today.

You'll have probably got the the bottom and then had to read it again before you realise, so I apologise!

So you need to read this from the bottom to the top.

Today is backward day.

National Escape Day

Today is (apparently) National Escape Day! What does this mean? Well you probably don't take that too literally and run out of your work office screaming: "Escape!escape!" but maybe take it on board as an idea for doing something fun...

You could escape from your normal routine by making a small change, escape from eating the same lunch and go and try something new, escape from your home town for the weekend and get away…you get my drift. I'm not too sure which of these concepts the idea of 'escape day' is meant to encompass, but there we go, take your pick and make it what you want, or just ignore it…both work!

Sarah

Fire in Newport Pagnell

January draws to a close and, thank goodness, so far the snow has stayed well away. The same can't be said for the rain though, can it?! We need a nice long spell of sunshine to dry up all those waterlogged fields, but that would be a bit too much to ask for, it seems. How many of you saw the recent fire in Newport Pagnell? While homes temporarily ran out of water while the firefighters tackled the blaze, the surrounding flooded fields seemed somewhat ironic. Thankfully no-one was hurt, and it was eventually under control, despite taking a number of hours.

I heard some people asking how a warehouse of fridges could possibly catch fire, a seeing as they're so cold… well, this is true, they are cold (when switched on!), but it's the large amount of plastic they contain, as well as highly flammable insulation, which causes a fire to spread quickly once starting. In fact, fridges and freezers are the most dangerous household appliance when involved with a fire… so don't let that cool interior fool you!

Let's hope the fire was a one-off, and that February brings us no more fires and some sunny weather! Although Christmas is a distant memory, I still can't quite believe it's almost February… Time sure flies!

Sarah

Happy Christmas Eve!

Can you believe it's "that time of year again?!" I know we all say it every year, as though for some reason we're surprised that time continues to move on, but it does always seem to creep up on you, and before you know it it's Christmas Eve! There's just something about the build up to Christmas that helps create such a special day, and although we all moan about having decorations up and Christmas cards for sale in shops from around October, I suppose it does help with the build up to the big day!

We at the Phonebox would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year, and hope you all look forward to receiving your January edition of the Phonebox through your letterbox soon, which we've all been hard at work on! But now it's time to shut up shop for a few days, put our feet up and eat as much turkey and mince pies as we can manage! Hope you have a great festive season, and have a very Merry Christmas.

Sarah and the Phonebox team