'Flappy Birds' game gone flappy!

Today's top news? 'Flappy Birds'. You might be wondering what on earth it is, especially if iPhones and apps are somewhat unchartered territory to you, but this phenomenon has taken phone gaming to a new level. The game consist of tapping the phone screen to get a bird to fly between tubes…and that is it. The simplicity of the game may have led to it's addictiveness, and it quickly became 'the game to play'. Among kids and adults alike, high scores were being compared, with people sharing their excitement over high scores on other social networking sites.

But yesterday, the creator of 'Flappy Birds', Doug Nguyen, removed the game from the app stores, saying that the game had ruined his life and that he'd been receiving death threats via Twitter as a result of the app.

Olney Pancake Race

We're counting down to the big event in March, the Olney Pancake race. One month to go as of yesterday, excitement is building as advertising gets out and people start practicing for the big race… I assume they'll be practicing anyway, with such great prizes on offer! Prizes this year range from Six Nations rugby tickets, to football tickets and vouchers. With such a limited number of spaces available, 25 to be precise, we're guessing most of them have already been snatched up by the Olney ladies wanting to compete and catch a moment of fame. The highly famous event attracts numerous reporters and onlookers every year, and so this year is set to be no different. We're looking forward to it!

Find out more here

Top City Breaks

We're on the approach to 'V-day' and whether you want to sweep a loved one off their feet this Valentines weekend, or just want to escape away with friends, we've come up with a selection of weekend city breaks that should do the job. You've just got enough time to get planning, but don't leave it too much longer!

Mannequins, keeping up with the size of Britain?

You may have come across them in ‘plus size’ stores in the past, but mannequins larger than a size 10 are now to be found in more high street stores. Debenhams in particular has decided to move away from only having size 10 mannequins to introducing some at size 16.

Research has shown that customers are more likely to buy clothes when they see them modelled in their size, and with the average UK woman today being a size 16, it seems to make sense. The hope is that being able to see the clothing presented on a figure they feel they can relate to will make women shoppers feel better about themselves, and they will consequently be more comfortable shopping.

It is a true point that seeing mannequins modelling size 10 clothes or sometimes even smaller can be difficult if you're shopping for a larger size. Different styles often suit different body shapes, and so seeing the clothes at a size 10 doesn't always help those looking at size 16 to imagine how the item will look on them.

What do you think? Does it make a difference to you what size mannequins you see in the stores? Do you see them as a representation of the human body or just as something to hold up the clothes on promotion?

Sarah

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