Well, shiver me timbers and call me Pugwash. This week’s news is almost as entertaining as a tap dancing pirate in a wooden leg factory. Almost.

The Galley(ery)

It’s always nice to get letters in the post. Especially when they come with money or cakes. But receiving a homemade card, complete with bits of glitter covered pasta and pictures of chickens, well that’s really something else. We love getting all the brilliant stuff you send us, so much so that we’ve got a special online pinboard to display it all. But a gallery isn’t a gallery without a curator. So in true Tony Hart Style, here’s our Becca to take us through her favourites.

Treasure in sight

Times are tough. People are tightening their belts, battening down the hatches and drying teabags on the radiator. So being the good citizens that we are, we thought it only right to let you know where we're on promotion right now so that you can save a few pence for your Lapsang Souchong. This week, we're on offer in Sainsbury's, where you can also get great deals on mature cheddar cheese, loose red peppers and salon-style shampoo. Just in case you were planning on making a (lavender and bergamot scented) curry this evening.

Shaving foam ahoy

After weeks of tweezering, ‘tache twiddling and far too much time in front of the mirror, this week sees the end of Movember. So, no more humiliating cappuccino/beard interface moments. No more scaring small children. No more being mistaken for Magnum/Higgins down at the petrol station. Come Monday, everyone will be freshly shaven with slightly chillier faces. The boys have so far raised an impressive £100 and bonded in the way only moustachioed men can (think Velcro). A big thanks to everyone who sponsored them for this worthy cause and if you’re at a loose end, why not enter our Movember caption competition here and win yourself a nice case of smoothies at the same time.

To all Irish readers

Do you live in Ireland? Would you like to receive an innocent newsletter, full of banter, treats and special Irish offers, just for folk who live in Ireland? Our friends over in Fruit Towers, Dublin have their own email newsletter that does just that. To join up, visit www.innocentdrinks.ie/family. And then to make sure you're not getting two newsletters, once you’ve signed up to the Irish newsletter, simply click unsubscribe at the bottom of this one.

And finally...

Apparently, your toenails contain more gold than anywhere else in your body. Something to think about next time you’re flicking your clippings at the cat.

Portion puzzle

If Rodney eats a banana, 3 cherry bakewells, 2 spears of broccoli, an apple, a chip buttie and then washes it all down with a smoothie, how many portions of fruit and veg has Rodney had? Well, the answer is 5 because despite tasting very nice, chips and glace cherries don’t actually count as portions of fruit and veg. Obvious though that may be to most of you, apparently there’s been some confusion of late as to what does and doesn’t constitute a portion of fruit and veg. Our Dr. Shilpee has been busy posting about such things on her weekly blog but since 90% of the UK aren’t reportedly getting their 5-a-day, here’s a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to show what’s what.

Yep
An apple  (1 portion)
A glass of juice (1 portion)
8 Brussel sprouts (1 portion)
A smoothie (2 portions – 1 of juice, 1 of whole crushed fruit)
A veg pot (3 portions)

Nope
Jaffa cakes
Juicy Fruit chewing gum
Fruit Polos
Orange Panda Pop
Smiley potato faces <

Bloomin’ NORA

We’ve won another award. Last week, it was for our packaging and this week, it’s for our website. Now, no one likes a show off but there’s nothing forward about going backwards after all and the only trumpet you should ever really be blowing is, er, your own. Anyways, we were chuffed to bits to win the Best Employer's Website (Recruitment) category at the National Online Recruitment Awards. Ted and Fordy couldn’t make it to the awards dinner, so our Charlie H and Helen went along to receive the award on their behalf. Following such gracious acceptance speeches, smart frocks and mini spring roll munching, Charlie and Helen would now like to offer their services as professional award receivers to anyone out there who needs such assistance (providing there’s a suitable buffet at the do). If you’d like to take them up on their offer, fancy checking out our award winning website or just want to see what current vacancies we have, then feel free to peruse away here.

Hat of the Year – The Results

Strictly and X Factor may still be in full swing and John Sergeant may yet still come up trumps, but the votes for Hat of the Year are in and the lines are now closed. Fairy and Hoodie were early favourites in the voting, sparking heated debates left, right and near the watercooler. But there can only ever be one winner and so it gives us great pleasure to announce that this year’s Hat of the Year is (drumroll) The Ram knitted by Pat Rawcliffe. Pat’s woolly wonder received over a third of the votes and took Hat of the Week to a whole other level. As one judge noted, recreating a ram out of wool was ‘sort of like hand knitted cloning but not.’ Thanks to everyone who voted, everyone who knitted and don’t forget to keep an eye out for more Big Knit millinery in a Sainsbury’s near you now.

And finally...

In this week’s news – an important new law, a posh award and an octopus that juggles hermit crabs. Highbrow stuff.

Best of British

Was your chest slightly more puffed than usual on Tuesday 28th October? Were you walking with your head held high, whistling Jerusalem or My Old Man’s A Dustman to yourself? Well, if you were and couldn’t quite fathom why, 28th October was a fine day to be British as it was the day that the UK parliament voted for the Climate Change Bill to become law. This important bill commits the UK to achieving an 80% reduction in carbon emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2050, which is the most ambitious target in the western world to date.

Friends of the Earth were the major driving force behind getting this target included within the law, so backpats all round there. Some of the money raised at our first village fete back in 2007 went towards supporting the Friends of the Earth campaign, so if you came along to that fete, an extra big pat to you for helping get this important bit of legislation passed. If you'd like some tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, have a look here or to see how we’re doing our bit, cast your eyes this way.

Pick of the packaging

Vice Admiral T. R. Cardboard-Box, Sir Ronald Bubblewrap, Lady Margaret Cello’Phane – oh yes, the great and good of the packaging world were out in force last week for the annual UK Packaging Awards. The glitzy ceremony was held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London and we picked up the rather heavy, slightly sharp edged but nevertheless coveted award for ‘Brand Client of the Year’. Beating off strong competition from Apple, Coca-Cola, and Proctor & Gamble, we won in recognition of our 100% PCR bottle, our quest for sustainability, our all round packaging design and for being the brand most people would like to work with. Which is always a nice reason to win. John Inverdale presented our Jacqueline and Simon with the award, confessing in hushed tones that he had ‘literally millions’ of our drinks at home. No favouritism there then.

To twit or not to twit

Twittering. Nothing to do with impersonating owls, but actually a relatively newish thing in digital instant messaging. Basically, you write what you’re up to at that precise moment in time, answering the question “What are you doing”, then post your message and instantly update all of your twittering mates. A bit like updating your Facebook status or blogging in haiku form or just texting your mates all at once. Anyway, we’ve been twittering for a little while now, and we read recently that Mr Obama’s twitter feed was the thing that won him the election (sort of). So it’s probably worth a go. If you fancy joining in, simply click here and tweet with us.

The Hat Factor

Fancy being Simon Cowell or Cheryl Cole for five minutes today? Well, look no further than our Hat of the Year final. No ear bleeding renditions of Hero or high-waisted trousers required. All you have to do is take look at our finalists here, decide on your favourite and cast your vote. And when you’re done deciding the fate of our woolly hat hopefuls, you can watch our Joe doing some knitting with Beryl and Jean, flexing his biceps and being a general all round good egg for the camera.

And finally...

Hello. This week’s news aims to leave you glowing (though takes no responsibility whatsoever for the impact of cool dance moves upon postman related injuries).

Winter warmer 1

It’s always good to welcome back an old friend, especially when they bring you presents. So this week, we’re pleased to announce the return of our lemon, honey & ginger and all the glorious gifts it brings. First up, there are lemons - packed full of vitamin C and handy for colds and runny noses. Then there’s honey - Nature’s very own sweetener and wonderful for sore throats. And finally to spice things up a bit, ginger which is as well known for it’s cleansing properties as it is for being the chief ingredient of many a people shaped biscuit. What’s more, if you pop this smoothie into a mug and warm it up gently in the microwave, it’ll leave you with such a glow that you’ll be skipping to the bus stop, swinging on lamp posts and waving at robins for the rest of the day. Now that’s what I call a generous guest.

Winter warmer 2

If the arrival of our new smoothie of the month isn’t enough to melt your icy little heart, here’s something guaranteed to warm you to the core. After months of frenzied knitting, The Big Knit finally launches this week and from today, little woolly hats will grace our bottles in every Sainsbury’s store in the land. For the next 5 weeks, Daleks, sheep, pirates and an array of bobble hats will be on shelf, hoping to raise £250,000 for Age Concern. So tell everyone you know to get themselves down to Sainsbury’s for some hot hat action. For every behatted bottle you buy, innocent and Sainsbury’s will donate 50p to Age Concern to help keep older people warm this winter. So when you’re done drinking, take a photo of your new hat and pop it on our big knit flickr group to stand yourself in good stead of winning a rather nice prize.

Winter warmer 3

Wooly hats aren’t the only things gracing the aisles of Sainsbury’s this week though. If you head past bread and cakes, cut through jams and preserves and take a left at shoe polish, you’ll find our our veg pots nestling in amongst the chilled soups and other chilled prepared meals. They’re perfect for the days you forget your lunch, fancy something warm and filling and can’t face another limp egg mayo bap from the sandwich man. What’s more, for the next 2 weeks, you can buy 2 veg pots for £5 in all Sainsbury’s stores where they’re stocked. 6 portions of veg for a fiver, the luxury of being able to forget your lunch two days in a row and no whiffy post lunch burps. It’s all win win win.

Tashes for cash (es)

4 days into November and it’s full stubble ahead on the facial hair front. Razors and shaving foam have been banished to the bathroom cabinet and the facial fur of our Movember men is free to roam. We had some great moustache designs sent in for our boys to try and grow and Tim R has baggsied the Poseidon look. You can have a look at some of the designs and check on the moustache progress here. Or if you’d like to sponsor the boys for this very worthy cause, then just click here, type in Inno Mo and choose Ben Hills.

Rate and review winner

Well done to Daisy, the winner of our October rate and review competition. She told us what she thought of our current smoothie of the month and wins a box of smoothie shaped treats for her efforts. If you fancy getting your hands on a smoothie shaped prize, just let us know what you think of the things we make on any of our recipe pages and we’ll enter you into our November rate and review comp. Simple as that.

And finally...