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| Dear Long Weekend, |
Really looking forward to seeing you. Please can you bring sunshine, good cheer and something to chuck on the BBQ? In the meantime, here’s some exciting news to get you all revved up for the Bank Holiday.
See you Friday. |
| Taste not waste |
Here’s an interesting fact. Each week in the UK, we each throw away
5 of our 5-a-day portions of fruit. 5 whole portions. In the bin. Instead of in your belly. Not only is this total madness, it’s also a total waste of money, goodness and bananas. That’s we’re running a little project with A Taste of Freedom and our friends at Fareshare to take all that unwanted fruit to places where it will do real good. Come September, we’ll be visiting East Sheen Primary School once a week to make smoothies with a pile of fruit that would have otherwise been thrown away. To have a look at the sort of things we’ll be getting up to,
just click here. |
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| Best in show |
 After lots of hard toil, it's now bursting with fruit, veg and a smart new shed and last weekend, SJ and Steph entered their finest cauliflower, some courgettes and a giant potato into the annual allotment competition. Sadly, they didn't win any prizes mainly because the board was swept by old timers Derek, Sue (best flowers) and Granville (onions). But they did pick up lots of tips, see how big an onion can really grow and taste a lot of homemade jam. Steph also won the 'Guess the Weight of the Cake' cake by correctly guessing it weighed 6.2kg. So they didn't go home empty handed. To see more pics or give SJ some veg growing tips, just click here.
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| The glass blob |
 Rich is back from the mountains, so after week’s of pondering and having fake telephone conversations, we can now reveal that the glass blob is actually [drum roll, dramatic pause, sharp intake of breath] - a sculpture by artist, Julian Wild. Rich acquired said sculpture at a friend's charity auction and brought it to work as he liked it so much. So there you go. Not Alex Mack. Not a cosmic slug. And not Richard's work soul. But a piece of art called Crystal. Now that's all cleared up, tune in next week to play 'What's that thing under Tansy's desk?'. |
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| And finally... |
 Scaffart (thanks to Tropedontlivehereanymore for this link)
Balloon to the moon
S'great to levitate (thanks to Timnotgrim for this link)
Free chips?
Sparrow slam
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| And finally, finally... |
No time to chat? Too busy to reply verbally? Let your fingers do
the walkingtalking (thanks to Vicvicvictoria for this link)
What's the all about? Just click the birdy and it will let you re-tweet any of our 'and finally' links at the touch of a button. It's all about word of mouse these days.
*Or you could just cut the bottom off and have done
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| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
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We said hello to Keith, Alan told us about his shed, Janel offered lunch in exchange for secrets, Katie W bumped into Prince Harry over the weekend (as you do), Bryony became the 4th floor Biscuit Supplier, Kirsty broke all her pencils, retired her blog and ruined her trousers all in one morning and we had a mass backward ramp walk.
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| bob of the week |
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This week’s Bob of the Week is Ginger Bob. Ginger Bob runs the Troublemaker Theatre Group in Wycombe, is a dab hand on and off stage and is never seen without his hat.
 He is married to the lovely Caroline, likes growing herbs, supping fine ale, combing his splendid auburn mane and reading comics. All whilst wearing his special hat. Know a good Bob? Email us at iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
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This week’s Corner of the Week is Yoghurt Pot Corner. Now, it's not often we have a pop at a corner in COTW but this week we are. The corner in question is the one where there’s always a smidge of yoghurty goodness left, tantalising you, tempting you.
 You know the only way to get to it is to stick in your finger/tongue/both. You also know everyone will hate you with their eyes if you even attempt it. So you have to go to the stationery cupboard and lick it out in private. Yoghurt appreciation is not a shameful thing. And it's high time yoghurt pot manufacturers stopped making us feel greedy or guilty, ditched the corners and let fermented dairy love run free*. |
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| Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, |
| never ending or beginning, on an ever spinning wheel, welcome to the windmills of this week’s news. |
| The Big Knit |
 The Big Knit is back. Oh yes, it’s time once again for our little bottles to get all dressed up and don little woolly hats in Sainsbury's and Boots stores across the land. We first got our needles out back in 2003 when we knitted 20,000 hats to raise £10,000 for Age Concern. Since then The Big Knit has grown every single year - and 2011 will be the year we smash the £1 million mark of total money raised over the campaign’s history as we aim to put 650,000 hats, all knitted by you, on our bottles. For every little hat knitted, 25p will be donated to Age UK to help keep thousands of older people across the UK warm and healthy during the chilly winter months. As always, we need your help to continue supporting this great cause. So go here, learn what ‘purl’ means and get involved. |
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| A Hungry Grassy tour |
 In his seminal work ‘On The Road’, Jack Kerouac complained that “being on the road is good, but you can never get any nice chips”. Well not any more, Jack because we’re getting behind the wheel and taking a grassy road trip in our Hungry Grassy Van (HGV) to offer people a new tasty way to get their 5-a-day. Say goodbye to greasy burgers and fatty fries and hello to veggie burgers and rainbow chips, as the HGV serves up a delicious selection of healthy takeaway options from our new family recipe book Hungry?. Dishes will cost between £2-£3 and count towards your 5-a-day. Or you can tick the whole lot off in one go with our special £5 for 5-a-day meal deal. And if you bring along a Beat Generation author with you, you get a free beret. Find out more here.
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| Here be monsters |
 Outside our new office, there is a canal. Of late, it’s been full of algae and weeds and general green swampy matter. So we got our nets, pulled out all the green stuff, and in the process, found what we believe to be a sea monster. It can’t be a lobster because it’s fresh water. It can’t be a prawn because it doesn’t look delicious. It isn’t an octopus because it just isn’t. So it’s a sea monster. And until someone tells us different, we’ve got a weather-beaten fisherman with one eye watching the canal at all times with a harpoon until the mermaid turns up to appease the creature with some deep sea ditties. |
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| And finally... |
University room tips (thanks to Zoe's friend Celia)
Sexy A-levels (thanks to Armand Smith)
Super small (thanks to Tropes for this link)
Skateboarding in India (Tim found this)
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| And finally, finally... |
Sit back, feet up and listen to this
What's the all about? Just click the birdy and it will let you re-tweet any of our 'and finally' links at the touch of a button. It's all about word of mouse these days.
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| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
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Ben played football for the first time since 1994, Janel got the bratwurst barbie on the go, Outlook got a new look, Rich C settled into his newly finished house, Dan B played a lot of chart R'n'B, James H came back from honeymoon, the ducks were nowhere to be seen, Dougal popped back to say hello and Rio ignored all advice on taking wellies for her first ever camping sojourn.
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| bob of the week |
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This week’s Bob of the Week is Bobby De Niro. Robert to the world, Bobby to his friends, and everyone’s first answer to “Who’s your favourite actor?”, pretty much every film he’s made has been a gem, (with the exception ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’ and allthoseoneswithBenStiller).
 Thespian, hotelier, taxi driver and an all round funny, clever, slightly terrifying chap.
Know a better Bob? Email iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
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This week’s Corner of the Week is the Cornetto. It’s not strictly a corner, but it sounds like corner and to be honest, when we started this we overestimated how many different corners there were in the world. Cornettos are the epitome of being small, British and at the seaside. Invented by Ian Cornetto in 1982, they were the first ice cream that you could eat on the move.
 Before then you had to buy a 2 litre tub and eat it with your hands (or a very small plastic spoon). Cornetto were also the first to employ the clever gimmick of making the best of very top and bottom of the ice cream. The sauce that always get stuck to the paper disc at the top and the chocolate tip at the bottom of the wafery cone. Cornetto, you’re always our first choice on a hot day. Unless there’s a 99, Calippo or Box ‘o’ Mini Milks on offer. |
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| Yoghurt for dogs. Sandwiches for Selleck. |
| Glass blobs, chilled mangoes, chenille overalls and Bob the Carp chap. That’s the condensed version of this week’s news. For the full unabridged version (with special outtakes and duckling updates), read on. |
| Hot hot hot |
 And slightly bothered. That’s what our mangoes would say. If mangoes had mouths. And access to a telephone. We’ve been getting our mangoes from India for over 10 years and in that time, the world has got hotter. So when the farmers we work with started voicing their concerns about the effect of these hotter conditions on the mango crop yield, we wanted to do our bit to help cool the mangoes down, and keep the farmers in business. After lots of chats with farmers, a local agricultural institute and various consultants, we’ve come up with a set of recommendations that 18 farmers are trialling with our supplier. It’s early days yet but already we’re seeing some great results. To find out a bit more about how to cool down hot fruit, just click here. |
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| Good for Nothing? |
 Busy this weekend? Our friends at Good for Nothing are running a rapid response event to raise money and awareness for the famine crisis in East Africa, where 3.2 million Somalians are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance in the worst drought in over 60 years. The fundraising efforts are struggling to keep up to fund the relief effort. Good for Nothing started last week with a web based money raising idea which they’re going to prototype and make this weekend. Get involved right here.
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| Mind blobbling |
 Alex Mack. Cosmic slug. The fugitive bubble of a giant spirit level. Just some of the suggestions for what the mysterious glass blob could be. Rich is still away. So please keep the suggestions coming and we’ll give you the official answer next week. |
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| And finally... |
Land carpet (thanks to Kamal for this link)
Face swap (thanks to Zohohoshesmagic for this link)
Doghurt (thanks to Danielle for this link)
Scenic Selleck sarnies
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| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
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Prasad had a haircut, Fi came back, Cheryl Cole, Natalie Imbruglia and a scratched Merc all turned up at the Monday Morning Meeting, Thomas became an engine, Halil spent another morning winding the weed out the pond, Clare’s cups didn’t turn up and the ducklings are four feathers away from being fully fledged ducks.
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| bob of the week |
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This week’s Bob of the Week is Big Bob. In his time, Bob has been a milkman, a bouncer, a biker, a B&B owner and the owner of a very decent caff.  He is now retired in France, spends his days catching carp and updating his excellent web site. Know a good Bob? Hit us up here iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
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This week’s Corner of the Week is Smooth Corner. No sharp edges. No pointy, jaggedy, sticky out bits. No bits at all. Just lots of suede, some buttery soft leather and a few silky scatter cushions. 
If this corner could speak, it would sound like the Cabury’s Caramel Bunny with a soothing hint David Attenborough. If it was a song, Luther or Mr. De Burgh would sing it. And if you ever visit, you’ll need to be clad in silky dressing gown, a lycra leotard or some chenille overalls. Or you won’t get past the streamlined bouncerr. |
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| Sometimes work is boring. |
| Especially when it’s sunny outside and everyone else is on holiday (including the air con). So pop on some swimming attire, pour yourself a long, cool drink and tilt your desk lamp to shine on your face whilst you soak up this week’s welcome break of a news. |
| School’s out |
 So we thought you might like some ideas for what to do with the kids over the summer holidays. Along with our friends at Mumsnet, we’ve come up with ideas to keep the small people in your life amused over the next six weeks or so. Stuff that’s quick and easy to do and that doesn’t cost the earth. Glamp in your own back garden, make dinner together or even get some cheap DIY before the dreaded uniform shop. Click here to see how. |
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| Guess what it is? |
 Is it a fancy paperweight? An executive armrest? A thing to wave at people to really drive your point home? No one is really quite sure but it’s been hanging off Rich’s desk for a while now. It’s made of some sort of semi breakable glass, is very smooth and rather heavy. Rich is climbing Mont Blanc this week so is unable to confirm what said weird glassy blob is. If you know or have an idea, tell us right here and once Rich is back from the summit, we'll get him to tell us what that summat is (sorry).
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| Name that T-shirt |
 Thanks to everyone who entered the howies T- shirt of the Month competition last week. Pete, Aron and Tidy Mike at howies have whittled it down to a final shortlist and you have until Monday 8th August to vote for your favourite idea. Who knows? Your words could be on the chests of the nation very soon. To vote, simply click here. |
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| Wicker winners |
| Thanks again to everyone else who entered our kids juicy drinks hamper competition. Hearty back pats all round to Claudine M , Leila (aged 5) and Lochie (aged almost 3) for being the lucky winners. Hampers winging their way to you right now. |
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| And finally... |
Birds with arms (thanks to Trope for this link)
How to fold a hankerchief (thanks to Gibbo for inspiring this link)
Big bang blueprint
Veg S.W.A.T spag (thanks to Bierlady for this link)
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| And finally, finally... |
Rushing everywhere this week? No time to sit down? Only time for a single click? Stop. Breathe. And unwind like these happy hounds (thanks to Amazingzoe for this link)
What's the all about? Just click the birdy and it will let you re-tweet any of our 'and finally' links at the touch of a button. It's all about word of mouse these days. |
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| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
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Allan moved in, Zoe made leftover spag bol and feta work, the band rocked The Bush, the first 3 man BBQ team practice went down a storm, Seb painted blackboards, Clare O plumped for bangs, Rich C chose bed over climbing with Gibbo and we got our own outdoor office when everyone with a laptop moved outside.
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| bob of the week |
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This week’s Bob of the Week is Bob the horse. Bob is giving Wriggly the Caterpillar a lift to the toadstools while Emily is trying to take Bob for a walk. Will Wriggly ever reach the toadstool?
 Does Bob actually want to go on a walk? Or be a caterpillar taxi? Who knows? If you do know a good Bob though, hit us up here iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
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This week’s Corner of the Week is Weedy Corner. Pond Weed Corner to be precise. It’s where all the pond weed in London comes to hang out. And never leave. Sometimes the ducks splash about in it.
 Occasionally a massive goldfish pokes its head out for a quick neb. But usually, it’s a pretty stagnant place to be. So whichever corner you’re currently frequenting this week, be cheered in the knowledge that it can’t be as murky, stinky or full of duck muck as Weedy Corner. |
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