 |
| Hello and welcome to this week’s news |
| Come on in. Take a look around. Try a few things on for size. Make yourself at home. But don’t get too comfy. And don’t try to pinch anything. We’re watching. We’re always watching. |
| Cook-a-long |
 The lovely Anna Jones (who worked with us to come up with the recipes for our new book, Hungry?) has made a couple of videos to show just how easy the recipes are to make. She was assisted by some short but exceptionally talented commis chefs and you can watch them demonstrate how to make veggie burgers, a chop chop salad and a fruit mess (which is pretty much what it sounds like). NB: All comments are 100% bona fide and no bribing, coercing or mild leek related threats were used during filming. |
|
| Whack-a-fruit |
 Last week we gave you oranges-in-a-basket. This week’s game to pass the time with is our Whack-a-fruit game. It’s the same principle as that fairground game where you have to bash pretend moles over the head. Just less violent and with apples and oranges. Not the poor unsuspecting head of some talpidae looking for their front door. To while away a few hours and win some juicy prizes, whack your mouse over here. |
|
|
| Our man at Glastonbury... |
 A few innocent staff made it down to the world’s biggest mudpile last weekend. Most of them are still stuck there, but we have one eyewitness account, from The Man Who Made It Back: “The mud didn’t get me down. I escaped it via the power of music. Special highlights included the secret Radiohead show in the rain, Caribou’s energetic display (which reminded me of some dentists in a disco), and most psychedelic of all, Tame Impala, who wore no shoes and took me back to 1969, even though I wasn’t alive then. Time travel – that’s a real skill, let me tell you.” Were you there? Have you made it back? Tell us your favourite moments right here and the best one wins a case of welly free smoothies. |
|
| And finally... |
 Dream house (thanks to Richwhoreallydoeswantotliveinthistreeandmaybeonedaywill for this link)
Perceptive pigeons
Space plants
Dear Photograph (thanks to the Ropeoftrope for this link)
Polyester paean (thanks to Emma for this polyester fiesta link)
|
 |
| And finally, finally... |
Time poor this week? Only time to click on one single thing? Let it be the magic ring (thanks to Ysabel for this excellent 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
|
| Janel took it up an octave and serenaded everyone with a Monday morning aria, Olivia went all homeboy, Bryony managed the stairs without any tea spilling incidents, Stu climbed 3 mountains in 3 days, Will H lamented not being able to wear his wig, soaring temperatures were fixed by the green light (with the exception of steamy floor 2), Paula said goodbye, Tim had a 7am haircut and Roberta worked the playsuit despite having somesortofweirdflueycoldthing. |
| bob of the week |
|
This week’s Bob of the Week is Dinosaur Bob. He is the co-pet of Emma and Leanne and travelled all over South America with them. He cost 10 bolivinanos (internationally abbreviated to BOB) and Emma reckons it’s the best 90p she ever spent. He now lives in the bedroom of Orrin, Emma’s nephew.
 No idea if he has WIFI there but in case he is reading ‘Hi Bob, hope all’s grand.’ Know a good Bob? Let us know right here iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
|
Corner of the Week this week is Sirocco Corner. You know. It’s that hot, sultry wind that blows a teasing gale over your picnic, prompting you to look up and clock the oppressive storm cloud above just as the heavens open up and turn your egg mayo baps into paste.
 Sometimes it’s dusty. Sometimes it’s not. But it never brings pickled onions or Scotch eggs. Just rain. Wet, wet, picnic spoiling rain. |
|
|
|
 |
| No matter how many feather dusters |
| or cans of Mr. Sheen you invest in, we’re all going to end up as cosmic dust. So why fret about whatever you’re fretting about? Instead, liberate your mind from the humdrum and allow your thoughts to wander carefree via the portal that is this week’s space slanted news. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
|
We all went down to the woods, Paul B ditched Miss. Muffet early
doors, Heston demonstrated the apple experiment, Alex W got hitched, Dan set off the alarm and got locked inside (like the end of the Crystal Maze minus the foil blowing), Aurelien learnt about the horse’s mouth, the restaurant next door put Freekah salad back on the menu, Neshat organised a canoe race on the canal, Pawitra rocked the heels and the definitive guide
to Lucy was published. |
| bob of the week |
|
This week’s Bob of the Week is Bob Berman, the most widely read astronomer in the world. To become Admiral of the Galaxy, Bob has had to write loads of books and articles about the cosmos, go on telly and radio a lot and run special tours and expeditions to look at aurora and eclipses.
 When he’s not looking up, you’ll either find him flying his
four-seater Cherokee or burning rubber on the back of his massive motorbike. Which a Royal Star Touring Classic. Obviously. Know a good Bob? Nominate them here iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| Corner of the week |
|
This week’s cosmic Corner of the week is Remote Corner
#15678908066543. Apparently there was some sort of violent cosmic flare up over in said corner recently, involving a star, a black hole and a quibble over gravity. We say recently. It’s over 3.8 billion light years away.
 Here’s a picture of what it looked like. Just incase you ever find yourself in smack bang in the middle of a intergalactic quarrel in future. |
|
|
|
 |
| Everything tends toward disorder. |
| So by the time you’ve finished reading, the kitchen will be a bit messier, your hair will be less coiffed and your plans for the perfect romantic weekend getaway will have suffered yet another setback. Might as well just accept it and enjoy this week’s news while pandemonium ensues. |
| A big dance |
 Clad in lots of make up, proper ballerina buns and a look of mild panic, the ladies of the innocent dance club took to the stage of Sadler’s Wells last week. For the past 8 weeks, they've been working with the English National Ballet for the Dance to Work project and last Tuesday, they were given the chance to show off their new moves in a performance based on Wayne Eagling’s Men Y Men. Once the excitement of having a proper dressing room with lights round the mirrors subsided, the nerves kicked in, and a less than perfect dress rehearsal did nothing to calm them. Thankfully a few extra spritzes of hairspray and a big group Bayside hug just before they went on stage was enough to make sure that everything was alright on the night. Have a look at the ladies doing themselves proud right here. |
|
| A chance encounter |
 Back in April, Mr Ed and his girlfriend Lizzie headed off on a 2,500 mile journey across Europe to Istanbul. On the way, they battled stray dogs, giant pain au raisins, broken saddles and wayward facial hair, but one of the greatest shocks of the trip was bumping into a grassy van whilst enjoying a quiet coffee in a café in Budapest. At first Ed thought it might have been sent from Fruit Towers to check that he was where he said he was and not just holed up in his flat watching DVD box sets on an exercise bike. Turns out the van was just delivering smoothies. You can read all about Mr. Ed’s exploits (and see what a journey like that really does to your calves) right here. |
|
|
| A special week |
 Next week is Recycle Week. Run by our friends at Wrap, this year’s event has a Home and Away theme. Nothing to do with Alf, Ailsa and Bobby (sadly), this year’s Recycle Week is all about how even the smallest actions can make a real difference to our environment. So whether that means remembering to take your cotton bag/wicker basket/coat with the really big pockets to the shops instead of using a plastic bag, rinsing out and reusing your empty pesto jar or taking part in a Big Tidy Up in your local area, there’s loads of ways to get involved. We’ve made a handy guide to recycling our products right here, and if you want to find out more about what can be recycled where you live (or just watch some nifty videos about what happens to your recycling after you put into those green bins) then check out the Recycle Now website. |
|
| And finally... |
Cream of crab ice cream anyone?
Cats keeping cool
Breathing Earth
Alien stubble
Rollergirls |
|
| And finally, finally... |
Last chance this week, one last click...catch some waves here.
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. |
|
|
|
|
| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
|
| Roz got her first drum roll in 6 years, there was a mildly erotic veg pot poetry recital, we learnt that John once got drunk with Matt Willis from Busted and spent 24 hours in a Cuban jail, someone put straw in the pond, Dom forgot to wash his plate again, Janel showed everyone how she gets down, Annika found a new way to transport her lunch and Shun became a lord |
| bob of the week |
|
This week’s Bob was nominated by his wife Clare and when he’s not fending off sneaky chip thieves with his daughter can often be found pretending to be Vic Reeves’ brother.
 Know a good Bob? Send them our way here
iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk |
| conor of the week |
|
This week we bring you Conor of the Week. Conor’s our office superhero and while admittedly he’s not quite a corner, he does sit at a desk under the stairs behind the place where all the parcels go.
 He also drags himself out of bed ridiculously early every morning to make sure the smoothie fridge is fully stocked and wears shorts even when it’s raining. He’s a good man, that Conor. |
|
|
|
 |
| If you could harness the power |
| Of three double espressos, a bunch of grapes, 15 mini Toblerone and an oversubscribed Zumba class, then you'd be able to knock out a week's worth of work in twenty minutes. Until we figure out how to bottle that formula however, please allow us to fill your time with a copy of this week's news instead. |
| Juicy drinks ahoy |
 Need a way to refresh your kids but don't have alog flume/plunge pool/hosepipe to hand? Well, spray no more, as we've come up with a drink that does refreshment for kids like no other. Our new kids' juicy drink is a blend of pure fruit juice, a dash of spring water and absolutely nothing else. Every carton ticks off one of your kids' 5-a-day and stops water being boring. They're available in juicy orange and apple and are perfect for lunchboxes, hot summer afternoons or assuaging frayed tempers in the dodgem queue. To celebrate their arrival, we're giving away 20 special kids' lunchboxes, filled with juicy drinks and other innocent treats. So if you fancy winning the height of packed lunch chic, just click here. |
|
| Good looking cooking |
 In case you missed last week's bumper book related newsletter, we should probably let you know that we've just published a brand spanking new recipe book for filling your family with good stuff. There's lots of things to keep kids entertained as well as tasty, healthy recipes that don't take ages to make (not to mention the secret and very good free gift in the back). Anyways, rather than waffle on about how very good it is, we thought we'd let the proof be in the pudding so to speak and show you what some of Fruit Towers’ very good looking have been busy cooking. Prepare to salivate right about now. And then go and buy a copy from that shop that sounds like rainforest. Please. |
|
|
| Old (but still good) news |
 Sometimes it's good to take a stroll down Memory Lane. To don rose tinted Ray Bans, saunter along and hang out in The Past for a bit. This week, we meander back to what was going on in the news this week in 2006. Which as it happens was not a lot. Whilst we did have the pleasure of meeting our oldest readers, the only other highlights were Mark wearing a paper bag on his head, Olly sticking football shirts to empty bottles and Dan scoring a paltry 3/10 on the BBC fruit test. Although Mark has stopped using office stationery to get attention, the writer of this week's news only managed to get 5 out of 10 in the same test 5 years on. See if you can better your 2006 score right here. |
|
| And finally... |
Colour me interesting (thanks to Tropenotgrope for this link)
Pony painting (thanks to Amazingkate for this link)
Trombone catches waves
Tiger catches waves (thanks to Zoewholiveswithnicechloe for this link)
Crazy little thing called web (thanks to Benviadanwithtim for this link)
|
|
| And finally, finally... |
Mad panic busy this week? Not even time catch up with friends? Rent one here instead (thanks to Benviadan 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
| bob of the week |
|
This week's Bob of the Week is Rory Bob. Rory Bob likes painting. Rory Bob likes sculpture. Rory Bob likes brushing his teeth. Rory Bob likes sporting crop tops. Rory Bob is an artist. Which of course explains everything.
 Know a good Bob? Nominate them at iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk
and who knows, it could be their crop top here next week. |
| Corner of the week |
|
This week's Corner of the Week was due to be Mr. Grumpy (tall blue rectangular chap in natty green hat). However Mr. Tickle wasn't around to coerce him into taking part so instead we've gone for the top right hand corner of Mr. Man 26 - Mr. Strong. For those who've forgotten, Mr. Strong got buff by eating lots of eggs, had a few anger management issues along the way and then made good by putting out a fire using an empty barn filled with water.
 Although he morphed from a square into a triangle on that strange path from book to telly, Mr. Strong still maintained three of his four corners. Hence his inclusion here. After all, who doesn't need a Mr. Strong in their life? |
|
|
|
 |
| Once upon a time |
| We asked you if you thought we should write a family recipe book. You said we should. So we have. This week's news is the rest of that story (plus an extra very special story to boot). Feast your eyes below. |
| Hungry? |
 Hundreds of you got in touch to say you'd love us to make a family recipe book and very kindly told us what you'd like to see in it. So that's just what we've done. Made a book fllled with healthy, tasty, no fuss food that the whole family can enjoy (and that doesn't take ages to make). There's over 100 delicious, simple, healthy recipes to choose from. So dinner decision dilemmas should become a thing of the past. Hopefully. |
|
| Good stuff to make |
 From 3 minute snacks to proper Sunday lunches, we've got recipes to cover you from breakfast to bedtime and all the bits in between. Over 85% of the recipes contain at least 1 of your 5-a-day and we've highlighted all the bits that kids can involved with in a rather fetching grey. There's also an alternative contents page at the front, for the days you've only got 15 minutes to make tea, need some quick ideas for leftovers or have a bunch of unexpected visitors turn up. Or the days you just can't be bothered to flick through. |
|
|
| Good stuff to do |
 As well as the recipes, there are also loads of things to do, make and read. We've called them The Distractions and they're full of fun, interesting stuff for grown ups and kids to do to pass the time while you're waiting for the cakes to bake/dinner to cook/the rain to stop pouring. They were designed by some our most favourite brilliant people and we'll be telling you a bit more about them over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of what we mean by a distraction. |
|
| Good stuff to win |
 To celebrate the publication of our new shiny book, we're giving 20 copies away. To win a copy, just tell us your best hungry story with a happy ending by clicking here. We'll pick the best ones next week. But if you can't wait that long, grab yourself a copy right here instead. |
|
| Good stuff to remember |
| We'd just like to say thank you for to everyone who took the time to write in, share their recipes and tell us what their dream cook book would look, feel and taste like. We'd probably never have written this book had it not been for your support, help and kind words. So thank you and hope you enjoy it. |
|
| And in other very exciting news... |
 Exciting new stuff is like the number 220 bus. Nothing for ages then a whole fleet of them at once. This week is a triple bill of excitement as on top of our recipe book, we officially welcome not one but two new carton sizes to our family. We've been making our big 1 litre cartons for a while now but 1 litre is neither here nor there for most folk. So, coming to all good supermarkets very very soon*, you'll be able to get our smoothies in shiny new 750ml cartons and a bigger value 1.25L version too. Double excitement. Click here for a very special preview. |
|
| And finally... |
Moon rock shock
Robomouse (thanks to Amazingkate for this link)
Lost cat
Alien disco
|
|
| And finally, finally... |
Too busy to even stop for groceries this week? Only got time for a single click? Hop onboard here (thanks to TopHatTim 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. |
| * Different stores will launch on different dates across June – August, beginning with Sainsbury's on 8th June |
|
|
|
|
|
| Inside Fruit Towers this week |
|
| John T beat Philippa up the hill, Clover cracked the safe code, Connor locked the lift, the tannoy got an interfloor cheer, we christened the BBQ, Tom F rocked up for a meeting in day glo lycra, Zoe's mum came in to visit, red trousers were the colour block order of the week, Rich swore blind that squirrels don't eat pine cones (if anyone knows if this is true or not, please get in touch), Lou walked a long way for a special salad and Mark spent a good part of the morning (and lunchtime) trying to find out why there was a Ford Fiesta parked in his temporary parking space. |
| bob of the week |
|
This week's Bob of the Week comes from Justin. Justin has nominated his workmate, Bob, (a.k.a Boab) for being able to play the banjo, stylophone, bass drum and strum stick at the same time, losing 4 stone on a diet of Weetabix, vegetarian cheeseburgers and swimming and for once having a moustache.
 Know a good Bob? Want to see their face in glowing lights here? Simply send us a photo and an email, telling us why you think they are worthy of such a spot to iambob@innocentdrinks.co.uk
and it could be their face here next week. Or the week after. Or the week after. Depending on where they fall in the Bob hierarchy. |
| Corner of the week |
|
Corner of the Week this week is Recipe Corner. If you're having a BBQ or some sort of al fresco dining on what looks set to be a splendid weekend, we thought you might like a little taster of our recipe book. These homemade tortilla chips and salsa dip take minutes to make and seconds to devour.
 Think of them as the perfect appetiser. Or as mini crispy boats, ready to transport a cargo of rich tomato salsa to hungry mouths everywhere. All aboard the good ship, er, Chip. |
|
|
|
|
innocent foundation
