CLOGAU SPRINGS INTO ACTION FOR CHARITY
Top retail jewellery Clogau Gold is helping Spring come early this year with a special edition daffodil pendant.
The pendants will cost £99 from Clogau.co.uk, but a donation of £10 from the sale of each pendant will go directly to Marie Curie Cancer Care's Great Daffodil Appeal.
Every pendant contains Clogau's rare Welsh Gold, and they will be on sale from Sunday February 15, making them an ideal gift for Mothers Day or St. David's day
The Great Daffodil Appeal is the charity's flagship fundraising campaign and money raised will allow Marie Curie nurses to provide more care for people with terminal cancer and other illnesses in their own home or in one of the charity's hospices.
Clogau Gold Managing Director Ben Roberts said: "It is a privilege to be working with a charity which does so much for those in most need.
"Clogau's daffodil pendant is a stylish and elegant piece. It is an ideal gift for a loved one, or a well-deserved personal treat. It also expresses your support for this worthy cause."
www.clogau.co.uk

FOYLE YOUNG POETS OF THE YEAR AWARD 2009. DO YOU KNOW THE YOUNG VOICE OF POETRY IN THE UK?
Open to young people aged 11-17, The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2009 launches at the Sage Gateshead, 3rd March. Time to get writing!

The Poetry Society is proud to announce the launch of The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2009 and to introduce this year’s judges, top poets Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill. This exciting scheme is the only national poetry prize of its kind that seeks to unearth, promote and support young poetic talent from across the UK. To enter all you need is to be someone who questions, explores, delights in, or is just simply inspired by the world around you. In a time of change and uncertainty, our young poets are powerfully voicing what many in power are struggling to articulate. Since the launch of the Foyle Young Poets Award 12 years ago, winners have addressed difficult issues such as terrorism, prejudice and violence. Their poems challenge the misperceptions that young voices have nothing to say. Previous winner of the Foyle Young Poets and Respect Slam, Jay Bernard comments: ‘Some of us are excited about the US elections, curious about global warming or worried about increasing levels of violence. In a society where young people are mostly looked down upon, writing is a chance to talk about these things, to use words brilliantly and to find others who want to listen. Take it. Shake things up. The world is ours.’

Those young poets whose work is selected as the most promising will attend a week long residential course at a prestigious Arvon Centre, where they will be tutored by this year’s judges, Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill. Those winners under the age of 14 will receive a visit to their school from a professional poet. Lemn Sissay has this message to spur on any would-be young poets out there: ‘Get writing! If you don’t do it now then when will you? I bet some of you write poetry secretly. Why secretly? You use your imagination everyday; even if you think you don’t...Write yourself a dream or a nightmare. Say what you never thought you could say. Write that secret. Write that lyrical poem. Write that funny poem. Write if you’ve never written a poem before.’

To Enter Request an entry form by writing to Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, 22 Betterton Street London WC2H 9BX Or email - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Launch Event Sage Gateshead Tuesday 3rd March 2009 Start Time: 4.30pm www.thesagegateshead.org 0191 443 4661 Ages 11 - 17 Deadline for Entries: July 31 st.2009

THE CHILDREN’S MUTUAL AND BOUNTY ANNOUNCE ARRIVAL OF NEW CHILD TRUST FUND PARTNERSHIP
The Children’s Mutual, leading provider and home of the Child Trust Fund, and Bounty, the UK’s favourite parenting club have joined forces.

Bounty has selected The Children’s Mutual to provide its members with information on the Child Trust Fund and the opportunity to open their children’s accounts with the company.

With a combined heritage of over 175 years The Children’s Mutual and Bounty are perfectly placed to offer expectant and new parents help and information on a wide range of issues affecting families. Bounty’s pro-active involvement with new parents through its online community and offline activity in antenatal units and maternity wards puts the organisation in touch with 90% of all pregnant families in the UK. Post birth, The Children’s Mutual is now the choice of one in four parents when they actively place their Child Trust Fund for their child’s future. The company’s expertise in family finance and forward planning is unmatched. This combination of experience, expertise and engagement makes for a formidable new force in the world of family finance.

David White, Chief Executive of The Children’s Mutual announced: “We are delighted to be working with Bounty to offer the Child Trust Fund to new parents. We know that becoming a parent brings with it a raft of responsibilities, including that of supporting the child financially both today and into the future. By providing parents and their extended families with a means to save a little and often into an investment fund, the Children’s Mutual Child Trust Fund will enable parents to help their offspring with the anticipated costs of adulthood. Whether it’s finding university fees, leaving home or simply learning to drive and buying a safe, reliable car, today’s newborns will all too soon have their own, very grown up ideas. Through our partnership with Bounty, we hope to help more parents give their kids a great start in life.”

Ian Beswetherick, Managing Director of Bounty said of the partnership: “It is very important to Bounty to work with organisations which understand and listen to the needs of families. The Children’s Mutual is a pioneer of the Child Trust Fund and an important champion of long term savings – by combining their expertise with Bounty’s almost complete coverage of new families in the UK, we hope to help even more children have the financial future they deserve.”

For more information on The Children’s Mutual Child Trust Fund from Bounty visit www.bounty.co.uk/ctf

ICA TALKS HIGHLIGHTS

Mike Figgis on Digital Film-making
Monday 16 February: 7pm
A small number of major film-makers, including Mike Figgis and David Lynch, now work mainly or exclusively using digital film. How does the greater manipulability and portability of digital film change the work of the film-maker and the perspective of the audience? Mike Figgis, author of Digital Filmmaking and director of Leaving Las Vegas and Internal Affairs, comes to the ICA to lecture on the aesthetic possibilities latent in digital film. Nash room: £10/£9 concs/£8 members

The Audience in Fragments
Tuesday 17 February: 7pm
In the work of theatre groups like punchdrunk and in productions like Katie Mitchell’s some trace of her, we can see evidence of a new kind of movement in contemporary theatre, one which takes advantage of the fractured sensibility of the audience and its thirst for a more active involvement in the theatre that it sees. What can this fragmented sensibility tell us about contemporary audience, and what opportunities does it present those who work in theatre and beyond? Katie Mitchell, director of some trace of her at the National Theatre in conversation with Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre.
Nash room: £10/£9 concs/£8 members

Bar Event
Sandpit: Come Play with Us
Wednesday 18 February: 7pm: bar
An evening of activities focused on the overlap between games and art, games and theatre, games and social interaction, games and the ICA itself – keeping in mind our founding ethos as “playground for contemporary arts". From ambient games for solo players, to pick-up-and-play rule-sets for small teams, to organised group games throughout the evening, there is something for everyone. Form teams or play on your own, trade information, listen carefully, follow clues, negotiate, betray, sneak, create, discover, explore and more!
Free: full schedule at sandpit.hideandseekfest.co.uk/events

SALES OF ICE SKATES AND SPARKLY COSTUMES SOAR ON EBAY.CO.UK AS SEXY CELEBS LEAD THE TREND
As Dancing on Ice grips the nation once again, Brits are being inspired by Roxy Pallet and Zoe Salmon, and taking to the rink themselves. Since the show started last month, eBay.co.uk has seen sales of ice skates soar by 100%, and a whopping 900% increase in demand for sequinned ice skating dresses.

There are over 3,000 pairs of ice skates for sale on the site, at an average price of just £11. Roxy’s sexy look seems to have inspired a fancy dress craze sweeping across the country, with sales of sequins increasing by nearly 200% over the past month as credit crunch-hit Brits customise old outfits.

On her dresses, Roxy said “It’s not every day you get to dress up like a princess. We had a meeting with the costume designer and I was like: the shorter the better – and more revealing, please!”

Ice rinks across the country have also seen an increase in people signing up to learn some skating moves with Streatham ice rink being noticeably busier and Queen’s rink, London being simply inundated.

eBay pop culture spokesperson Carey Maguire commented: “Whether this is a result of people trying to stay fit the fun way, or finding interesting and affordable ways to enjoy themselves during the recession, we don’t know – but it shows that reality TV has a strong influence on the nation. We expect sales of all skate related items to continue to steadily grow over the course of the series”

Founded in 1999, eBay.co.uk is the UKs largest online marketplace. There are currently 17 million live listings on the UK site and over 15m unique visitors per month (Nielsen / Netratings, September 2008) buying and selling brand new, unique and used items. eBay estimates that 178,000 people earn a primary or secondary living or run a business on the eBay.co.uk site.

WILL SMITH IS HOLLYWOOD’S MOST VALUABLE ACTOR ACCORDING TO INAUGURAL FORBES STAR CURRENCY™ RANKING
Entertainment Industry Survey Measures Bankability of 1,400 Actors

Forbes launched its inaugural Forbes Star Currency™ ranking today of “Hollywood’s Most Valuable Actors” on Forbes.com (which reaches 20 million affluent business decision makers a month) at www.forbes.com/starcurrency. The new ranking is based on a survey of entertainment industry professionals that measures the financial clout of more than 1,400 actors worldwide.

Will Smith came out on top with a perfect 10 cumulative rating, followed by Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, all tied in the second spot at 9.89 (out of 10). The entire list of cumulative ratings, including the Top 20, can be found at Forbes.com. Others in the Top 20 include Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler.

“An actor’s involvement in a film is one of the primary elements contributing to the film’s financing, worldwide theatrical box office performance and post-theatrical life,” said John Burman, Special Projects Director, Forbes Media. “With this in mind, Forbes conducted the survey to gain greater insight into an individual actor’s impact on the bottom line and the overall financial success of a film.”

The top 20 finishers have collectively garnered 69 Academy Award nominations and 15 wins. More awards are possible pending the outcome of the Feb. 22 ceremony, which sees Pitt, Jolie and Meryl Streep among those up for honors.

For the complete Forbes Star Currency™ methodology and entire list of cumulative ratings, including the Top 20 and international rankings, visit:
www.forbes.com/starcurrency

Methodology

The Forbes Star Currency survey was sent to entertainment industry members globally asking them to use a provided scale in ranking 1,400-plus actors as individuals on a range of attributes regarding their participation in a film, including the actor's ability to attract significant financing to a project with their involvement; if their presence guarantees theatrical distribution; if they significantly drive theatrical Box Office performance; if their involvement is an essential component in securing rights deals for revenue streams including DVD, pay/free TV, etc.

Forbes conducted the survey Sept. 3, 2008, through Nov. 16, 2008, in conjunction with Erdos & Morgan, a New York-based independent research firm that advised Forbes on the survey, as well as handled the tabulation and ranking of the results. The results were converted into scores ranging from 0 to 10, with 10 being the top.

MAKE A HEALTHY START TO THE NEW YEAR WITH BRITISH TROUT
It’s easy to make a positive change to your diet this year with a great range of recipes from the British Trout Association.

Many people now know that eating two portions* <#_ftn1> of oily fish each week provides essential vitamins and fatty acids that are an important part of a healthy diet, though many people do not realise that Trout is in fact an oily fish.

As well as being a great source of protein, Trout is rich in omega-3 which helps to prevent heart disease, as well as vitamin A and D and selenium. Furthermore, for those watching their waistline, Trout is lower in calories than many other oily fish, including Salmon and Mackerel.

Versatile and delicious, British Trout is widely available in supermarkets across the country available whole, filleted or smoked. Trout is also kinder on your pocket, being priced more competitively than other oily fish.

The British Trout Association has developed a host of great recipes from quick and easy midweek suppers such as Trout and Broccoli Pasta to impressive dinner party dishes including Roast Trout with Horseradish Sauce.

This healthy and affordable ingredient is sourced from approved independent farms across Britain, predominantly based in Scotland, Yorkshire and South England.

For further information please visit www.britishtrout.co.uk.

Nutritional information (sourced from Food Standards Authority)
Omega 3 - These fatty acids have been shown to help protect against coronary heart disease.
Vitamin A – Helps to maintain healthy skin, strengthen immunity to infection and help vision.
Vitamin D – Helps to promote healthy bones and teeth.
Selenium - Plays an important role in our immune system's function, in thyroid hormone metabolism and in reproduction. It is also part of the body's antioxidant defence system, preventing damage to cells and tissues.

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