With the arrival of the New Year comes the dreaded making of one’s resolutions; a chance to look at the year ahead, set challenges and make promises that one invariably fails to keep. And at The Amazing Blog’s HQ in Chelsea we’ve been busy discussing ours. There is the ‘lose half a stone’ that I, along with most of the female population have sought to do; the ‘drink eight glasses of water’ in the hope of achieving a glowing complexion, and of course the ‘drink less wine’; a challenge I find so alarming I find an insurmountable urge to sit down with said pinot.
This year however, I also made the resolution to find a charity to support whose ethos I am passionate about; thus making a New Year’s Resolution that shouldn’t be a struggle to keep. When chatting to our lovely client Louise Sandberg (fellow dog owner) she told me that she was importing a new friend for her dog all the way from Thailand. She told me that on a recent trip to Thailand, she was so shocked by the number of strays that she was determined to help publicise the organisation Soi Dog Foundation in the UK; who are desperately looking for donations to help save the dogs and cats affected by the recent severe flooding in the Bangkok region.
As owner of the much loved Tibetan Spaniel, Mojai, my heart went out to the thousands of animals who have been effectively ‘orphaned’ after large scale evacuations during which those being evacuated were not allowed to take their pets with them.
This is where the Soi Dog Foundation comes in a not-for-profit, registered charity with branches in Thailand, the US, Australia, the UK, France and Holland. Made up of volunteers and fundraisers, their common goal is to help neglected and abused cats and dogs. Without the tireless work put in by the Soi Dog Foundation, these abandoned animals may have to spend the rest of their lives in government shelters, without the care, love and affection they really deserve.
Both the work the Soi Dog Foundation do and their efforts in reinstating these animals to good homes is incredibly inspiring but they desperately need donations in order to support the continued rescue which, sadly, is far from over. In fact, having recently intercepted 4 trucks on their way to Vietnam carrying over 1000 dogs, they need your help more than ever. Donations can be made on either a one-off or a monthly basis, and really will make the world of difference to their diligent campaign.
With a fab new blog and an active Facebook page it’s never been easier to keep track of exactly how your donations are helping.
So if like me, you want to make a New Year’s Resolution you can keep, support a very worthy cause and dig deep. http://www.soidog.org
So, it’s the beginning of not only a New Year but a brand-spanking new decade as well and as usual the array of newspapers and magazines lining the shelves of newsagents are bursting with ideas of how to ‘lose that stubborn stone’, ‘quit smoking for good’ and ‘tighten the purse strings in 2011’. All this talk of abstaining is enough to put anyone off making a New Year’s resolution. After all, where’s the fun in sacrificing something you love, be it chocolate, cigarettes or over-priced handbags? Even though it may be bad for your waistline, health or bank balance (delete as applicable).
The Original Filled Cocoa Pod – £25
This year we’ve decided to do things a bit differently and are, in fact, giving up giving up. Forget it being the year of austerity, this year, for everyone at Amazing PR at least, it’s going to be a year of indulgences. And indulge we shall sampling the creme de la creme of all things decadent; the richest of chocolate, the finest of spas and the most mouth watering of cocktails that this city has to offer. Our attempt at living a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget may not last a year, but we’ll sure as hell give it a try!
Pocket Box – £7.95
Having piled on an impressive ten pounds since the beginning of December, I’m going to have to stop gorging on all the Christmas left-overs I can get my hands on; no more chocolate pennies, selection boxes or Quality Street. I’m still bloated from all the colourings, additives and sugar, so my first quest of the New Year was to seek out a chocolate to champion all others. No more part hydrogenated fats, part plastic, I wanted the real deal.
Chocolate Heart Box – £16. The perfect Valentines gift…ahem, not that we would ever drop hints or anything
Here at Amazing PR we love Marc Demarquette, creater of the finest British artisan chocolate. According to Demarquette there are health benefits to his chocolates, and lots of them! From boosting energy to acting as a form of anti-depressant, improving memory, attention span, reaction time and problems-solving skills. This, chocolate fans, is reason enough to indulge. Diet schmiet!
Cornish Clotted Cream & Sea Salt Caramel – £10
I stuggled over what to order, so tempting is the array of truffles, caramels and chocolate boxes on offer and all so beautifully presented. After much deliberation I opt for the Cornish Clotted Cream and Sea Salt Spread, priced at a very reasonable £10. And how is it eaten? According to the website ‘It’s great on freshly toasted muffins or baguettes, or as a pancake or waffle topping. Layered inbetween a sponge cake or piped into cupcakes, or gently warmed and poured over ice-cream…’ And so I wait with baited breath for my parcel to arrive so I can try out all of the above. Well, it would be rude not to!
A very happy New Year indeed!
LP
We are feeling there must be some kind of meeting of minds/psychic connection/hocus pocus going on between us and the lovely Demarquette as this post was written over a week ago and we hadn’t mentioned anything to them about it. However what should pop through our letterbox this morning but a box of Demarquette Dom Perignon truffles! Spooky stuff *said through a mouthful of truffle* many thanks for getting our year of decadence off to a cracking start!
