The Month Ahead – November 2018

Nutrition for distance running

Love Cake October 2018 round up

Sunday Snap – The Furniture Maker

Finance Fridays – Email scams

Walled Garden at Wallington

Halloween Vampire Bat Chocolate Cake

Sunday Snap – The Market

Finance Fridays – Referral schemes

Getting clean with #ACEforSchool

It's got to that time of year again – cross country season. You would think that if you were running across fields and up grassy hills it would be a summer sport. Of course it isn't and it seems that the cold, rain and mud all add to the challenge.

We're quite accustom to running in all weathers as we are regulars at parkrun events up and down the country. School cross country meetings are totally different. As we live in Sheffield there is invariably a hill which will need to be run up and down not just once but at least two or three times. The grass will be freshly cut so it will stick to your shoes, socks and leggings. As it has just been cut it will be so short it will turn to mud even quicker. It will also be raining, blowing a gale, snowing or a mixture of all three.

How bad does it get at cross country? Well, there was the time when Miss JibberJabber finished carrying one shoe after it came off when it got stuck in the mud.

This is all on top on the standard school day. Sometimes I do wonder if they have run out of paper when Master JibberJabber appears at home time with paint covering his trousers, shirt and jumper. Now he is at junior school the school yard has a small grassy hill which seems to be magnet for the boys to slide down.

All this adds up to is a lot of washing. I wish I could just bung it all in the washing machine but I have to go through each item to see if they need a bit of extra treatment. Also with the sports kit because of the materials they are made from you can't put them on a boil wash with super strong detergents as they wouldn't survive.

We've been trying out some products from the ACE range – the Stain Helper and ACE for Colours. The Stain Helper is great for targeting tough individual stains. The trigger action gets right to the stain very quickly and effectively. Look at the cuffs and body of Master JibberJabber's school shirt!

The ACE for Colours is perfect for helping with your whole wash. When I wash sports kit because of the bright colours and delicate materials I use non-bio liquid which goes in the drawer of the washing machine. The ACE for Colours then goes directly into the drum. It's gentle enough not to ruin the clothes or let the colours run but powerful enough to remove the stains. 

What I also didn't realise was that ACE for Colours can also be used as a general cleaner around the house. You can dilute it with water for cleaning floors or use it neat in areas such as the bathroom before washing down. So one product with lots of uses – that's my type of clean!

This post is an entry for the BritMums #ACEforSchool Challenge, sponsored by ACE. Get help for all kinds of stains with the ACE Stain Helper. http://www.acecleanuk.co.uk/ or to buy head to your local Tesco’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s.

Banana and chocolate cake

Sunday Snap – The Socialist Baronet

Finance Fridays – Student Money Laundering

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Lemon and basil breaded turkey escalopes

Sunday Snap – The Sea Lifesavers

Finance Fridays - What happens when my airline goes bust?

Harmony Garden

Celebrate Vegetables, & Vegetarian Wine on World Vegetarian Day

Love Cake October 2018