Spotlight Magazine for Mansfield South, Nottingham May 2017

spotlightOn Mansfield South

ISSUE 88 MAY 2017

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Spotlight Magazine

Contents

National Donut Week 6 Hanging Baskets 8 Skin Deep 10 A Good Read 12 Cool Customer 14 May Recipe 16 Ready For Revision 18 Puzzle Pages 20 Bank Holidays 22 Local Info 24 Laughter - The Best Medicine 26 Collections 28 Index of Advertisers 30 Published by Spotlight Local Media Ltd Company No. 6841257 Tel: 01623 706570 Suite 104, 1 Hanley Street Nottingham NG1 5BL Graphic Design and Layout: Spotlight Local Media Distributed by Best Distributions Trusted Delivery Partner of the Spotlight Magazine

So another month has passed already.

Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun!

Some of you will no doubt be pleased to learn that National Donut Week is in May! Better not miss that.... Details on page 6!

Please remember that if you are thinking of getting any work done on your home or business now that spring has arrived, consider giving our supporting advertisers a call.

And if you are a local business that would like more customers, we can help with that too!

Spotlight magazine is delivered to 6,000 homes and businesses in the Mansfield South area each month, with similar magazines going to Mansfield North and West Bridgford.

To Advertise or contribute: T: 0115 822 4995 E: info@spotlightlocal.co.uk Web: www.spotlightlocal.co.uk

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Spotlight Magazine

National Donut Week

Who Doesn’t Love A Naughty Donut?

But Where Did They Come From?

May 13th-19th is National Donut week. Who doesn’t love a naughty donut? But where did they come from?

The humble doughnut has a convoluted past. The Dutch are credited for inventing them; they are first mentioned in a recipe book back in 1803. Doughnuts as we know first appeared in Manhattan, (originally New Amsterdam). They rejoiced under the unappetizing Dutch name of olykoeks, which translates as oily cakes!

From there history gets a bit hazy. Elizabeth Gregory was a New England ship captain’s mother. She made a deep-fried dough that incorporated her son’s spice cargo of nutmeg and cinnamon, along with lemon rind.

One story says she invented it so that the crew could store a pastry on long voyages, and that it might help ward off scurvy and colds!

Mrs. Gregory filled the centre of her deep-fried pastries with nuts, probably because that was the part of the dough which might not cook through. Hence they became known as doughnuts!

Her son claimed credit for putting the hole in the doughnut. Some people think he did it to save on ingredients and costs.

One nice story has it that the doughnut acquired its

6

hole when, one night in a storm, he needed both hands free so skewered one of his mom’s doughnuts on a spoke of his ship’s wheel.

In the First World War American soldiers were made gifts of doughnuts by French women volunteers, to give them a taste of home. The soldiers carried their taste for the sweet treat back to the US when the war ended.

The first doughnut machine was invented by Adolph Levitt, an enterprising Russian refugee who sold fried doughnuts from his bakery to hungry crowds of New York theatre-goers.

Doughnut machines were a hit at the 1934 World Fair in Chicago, where they were marketed as the future of food-production.

Then a Frenchman named Joe LeBeau, who was struggling financially, sold his secret doughnut and also the name Krispy Kreme, to a store owner named Ishmael Armstrong, who hired his nephew, Vernon Rudolph, and put him to work selling the treats door-to-door. A business legend was born.

By the late 1950s, there were 29 Krispy Kreme store-factories in 12 states.

Today they have stores

across the world but all the doughnuts are still made to the original recipe.

In the UK the doughnut is enjoying a surge of popularity. You can buy gourmet donuts at specialist shops and independent bakers pride themselves on their own variations. There has never been a better time to be a doughnut-lover.

National donut week has been running for 26 years.

It was launched in 1991 by independent baker Christopher Freeman. The aim was to celebrate the donut and raise money for charity. Last year nearly £23000 was raised for The Children’s Trust, which supports brain-injured children.

So is it doughnut or donut?

The dictionary states ‘doughnut’ with ‘donut’ listed as an American variant. But really, who cares? They are delicious and this month you can indulge and help a worthwhile cause. What could be better?

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Spotlight Magazine

Garden View Blooming Baskets!

It’s hanging basket season!

They can be a source of delight but also a source of stress. It’s easy for a hanging basket to fail badly. Too sparsely filled and they look bedraggled. Too little water and death is swift!

The secret to growing a successful basket lays both in the way it’s planted but also in sensible aftercare.

Plant the basket with bedding plants at the beginning of May but don’t plant them out for a couple of weeks, especially if you live in a more exposed area.

Instead give them some shelter in a porch, or unheated greenhouse, or even under polythene at the side of the house. This allows the new plants to grow and toughen up a little before they are hung in their final position.

Planting is easiest if you balance the basket on a large flowerpot or bucket.

Fibrous liners help to retain water and look nicer than polythene. For extra moisture retention place a circle of polythene in the base of the basket before filling with soil.

Check that your bracket and chains for signs of rust and also check that the bracket is securely fixed to the wall.

The best planting medium is soilless multi-purpose compost, mixed with waterretaining granules. Place a layer of compost in the base of the basket and push the first layer of plants through.

Hanging baskets are extremely heavy, especially when they are wet and you really don’t want your lovingly-planted orb of flowers to be deposited unceremoniously all over the floor!

Trailing plants such as lobelia, bidens and ivyleafed pelargoniums look lovely but you can be as creative as you like.

Water the plants in their containers before planting them and squeeze the

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rootball firmly to make it small enough to push though the mesh from the outside.

Plant quite densely and gradually build up layers of plants and soil. When it’s full to within 3 cm of the rim you can plant up the top with more upright, compact bushy plants like begonias, petunias and pelargoniums.

Make sure your basket never dries out. It will be reliant on you for all water and nutrition. If you water it at least once a day and feed with dilute tomato fertilizer once a week I promise it will be blooming basket in the best possible way.

Happy gardening

By Rachael Leverton

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

Skin Deep

The Skin Is Our Largest Body Organ We Need To Take Care Of it!

Our skin works quietly away, constantly renewing itself, shedding dead cells every 28 days. It also provides a barrier against the environment and keeps our insides where they should be!

The skin on our face and hands is more exposed than other areas so it’s unsurprising that the combined effects of pollution, UV exposure and stress mean these are the places which show signs of aging first.

There are thousands of product on the market that promise us all manner of miracles but do any of them work and is there anything we can really do to hold back time?

What about facials?

Having a facial is a luxurious but is it really doing anything?

Beauticians say yes.

Although the skin selfrenews, dead cells on the surface make it look dull.

Facials help by physically removing dead cell buildup, to reveal younger fresher skin underneath.

There are a bewildering array of facials to suit skin type, age and budget they all follow a similar pattern.

The first step is a deep cleanse, followed by exfoliation then, depending on which treatment you’ve

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agreed with your beautician it can include steaming, blackhead and whitehead extraction, massage, face mask and moisturiser.

Variations include aromatherapy oils and acupressure.

Your face should never feel sore or puffy when the treatment is over. You should look like a cleaner, shinier, healthier version of you!I’m up for that.

Which skin technologies really work?

Alpha-hydroxy acids These are present in many moisturisers. Their effectiveness depends on concentration. Between 8-15% they are a very effective skin smoother.

At strengths of over 15% they are used in chemical peels which should only be carried out by a Dermatologist.

Trans-retinoic acid It’s been proven to

reduce wrinkles, increase epidermal thickness and stimulate collagen deposition.

It is effective in serum at very low concentrations but the effect is cumulative, so you will need to view it as a long-term strategy.

It’s also very sensitive to sun light and breaks down on exposure, and can cause a mild skin reaction so should only be applied at night.

Vitamin C serum This is a highly effective anti-oxidant and wrinklereducer but needs to be concentrated (10% or more) and stabilised in order to work.

Keep it out of the light and use in the morning. It breaks down on exposure to sunlight so use it under a moisturiser with a high SPF. Use only stabilised, colourfree preparations. If there is a yellow tinge, it’s no longer effective.

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Spotlight Magazine

A Good Read Desperate to save them she learns that they will be freed if she weaves six shirts out of nettles without speaking a word to anyone.

Retreating into the forest to complete her task she is cared for by the faerie-folk and visited twice a year by her brothers in human form.

But if Sorcha thought that this seemingly impossible task was all that awaited her she was very much mistaken.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier Authors draw inspiration from many places and it has been said that there are only so many stories to be told. Very often the skill of the storyteller is not in the story but in how it is told. Ancient mythology is a common source of inspiration and it is from the old Celtic myths of Ireland that this New Zealand author has turned for this historical fantasy fiction.

Based loosely on the legend of the Children of Lir and elements of the German fairy-tale ‘The Six Swans’ Marillier manages to conjure up the rich and mystical landscape of ancient Ireland.

Sorcha is the youngest of seven children and is raised largely by her six older brothers following the death of her mother during her birth. Her father remarries but his new wife is jealous and attacks the children. Sorcha escapes but her brothers are all turned into swans.

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This engrossing story will completely transport you to a magical landscape, evocative of Tolkien and ancient mythology.

Noughts and Crosses by Marjorie Blackman For today’s teenagers the mid-20th century really is history, and the attitudes of that time are alien to their lives. Young people today are exposed to such a range of cultures and people that segregation (South African apartheid or the Jewish ghettos) can seem unimaginable. Yet even a cursory glance at the news reveals that it is perilously real for some, and not just those in foreign lands.

noughts are the bottom half of society. Their purpose is to work for Crosses and to keep the country ticking over. They are suppressed at every opportunity. This is segregation taken to the extreme: and it doesn’t work along the lines you might think it does.

At the start of the story 13-year-old Sephy (a Cross) is secretly continuing a childhood friendship with Callum (a nought). This is a friendship that seems to be on a path to self-destruction as their feelings for each other grow. Fuelled by the growing uprising among noughts and the Liberation Militia the two teenagers are destined to be pulled apart.

Blackman presents many echoes of the past: America in the 50s, South Africa under apartheid, and even the IRA of the 70s and 80s. Add to this some inspiration from Romeo and Juliet and you have a novel that will challenge the way you view the world.

This is why Marjorie Blackman’s award-winning teen novel is so unsettling.

It tells of a divided society with two groups. The Crosses are the lucky ones: born into privilege and wealth. They run the country and have the best funded schools.

But the Crosses couldn’t function without the other half – the noughts. The

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

Cool Customer The Fridge Has Come Of Age Tips On Choosing A New Fridge

Gone are the days of a squat little white cupboard with a tiny freezer compartment. Fridges have gone large! Some even come with custom panels that exactly match your kitchen cabinets.

There are six basic types of fridge: Top Freezer A traditional fridge, that’s good for a fairly tight spot.

These tend to offer the most space for their size but need space for a wide swing of the doors. They also require you to crouch to reach the lower shelves which may be an issue if you are tall or have arthritic knees.

Bottom Freezer We tend to use the freezer less so it might make good sense to have the fridge shelves at eye-level. You tend to need a larger model to get the same useable capacity as a top freezer.

French Door This has two narrow doors on top, opening from the centre, and the freezer below. The spacesaving small-swing doors have the added value of opening only half the fridge when stashing smaller items. They tend to be wider than top or bottom freezers.

on one side and freezer on the other, these usually have through-the-door ice and water dispensers and temperature-controlled.

The narrow doors can be useful if your kitchen is small abut some don’t open wide enough for large boxes, and the tall, narrow compartments can mean some items disappear to the back, never to be seen again!

Built-In These are made to fit almost flush with cabinets and counters. They are typically bottom-freezer or side-by-side styles and match your cabinets.

doorways and remember that you will need space to open the swing doors and for a one inch clearance around sides and back for adequate airflow.

Bigger is probably better as it means you can shop in bulk, and smaller models do not necessarily mean smaller running costs.

Energy efficiency All new fridges are a lot more efficient than they were a decade ago. They all have to be A+ rated now. Yet even between A+ models running costs can vary widely.

Compact or Mini Perfect for a bedsit or a kitchenette. Keep in mind these models may have only one quarter the capacity of a regular fridge, but cost just as much to operate.

Your fridge runs for 24 hours per day so it makes sense to do your research.

Compare the Energy Guide labels of your favoured fridges, and then compare the annual operating costs and the kilowatt-hours used per year.

Always measure where you plan to put the fridge before you buy. Check too that it can fit through

Do all this and you will be a very cool customer when it comes to making your purchase.

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

Chocolate Fondant Tart

A Yummy Treat!

Preparation time: 45 mins (plus chilling time) Cooking time: 30 mins Serves: 6-8 Ingredients Pastry 100g/3½oz plain flour 50g/1¾oz icing sugar 50g/1¾oz chilled butter, diced Yolk from 1 large egg 1 tbsp water Filling 100g/3½oz butter 150g/5½oz dark chocolate (70%) 150g/5½oz golden caster sugar 75g/3oz plain flour 6 medium eggs To serve Icing sugar Strawberries or raspberries Cream Method For the pastry Place the flour and icing sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

You now need to blind-bake the pastry. To do this prick the base of the pastry with a fork then line the pastry case with a circle of greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans (these are ceramic beads, but you can use lentils or dried beans if you don’t have any).

Bake the pastry for 10 minutes, or until just lightly golden-brown, then remove the paper and the beans and return the tart to the oven to cook for a further 5-7 minutes, or until golden-brown and dried out.

For the filling Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat, then add the chocolate and stir until melted, smooth and glossy.

Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar and flour, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Place the pastry case on a baking tray.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry case, filling it almost to the top then place in the oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just set around the edges and still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Remove from the oven. You can serve it warm with raspberries or strawberries, or allow it to cool and dust with icing sugar.

Add the egg yolk and water and mix quickly so that it comes together to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas 6 (180C fan).

Dust the work surface with flour and then roll out the pastry to form a circle about 5cm/2in larger than your flan tin. Line the tin with the pastry. Pop it into the fridge to chill for a further 15 minutes.

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

Ready For Revision

A Stressful Time For The Whole Family What’s The Best Way To Cope?

There’s no way round it, the answer has to be planning and preparation.

brain and actually relieves stress, making you feel more relaxed.

On the day of an exam focus on breathing; slow deep breaths in and out will help to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Set up your revision timetable as early as possible, that way you can pace yourself. It’s too tempting to put everything off then face a last-minute panic.

How do you study best?

Some people prefer to spend a whole day on one subject, others prefer to break their time into smaller blocks and tackle several subjects in short burst.

Whichever you choose, make sure you take a short break every hour or so. Pop outside, stretch your legs, have a drink and maybe a snack.

Oxygen, nutritious food and water are essential for concentration and mental alertness.

Effective brain function relies on neurotransmitters, which are chemicals made from amino acids. These are found in food rich in good quality protein, like lean meat, fish, soya and beans.

In order to convert the amino acids into neurotransmitters the body also need vitamins and minerals, so top up on fruit and vegetables.

Refined sugar, found in sweets and chocolate

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releases glucose too quickly into the bloodstream and this can cause mood swings. Emotions run high around exam time anyway, so it is better to snack on nuts, seeds and fruit, which provide a slow, steady release of glucose.

Our brains also depend on proper hydration to function optimally. Brain cells require a delicate balance between water and various elements to operate.

Research has found that if we’re even slightly dehydrated we find it more difficult to focus. Aim to drink around up to 1.5-2 litres of water, diluted fruit juice or herbal teas per day.

Drinks rich in caffeine, such as Red Bull or coffee trigger production of the stress hormone cortisol which can make you feel even more edgy and nervous, and make it harder to focus and find the right words under exam pressure.

Gentle exercise, such as walking, or cycling, in between study improves the blood circulation to the

Try not to engage in pre-or post exam discussion, as this can make you feel anxious.

If you’re well prepared and well-rested then you are ready. But remember they are only exams. They are one measure of your ability taken at one point in time.

They do not relate to who you are as a person, or how well you will ultimately do in life. All you can ever do is try your best on the day.

Good luck.

What type of learner are you? Visual learners - prefer note cards and tend to map out information on paper.

Auditory learners - prefer to read their notes aloud, and listen to them being played back.

Kinaesthetic learners need action – Record your voice and play back the information while walking.

Take revision notes to the gym and read while running on a treadmill, even sitting on a swing reading notes can work.

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Spotlight Magazine

Puzzle Page

Crossword Clues Across 1 Hand-me-down, nearly new (4) 4 Small, exclusive shop (8) 8 Balloon which carries people (3,3) 9 U.S monetary unit (6) 10 Adept, capable (4) 11 Mahogany, teak or oak (8) 13 Glenn Miller player one (5,8) 16 Pain-relief tablets (8) 19 Identical (4) 20 The 10 commandments on a stone 22 Have something in mind, plan to (6) 23 Defers, puts off (8) 24 Informal name for a cat (4)

Quick Crossword

Down 2 Escalates or proliferates rapidly (9) 3 Road to nowhere! (4,3) 4 Tree with silvery bark (5) 5 Experience, endure (7) 6 Relative by marriage (2,3) 7 ___ Stubbs, of Sherlock fame (3) 12 Salves, balms (9) 14 Cheep, chirp (7) 15 Place to wait for public transport (3,4) 17 Eskimo house (5) 18 _____ roll, jam filled sponge. (5) 21 Assistance, relief (3)

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Wordsearch Clues Word Search Word List angelica ginger basil lovage borage mace capers marjoram caraway seeds mint carob mustard seeds chervil nutmeg chicory paprika chives parsley cinnamon pepper cloves rosemary dill saffron fennel sage garam masala tarragon garlic thyme tumeric

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21

Spotlight Magazine

Bank Holidays

I’m in two minds about bank holidays. On the one hand it’s a holiday, yay, and there are two of them in May…another yay; on the other it’s a prescribed holiday so most people are off work at the same time, so there are queues and traffic jams wherever you go.

It would make more sense to me if bank holidays were rolled into an additional 8 days of compulsory leave which could be taken anytime we like.

In the UK we actually fair pretty badly in the bank holiday stakes anyway. 8 public holidays is not a lot. The Italians have 12 days; the Austrians 13, while Spain and Portugal enjoy 14 public holidays per year!

There has been a long-running campaign for an extra bank holiday in the UK somewhere around October. This is favoured because the period from August Bank Holiday to Christmas is a long time to work without a break!

Past Prime Ministers have on occasion

indicated this might be a possibility.

It occurred to me that we might get a bonus ‘Brexit’ Bank holiday if the current incumbent of No. 10 feels she needs a popularity boost.

Not everyone would welcome it though. The Confederation of British Industry calculates that just one extra day could cost the nation £6.5 billion.

It sounds a lot but they also calculate that the cost to the economy of work-related stress and mental health problems is somewhere between £4-5 billion, and that sick-days cost over £12 billion per year.

Given those figures it might be presumed that a couple of extra days’ holiday per year could prove beneficial over all.

However you plan to spend your two bank holidays this month make sure you check the travel news. I plan to stay local.

There are loads of great things to do on our doorstep and I really don’t want to spend my extra day off stuck in a traffic jam!

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23

Spotlight Magazine

The Bright Side

Over the course of the winter we have all witnessed our skin looking lifeless and lacklustre. A tired skin presenting an uneven texture or tone is a reflection of many factors- the natural aging process, stress, poor diet and sun exposure, to name a few.

In addition, some may also present highly common imperfections such as age spots, hyperpigmentation and acne scarring, which can diminish confidence and exacerbate dull complexions further.

There are two types of concerns brightening products and treatments address; dull tired and uneven skin or those suffering from more resistant hyperpigmentation.

Many of the new ingredients and treatments can improve both problems successfully but resistant pigmentation will take longer to show improvement.

There are three key steps to help brighten the skin and promote a more even skin tone:

• Protect the skin from further UV stimulation which will darken existing pigmentation and could cause more.

• Reduce inflammation, as this is a major trigger for types of pigmentation.

• Treat existing pigmentation with exfoliation to reduce visible build up preventing new production by inhibiting the melanogenesis process.

Exfoliation is an important beauty habit yet is one step often disregarded from skin care regimes. As the ageing process begins, the use of an exfoliator becomes even more crucial, as the body’s natural ability to shed dead skin slows down.

An exfoliator can take the place of this function by manually or chemically exfoliating to aid the renewal process.

However, exfoliators aren’t the only products to help brighten dull complexions, a crop of cleansers, serums, masques and creams have now all been developed to aid the revival of dull skins.

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25/11/2014 11:57:33

Spotlight Magazine

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25

Spotlight Magazine

Could You Be A Foster Carer?

Nottinghamshire County Council is looking for foster carers in and around Mansfield.

Theatre, Vision West Notts College, Mansfield

We would love to talk to anyone living in the area that may be thinking about fostering.

For more information, including details of other information sessions, visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/fostertoday

We can talk you through the application process and how we’ll support you every step of the way.

You can also find about the allowances and training opportunities that would be available to you as one of our foster carers.

The Council’s fostering team are hosting a Fostering Information Evening; a chance to chat with carers, social workers and the fostering team.

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27

Spotlight Magazine

Collections

About a third of people in the UK own a collection. From water colour miniatures to novelty pens, people like to collect things - but why? Well there isn’t one reason. For some, like football fans who collect club memorabilia, it is a way to express their loyalty; for others, like a coin collector who is proud of a rare find, it can become an obsession. You don’t even have to collect something physical: train spotters collect engine numbers and information.

Humans are unique in the way we collect items purely for the satisfaction of seeking out and owning them. It’s thought that we started to collect things as early as 12,000 years ago, when our ancestors ceased their nomadic lifestyles and settled in one location. There is much speculation about why we collect, yet little agreement between scientists.

It’s true some people collect items like fine art or wine as investments, but the vast majority of collections are not actually worth a lot. There are a couple of interesting theories. One is a phenomenon called

the endowment effect, which describes our tendency to value things more once we own them. The other is the concept of contagion, and this applies particularly to celebrity items because some collectors see such objects as being infused with the essence of the person who owned them.

Collecting can be an absorbing and fun hobby, and can be a good way to make like-minded friends. There are online communities for chatting about your collection. There are also be meet-ups where you can swap or buy additions.

To start a collection choose something that is meaningful to you and works with your budget. I have one friend who collects silly limericks, which cost her nothing, and another who collects aesthetically pleasing glass objects, which can set her back several hundred pounds.

Both get great pleasure from their hobby. The choice of things to collect is limitless…so what are you waiting for?

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

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