shimmer's New Writeups

Caramac (thing)

2005-04-23T15:31:30Z

Caramac is a caramel candy bar made by Nestle and the cause of debate for people with a sweet tooth in the UK.

Launched in 1959, Caramac is an enigma. It is a similar shape to a regular chocolate bar, such as a MilkyBar or a Dairy Milk, but contains no cocoa. This makes it subject for much discussion from people who need to know whether it is a chocolate bar or not.

When looking to buy a Caramac bar, the first thing to notice is how difficult they can be to find. Not many shops sell them as they aren't known about by too many people. Those who do know about them either love them or hate them, so they aren't a big seller.

After opening the retro style orange and yellow paper wrapper, and the gold shiny foil, you are faced with a creamy pale brown confectionery product. A similar colour to unrefined sugar. The thin bar has pieces marked out in raised squares and is easy to break into pieces.

On placing one in your mouth, it immediately…

Murder Most Horrid (idea)

2005-04-22T14:35:25Z

Murder Most Horrid was a black comedy series shown on television on the BBC throughout the 1990s starring Dawn French.

Each show was a new story written by a different writer and starred a new cast in a similar vein to Alfred Hitchcock Presents but with a comedic twist. Dawn French, who starred in all of them, played a different role each week, sometimes being the murderer and sometimes the victim. This highlighted her versatility as a solo actress.

The series started in 1991 as a pilot created by Anthony Horowitz and made by Talkback Productions, a company owned by Smith and Jones. Its high quality scripts parodying the traditional British murder mystery became well known by a select group of fans, but its dark humour made it less of a mainstream hit than other series starring French such as The Vicar of Dibley.

Filmed in London, England, French's roles varied hugely including roles as a domineering femme fatale, a…

Frank Perdue (person)

2005-04-21T20:03:34Z

Franklin "Frank" Parsons Perdue was a farmer from Maryland who revolutionsed the poultry industry in America through the introduction of his brand name chickens.

A Shy Boy From Maryland

Frank was born on the 9th of May 1920 in Salisbury to Arthur W Perdue and his wife Pearl Perdue. Whilst working on the railroads in Salisbury in 1915, Franks father decided that he would love to become a farmer. He knew that there wasn't money in agriculture, but the egg farmers seemed to be prosper. So in the same year as Frank was born, Arthur left the railroad, bought his first car and set up business.

A Family Business

It was this business that Frank was involved in from an early age. At first he helped his parents to feed the chickens and empty their coops.

"I always helped my father with the farm, from the time I was so small that I had to hold an egg with two hands.

He started work with the family…

Gluten-free recipes (idea)

2003-08-25T10:15:10Z

Gluten free recipes are recipes which contain no ingredients which have gluten in them. Duh...

The main ingredient which contains gluten is wheat which can be found in a variety of foods ranging from bread through to gravy, sweets and beefburgers. This makes if difficult for anyone with coeliac disease, or a gluten allergy to be able to go to a restaurant to eat, or to use a "normal" cookery book to find a recipe.

Wheat can be called by a variety of names on ingredient lists so having knowledge of these different names is paramount to finding out if a product is gluten free.

Additive numbers 1400-1450 are either wheat based or are undefined.
Batter is usually made from wheat flour.
Beer can be made using wheat gluten.
Biscuit is usually made from wheat flour.
Bran is the outside hull of a grain of wheat.
Bread is usually wheat based.
Breadcrumbs are usually made from wheat

…

Jason Donovan (person)

2003-08-15T16:00:44Z

Jason Donovan is probably best known for his acting role in Australian soap opera Neighbours which came early in his career, however, more recently recognised for his roles as people living alternative lifestyles.

On 1st June 1968, actor Terrence Donovan and ABC newsreader Sue McIntosh had a son in Malvern in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Not too long after, whilst Jason was still young, Terrence and Sue separated with Terrence taking the major parenting role in Jasons life.

By the age of five, show business had already influenced his life and as well as taking piano lessons, he joined a choir. Six years later, he made his first television appearance in Skyways. Despite being an actor himself, his father was very enthusiastic for Jason to get an education before embarking on a career so enrolled him in Spring Road School in Malvern and and later on in a Catholic High School called De La Salle. After working hard to get good grades, Jason…

Andi Peters (person)

2003-08-14T21:21:57Z

Date of Birth: 29th July 1970
Place of Birth: London, England

Andi Peters is probably best known for his work as a childrens television presenter on the BBC in the UK. Since his first break at the age of 17, he had become an influential figure in youth television programming.

In The Beginning

His first television job came when he was given the position of presenter of Free Time on CITV. Despite not being very well known, the experience led to a promotion fronting the BBC Sunday morning pop music show entitled O Zone where he gained experience directing and producing.

This put him in good stead for his next job, as program announcer on the BBC for after school childrens television alongside Edd the Duck and Wilson the Butler in the Broom Cupboard, a small office with barely enough room for a desk and chair alongside the technical wizardry needed to fade in the the pre-recorded shows and cartoons. Television…