I was convinced that Dim Sum would take over where Sushi left off but it seems I may have been a little wrong. An all new food craze seems to be sweeping in and blowing the competition out of the water, introducing Ceviche, the spicy South American style raw fish (it’s pronounced say-veech-eh).

It seems the sushi craze has reached saturation point and people are beginning to tire from the raw fish and carbs combination. Ceviche is a much lighter option as the fish is served marinated with crunchy salad. The fish its self has a bit  of a kick, more than your usual sushi as it’s cured with lime juice, chilli and salt.

The exact history of Ceviche is still in debate with claims that it is Ecuadorian or even of Mexican origin either way it is extremely low in fat and high in protein – so pretty good for you! If you are thinking of giving this new delicacy a go at home then a word of warning from the experts not to use pre-frozen fish as it’s not suitable to be eaten raw!

If you want to stick to a safer option, and sample this new trend out then there are plenty of restaurants over the UK that are dishing it up. Check out the Blue Parrot Cantina in Edinburgh, The Club Bar and Dining Soho and Gaucho offers a wide range of Ceviche dishes.

Photo by ChazWags over on Flickr

We got sent this great photo the other day and it made us particularly happy! It’s a business’s shop window displaying one of our fetching welovelocal.com stickers. The business in question is John Antony hairdressers in Colchester – thanks John Antony we love the photo, and it seems to be working as this business has an impressive 15 reviews!

If any other business have stickers in their windows, and fancy a mention on our blog then email them over to us and we will do our best to get them up.

  I was browsing the very enjoyable Innocent smoothie blog the other day and came across this post. The post  was about a pub, The Thatched House in Hammersmith, London that is connecting with its local residents in a unique way.

The pub  has a very local focus and has put a chalk board outside,  each day they chalk up a different road name onto the board stating that ‘if you can prove that you live on this street (insert street name) your first drink is on the house!’ How brilliant is that? This is a really great business move and a super cool way to draw in the local community. If that isn’t the best way to meet the people that live on your street, then I don’t know what is?

If only more pubs offered something unique and quirky like this maybe we would all know the people that live on our streets. Now all you need to do is look out for your street name well, if you’re local to the Hammersmith area.

Does anyone else local shops, boozers or businesses do anything out of the ordinary to get you you through the door?

Photo by: Rik over on Flickr

Following on the chip theme it seemed apt to mention the latest news out today from the Potato Council urging people to come back to the hearty potato. Those that have turned their back on the potato in more recent year are being showed the benefits of the humble spud once again. With the price of food creeping up and inflation set to soar, now seems a great time to learn more about the ‘credit crunch’ busting food.

Reasons to gobble down the spuds:

• They contain a considerable amount of potassium. Women, in particular young ones are not consuming enough iron – one portion of potatoes contains 19% of your RDA of iron. Yay potatoes!
• Better value for money, the government’s national diet survey states that potatoes contain more nutrients for your money when compared with pasta or rice.
• Tattys are packed with lots of potassium, which can help lower blood pressure and helps to balance fluids in your body.
• A portion of potatoes contains more Vitamin C than an apple.
• If all this does convince you then it’s worth considering all the yummy ways you can consume potatoes – did I already mention chips?

I know you all love a bit of potato out as places like the Sausage and Mash Cafe in London always get top reviews, I think it’s time to great creative with the spuds at home. I for one can’t stop thinking about Sheppard’s Pie with all this talk of potatoes - dinner tonight?

Photo by: Dr Hemmert over on Flickr

Everyone thinks they know the best place to get a decent chip from, either that or they are searching for the perfect chip. Finding a good chip is about to get a lot easier thanks to ‘Real Chips’ a new community based, information sharing website that lets you to share all your best kept chippy secrets with others.

We know that you’re a passionate bunch regarding the quality of the chips you are being served up, we get so many reviews with very precise descriptions of  establishments chip offerings. Let’s be honest we all like our chips served differently so, if you want to find the best place for a non soggy, crunchy fresh chip then look no further. Real Chips is launching a few weeks time, however you can start submitting your top chip tips over on the site now.

Join the Chip-off’s.

If you want to keeper a closer eye on Real Chips then you can follow their feed over on Twitter!

Portas is back!

Quick reminder, Mary Portas is back with a second run of her TV series Mary Queen of Shops on Monday. We are big fans of Mary here as she gets out there and lends a helping hand to independent businesses that are not doing as well as they could. The retail queen is just as passionate as us here at welovelocal.com about saving independent shops - Hooray! Mary’s aim for the show is not only to support existing independent shops, but also encourage new talent and shops to open - keeping our high streets varied and vibrant.

Check out the full interview with Mary over at the Guardian.

Photo by: Ruu’s over on flickr.

Expect the Unexpected.

We like to keep things running smoothly here at welovelocal.com so tomorrow you have been warned – expect the unexpected. We have some scheduled maintenance taking place on the site. It’s nothing to worry about we are just doing some routine tweaks and changes - nothing major!

So, if you do notice anything funny with the site fear not, we are aware of it and we will endeavour to get it all back up and running as quickly as possible.

We knew you’d understand!

Some possible distractions: cooing over the new white 3G iPhone, plan your next city break from reading Grid Skipper or while away your time with Chain Factor - by the time you have figured out how to play this Tetris style game welovelocal.com will be back up and running (this one was suggested by Rik - so I take no responsibility if it doesn’t cut it) .

Photo by: Frenkieb over on flickr

Afternoon Tea

Ok if you hate tea, scones or cakes it might be wise to look away now. I have always been a bit of an afternoon tea fan-girl. I think it stems somewhere from collecting vintage tea cups and drinking an excessive amounts of tea, all day every day.

So it’s no surprise that I feel a huge sense of pride that it was the English that devised such a decadent and thoughtful way to eat the afternoon away. Afternoon tea originated in the early 19^th century by Anna, the 7^th Duchess of Bedford who was said to have experienced that all too common ‘sinking feeling’ during late afternoon. Hooray afternoon tea was conceived to eradicate afternoon hunger - genius!

I know, I know it all seems very vogue to like afternoon tea, but as the Times noted recently it’s a real ritual - and the 4 o’clock feast is slipping away from our homes, the level of detail and precision that goes into the perfect afternoon tea should not be forgotten. We have all traded in our home- prepared teas for afternoon tea in swanky London hotels and tea rooms.

I for one am guilty as charged (you may have spied my ‘Great Places for Afternoon Tea and Cakes’ group – filled with mostly, my reviews of all the tea places I have frequented?) However, I would like to defend my corner. Whenever there is an occasion I will pull out all my fine china, bake some cakes and put on a lavish afternoon tea– what could be better?

If you are lacking afternoon tea inspiration, fear not. Get inspired with the lovely Small Pleasures blog, this one is great as it reviews scones and jams that you can buy in the shops, so you can find out the best ways to cheat when making your home prepared tea. The afternoon tea site has listings for the whole of the UK – so if you’re heading out for your tea don’t forget to check it out.

Photo by: Pixelthing.com over on Flickr

I think you’d of have to have been hiding away in a nuclear bunker for 6 months not to have noticed the price of everything creeping higher and higher. The BBC ran an interesting article yesterday, providing some thrifty tips on how to enjoy the best things in life, i.e. the free things!

Transport was reported to be one of the things that we spend our money on, well 16% of our household spending to be precise. With petrol and oil are reaching all time highs abandoning the car is now not only good for the environment, but also very good on the pocket. So, getting back to the ‘free’ theory digging out your old bike my well be the answer, saving all those 90p’s we spend on bus, tube and tram rides. Get fit and save money!

Scary stats about our favourite pastime of hot beverage drinking have emerged; whether it’s your morning coffee or your wake up hot chocolate it is all draining your bank account. A little while back I posted about the benefits of buying your daily coffee from independent outlets that charge a fraction of what so of the larger chains do. That is one way to cut back but, according to the BBC spending £1.80 a day on a hot drink totals a whopping £468 a year!

Numbers over – seeking out free stuff seems to be key, there are plenty of ‘free stuff’ and discount websites out there, but what about when you’re out there on the street? Free food samples, free student haircuts, free museums and exhibitions all seem to on the menu and if you are determined then this seems really feasible. However this thrifty life style does require a little more planning, making your lunch, bringing a thermos, doing your research and having a little will power.

From reading the comments left on the BBC article it seems plenty of people are already determined to spend less money and go all week, not just a day without spending money.

Photo by me over on Flickr!

Well supposedly quite a bit, especially for the residents of Shitterton in Dorset – that’s right people I did say Shitterton!

Shitterton made the news last week due to the fact that its local residents are considering rebranding their community - an idea I find quite interesting. Shitterton is the not the first of its kind either the UK is sprinkled with towns, villages, streets and cul-de-sacs all with incredibly awkward names – all originating from our unknowing and often innocent ancestors, who liked to name things with no foresight as to what that name might mean in future years (how inconsiderate).

So, on one side there are members of the shitterton community that would like to see it rebranded to Sitterton, a name that rolls more graciously off the tongue. Social acceptability seems to be key for local estate agents and people moving into the town. However on the other side there seems to be some pretty confused longer standing residents who are either proud of their town, heritage and its name or those that are indifferent about the rebranding.

Either way the changing of a community name is sure to change the very dynamics that under pin it. As older residents lament, how the town used to have no shame in its name, however recently the balance has shifted and both local councils and residents want it updated. It is true that town names have been evolving throughout history, and it was the Victorians that first raised the idea to modify Shittertons name. It is undeniable that if the name changes so does a large piece of the town’s identity and history – for good or bad, it’s hard to say as it is not me that’s living in a town that’s name is constructed from a swearword.

Anyone else live somewhere that makes them blush when announcing it? It would be great to hear more, we know you’re out there – residents of Shittlehope, Shitling Crags and Cockington!

Photo by LouisDavid over on Flickr.