MANC FRANK WINS FIRST TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS TRAINS

FRANK PR WINS BATHSTORE

NEWS FROM COW & GATE

Pregnant women take on culinary Kings with weird and wonderful cravings creations

New survey reveals the weirdest and wackiest hankerings experienced by mums-to-be

 A poll from C&G Baby Club Community reveals a third of pregnant women (31%) are just as likely to find the object of their craving in a chemist or hardware store, as they are in a supermarket, as they admit to unusual hankerings for non-food items, such as soap (11%), chalk (6%) and toothpaste (5%), as well as creative combos such as sausages and jam.

A side of soap with supper

The survey found the most popular cravings to be sweet chocolate (30%); sour pickles (29%); and salty crisps (28%). With some of the more unconventional individual responses including rubber, paint and rocks, while one person even said tree bark and another the smell of tennis balls.

At some point during pregnancy, nearly half of mums-to-be (49%) have felt embarrassed by their cravings, with a majority turning to an online delivery service to stock up on their unusual urges (34%).

The new poll aims to celebrate all of the weird, wacky and wonderful elements of pregnancy, with the C&G Baby Club Community offering future mums a place to share their pregnancy experiences without judgment among those who know the feeling or have been there before.

Nutritionist, Jo Travers, comments:

"Mums needn't be fazed by their pregnancy cravings. After all, they are just one of the weird and wonderful experiences of pregnancy that every mum-to-be has.

“The survey reveals almost half of mums are embarrassed about their hankerings, however, this doesn’t need to be the case. If they need reassurance they can speak to a nutritionist or if they’re just looking to share and chat about their own experiences, even the wackiest moments, they can visit the C&G Baby Club Community, a safe and reassuring place where likeminded mums can connect."

Right here, right now

More than one in ten (12%) are desperate to fulfill cravings before breakfast while over a third (36%) of pregnant mums confess to sending their other half out in the middle of the night on a special trip to pick up a cravings meal. Family members and friends are also kept busy with one in three (32%) pregnant mums calling in foodie favours from their nearest and dearest.

Cravings most commonly occur three to five times a day for more than a third of mums (36%) and it's not always just a case of popping to the local shop.  Nearly half (49%) of hungry mums-to-be are prepared to travel five to ten miles if what they crave is not already in the house, while almost one in ten (9%) would travel over 10 miles to fulfill their craving. Money is no object for some when it comes to matters of the tummy, with one in seven (15%) confessing they'd splash over £50 on their hankering.

If mums-to-be can't satisfy their cravings, they admit to suffering a range of emotions with many left feeling, anxious (23%) upset (21%) angry (20%) annoyed (18%) and even frustrated (18%).

Sweet, salty or both?

With chocolate being a popular choice, it's unsurprising a quarter of mums-to-be most commonly have an urge for desserts (25%), followed by red meat (18%) and surprisingly some even fancy extra vegetables (13%).

A quarter (27%) of respondents confessed to a liking for bizarre mixtures of sweet and savory foods. Intriguing combinations listed include sausages and jam, Mars bars and bacon, and Yorkshire pudding with chocolate spread.

Jessica Thornton, mum-to-be and blogger at Lilypod and Sweetpea, adds: "My cravings have been all things minty, whether that be Tic Tac's, Polo's or Murray Mints. It's gotten to the extreme of mint sauce on everything...including toast, which can be a little embarrassing at family events! If I run out of edibles I've been known to take to the toothpaste tube, or simply send my fiancé out for the goods."

To learn more about the C&G Baby Club Community or to share your pregnancy trials, tribulations and celebrations, from pregnancy cravings to best buys, visit www.cgbabyclub.co.uk/

NEWS FROM DISNEY CLUB PENGUIN

READING, WRITING, ARITHMETIC…AND INTERNET SAFETY

8 OUT OF 10 UK PARENTS BELIEVE INTERNET SAFETY SHOULD BE A FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATIONAL PILLAR

New research from Disney’s Club Penguin reveals parents believe that inteRnet safety should be  the fourth R

·       1 in 4 kids aged between six and 12 confess to sharing personal information online with strangers

·       Around 30% of parents cite a compulsory log in for all internet users if they could make one change to the internet

·       Club Penguin launches online safety sessions in Disney Stores on Safer Internet Day to tackle e-safety concerns head on

·       Strictly star, and mother of three, Sophie Ellis-Bextor encourages kids and parents to pledge to make the web a better place, as a part of Disney’s Club Penguin's online safety campaign, It Starts with You

New research reveals that 80% of mums and dads feel so concerned about online safety that they believe it should become the fourth educational R, and join reading, writing and arithmetic as one of the basic schooling skills taught in the classroom, as reported by a new study from Disney’s Club Penguin.

The report, conducted by the virtual world as part as its ongoing safety initiative, It Starts with You, polled 1,000 parents with children aged six to 12 year olds and their kids, about internet safety, what they think is acceptable behaviour online, and the changes that they would most like to make to the internet, in keeping with Safer Internet Day’s 2014’s theme of “let’s create a better internet together”.

Not speaking to strangers is the number one life lesson children are taught in the real world, however, when it comes to the digital world, one in four (25%) young people aged six to 12 years old confessed that they think it is acceptable to share personal information online, including their full name and address, passwords and images, with people they don't know. Yet despite mums and dads calling for internet safety to become a matter of course in the classroom, worryingly,  almost one in six (15%) also admitted they think the sharing of such personal information with strangers is appropriate.

The report unveiled that more than a third (36%) of mums and dads admit to not regularly monitoring their children's use of the web, and found that families aren't aware of the rules of the road when it comes to online safety.  Those parents who did admit to overseeing their kids’ online use, cite making sure that they are not speaking to strangers online (43%), or not spending too much time online (24%) as the top two reasons. 

Almost a third (27%) of parents stated that they don't think that there is enough being done to help educate children about online safety, with half calling for more to be done by schools, internet providers and third parties to teach kids e-safety.  Furthermore, whilst some parents (9%) believe the safety features on their children's device will keep them safe, more than one in three (36%) confess to feeling baffled by over-complicated user manuals when it comes to setting them up. One in five (20%) admit to only bothering putting them in place on devices that belong to their children. 

This call for education, coupled with parent's lack of knowledge when it comes to internet-enabled devices, has led to the world’s largest virtual world Disney’s Club Penguin taking steps to tackle these issues head on.  To help parents and kids, learn the rules of the online road, Disney’s Club Penguin will be holding free online safety sessions for parents and children across the UK on 15^th February, in addition to hosting  a special session with Sophie Ellis-Bextor on Safer Internet Day. Fully trained ambassadors from Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP) will be on hand in store providing help and advice for young people on how to navigate safely in the digital world. The Geek Squad will be available to teach mums and dads how to set up those all-important parental controls, so children can surf the web worry free.

Lucy Woodward, Interactive Live Services Director at Club Penguin comments: “‘As a mum, I know how hard it can be to feel 100% confident having conversations with your children about online safety, especially when it feels like your kids are more comfortable with the internet and technology than you are! That's why we seek to give parents the tools to support, and educate them, as well as empowering kids to take the lead in making the internet a better place. We want parents and kids to make their pledge to making the web a safer place this Safer Internet Day – it really does start with you!”

As well as a host of handy tools and resources made available for mums and dads, including a special online safety e-hotline*, parents and children will also be encouraged to make their pledge for a better internet on the Disney Club Penguin website here: [link]. Kids will also be able to take the lead in making the online world a safer place by completing a specially designed e-safety quiz online, here [link].

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Disney’s Club Penguin ambassador comments: “My children are all different ages but have all grown up with the web, so it’s important that I know how to make sure that they are safe online, like I do in the real world. It’s great that Club Penguin is helping parents and kids learn the rules of the online road. The internet is an amazing place for learning and discovery, but the potential threats to kids are real, so we need to make sure that parents and children know how to navigate the internet safely.”

Disney’s Club Penguin’s study also revealed that:

·       Close to 30% of children (26.8%) would put “internet police” in power if given the tools to create the internet, with parents citing “appropriate content” for kids (32%), “filters and safety technology” (24.9%) and” internet police” on their top internet wish-list (18.2%) 

·       Children’s mot preferred single change to the internet would be safe sites that are checked (27%). Meanwhile parents’ more popular change was online log-ins for users (27%)

It Starts with You, sees Disney’s  Club Penguin partner with Childnet and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and aims to empower kids to take the lead in spreading positive behaviour online, and give their parents the tools to better support them.  Disney’s Club Penguin has seen 200 million penguins created since launch and spans 190 countries from the UK to Chile across computer and iPad, with more multiplatform launches set to be announced.  Parents and young people can visit www.clubpenguin.com/safety to discover how to make the online world a better place. It Starts with You!

BREAKING NEWS...

In an eleventh hour swoop on transfer deadline day, Frank PR has secured the services of the highly-sought after Frank P Aardvark.  Snaffling the African mammal from under it's rivals' noses, Frank P Aardvark will become the agency's unofficial, official spokesperson.  Working closely with the national newspaper cartoonist Neil Kerber, Frank P will take on the role of announcing agency news and client wins on an ongoing basis.

Frank PR CEO and Founder Graham Goodkind was clearly delighted with the new signing.  He said: "We're very excited to have Frank P Aardvark join the team.  In particular, his 'work aard, play aard' ethos really impressed us.  The PRCA has talked about having more diversity in the PR industry and we think Frank P will certainly be leading the way in this respect."

Goodkind refused to be drawn on the length of contract and personal terms, but according to inside sources Frank P Aardvark's agent was pushing for a deal worth 50,000 ants a week to join Frank PR.

Follow Frank P Aardvark on Twitter

  

NEWS FROM HOTELS.COM

Hair Raising Holiday Choices!

Could your hair colour determine what type of holiday you book?

It seems that when it comes to holidays our hair colour could determine our choice of perfect getaway. A new study today from Hotels.com has discovered that ginger haired people are most likely to head off on safari (8%) while bald folk would much rather embark on a backpacking trip (6%).

The survey of 2,000 people showed that when choosing a holiday blondes are most likely to pick a relaxing, sunbathing beach holiday with 42% of blondes voting this their favourite type of trip. People with black hair were most likely to pick a skiing holiday (13%) than any others while thrill-seeking brunettes were most likely to go for something more wild like hiking, kayaking or rock climbing (11%).

Grey haired people in later life were found most likely to prefer a quiet countryside retreat (36%) above all other hair types. Shockingly, ginger haired people most favoured a safari more than other hair types (6%), even though over 50% of the ginger population have admitted getting sunburned is their biggest fear when on holiday and the bald Brits like to show their adventurous side with a backpacking expedition (6%).

Brunette - holiday of choice (%)	Ginger hair - holiday of choice (%)	Blonde hair -holiday of choice (%)	Black hair - holiday of choice (%)	Grey hair - holiday of choice (%)	Bald - holiday of choice (%)
Sunbathing (37%)	Sunbathing (36%)	Sunbathing (41%)	Sunbathing (39%)	Countryside retreat (36%)	Other (33%)
Countryside retreat (23%)	Countryside retreat (27%)	Countryside retreat (23%)	Countryside retreat (18%)	Sunbathing (29%)	Sunbathing (26%)
Other (16%)	Adventure holiday (10%)	Other (12%)	Skiing holiday (13%)	Other (25%)	Countryside retreat (26%)
Adventure holiday (11%)	Safari (8%)	Adventure holiday (7%)	Other (11%)	Adventure holiday (4%)	Adventure holiday (7%)
Backpacking (4%)	Other (8%)	Safari (6%)	Adventure holiday (8%)	Safari (3%)	Backpacking (6%)
Spa holiday (3%)	Spa holiday (4%)	Backpacking (5%)	Safari (5%)	Skiing holiday (1%)	Safari (2%)
Skiing holiday (3%)	Backpacking (4%)	Skiing holiday (4%)	Backpacking (3%)	Backpacking (1%)	Skiing holiday (0%)
Safari (3%)	Skiing holiday (3%)	Spa holiday (2%)	Spa holiday (3%)	Spa holiday (1%)	Spa holiday (0%)

Kate Hopcraft of the Hotels.com brand said, "Our research shows an additional way of looking at how we choose our holidays…based on our hair! While you would expect a countryside retreat may be preferred by those with grey hair it is fantastic to see our ginger population enjoying the excitement of a safari over other holidays; we just hope they pack plenty of sun cream."