Sunday, 13 December 2009

'Ten top pressies for mum and dad for under £20'

Here at The Student Pocket Guide we've produced the definitive guide to satisfy the parents who 'have everything'

Desktop Henry Vacuum Cleaner 
For the professional desk jockey - £11.95

Henry has been a benchmark of the cleaning industry for years, well now the little red legend is available in desktop size. Henry even comes with hoover accessories! The little hoover takes 2 x AA batteries and is only 22cm high and 11.5cm wide.

 
Cockney Rhyming Slang Guide Book
For the aspiring Eastender - £4.99

Your hairy bum (Mum) or dad doing Kathy Burke (work) in London? Well then Shelley Klein's guide is the perfect gift. The guide will have them chatting with their mates like they're in a Guy Ritchie flick.


 
Tao Digital Photo Keychain 
For the sentimental parent - £12.99

This key chain has an 8MB memory stick that can store up to 100 pictures and a 1.5 " LCD screen, which shows a slide-show of pictures. Let your parent's take their memories everywhere-especially if theirs is failing!

Shape Up Alarm Clock
Get up and in shape in the new year - £19.95

Get those grumpy parents up, out of bed an burning those bingo wings! The nifty alarm/dumbbell forces you to pull 30 reps with the 660 gram weight before it will shut up. It's powered by 2 x AAA batteries and comes in both black and white.

 
Handy Gift Set for Mum  
Because Mums love smelly pink things - £11.99

This great little gift for Mums. It's full of hand wash, soaps and Purple Ronnie's book of wisdom about great Mum's. It even comes gift wrapped to make your life even easier!



Gooey gel for the old git - £9.95

This amazing spa pack turns to gel in under five minutes and the is so thick it retains heat for three times as long, allowing your creaky old cretins to recline and soothe their aches for hours on end. Gelicity will transform up to 100 litres.


 
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
For the literary/survival horror fan - £8.99
 

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."

If only all literary 'classics' were revamped with a bloodthirsty undead sub-plot. The book even came third on the New York Times bestseller list!

MUG
I said no sugar you muppet - £10.99

Make sure Sandra on reception never pinches your Dad's mug again. Only the hardest deputy communcations managers would have a fat gold knuckle duster strapped to their brew.

 


Sound Asleep Pillow
To block out your Dad's snoring - £19.99


Let your Mum listen to music in  bed, it's so discreet the person sleeping next to you can't hear it. It doesn't require batteries and if your parents ruined their ears at too many punk gigs in the 70's - the pillow can drown out their tinnitus.

Mystery Box 
The Last Resort-
A £19.95/ B £29.95

If you still don't know what to get them try the mystery box option from Firebox.com. There are two options A (£19.95) and B (29.95). Both offer a brand new stuff and the contents is always worth more than what you pay!

Saturday, 28 November 2009

Soft Toy Emergency- The Sugarmill- 17th November


Soft Toy Emergency have been traipsing on a tour across the Midlands for the last month, in an unlikely slot supporting dance/rock/grime entrepreneurs Hadouken.

The Merseyside five-piece have an upbeat pop tempo and catchy funky vocals, which strike a stark contrast to the viscous ASBO ballads that Hadouken produce.

The gig sold out weeks beforehand as big names like Hadouken aren't that common at The Sugarmill. The venue was heaving with young fans draped in glow-sticks, UV paint and occasionally some clothing.

An obscure splice of Lady Ga Ga and Britney Spears hyped up the crowd before the gig, initially when 'toxic' began to play I thought it would be the DnB remix. Unfortunately It wasn't.

However the mix of pop music and teenagers has always made sense and Soft Toy Emergency fitted in effortlessly - pouncing on the stage with a sound very reminiscent of Alphabeat but in a good way.

Their opener White Lights injected the crowd with energy and made for a great sing along. The catchy chorus- "We've been staring at white light and we are blinded by our reflections" is accompanied by a neat electric tune that can't help but make you smile.

The sassy scarlet lead singer- Jen riled up the crowd for the nights headliner, whilst strutting around the stage in Kylie Minougue style-gold sequined hot pants, which the lads in the crowd definitely appreciated.

Other stand out tracks included Circles, a plucky-punky track that harks back to the greatest days of No Doubt and their latest single Critical. The single has an almost comical Europop streak running through it, as most of the lyrics sound as if they have been lost-in-translation from Swedish.

Overall Soft Toy Emergency have a great, upbeat sound that pumps from the same vein as La Roux and is riding the revival of 80's synth pop perfectly. So far Radio 1's Jo Wiley, BBC6 Music's Steve Lamacq and XFM's John Kennedy have backed the band. Considering their very successful slots at Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury this year, undoubtedly Soft Toy will be climbing the festival billings and into your ears sometime very soon.

Soft Toy Emergency are still touring with Hadouken and are playing a handful of other dates this year.


28 Nov 2009
20:00
THE BIG REUNION w/ The Wombats
Skegness
30 Nov 2009
20:00
THE CRAUFORD ARMS w/ Hadouken!
Milton Keynes
1 Dec 2009
20:00
ROADMENDERS w/ Hadouken!
Northampton
2 Dec 2009
20:00
THE ROYAL w/ Hadouken!
Derby
4 Dec 2009
20:00
REMIX w/ Hadouken!
Hitchin
5 Dec 2009
20:00
THE BIG REUNION w/ The Wombats
Skegness
6 Dec 2009
20:00
LIBRARY w/ Hadouken! (14+)
Lancaster


Soft Toy Emergency's latest single Critical is out now and is available from iTunes, 7Digital and Play.