Advantages: Fictional therapy
Disadvantages: Not to be read on an empty stomach

...Where do you go to escape the ugly side of life? Where is your ideal retreat when life becomes uncertain and unkind? Reading fiction is about escape. So slip your lead and come with me to a place in England, set in the late 1950s, where people were kinder, families close, the sun shone every day in summer and even the rain was whisper soft. ♥ ‘The Darling Buds of May’ is a ‘lusty, irrepressible romp’ through Eden. A story as luscious as roast beef, juicy as a peach and scrumptiously sexy under the generous roof of Ma and Pa Larkin and their six apple-cheeked children with extravagant names: Mariette (a compromise of Marie Antoinette), Montgomery (after the General), twins Zinnia and Petunia (named after Ma’s favourite flowers), Victoria (the plumb) and Primrose (Spring). ♥ It is Springtime when young Cedric... Read review

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Advantages: savers were saved
Disadvantages: political propaganda machine working overtime

...- 'Darling buds of dismay' - Note : > This review is based on the recent Northern Rock fiasco (sept 2007) Crisis!! What crisis? - It's just remarkable that it was a week ago that Northern Rock was apparently in melt-down. All sorted now - Perfic! - At the time it was strange to see the savers amongst us were the elders, coach loads of them. It was obvious that they were concerned needlessly and at the time feared for there financial freedom. What seemed to highlight the crisis for me was that no-one for over 24 hours could log-in to their accounts online and use their financial freedom. They claim it to be excessive traffic to their site, but for the 5th biggest financial company in UK it is hard to believe. A server outage was miraculously well-timed, one of a few odd co-incidences. No doubt Northern Rock was doing everything... Read review

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Advantages: Blue-chip company status
Disadvantages: on the ropes

...'Darling buds of decay' ~ Northern Rock part 2 ~ Please Note : > This review is based on the Northern Rock fiasco < Are we about to see more long queues outside Northern Rock again, like in September 2007? Now that the head of department has gone 'the fall guy'; we could now be witnessing a reality check credit carnage worse than Barings Bank. I am now feeling sorry for Mr. Adam Applegarth (the fall guy) which is highly unusual for me; as since his resignation nothing has changed. Northern Rock shares are lifeless in the market and scarcely rising to any form of normality. This is just 2 months on from their 25 billion government payout stroke intervention. Yet it looks like it was just a waste of money. Something that has been very much part of Mr Brown's government. This fiasco looks to have super-seeded the biggest joke... Read review

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Advantages: Long lasting, floral
Disadvantages: None

...Review of Darling, fragrance by Kylie Minogue Kylie Minogue born 28/05/1968, Melbourne, Australia, is best known for her performance as Charleen, in the Australian soap 'Neighbours' and her career as a singer. She has recently hit the headlines following her diagnosis and following recovery form breast cancer. Kylie Minogue, along with numerous other celebrities has now ventured into the world of perfume, 'Darling' is her fragrance, produced in conjunction with Coty. **The fragrance** Darling is a very feminine scent, it is a strong, floral perfume, with sensual, heady top notes of freesia, passion fruit and lychee. The mid notes are a subtle blend of lily and boronia, the following base notes of sandalwood, amber wood and vanilla. Darling is marketed as a Chypre-Floriental fragrance, an oriental, floral mixture... Read review

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Advantages: sweet, long lasting, memorable
Disadvantages: none

...I recieved this as a birthday gift from my gran. I was suprised by the modern taste in fragrance my dear old gran has and i'll give her all the credit this time as it is gorgeous! At the same price as the previous Kylie perfume, Darling, this is great value for money. Depending on where you pruchase from i'd say it cost roughly £16-£20 for a 30ml bottle which i think it pretty reasonable. I'm sure you could get it even a little cheaper elsewhere! Currently available in sizes of 30ml, 50ml and 75ml. I'm sure this product would sell anyway as it has Kylie's name on it but it is rereshing to see that she msut have put some efort into is despite her ongoing battles which is inspirational. More than can be said about some celebrities perfumes that are onthe market and smell revolting just to make them quick money. The bottle is more... Read review

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Advantages: close to CBD,large ammount of shops and cafes,pleasent atmosphere
Disadvantages: crowded at weekends, overpriced, gets boring real quick

...If you are looking for authentic australian atmosphere, then Darling Harbour would be one place best avoided. Okay, its situated around a harbour, but where isn't in Sydney?. Its main claim to fame is its huge exhibition hall and conference centre, where some events in the olympics were situated.But who travels all this way to look at a conference centre. Kids may enjoy Sega World, but apart from that theres little else for them. Cafes and bars are horrendously expensive, although there are a multitude to choose from, plus a large food court. If you are after items of australiana to take home to friends and loved ones then there are plenty of shops to cater for your needs. Whether its a didgereedoo or a toy koala you will find it here in abundance. Expect to pay higher than average prices though as darling harbours main customers... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful Scent
Disadvantages: a celebrity perfume

...I really love perfume. It is the highlight of any Christmas being bought more, but it has to be said I have rather boring tastes. You almost get stuck in a rut with buying the same perfume year in year out. Initially for me that perfume was Dior Addict. Yes the scent was a bit heavy, but it was a long lasting flowery smell which I adored. However, I came to university and the opportunity to buy perfume became rather non-existent. Last Christmas my boyfriend, hearing my cry of lack of perfume, invested in Thierry Mugler Angel, which was another favourite of mine. The last bottle I had ran out last week, so off I went to buy more, but when I got to Boots the price shocked me. So, in a brave step I decided to broaden my perfume horizons and branch out into something else. My choice this time was Kylie Minogue 'Sweet Darling... Read review

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Advantages: A Fantastic place to stop a relax
Disadvantages: None that I can think of...

...Darling Harbour is a small area of Sydney that lies alongside the Chinese garden and only about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Sydney. The atmosphere in the harbour is much more relaxed than in the centre of the city and it seems as if you could be miles away. The easiest way to get there is to walk from the city centre, but we found it quite by accident when we were on the monorail. On one side of the harbour are a shopping centre and various fast food restaurants and cafes. The shopping centre has quite a reasonable selection of shops, but beware of the ultra-tacky souvenirs! The harbour side itself is really nice to walk round and the cafes are great to sit and enjoy a drink or ice cream and watch the world go by. You can take the ‘Land Train’ around the harbour but this is just a tractor pulling some... Read review

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Advantages: Smells nice, pretty box and bottle
Disadvantages: None

...I received this perfume as a present. Kylie Minogue is a very successful Australian singer who has also done a small bit of acting. She has also recently beaten breast cancer. The box for this perfume is very pretty and eyecatching. The front has a light lilac/pink shimmery hologram effect with some white floral decor. The name "Kylie Minogue" is in bold black text and "Sweet Darling" is wrote underneath in purple text with a written scrawl look to it. There is a photo of Kylie on the back and her signature in purple. The bottle is very pretty to and looks nice and feminine. The glass is a lilac colour and has a pearlarised, frosty look to it. Despite the glass not being clear you can still easily see the level of the liquid inside. Another reviewer describes the shape of the bottle as being like a flattened apple with the top cut... Read review

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Advantages: heavenly scent, stylish bottle
Disadvantages: possibly a bit pricey

...Last year for my birthday, I received a bottle of Kylie Minogue's first edition 'Darling' perfume. It had such a refreshing, glorious scent that I used it almost every day! Unfortunately, this resulted in it running out quite quickly, and I was left with an empty bottle - I was far from pleased! It was to my delight this Christmas when I opened up a present from my Dad, and revealed a brand new bottle of Miss Minogue's newer 'Sweet Darling'! Packaging The first thing I saw when I unwrapped my gift was, inevitably, the box it came in. As this was the point when I made my first impression, it was important that the box was appealing, to give me positive thoughts on the fragrance from stage one. The first thing I saw was the black top. This gave me no indication as to what I was unveiling. As I slowly peeled away the wrapping... Read review

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