Top Of The Hocks - Friday 27th February

 

Welcome to the third in this series. Please remember to share with us your thoughts on our blog, we would love to hear from as many of you as possible. you can do this on the comments below or via Facebook or Twitter.

 

So lets do this weeks Top of the Hocks

 

1) WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

This week we are going with www.youtube.co.uk

 

We use YouTube a lot during the week, you can always guarantee to find yourself a Vlog, a TV show or simply a music video to keep you entertained.

2) SONG OF THE WEEK

This week, as last weeks was a golden oldie we have decided to go with a newer song this week. George Ezra is a fairly fresh face on the music scene, his voice is very unusual and there is no body else out there like him at the moment. We really like him and we think he will be really successful in the next few years.

 

3) IMAGE OF THE WEEK

 



As it is Anna's Grandad's Birthday today, we have decided to share this lovely picture of Rosie and him together.   

 

4) YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

As many of you will know this week saw the Brit Awards and there were lots of fantastic performance's (and 1 very funny one) But we feel that 1 persons performance stole the show and that was Ed Sheeran singing Blood Stream. We feel that Ed Sheeran deserved to win both Best Album and Best Male this year




5) QUOTE OF THE WEEK

6) FUNNIEST HOCK MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Last Sunday when Tommy, Michelle and Colin visited Allan, Anna and Rosie everybody apart from Colin and Rosie went shopping to Lidl, however Grandad Tommy got caught short in Lidl and had to return to the house to go to the toilet, Rosie shouted at Him, GRANDAD, GO BACK TO LIDL. The way she said it was as if she was saying, "Oh god, not you back already! Stop spoiling my Uncle Colin Time" Its not what she says its the ways she says them!

7) APP OF THE WEEK

This week I have been playing "Super Buzzer" quite a lot so that gets my App of the Week vote.

Super Buzzer is a real time quiz game against other people and the more questions you get right and the quicker you get them gets you more points. it gets very competitive and quite addictive!

8) TV PROGRAMME OF THE WEEK

This week we are going to say the "Great British Comic Relief Bake Off" The Wrexham lot always enjoy the Great British Bake off when its on and with the comic relief one being celebrities not really knowing what they are doing it makes it really funny viewing. They have managed to get some really great celebrities to get involved in it and we are looking forward to next weeks!

9) FILM OF THE WEEK

This week Allan & Anna watched Miss Congeniality. We have watched this film lots of  times before but still laugh as much as we did the first time we saw it. Miss Congeniality is about a very tom boyish FBI Agent who has to go under cover in the Miss United States Beauty Pageant as a contestant. She is very unimpressed at the thought of having to wear dresses and make up whilst having to hang around with bimbos, however, she soon grows to love them whilst cracking the case at the same time. It is a really light hearted and funny film and we always really enjoy it and if you have never seen it before we would highly recommend it!

10) MEMORY OF THE WEEK

As it is Allan & Anna's 3rd Wedding Anniversary this week (Monday 2nd March) We have decided to go for their honeymoon in Paris. They had a really lovely week seeing all the sights and spent a day in Disneyland. They plan on going back sometime in the future to see if they can find their lock on the bridge!

 

 

And that is the end of this weeks Top of The Hocks! I hope you have enjoyed it and don't forget to share it if you have with your friends and family!

Getting to Know the Hocks - Thomas Wilcock

Welcome to the penultimate post in this popular series!

This week it's all about Tommy Wilcock, Dad of Allan and Colin, Husband of Michelle, Father in Law to Anna and Grandad to Rosie! So let's get cracking and Get to Know Tommy!

FULL NAME: Thomas Wilcock.

DATE OF BIRTH: 29th April 1955.

WHERE I LIVE NOW: I live in Ainsdale along with Michelle and Colin.

WHERE I LIVED GROWING UP: I'm a true Scouser and was born and bred in the wonderful City of Liverpool.

WHERE I WAS EDUCATED: St Nicholas Infant and Junior School in Liverpool and the Cardinal Godfrey Technical High School in Liverpool.

PLACES I HAVE WORKED: I started in the world of work at Nielsen, Hornby & Crighton Stock brokers as an office junior amongst other things. Then I moved onto DRG Cups where i worked in Payroll, Purchase Ledger and General Accounts Work. Then I moved onto SHS / Nutricia / DANONE and worked in their finance department as a General Ledger Accountant and am still there after nearly 32 years!

MY HOBBIES: Supporting Liverpool Football Club, Eating out in nice restaurants, Walking and spending time with my Granddaughter and family.

FAVOURITE FOOD: I don't dislike many foods but I have to say I do really enjoy a nice fish!

FAVOURITE DRINK: I like a high quality Italian Red Wine.

FAVE BAND AND SONG: My favourite band would be The Faces and i have 3 favourite songs, they are-

BEN by Michael Jackson

TO KNOW KNOW KNOW YOU by Bobby Vinton

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Gerry and the Pacemakers

FAVOURITE TV PROGRAMME: Anything sport related, from Match of the Day to Soccer AM!

FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION: Would definitely be the Lake District. I love the peace and beauty, especially Lake Windermere.

FAVOURITE FILM: Have to agree with Colin, The Goonies is a true classic!

CELEBRITY CRUSH: Debbie Harry.

MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY:  When i bumped into the back of Harry's car on holiday!

WHAT I LOOKED LIKE AS A BABY: Unfortunately i have no pics of me as a baby, but i can tell you i was gorgeous!

WORST CHILDHOOD PHOTO: To follow when I can find some.

FAVOURITE MEMORY: There are so many, the day i got married, the days my sons were born, the day my son got married, my other sons best mans speech, the day my granddaughter was born.

SOMETHING I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO: Getting my bus pass in a few months time!

A WISH FOR THE FUTURE: That my family, friends and myself have a happy and healthy life!

So that is the end of this weeks Getting to Know: Tommy Wilcock Post. Next week is the last in the series and is a special one for Rosie done by her Mum and Dad! 

Simple Slimming Suppers!- Monday 23rd February 2015

        

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weeks "Simple Slimming Suppers"

This week has been a great week for us weight-loss wise! Allan and I have both lost 3 lbs each and Colin has lost another 1 lb! we have been firmly back on plan since getting back from our mini-break away and our hard work has payed off! We have had a few treats over the week but have made sure we have stayed within our Syn allowance for the week and it's worked. That's why I love slimming world, you can lose weight whilst still being able to treat yourself now and again. The one thing I've struggled with when dieting in the past is that I have got fed up so quickly of eating the same "rabbit food" type meals every single day. However, with slimming world there are so many different recipes to try that you never have to worry about eating the same thing day in day out, you never have to get bored of it. I look at it as more of a healthy lifestyle than a diet.

Also this week, we have tried the new Slimming World meals range in Iceland. All the new meals are completely free on Slimming World and can either be cooked in the oven or in the microwave if you're in a rush. The meals come in portions for one so are ideal for when Allan is away at work and I'm on my own. I in no way intend to start living on frozen meals every day as I love cooking too much, but they really are ideal for days when I just can't be bothered (let's face it, we all have those days!). The meal range includes Meatballs and Pasta in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Singapore Noodles, Chicken Pizziola, Roasted Vegetable Pasta, Chicken Tikka Masala, Sweet Potato Curry, Hot-Smoked Salmon Farfalle and Beef in Red Onion Gravy with Vegetable crush, Slimming world have also brought out Syn Free Sausages in bags of 6 and Syn Free Meatballs in bags of 16. So far we have tried the Meatballs and Pasta in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Singapore Noodles and the Sausages, all which were very yummy! I have a few more in the freezer to try this week and I hope they are as impressive, I'm sure they will be from reviews I have read so far! As I say, I don't think they should become a reason to be lazy and have them every day, as I believe a healthy lifestyle is also about teaching yourself to cook and learning what is good for you, but they are very handy for days where you maybe feel a bit under the weather or just can't be bothered yet don't want to fall off plan.

Now for this weeks "Recipe Of The Week". This week I have decided to share a recipe for "Slimming World Pulled Pork". This recipe feels very naughty and indulgent, however, it's completely free so no guilt here! Yay!

Ingredients-

1 joint of gammon or pork, all visible fat removed (we had gammon this time, but I'd actually recommend pork as the gammon was a bit too salty for my taste, allan however loved it)
1 red onion
3/4 carton of Passatta
4 tbsp Sweetener
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 tbsp Worcester Sauce
1 tsp Mild Chilli Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method-
To make the BBQ Style sauce-

1) Finely chop your Red Onion and fry in a saucepan with Fry Light until Onions begin to soften.

2) Once Onions have started to soften, add the tsp of Chilli Powder and stir through the Onions for a couple of minutes.

3) Add the Pasatta, Sweetener, Balsamic Vinegar, Worcester Sauce and Salt and Pepper and give it a good stir to mix all the ingredients together.

4) Turn the heat to low and let sauce simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce should have thickened slightly and darkened after 10 minutes.

5) Put the joint of Gammon or Pork into a slow cooker, pour sauce over the meat and cook on low all day until you're ready to eat!

6) Once you're ready to eat, shred the meat with 2 forks then give it a mix so that all the sauce is mixed through the shredded meat. The meat should just fall apart with the forks.

7) Serve your Pulled Pork with a side of your choice! We had ours in a bap (healthy extra B) with Slimming World Coleslaw and Slimming World Chips. Yum Yum!

I  hope you have enjoyed this weeks "Simple Slimming Suppers" and if you try my recipe do let me know what you think!

See you next week!
Anna
xx

Memes Of The Week- An Eastenders Birthday Special!

We have decided to stop our weekly "The Weekend Review" posts. This is because we were beginning to feel like we were just repeating things we had already told you during the week, if anything special goes on during our week, we will blog about them individually.

We put some thought into what we could replace "The Weekend Review" posts with, after much deliberation we have decided that every Sunday we will share our "Memes Of The Week" with you. We have decided to do this because let's face it, everybody loves a meme, and hopefully they will give you a good laugh before the weekend comes to an end and you all have to get back to the real world!

We have decided to kick start our "Memes Of The Week" posts with an "Eastenders Birthday Special". As most of you will know, this week Eastenders celebrated their 30th anniversary by having a week of live shows. These shows revealed Bobby Beale as Lucy's killer, Jo Joyner who plays Tanya getting her lines wrong and calling Ian Beale "Adam" instead of Ian (the actor who plays Ian Beale is called Adam Woodyatt) and even saw poor Dot Cotton get taken away by the police for providing her son Nick with illegal drugs that ended up killing him. Although the Eastenders Live week was very very good, it was also VERY dramatic, and of course, this meant the Internet was full of hilarious memes to mark the occasion! There are so many to choose from but here our our top 10 favourites..

10)

9)

8)

7)

6)

5)

4)

3)

2)

1)

There were lots and lots more hilarious memes to choose from but we decided to stick to the cleaner ones (some of them, although hilarious, were very rude!) as we didn't want to offend anyone!

We hope you have enjoyed this weeks "Memes Of The Week- An Eastenders Birthday Special" and that it has given you a giggle. If you have any memes that you think we could use on any of our future "Memes Of The Week" posts, do send them through to us and if we use them we will be sure to give you a mention!

See you tomorrow for "Simple Slimming Suppers!"

xx

Top of the Hocks!-Friday 20th February 2015

Welcome to this weeks edition of "Top of The Hocks." This is the second in this series and last weeks was extremely popular! The idea of this weekly blog is to let you get to know what us Hocks like a bit more and we hope you are enjoying doing that by reading our regular blogs!

Before we start this week we would just like to say that we would love to hear what you think about our blog and our blog posts and there are now a few ways you can do that! We are now on Twitter @the_hocks and on Facebook @thehocks and of course you can comment on the bottom of any posts we put on here or on google+

So, Lets get on with the matter in hand and let you know what are "Top of The Hocks" this week!

1) WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

well this week we are going for Center Parcs. Regular readers of our blog will know just how much we all love Center Parcs and today is a kind of milestone day as we will be visiting Whinfell Forest on 20th July 2015, which is 150 Days away! Yes we know its sad to count days but it is such a special place to our family.

We have visited Elveden, Longleat and Whinfell as the "Hocks" and we have to say Whinfell is by far our favourite! So why don't you visit their website and look at all the different accommodation available, look at their virtual tours and activities and maybe even book yourself a break!

2) SONG OF THE WEEK

This week I am going to hit the retro button and go for an old song but one that is a from a legend and genius in the music industry. Michael Jackson may have been a bit odd, a bit crazy and a bit laa laa but no one can say he wasn't a genius, especially his older music. One song that I love and I don't think is given enough credit is "Man in the Mirror." If you listen to the lyrics it can relate to everybody and in these times where 1 group of people hate another group of people and another hate another and where people just seem to want to harm each other I think its quite apt.

   

3) IMAGE OF THE WEEK

This week it's a picture taken of Rosie during this weeks half term holiday from school. Anna wasn't feeling particularly well one morning and so decided to head downstairs and try and do a jigsaw with Rosie to take her mind off feeling ill. Here was the result, and to me Rosie's face tells a thousand words about how much she enjoyed doing it and watching her mummy do it!

4) YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Now I don't need to tell you that we are kind of obsessed with Center Parcs. Well when we went to Elveden last Christmas we were suppose to be going to the brand new Woburn Forest, however, due to bad reviews and the new site not having the popular Winter Wonderland we transferred over to Elveden at the last minute.

This Video is from a guy who "Vlogs" and he went to Woburn not very long after it opened. We have to admit we have watched nearly every "Vlog" he has done and recently he posted this one of him and his family on holiday in Chester. Geoffnotjeff is definitely worth a follow!





5) QUOTE OF THE WEEK

6) FUNNIEST HOCK MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Well, there has been a few, including some we cannot mention! But I'd have to say when Rosie went to watch Shaun the Sheep the Movie this week in the cinema with Lynne. At one point in the movie one of the sheep trumped and Rosie Shouted at the top of her voice "AHH GRANNN HE FARTED." Silly but extremely Funny!

7) BLOG OF THE WEEK

Well worth a subscribe to is Anna Brims "Mrs Brimbles" blog. visit it now at www.mrsbrimbles.blogspot.com

8) TV PROGRAMME OF THE WEEK

Well how could it be anything else than Eastenders. This week has been its celebration of the fact it has been on the screen for 30 years. it has been Live in parts each night and has resulted in the viewers finally finding out "Who Killed Lucy" nearly 10 months ago! 

9) FILM OF THE WEEK

I'm not a particularly big Movie fan, I just don't have the concentration levels to sit through a film! but I have to say if you put  the "Goonies" in front of me i'll watch it over and over again! its a brilliant film and yes it does mean that that retro button has been hit again!

10) MEMORY OF THE WEEK

Earlier on this week, someone reminded me of a picture that was taken at Allan and Anna's wedding of me stood between Tasha and Catherine who were Anna's Bridesmaids. That day was so good, I was so nervous as I was best man to my brother and I obviously had to do a speech. The speech went down a storm which im so proud of and the day and the night were really fun and special.

And that is the end of this weeks Top of The Hocks! I hope you have enjoyed it and don't forget to share it if you have with your friends and family!

Getting To Know The Hocks- Eifion!

       

This week was supposed to be the turn of Thomas, however for some reason (we aren't sure why?!), he decided he didn't fancy doing it. Hopefully he changes his mind and does it next week for you all! It would be a shame to have someone missing from the "getting to know" series!! So instead of Thomas, this week it is the turn of Eifion!

FULL NAME- Eifion Hughes.

DATE OF BIRTH- 15th October 1962.

WHERE I LIVE NOW- I live in Wrexham like Lynne, Anna, Allan and Rosie.

WHERE I LIVED GROWING UP- Due to my fathers work I have lived in Howden in Yorkshire, Portstewart in Ireland and Cefn Mawr and Marchwiel in Wrexham.

WHERE I WAS EDUCATED- Cefn Mawr Primary School, Grove Park High School and Yale College.

PLACES I HAVE WORKED- The Legal Services Commision.

HOBBIES- I enjoy sleeping (haha), listening to music and reading (particularly books about astronomy and wine).

FAVOURITE FOOD- I love seafood, especially Scallops.

FAVOURITE DRINK- Red Wine

FAVOURITE BAND/ SINGER AND SONG- My favourite band is REM and my favourite song is Country Feedback.

FAVOURITE TV PROGRAMME-  I love live Rugby and Srum V Live.

FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION- There are so many places I would love to visit but my favourite place I've been so far is Singapore.

FAVOURITE FILM- The Shining.

CELEBRITY CRUSH- Sandra Bullock.

MOST EMBARASSING MEMORY- I had a perm when I was 16 as they were all the fashion, needless to say it didn't suit me!

WHAT I LOOKED LIKE AS A BABY- 

WORST CHILDHOOD PHOTO- 

FAVOURITE MEMORY- My wedding day and the days my Daughter and Granddaughter were born.

SOMETHING I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO- I have a few holidays booked this year which I can't wait for!

A WISH I HAVE FOR THE FUTURE- For my family to stay happy and healthy and to visit New Zealand.

Next week will hopefully be the turn of Thomas Wilcock but if not Anna and Allan will do a post on behalf of Rosie!

Simple Slimming Suppers!- Monday 16th February 2015

        

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weeks Simple Slimming Suppers!!

Ask you know there was no weight loss updates on last weeks post as Allan and I were away so weren't able to weigh ourselves. Therefore, it has been 2 weeks today since we weighed ourselves. I am very pleased to say that even though we had a lovely little mini holiday where we just ate what we wanted, neither of us put any weight on, in fact we have both lost weight!! Yay! I have lost 4lbs since last time and Allan has lost 1lb! Not as much as we would usually like to lose in 2 weeks, however, considering we have cheated quite a few times during these 2 weeks we are very pleased with our losses! This means that I have now lost 1stone 4 1/2 lbs in total and Allan has lost 11lbs. Not bad at all in my opinion!! I have been feeling under the weather the past few days and must admit I have found it hard to stay on plan, it's very hard to stick to a diet when all you want to do is eat comfort food and drink hot chocolate!! But hey hey never mind! Think thin Anna, think thin!!

Now.. For this weeks recipe of the week. This week I thought I would share my recipe for Syn Free Bolognese. This is one of my favourite meals and I have it every week, usually more than once because there is always plenty leftover!! This recipe should feed 3-4 people so if there's only one or two of you then just bung the leftovers in a Tupperware and pop it in the freezer. I do this every week, it's great for when allan is away working and I'm on my own as I was getting into the habit of not having "proper" meals when he was away. This way I can have a "proper meal" when I'm on my own but without having to cook from scratch every night.

Syn Free Bolognese

Ingredients-

500g lean minced beef

2x 400g tins/cartons of chopped tomatoes (I had ones with added garlic and onion but plain is fine!)

200g Passatta

1 chopped onion

1 punnet of chopped mushrooms 

2 crushed garlic cloves 

1 stock cube

2 tbsps of tomato purée

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Worcester sauce

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsps dried chilli flakes (we like hot food, if you don't, just add 1 tsp)

1 heaped tbsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp salt (or to your taste)

Pinch of black pepper

Fry light

Method-

1) heat a large saucepan and spray with fry light.

2) add your minced beef to pan and fry until browned.

3) once your minced beef is browned, add your onion, mushrooms and crushed garlic and stir into the minced beef until onions and mushrooms begin to soften.

4) once your onions and mushrooms have started to soften, crumble in your stock cube, add the 2 tbsps of tomato purée and stir for a few minutes.

4) add your 2 cartons of chopped tomatoes, 200g of Passatta and stir through for a few minutes.

5) then, add your remaining ingredients one by one, stirring well in between adding each ingredient.

6) allow your Bolognese to simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.

7) after 15 minutes, you should have a lovely Bolognese sauce that looks something like this..

Yum yum!! Remember, this is only my recipe for it, if you taste it and you feel like it needs more garlic, salt, pepper etc just add it to your taste! This Bolognese sauce is great served the traditional way with spaghetti, in a bowl with a side salad, in a jacket potato, spooned over slimming world chips, even with rice!! It can also really easily be made into a chilli con carne by adding some kidney beans and the right spices (there are lots of slimming world chilli recipes online!). I have just made this Bolognese and we will be having ours for tea tonight with pasta and topped with 40g of reduced fat grated cheese each (our healthy extra A's!). I must say it smells delicious!!

As always, I hope you have enjoyed reading this weeks Simple Slimming Suppers and do let me know if you try my recipe and what you think!! Also, as always if anybody has any yummy Slimming World recipes they would like to share with me, please do! I'm always looking for inspiration!

See you all next week!

Anna

xx