Advantages: ideal first bed
Disadvantages: can be expensive depending how quick grown out of

...We got told by so many people "don't buy a moses basket....complete waste of money....will only last a few weeks....couple of months at the most"! In our case, those statements were complete nonsense. Our daughter was 7lb 3oz when she was born and 49cm in length (the average-sized baby). The first night we had her home, she looked like a little dot in her big cot - in fact she didn't look very comfortable at all. The following morning, my husband drove up to Kiddicare in Peterborough to purchase a moses basket for her, together with the Mamas & Papas Rocking Moses Basket/Carrycot Stand. The stand cost £26.99 and the basket (Zeddy & Rhubarb) cost £68.00. Normal Mamas & Papas retail price for the basket is around £86.00. As far as I know, Kiddicare are no longer stocking Mamas & Papas products, but I believe Glasgow Pram Centre (www... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning artwork, expressions perfect as usual, many characters' plotlines developed, no filler chapters.
Disadvantages: Deviation from main plot line, lack of background detail, little of Tohru the heroin,

... Fruits Basket: 16 - A cut above the rest? Plot Yet another stunning volume in the Fruits Basket series, volume 16 opens in the familiar Sohma household, before plunging straight into Kyoko's past. [Kyoko being Tohru's mother.] Here we meet the long awaited Katsuya! And he's just as pretty as all the fan-girls out there wanted him to be. Well worth the four chapters it occupies, we follow a tragic tale recounting the events prior to Tohru's birth. Kyoko and Katsuya's love story is full of romance, angst and still manages to bring a smile to your face at times. However at its most heartwrenching it rivals Hatori's past, revealed back in volume 2. It even managed to have me in tears [which takes a lot, although I will always have a soft spot for Fruits Basket]. Following this, its back to the present, where we catch... Read review

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Advantages: wide range of stock, low prices
Disadvantages: only 4 branches in the UK

...Country Baskets is a wholesaler's for the creative. There are four branches throughout the UK, based in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. My review is based on the Leeds branch, address as below Ardsley Mills Bradford Road East Ardsley Leeds WF3 2DW Tel: 0113 218 9090 The Leeds branch is set up in an old mill. Ardsley Mills were closed for several years, until Country Baskets decided to use the Mills to launch their Leeds branch. The Mills are still in their original state, and to be honest, unless you were actually looking for Country Baskets it could be quite easy to miss. There is a reasonably large car park at the rear of the mills, that also leads to the entrance. Upon entering it's a little confusing which way to go as you have basically just stepped into what appears to be an abandoned mill... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic characters, great and original story line.
Disadvantages: That the anime only covers so little of the manga story.

...rare occasions where I preferred the English dub to the Japanese with English subtitles. Main reasons being that I disliked the Japanese cast for Yuki Sohma, and that the English cast did the series justice and didn't sound wooden at all. Music: The background music (BGM) fit the series well, and is for the most part light and pleasant. Nothing special, though, even the opening and ending theme are non spectacular. So though it fits well, Fruits Basket isn't a series I would buy the soundtrack for. Value for money: Amazing. Seriously, this disc has the first 6 half-hour episodes. It is a 26-part anime series, and fits on 4 discs total (you can also buy a special boxed set of the 4) whereas most 26-part series' can drag them out for 7 or even 8 if they're clever (a la Escaflowne). From manga to anime: As with most anime series Fruits... Read review

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Advantages: Entertaining, humorous, sometimes moving
Disadvantages: They only made one series

...that if they could understand each other better they might become friends, but it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon. ~ Here Comes Kagura ~ Having heard that Kyo is back, Kagura comes to Shigure's house to look for him. Jealous of the friendship that's formed between Kyo and Tohru, she is determined to prove that she'll be the best wife Kyo could ever want. He efforts to prove this, however, lead to disaster since she isn't too skilled at housework. ~ A Rice Ball in a Fruits Basket ~ The remodelling finished on her grandfather's house, Tohru is able to go back to live with him. She leaves the Sohma's to go back to her grandfather, who now has other relatives living with him. But she doesn't get on with those others, and the Sohmas find themselves missing her. It isn't long before Yuki and Kyo go after her and ask her to come home... Read review

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Advantages: Wide array of features - gear stick, paddles, force feedback, brake and accelerator peddles
Disadvantages: Can be time consuming to set up, compatibility problems on dated systems/games

...Steering wheels are the ultimate accessory for any racing game enthusiast. Unfortunately they can also be a real pain to set up. I got this wheel two years ago to use with some of the rally and formula 1 racing games that I own. Performance wise its the best wheel I've ever used. It has very responsive pedals and good powerful force feedback from the wheel (it has its own power supply for feedback). Also if you're into gear changing then there's the option of either the gearstick or gear-shift paddles behind the wheel. Personally I found the gearstick a bit awkward to use on games but the paddles behind the wheel are really comfortable and easy to use. The main problem I have found with this game is compatibility although these problems may only be unique to my system ( a Win 98 pII 400mhz ). I was generally able to get the wheel... Read review

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Advantages: Sturdy design, rubberised grip, force feedback
Disadvantages: pedal problem

...II recently purchased the Logitech Momo Force Feedback racing wheel from www.scan.co.uk (previously reviewed by me on Ciao) for £65 (excluding p&p). The price has gone up slightly now though. I have found this wheel to be, in general, much better than my old wheel - the Guillemot Race Leader Force Feedback - which stopped working after I got Windows XP, and the Thrustmaster Modena wheel which I have reviewed previously on Ciao. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The wheel has the following features: Designed by MOMO - MOMO is one of the world's leading designers of steering wheels and automotive accessories, for the track and the street - look out for their name in Michael Schumacher's Ferrari Formula One car. Full rubber wheel... Read review

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Advantages: Great feel, compatibility, sturdiness
Disadvantages: Slight effect on in a few games

...The MSFF (as I shall write it, for short) is an excellent wheel. It displays once again that, whatever you might think about their software, Microsoft make superb peripherals. The wheel is available in both gameport and USB verstions - I have had the gameport one in the past, but now have the USB. There seems to be very little difference in performance. When you open the box, you might be slightly disappointed. At first glance, the wheel looks a little "cheap", which is not what you want when you've just shelled out a hundred quid. It's only when you pick it up that you realise that it's as sturdy as you could want. Installing the wheel is very straightforward, as you would expect from Microsoft. Install some software, plug in the wheel, and away you go - no problems at all. A useful feature of this wheel is the ability... Read review

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Advantages: Bets wheel out, sturdy, good forces
Disadvantages: price, pedals a bit sticky

...This wheel can't be beaten by any other wheel for sturdiness and general construction. The clamp was a bit awkward with my desk configuration but even with it not secured as well as it should, the wheel did not slip out of it's position. I agree that the forces can sometimes be rather strong and some of the forces are just not varied but remember that this is only the first generation of force feedback product and it is brilliant for that. A major contribution to the lack of forces or the over emphasis is the game developers themselves who may not have much experience with force feedback. It's also a pain to get the sensitivity right on games but you can't really blame Microsoft for that. Once you have everything good, then most games are great, such as TOCA 2. I believe that Grand Prix 3 (soon to come out) will really show... Read review

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Advantages: Very robust and firm wheel. wireless
Disadvantages: MAY STRIKE SOME AS "CHEAP" LOOKING

...This wheel comes extremely well packaged and may take you a few mintues to actually get into it but atleast this lends assurance that it will transport well when it was shipped. The packages comes in 3 separate parts: >Wheel >Pedals >Table attachement WHEEL: The wheel itself is covered in a highly durable rubber covering making it very easy to keep a grip on it, which is an important feature if like me yours hands can sweat in the middle of an intense race. The wheel also has all the buttons you would find on a normal controller and they are all intuitively placed. The X,Y, A,B buttons are placed in easy reach of the thumb so when driving they are easy reachablt. The trigger buttons are also present as large levers placed directly behind the wheel so as you can easily use them but with enough room between them and the wheel... Read review

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