Shopaholic Abroad

Advantages: Easy read
Disadvantages: Can be predictable in places

...I bought Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella for a 6 hour flight to New York (which is very fitting for the book) and I could not put it down. This book is very funny, cleverly written and easy to read (which is what I like on any journey). I feel the character Rebecca Bloomwood is very realistic and believable, as I know someone who is very like her. Sophie Kinsella describes in detail the feelings Rebecca has when she goes shopping and I can really relate to her as I know I have had those feeling myself when I go shopping. I think we all have a little bit of the Rebecca Bloomwood inside us all especially when we have bought something on impulse and when we have got home we don't know why on earth we have bought it. We all have our little moments when it comes to shopping, that feeling when we walk into a department store...

bagpuss1980 11.09.2007 · Read review
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"Internal Communications? What's that then?"

Advantages: It's rewarding, it gives you an excuse to be nosy about stuff in the name of good communications
Disadvantages: Can be a dumping ground for work people can't pigeonhole, have to be very careful re confidentiality

..."Internal Communications? What's that then?" is a phrase I hear all too often when I explain what I do for a living. I'm a communications consultant, events organiser, project manager, statistics expert and sometime writer. Amongst other things. How should that be summed up?! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, What Is Internal Communications Then? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Internal Communications (let's call it IC for ease of typing!) is, basically, something a company does when it shares information with or collects information from its employees. This can include all sorts of things, from staff magazines, intranets (websites that are only accessible from within a company network), conferences and other live events, videos, business TV, surveys, question and answer sessions with senior management, and many...

xalala 04.03.2004 · Read review
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LIVING ABROAD.

Advantages: Quality of life.
Disadvantages: It is a must to learn the language

...would allow. So what is different about living abroad ? For one, the cost of living is a little less here, and the emphasis is more on fresh food than convenience food. The locals think nothing of killing a chicken or a rabbit, though I am a little too gentile to be able to participate in this way. I think that meat comes from a supermarket and am happier with that notion. I find that the French attitude towards their pets is much different in the country. I have a rabbit that lives in the house with me and the french find this rather amusing. "That funny English lady", I hear them thinking as they shake their heads. For the French, pets are usually for the farm, and tend to chase cars which I find infuriating. The biggest change for me is the hours of opening of the shops. Boy is this different. You really have to change your...

thingywhatsit 18.08.2003 (01.12.2003) · Read review
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shopaholic abroad

Advantages: brilliant laugh out loud read
Disadvantages: none

...I brought this book last year as a holiday read after having been recommended it by a friend of mine. From the moment I started reading I was hooked and could not put it down. Shopaholic abroad has a very witty story line following a shopaholic called Rebecca Bloomwood. Despite offering daily financial advise to the public on a daytime television show Rebecca finds herself in desperate financial difficulty due to her love of designer brands. To make matters worse Rebecca moves to New York to follow her boyfriend Lukes career. This opens up a new world of retail possobilities which only contributes to her already frightening financial situation. This book is a wonderfully exciting read, it had me laughing out loud in places and Rebecca is a fantastic leading character whom it is easy to relate to. I would definately anyone who...

jojomoore83 22.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Shopaholic Abroad - Sophie Kinsella

Woman Abroad, A Really Good Read

Advantages: Well Produced. Good Articles. Well Illustrated
Disadvantages: Coverage is specialised.

...Woman Abroad magazine is published by Postmark Publishing Ltd, 1 Portsmouth Road, Guildford, Surrey,England GU2 4YB and is available on subscription which also encompasses mailing to any address worldwide as well as access to a wide range of discounts and benefits. You can find subscription details at their website This innovative magazine ,first published just six months ago, billls itself as “… The magazine for women on the move.” You do not have to be a woman nor an expatriate to appreciate this excellent publication. I have now read four separate issues and found it to be a really good read and the standard of writing in this publication ,edited by Joanna Parfitt, is very high. They do incidentally welcome contributions from freelancers and their writer’s guidelines are shown on their website...

ashford 15.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Woman Abroad

Carry On Abroad

Advantages: pure brilliance
Disadvantages: none

...Carry On Abroad is my favourite of the Carry On films, it is excellent, classic lines & wonderful scenes from start to finish. The plot revolves around a coach load of British tourists going off on holiday abroad, only to find the so-called luxury hotel is actually still under construction. The regular cast are back again - Sid James & Joan Sims as a married couple, with Sid having an eye for the ladies, as always, particularly Barbara Windsor. Kenneth Williams is the snooty organiser, rallying the holidaymakers in a vain attempt to enjoy their trip, despite appalling weather & a string of unforseen calamities. Kenneth Connor & June Whitfield are another married couple, who are also outstanding. Bernard Bresslaw is a reluctant monk, with an eye for the women. Charles Hawtrey is a drunk. Then, Hattie Jacques & Peter Butterworth are...

KarenUK 01.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Carry On Abroad (DVD)

Carry On Abroad

Advantages: The carry on cast at their best!
Disadvantages: So cheap to make they didn't finish the set!

...One of the funniest films in the series! Carry on Abroad (1972) starts with Vic Flange (Sid James) a local pub landlord planning to get away for a weekend break to the resort of Els Bels - his wife Cora (Joan Sims) - does not enjoy flying and so he is hoping to have time on his own with one of his "regulars" Sadie Tompkins (Barbara Windsor) - of course Joans Sims sees right through him and in the end decides to go along with him! The group gathers at the local travel agents for he start of the trip and a rather rag tag group is formed - included within are Kenneth Connor and June Whitfield as Mr and Mrs Stanley Blunt, Charles Hawtry as the Mummy's boy alcoholic Mr Tuttle, two young girls and a group of monks including Bernard Bresslaw. The group is led by the tour operator representative Stuart Farquhar (Kenneth Williams). All...

martin2048 20.10.2004 · Read review
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Shopaholic Abroad: flex your plastic with Becky

Advantages: Very funny, well written
Disadvantages: More for women than men I think

...Background: Shopaholic Abroad is the second of a trilogy written by author Sophie Kinsella. In the first book (Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic) we are introduced to the main character, Rebecca Bloomwood which is a financial journalist by day and a Shopaholic at all other times. We follow her hilarious exploits as she balances credit cards and comes up with lots of harebrained schemes to reduce her credit card debts and increase her income: none of which quite seem to work! In the background, we are introduced to Luke Brandon of Brandon Communications who becomes a key player in Rebecca’s life Plot: In the second book Rebecca Bloomwood has just about paid of all her credit card debts and is working as a financial specialist of the Richard and Judy type tv programme Morning Coffee. Her world revolves around sage...

nickjj78 31.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Shopaholic Abroad - Sophie Kinsella

Internal Mangler

Advantages: Eclectic, surprising, energetic
Disadvantages: length, fails to capitalise on band's early promise

...This is Clinic's first album proper after last year's hugely exciting EP collection. Where that compilation presented a hotch-potch of baffling instrumentals and buzzing low budget, home recorded psychedelic garage epics, "Internal Wrangler" consists of... erm, more of the same, actually. The sound of the album is very rough and ready and there have been numerous negative opinions expressed about it's overwhelming similarity to the Velvet Underground's sound, but don't be taken in. Clinic have taken their blueprint and added helium-pitched, barking vocals (a little like Brian Molko out of Placebo being tortured with a mangler), Mary Chain thrash guitars and even Krautrock rhythms. It's an intriguing mix which can sometimes grate, but is often a revelation. The calm after the storm is revealed in the shape of tracks like "Distortions...

dbryant_23 12.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Internal Wrangler - Clinic

Teaching Abroad - Indian Teaching Project

Advantages: Knowing that you have back-up in a foreign country
Disadvantages: Not always that organised!

...I went on a 6 week programme to South India on a teaching project organised through teaching Abroad. It cost me £995, not including visa or flights. I got a flight for £600. So from the outset it wasn't a cheap trip! The team in England were helpful, always answering my emails and calling me back the next day, so i felt pretty confident that I would be looked after. however my placement details were changed twice before I got there, which unnerved me a little. I was going on my own, which is why I wanted to go with a large organisation (I knew someone who had gone with them to Ghana), and I was willing to pay the larger fee so that I knew I would be looked after. I was collected from the airport, which was such a relief after the long 12 hour flight, and taken to a cab. It was all pretty overwhelming, and part of me wished my...

chocolatejo987 11.02.2005 (10.04.2005) · Read review
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