Advantages: Great to fall asleep to.
Disadvantages: Not for those who like energetic music.

...Bjork's album post was released in 1995, the most famous track to come offf the cd being the hit, "It's oh so quiet". To many little more than a musical oddity, Bjork has steadily increased her appeal throughout her solo career. Blending an enchanting brand of beautifully sung pop and hardcore trip-hop, she is certainly distinctive. Making the follow-up to a successful debut album is never easy, but Bjork has pulled this grand feat off with style. First track 'Army of me' is a rather confused way to open an album, with a rumbling synthesised bass riff taking over parts, others controlled by what appear to be random sound effects. An impressive wall of sound with something of a trippy industrial feel Second up is 'Hyper-ballad'. It starts off with a synthesised lapping waves sound, and synthesised xylophone sound. Its very much more... Read review

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Advantages: Skye is still singing
Disadvantages: A little bit too Disco on some tracks

...What a difference a few years make, it's still the same Morcheeba, the same smooth vocal form Skye and the 2 boys(?) providing that trip hop originality that first brought the trio to the attention. This time around though there is a disco feel to morethan half of the tracks on the album particularly "love is rare" and a more pop feel than ever before with "Be Yourself". The highlight has to be "love sweet love " which uses a Grandmaster flash(ish) sample to full effect. In short, if you are already a fan of Morcheeba you mightn't rate it as high as the first 2 releases but I've no doubt that they will gain lorry load of new fans with the single releases of this album. And they deserve it, not the greatest third album....but there ethos is still spot on. Nice............. Read review

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Advantages: Something for everyone
Disadvantages: Only worth returning for an event.

...The Hop Farm Country Park at Paddock Wood in Kent was once a working Hop Farm, and although still growing some hops most of the land is now a collection of exhibitions, animals and leisure activities. It also has the worlds largest collection of Oast Houses. The Hop Farm is host to many events throughout the year. These range from The British Food and Drinks festival and The Caring Parent Show, to a Model Aircraft show and the famous War and Peace Show. Wedding (and possibly services) receptions can be held at the Hop Farm. Whilst we were there a gothic theme one was being held. A couple of the drays and their cart had been all done up in Halloween costumes so they obviously are willing to go that extra bit to make your day special. And if you really fancy you can take a hot Air Baloon ride from the Hop Farm at certain times... Read review

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Advantages: gives you a good knowledge of hip hop
Disadvantages: none

...Hip Hop, what do you think it is? Many people say it is just a type of music like jazz or pop, but many rappers say, “Rap is something you do and Hip Hop is something you live”. Carlito Rodriquez a columnist with The Source in New York said, “Hip Hop is a culture, it’s the music, the language, style of clothing and a way of life”. Hip Hop plays a big part in our lives. It has seriously helped the music industry because it has created various new and popular styles of music such as R’n’B and many remixes that you will have liked (at least one). Hip Hop has a history and has a distinct effect on the community. In the early seventies a DJ called “Kool Herc” from the Bronx in New York played various records including James Brown in the clubs. He had an idea of combining two break beats together. The break beat is the part in the song when... Read review

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Advantages: An effective natural sedative, aids sleep
Disadvantages: Fresh hern an aquired taste

...Drink too much beer and you feel sleepy and tired. This is due to a number of complex factors, and hops is one of them. If you're stressed, anxious, or have trouble sleeping, try hops without the alcohol and see how you get on. Hops (Humulus Lupulus) is a native British plant extensively used in the brewing and herbal medicine industry. Hops have tonic, nervine, diuretic and anodyne, sedative and hypnotic properties. Put simply, this means that they are relaxing, calming and promote sleep. Fresh hops can be obtained from any herbal supplier, and these can be made into a tea (dosage can vary - I suggest 1-2 teaspoons to a mug of water.) This is normally recommended for any nervous problem, insomnia, restlessness etc. It will also help to stimulate the appetite and clear flatulence. Hops are commonly used in proprietary herbal... Read review

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Advantages: Create Beats and grooves, easily.
Disadvantages: Not for the young'uns!

...As some of you will know, eJay is music making software, which uses hundreds and hundreds of pre-made samples that you can arrange in a multi-track score, then play the arrangement to create your own songs. The samples are all organised into groups, such as drums, guitar, keys, voices/singing etc, which makes them very eays to locate and use. Some samples also have a number of stars (*) beside the name, which indicates what it can go with. For example, Groove 1* will go with Groove 2*, but not so well with Groove 3**. This makes creating good sounding music very easy. As with the other eJays, Hi-Hop 2 fails to disappoint. It is full with an abundance of superbly recorded samples, all based around the general Hi-Hop, R&B and Rap feel. Installation: The software has 3 options, all of which are easy to carry out; Minimal... Read review

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Advantages: Something for everyone
Disadvantages: Weather!

...The Hoppings take over the Town Moor for 8/9 days in late June/early July every year. It has been running for decades. Billed as "the Biggest Travelling Fain in Europe" it is actually the coming together of several smaller fairs. It has everything: fortune tellers, ghost trains, slot machines, food stalls, sidestalls with cuddly prizes, and many many rides from the carosel to the vast, fast rides of which there is a new one every year. It takes over an hour to walk around - and thats if you don't go on anything. Like all outdoor events its very dependant on the weather. Unless theres a drought wear sturdy footwear or wellies, as the town moor gets very muddy very easilly. In fine weather its brilliant, although very crowded. In heavy rain its awful, don't bother. If you're hardy enough to try going when its drizzly you may have... Read review

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Advantages: Raw, energetic sound brings the Hop&Grape to life
Disadvantages: With their poppy records this may be the lst time we see American Hi-fi outside an arena, loosing the atmostphere that was so vital tonight

...Sitting on the Steps on the Student Union, falling asleep on my friends, I wonder whether this gig is going to be upbeat enough to keep me awake. At 8:20pm, an hour after the doors opened the support act for American Hi-fi wander onto the tiny area that calls itself a stage at the Hop&Grape. The people around me murmur in confusion that they think the five figures on stage claim to be "Hell is for Heroes." You can tell from the confusion that I am not the only one that has never heard of this band before. However, they kick off with some up-tempo pop/punk riff that gets the crowd of average age 16 bouncing up and down on their little sweaty, stinky feet. The fact that nobody knew anything that was coming out of the amps or lead singer's mouth did not stop any of the kids from going mental. The pit opened up to engulf almost... Read review

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Advantages: Great fun - gives you a real sense of achievement - feels like you're really dancing!
Disadvantages: Tough for non dancer to pick up - Tring when you have to keep repeating each bit to try and learn it

...I get bored easily and was looking for something a little bit more fun than that Pilates and Yoga DVD's I've recently been doing. I've never danced before (unless you count Saturday nights out raving and clubbing in my youth) and I have never tried following any choreographed moves before, so this was a first! The DVD comes across as really fresh, young and funky. The design and navigation of the DVD are great and there are some chilled out hip-hop tunes to get down to. I must be really slow, but it took me AGES to pick up most moves… One of the really great things about the DVD is that each section is shown to you, then you get to practice it 4 times before they move on to the next little section and everything is broken down into tiny little bits. However, despite it being repeated 4 times, It was not enough for me, and I... Read review

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Advantages: Very reasonable entrance fee
Disadvantages: If you don't like Guiness then is a bit disadvantage

...In July 1998 we decided that because Hana was only 4 months old that we were going to visit Dublin for 4 days instead of going abroad. We purchased the Open Top Bus tickets at a very reasonable price and it stops just outside the Hop Store Entrance Hall. I very much enjoyed the tour, which you can do in your own time with a variety of objects to view and then you can sit in a theatre type room to listen to the story of the Guiness store. The Store is large and plenty of room to manouver pushchairs and wheelchairs with lift facilities to go from the ground floor to the first floor. At the end of the tour of around 3 hours you can visit the Guiness Bar were you get a free sample per person. They loved having kids there and there was plenty of room for them to run around. Well worth the visit especially if you like... Read review

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