Halifax’s Facebook Holiday Matchmaker

Posted on July 8th, 2010 in Random Thoughts by Stephanie

Summer has started and although the weather in London so far has been absolutely gorgeous, you’ve probably already booked your getaway or are starting to think about it.  But if you’re finding it hard to decide with so many possible options why not try out Halifax’s Facebook Holiday Matchmaker application. This nifty tool analyses the content in your Facebook profile, your friends, hobbies, interests, the books you’ve read, the town you grew up in and also the places you’ve visited in the past and then recommends your ideal holiday destination. I got a 90% match to New York and strangely enough I have a trip booked there in October! :)

It also saves you holiday planning time by creating a tailor-made travel itinerary of perfectly matched things for you to see and do and suggests where you should stay, what you should do, points you in the direction of their travel money service, tells you what the weather’s like at the moment and it even told me how many Statue Of Liberty visors I could buy for a tenner as souvenirs for my friends!

So if you need help finding your next holiday destination or you just enjoy facebook surfing :), check out the application here.

Halifax’s Facebook Holiday Matchmaker

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Liverpool Street Station T-Mobile Dance Video

Posted on January 22nd, 2009 in Random Thoughts by Stephanie

Found this cool video I thought I would share with you all of a dance in Liverpool Street station last Thursday for a T-Mobile advert.  Enjoy!

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Off To Vegas!

Posted on October 17th, 2007 in Random Thoughts by Stephanie

Just to let you know that I’m off to Vegas tomorrow until the 30th October to hopefully get some sun and escape from the dreary English weather!  Not to mention all the shopping and buffet/cheesecake factory eating I’ll be doing!  Will update you when I get back :-)

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Not One To Try On A Train!

Posted on October 3rd, 2007 in Random Thoughts by Stephanie


Commuting using the London transport system may not be particularly pleasant at times, especially during the rush hour with inconsiderate people poking newspapers into your head, treading on your feet and my pet hate is people reading over my shoulder! Bring your own paper! :-)  I came across a post on Joe Sharkey’s blog of what you could do if someone is really annoying you on a train/plane but I probably wouldn’t if I were you! :-)

If you are sitting next to someone who irritates you on a plane or train.
Follow these instructions:
Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
Remove your laptop.
Start up.
Make sure the guy who is annoying you, can see the screen.
Close your eyes and tilt your head up to the sky.
Then hit this link:
Click here: http://boortz.com/mp3/archive/countdown.swf

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Ice Kacang

Posted on September 23rd, 2007 in Random Thoughts by Stephanie

Today I decided to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon making a popular Malaysian dessert called Ice Kacang.  Ice Kacang is basically just shaved ice with rose syrup, condensed milk, red beans, black jelly, coconut cubes and anything else that you may want to add to it such as sweet corn, tinned fruits etc.  To make it, I first put sweetened red beans, black jelly and sweet coconut cubes in a bowl (see photo below) - these can all be bought from Japanese/Chinese supermarkets.

Black jelly, coconut cubes, red bean 

Black Jelly, Coconut Cubes and Red Bean

My friend sent me an ice shaving machine that she bought in Malaysia to make the shaved ice (see photo below).  It is a manual ice shaver and very easy to use - just load it with ice blocks made from special moulds provided, turn the handle and hey presto, you have shaved ice!  If you can’t get hold of an ice shaving machine abroad, I have seen some on ebay :-)

Ice Shaver Machine 

Ice Shaver Machine

After filling the bowl with shaved ice, drizzel rose syrup (this can also be bought from oriental supermarkets) and condensed milk over the ice.  If you have a sugar called gula melaka which can be bought in Malaysia and I think you can probably find it in a Chinese supermarket, then you can use it to make a sweet brown syrup by mixing it with water.  This can then also be drizzled over the ice.  As the shaved ice is so fine, the syrups are absorbed into the ice and spread evenly rather than settling to the bottom.  Finally I added some more red bean and black jelly on top of the ice so see below for the finished product!

Ice Kacang
Ice Kacang

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