Fast Fit Ironing Board Cover

Product Number: 192
How Much: £5.99
Where can I buy one: JML Direct.com

In a perfect world there’d be a website for reviews of each type of product out there. Not just a DVD website for DVD’s and a Video Game website for video games, I’m talking a website for board games, a website for Filofaxes, a website for Pizza Makers and so on. The sad thing is a lot of these websites do from time to time pop up and they’re largely ignored, unread and quickly fall off the Internet all together. Which is why I propose a website for Ironing Board Covers to readdress the balance…


Just think of it, a website which compares styles, fabric types, lengths, widths and the general use of hundreds of separate items. But sadly it won’t ever happen, and it’s not because people wouldn’t read it (if you need a new Ironing Board cover it would be your number one source) but simply because no one would be able to write it.

After all writing one or two reviews of ironing board covers would be fine and dandy but imagine how you’d feel having to write your 50th or 100th review? How many times could you constantly comment on the stretchiness of the fabric, or how easily it fits over the board without feeling your soul ebb away? And it’s not because ironing board covers are boring, but merely that every single one of them are almost identical.


Take the JML Ironing Board Cover. Although it comes from a company which always trys to add at least one unique feature to every product they produce there’s no denying that it looks just like your typical Ironing Board Cover. Sure it’s decorated nicely with red flowers that are definitely better than the pale blue cover my board came with, but once again what’s a reviewer to say when pictures do the job far better than words?

And like everything else it’s easy to put on, you simply pull on both ends, pop it over the edges of the board and it’s likely to stay on forever. But, could this be a wave of hope? As soon as you take the cover out of the pack you’ll notice how it curls in on itself and just how stretchy that fabric really is. This ultimately means it fits over much easier and it works so well you’ll probably be wishing this fabric was used for the bottom sheet on your bed. No wonder they call it 'fast fit'.


And what’s this? It’s heat resistant too? More than just a tick box for the front of the packaging the heat reflective coating makes the cover stay cool even if you leave the iron down on it by mistake. For anyone planning on writing the worlds first ironing board cover website this would probably be a small revelation and even earn itself a two part in depth feature because it’s quite frankly something that should be a common feature in all covers as it’s so handy.


The JML 'Fast Fit' Ironing Board Cover may not have the most inspiring name in the world but for anyone contemplating writing an ironing board website it’s bound to be a breath of fresh air. In an industry which is known for staying relatively constant it’s the little things here that make the difference. If this carries on who knows maybe someday someone will actually buy Ironing Board Cover.com...

Ashleigh and Burwood London

Product Number: 191
Where can I buy one: Ashleigh-Burwood.co.uk (Trade) / Ashleigh-Burwood Direct.co.uk (Public)

Whether it’s a nice scent for your holidays or a way to revitalize your home we’ve got you covered in today’s update. The generous folks at Ashleigh and Burwood have provided us with three unique and alluring products all set to give your sense of smell a trip to a new land of pleasure. So without further ado lets start the sniffing!


For those times when you need to leave the house and want to take a nice relaxing aroma with you, there’s the Aromatherapy Sensuality Travel Kit which contains six lavender candles, 2 small scented pillows, 30 incense sticks and a stand for the sticks. This all comes packed in a tiny tin making this a perfect small gift or travel companion. Not that you’ll want to keep the kit tucked away in the corner of your luggage, as the small pillows can be removed from their packaging and popped in to your clothes making them smell great on arrival.

Once at your destination you can light the incense sticks to remove any nasty smells from your room and with 25 minutes burning time for each of the 30 sticks you’ll have plenty to keep you going for even the longest of holidays. One slight flaw is that the holder for burning the sticks isn’t as stable as we’d have liked but aside from that it’s one of those things that comes under the category of ‘too nice to use’.


Similarly the Epice D’Or is the perfect dinner party gift, with an excellent presentation box and well made candle holders that are almost too good to set on fire. Thankfully there’s always the alternate use of playing candle noughts and crosses with the kit, but for those who do take the plunge and light the candles you’ll be treated to a sweet smell and even once the last drop of wax is burnt you’ll have a great box for storing other tea lights and trinkets.


Lastly there’s the Wax Essentials Fragrance Diffuser which we received with a wild country berry scent. Essentially a bottle filled with scented liquid, all you need to do is dip in some (included) thin strips of wood to the top and then watch as the liquid flows up the wood and fills the surrounding area with a nice scent. Best of all the scent is designed to last three whole months so you’ll get far more use than say a Glade plug in (the last one of which I used lasted a mere three weeks).

As the scent lasts so long it’s actually rather strong to start with and seems best if you stand a good 50 centimeters away rather than sticking your nose right in to the bottle. We tested the diffuser at the top of our landing and found the smell was able to reach down our staircase and greet us at the front door on our arrival each and every day, not bad for a small bottle of liquid and a few sticks!

Top marks for presentation, top marks for scent and top marks for everything else, if you like candles or know someone who does then give them a look.

Veetee Dine In Rice Taste Test

Product Number: 190
Price: £1.49
Where can I buy one: Waitrose and Sainsbury’s

Rice is just rice right? Not if it’s ‘Veetee Dine In’ rice which claims to be the first restaurant quality rice that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home. Of course Uncle Ben are also claiming the exact same thing in their TV adverts, and every rice under the sun would love to make the same claim so this is going to require some serious testing…


First of all I called upon the Veetee Rice itself, which arrived for the testing in both Basmati and Pilau varieties, although you can also grab them in Long Grain and Thai Jasmine if you fancy something different. In terms of packaging both came in fantastic Microwavable containers and all that’s required to prepare the perfect rice is to pop a few holes with a fork and slap it in the Microwave for 2 minutes. For those who fancy a more traditional serving you can also stir fry the rice in a mere 3 minutes, either way this is the ultimate in convenience food.

So far this is nothing new, so it comes down to the taste to help differentiate Veetee from the competition. The Basmati rice was everything you’d expect to look at yet was softer and tastier than any Microwavable rice I’ve tried before. The taste felt light yet at the same time rather filling and it’s definitely something I’d recommend to others.

To make sure this wasn’t a fluke I then sampled Uncle Ben’s Microwaveable rice and conducted my own taste test. By comparison the grains in Uncle Bens were smaller and harder to chew, whilst each mouthful in Veetee seemed to go down with ease, Uncle Ben’s rice required substantial chewing. Before using Uncle Ben’s rice I also had to squeeze the packet to remove any clumps of stuck together rice, another inconvenience that you don’t have when using Veetee as the rice is separated on arrival.


In terms of the ‘flavoursome’ Pilau, the taste was actually rather mild which was great for spicy curry’s as an on side dish but not quite as tasty as the Uncle Bens equivalent. In terms of the ‘restaurant quality’ claim I headed to a Thai restaurant to conduct a final test comparison and found that the restaurant had a slight edge with fluffier rice, that also had a fantastic smell to add to the taste, something which Veetee lacks due to its pre packed nature.

So how does Veetee compare? Well it’s certainly takeaway quality and it can hold its own against other microwaveble rice on the market, but as for whether it can hold its own against restaurants I’m not quite convinced. Whilst it is by far the best quality rice you can serve at home in a matter of minutes there’s still something to be said for eating a high quality meal at a restaurant too.