My attempt to get Christmas for free!

Blagging Christmas: Alternate Gift Guide Part Two
A Blagman’s work is never done and for this reason it’s time for my last update before Christmas and my what a bumper bag of treats this update includes. Swarovski crystals, A £200 Chess Set, toiletries, games and even some carpet all come under scrutiny today. So without further ado let’s get reviewing.

For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Alternate Gift Guide Part One
Christmas is coming and you still can’t find a present for that one annoying person who is really picky? Well help is at hand. This week I’ll be rounding up the rest of the gifts I have recieved this year to help give you some inspiration. As always they’re as random as ever including a USB Humping Dog, a book on England and the latest Gillette Fusion.

For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Christmas Tree and Stand
Product Number: 214
Price: £54.24
Where Can I Buy One: Turf and Stuff.com.

Knowing that my attempt to blag Christmas would be worthless without a tree I searched far and wide to find a company willing to supply me with one. After twenty no replies and one which essentially said ‘we only provide trees to paying customers so naff off’, I found Turf and Stuff.com. Now rather than ridicule me for being cheeky, instead they said I had the nerve of a true Scotsman and was more than worthy of one of their Scottish trees and stands.


For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Ten Gifts You Can Get For Free!
Christmas is an expensive enough time, so any ways to cut the cost are pure lifesavers. So to help aid you in your Christmas budgeting here are ten easy gifts you can get including perfume, food, a T-Shirt, movies, kitchen stuff and more. Sure I'm giving away a few blagging secrets but tis the season after all...

For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Deluxe Golden Tower Hamper
Product Number: 213
Price: £39.99
Where can I buy one: Hamper Gifts

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a hamper, so when this smashing tower arrived I knew I was a step closer to my goal of blagging the holiday. Containing eight layers of goodness the tower is a chocolately delight, as well as including a small dose of festive cheer in the form of a fruit cake and even a small little teddy bear.

For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Cosmetics
Product Number: 210-212

Whether it be looking good or protecting yourself from the harsh cold there’s a need for cosmetics for both men and women in the harsh winter months. So to help aid those looking for some great cosmetics over the festive season here’s a couple I managed to blag.

For the full story click here

Blagging Christmas: Food
Product Number: 208-209

As much as I hate the deluge of festive adverts reminding me, there is no doubt that “Christmas is coming” and it will be here before we know it. So to make my life easier I’ve decided this year to blag as much of my festive activity as I can. Whether that be cakes, presents, trees, or festive cheer it’s time to let my inner Blagman lose on the most fun of holidays: Christmas.

For the full story click here

Onion Goggles
Product Number: 207
Where can I buy one: Head Cook.co.uk

I’ve covered a fair few interesting kitchen tools over the years such as the Alligator Onion Chopper, Mango Peeler and the Mini Max Mill. However none of those accessories have come with the added bonus of becoming a small fashion accessory in their own right. Onion Goggles on the other hand are designed not only to aid with a familiar task but also to make a fashion statement.

For the full story click here

Thrillville: Off the Rails
Product Number: 206
Where can I buy: Amazon.co.uk

When I first started my journey in to video games as a child I was pretty well catered for. Gentle platform heroes were the order of the day, and even if I was tempted to buy a more ‘violent’ video game the pixelated blood, and poor graphics means my fragile little mind didn’t come away warped in any way. These days platform heroes have become something of a joke, and aside from games by Nintendo I get a real feeling that kids games are becoming too childish and adult games too adult.

For the full story click here

Shady Beats
Product Number: 205

Synergy is a great word. It implies the bringing together of various elements in order to create something better, and ultimately more convenient. Take iFlops, the iPod charger in a teddy, which eradicated the need to worry about hugging both an iPod and a cuddly toy before going to bed. Also hoping to prove one product is better than two is Shady Beats, a sunglasses case with integrated speaker.

For the full story click here

Magnicard
Product Number: 204
Where can I buy one: JML Direct.com

Ever feel like there’s something not right with the packaging you find in shops? Or simply feel like it’s trying to deceive? Well those who take a very close look at the Magnicard box will no doubt come away feeling like the box is trying to make the product look better than it is. The card itself is designed to magnify text by up to 2.5 times, and this is clearly illustrated as you can see the card at the front of the packet magnifying some text.

For the full story click here

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Product Number: 203
How Much: £14.99
Where can I buy one Amazon.co.uk
Movie marketing is a funny thing, take Spiderman 3, all Summer long we were bombarded with posters of Spiderman face down with his dark alter ego (Venom) staring back at him. Come the actual movie and 2 hours in everyone started to wonder where on Earth the prickly tongued villian had vanished to. By comparison Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer ran with posters not only showing the core four, but also with the Silver Surfer taking up an equal amount of poster space.

For the full story click here

Animal Tracking and Bug Hunting Kit
Product Number: 201-202
How Much: £14.99
Where can I buy one: Amazon.co.uk

After chomping my way through the Bug Eating Party game a while ago I felt a small sense of guilt for consuming so many little critters. So to repent from my sins it was only fair that I accepted the task of reviewing the Bug Hunting Kit so that I may be able to observe our insect friends in their native environment, or in my case my back garden.

For the full story click here


Blagman in the Wild
Product Numbers: 198-200

Not all of the goodies I review on the site are sent in by kind minded companies, and thus I’m sometimes forced to go out in to the world and find things for free. In the past this has led me to the Spring Fair and Toy Fair, where all manner of weird, odd, crude, and unusual products have come my way. So it’s once again time to celebrate the free samples that can only be found out in the wild….

For the full story click here
King of Fighters XI vs MI
Product Number: 196-197
How Much: £19.99 Each
Where can I Buy: Amazon.co.uk

The debate over 2D and 3D gaming is one that has been going strong for the past ten years, and it’s something that could be talked about in length for an entire book. But none of us really have the time to read something that long (and possibly boring) so let’s sum things up in less than 500 words by taking a look at the two latest additions to the King of Fighters series, one of which is in 2D and the other in 3D.

For the full story click here

Shock Doctor
Product Number: 195
How Much: £14.99
Where can I buy: Amazon.co.uk

Whilst the rules I put in place at the start of my Blagman quest help to maintain some sort of order and focus, there’s times they can put me in an awkward position. For example Rule #2 dictates that I must review every product I receive, however Rule #4 insists that I oversee a test of every item so as to ensure the review is fair and by no means misleading. Usually this works out fine with Myself, Marie and various sidekicks taking on various testing roles, but when I received a mouth guard for the under 10’s I had no choice but to test it myself.

For the full story click here

Fast Fit Ironing Board Cover
Product Number: 194
How Much: £5.99

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…

For the full story click here

Ashleigh-Burwood London
Product Number: 191-193
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 the full story click here

Veetee Dine in Rice
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…

For the full story click here

Kula Shaker: Strangefolk
Product Number: 189
Release Date: August 20th 2007
How Much: £8.99 (Amazon)
Where can I buy one: Amazon.co.uk

After nearly 190 blags I’ve yet to take a venture in to the world of music. So to remedy matters I was chuffed to receive the new album from Kula Shaker which will be shaking its way in to shops on the 20th August. That’s 20 days away and more than enough time to save your pennies and put in a curious pre order. To give you some idea of what to expect, Strangefolk contains a strong mixture of styles blended together to create something new, which remains fresh and organic.

For the full story click here

Cake!
Product Number: 188
Where can I buy one Cheesecake.co.uk

Happy Birthday to me! Not only is it my real world birthday today but the 27th of July also marks the birth of my alter ego ‘Blagman’ which means it’s the sites first anniversary. But what’s a birthday without presents? And in true Blagman fashion I felt it was only fair to blag a free cake to mark the occasion. And what a cake it is. Profiteroles, thick whipped double cream, a dark chocolate disk and chocolate fudge sauce, all served up perfectly on a biscuit base.

For the full story click here

Empire's Children
Blag Number: 187
Airs: 30th July 2007, Channel 4, 9:00pm

When I was asked to review the Empire's Children TV show I was a little taken aback by how I could turn it in to a blag. After all is it even possible to blag a TV show which can be watched for free (or the price of a TV licence) when it airs? Thankfully blags aren’t just characterised by monetary value, and as I’d be getting to watch the whole episode a week before it aired I decided that was more than enough to qualify it as a blag.

For the full story click here

Wax Essentials
Product Number: 184-186
Where can I buy one: Ashleigh-Burwood.co.uk (Trade) / Ashleigh-Burwood Direct.co.uk (Public)

It’s official ‘Blagmum’ is already a national treasure. With one review to her name she’s become a true star and when we approached Ashleigh & Burwood with a view to sampling some of their products they wrote back “I hope you and your family (especially Blagmum) will enjoy our products”, proving that when it comes to must have gifts Blagmum is the one everyone wants to review their kit.

So with that in mind I settled down with Blagmum and Marie to test their latest range of Wax Essentials products including candles and centrepieces. For the full story click here

Alternate Christmas Gifts Part 2

A Blagman’s work is never done and for this reason it’s time for my last update before Christmas and my what a bumper bag of treats this update includes. Swarovski crystals, A £200 Chess Set, toiletries, games and even some carpet all come under scrutiny today. So without further ado let’s get reviewing.

Jack Daniels’ Lynchburg Chess Set
Price: £200
Where Can I Buy One: Play.com



This absolutely has to go first because a) it’s Jack Daniels and that deserves respect and b) because it’s worth so flipping much! As a traditional chess set it more than does the job with a sturdy board, and all the pieces you’d come to expect. Given that Jack Daniels doesn’t have many more iconic images that the bottle itself it’s unsurprising that these comprise the pawns, although it is a little odd to see some of the other pieces.

Naturally there’s Mr Daniels himself as the King, but then it all starts to get a little unusual. For example the Queen is comprised of a rare Belle of Lincoln decanter which although part of the JD Heritage means nothing to most of us. Similarly charcoal mellowers as rooks and a safe are hardly standard chess pieces and here lies a slight flaw. The knights look nothing like horses and can easily be confused with the rooks as towers (both are upright rectangles).


It therefore seems this is more of a set for either those who want to use it a lot (and therefore learn the pieces) or those who simply want to have it and feel proud of a set with a certain antique appeal. The pieces lack any gold, silver or fancy decorations so it’s quite a lot for your 200 notes, but Play.com are softening the burden by selling it for £100 when you buy other JD products here. Could be an antique someday and certainly will appease the hardened JD fan who is sick of getting the same old gift set every year.


Swarovski Filofax
Price: £125
Where Can I Buy One: Filofax.co.uk


Ain’t it a beaut? Embossed with beautiful Swarovski crystals this Filofax is the perfect gift for a loved one who wants to look good whilst they work. It comes with all the usual diary pages, charts and measures and shows prestige throughout.

Filofax Classic
Price:£125
Where Can I Buy One: Filofax.co.uk


Or for the same price you can snag this large leather Filofax with bigger pages, a notepad, ruler, and bigger to do lists. Still it doesn’t have crystals so we’ll pass.

Sadly, unlike the chess set, we had to send both of these Filofaxes back as we were sent the only three press samples in the UK (and didn’t want to be seen as Diamond thieves) so they won’t count towards my product or cash tally. Why feature them at all? Because they sent them in monkey wrapping paper and I’m a sucker for monkeys.


At least we got to blag some paper!

Gloves In a Bottle
Where can I buy One: Gloves in a bottle.com


I remarked a week ago how rarely I receive bits and bobs from the US to review. In that article I covered a hand lotion and low and behold another hand lotion turned up on my desk less than a week later, also from the US. Just as intrigued to try this one out, I decided to set the ultimate test for chapped hands by washing my car… in Winter. Once done I retired inside and my hands were warmed by a roaring fire and suitably chapped to pieces.

For my test I lathered over some Gloves In a Bottle and my hands were right as rain around 12 minutes later. The only downside comes from the bottle itself, when trying to apply the lotion I found it hard to apply a small dose, instead a rather large blob ended up on my palms each time. This would be fine but the lotion is very thin and thus you only need a little bit to see results, apply too much and you’ll spend a while rubbing it all in. Still it did the trick and the bottle is easier to use as it becomes emptier.

Mobile Games
Every so often I get sent games to my mobile thanks to a PR team, and whilst I wish my phone could play them all half the time it conks out. So in an effort to make peace before the holidays here’s two that have arrived (and worked!) recently:

First there’s Snood Blaster, a traditional game in the mould of Bust a Move. Your goal is to shoot ‘snoods’ in to the air and pair up three so they disappear. As time goes by the Snoods advance down the screen and timelimits get tighter. Although a fun timewaster the controls are a little too sensitive and the decision to not give each snood a unique colour (there’s three types of blue snood alone) makes quick identification of the best option tough. The saving grave comes from a multitude of quick play modes such as Armageddon (your cursor moves back and forth for you and you just fire) and Bombarder where you can fire bombs that detonate after a set number of turns. It’s worth learning the colour patterns for this variety alone.

WWE Smackdown vs Raw made me laugh if nothing else. Given that the first thing you’re taught is how to kick a man in the balls you know you’re in for a typical wrestling journey. Kicks, punches, grapples, breaks and submissions are all there, although these are mostly dictated by the position of you to your rivals. It feels more like a side scrolling beat em up that a wrestling game (hit 5 to win) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you like seeing a man get kicked in the groin.

Magic Carpet
Where Can I Buy One:JML Direct.com


When I talked about the Christmas tree we blagged I forgot to mention that under the tree we put the Magic Carpet from JML. Although intended for mucky footprints we decided to lay it under our tree as it had the right colour to hide the falling needles and it didn’t seem to go in any of our other rooms. A few weeks later and it’s doing a stand up job collecting the needles in one convenient place for us and hiding them in its green colour scheme. The pack also says you can use it as a bathroom mat so I decided to walk over it in both muddy feet and wet feet. Both times it absorbed the muck and water welL, although it doesn't fly so the name is a bit misleading. Although not nearly as misleading as:

iSlice
Where can I buy one:Cargo Home Shop.com


If you’re worried you’ll have trouble slicing your way through presents the iSlice is a nice solution and if you run it over paper, or card it’ll make a nice cut. However the packaging makes a big statement as to how it won’t cut your fingers and is safe for hands. And it is if you run the device in a forward direction, but run it backwards and you’ll scratch your hand all over. Not a bad product (in fact it works really well) but just be warned it isn’t as idiot (or child) proof as it may seem.

Well by jove I hope that’s everything! All that remains now is for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas and the best New Years celebration money can buy (or blag). And if you haven’t tried blagging any presents there’s still time to make up a perfume gift set or two!

See you soon for the Blag of the Year Awards 2007.

Alternate Christmas Gifts Part One

Christmas is coming and you still can’t find a present for that one annoying person who is really picky? Well help is at hand. This week I’ll be rounding up the rest of the gifts I have recieved this year to help give you some inspiration. As always they’re as random as ever including a USB Humping Dog, a book on England and the latest Gillette Fusion.

USB Humping Dog,
Where can I buy one: Play.com


First up then has to be this rather amorous looking dog that was provided by the folks at Play.com. As you’ll notice he has a rather large usb dongle in between his legs and this is for popping our little friend in to the usb socket on your PC. As soon as this is done he’ll start humping away up and down in what can only be described as a ‘frantic’ action until you unplug the little blighter.

Heck he’s so keen that you don’t even have to push the usb all the way in, as soon as he makes any contact, he can’t control his excitement and will start gyrating his doggy groin up and down. The back of the box says not to leave him in for more than an hour, but it must be said he keeps up an impressive pace no matter how long you leave him in. The only downsides are that there’s no extra port in the dog so you can’t plug anything else in the port (although I have no doubt a future iteration will appear with a USB slot in the dogs' backside…) and you can’t pop him in usb ports that are on their side (eg any on a mac or keyboard) because of his shape. Still if you can find a rectangular USB port and fancy a cheap stocking filler it promises a good laugh or two.

More From Unmitigated England
Where can I buy one: Amazon.co.uk


Sometimes I let book reviews fall through my finger tips because I know I won’t have time to read the book and do it justice. Thankfully “More From Unmitigated England’ tells you more in a few pages of pictures than most novels tell you in 100 pages. Full of brilliant colour illustrations, adverts and photos it tells a fantastic journey through some of the most quintessential British pastimes and icons.

Cricket, post boxes, castles, Bisto, H.P Sauce and Burtons Bitter all feature as Peter Ashley takes us through some of his favourites with plenty of others along the way for you to savour. Although perhaps too young to recognise many of the iconic brands and places I still got a kick from learning more about my heritage and home country. A fantastic gift for anyone with an eye for nostalgia, and the whole thing is beautifully presented throughout.

Gillette Fusion Stealth


Although not much of an ‘alternate gift’ (because you can buy them everywhere) this will still make a nice present for anyone looking to upgrade from an old Gillette or WIlkinsons razor. For me this is a step up from the Gillette Fusion razor I currently has as it comes battery charged. What this means is the unit vibrates slightly as you shave, similar to a ‘pulsar’ toothbrush.

It doesn't make a radical difference when shaving, although once finished I did notice my stubble felt softer than when using the standard manual version. You can’t go quite as gung ho as you can with full electric razors because these are still pretty sharp blades so you’ll have to slow down a little if moving from one of these but other than that it’s a good alternate when travelling or in need of a smaller, sharper companion.

The gift set also includes a four pack or razors and some shaving gel (if you were hoping we wouldn’t end the year without featuring one more shaving gel then here it is!) which was specially made for tough beards. Oh and a carry case to keep it all together too.

Blagging Christmas: Christmas Tree and Stand

Product Number: 214
Price: £54.24
Where Can I Buy One: Turf and Stuff.com.

Knowing that my attempt to blag Christmas would be worthless without a tree I searched far and wide to find a company willing to supply me with one. After twenty no replies and one which essentially said ‘we only provide trees to paying customers so naff off’, I found Turf and Stuff.com. Now rather than ridicule me for being cheeky, instead they said I had the nerve of a true Scotsman and was more than worthy of one of their Scottish trees and stands.


6ft Nordmann Tree
Proving that you can buy anything over the Internet then, was the tree itself. Now as you’d imagine buying over the net means you lose the opportunity to check the quality of the tree and you also run the risk of it getting damaged as it makes its journey through the postal system. To my surprise these two factors were not as much of as issue as I had thought and a seven day money back guarantee pretty much covers you in case the postal service mess up completely.


In terms of packaging the tree arrived covered in netting to save any messy needles working their way across my front room. Moving the tree from my hall to my front room was also remarkably easy and no needles were lost along the way. I was also pleased to not get smacked in the face by any stray branches as everything stayed nice and tight within the netting.

Cinco “7” Water Holding Stand
As I’ve never had a real tree before, and thus had no stand to put the tree in, I was relieved to see Turf and Stuff also sell stands, and in this case had provided one too. The Cinco stand holds up to a “7” foot tree and again was easy to set up and install. You pop the stand on the floor, screw in a few bits and pieces, plop the tree in and then tighten the screws until the tree is firm.


As you can see by these pictures our cats took a shine to the tree and I am pleased to report the tree is still standing firm thanks to the Cinco stand. At first we did find the tree looked a little wonky, and this was down to not putting it in to the stand straight in the first place. The screws themselves are easy to pop in and tighten, and it’s a simple procedure all around.

Once up, we simply pulled the netting from the tree to revel its naked form and the job was done. Well I then realised how wide the tree actually was and had to rearrange the furniture, but in terms of actually setting it up everything was made easy. The Turf and Stuff team have asked me to post in the comments how the tree fares up over the coming weeks (which must mean they’re pretty confident), and a few of my colleagues have asked if the tree will last up until Christmas so I will keep you informed.


Whilst Turf and Stuff may have felt I was the true Scotsman, it takes a strong nerve to be a company that is willing to give away perfectly good product for free to someone they have never met. It takes pride and a real confidence in the product itself (because lets face it, it could have been a terrible product and got ripped to pieces) and therefore for a company that believes in what they sell give them a visit.

Blagging Christmas: 10 Free Things You Can Enjoy This Christmas

Christmas is an expensive enough time, so any ways to cut the cost are pure lifesavers. So to help aid you in your Christmas budgeting here are ten easy gifts you can get including perfume, food, a T-Shirt, movies, kitchen stuff and more.

Perfume Gift Set
Ever seen those gift sets that Boots do where you get a few tiny bottles of aftershave or perfume and pay thirty notes for the privilege? Do away with them and instead source your own samples for free, find a box to store them in and you’ve got something every bit as useful. You can find samples from any good perfume place (and ask for the small bottles not the paper samples) or by visiting the very useful blog Perfume Samples.co.uk.

Makeup / Cosmetic Samples
The same goes for Clinique samples and any other designer stand you see in a department store. Um and ah a bit when looking at the products, say you’re unsure whether product A is better than product B and ask for a sample. Do this at enough places enough times and you’ve got your own starter pack for any product range you wish. Similarly these stand also have great free gift sets when you buy yourself something that look like very good gifts in their own right (generally they can look like they cost between £20 and £50 even when you only spent twenty or so pounds on the initial products to get the free gift)

Kitten/ Puppy Packs
If you’ve got kittens or puppies and fancy a nice treat for them for Christmas, or know anyone that will be getting a bundle of joy on the big day then why not give them a free care pack? Whiskas do one with free food and various vouchers here and Puppy Freebies lists various sites for puppy free stuff here.

Get a friend to do the work
A couple of free things here, and all they require is for a friend to shell out some cash. For the first one you can get 10 free arcade games for your Xbox 360 by persuading a friend to buy one too here. Sky have also come up with a new refer a friend deal where you can blag yourself and a mate a Sky + box worth £99.99 at Friend.sky.com.

Free DVD’s
Free DVD Club.com is a quick and easy way to get a DVD for a little typing work. Sign up, fill in a questionnaire and you’ll get a free DVD in the post. Fill in another questionnaire and you’ll get another DVD and so on. Choices are a bit random but from Yogalates DVD’s to Batman cartoons and action blockbusters like X-Men 2 you should find something for all of the family.

Free Magazine Subscription
Got a builder, architect or specifier in the family? Tanner Stiles Publishing lists a number of free magazines that won’t cost you a penny. There a ton more in all sorts of industries at Freebie List.com.

Free Kitchen Stuff
Jot down your name, email and address and get a free kitchen accessory at Smart Micro Fibre.co.uk. Choose to opt out of the email newsletter and you’ll never have to hear from them again.

Free Food
Food Freebies is a site after my own heart with numerous restaurant vouchers, supermarket deals, competitions and free food samples for you to savour.

Free T-Shirt
Help out the RSPCA and get yourself a free T-Shirt at RSPCA.org.uk . Call the number and answer a short survey to get a free T-Shirt mailed out to you. A nice gift you can wear with pride.

Free Cinema
Other than Orange Wednesdays there’s also the option of getting a completely free cinema day out. Join the Momentum Screenings Club to get notified of free local screenings and you’ll even get to see the movies before your mates. See Film First.com is also a good example.

All offers are correct as of 29th November 2007 and here’s hoping these offers remain open for many months to come. If you find this useful please pass it on to a friend as it is the season for giving after all, and post your own free finds in the comments sections.