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You'd be right for thinking that EastEnders is becoming like a less glamourous version of Bold and the Beautiful with the number of residents who are miraculously coming back from the dead. Over the years there have been Walford inhabitants who have faked their own deaths; been presumed dead, or been announced dead in a case of mistaken identity. But whether it's a couple of episodes or a couple of decades, they always turn up eventually! Now it's the legendary Cindy Beale's turn to cause everyone on the Square to wonder if they've just seen a ghost. Though frankly we don't know what has stunned us more: Cindy's resurrection or her having rekindled her relationship with Ian - the husband she once tried to have gunned down! In fact it was Ian's attempted murder that saw a pregnant Cindy Beale leave the Square after having been arrested. The last we'd heard of Cindy was back in 1998, when she'd died in prison while giving birth to her daughter who Ian named Cindy in honour of her late mum (though there were plenty who'd say that Cindy never had any honour!) And now that Cindy senior is heading back to Walford, perhaps it's only a matter of time before Cindy Junior returns to meet the mother and namesake she'd never known... While everyone is applauding Chris Clenshaw from bringing Cindy back from the dead, many fans will remember that rumours have been abounding for years that Cindy would be returning as she wasn't really dead; she'd just gone into witness protection. Clenshaw clearly wanted to put an end to the rumours - and make Cindy's return happen for real. We just never thought Ian would be in tow! As it's been around twenty five years since Cindy Beale was last causing havoc on Albert Square, there's a whole new generation of fans who won't understand what all the fuss is about concerning Cindy's return. Well, they're about to find out why this character is so iconic. We're just glad that Michelle Collins, the actress who made Cindy Beale the Walford legend that she is, will be reprising the role once again because let's face it - who else could play Cindy so well? I think it's safe to say that everyone's learned from the Michelle Fowler debacle! We take a look at other EastEnders' characters who were so good, they just had to be brought back from the dead... 1. Frank Butcher (Mike Reid, 2002) EastEnders' first tested the waters of resurrecting former Walford residents with loveable rogue Frank Butcher who could very easily have been Alfie Moon's long-lost father (but that would be a whole other story!) In 2002, Frank's devastated ex-wife Peggy received the news that Frank had died in a car crash in Spain, and decided to fly out there to attend his funeral. A strange decision considering their marriage ended due to Frank cheating on her with his former wife and true love of his life, Pat Evans. But whereas with future 'deceased' characters where viewers had to wait years to see them brought back from the dead, they only had to wait a couple of episodes to see that not only was Mr. Butcher perfectly alive and well but he was also attending his own funeral. Typical Frank! Not only that but he was caught red-handed by a once grieving but now furious Peggy who demanded an explanation. Frank, along with his glamourous new girlfriend, Krystle, had faked his death following a property scam. But in the end it's the scammer who ends up getting scammed, as Krystle, played by the legendary Rula Lenska, leaves Frank in the lurch and runs off with all the money. Tough as nails she might be, but Peggy also has a heart of gold and helps Frank out by giving him some money. However one thing she refuses to give him is the chance to rekindle their relationship. Good on you, girl! Sadly Mike Reid passed away in 2007 so Frank was written out the following year when the character died off-screen. In a tribute to Reid, Frank was given a very moving send-off where the actors clearly didn't have to get into character when it came to expressing their grief. And no doubt there were viewers at home who shed tears as well as they heard Frank's voice for the last time as the epsiode drew to a close. 2. Den Watts (Leslie Grantham, 2003) The first of the mother of all returns from the grave - the resurrection of 'Dirty' Den Watts! Some of us did wonder if it would ever be possible to see Den back on the Square again. Even though a body had been found, we didn't actually see Den die so it was possible. But we still couldn't believe it when it was announced that actor Leslie Grantham would be returning almost fifteen years after leaving the soap to reprise the role of one of EastEnders' most legendary characters. An original character, a true Walford legend, and the best landlord The Queen Vic ever had, Den Watts is most definitely an iconic EastEnder. Even viewers who were born long after the 'Den n' Ange' years are familiar with the name Den Watts. And so legendary was Mr. Watts that he got a great exit not once but twice! The first time was back in 1989 when the actor who played Den to perfection, the late Leslie Grantham, wanted to leave the show. And leave he did - via a pistol hidden among a bunch of daffodils! As the screen went black and a shot rang out followed by the sound of a splash, viewers were led to believe that all of Den's dodgy dealings had finally caught up with him and he had been assassinated by a member of the underworld, taking a tumble into the canal in the process. And when a decomposed body was dredged up from the canal, it was safe to assume that Den really was dead. Only... he wasn't! Years later EastEnders' fans rejoiced when they found out that Dirty Den was alive and well and living in Spain, and it wasn't long before he was back where he belonged in Walford. But unfortunately it wasn't to last long... Exit two occurred when Den's second wife Chrissie, who he married while living in Spain, decided that she wasn't going to end up the same way as the first Mrs. Watts: devastated, dejected and drinking herself to death. So when Den pushed Chrissie too far, she enlisted the help of Zoe Slater and Sam Mitchell - two other women who Den had wronged - in order to exact revenge against Den. For Chrissie, revenge also meant destroying Den's relationship with his daughter, Sharon. That was all too much for Den and in a fit of rage, he flew at Chrissie in front of a terrified Sam and Zoe. But a bang on the head with a doggy doorstop put an end to Den's attack on Chrissie - and his life! Fans were shocked that Den Watts was being written out of EastEnders a second time - especially as it hadn't been long since he returned. But what shocked viewers most was that Den's exit meant that he could never return. Surely he could have just gone on the run again, right? Sadly Grantham passed away back in 2017 which means that even if Den had sailed off into the sunset, he still couldn't return, as no one could play that role as well as he did. EastEnders' executive producer, Louise Berridge claimed that Den Watts was arguably the most iconic EastEnders' character. Lou, there's no argument about it! 3. Denise Fox (Diane Parish, 2011) There really are some long-lost friends and relatives who should have stayed permanently long-lost - and Denise Fox's ex boyfriend and father of her daughter, Chelsea, Lucas Johnson is one of them! Initially Denise was furious when she discovered that Chelsea was back in contact with the father who had abandoned them, believing Lucas to be a wrong 'un. But Lucas had managed to turn his life around over the years. Gone was the irresponsible, untrustworthy drug addict, and in his place stood a man who had discovered God and become a preacher. He eventually won Denise over and the two reunited as a couple and went on to get married. But Denise was right to be guarded where Lucas was concerned because unbeknownst to her, her new husband had become a serial killer soon after arriving in Walford, having claimed the lives of his estranged wife, Tina; Denise's ex-husband Owen, and even the family dog, Sugar, when Lucas feared that Sugar might dig up Trina's body. But it was after Owen's body was discovered that Lucas confessed all to his horrified wife, who convinced him to turn himself in. Lucas agreed but instead he drove Denise to a canal where he choked her. And when a body is discovered, Lucas identifies the deceased as his wife, leaving her grieving family and friends to believe that Denise took her own life... and leaving viewers wondering if it really was her... And they were right to have doubts because Denise wasn't dead at all. Instead she was actually held captive by her deranged husband, and after a few weeks she managed to escape, leaving the residents of Albert Square shocked by her dramatic return - and of course relieved. The body identified as Denise was actually a prostitute called Gemma who was another one of Lucas's victims. Lucas was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment but lo and behold, he rocked up on the Square in 2020. Life doesn't really mean life in soapland! 4. Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth, 2015) What is it with the women in Ian Beale's life that makes them want to fake their own deaths??? Now this was a comeback nobody saw coming! With Leslie Grantham's return to the show, his comeback was highly publicized so viewers knew he was returning and were eagerly awaiting the moment he stepped back onto Albert Square. But Gillian Taylforth's return to the show remained top secret, only revealed during the live episode celebrating EastEnders' thirtieth anniversary. In fact former EastEnders' actress Anna Acton who played DC Emma Summerhayes, the detective investigating Lucy Beale's murder, stepped in for Taylforth during rehearsals so that the press wouldn't get wind of who it actually was that was returning. Probably EastEnders' best kept secret... Too bad they couldn't do that with Michelle Collins' return! OK back to Kathy! After her marriage to Phil broke down, she left Walford with little Ben for a new life in life in South Africa, where her older brother Ted was living. While out there she met up with an old friend, Gavin Sullivan, and went on to marry him. The character made two visits to the Square - one of them for son Ian's millennium wedding to Melanie Healy - and never returned after that. In 2006, the news came that Kathy and Gavin had been killed in a car crash which paved the way for Ben to be reunited with his big brother Ian, Phil and the rest of the Mitchell clan. But Kathy and Gavin hadn't died. Instead controlling Gavin - who was later revealed to be Sharon Watts' biological father - had persuaded Kathy to go on the run with him following an insurance scam. After returning to Walford, Gavin continued to wreak havoc for Kathy and the other residents of Albert Square until he was arrested. Eight years later it's as if Kathy's fake death had never occurred with her running the café and Walford's first-ever gay bar, as well as dealing with the shenanigans of her children and grandchildren which at times would probably make her wish she'd never been resurrected! Just wait until she catches sight of Cindy! But these days Kathy is happily living her life with her new partner Tom Cotton (that's right - a Cotton!) and her grandson Bobby. She's also struck up a friendship with new Queen Vic landlady, Elaine, which is great because Kathy has needed a mate for a long time! 5. Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid, 2016) This was more a case of mistaken identity rather than Ben deliberately trying to fake his own death - unlike his mum Kathy! The decision to come out to family and friends may fill a lot of people with apprehension. But when you're Phil Mitchell's son, it can be damn near impossible. Remember when Ben's cousin Tony Hills fell in love with his then girlfriend's brother Simon? Phil didn't show the poor lad much understanding or compassion then, even drunkenly outing him to his dad, Ted. Would things be any different with his own son? Despite a rocky start, Phil eventually accepted that his son was gay, and he and his newly resurrected ex-wife Kathy were very supportive of Ben, and were pleased when he found love with the grandson of the local funeral directors, Paul Coker. Their relationship didn't have the easiest of starts but once they overcame several hurdles, things started to look up. Their relationship was accepted and they were even going to manage Paul's grandparents' business. Believing a celebration was in order, Paul and Ben arranged a night out. But the celebratory mood soon turned to tragedy when Ben's devastated family got the news that Ben had been killed in a homophobic attack. Phil and Ben's equally distraught brother Ian went to identify Ben's body but unbeknownst to them, there was another shocking waiting for them. As they identified the body, they realized that it wasn't Ben who had been killed. Heartbreakingly, it was Paul. He had been wrongly identified as the police saw he had the name 'Ben' tatooed on his ring finger. Though why they hadn't wondered why he had his own name tattooed on him is anybody's guess! Lin Blakley who played Paul's grandmother, Pam Coker, hinted that there was going to be a twist that none of the viewers would see coming. She was right. We're now waiting for the day when Mick Carter strolls back into The Vic in another fetching waistcoat! Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

For those of us who live abroad, when it comes to keeping in touch with family and friends, there's never been a better time to live in another country than right here in the twenty first century. Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Skype, Instagram, WhatsApp... every day, it seems, there's a new app we have to download or a new site we have to use which all the cool kids are using to keep in touch with their mates. Word! And if you really want to go back to being fairly old school, there's always email and texting! But way, way, back in the day, even before we had what we thought was the greatest invention since the wheel - good ol' electronic mail - there were other methods of communicating with our not so nearest but still very much dearest, which at the time were essential for keeping in touch. The problem was that they were either costly or time consuming, which meant that people very rarely kept in touch with anyone who wasn't family or a close friend. Now we can keep in touch with Colonel Mustard; Mr. Bun the baker, and the lady who still gets the bus at the same time we once did if we want to, and it's all thanks to the huge variety of new modes of communication. We take a look at some of the old-school methods of staying in touch, even though there's not really much chance of us ever using them again... Well not unless nostalgia gets the better of us! 1. LETTER WRITING Sometimes, the urge to act like it's 1975 and write a letter takes over. But for most of us, there's a desire to do so but it doesn't usually happen. Even if we had one of those gorgeous writing bureaus, and a set of plush stationary, we still probably wouldn't have the patience to sit there and write the letter; hunt out the stamps; walk to the post box - or worse, queue up at the post office - post the letter than wait for the reply. I guess twenty first century comforts are hard to do without! But back in the day, letter writing was something we all had to do at one time or another in order to keep in touch with those who lived abroad, and some of us were avid writers who would make the time to write regularly. And there was always a fantastic array of fancy stationary available at Woolies or WHSmith. And let's not forget that some of us loved letter-writing so much that we used to write to people we didn't even know - how many of us had penfriends around the world? If you did, you'd still remember that rush of excitement as a letter arrived in the post. But then along came email and there was no longer any need for good-quality letter writing stationary in hues of blush pink or taupe that came in fancy packaging bound with a ribbon! And of course with postage costs spiralling out of control and people becoming environmentally conscious, it makes sense that electronic mail should replace the traditional pen and paper method but its still a shame that letter writing has become something of a lost art. 2. TELEGRAMS To many young 'uns today, 'Telegram' is an online messaging app - and yet another mode of communication! But for us oldies, a telegram was a written message transmitted by an electric device which was then printed and delivered by hand. Many of us will have memories of that distinctive yellow envelope with the word 'Telegram'on it. The telegram often heralded some kind of important news - either good or bad that needed to be reported immediately. Some of us may remember that it used to be delivered by motorbike courier - sometimes very late at night. But by the late eighties, it wasn't unusual for it to be delivered by your local neighbourhood postie! 3. AIRMAIL If you had family and friends who lived abroad, you'd be sure to stock up on airmails so that you could write to them regularly. And in return, you would often find that familiar blue envelope being popped through your letter box when they wrote back. 4. LANDLINE In the days before people were glued to their mobile phones, most people had a landline phone at home. We say most people because believe it or not, there were some people -especially before the nineties - who didn't have a phone. "Are you on the phone?" was a very common question back then as it wasn't just assumed that everyone had a telephone, and it was a way of finding out whether someone had a phone at home before you asked for their number. Today "are you on the phone?" would mean "are you still yapping away on the phone as you've done for the last three hours instead of working?" Nobody would even think to ask if you owned a phone because in the twenty first century, who doesn't? So yes, we were quite impressed when someone owned a landline. We were even more impressed when it was a push button phone instead of a rotary. If they had an extension in one of the upstairs bedrooms we were like, 'woah!' If they had another line, we'd think they were someone rather grand and curtsey to them. If they had a cordless phone, we'd think they were related to the Ewings. If they had a car phone, we thought they were the Ewings! But today if we spot a landline in someone's living room, its a case of  'Oh my goodness! You still have one of those'? How times have changed! 5. FAX An early form of email! Fax machines were usually considered office equipment but some people did have them at home for personal rather than work use. The details on letter headed business paper usually contained a fax number - something you don't really see much of today. During the early part of this century, fax - or facsimile - machines and the fax rolls were readily available, and continued to sell fairly well until just before the noughties ended. It's hard to find people who still use fax machines today as with the introduction of scanners - which are far more economical to use - facsimile machines are slowly finding their way to the great technological scrapheap in the sky. 6. PHONING ABROAD There's never been a better time to speak to our loved ones abroad as today we have so many apps that enable us to speak either for free or at an extremely cheap rate. Or maybe you still prefer using phone cards where you can call abroad for just a few pence a minute. Hang on - do those even exist anymore??? Back in the eighties, if we wanted to call family abroad, we'd have to dial the operator first, get charged something ridiculous per minute which meant that a ten minute phone call could result in remortgaging the house. When you finally got through, the quality of the call was often so bad you didn't know who had answered the phone let alone what they were saying. Thank goodness technology has improved enough for us to enjoy long distance calls as we do now. When you think about people who had moved to another country during the last century, already feeling alone and separated by thousands of miles, who didn't have the convenient and cost effective methods of communication that we do today, making keeping in touch so much harder - it makes you feel for them and you realize just how lucky you are. 7. ANSWER MACHINES If you phone someone today and they don't answer, there's a zillion ways you can leave a message for them to get back to you. But back in the day, there really was only one way you could ask someone to call you back and that was to leave a message on their answer machine. Remember those dinky little cassette tapes that you would have to insert into the machine? Recording the answerphone greeting that people would hear before leaving a message was always a lot of fun! But we also had to be mindful not to leave the kind of greeting that would make a burglar's day: "Hi. We're off to the Algarve for a fortnight. Please leave a message and we'll call you when we get back." Yeah only if the buglar hasn't nicked your phone and answer machine, mate! 8. POSTCARDS Postcard were usually bought and posted by holiday makers rather than people who actually live abroad. We all remember the usual  brief lines to be found on the back of a postcard : "Arrived on Sunday. Weather great. Hotel good. Now relaxing by the pool with a cocktail. Wish you were here." But it seems as though people no longer send postcards any more. But then social media seems to have replaced the need for postcards. And furthermore, postcards usually reach the recipients long after the sender has returned home! 9: BT PHONECARDS Mobile phones were starting to gain in popularity during the nineties. But whereas today it's unusual to see ten year olds without a mobile, there were still lots of teenagers back then who didn't own a mobile phone. Hard to believe isn't it? So if we wanted to be 'mobile' with our phone calls i.e. - talk to our mates away from the prying ears of mum and dad, then phone boxes were the way to go. This meant spending part of our pocket money on those green BT phone cards that we could use in those phone boxes that would only accept phone cards. For many of us, those cards were a godsend and screamed 'freedom' the same way that a pass from a driving examiner does to a newly qualified driver. Though of course mobile phones today mean that phone boxes are very rarely used. And if those BT phone cards still exist, who buys them? 10. PAGERS Pagers were usually used by doctors on call and other professionals. But we often knew at least one person who'd use a pager for personal reasons. Although if you had one for personal reasons, you were often considered a 'poser' - a lot like people who had mobile phones before those really took off! Once mobile phones became popular along with texting, paging people wasn't necessary anymore, although of course pagers are still used by emergency responders as they aren't subject to network issues or similar disruptions. Which is bad news for the phone operators who no longer have a good laugh at the cheeky messages we used to leave for our friends. What are your memories of these old-school forms of communication? Photos from Pixabay Word cloud by Angel Noire

Summer is well and truly here, and along with heat comes all kinds of cooling drinks and iced goodies. And lots of it! So we thought, "well, why not merge the two - drinks and ices - together?" So we did! You may remember our previous post 5 Yogurt Bark Recipes Based on Retro Desserts. Once again, we've been hard at work in the kitchen to come up with some new frozen yogurt bark recipes based on five drinks that many of us will have drunk in our childhoods. You just can't beat the flavour of nostalgia! We hope you enjoy these iced treats - perfect for those of us who melt in the heat within seconds! Basic Recipe 1 cup and 1 tbsp. unflavoured Greek Yogurt 1/2 cup condensed milk 1 tbsp. honey Equipment 1-2 large mixing bowl depending on recipe 1-2 wooden spoons depending on recipe 1-2 saucepans depending on recipe 1 baking tin 8"x13" parchment/wax paper around 10"x15" 1. Fruits of the Forest Do you remember as a kid when everything was fruits of the forest flavoured: yogurt; ice-cream; chewy sweets, juice drinks... and it was the latter that we've based this yogurt bark recipe on. We used blueberry juice drink when making the forest fruit compote, but you can use any berry juice or juice drink you like. Although for a grown-ups only version, we have been known to replace the juice with some red wine. But only because we were having trouble getting hold of a suitable juice or juice drink. Honest! Ingredients 1 cup white chocolate chips 1 tbsp. cream or milk 2 cups mixed berries for compote 1 cup of mixed berries for topping, sliced or halved if necessary 1/2 cup sugar Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 cup of berry juice/juice drink (or red wine!) Method Place the berries in a pan with the sugar, juice drink and lemon juice over a medium heat. Simmer until berries reduce to an almost jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. While berry mixture is cooling, mix together all the ingredients in the basic recipe. Melt the semi sweet chocolate chips with the cream. When cool enough, gradually stir chocolate a little at a time into the yogurt mixture. Line baking tin with parchment paper. Pour in yogurt mixture. Swirl in the berry mixture, creating a ripple effect. Top with the remaining fruit Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours. When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like. 2. Strawberry Milkshake We're talking about those ultra thick, creamy shakes we couldn't get enough of when we were kids. You can also switch up the flavours if chocolate/vanilla/banana was more your milkshake kind of thing back in the day! Ingredients 1-2 tbsp. strawberry flavour milkshake syrup 2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped 1 cup of strawberries for topping, hulled and sliced or halved if necessary 1/2 cup sugar 1tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup white chocolate chips Method In a saucepan, place two cups of strawberries, vanilla and sugar over a medium heat. Stir gently until strawberries have softened and broken down a little. Take off heat and leave to cool. Combine basic recipe with milkshake syrup. Line baking tin with parchment/wax paper. Pour in yogurt mixture. Swirl in the strawberry mixture, creating a ripple effect, OR mix everything together well. Your choice! Top with the remaining fruit and white chocolate chips. Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours. When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size you prefer. 3. HOT CHOCOLATE Well more like frozen 'hot' chocolate! Hot chocolate conjures up images of comfort, cosy evenings, and bedtime as a child. Who could say no to a steaming hot mug of what has to be the most nostalgic drink ever, enjoyed the world over? Our yogurt bark has the elements and flavours of a classic hot chocolate. If you are going to use drinking chocolate/cocoa powder in this recipe to give it a real hot chocolate vibe, be sure to use a qood quality one to avoid that gritty powdery taste, or just omit this step altogether, and simply use the chocolate chips for a more creamy texture. Ingredients 1 tbsp. drinking chocolate/cocoa powder (optional) mixed with a little hot water/hot milk to form a thick but loose paste, the consistency of melted chocolate 1-2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips. melted 1 cup chocolate malt balls e.g Maltesers, crushed as coarse or as fine as you like (optional) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup mini marshmallow 1 cup of your favourite biscuits/cookies, broken into small pieces 1 cup chocolate chips, various types Method Add the basic recipe a bit at a time to the melted chocolate chips and cocoa powder mixture (if using) and combine well. Add vanilla and crushed chocolate malt balls (if using.) Line baking tin with parchment/wax paper. Pour in yogurt mixture. Top with marshmallows, biscuits/cookies and chocolate chips. Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours. When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size you prefer. 4. Ribena! Come on - if you grew up in Britain you know that you knocked back Ribena more than tap water! No packed lunch box was complete without a carton of Ribena, and some of us were even treated to a mug of hot Ribena during the winter months or when we were ill. Yep - we loved our Ribena! For those of you who may not have grown up with Ribena, it is a blackcurrant juice drink that was first introduced in 1938 and is still in existence today. This popular juice drink - which is also available in drink concentrate form - eventually branched out into other fruit flavours but the blackcurrant flavour is still the most popular. Blackcurrants aren't always the easiest to get hold of, so if you're stuck you may have to improvise with blackberries or blueberries. Ingredients 2 cups blackcurrants 2 tbspn. good quality blackcurrant preserve 1/4 cup sugar Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 cup blackcurrant Ribena juice drink 1 tbspn. Ribena drink concentrate Method Keep half a cup of blackcurrants aside, and place all the other ingredients in in a pan over a medium heat. Simmer until the mixture reduces to an almost jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. While berry mixture is cooling, mix together all the ingredients in the basic recipe. Line baking tin with parchment paper. Pour in yogurt mixture. Swirl in the berry mixture, creating a ripple effect. Top with the remaining blackcurrants. Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours. When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like. 5. Rasperry Lemonade As much as we enjoyed all of the yogurt bark recipes we tried out, the raspberry lemonade one is our absolute fave. We loved the zestiness of the lemon combined with the tartness of the raspberries. Altogether we though it had just the right amount of sweetness and tang. If you wish, you could also add a raspberry coulis along with or instead of the lemon curd. And we don't know why we didn't think of this before but you could also add popping candy or sherbet powder to the lemon yogurt mix for a bit of fizz! Ingredients 3 tbsp. good quality lemon curd Zest of a large lemon Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup caster sugar 1 cup raspberries, halved if necessary Method Combine lemon zest, juice and sugar and mix well. Add basic mixture to the lemon mix a bit at a time and fold in well. Line baking tin with parchment paper. Pour in lemon yogurt mixture. Slightly warm up the lemon curd so it's slightly but not too runny. Swirl lemon curd into yogurt. Top with raspberries. Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours. When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like. Photos: Pixabay Wordcloud: Angel Noire

It’s that time again. The Eurovision Song Contest is currently underway. If my mum hadn't been on her hols, she'd have been glued to the box right now along with all the other die-hard Eurovision fans, and trying to work out which country will be hailed this year’s winner, which will be revealed in just over an hour. And this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is very Ukraine-inspired - an ode to the last year's winning country, and in which the contest cannot be held in as tradition usually dictates due to the continuing conflict. It makes it all the more poignant as the song contest was initially created as a means of of bringing peace and harmony back to post-war Europe. And of course peace and harmony is what we wish not only for Ukraine, but for all countries around the world where there is ongoing tension and conflict. Who would have thought that almost seventy years after the first Eurovision Song Contest, held in 1956, that this musical competition would still be going strong today? Though while it has to be said that the song contest's initial aim was to bring unity among its European nations, we all have a little chuckle to ourselves as we spot the inevitable tactical voting and obvious bias towards certain countries which the musical competition is famous for, demonstrating that politics is still very much at play. But it’s also a display of musical talent, fun, entertainment and over the top performances. The Eurovision Song Contest used to be a big deal in my family, and every year we would huddle around the TV and watch all the acts. We’d even be allowed to stay up late to watch the voting. I remember one year in the mid-eighties, I really wanted Italy to win because one of the singers looked a lot like my aunt. When they didn’t win, I burst into tears – much to the annoyance of my dad! I have to say that in recent years, I haven't been as obsessed with Eurovision as I used to be. But it's still very much a big deal among most of my family. But I won’t knock it. I’m glad it’s still around as it brings back great memories for me. This got me thinking about some of my most memorable UK entries. The ones I’ve selected aren’t all necessarily the most amazing or my most favourite. But they are definitely the ones that are the most memorable or most well-known to me, and good or bad, they’ve all stood out in some way. 1. 1981, BUCKS FIZZ – MAKING YOUR MIND UP (1st Place, Dublin) I’d definitely entered the world by the time Bucks Fizz represented the United Kingdom back in 1981 with making your mind up. I’d either have been perched on my Eurovision-obsessed mum’s lap or I’d have been fast asleep in my cot – either way I obviously don’t remember seeing the moment Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston, Mike Nolan and Bobby G – who had been specially put together for the song contest – performed in Dublin. However I do remember seeing it years later, and that skirt ripping moment is definitely one of the most iconic in Eurovision history – that still gets talked about. Furthermore we were all big Bucks Fizz fans at home so they played a big part in our childhood. 2. 1984, BELLE AND THE DEVOTIONS – LOVE GAMES (7th place, LUXEMBOURG) I had very vague memories of Belle and The Devotions, although I had to listen to the song, Love Games, again in order to refresh my memory. I think the video for the song my have featured a cool looking car - a corvette maybe? I remember Belle and The Devotions appearing on television a fair bit before they took part in the song contest. As I watched the competition, I remember wondering why Belle and The Devotions were the only act I recognized and moreover why the other acts were not singing in English! I remember very little about the 1984 show but I’m pretty certain I lost interest soon after Belle And The Devotions performance. I was still only a little ‘un and had a while to go before I entered into the Eurovison spirit of things – and under my mother’s influence I did! 3. 1985, VIKKI – LOVE IS (4TH PLACE, GOTHEBURG) Once again I had vague memories of the red-haired glamourous artist, Vikki, but needed to have another listen to the song, Love Is. I do however remember watching Vikki perform on TV. I thought it might have been on Top Of The Pops but apparently Love Is didn't make the Top Forty. A real shame and I'm a bit surprised as it's a great bit of a pop music. Despite finishing at a not-at-all-bad fourth place, Vikki unfortunately didn’t become a household name but she continues to work as a singer-songwriter in Los Angeles where she is now based, under her real name, Aeone. 4. 1987, RIKKI – ONLY THE LIGHT, (13TH PLACE, BRUSSELS) Until Jemini came along, thirteenth was the lowest that the UK had ever placed in Eurovision, so there’s probably a lot of people out there who would love to forget this song – Rikki included – but I think they’re being a bit harsh as listening to it years later, I actually think it’s quite catchy and a fine bit of pop music and Rikki’s vocals were pretty good. In fact it’s not just years later – I actually thought that at the time. I remember Rikki and the track he wrote himself, Only The Light, much better than the previous UK entries because my sister and I not only used to sing Only The Light (much to the annoyance of the neighbours no doubt!) but we also came up with some choreography as well – though looking at the performance I think it’s fair to say that Rikki beat us hands down! Although Rikki wasn’t the first UK entry to place below the Top Ten, never before had a UK entry placed so low at a disappointing thirteen – though I think this was extremely unfair as it wasn’t a bad song and Rikki, accompanied by his backing vocalists, gave it their all. I do remember this entry getting a lot of stick in the media the next day. Then Jemini came along and all was forgiven! 5. 1988, SCOTT FITZGERALD – GO, (2ND PLACE, DUBLIN) We all have our personal favourites and most memorable performances when it comes to Eurovision entries and Go, a track penned by Bruce Forsythe’s daughter Julie and performed by Scott Fitzgerald just happens to be mine. I wasn’t into ballady type numbers when I was a kid (that was more Mum’s thing) but there was something about this song that really jumped out at me. It could have been Scott’s powerful vocals, or the emotion in his voice, or just simply that it’s a great song. Naturally we always backed the UK when it came to Eurovision (even if we did sometimes secretly think that other countries had better songs and performances) but now we were convinced that Scott Fitzgerald was going to bring it home for us. And he very nearly did. It was nailbitingly neck and neck between the UK and Switzerland but Mum wasn’t too worried. “That Swiss song wasn’t all that fantastic,” was Mum’s expert opinion. By the time there was only one country left to vote, Switzerland was in the lead by only one point but we were so sure victory was going to be ours. I can’t remember who the last country to vote was but I do remember the moment when I knew it was all over: “And finally twelve points goes to -” Please let it be the UK, please, please… “France.” Cue much shouting, cheering and cartwheels from the Swiss team. Of course the press had a field day about the unfairness of it all. Fancy the United Kingdom being beaten by just one measly point. It was like Mexico ’86 all over again – we’d come so far and victory was in our grasp only for us to have it snatched from us. But at least this time there was no cheating or Hand of God involved. The press also commented on whether it was acceptable to have a Canadian representing Switzerland in the song contest. Clearly the singer didn’t Think Twice about the fuss as she – Celine Dion – was on her way to bigger and better things. 6. 1991, SAMANTHA JANUS – MESSAGE TO YOUR HEART (JOINT 10TH PLACE, ROME) When the future Ronnie Mitchell/Branning/Cotton was flying the flag for the United Kingdom back in 1991, I sadly was unable to watch it due to our prehistoric telly being on the blink! However I do remember a lot being said about the absolutely stunning, blonde twenty one year old then unknown, Samantha Janus, who was going to perform Message To Your Heart, a song intended to prick the listeners’ social conscious regarding serious world wide issues. It was probably in the same vein as New Kids’ This One’s For The Children – and as everyone know New Kids On The Block can do no wrong in my eyes – but Message To Your Heart just didn’t make the same impact. And for all those who suspected that Samantha Janus would probably end up pulling pints one day – they were right! 7. 1992, MICHAEL BALL – ONE STEP OUT OF TIME (2ND PLACE, MALMO) We just thought of Michael Ball as the Aspects Of Love bloke – the one who did a bit of musical theatre. So when we heard that he would be making a bid to represent the United Kingdom, we thought it would be a number that wouldn’t be out of place in a Lloyd-Webber production. So sis and I were amazed when Michael Ball rocked up with an up-tempo pop song – a song we couldn’t get out of out heads for days. And we loved Ball’s choreography! I felt disappointed at the time that the UK lost out yet again but hey, we came second (again) so not all bad! 8. 1993, SONIA – BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (2ND PLACE, Co. CORK) We’d always loved Sonia ever since she burst onto the scene with You’ll Never Stop Me From Loving You and my mum was a huge fan: “Aw that Sonia. she sings all the old songs and gets to number one.” Er, really Mum??? Well the fact that Better The Devil You Know (not the Kylie classic) wasn’t an ‘old song’ might explain why Sonia didn’t get to ‘number one’ in the Eurovision charts and win. Well that’s what Mum would have said anyway. But Sonia did us proud all the same. She sang her heart out and gave a great performance with a song that’s in my head to this day. Furthermore Better The Devil You Know did well in the national charts. Plus I loved that purple jumpsuit! 9. 1994, FRANCES RUFFELLE - LONELY SYMPHONY (10TH PLACE, DUBLIN) I have to admit, I didn’t know who Frances Ruffelle was prior to her representing the UK in Eurovision. She was – and still is – star of the West End stage, and also the daughter of Sylvia Young, and the mother of Eliza Dolittle. Frances’ song was quite different to the previous Eurovision entries as it was less pop driven, more soulful, atmospheric song with a moving melody, and definitely not as cheesy as previous offerings. It also didn’t go for the novelty factor. Definitely one of the most sophisticated entries we’ve ever had. 10. 1995, LOVE CITY GROOVE- LOVE CITY GROOVE (10TH PLACE, DUBLIN) For the first time ever, rap came to the Eurovision song contest via the United Kingdom. And to this day I can still remember the chorus. I know this song was heavily criticised at the time for not being ‘Eurovision’ enough but I don’t think it’s a horrendous song at all, and as urban music was the only thing I’d listen to back then, I actually quite liked it. It had that cool summertime vibe and pop beat that was typical of all mid-nineties rap that didn’t come over all gold tooth and gangsta! It did place tenth just as their predecessor Frances Ruffelle had done the year before but it did a lot better than most people had expected. I think the truth of the matter is that Eurovision just wasn’t ready for rap from the UK. 11. 1996, GINA G – OOH AAH… JUST A LITTLE BIT (8TH PLACE, OSLO) This stunning Aussie redhead, born Gina Mary Gardiner, represented the United Kingdom back in 1996 and whereas most Eurovision hopefuls are rarely heard of again once the contest is over, Gina was very popular in Britain for quite some time. She had four UK chart hits after Ooh Aah… she also did well in America where she was nominated for a Grammy award, graced the covers of many mags, and was never off the telly! I have to say although Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit was very catchy and something of a club anthem back then, Gina’s brand of pop, house and dance wasn’t really my thing as I was very much an urban chick but hearing this track does bring back tons of memories of my secondary school days. After years of living in London, Gina eventually relocated to Los Angeles where she still resides today and is still involved in the music industry. 12. 1997, DUBLIN, KATRINA AND THE WAVES – LOVE SHINE A LIGHT 1ST PLACE I’m walking on sunshine… woah-oh, I’m walking on sunshine… woah-oh, I’m walking on sunshine…woah oh And don’t it feel good! Hey! It’s one of the most recognizable tracks from the eighties and the one that British rock band Katrina And The Waves were most well-known for. But that was until 1997 when Katrina And The Waves represented the United Kingdom with Love Shine A Light. I remember watching lead singer, Kansas-born Katrina Leskanich, being interviewed just before the contest and being asked how she would feel if they ended up getting the dreaded ‘nul points’ (a question that should have been put forth to Jemini perhaps!) “But it’s not going to get nul points,” Katrina responded confidently, “come on – it’s a great song.” Well she wasn’t wrong. That year, the UK headed to the top of the scoreboard and secured their first win since Bucks Fizz’s Making Your Mind Up sixteen years earlier. It was the second time the United Kingdom have won the Eurovision Song Contest in my lifetime – but only the first time that I actually got to see and remember it. Now if only I could see England win the World Cup… 13. 1998, BIRMINGHAM, IMAANI – WHERE ARE YOU? 2ND PLACE Admittedly I’d forgotten this song and the singer Imaani – who's still singing and putting out records – but as soon as I heard this song again, it all came flooding back. It was a very good entry and although it didn’t secure a second consecutive win for us, it finished at a very respectable second place. 14. 2003, LATVIA, JEMINI – CRY BABY 26TH PLACE OK, I’m sure there’s a lot of people who’d like to forget Jemini but how could we ever forget the only UK act ever to get the infamous nul point? Are you a big Eurovision Song Contest fan? What are your Eurovision memories? Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

Dear Neighbours, What are we going to do without you? It's hard to believe that this time last month, we were gearing ourselves up for the final ever episode of Neighbours. 'Final ever' - now that's a phrase we didn't think we'd have to use when it came to Australia's longest-running soap opera that really did take Britain by absolute storm. It came so close to making it to forty years but alas, it was not to be... Every so often a TV show comes along that makes it's mark on popular culture; cements it's place in television history, and finds its way into our hearts... and stays there. In fact maybe Neighbours should've been called Family and Friends because that's exactly what the characters became to us. OK we realize that makes us sound a little sad, and we hasten to add that we have plenty of family and friends in the real world! But back in the eighties and nineties - we were all a little over-invested in our favourite TV show back then, and we took the Neighbours' characters - as well as the actors who played them - into our hearts... And invested we certainly were! We laughed with the residents of Ramsay Street; cried with them; rooted for them, and as with those closest to us, there were times we wanted to climb into our TV sets and give one of those characters a good shaking when they were on the verge of doing something stupid. Yep, that was usually Paul! We felt Des's heartbreak when his beloved Daphne died; we wanted to be in the congregation when Scott married Charlene (actually some of us wanted to trade places with Charlene!) And when Mrs. Mangel left Erinsborough for a new life in England with her new husband John, even her arch rival Madge shed a few tears! And that doesn't even begin to sum up how magical Neighbours was. For thirty seven years we we shared our living rooms with characters from the other side of the world, as we all gathered together with our families to watch the latest ups and downs in the lives of the residents of an Australian surburban Cul-de-sac - and we couldn't get enough! In fact some might say that we knew those Neighbours much better than we knew our own neighbours. True! Those of us who have watched Neighbours since the early days, and continued to watch it over the years never thought that there'd come a time when Neighbours would no longer be on our screens. I mean - we still have Hollyoaks! And I don't know a single person who watches that! So how is it that we've lost Neighbours? And this past month - the first month without Neighbours - has presented me with a real dilemma that I've really struggled with since Neighbours went off-air: what on earth do I watch while having lunch now??? I know right - the struggle is real! Even though the true Neighbours' fans know why we feel so bereft - and yes, we are aware that there are far more serious issues going on in the world - there's plenty more who can't understand what all the fuss is about. It was just a silly soap opera, right? And I know that my mum would say the exact same thing about it 'just being a TV show.' She would always start cooking dinner at around the time Home and Away was on, and by the time Neighbours had started, she would often remember that she'd forgotten something and tell me that I needed to dash to the shops to pick up whatever it was before the shops shut. This would lead to an inevitable almighty row. "There's more to life than your Neighbours!" Mum would shout. There wasn't a kid in eighties or nineties Britain who would agree with her on that one! And we really are well aware that there are more pressing concerns in the world - that's just one of the reasons why we're so sad that Neighbours has come to an end. Aside from the fact that for almost four decades it was our televisual tea-time treat, it was our escapism; our little bit of happy... It was sunshine emanating from our TV sets. We may go on and on about the 'good ol' days' and 'simpler times' and while all that is relatively true, the total truth is that no time is ever completely good or simple but there are always things that make these times better... and Neighbours was definitely one of them. When Neighbours was at the height of it's popularity, I'd had several life changing moments. I'd finished primary school and had moved on to secondary school, and worse still we'd moved house and gone to live on the other side of London, which for me may as well have been a whole other country! Fitting in at school and making friends most definitely didn't come easily to me. But if there was one thing that was common ground for us all - it was Neighbours! It didn't matter whether you were the cool kid, the dumb kid, the new kid, or the geeky kid - everyone would talk to anyone when the topic turned to anything Ramsay Street-related. Even the school bully would take time out from whoever they were tormenting to discuss the previous day's episode! And years later when I upped sticks and headed over to the States, I became a regular Neighbours viewer again, never missing an episode and quickly falling into the habit of watching Neighbours as I scoffed whatever was for lunch that day. Ever since arriving in America, a place I'd dreamed of moving to for a long time, I was struck with an intense sense of homesickness that didn't seem to be going anywhere... but Neighbours made everything somewhat better and reminded me of home. Even though, yes, Neighbours is as Australian as the Great Barrier Reef! So there you have it - during two tough times in my life, it was Neighbours to the rescue! When I think of Neighbours, three things immediately spring to mind: family, schooldays and nostalgia - all of which seemed to be themes that appeared to be at the heart of the show especially when it was coming to an end. Who doesn't remember watching Neighbours while having dinner with their family? Or racing home after school to catch the latest episode? Or enthusiastically discussing the previous evening's episode with our friends during double science instead of paying attention to the teacher - no wonder there were so many mishaps in the lab! My grandad was a big Neighbours fan and whenever he'd come to pick me and my sister up from school, he would always fill us in on that afternoon's goings-on in Ramsay Street (and no the spoilers didn't ruin it for us - it just made us want to watch that evenings repeat even more!) When Neighbours first aired in Britain in 1986, no one knew for a second just how big this new Australian soap was going to be. It took a little while to warm up. I think that in Britain, we were all so caught up with the glamour and far-fetchedness (oops, spell-check is letting me know that 'far-fetchedness isn't an actual word but I'm keeping it anyway!) of glitzy soaps like Dallas and Dynasty, and Neighbours, well it was a world away from that. That's not to say that Aussie soaps weren't well-received in Britain prior to Neighbours. My mum and my aunts were fans of shows like A Country Practice; The Young Doctors and The Sullivans. But it was Sons and Daughters that the British viewing public became very engrossed in very quickly. And it was because we were already very familiar with these soaps that when Neighbours finally came along, the cast read like a who's who of Australian veteran actors! There was Anne Haddy (then better known in Britain as Sons and Daughters' Rosie Andrews) Vivean Gray (The Sullivans' Mrs. Jessup) and Ally Fowler (Sons and Daughters Angela Hamilton) among many, many famous faces who found their way to Erinsborough. But when Neighbours began to warm up, it heated up to the point where it absolutely exploded! Neighbours soon became the most watched, most talked about show on British TV. Not bad for an Australian import! And forget about the Ewings and the Carringtons, it was the Robinsons and Ramsays that everyone was interested in. Furthermore when Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue joined the cast as Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell, theirs was a popularity that has never been seen - before or since - which helped to propel the soap to even further heights of success. You cannot talk about Neighbours without mentioning the phenomenon that was Kylie and Jason. I would go as far as to say that never in the history of soap operas have two huge talents emerged from a humble soap and gone on to conquer the world - or so it seemed! OK so you could argue that Russell Crow and Margot Robbie are even bigger stars as they've made it big in Hollywood, but when was the last time anyone encountered Russell or Margot mania? Right! For those of us who were around when Kylie and Jason were at the pinnacle of their fame, we know how much they dominated the late eighties and early nineties. Not only did Scott and Charlene become an iconic soap couple (don't get us started on that wedding!) But Kylie and Jason became mega stars! And even today they've still got quite a following. Those of us who grew up in eighties/nineties Britain will know that everything revolved around Neighbours. Forget everything stops for tea; everything stopped for Ramsay Street! As soon as we heard that familiar theme tune, we dropped what we were doing and settled down to see that day's going's on in Erinsborough. Great Britain may be a very diverse nation, but you could bet your life that at 5:35pm every weekday evening, everyone up and down the country (well OK, most people up and down the country) would be doing the exact same thing - watching Neighbours! It really did unite families and members of different generations of twenty five minutes every day - more if you watched it twice a day! Oh and for us kids of the eighties and nineties, we knew that the ultimate indulgence during the school holidays wasn't an unlimited supply of potato Smiley Faces but getting to watch Neighbours twice a day! Who cared that we'd already seen it at lunchtime? We needed to watch it again in the evening to see if there was anything we missed the first time around! For me, I'd say that the glory years were from the start of the show to about the mid-nineties. After that the original cast started to get a bit thin on the ground and it was starting to become a different show with some of the gloss beginning to wear off. That doesn't mean that Neighbours was no longer watchable but some of the magic was starting to fade but then I guess nothing lasts forever. Before long Neighbours stars stopped gracing the covers of magazines or appearing on chat shows and Saturday morning TV programs. But we still watched the soap even if some of us did dip in and out for years due to this little thing called work! And even though it wasn't the same show as when it was in it's 'glory years,' Neighbours was still very entertaining. In more recent years it's brought us a lot of very engaging storylines and unforgettable characters like the dastardly Izzy Hoyland; the solid and dependable Mark Brennan; the big-hearted Sonya Rebecchi, and the strong-willed Therese Willis - probably the only woman who could put Paul Robinson in his place! And another reason why we're so sad that Neighbours is over... Because to us, the fans, the long-time viewers, it represented the perfect world. Aside from the Finn Kelly's and the Izzy Hoylands who sadly exist everywhere, it gave us what we as human beings strive for: friendship, a safe place to live, community, that sense of belonging, where people look out for each other, having someone have your back, pick you up when you're down. Unfortunately we live in a world where we barely know our own neighbours, let alone look out for the more vulnerable living among us. I suppose most of us are guilty of that. But for twenty minutes every day, we saw what it was like to live in a near-perfect world where loneliness, discord, and lack of unity didn't seem to exist. As we return to the real world, and one without Neighbours, perhaps we can put into practice what we've learned from something that was 'just a TV show.' Unless of course you live next door to a real-life Finn or Izzy, in which case you bolt that gate! We all remember what was going on in our lives when Scott and Charlene tied the knot; When Jim Robinson took his last breath, and when Susan slipped on some spilt milk (and they say there's no point crying over spilt milk - well Susan Kennedy would beg to differ!) It's these memories and connections that make Neighbours so special to so many of us. Another part of our TV history has gone forever. It feels as though a chapter of our lives has come to an end and the show will definitely be missed. Neighbours was more than just a TV show. It was escapism; it was contentment after a hard day; it bridged the gaps between different communities and generations... Neighbours was a way of life. And it put Australia well and truly on the map, introducing as to a whole host of talented stars we may not have come across if it wasn't for the show. Thank you Neighbours for the memories and thirty seven amazing years of entertainment. For storylines and characters that we have taken to our hearts and that will stay with us forever. For mega stars who got their big break on the show and are now known the world over. And for life-lessons that changed us without us even realising. Neighbours, it's been great - we will never forget you. Love, Angel Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

As everyone knows workplace romances are very much a thing. And nowhere is this more true than on a TV or movie set. So why everyone was so shocked when it was revealed that Neighbours' Stefan Dennis used to date his co-star Natalie Imbruglia, we just don't know! OK that's not strictly true because when we heard that Stefan and Natalie were something of an item, as revealed to Stellar magazine, we have to admit we did have to read that twice. This was a couple we never saw coming! It's not that unusual for actors to fall in love on set, and it's no different with the Neighbours cast. Not only is Neighbours the TV show which has a relatively high proportion of cast members related to other cast members, but there also seems to be a lot more on-set romances than other shows. Over the years there have been a few couples among the cast who got together after meeting on set - including Craig McLachan and Rachel Friend (Henry Ramsay and Bronwyn Davies) Chris Milligan and Jenna Rosenow (Kyle Canning and Amber Turner) Harley Bonner and Ariel Kaplan (who played the Willis twins Josh and Imogen) David Hoflin and Natalie Blair (Oliver Barnes and Carmella Cammeniti.) And those are just the ones we know about! We take a look at other Neighbours co-stars who fell in love on-set proving that Neighbours really do become (more than) good friends! 1. KYLIE MINOGUE AND JASON DONOVAN The most famous real-life couple to come out of Neighbours! Acting spilled over into real life when the couple who played soap sweethearts Scott and Charlene, Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, got together for real and started dating in the late 1980s. Kylie became the envy of girls everywhere who desperately wanted to be Mrs. Donovan; men everywhere wanted to trade places with Jason in order to get close to their idea of the perfect girl next door. We think it's safe to say the world went Kylie and Jason mad. And when Kylie and Jason released their duet Especially For You, good grief, we couldn't breathe! The two who had been acting since they were children, first met on the set of a soap called Skyways in which they played brother and sister. However it would be a few more years later before they teamed up again on Neighbours to form one of the most legendary soap couples ever. And not only that, their characters would go on to have a wedding that would be deemed the most iconic wedding in soap. It may have been thirty five years since Scott and Charlene made it to the altar, but in the intervening years, soap fans don't believe there's another soap wedding that comes close. Unfortunately fans never got to see Kylie and Jason tie the knot for real as the couple broke up in 1989 with Kylie then going on to date INXS frontman, the late Michael Hutchence - something Jason has admitted hurt him very much. Today Jason is happily married and a father of three but he and Kylie have still maintained a strong friendship over the years. Neighbours fans are very much looking forward to finally seeing the pair back on Ramsay Street in the roles that made them soap legends... probably the only good thing about Neighbours ending! 2. ELAINE SMITH & PETER O'BRIEN While Daphne Lawrence was torn between Des Clarke and Shane Ramsay, the actress who played her, Elaine Smith had no such dilemmas. She was happily loved up with Peter O'Brien who played Shane! Theirs was probably the first love affair that blossomed on the set of Neighbours in the mid-1980s. They even gave an exclusive interview to British women's magazine Woman's Own in which they revealed that they were living together - something that 1980s society found very shocking - hence why Scott and Charlene had to get hitched! Sadly the relationship didn't last. But Elaine, who now works as a teacher, is married to actor Jonathon Biggins with whom she has twin daughters, and Peter - who has delighted a legion of long-time Neighbours fans for reprising the role of Shane just as the show draws to a close - is married to actress Miranda Otto and they have a daughter. 3. FIONA CORKE & NICK CARRAFA Fiona is known for her role as the second Mrs. Paul Robinson; a role she's played on and off since 1987, with her last appearance being back in 2019. But it was during her first stint that she was joined by fellow cast member, actor and musician Nick Carrafa who had a guest role playing mechanic, Tony Romeo. Although it's been said that Fiona and Nick knew each other before appearing in Neighbours, it appears that they fell in love while appearing on the show, but they didn't reveal their relationship until Nick had left the show. Nick has even returned to Neighbours playing two other characters, one of them being Dr. Peter Hannay who answered Susan Kennedy's prayers by marrying Sarah Beaumont and whisking her off to England and away from Susan's husband, Dr. Karl! It would appear that Fiona and Nick are the only couple on this list who are still together! Yay! And while they are still involved in the world of entertainment, Fiona is also well known for being a wildlife activist and is vice president of the Australian Society for Kangaroos. 4. STEFAN DENNIS & GAYLE BLAKENEY While Fiona Corke found lasting love on the set of Neighbours, Stefan Dennis who played her on-screen husband, Paul, didn't! After his marriage to his first wife, Roz Roy, ended, Stefan started dating his Neighbours co-star Gayle Blakeney who played Christina Alessi and the two were said to be engaged. Although Paul and Christina became man and wife, Stefan and Gayle didn't despite being together for two and a half years. It was after his relationship with Gayle ended that Stephan started dating Natalie Imbruglia. And incidentally Stefan's real-life wife, and no he didn't meet her on the set of Neighbours, Gail Easdale starred on the show back in 2016 as the infamous Julie Quill. The couple have three children together. And Gayle Blakeney has lived in Los Angeles for more than twenty years and is married with two children. 5. SIMONE ROBERTSON & BENJAMIN MITCHELL While playing the very memorable Ramsay Street resident, Phoebe Gottlieb née Bright, Simone Robertson just happened to fall in love with one of her co-stars. If you had to guess who her real-life leading man was you might think it was Kristian Schmidt, the actor who played the Todd Landers and the father of Phoebe's unborn baby girl. Or Lochie Daddo perhaps who played Phoebe's husband Stephen. But it was neither of them! Instead it was Benjamin Mitchell, who at the time was playing motorbike-riding lawyer Cameron Hudson - an actor with whom Simone shared very little screen time meaning that Neighbours fan might not instantly have worked out that there was a real-life romantic connection between the pair (a bit like Stefan Dennis and Natalie Imbruglia!) In fact it was during an interview the couple did with British women's weekly Woman's Own after revealing their relationship, where Simone said that she felt it was during a scene in Neighbours where Phoebe was folding away laundry and Cameron was trying to persuade her to take in Annalise Hartman as a lodger that viewers might twig that there was something going on between the pair in real-life. After seeing the scene when it first aired we can honestly say that we really were none the wiser! Simone and Benjamin did a great job in keeping their relationship under wraps. Unfortunately the relationship didn't last with the pair parting ways after a couple of years. Benjamin who is also a musician and writer, is married with a family, while Simone is married to her Breakers co-star Jean-Marc Russ with the couple having located to New York well over a decade ago. Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

Can anyone imagine a Walford without Dot Branning? Neither can we. But last week, Dot's granddaughter Sonia got the news that EastEnders' viewers knew was coming - that the Square's stalwart Dot had passed away. Now Walford is gearing up to give Dot the biggest send off the Square has ever seen, which is very fitting for one of the most iconic characters EastEnders has ever had. When it was revealed that legendary actress June Brown who had played Dot, had surprisingly quit the role just before the show's thirty-fifth anniversary episode aired, EastEnders' fans wondered if we'd see Dot back in Albert Square doing service washes at the launderette ever again. But when news broke in April this year that Brown had sadly passed away, we knew that we would never again see one of the most well-loved characters on British television. Although Brown has been acting since the 1950s with roles in Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Minder and The Bill, it is her portrayal as chain-smoking, tomato-juice-drinking, Bible-verse-quoting, not-one-for-gossiping Dot Cotton (before she became Dot Branning) for which Brown will forever be remembered. Could there ever have been another actress who could have turned Dot into the legendary soap character that she became? Many people mistake Dot for being an original character when EastEnders first began in 1985, but Dot Cotton actually made her first appearance six months after the show began. But Dot Cotton, like June Brown, soon went on to become a household name. While Dot was nowhere near as despicable as her son Nick and first husband Charlie, she did manage to rub a lot of people up the wrong way by being a gossipy, prying, rumour-spreading, meddling, judgmental busybody, often quoting chapter and verse at anyone she thought needed a lesson in morality. Pity Nick wasn't on the receiving end of that more often then! But despite this, Dot really did have a heart of gold and over the years she helped many of the Square's residents when they needed it, often giving them sound advice and a shoulder to cry on. She had strong friendships with Ethel Skinner, Pauline Fowler, and Yolande Trueman (or Your-lawnd as Dot used to call her) while becoming something of a mother or grandmother-figure to most of Albert Square. But if she didn't have something good to say and you needed telling, she wasn't afraid to say it to your face - just ask Den Watts! Despite Dot's life often blighted by heartache, she was also something of a comic character, which brought another dimension to the role and June's comic timing was impeccable. Often this humour is highlighted in her friendship with the rather mischievous Ethel; or when she is confronted with what she believes to be a rather shocking situation (though quite humorous to others!) in which her face contorts itself into some rather amusing expressions, and is usually followed by her catchphrase "Ooh, I say!" Who can forget when Dot set up an organization called WARP (War Against Retired Prostitutes) after jumping to the conclusion that Walford newcomer Julie Cooper was running a brothel. She was setting up a hair salon! Or Dot's neighbourhood watch scheme where she caught a burglar in the act and then went on to proudly tell anyone who'd listen! Good on you, Dot! Since 1985, Dot has been involved in a number of storylines of the comic, heart-wrenching, and poignant varieties. EastEnders is famous for it's two-hander episodes, but Dot Branning has been the only character to perform a rather moving monologue which earned June a BAFTA nomination for her iconic performance. Dot wasn't without her prejudices but she very much tried to practice what she preached giving chances to locals who no one else really wanted to know including prostitute Mary; homeless Disa O'Brien; drug-addict Donna Ludlow, and in more recent times Stuart Highway who was haunted by abuse that he'd endured as a child. It's a lovely touch that many of these past characters Colin (Michael Cashman) Barry (Gary Hailes) Disa (Jan Graveson) among others will return for Dot's funeral. Those of us who grow up in eighties Britain during the AIDS epidemic, will remember that it was a time of fearmongering, prejudice and homophobia, as it was unfairly regarded by many as a 'gay disease.' Dot was no different in her attitude especially coupled with her strong Christian beliefs, and as a result treated gay couple Colin and Barry rather unkindly at first although she later overcame her prejudices. This storyline was used - along with Colin's return in 2016 - to highlight prejudice towards the gay community, as well as to educate people about the AIDS virus. Who said soaps can't teach and inform! Since her first appearance on Albert Square, Dot has been involved in many memorable storylines. But it's the relationships and bonds that she had with other Square residents - both good and bad - that we will also remember. We take a look at some of the key people in the life of Dorothy Branning. 1. Nasty Nick No one will ever understand how such a God-fearing, law abiding lady like Dot produced something as evil as her son 'Nasty' Nick Cotton? Clearly he got his genes from his equally vile dad, Charlie. Hurricane Nick breezed in and out of Walford for thirty years. You never knew when he was going to hit but he arrived with his trademark "Ello Ma" greeting to his mother, and was guaranteed to be leaving a trail of destruction by the time he breezed out of the Square again. And Rotten Cotton really was as nasty as they came. Every time he turned up like the proverbial bad penny, you could be certain it wasn't because he was doing missionary work - although there was that one time he turned up claiming he'd 'found Jesus'. And while Dot always tried to see the best in her son, preaching forgiveness and believing that he could be redeemed, everyone else saw Nick for exactly what he was: an evil, lying, manipulative sociopath who took advantage of his mother's good nature and Christian values, and would hurt anyone without a second thought. Theft, blackmail, attempted murder, murder, pretending to be at death's door... there's nothing Nick wouldn't try his hand at. Even his daughter, Potty Dotty, who wouldn't have looked out of place in The Shining, proved to be a chip off the old block when she tried to scam and kill Grandma Dot. Is anyone surprised that a now grown-up Dotty a.k.a Kirsty was welcomed into Grandma Dot's home just before Dot headed over to Ireland to live with her grandson Charlie? Of course not! For such a long-running character, viewers were stunned by the decision to kill off Nick as part of a subplot for EastEnders' thirtieth anniversary in 2015. For thirty years, we'd watched Nick waltz in and out of Walford, wreaking all kinds of havoc and we just took it for granted that he'd continue to do so for another thirty years. The end for Nick came following a fatal reaction to a heroin overdose, where Dot, finally realizing that her son was the antichrist, allowed Nick to die and let the Lord deal with him. The scene in which Nick's body was found was a reenactment of the very first EastEnders' scene where Reg Cox's body was found... …after he'd been murdered by Nick Cotton. 2. Friendship With Ethel Skinner The friendship between Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner was legendary and the stuff good laughs are made of. The pairing of straight-laced, easily-shocked Dot who was always quoting chapter and verse and mischievous, fun-loving Ethel with her cheeky glint and naughty cackle was comedy gold. Theirs was another friendship that went back to the early days of EastEnders, when along with Pauline's mother Lou, they were a trio of long-time friends who had remained close well into their old age. After Lou died in 1989, Ethel and Dot stayed firm friends, and their friendship created much of the shows more lighthearted moments. Who can forget the time Ethel was trying to comfort Dot after hearing that Dot's husband Charlie had died, and then very dramatically walked shocked and shaken into The Vic, and made it all about her, announcing that Charlie had been "found decreased by the M25?" They may have been chalk and cheese and forever winding each other up but they had an incredibly strong bond, reinforced by a mutual love of gossip and reminiscing about the past. But there's no denying that both ladies had genuine hearts of gold and were always willing to help anyone in trouble. The two hander featuring Dot and Ethel revealed the underlying sadness that was in their lives and the tragedy and trauma that they had endured, showing another side to the comedic double-act. In one of EastEnders most controversial storylines in 2000, Ethel, discovering that she was terminally ill, asked Dot to help her die - something committed Christian Dot was against. But when the time came, Dot gave her the pills, telling Ethel, "I only want you to be happy," with Ethel declaring that Dot was the best friend she ever had. And then in what had to be one of the most moving death scenes on the show, Ethel peacefully slipped away. But even death couldn't eradicate the bond that the two women had, and Dot made sure she visited Ethel's grave before heading to the church to become Mrs. Jim Branning, placing a rose from her bouquet on her best friend's grave. Dot may have had many friends in Walford over the years but nothing compares to her friendship with Ethel. 3. Her Grandkids Dot's first brush with 'grandmotherhood' was back in 1989 when she heard that Nick had become a father to a baby girl named Dorothy Nicola. "My Nick has had a baby," Dot proudly announced to some of the Square's residents. "Didn't know he was pregnant!" quipped a mischievous Cindy Beale much to Dot's annoyance! Relishing her new role, Dot threw herself on being a grandmother, doting on baby Dorothy and becoming friends with the baby's mother, Nick's girlfriend Hazel, even helping her out financially. But it was Dot's husband Charlie who detected a rat (probably because a scammer can always spot a scam) and in doing some detective work, Charlie discovered that Dorothy Nicola was really Katy Joanna - the daughter of Hazel's sister! Poor Dot was devastated when she discovered the truth but being the good Christian lady that she was, she forgave Hazel for her cruel deception. Dot may not have been Katy's grandmother but over the years, the children that her son Nick had had from various relationships did turn up in the Square. And while Dot may have been dubious at first, especially after having been taken in by Hazel, she did warm to all of them - even forgiving Nick's daughter Dotty (real name Kirsty) for plotting with Nick to kill Dot! Her grandson Ashley had been killed in an accident as a result of a feud between Nick and Mark Fowler for which Dot couldn't forgive Nick for. Although of course she eventually did! And finally there was Charlie, who arrived in Walford posing as a police officer to break the news of Nick's death (Nick was very much alive and kicking!) When Dot married Jim she became a grandmother and great-grandmother to Jim's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she enjoyed a much more stable relationship with them than she did with Nick's kids. At least she didn't have to worry about the Branning kids deceiving or trying to murder her! 4. Husband Jim Branning Dot's first marriage to emotionally abusive, neglectful adulterer Charlie Cotton was a total disaster and brought Dot nothing but misery. Especially as most of the time he was carrying on with Dot's half-sister Rose. But when Carol Jackson's dad, Jim Branning, arrived in Albert Square, he took a shine to Dot. Unfortunately on paper Jim didn't look like ideal husband material either. A once heavy-drinker and racist, who wasn't a good dad to his six kids, favouring some while being cruel to others. Was Dot letting herself in for heartache again? But time seemed to have softened Jim. Even though his children sometimes struggled with Jim's past mistakes, he proved to be a much better grandfather than he was a father. And the locals took to the new likeable Jim, and as the Queen Vic's potman, he spent more time mingling with the punters and being friendly than collecting glasses. His racist views were clearly cast aside as he become firm friends with Patrick and Yolande Trueman. While wary of Jim's advances at first, Dot eventually accepted Jim's proposal which happened during an iconic scene at the London Eye, and Dot Cotton went on to marry Jim in 2002, thus becoming Dot Branning. In Jim, Dot found a new family, some of whom she'd known even before she met Jim, like Jim's daughter Carol and her children. And after becoming a Branning, Dot got from Jim the love, support and care she never received in her first marriage. EastEnders' fans also approved of the sometimes comical, often moving partnership of Dot and Jim with the actors Jim Bardon and June Brown going on to win awards for Best On-screen Partnership (2002 British Soap Awards) and Best Couple (2005 Inside Soap Awards.) This partnership came to an end after Bardon sadly died in 2014 but this is a Walford couple who continues to live on in the hearts of the show's fans. 5. Surrogate Son Dennis Rickman The most unlikeliest of friendships was also one of the most sweetest. When Den Watt's long-lost son, hard-as-nails Dennis Rickman arrived in Walford to find the sisters who had tracked him down at his mother's funeral, little did he know that he would also find the mother-figure he never knew he needed... Dennis's don't-give-a-damn attitude concealed a childhood that was far from idyllic, filled with abuse, neglect and being in and out of foster care, as well as a young adulthood that came complete with shady characters, dodgy dealings and a trail of broken hearts. Like father, like son all right. For Dennis, life was all about survival and looking after number one. He didn't care who got hurt as long as it wasn't him. But being in Walford changed Dennis for the better. Sharon, the love of his life was part of the reason for that. The other part was Dot. From the time Dennis chased after muggers who'd snatched Dot's handbag the night they first met, the two forged a strong bond, with both of them finding the mother-son relationship they were looking for. They became each other's confidantes, and when Dot discovered that she had cancer, Dennis was initially the only person who knew and he helped her through it. And Dot was there for Dennis with the turmoil and drama that ensued from the love triangle he found himself in with Sharon and Zoe. Furthermore Dot was the only one who stood by Dennis when he flew into a rage in the Queen Vic that caused some of the locals, Sharon included, to get hurt knowing that his manipulative dad Den was behind the whole incident. As she did with her son Nick, Dot saw the best in Dennis and never judged him. The difference was that Dennis was worth the effort. Nick not so much! When Dennis was murdered on the orders of Johnny Allen on New Years' Eve 2005, Dot was left heartbroken, even going as far as to say that Dennis was the son that Nick never was to her. Recent scenes that aired on EastEnders showed the characters reacting to Dot's passing, and tonight we saw Dot return to her home on Albert Square where her tearful granddaughters kept vigil. During these scenes, it's more than likely that viewers shed a tear or two as well. And we think it's safe to say that June's friends and colleagues on set didn't have to get into character as they wept for Dot - as the tears were for June too. Rest in peace June Brown. Thank you for years of entertainment and laughter, and for giving us the formidable character of Dot Branning who will live on in the hearts of EastEnders' fans forever. What were your favourite Dot moments? Photos: YouTube Blog Graphics: Angel Noire

Since EastEnders began in 1985, there have been a whole host of stars we've welcomed into our home by way of our television set. We've laughed with them, cried with them, yelled at them, thrown things at the TV set because of them, and sometimes when they got to be too much, we were even glad to see the back of them (that's you, Janine!) But one thing's for sure - the show and the talented bunch of actors who have starred in the hit TV soap, past and present, have kept us fabulously entertained for years. EastEnders... Everyone's talking about it - too right we were! So it saddened us that over the course of this year, we lost quite a few amazing actors, who at one time or another had starred in EastEnders, playing very memorable characters - some of whom had even appeared on the show when it first began. And while no one is saying that EastEnders is the only notable work they've ever done, many of those actors made their name on the show and went on to become household names. No doubt 2022 must have been a very sad year on the set of EastEnders as cast and crew remembered some of the dear friends and colleagues that they had worked with over the years who are now no longer with us - some of whom have been sadly taken from us way before their time. So as 2022 comes to a close, it feels very fitting to pay homage to these talented actors who have created characters and memories that will always stay with the show's fans. Our screens may be a lot more dimmer now, but while they may be gone, they will never be forgotten... 1. Leonard Fenton (Dr. Harold Legg, 1985-2019) Leonard Fenton was the first former EastEnders star to pass away this year back in January, aged ninety five. Three years earlier, EastEnders' fans watched the tearjerking scenes where Leonard's character, the Square's beloved Dr. Legg who was as much a friend to the Square's residents as well their doctor, passed away with his dear friend Dot by his side as he took his last breath. This was to be Leonard's last TV acting appearance, and he gave a very moving performance. Who didn't wipe away a tear as Dot told him to go be with his beloved wife Judith again? Born in Stepney, real-life Eastender, Leonard Fenton studied at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art after deciding on a change in career. He then went on to have an acting career that spanned a whopping seven decades, appearing in TV shows such as Colditz; Z Cars; Shine On Harvey Moon, and Doctors. But it was his role as EastEnders' kindly Dr. Legg which made Leonard Fenton a household name. And despite a blip in his career in which Dr. Legg made a series of blunders, we still say that he was the best doctor Walford had ever seen. 2. Anna Karen ('Aunt' Sal Martin, 1996-2017) When Aunt Sal made her first appearance on the Square back in 1996, how many people thought "That's Olive!" Although South African-born actress, Anna Karen had been acting since the early sixties, she became synonymous with bespectacled Olive Rudge, the character Anna played in the comedy TV series and movies On the Buses which began in 1969 and lasted until 1973. But it was Anna's role as Phil and Grant's aunty, Sal Martin, that introduced Anna to a whole new generation of TV viewers in the nineties, and did for Anna Karen what the role of Peggy Mitchell (Sal's sister) did for Carry On actress Barbara Windsor. In fact both Windsor and Karen were good friends in real-life (Karen even starred in a couple of Carry On... films) which explains how that sisterly bond came through on screen. The role of Aunt Sal was a recurring one, and she appeared on the Square over the course of twenty one years, usually turning up at Christmas or Mitchell family events. Or when she'd fallen out with her husband Harold! A formidable acting talent with great comic timing, Anna Karen lived in Ilford (incidentally only a stone's throw from where Angel used to live before she upped sticks and headed to the States. And no, their paths never crossed!) And it was in the home that she had shared with her actor husband, the late Terry Duggan, where Anna sadly passed away back in February at the age of eighty five. 3. Lynda Baron (Linda Clarke, 2006 - 2016) The term 'national treasure' has been bestowed upon many an entertainment legend, and it's more than fitting that it applies to British actress and a well-known face from seventies and eighties TV, Lynda Baron. While Lynda is best known as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, the light of Arkwright's life in Open All Hours, she also had a role in EastEnders as Linda Clarke, the outspoken, no-nonsense mother of Jane and Christian Clarke. Making her the mother-in-law of Jane's husband, Ian Beale. We don't know who we feel more sorry for! Lynda appeared on and off as Mrs. Clarke over a ten year period, starting in 2006. During that time Linda was involved in storylines such as her romance with Patrick Trueman and her separation from her husband, Roger, Jane and Christian's dad. Linda Clarke didn't always approve of the choices her children made in their lives i.e. - Christian's promiscuous lifestyle and Jane's marriage to Ian. But that didn't stop her from trying to create a life in Albert Square, setting up home with Christian or the Beales. But as Linda had resided in Florida before walking out on her husband, it was quite obvious that she was never going to give up a life in sunny Orlando for dreary Walford, thus making her last appearance in 2016, as Linda reconciled with Roger and returned to Florida. Lancashire-born Lynda passed away in March of this year, aged eighty two. An actress whose career spanned eight decades (and we were already in awe of Leonard Fenton!) Lynda Baron had appeared in everything from Dr. Who to The Two Ronnies to Fat Friends, as well as EastEnders. But we think it's fair to say that she lives on in the hearts of TV viewers as Arkwright's beloved Nurse Gladys. 4. Melanie Clark Pullen (Mary Flagherty, 1997-1999) Actress, writer and producer Melanie Clark Pullen got her big break in EastEnders playing, Mary Flaherty, the feisty niece of Pauline Fowler. Everyone remembers that week-long, and rather controversial, EastEnders special where the Fowlers and the Beales headed over to Ireland in search of Pauline's long-lost sister Margaret, the illegitimate daughter of her parents, Albert and Lou Beale. While Pauline realized that Margaret was a lot like their father Albert, Mark reckoned that in Mary, they'd found another Lou. Personally we think they'd found another Michelle Fowler! Like her cousin, who had already departed for a new life in the States, Mary was mouthy, opinionated and not afraid to stand up for herself or anyone else for that matter. When viewers first come across Mary, she's already causing havoc in the family by having an affair with a married man. After arriving in Walford she continued to have a very turbulent love life, even coming between Joe Wicks and his fiancée, Sarah Hills. Yep, Mary was borderline troublemaker and wasn't averse to a bit of pot-stirring. But Mary did have a heart. When her dad Connor ran off to Scotland with Ruth Fowler, the wife of her cousin Mark, Mary felt that she needed to stay in Walford to look after Mark who had been earlier diagnosed with HIV. Mary had always shared a close bond with Mark, but it was Mark who convinced Mary that she needed she needed to be in Scotland with her new family. She did just that - and that was the last we ever saw of Mary Flaherty. The Flahertys weren't such a hit with EastEnders' fans. But that was due to Connor and Mary being not very endearing characters, and not at all a testiment against Melanie's rather excellent acting abilities. In Mary, Melanie was able to create a character that is still very memorable among fans. And had she stayed, we would have loved to have seen what other havoc Mary caused. But as it happened, once the Flahertys left, they were never mentioned again. Pauline probably rued the day she ever went off in search of her long-lost family. After leaving EastEnders, Melanie went on to star in Casualty; Fair City; Inspector George Gently, and mini series A Dinner of Herbs. She also appeared on stage and went on to write and produce. Mum of three Melanie sadly passed away at the age of just forty six following a brave battle against cancer. 5. June Brown (Dot Branning, 1985-2020) Viewers have just seen Dot Branning laid to rest in a very touching couple of episodes which brought back several of the Square's former residents. What was so moving about these scenes, is that viewers knew that it wasn't just a very fitting tribute to one of the Square's favourite matriarchs, but homage was also being paid to the legendary actress who played Dot, June Brown, who passed away in April at the age of ninety five. When it was revealed that Brown had surprisingly quit the role just before the show's thirty-fifth anniversary episode aired, EastEnders' fans wondered if we'd see Dot back in Albert Square doing service washes at the launderette ever again. But when news broke that Brown had sadly passed away, we knew that we would never again see one of the most well-loved characters on British television because let's face it - there's no one who could ever don Dot's iconic overalls. Although Brown has been acting since the 1950s with roles in Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Minder and The Bill, it is her portrayal as chain-smoking, tomato-juice-drinking, Bible-verse-quoting, not-one-for-gossiping Dot Cotton (before she became Dot Branning) for which Brown will forever be remembered. Could there ever have been another actress who could have turned Dot into the legendary soap character that she became? The funeral scenes that recently aired tell us that Dot, like June, will forever be missed. Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

The second part of our post honoring EastEnders actors who passed away in 2022. 6. Mona Hammond (Blossom Jackson, 1994-1997, 2010) Whenever people talk about the great stalwarts of Albert Square, Blossom Jackson never gets the credit she rightly deserves. But we loved her and we think that everyone should have a neighbour, a friend, or a gran just like Blossom! Feisty and strong with a heart of gold, Blossom was always there with a listening ear and a friendly word. She was always around to pick up the pieces and hold the Jackson family together during a crisis - and goodness knows there were many of those! But she wasn't afraid to give anyone a much needed clip round the year or kick up the backside when it was called for as we saw when a party at the Jackson house got seriously out of control! Blossom, the grandmother of Alan Jackson, wasn't really a very welcome addition to the Jackson household when she first arrived. In need of a place to stay, Alan's partner, Carol and her children were adamant that they liked their household just as it was and that Blossom wasn't moving in. But she soon won everyone around with her mild manner and gentle ways and it wasn't long before all the kids were calling her gran! And thank goodness for Blossom because she supported the family through tough times such as Robbie being attacked by Ted Hills; Alan and Carol's extramarital affairs, and the trauma of the family being targeted by armed robbers which eventually led to them moving away from Walford. And during what was to be Blossom's final appearance in EastEnders back in 2010, when she returned after an absence of thirteen years, she helped the family through their darkest hour when her great-grandson Billie tragically passed away due to alcohol poisoning. The very gifted actress who breathed life into such a phenomenal character was Jamaican-born Mona Hammond. Soon after settling in Britain, Hammond won a scholarship to the prestigious RADA, where she graduated in 1964. She began her career in theatre as most actors do but TV roles soon beckoned with appearances in The Sweeny, Casualty, Coronation Street, Desmond's, Juliet Bravo and Sunburn. We especially liked Hammond's role as the grandmother in short-lived British nineties' sitcom, Us Girls, which should have lasted a lot longer than it did because it was hysterically funny. And then along came Blossom Jackson... When it came to EastEnders' characters, Blossom Jackson was a personal favourite of ours. The casting of the very talented Mona Hammond as the grandmother of the legendary Jackson family was spot on (unlike the casting of the equally talented Gwen Taylor as the grandmother in the Highway family which for some reason just doesn't work.) We were disappointed when Blossom left after being swept off her feet by barber Felix, and while we were glad to see her back in 2010, we do wish it could have been a much longer stint. Mona Hammond passed away at the age of ninety one in July 2022. 7. Ashvin Luximon (Asif Malik, 1999-2003) 23rd july Before there was Kush or Zack, it was Asif Malik who was Martin Fowler's best friend, with the two teenage boys often getting into mischief due to one of Asif's hairbrain schemes gone wrong. And the Walford girls just weren't safe when girl-crazy Martin and Asif were around! But then Martin settled into married life with Sonia Jackson and fatherhood, while Asif went off to university and was never seen in Walford again, much to our disappointment as Martin and Asif's antics had us in stitches. Asif was last mentioned a few years back at a reunion for Martin's old schoolmates, and he's believed to be living up in Edinburgh. As he was one of our favourite characters, we'd always hoped that perhaps one day Asif would make a return to Albert Square to catch up with his old mate, Martin. Enfield-born Ashvin Luximon who appeared in Grange Hill before finding fame in EastEnders, was the talented young actor who played Asif to perfection. It would appear however that Ashvin gave up acting soon after leaving the top soap and lived his life away from the spotlight. But from the heartfelt tributes written after news broke of his passing, it's clear that he was a fantastic person with a great sense of humour and a heart of gold, and will always be so sorely missed by all who knew him Whenever someone passes away, it's always devastating but to pass away at such a young is heartbreaking. Ashvin sadly passed away at the age of thirty eight in July 2022 due to an aneurysm. 8. Harry Landis (Felix Kawalski, 1995-1997) The third former EastEnders' actor to pass away after reaching the grand age of ninety five, Harry landis played sweet, mild-mannered barber shop owner, Felix Kawalski. EastEnders' fans might remember that Felix wasn't given the most warmest of welcomes and it was a while before anyone frequented what they thought was a rather dated barber shop. Unfortunately worse was to come when thanks to meddling schoolgirls Janine Butcher, Sonia Jackson and Clare Tyler, Felix was the subject of rather unpleasant rumours as the residents speculated about what might be kept in the basement of his barber shop. It all came to light one evening when Clare, who got hurt while snooping in Felix's basement, caused Phil and Grant Michell to jump to conclusions and came close to giving Felix a bashing. Thank goodness Nigel stepped in when he did! But it was eventually revealed that Felix was a Holocaust survivor whose family were missing, presumed dead. What he actually kept in the basement of his shop was a butterfly collection that belonged to his father, and the only thing he had left that reminded him of his family. Sorry for the way they had treated him, the residents made amends and Felix became a much-loved member of the community. When Felix discovered he has a sister who was alive and well and living in Israel, he left Walford behind for a new life in Israel, accompanied by his friend Blossom Jackson... but was there a hint of romance on the horizon for the pair? Landis, like Leonard Fenton, was also from Stepney in East London so he was another real-life eastender! He started his acting career in the 1950s appearing in shows such as Z Cars; Play For Today; Crown Court; Minder and Friday Night Dinner, as well as EastEnders. Landis was also married to actress Hilary Crane who viewers might remember from Eldorado, Tucker's Luck and Accident. Harry Landis passed away in October 2022. 9. Josephine Melville (Tessa Parker, 1986) October 20th Appearing in the very early days of the soap, Josephine Melville played Tessa Parker and was only in EastEnders over the course of a month back in the mid-eighties. Tessa was a friend of Kelvin Carpenter's and the two went to the same college. When Kelvin formed a band (remember The Banned?) with Ian, Sharon and Wicksy, Tessa, who by now was going out with Kelvin, also wanted to join the band but her lack of musical talent meant that no one was keen on letting her be a part of the group. Her romance with Kelvin ended when the two realized that they were on different paths and Tessa then leaves the Square. While Tessa's time in Walford my have been brief, Josephine Melville enjoyed a long career in the arts and entertainment, not only as an actress, but also as a writer and director, and held workshops in her native Essex. A star of stage, screen and radio, Josephine had made appearances in The Bill, Little Miss Jocelyn, Prime Suspect and Pie in the Sky. She also made a return to EastEnders in 2005 to play a character called Ellie Wright for one episode. Josephine Melville passed away very unexpectedly in October 2022 after a stage performance. She was sixty one. 10. Bill Treacher (Arthur Fowler, 1985-1996) Nove One of the lasting acting greats to pass away this year was also the actor responsible for one of the most iconic characters ever to grace Albert Square. Despite his extensive acting career, it's Bill Treacher's role as loveable, allotment-mad Arthur Fowler for which he will forever be remembered. Bill starred in the soap since it began in 1985, and even appeared in EastEnders' very first iconic scene when Arthur, along with Ali Osman and Den Watts, discovered the body of Reg Cox in his flat. Bill created a great character in Arthur, whose most memorable storylines included the theft of the Christmas club money; creating the Flowering Wilderness fund, and not forgetting that shocking affair with Christine Hewitt. Arthur no! Viewers will never forget that very memorable scene when Arthur's furious wife, Pauline, discovered the affair and gave Arthur a whack across the head with a frying pan. Albert Square was never the same when Arthur passed away. But his memory lives on his son Martin and his grandson and namesake, little Arthur. The memorial bench in the Square gardens means that Arthur will always be known to all the newcomers who find their way to Walford, as well as the newer generations of EastEnders' viewers. Bill Treacher had played roles in Bergerac, Grange Hill and Minder before finding fame as Pauline Fowler's hen-pecked husband. And after leaving EastEnders, Bill made appearances in Casualty and The Bill. He passed away in November of this year. At Nostalgia Pie we were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of these actors who provided us with so many years of entertainment; have shown a great deal of dedication to their craft, and provided us with so many wonderful memories. Our thoughts are with their family and friends as they try to come to terms with with the loss of their loved ones. May they all rest in eternal peace x Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

February 5th is National Chocolate Fondue Day here in America - but let's make National Chocolate Fondue Day EVERYWHERE is what we say! Who doesn't like chocolate... Who couldn't like fondue??? We'd say that fondue - be it cheese or chocolate - was and is the ultimate in 'sharing' food. Imagine all your mates sat around a fondue pot, dipping fruit, cake, marshmallows, or bread, cheese, cooked meat, or whatever else you feel like takes your fancy into warm melted cheese or chocolate. Pure bliss - just no double dipping, people! SO WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS FONDUE THING? Chocolate fondue is a dessert that's as deliciously retro as Black Forest gateau or Baked Alaska. Traditionally a fondue is a liquid that's kept hot in a fondue pot with the aid of a candle or a spirit lamp, and it's placed on the middle of the table so that the diners can sit around the table and dip delicious nibbles into the communal pot using long-stemmed forks - very handy for keeping accidents at bay! It's for those who wish to share the fondue love and not one for those who aren't keen on any kind of communal dining experience. Fortunately we love it! SO IT'S NOT THE SAME AS FONDANT THEN? We can see why the two might get mixed up but they're very different things. Fondant is either icing or one of those warm, gooey, melt-in-the-middle chocolate desserts. 'Fondant' and 'fondue' are both similar-sounding French words with the latter being the past particle of the verb fondre, which means to melt. OH SO FONDUE COMES FROM FRANCE? Actually it doesn't! It is however, believed to have hailed from a French-speaking region in Western Switzerland, with the very first published recipe dating back to 1699. Wow! They really knew how to party back then! LOOKS LIKE THEY DID! SO HAS FONDUE ALWAYS BEEN MADE WITH CHOCOLATE? Funnily enough, no, cheese fondues actually came first! Some of the earliest recipes for a delicious cheese fondue were a molten blend of cheese, wine, and in later versions, garlic. Doesn't that just sound heavenly! Despite the earliest recipe for fondue being dated back to the seventeenth century, the recipe for cheese fondue as we know it today was created in 1875 and was already being hailed as the Swiss national dish, but it wasn't until the 1930s that cheese fondue really began to take off around the world. Oh and may we also mention the fondue bourguignonne, where cubes of meat are dipped into hot broth or oil, and then served with various sauces. It was almost as popular as it's cheese counterpart during the 1970s when fondue parties were all the rage! THAT ALL SOUNDS VERY, VERY DELICIOUS BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE? All right, hold your horses! Well while chocolate fondue was created by innovative Swiss chef, the late Konrad ' Konni' Egli, head-chef-turned-owner of the now long-gone restaurant Chalet Suisse, it's birthplace is actually New York City in the early 1960s rather than Switzerland. So the chocolate fondue is as American as chicken and waffles! Egli decided that a dessert version of fondue was a necessary addition to the menu at Chalet Suisse - and we love him for that! And far from chocolate fondue being a short-lived food fad (eggs in aspic, anyone?) it's gone from strength to strength. and it even evolved into the chocolate fountain - the mother of all fondues of which no wedding is complete without! Egli's original chocolate fondue was made with chocolate, cream and kirsch, so it had all the flavours of a Black Forest gateau. How good is that! THAT SOUNDS AMAZINGLY GOOD! BUT WHAT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CHOCOLATE FONDUE AND TOBLERONE? Oh we almost forgot about that! Well when Chalet Suisse was due to reopen in a new location, Egli, being the creative genius that he was, was trying to come up with some out-of-this world culinary masterpieces to add to the menu that he thought would generate a buzz for the restaurant's new launch. Anyway to cut a long story short, Egli was introduced to Beverly Allen, a PR person who was working with Swiss-based chocolate company and trying to create publicity for an unusual chocolate product that was arriving in America. It was a chocolate and nougat bar called Toblerone where each thick, segment that could be snapped off was triangular-shaped, clearly representing the Swiss Alps. Allen and the makers of Toblerone were looking for a unique way to launch the chocolate product in America and wanted to create a real buzz. Before long, Egli came up with the idea for a dessert fondue - although those in the know, especially back in Switzerland, were not entirely convinced. SO IT WAS INITIALLY A FLOP? Not at all! Like green eggs and ham, you should never be so quick to judge something before you've tried it! The recipe was very simple: Toblerone; cream, and kirsch. And it went down an absolute storm. Egli soon had critics eating their words as well as his fondue! And the popularity of this dessert soon took over the world - even in Switzerland! And while we're on the subject of culinary successes, Elgi is also believed to be the mastermind behind the fondue bourguignonne which may have been created in 1956. WHAT DIPPERS DID EGLI SERVE WITH THE CHOCOLATE FONDUE? 'Dippers,' 'dunkers,' 'dunkables' are basically the little morsels of food that you stick on the end of your fork and dip into the pot of molten chocolate goodness. For his chocolate fondue at Chalet Suisse, Egli included: Tiny puff pastries Fresh Mandarin orange segments Little meringues Cake Cubes including pound and angel cake Fresh strawberries Banana slices Many of the above are pretty much staples when it comes to chocolate fondue but of course you can serve whatever takes your fancy. Popular choices include marshmallows; mini doughnuts; bite-sized churros; little pretzels; mini pancakes; nougat, and fruit such as fresh pineapple, mango, raspberries and kiwi fruit. DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CHOCOLATE FONDUE RECIPE CARD! If you enjoyed our Comfort Food feature about Chocolate fondue, you can have a go at making your own in time for National Fondue Day! Download Nostalgia Pie's recipe card which contains a vintage-inspired formula for a fondue that you can modify to suit your tastes by using any flavour chocolate or liquor that you like. You could even infuse the cream with cinnamon or orange peel for extra flavour, or substitute the vanilla extract for rosewater. You could even add the nuts included in this recipe to the actual fondue mix (providing no one has an allergy of course) or add ground freeze-dried raspberry pieces. You could also have a go at recreating the flavours used by Egli in his fondue. But if you are going to use chocolate that contains any 'bits' in it, make sure you don't use it in a chocolate fountain unless the manual specifies that it's all right to do so. The recipe cards are only available to Nostalgia Pie members. But if you're not a member, why not sign up to join our community? That's free too! Photos: Pixabay GIFS: Wix Blog Graphics: Angel Noire

Back in 2020, just before the world went absolutely bonkers, I stumbled upon a TV series that began and ended before I was even born; that I never got to watch as I grew up, and that I had never even heard mentioned before. This TV show was the brainchild of a man who was a legend when it came to British television, having created or written episodes for shows such as The Avengers; The Champions, Bugs and many, many, MANY more! The lockdown gave me the chance to become well-acquainted with this show, and I have to say it made a very difficult time a lot less stressful. And from the very first episode, Lady Killer, I was well and truly hooked! I am of course talking about Thriller - the show with opening credits more sinister and unnerving than that of Tales of the Unexpected, and with more famous faces than Madame Tussauds. Welcome to the wonderful world of Brian Clemens's Thriller... This month, this wonderful TV anthology series with it's well crafted, though macabre and sinister storylines has reached the grand old age of fifty. Yes it was fifty years ago that British viewers first heard those haunting strains of the Thriller theme tune as they settled down to watch a brand new series that dealt with tales of mystery, intrigue and suspense, and was a forerunner for the hugely popular and not too dissimilar Tales of the Unexpected which first aired in 1979. As someone who is a huge fan of anthologies; seventies TV, and the mystery and suspense genre, why it took me so long to discover this huge bar of TV gold is a bit of a mystery in itself! A collection of self-contained episodes where - as the title of the show suggests - each story revolves around themes of murder, crime, suspense or the supernatural. The first episode I ever watched was the gripping Lady Killer starring Barbara Feldon and Robert Powell - in a role as far removed from Jesus of Nazareth as you could get! Powell played the charming con artist and killer, Paul Tanner, who has a chilling motive for marrying a shy, seemingly naïve, young American tourist, Jenny Frifth. As the opening episode to the first ever Thriller series, it didn't disappoint at all and from that moment on, it became my latest seventies TV addiction! I can't put my finger on why it is that I absolutely love Thriller. Perhaps it's the trip back to the seventies. Or because mystery and suspense is my thang! Or maybe it's the tantalizingly well- written storylines. The superb acting maybe? (Who said 'wooden'? How very dare you!) As someone who cannot bear the sight of blood and is left virtually traumatized after watching violent scenes (there's a reason why I usually stick to romcoms!) I love that any violence during the scary parts of Thriller are just insinuated and all blood and gore is kept to a minimum. Whatever the reason may be, the series is highly addictive. Just ask the legion of Thriller fans! Out of the forty three episodes of the show's six series, I've lost count of the number of episodes that I've watched but I know that I still have quite a few that I need to get round to watching. As I've said in previous posts, Thriller fans will have their favourite and not so-favourite episodes (although there's no getting away from the fact that all the episodes are fab!) As I've yet to watch every episode, I can't say what my ultimate favourite episode is - and even after viewing them all, I'm sure I'll still struggle to pick a favourite (yep, the Thriller series is that good!) But out of the ones that I have seen File it Under Fear; Sign it Death; I'm the Girl He Wants to Kill, and In the Steps of a Dead Man are just some that I have enjoyed immensely. No matter how many times I've watched I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill, I still feel that same mounting terror and sense of claustrophobia that I did the first time as I watch the heroine frantically try to escape the clutches of the serial killer who is chasing her. Testament if you ask me, of a good bit of writing, acting and directing! Two of the most talked about Thriller episodes are A Coffin For the Bride and Nurse Will Make it Better. And it's easy to see why - they really are two stand-out episodes in a series of great episodes. What's all the more interesting with Nurse Will Make it Better, is that it was an episode that dealt with the supernatural. As most Thriller fans will know, the supernatural theme didn't prove to be such a hit, so it was eventually dropped in favour of more 'real world' crimes. But Nurse proved to be an excellent episode, with the late and ultra glamourous Diana Dors playing the sinister nurse to perfection. And as for A Coffin For the Bride... Well hands up who saw that coming at the end - because I didn't! And let's face it, anything starring a certain Ms. Mirren is bound to be good. Of course once I discovered this great bit of vintage telly, I couldn't very well keep it to myself, and had to tell everyone about it, especially those I thought would be interested in it like my best friends Pancakes and Jay. My fellow suspense fan Pancakes loved the series just as I knew she would. But as for Jay, well not only did he love it, but he had known about Thriller for quite some time as he already had the box set. Of course he would - should've known! And Thriller has also introduced me to others who are also massive fans of the show, including Thriller superfan, Martin Marshall, whose devotion to the show led to him writing the books A Thriller in Every Corner and In Conversation With Brian Clemens. A Thriller in Every Corner definitely proved to be a real labour of love, as this particular writing endeavour took ten years to complete. Good on you, Martin! Furthermore it was Martin who introduced me to a Thriller forum where the group often participate in Thriller watch-alongs which I partake in whenever I can. Cheers Martin! Furthermore my good friend Jay managed to pick up a copy of the book Brian Clemens' Thriller which contains stories based on five of the show's episodes, including File it Under Fear (one of my faves) and Thriller's first ever TV episode, Lady Killer. It was great to experience these episodes in book form which gave a little more insight and detail. I understand that there is another Thriller anthology book containing more stories from the series, and I cannot wait to add that to my collection. Whenever I review a TV series from years gone by, I always ask if such a show has stood the test of time. Call me biased, but while I know that viewing habits, tastes, and trends change, I think there is still an audience for a quality piece of drama like Thriller. Especially when you compare it to a lot of the drivel that takes up so much screen time! It's also a lovely glimpse into the past acting work done by well-known stars, quite often before they made it big such as Dame Helen Mirren; Donna Mills; Maureen Lipman; Jan Francis; Dennis Waterman and Brian Blessed. Plus for those of us who are into the whole mystery and suspense genre, a series like Thriller would definitely still hold a lot of appeal today. And as we all know, there's a very prominent vintage and retro community worldwide who would wholley embrace Thriller for its amazing seventies clothing, décor, cars and homeware that'll have vintage fanatics drooling! I think all of the above contribute to the charm of the series which still makes it a watchable and interesting show even today. A quality anthology series and a great piece of television history. Happy fiftieth Thriller! Photos: YouTube Blog Graphics: Angel Noire

It's been a very busy summer and it's only about to get busier still! I made my first trip on a plane since lockdown this July when we went to Georgia. And then two weeks later we hopped on a plane again as we headed to... LONDON BABY!!! That's right, after more than three and a half years, The Man and I finally made it back over the Atlantic and all the way home! The last time we were in London was in the spring of 2019. After such a long time it was a very surreal experience being home again. The two weeks just flew by and we didn't get to do a fraction of the things we had planned. So next time, we'll put a lot more care into arranging things. But of course I was happy to be back with family and friends and in the city I still call home. And of course I loved being reunited with my collection of vintage magazines, books, collectables and other bits and pieces. Though contrary to popular belief, we did not head home for the Queen's funeral! THE END OF AN ERA... One of the most notable events of this trip was of course the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. When we booked our tickets for the London trip, Her Majesty was very much alive and we didn't think she'd be going anywhere. Sadly we were wrong about that. The Queen passed away just four days before we flew out, and I did wonder about what the mood of the country would be like as the passing of a reigning monarch is not something that many of us in Britain have experienced as we'd had a queen who had been on the throne for seventy years. Even my mum said that Queen Elizabeth was the only British monarch she'd ever known, as she was crowned queen before my mum was even born! While I didn't queue up for thirteen hours to see Her Majesty's coffin as she lay in state, or stand out in the street as the funeral procession went by, I did sign one of the many condolence books that were laid out for the public to sign, and mine just happened to be in one of my old haunts - Redbridge Library and Museum. While I admit to not being the world's biggest royalist, Her Majesty was someone's mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, as well as the only reigning British monarch any of us had ever known. And I have to say it - she was a pretty fine one! Her Majesty the Queen did an excellent job of serving her country and carrying out obligations - with one of the last being the appointment of the new prime minister, Liz Truss (and how were we to know that just over a month later, we were to have another new prime minister? 2022 has been full of changes all right!) Everyone has memories about the Queen during her reign, regardless of whether they met her in person or not. My mum told me about how she saw the Queen go by her office in Central London during the procession for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. My dad actually got to shake hands with our new reigning monarch, King Charles III (but that's another story!) And as for me, well my little primary school-aged self - along with the rest of the class - had to create a birthday card for Her Majesty, celebrating her fiftieth birthday (or was it her 60th? Maths was never my strong point!) And the best card was going to be sent to the Queen. My card didn't win (clearly art wasn't my strong point either!) and I can't remember who the lucky winner actually was (no doubt they're now telling people about how they designed a birthday card for her) but I do remember our class receiving a letter from Buckingham Palace, thanking us for the card and saying that it was much appreciated by Her Majesty. A friend asked me if that letter was framed and hung up in class. Actually... it wasn't! And I have no idea where it actually got to - perhaps 'Miss' took it home with her. But for me, that's my own personal favourite recollection I have connected to Queen Elizabeth. Once King Charles has his coronation next year, it will mark the beginning of a new era and a new chapter in history. No one knows right now what Britain will look like under the reign of King Charles III just yet but one thing is for sure - Queen Elizabeth II will not be forgotten in a hurry. Rest in peace, Ma'am - and thank you... for everything. x A trip to London is never complete without a visit to my old haunts - for the pure nostalgia of course! One was to book shop Foyles in London where I used to go during my student days and was a hangout for my friends and I when we weren't students - purely for the love of books - and going even further back in time, was where my dad used to go during his student days! This particular visit was to meet up with, dare I say it, a student from my teaching days who I haven't seen since leaving for America. Unfortunately being away from London for so long meant that I lost my bearings and couldn't remember the way to Foyles. And as it happened we bumped into a couple... who were looking for directions to Foyles as the last time they were there was forty years ago! It turns out they were on their way to a wedding but wanted to make a detour to the café at Foyles for a cuppa first (if you ever get the chance, do drop in at the café. Not only do they have amazing beverages but the staff are lovely!) As it turns out the husbands guessed the right way to go to one of London's most famous bookshops, while the wives were left to admit that on this occasion, the boys got it right! I also took a stroll down Ealing Broadway, a place where I went to uni; worked at my last place of employment before heading over to America, and where I met my gang of girlies who have been my bezzie mates for more than twenty years. Ealing always holds lots of special memories for me: uni, work, hanging out with friends, mad nights outs... And you can always get a good bit of shopping done there too! But one of the most awesomest (yeah, probably not a word!) things about this trip - apart from seeing family/framily of course - was meeting the lovely friends I'd made via the wonderful world of blogging! Even though I had started blogging about four years before moving to America, it was only after moving out here that I created something of a community through my blogs, including this one, where I've got to connect with some amazing people who I always knew I'd want to meet up with for a cappucino, or better yet, a few cocktails. I got to meet a few of them this visit, and we really hit it off just as I hoped we would. No longer online friends but friends! Cannot wait to meet up with them again, as well as meet more lovely people from this fab community. Just another reason why I'm so grateful for this site! Photos: Angel Noire GIF: Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

We're well into week of World Cup 2022 is almost over. Who will eventually emerge victorious? At this stage it's hard to say but we think that we can safely say that sadly... It may not be England! We don't mean to be pessimistic but this comes from having our hopes raised and dashed too many times, and still trying to get over the heartache of the previous World/European Cup. Many of us who were born after 1966 have resigned ourselves to the fact that we'll probably never see England lift World Cup trophy in our lifetime. Which makes many of us wish we were born before 1966 just to see this victory! We have however seen England make it to the finals at least three times since 1966 so I suppose we'll just have to console ourselves with that! So, in a bid to cheer up dubious England fans and to instill a sense of hope, We thought we'd share four of our favourite awe-inspiring England World Cup anthems. There was always a great deal of excitement when the official England World Cup songs were released. Us kids would eagerly watch Top Of The Pops to check out the new tune and the feelings of anticipation and excitement were infectious - could this really be England's year? The tradition of the England World Cup songs began in 1966. The songs were released with the approval of the Football Association to coincide with the England national football team's participation in the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. Some of the official songs were surprisingly overshadowed by unofficial songs released around the same time. For the last World Cup in 2018, there was surprisingly no official England World Cup song commissioned for that year, but prior to that, the 2014 offering was Noble England was sung by the late Rik Mayall, who sadly passed away the same year, making the song all the more poignant. So here are four official and unofficial England World Cup anthems that get us into the footballing spirit as we hope that maybe this year, it'll be England's year! 1. Vindaloo, Fat Les Released in 1998, this actually eclipsed the official song (How Does It Feel To Be) On Top Of The World, written by Ian McCulloch and performed by England United (Echo and the Bunnymen, Space, Spice Girls, Simon Fowler.) To be honest it wasn't really much of a surprise as although the England United song is a great tune, it lacked that special something. Whereas Fat Les's Vindaloo was humourous and is exactly the kind of thing you'd sing in the pub after a few pints. Performed by British band Fat Les, the music was written by Blur bassist Alex James while the lyrics were written by Keith Allen (lilly and Alfie's dad!) Although it's mainly just a series of chants and "nah-nah-nahs", the song has remained a cult classic. 2. Three Lions, The Lightning Seeds/Baddiel & Skinner Believe it or not, Fat Les's anthem wasn't the only unofficial tune that year to outdo the official England World Cup song. Three Lions, written by Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, was originally released in 1996 as the official song for UEFA European Championship. It was such a hit, it was brought out again two years later for the World Cup, though not as the official song. Not that it mattered too much because everyone thought it was! And to be honest it's pretty much remained England's anthem for every tournament - the lyrics say it all. It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming - football's coming home... OK so it never does, but we can always hope! 3. World In Motion, New Order feat. The England Squad I don't care what anyone says; this should be the song the players sing before the start of the match not the national anthem (no disrespect.) If ever there was an upbeat number to get you fired up and cause some damage on the pitch, this would be it. The only problem would be that the players would squabble over who should do Barnesy's rap! Released in 1990 for the FIFA World Cup, it was written by New Order and Keith Allen, and topped the charts. This tune is my joint fave along with Three Lions, and brings back so many wonderful memories. How I long for it to be 1990 again! 4. Goldenballs (Mr. Beckham To You) Bell and Spurling OK, so this wasn't actually an official or unofficial song for any football tournament, but rather an ode to David Beckham, who was a fantastic footballer and icon, and the George Best of my generation (but without the excess!) by comedy duo Martin Bell and Johnny Spurling. It was released in 2002 and only got as far as number 25 in the charts, but I still reckon it's a great tune. My then twelve year old brother could not stop singing the chorus which drove us all mad but as I said - top tune! And now - let's see who makes it to the finals! COME ON, ENGLAND!!! DO US PROUD, YOU LIONS!!! Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

Hello everybody and happy new year!!! Here we are - the first post of 2023! We hope that 2023 has got off to a good start for everyone. We're now headed towards the end of January. We know, right - where does the time go! It'll be 2024 before we know it. And talking of new years, we all know that whenever a brand new year starts, you can count on each of us doing at least one of the following: Put our new year's resolutions into actions... while silently wondering how long that will last! Use that new gym membership we got for Christmas... while silently wondering how long that will last and thinking up excuses to the gift-giver for why we're no longer going! Try to make the last bit of that Christmas chocolate stash last longer. Get ourselves a spanky new diary! OK in the twenty first century, diaries and journals have been given something of a technological makeover where apps and digital files have taken over the traditional physical book format. But there are some of us who like to keep it more old school... If you were a teenager in the nineties and beyond, chances are you probably kept a diary. And you probably had one with a lock to keep out prying eyes! I had my first diary from the age of eleven, and since then I've always had a diary, a journal, an organizer or a planner of some kind. I won't lie, as a teenager my diaries were filled with typically teenage angst-ridden musings, ponderings, and rants. Though when things were super bad (well super bad for a teenager anyway) I deliberately chose to gloss over the not-so-great stuff! But I don’t recall ever having one with a lock (although I did want one!) and I didn’t wrap a hundred hair bands around it either – I kind of figured that that wasn’t going to stop anyone from breaking and entering! Some kids used to write or use stickers that said 'Private' or 'Keep Out' all over the front of their diary because if you didn't have a lock, that was guaranteed to stop people from poking their nose into your business! I remember during one of our life skills classes when we were about eleven, the subject of keeping diaries came up. One of my classmates revealed that she would happily keep her diaries so that she could look back over them when she was much older (which would be now!) While another classmate was horrified at the thought saying that she always threw out her diaries when the year ended and she got a new one, as she hated the thought that someone might get their on hands on it at some point. While she had a valid argument, I can't now help wondering how long she'd been keeping diaries for if she was eleven at this point... and also what kind of secrets would someone below the age of ten have! What exactly would she write about in this diary of hers? Woke up at 8am... Didn't want to go to school... Had a row with Mum because she made Smiley Faces for dinner but I wanted spaghetti hoops... Yep - real top secret stuff! Though I actually agreed with Girl 1 and planned on keeping my diaries, I went the way of Girl 2 and lost pretty much all of mine even though I don't really remember throwing them away - but somehow I lost them anyway. As I got older, I stopped recording my daily events, feelings and who had seriously peed me off, and it became more about reminders of appointments and other things I needed to do (which is clearly a sign of age if you ask me!) I still keep diaries or journals but these days it's more about reminders and self-care pointers rather than friends I've fallen out with, new clothes I want to buy from Top Shop, or secret crushes (my husband will be very pleased to hear that!) WHY DID I LIKE DIARIES SO MUCH? I don't really know why I loved diaries and journals as much as I did. I just did! Maybe it's because it made me feel super grown up and dare I say it - successful. After all, I grew up in the 1980s, the 'yuppy' era. And what was the yuppy's most coveted possesion besides their oversized brick-like phone? The all-important Filofax of course! So diaries, especially the ones that were made to look like kiddy-version Filofaxes, were definitely right up my street. Plus it made me feel very organized - and believe me organization doesn't come easily to me. Not even in adulthood! So it made me feel very important and as though I was on top of all my duties and social events... like remembering to buy the latest Sweet Valley High book; noting down when New Kids On The Block were appearing on Wogan, or watching the next episode of EastEnders! On the whole, I was pretty good at keeping a diary. There were some years where I managed to fill it in almost every day religiously. Then there were years when there’d be nothing written after March! But I definitely had a fondness for diaries, and it was what I looked forward to at the end of every year - getting a brand new diary to fill in at the beginning of the new year. Even though I tended to buy my own diaries myself, there were a few years where I knew that one of the beautifully-wrapped Christmas gifts under the tree contained a book in which I would later write all of my inner-most thoughts, courtesy of one of my friends who knew about my penchant for diaries. And one year I actually bought myself two diaries because I couldn’t choose between them – how’s that for an addiction? I mean dedication! I also really liked the ‘extras’ that came with the diary. These were the additional pages that contained interesting and useful information and pages for you to fill in as well as stickers and things for you to pretty up your diary. Whenever I got a new diary, I'd take my time studying all the interesting 'extra pages' and the layout of the diary section (yep, definitely had too much time on my hands as a kid!) before sitting down and earnestly filling in that all-important 'About' page that asked for information about your hair and eye colour; your hobbies and interests as well as the name of your best friend (which let's be honest, at that age could well change at any given moment!) DO I STILL KEEP DIARIES? Well... Yes and no! I still buy and use diaries but not in the way I used to as a teenager. I was probably in my early twenties when I stopped using a diaries as a vehicle to record my most private thoughts. Partly because I realized that my thoughts weren't worth remembering in the future, and partly because I couldn't be bothered to write in them every day! I also think that at the time I harboured ambitions about being the next Pepys. However when I look back, I really don’t think that there’s anything in them that would have made people want to read them five hundred years later. So it went no further than jotting down notes and reminders which is pretty much what I do today. But even so, at the end of every year, going diary shopping to select a new diary for the forthcoming year is an absolute must! DIARIES TODAY Today, I’m not sure that people keep diaries the way they used to. I used to manage a stationary shop and I’ve lost count of the number of organizer inserts and diaries that we had to reduce to almost nothing in order to get them out of the shop once we reached March. A lot of these would eventually end up getting binned. It’s hardly surprising – modern technology has made it so that we don’t need old-style diaries or organizers anymore. Our mobile phones perform all these kinds of functions and more, making it unnecessary for us to buy a book to scribble down reminders and our thoughts. It’s a real shame because to me, using your mobile phone – as practical and convenient as it may be – it’s just not the same. I find it so impersonal. There’s nothing quite like putting pen to paper, and holding an actual book in your hand. Yep, I can't help it... I'm just so old-school! But that said there has to be a market for old schoolers like me judging by the number of diaries and planners that I see on shelves of stationary shops come September each year. There's so many of them and I really am spoilt for choice because despite treating myself to two in the past, these days I know I can only have one! A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS So that's my story with diaries. And here are some of my favourite and most memorable ones: 1. DINKY DIARY If you were a British teenager in the late eighties and early nineties, you'd know that along with Neighbours, Home and Away, and Kylie and Jason, Australia's other hottest export that took Britain by storm was... Dinky Diary! My first ever diary, Aussie teens had got in on the act a bit before us, mid-eighties maybe, but once we had discovered Dinky Diary, there was no stopping us! And I think that this is where my fascination with diaries began. As far as diaries went, Dinky Diary was pretty spectacular. More than just a diary, it was a full on organizer and I'm sure it wasn't just me who felt very grown up carrying it around as though we had an exorbitant amount of information to either jot down or be reminded of instantly! It was like a fold out book with a thick, hardback magnet cover that opened up into 3 sections: one for notes; the obligatory diary section; and a homework journal. It also came with stickers and these were all used with the utmost of care! The cover and pages would be adorned with illustrations of Australian wildlife such as kangeroos, possums and koalas. So cute! Dinky Diaries, which were made by an Australian company Debden Associates, were very brightly coloured and were available in hot pink, blue, yellow, orange, purple and possibly red. Maybe even green. I remember mine being purple while my sister nabbed the hot pink one. It really was a craze among teenagers, and at my school just about every pupil had one, and these would often adorn our desks like ornaments so all our classmates would know which colour we'd all selected. Why they were never confiscated I don’t know as I’m sure we spent more time fussing around with them than we did paying attention to the teacher. I don’t think that Dinky Diaries or anything that closely resembles them are available any more which is such a shame because more than two decades on, I’m sure there’s a new generation of young 'uns who’d love them just as much as we did. 2. HALLMARK JOURNAL These were tiny little square pocket diaries that could quite easily fit in the palm of your hand. I could be wrong but I don't remember buying it. And by that I don't mean that I snuck it into my pocket and walked out the shop! I think the journal was given to customers for free with certain purchases. Well at least that's what I believe my local stationers were doing. These weren't diaries to write your inner most thoughts in as they were so small but rather just to jot down important events such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. I also love that there was a section that informed you about what each anniversary was represented by. E.g - First anniversay, paper second anniversary - wood etc. Although as weddings for my friends back then were a long way off, I don't know why I needed to know such information. And I'm pretty sure there was also information about make-up tips. If I'm wrong, then there's another diary I had that should be on this list! 3. LETTS' GIRLS' DIARY The Letts' diary for girls was a slimline pink book with photgraphed or illustrated images on the cover which had a pencil tucked away in the spine. I think this might have been the only diary I ever had that came complete with something to write with. Great USP! However others have said that Dinky Diary DID come with a pen! Hmm... Not sure I remember that. And if it did... then what happened to my pen??? I bought the girls' diary in the early nineties and as it was aimed at young ladies, it typically contained pages that appealed to girls. Funny that! So there was information on diet, beauty, fashion, socialising etc. I loved all these extras that came along with this diary as I felt that it made this diary what it was. Letts could have just created a pink diary with pretty pages to fill in but they gave us so much more. And what I loved most were the weird and wonderful real life stories as well as self-defence tips which I still remember to this day. I loved it! Check out our forthcoming post on another one of my favourite diaries - the FunFax organizer! Did you keep a diary as a teenager? Do you still keep one now? Let us know! Photos: Pixabay Blog Graphics: Angel Noire

There's going to be a new feature here at Nostalgia Pie, all inspired by my lifelong love of reading - and the books from my childhood that I've been able to rescue! I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I absolutely adore books and think that they are so precious. And by books I mean the object that has a cover, a spine and numerous pages! Digital and audiobooks are fine and while I don't have any issue with them and see the advantages, to me, actual books in it's physical form are very special. And with my own personal belief that they will soon go the same way as newspapers and magazines, I've made it my mission in life to rescue as many as I can - that are of interest to me anyway - especially those from my childhood and teenage years. I have no idea how old I was at the time but I'm guessing that my love of reading began the moment I picked up my very first book. As I grew older, I remember my mum always having to tell me off most nights as I refused to turn out the lights and go to sleep. It was far more important for me to read another page and then another chapter (and sometimes pretty much the whole book!) rather than go to sleep. I always feel that my book addiction was something I got from my dad who loved reading, and even had his own little reading nook. While the cookery books belonged to my mum, the rest were very much Dad's, and soon I started adding to the collection of books in the house. I was the easiest kid in the family to buy birthday and Christmas presents for because everyone knew that they couldn't go wrong with a book - and they were right! Scribbling all over Dad's copy of Flowers For Mr. Harris when I was about four! And it's because I grew up surrounded by books that anything related to books are very much my happy place. I could spend all day every day in a library or bookshop - the quainter and cozier the better! Even the ladies at my local thrift shop know which section of the store I tend to gravitate towards... And it's very rare for me to leave without purchasing a good few books! And now that we're renovating and decorating our house (which should have been completed ages ago but - you know how it is!) I will most definitely be setting aside a space to create my very own, cosy reading nook. I still remember many of the titles that my parents used to own as well as books that I'd either purchased myself or that I was given as gifts when I was growing up. I have fond memories of purchasing books as a child via the school book club. If you went to primary school in the eighties, you'd know what I'm talking about. You'd get a little card that you'd fill up with stamps that you'd purchase from 'Miss' whenever your pocket money would allow. And then every so often, there would be a book fair where you can pick up as many books as your stamps would enable you to do so. And then as I got older, I found another way of sourcing new books. Remember those book clubs you'd find advertised in magazines where there would be fantastic offers such as buy four books for 99p each? Well I didn't realise how these book clubs worked - that the 99p thing was just the introductory offer to reel you in, and then you had to buy a certain number of books a year at either full or a slightly discounted price (certainly not 99p though!) Anyway where these book clubs were concerned, let's just say that in the words of Frank Spencer, I had a little bit of trouble, and it took a very kind aunt to bail me out. I soon learned my lesson! I wonder whatever happened to those book clubs... The A level years! Over the years, many of the books that I remember on our bookshelves at home either got lost or were so tatty that they got thrown out (we didn't really go in for recycling in those days!) But thankfully many of them have survived, and I've even managed to bring some of them back to America with me. I love this because I feel as though I'm surrounded by well-loved pieces from my childhood. And I've even been lucky enough to have stumbled upon books we once had and naturally - I snapped them up. There's plenty more at home which I plan on bringing back with me. And in case anyone thinks I'm depriving my family of their book collection, well reading isn't much of a pastime for them anymore with the telly and YouTube being their main sources of entertainment these days. If it were up to members of my family, those books would have been given away years ago. So I think it's safe to say that those books are of great sentimental and literary value to me and me alone. One of my favourite authors, Erich Segal Books are more than just the brilliant literary works of art or information that they were intended to be. For me they're memories. In the same way a piece of music or a particular scent can take some people back to another time, books transport me back to my younger years and certain past events. Every time I see a book we once owned, I'm reminded of my early years growing up in East London; of family gatherings and infant or junior school days. Enid Blyton books remind me of the days when I was learning to read (and those school book fares!) To Kill a Mockingbird takes me back to studying for my GCSEs, while Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit remind me of stressful A level times! I'm back to my mid-teens again when I pick up a Mills and Boon novel (which is when I started reading them!) Erich Segal's Doctors reminds me of the four months I spent in India, as I reread the Reader's Digest version of that goodness knows how many times, and the mere mention of a Sweet Valley High book... and I'm back in the nineties again! And Danielle Steel novels... well they remind me of those pesky book clubs! Books are my very own time machine. People may not understand my fascination with them, especially a lot of the much older titles that take pride of place in my home. I'm always being told that digital books are what's in now, and while I don't doubt how true that is, give me an actual book any day. I won't be parting with my collection for anything. The Fella sometimes jokingly (he better be!) tells me that he's going to use my books as kindling for our new wood burning stove. Ha! I'd like to see him try! Can you guess what my favourite genre is??? Being surrounded by all these wonderful books and happy memories gave me the idea to come up with a regular book review feature for Nostalgia Pie; giving you an insight into some of the titles that adorn my bookshelves and why they're very special to me. Perhaps these are books you once had or still have. maybe they're novels you haven't read in a very long time, and I might just inspire you to pick them up again. Or maybe it'll send you scurrying off to your local, friendly second-hand book dealer who might just have that title in stock - Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley anyone??? The early nineties when we all went Darling Buds mad! And to celebrate this momentous occasion, each person who signs up to become a member of Nostalgia Pie, will get a free reading log and planner. But don't worry if you're already a member as it will be available for you to download from our members' freebies page, with a printer-friendly version also available which uses a lot less printer ink for those of you who wish to be as old school as me and actually print out the pages to pop into a ring binder. Happy reading, everyone! And what is going to be the first book we review? Watch this space... Or should it be read this space? Photos: Pixabay Blog graphics: Angel Noire