Advantages: increase stamina, stability, safety while walking on any terrain
Disadvantages: you might not want to use them round sainsbury's

...Following an appointment with my consultant today it looks like I will be fit enough to go hiking again in 3-4 weeks , around the start of august. Obviously I’m going to have to build up slowly, so partly to celebrate and partly to assist my training; and follow the Drs advice I have treated myself to a pair of trekking poles. For those of you who don’t really know what these are I will explain. They are a bit like walking sticks and are used to lessen the load on the ligaments and muscles when hiking, particularly when laden. Some people use 1 and others use 2. I intend to use 2 for maximum support and assistance. As a rule of thumb if you’re walking easy terrain with no load, one pole is frequently sufficient. If, on the other hand, you’re walking on varied terrain or carrying a load the advice is to use 2 as not only do you get... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant laugh, novelty factor
Disadvantages: Pricey as exercise class, the aches & pains, the neighbours wanting a demonstration in the back garden.....

...I recently went to my sister's Hen Do. This, in itself, is not all that unusual as she is about to get married for the THIRD time. (Our Dad is banned from using the word "again" in his Father-of-the-Bride speech!) What was slightly novel was that included in the itinerary for our day was a Pinkkiss Pole Dancing Class *gulp*… Now I had been told that Pole Dancing is very good for toning and fitness and it is regarded as a credible exercise form. I'm not sure, however, that 16 girls/women in the tipsy state we were in, doing ANYTHING could be considered a healthy pursuit. No matter the alcohol definitely helped to reduce our inhibitions and we were all game to have a go. Our particular lesson took place in a club in Edinburgh near the Playhouse Theatre (I think it was called C.C. Bloom's.) I found it a bit weird going... Read review

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Advantages: The pole comes with a good spares package.
Disadvantages: Heavy and slightly floppy at full length.

...The 12.5 metre Shimano Aero Match Pole. This pole has been out for quite a while now, and it was rolled on the famed 12.5 metre ex mandrel. This pole is a good all rounder, that has a good spares package. Mine came with three spare top three's, and a match top three with the pole. Giving you four top three's in total. of which two were power tops and two were match tops. The two match tops have a elastic rating of 1-8 The power tops have a elastic rating of 8-16, of which I only use the 10-12 through all three sections. As with all midd price range poles, they are heavy at full length, and slightly floppy. This pole is no different, but I have found that I can still use it with ease at full length. If you take one section off and use it at eleven metres, I find it a dream pole which is light, stiff and extremely... Read review

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Advantages: Reduces impacting of knee joints
Disadvantages: No free hands

...Last week I walked the 80 mile Great Glen Way across Scotland from Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east. The walk is mainly flat although I\'d say about 25% of it is up and down some fairly big hills. I had never used walking poles before last week and seeing as I had not walked a long distance walk for nearly 10 years I thought I would give these particular pair a go, given they had such a good review from Miskah. Well I\'m very happy to say they were outstanding and I cannot recommend them highly enough to other long distance walkers - this is what I did on the way last week in fact to quite a number of non-walking pole walkers ! After the 5 day walk I was expecting to come home with a limp and a bit of difficulty walking for several days after - well that just has not happened as the poles have reduced the forces... Read review

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Advantages: Bigger and better than everything else
Disadvantages: You'll not want anything lesser

...When I first saw ten foot pole, the pleasure I felt inside was unreal, I never imagined it could be so good, the crowd went wild. I only originally went because my friend begged me too, so I went along to see what all the fuss was about I wasn't disappointed, it was amazing I've never been so tired in all my life. After I had recovered and it did take a while I went out and bought this so I could experience some Ten Foot Pole in my home. I like to call the tracks on the album the 12 different ways to enjoy pole, as each track on the album is refreshingly different, 1.: Getaway Getaway, I wish I could after experiencing this I was out for the count it was so intense, amazing. Dennis was probably the strongest performer here. 2.: Hammering Out The Details This one was great again, it was different, not as intense as Getaway... Read review

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Advantages: Can be put in the washing machine
Disadvantages: it looks so good you'll want to redecorate

...I recently went to Ikea to make a few purchases. One of the things I came home with that wasn't on my original list was this shower curtain. I 'needed' a new one, wanted one that was macine washable and it had to go with the colour of my bathroom - teracotta. This one has all three. It was indeed new, I took it out of the packet myself. It is machine washable (see the additional information below) and it has colours that go with my bathroom and also adds a splash of contrasting colour too. The one thing I didn't notice at the time was that it didn't come with curtain hooks provided. I should have purchased some at the same time but luckily the ones I were already using were clear plastic so I could re-use them for this curtain. The colours in it are fab. Although my bathroom suite is teracotta with cream flooring... Read review

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Advantages: It's Hitchcock
Disadvantages: But not at his best

...Torn Curtain is an Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed film released in 1966 which starred Paul Newman and Julie Andrews as Professor Michael Armstrong and his assistant/fiancé Sarah Sherman with support from Wolfgang Kieling, Lila Kedrova, Hansjorg Felmy, Ludwig Donath, Carolyn Conwell, Gisela Fischer and Gunter Strack. Professor Armstrong is engaged to his assistant Sarah Sherman and the films starts off with them on board a ship to Copenhagen where Armstrong is due to give a presentation. Whilst in Copenhagen Sarah finds Michael acting suspiciously and discovers that he has bought a plane ticket to East Germany and she gets on the same flight to join him without his knowledge only to arrive at their destination and find out that he had defected to Eastern Europe. She is horrified and feels he is a traitor but she decides... Read review

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Advantages: Looks aboslutly wonderful
Disadvantages: Tangles very easily when put away

...My mother bought a set of these lights last year from her local Argos store in Doncaster in South Yorkshire. These lights are extremly beautiful and can enhance the beauty of the home wonderfully over the festive period. Curtain lights are starting to become increasingly popular too as art decor in more modern homes too. I wenr to visit one home and they had them all along the wall of thier dining room and looked quite effective. One word of warning! Putting these lights away can be a nightmare as they tangle so easily as my poor mother found ouf for herself last year. So if you are planning on buying some of these please take extra care putting them away to hopefully avoid tangling. Curtain lights are now coming in a few more designs and are also available in a plain white or multi-coloured lighs. They seem... Read review

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Advantages: Has some new music inc a nice end-of-career song
Disadvantages: Most of it is old songs (well, it is a greatest hits album)

...We had The Show, we had the Encore, now its time for the Curtain Call. As the expression goes, all great things must come to an end. This is the end of an era for one of rap's, and music's, biggest stars. In my opinion, he was one of the biggest stars of the music industry over the past decade, singing with the likes of Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and also 50 cent. I grew fond of listening to his vocal talents ever since i heard him for the first time ( The Real Slim Shady). Now for the album review. 1 - Intro 6/10 The CD begins with another one of eminems concert style intros. This one has more of a 60's romantic style music, however, nothing special in this. 2 - FACK 8/10 This is one of the few tracks he sang especially for this album. He sings from a mans perspective about having sex with a woman and how he likes to f**k f**k f... Read review

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Advantages: Excellently written, an epic adventure
Disadvantages: It's crying out for an update ten years on!

...It is truly amazing how much the social and political shape of the world has changed in the last 10 years. You simply don’t realise how much progress (whether for good or for bad) has been made in the last decade, and sometimes the simple act of reading a book brings it all home. At least, this is the experience I had when I decided to pick up ‘Pole to Pole’ again a few weeks ago. The BBC series that Michael Palin’s book accompanies was screened on BBC digital TV when I was back in Britain for Christmas, and I watched a couple of episodes, mainly because I had been given the book some years ago and vaguely remembered that the programmes themselves had been quite interesting. I simply can’t have been paying attention the first time around, or maybe it was because the events described were then so recent... Read review

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