Afternoon tea has been around since the 1700s when it was created by Anna 7th Duchess of Bedford to counteract ‘that sinking feeling’ that she experienced in the afternoon. However, not until recent years has it become such a fashionable phenomenon that it’s virtually de rigueur for everyone from fashion week style mavens, to hen and stag dos, and those entertaining elderly relatives.

The traditional afternoon tea as we know it goes a little something like this: sandwiches traditionally filled with cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese, cheese and pickle or ham and mustard, a plate of warm scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and finally, a selection of cakes, pastries, patisserie and/or tarts, all of which are consumed with oodles of tea and perhaps also the odd glass of champagne. Are your tastebuds tickled yet?

Thanks to the popularity of the afternoon tea tradition, the range of options available in a city like London is pretty broad. To begin with, you have the big guns of the afternoon tea brigade – The Ritz, The Langham, Claridges, The Churchill, The Savoy and The Dorchester are some of the most traditional heavyweights. Opt for afternoon tea at one of these venerable establishments and you will find tinkling piano sounds, softly carpeted floors, exquisite china and the kind of white-gloved service that demonstrates centuries of tradition. These are the priciest options on the afternoon tea market, costing upwards of £50 for a single champagne tea – on the up side, when you’re paying these prices most high end tea rooms will refill every plate for as long as you can continue eating, so you can eat for a week (or take a doggy bag home with you).

The alternative to the grandest of afternoon teas is the contemporary afternoon tea – the new breed of establishments where you’re just as likely to find wasabi in the sandwiches and green tea in the scones. At the perennially fashionable Met Bar the ‘Brit Rocks and Teapots’ afternoon tea takes the trendy up a notch with mini pork pies, served with homemade Piccalilli on the side and a mini crumpet, with English cheddar and tangy onion chutney; whilst at the Sanderson there’s the Mad Hatter’s Tea, where you will be served timepiece shaped cheesecakes and hot and cold lollipops on a wonky cake stand. Expect to pay upwards of £29 for these teas, with a little more reticence when it comes to refilling the plates or making up doggy bags – but the opportunity of a cocktail instead of the tea.

And finally, who says afternoon tea has to be about the full works? If you, like many of us, have attempted the full cake stand only to find yourself lying bloated on the sofa several hours later wishing you hadn’t had that last scone, then there are the casual afternoon tea spots where tea and cake, welsh rarebit, ice cream sundaes and English muffins offer a cheaper and less filling alternative to the full three course sandwich-scone-cake scenario. Top of the list is The Wolseley cream tea, closely followed by consuming buttered crumpets or fancy cakes in the dark boudoir-like atmosphere of the Dean Street Townhouse tea room, and finally, Fortnum & Mason’s Fountain Restaurant which serves a Knickerbocker Glory that dates back to 1955.

Whatever your preference when it comes to preventing ‘that sinking feeling’ around 3pm in the afternoon, thanks to the growth of the afternoon tea phenomenon you’re going to be spoiled for choice. The only problem you’re likely to face now is deciding which is the option for you.

Explore afternoon tea deals in your city on Deal Zippy:

iPads and iPhones are some of the hottest gadgets on the market today. However, one of the best things about investing in one of these top devices is that a whole industry has grown up around them providing useful and stylish accessories to enable you to get even more out of your favourite gadgets. Here is a quick look at some of the best iPad accessories and iPhone accessories currently on the market.

iPad Accessories

Griffin CinemaSeat

iPads have given parents a way to keep kids occupied on long journeys, and with the Griffin CinemaSeat you can strap your iPad onto the back of your seat, turning it into a TV screen so they can watch films for the entire journey. It also functions as an iPad case to keep your iPad safe and scratch free.

Apple Smart Cover

One of the best accessories of all comes from Apple itself. The Smart Cover is a thin and stylish cover that keeps your iPad in good condition and folds up to create a stand for watching films or typing. It also turns the device on and off on its own when it is opened or closed.

Aluminium Case with Bluetooth Keyboard

This useful case from MyTouchScreen is a three-in-one solution for your iPad, providing you with a stand, a durable case and a keyboard for typing. Typing on the iPad’s touchscreen is never as comfortable as on a real keyboard, so this makes typing easy. It is also lightweight and very stylish, and the rechargeable battery lasts for up to 45 hours on a single charge.

Wacom Bamboo Stylus

If you prefer to interact with your iPad in a more familiar way, you can use this excellent stylus. It is specially designed for artists, and allows you to convert your iPad into a sketchpad. It only works with a few artistic apps, but it is very sensitive and produces excellent results.

iPhone Accessories

Amphibx Go Waterproof Case

After spending all of that money on a new iPhone, you will want to make sure that you keep it safe. This case allows you to take your iPhone underwater whilst keeping it completely protected. You can even use the touchscreen at the same time so that you can operate the camera and MP3 player.

Electricity Free Bamboo Speaker

There are many speakers for iPhones, but this is one of the best. Made from natural bamboo, it converts your iPhone into a speaker without using any electricity – how’s that for an eco product? Because it is made from a natural product, every speaker is unique, and it will also provide an attractive natural ornament when it is not in use.

Shockproof Case

If you are worried about dropping your precious iPhone, you can get yourself a shockproof case to keep it in great condition no matter how many times it slips from your grasp. This case has been tested from heights of six feet, and it can also provide protection from the rain, dust and sand, so you can take your precious iPhone with you wherever you go without fear of damaging it.

SnapGrip

The iPhone has a fantastic camera built into it, but if you want to produce even better pics you may want to invest in the SnapGrip. This clips onto the iPhone and provides you with far more functionality, making your phone look more like a mini SLR than a simple point-and-shoot. It certainly makes sense of those who don’t want to invest in a separate camera.

Get More from Your iPad and iPhone

These are just some of the excellent accessories available for the iPad and iPhone that can help you to add style and functionality to your gadgets. Try them out for yourself, and get even more from your favourite Apple products.

You don’t need to be a true blue, dyed in the wool, John Bull patriot to know that England has some fantastic sights to see and fascinating things to do, but sometimes it does help to have a little local knowledge to winkle out the real gems. That’s why Visit England have launched their new Facebook competition with a ’101 things to do before you go abroad’ page, inviting anyone to propose their favourite sites and sights, and offering some great holidays as prizes for those lucky enough to make the final list.

Visitors to the page can vote for their favourite English holiday ideas, activities and destinations, and – who knows – put up a suggestion yourself and you may be in the running for a prize. There are ideas suitable for short breaks or longer trips, and for city-based activities right through to stunning wilderness scenery. There’s no single perfect holiday that suits everyone, but there’s no shortage of variety on offer, either. Discover plush hotels and spas for a pamper weekend, head out to the wilds for some rugged mountain biking, pony trekking and canoeing, or simply rent a car and tour some of the most beautiful gardens in the country.

The Facebook page opens with an interactive map of England, allowing you to search for holiday experiences by region or theme, with colourful icons pinpointing the best locations. The themes include food and drink, history and heritage, arts and culture, wildlife and nature, health and fitness, and the rather intriguingly titled ‘Because it’s awesome’ category. There’s something for every taste, so why not log on and discover something new or share your favourite bijou beaches, hospitable hotels and stunning scenery? It’s only by those ‘in the know’ sharing their favourite places that they can become better known and more people become able to experience the incredible diversity and quality of England’s countryside, small towns and cities. Activities on offer stretch from high-brow culture through extreme sports to pure unadulterated fun, so there is plenty to choose from whether you prefer intellectual or outdoor pursuits.

Front runners in the voting so far include the Black Country Living Museum, Ice Skating on the Fens and Code-breaking at Bletchley Park, but with the competition open until March 1st there’s still plenty of time to submit your ideas for a chance at winning one of six themed English getaways. Even placing a vote for an existing suggestion could win you an English Weekend Getaway. The competition is open to anyone of 18 years or older, and six entries are allowed per person.

Whatever your take on life and your taste in holidays, there is enough to see and do in England to seriously consider making it a ‘staycation’ this year, and once you have visited ’101 things to do before you go abroad’ you won’t be short of ideas, either.

Here at Deal Zippy we crunch a lot of data on the UK daily deals business. We process deals from over 30 UK deal sites which means hundreds of deals everyday. That means we’re able to serve up a great deal shopping experience to our visitors but also means we’re privy to some really interesting data on the state of the fast moving deals business.

We’ve been crunching the numbers on the last 12 months of deals we’ve seen from the top UK deal sites to bring you this infographic showing the highs and lows of the industry. We hope you find it useful. If there’s any specific data you need for a blog post, news story or research project please feel free to get in touch with us on press [@] dealzippy.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help.

12 Months in the UK Daily Deals Industry – An infographic by the team at Deal Zippy

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In the current economic climate everyone is looking for savvy ways to save money, whether on a day to day basis or money saving tips when on your holidays.   With a little bit of forethought and planning there are many ways to save money when on holiday.

• Consider booking early.  Trailfinders have reported that the best time to book is 11 months in advance when flights have just been released and there are plenty of cheaper seats available.  Of course you can always leave it until the last minute when airlines and tour operators sell off unsold seats and hotel rooms, but this can be a little risky and can severely limit your choice.

• Consider travelling at unsociable times.  Travelling at night or off peak can be much cheaper than day flights. If it’s possible, avoid school holidays.  By travelling at off peak times there will be fewer crowds and some great deals.  You should bear in mind that if taking night flights involves extra accommodation at the airport, it may increase the cost.

• If you have a close family or group of friends why not consider sharing the cost and booking a large villa or cottage.  This not only gives you the benefit of group reductions but there will always be someone who is interested in doing the same things as you.

• Houseswaps offer cost free accommodation.  You swap your home with someone from, well literally anywhere else in the world.  You give your guests access to both your home and your car and vice versa.  An alternative which may not suit everyone, but is certainly worth considering if you want to see a particular country on a budget but still have relative home comforts.

• Avoid excess baggage charges by travelling light.  We always take far too many things on holiday.  Once you have laid out everything you plan to take, half the quantity.  You won’t miss the items and you won’t run the risk of being charged excess baggage charges.  It’ll also leave room for those inevitable souvenirs.

• When travelling by air, if your meals are not all inclusive, consider taking your own food onto the plane.  With the exorbitant costs charged by budget airlines for inflight meals it’s easy to save money by making a packed lunch or even buying one of the meal deals from a certain high street store found in every airport.

• Organise your holiday money before you go.  Avoid changing money at airports and if you do need to change money in resort, shop around before you buy.  Commission free does not mean profit free.  Check the rates and exactly what you will be getting for your pound.

• When in resort, track down local restaurants and bars.  Not only will it give you a real flavour of the country but the food will usually be good.  I always live by the motto, if the locals are eating there, then it’s worth trying.

These are just a few money saving tips to make your money go further when on your holidays, but more importantly just relax and enjoy yourself. You’ve deserved it!

Birmingham is probably the last city tourists consider when exploring England. The first thing that comes to mind, obviously, is London. But the sad truth is that millions of other people think the same thing. So what happens? London ends up being overcrowded with hardly any room to walk from point A to point B. Little do they know that the real fun lies about 100 miles northwest of the capital. This post is for you travellers who love experiencing the unique parts of a city that turn into stories you can tell for years to come!

Paintballing

National Paintballing Fields, just outside Birmingham, are a 200 acre action-packed paintballing heaven. The field is movie themed and proves to be quite the adventure making it world-famous. The Hollywood-like field offers complete days with interactive military simulation and role play. Bring your friends and family along to the resort and you won’t regret it!

Cadbury World

Yes, it is exactly what you think! Cadbury World attracts around half a million chocolate-lovers each year. Dive into the chocolatey-goodness to discover the history of Cadbury and learn more about the chocolate. It will be like chocolate heaven—and yes, you guessed it, free samples!

Science Museum

The Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum is four floors of science-madness! With over 200 hands-on exhibits and artefacts, the Thinktank has ten themes of galleries and inspiring learning—fun for all ages! It ranges in exhibits from large aircrafts to nanotechnological projections.

SEA LIFE Centre

Birmingham’s National SEA LIFE Centre walks you through a glass tunnel to give you an undersea voyage that you won’t forget! The one million litre ocean tank consists of giant green sea turtles and tropical fish that are inches from your face! Oh and you can’t forget about the black reef sharks that are the leaders of the ocean tank.

Jewellery Quarter

Hop on down to the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and peek into the Pen Room Museum with your loved one. Be careful though, the females can start admiring your wallet more passionately than they do you! The Jewellery Quarter also has the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter—consisting of several art galleries for you to indulge your abstract side in. You’ll end up spending the whole day here if you’re not careful!

The Public

The Public is a building open to explore for all creative individuals looking to get inspired. The iconic art venue is home to stylish interactive art exhibits. Head over to the Public to enjoy talented exhibitions, music, comedy, and theatre and movie screenings. Have a refreshment at the Café Bar with illuminated floor lights. Lighting is a key theme throughout the Public with different floors portraying unique lighting effects. If you’re in for a mysterious yet inspiring experience, the Public is the place for you!

Parks

Want to have a relaxing summer day with your family? Stop by at the Sutton Park—one of the largest urban parks in Europe. Who would want to go to London’s Richmond Park when you have Birmingham’s Sutton Park? Spreading out over 2,400 acres of lakes, greenery, and a golf course, there is no better place to relax than Sutton Park.

Just around the corner from Birmingham’s city centre is Cannon Hill Park. You’ll find the Birmingham Nature Centre and Midlands Arts Centre here. It’s the perfect time to head over to Cannon Hill to hire pedal boats and view the beautiful city from the lake.

Now that you think of it, you’ll need weeks to pack in Birmingham’s galleries, museums, chocolate indulges, and parks. There should be no excuse to visit the underrated city. Accommodation shouldn’t be a problem as there are tons of Birmingham Hotels spread throughout the city. So what are you waiting for? Birmingham may not be the capital, it may not be hosting the Olympic Games, but it is an experience—an experience you can’t miss!

Collectively, women pay an enormous amount of money a year on beauty – and men are starting to follow suit. This isn’t really a ground-breaking concept, but the ways in which they are doing it is certainly changing. No longer are potions, gels and toners enough to keep skin looking as young and healthy as we’d like and can explain why plastic surgery has been on the rise for a number of years now.

But, with tightening purse strings, women are more likely to be turning to less-invasive (not to mention less expensive) cosmetic procedures to look their very best. This is echoed by statistics showing that Britons spend approximately £2.3 billion a year on cosmetic treatments which include chemical peels as well as Botox and laser treatments, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

In the summer months, when make-up is toned down and fresh faces are unleashed, a chemical peel may be an option for those wanting that glowing skin. There isn’t as much of a stigma associated with chemical peels as there once was, but some may still approach with caution. And rightfully so.

We are all familiar with the Sex and the City episode in which Samantha Jones hides her swollen peeling face after impulse-purchasing the procedure. For those not familiar with chemical peels, this is because is essentially an acid treatment.

A chemical peel is a beauty treatment to remove the top layer of dead skin cells on the face, exposing a smoother and less wrinkled layer of skin underneath. The intensity of the chemical peel (light, medium or deep peel) will determine the strength of the acid solution that is used.

The concept of a peeling face may not be that dissimilar to a horror movie but chemical peels are so safe and speedy that they have been nicknamed a “lunchtime procedure”.

Luckily, the risks are to a minimum, but as the skin starts to peel, there is of course risk of infection if not treated appropriately. But, these kinds of situations are easily avoided, by going to the correct people.

Remember, a chemical peel is not the same as getting a manicure and although it is a cosmetic procedure, it is unlikely that a beauty therapist is adequately trained to perform a peel.

In fact, a chemical peel should only ever be administered by a dermatological professional, to ensure that you are adequately looked after.

If you want to avoid the “Samantha” look, allow time to heal and go to a professional. Skin heals on its own time frame and beauty comes with patience. Enjoy your new summer skin!

Have Daily Deals Finally Gone Mainstream?

Love it or hate it BBC1′s The Apprentice continues to capture our imagination and just occasionally provides an insight into the world of UK business. This Wednesday’s programme saw the 7 remaining contestants, who compete for a business investment from Lord Sugar, compete with one another to secure daily deals from London businesses to run on Daily Deals site Keynoir.

Key Noir, which was brought by Time Out Magazine in November 2011 (presumably after this series of the Apprentice was filmed) for a reported £2-3 million, markets itself as an exclusive deals site aimed at the higher end of the market – a point which made laboriously throughout Wednesday nights show.

Although Groupon and other prominent daily deals sites like KGB and Living Social have been in the public awareness for some time now the Apprentice daily deals programme does go someway to lifting the veil of mystery surrounding how a deal comes together for the general public – most of whom probably haven’t given much thought to how the deals they’re buying breakdown in monetary terms between the daily deal site and the business itself.

It was also useful free publicity for KeyNoir, although this probably would of worked better if the CEO had of pronounced the company name clearly on the one opportunity the BBC gave him (it was thereafter referred to as “the daily deal site”! ) This led to many people taking to forums asking “what was the daily deals site featured on the Apprentice last night!?”

Deal Zippy also experienced a surge in traffic after Wednesday’s show -thanks Alan;-) This suggests the show may have woken a lot of people up to daily deal sites and perhaps reassured them that actually the discounts you see advertised on places like Deal Zippy are genuine reductions off the normal RRP – unlike most of the deals we see in supermarkets.

I was personally quite impressed with how the contestants handled the task and some of the deals they managed to get setup during the programme – although as ever with the Apprentice you have to wonder to what extent the presence of the cameras at these business meetings helps to sway the outcome!

You can see Wednesday nights Apprentice on BBC Iplayer.

There’s nothing wrong with the traditional British afterwork activity, namely popping down to the pub for a few drinks with your work colleagues. If it happens every night without fail for months, however, it can start to get a bit old. Why not introduce a bit of variety by taking advantage of the varied options which a capital city like London can offer?Have a laugh. London can boast perhaps the finest comedy scene in the Western world, with clubs across the city hosting the finest talent from the UK and beyond. What is more, if a few of your colleagues are wedded to the idea of drinks after work, this is a good way of introducing something new while still being able to retain that element to your evening. Why not book yourself tickets at one of the award winning comedy venues you’ll find across London.

Get active. We know, not everyone in your workplace is going to have the physique of an Olympian. Nevertheless, playing social sports together is one of the best team bonding exercises there is, as well as being great fun and good for your health. Go Mammoth organise short-term leagues between groups of friends for a host of different sports like netball and 5 a side football and cater for all ranges of abilities. Teams pay in eight week periods, rather than through annual membership, and there’s also the option to go along and try it on a one-off basis without joining any league structure.

Become a culture vulture. Not everyone wants to spend their time immediately after work with the people they’ve just been around for the whole day. If you want a break and the above ideas aren’t for you, why not visit one of London’s many museums? Most of the major museums and libraries have days on which they are open late, with the British Museum staying open until 8.30 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Plenty of time to take in an exhibition, and then enjoy the atmosphere of the attached cafe afterwards.

Find some peace of mind. If you’re looking for something even more relaxing after work, perhaps one of London’s numerous world-class choral foundations can be of assistance. Choral services in major churches such as St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey are free of charge and take place on most days. There is no obligation to take part in the religious part of the service, and the music is of a quality which has sold hundreds of thousands of albums over the years. Alternatively get in tune with some of the great deals available on singing classes in London!

Act like a tourist. Most London residents have complained at some stage about the trials and tribulations of living in a city full of tourists. Have you ever considered, however, that those swarming masses of sightseers might be enjoying the capital in ways you could learn from? You can learn more about London, and view it from a different angle, by taking in a few of the sights and treating yourself as if you were a tourist for a few evenings a month. You can even throw in some exercise by taking a guided walking tour. You’ll know your city like the back of your hand by the end of the year!

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Booked on a flight to Manchester? You are in for a surprise, as this city, despite its less than stellar rep, is decidedly unboring.

A developer’s dream, Manchester is full of eye-popping contemporary building designs, with all the old industrial haunts and dilapidated quays gradually being transformed into state-of-the-art functional urban spaces.

Galleries

The arts crowd will enjoy perusing the Whitworth Art Gallery and hanging around the Lowry Arts Centre and the Cornerhouse. My very favourite spot was the Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street, which houses a large collection not only of European paintings, but also of Pre-Raphaelite art, and I admit I am a sucker for them. In addition, there’s usually some kind of cultural festival on, so you are unlikely to want for things to do, in fact you may have to face the tough dilemma of choosing your fix!

Football

For those special souls on their Manchester United pilgrimages, besides the obligatory  guided stadium tour and gracious exploring of the Manchester City Football Club,  there soon will be another shrine to visit: the National Football Museum, opening in July 2012. Yes, that’s right, you’ll be able to contemplate the hallowed ball used in the famous 1966 World Cup final (I am sure those in the know will just know what I’m on about) and other sport memorabilia – to which you can add from your own collection, if you are willing to share, that is! The museum itself will be housed inside Urbis, one of those stunning space-age architectural glass wonders increasingly springing up around the city.

Bars and Parties

The loungers, bohemians and other urban culture sophisticates are bound to find their own niche somewhere. A good place to start is Cloud 23, a modish Manchester bar on the 23rd floor of Beetham Tower, from where you can fully appreciate the Manchester cityscape through floor-to-ceiling windows. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also an oval glass insert in the floor, offering a view of the street far down below  –  vertigo victims should  ignore this spot.

If you’re in Manchester towards the end of the year, you’re bound to get swept up by the Warehouse Project.  Eventually, offering a plethora of rather grand scale underground dance parties happening in (not so) secret locations around the city.

Whatever your reason for being in Manchester, it is well worth your while to look into all this city has to offer – you will not be disappointed!