THE GENEROSITY OF SPRINGTIME

 by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

We have been deprived of the gloriousness of sunshine and even its hugging warmth was hindered to us, too. Instead, we were cloaked by a cold breeze which was hardened with an icy touch for weeks. It was doubtlessly the bullheaded extension of the winter period. Am I right my dear fellow U.K. residents and the disappointed transient travellers? 

When we already rolled out the red carpet for the month of Spring, we had hardly experienced a decent week of brilliant sunshine. Sighs in people's breath with a long face mood were in every place. In general, it was such a dismay for most of us apart from the fact that we also encountered the tenacious frigidness of “Beast from the East”. 

Most of us, human beings, tend to delve more into the negatives in life. What a pessimistic outlook which we should try not to entertain. Broadly speaking, a despondent mindset may not apply to you or to most of us, but the quagmire of being ungrateful and wanting more always lurk beneath us. Am I sanely right to conclude?

For the past days, there has been a sudden soar in temperature across the country. Hence, the efficient yet costly house heaters which provided us warmth were given an instant hiatus. On the other hand, locked away electric fans were dug out & cleaned, and idled air conditioners were dusted off & turned on. Moreover, windows have been wide opened supplying gentle fresh air and the humming tête-à-tête sound of birds, all throughout day and night. 

Prior to the sudden leap in temperature, we were forestalled to feel the beautiful excitement of basking under the soothing sunshine. Can you imagine that for the past weeks, we were still wearing our wintry clothes and shoes?

 

Despite the weather interruption, we were still grateful to have spotted thriving colourful blooms of yellow, pink and mauve. We were also astonished by the developing foliage of strong trees in parks and on the verges of the road. In particular, the mesmerising Magnolias in full showy tulip like flower. Consequently, it made most of us steadily buoyant with inclined confidence to welcoming the much anticipated generosity of the season of Spring.

SAINSBURY'S BASIC JUG KETTLE

by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

Last year, I was surprised by the sound of an explosion and it came from the kitchen. I checked the appliances, one by one, until I smelled the burnt plug of an electric kettle. The fuse had exploded and the electrical wire was severely affected, too, which made the kettle impossible to mend and get back in working order.

The kettle was absolutely irreparable that evening and I was left with no hot water for my hot chocolate drink (LOL!). Honestly, I found it very challenging not to have sizzling hot water in the house especially in the morning. Who would not be when you are used to having a cup of refreshing coffee after breakfast and late afternoon tea as well.

I woke-up at 5AM and searched immediately for electric kettles from various sellers online. I visited six stores to see their offers and ended with two of my best choices. They were from John Lewis website with impressive remarks from the previous customers. Additionally, they were not too expensive given the style, colour as well as their key features.

I stayed up and didn’t go back to bed....

My top two choices were amazingly very good but I ended up buying Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle. My only idea was to try it and to see if it's worth the trouble saving a few quid? Unfortunately, it wasn't a wise buy at all nor saving a few dosh in my purse!

While I was in the kitchen for hours, I couldn't stand the look of the kettle as it was disappointingly very basic and cheap looking (Sorry for being blunt and insulting). On the contrary, Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle functions similar to my broken Dome Kettle from Russell Hobbs. Yes, I didn't go to John Lewis to buy one of my choices and because of that, I hated myself (a little bit). My decision in buying it was absolutely a pointless compromise. Well, I'm only human!

I disliked it but didn't return it to the store...

Last year, the Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle was placed in the "balikbayan" box and shipped over to my beloved country. It wasn't exquisitely ideal for my finicky taste but it was worth experimenting. On the other hand, this well-made inexpensive kettle has been very useful at my brother's humble abode nowadays.
 

Technically speaking, this compact jug kettle has a light weight power base which doesn’t need so much space with the additional cord storage. It has twin water gauges on both sides of the body to see through the water level with removable and washable filter in the spout. The kettle is finished in clean white with a generous 1.7L capacity- providing you with more sizzling hot water for coffee, tea and other purposes. It also has a flip-top lid with on/off switch which illuminates with an orange glow when the water is boiling. Moreover, this household jug kettle brings water to the boil rapidly because of its powerful 1850- 2200W.