All Fools Day

April Fools day is celebrated on the 1st of April every year. On this day alone you have the freedom to play a prank on someone without worrying about the repercussions as it's All Fools Day (as long as your prank is before 12pm). 

The type of prank you choose to play is entirely up to you. For example, in Italy, France and Germany, the people follow the traditional prank of taping pictures of fish onto each others back. Back in the olden days, they used to wrap a real fish in paper!

Over the recent years the media has got involved and has fooled the nation year on year with fake news stories, videos and pictures. 

Here are some of my favourites:

• Swiss Spaghetti Harvest (1957) 

• Left-Handed Whopper (1998)

Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.). However, the left-handed whopper had "all condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of the condiments will skew to the left, thereby reducing the amount of lettuce and other toppings from spilling out the right side of the burger." The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

• Flying Penguins (2008)

For more media stunts, go to http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

Pranks Ideas:

For your very own prank ideas, check out our Pinterest page 

and the following websites: http://aprilfoolzone.com/ , http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/11169/april-fools-day-pranks

    

Happy April Fools!

- The Chatty Pig     

Happy Easter! from The Chatty Pig

Yes, it's that time of year again when daffodils begin to blossom, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping away... it's Easter time of course!! Out with the old, in with the new (and of course let's not forget the chocolate).

Now Easter is traditionally associated with the religious celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, but it is also celebrated with chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies. But what about pigs? Why is it an Easter bunny and not Easter piglet? According to the legends, the rabbit carries coloured eggs and other sweet treats to children to  initiate Easter celebrations, and so from this legend games such as, the Easter Hunt and the concept of chocolate eggs came to exist.

Now you can celebrate Easter the traditional way as you're used to, but for those that wish to do something a little bit different this year, why not try some of the following suggestions.



1. Instead of the traditional chocolate eggs, give Percy the Pig a try. This little fellow is also made up of white chocolate and real raspberries (that's what gives him that pink tint) with hand made red, blue and white shorts to finish.

Or why not try this pig trio: mother pig and two piglets, made up of white, dark and milk chocolates?







2. This pink ping shaped basket to store the chocolate Easter eggs is another great idea!







3. Decorating your own eggs? Why not do an Easter range and make up some little yellow chick, pink pigs and bunnies?



4. Send your Easter cards with pigs on them! Can't find any? Make your own. It's very simple. Or send pig themed Easter cards from this website. 

5. A bit of fun but this is my favourite option - The Singing Pig - check him out right here 

Hope you like my ideas but if you do need more pig-spiration then go our pinterest page

Happy Easter everybody!!!

- The Chatty Pig

Mother's Day Treat

Mother's Day is just around the corner, have you got that special gift?
Cards, flowers, chocolates, her favourite perfume are some of the most common gifts bought for Mothers on their special day. Why not surprise her and cook her a gorgeous meal?

I suggest this tasty Fisherman's Pie.

The recipe is very simple to follow and with succulent ingredients such as, salmon, prawns and cod, you really can't go wrong. Now the pork scratchings are optional, so it's up to whether you use them, but they do give this pie that little bit of extra 'umph'.

Happy cooking and Bon apetit!

Fisherman’s Pie with Pork Scratchings

Ingredients:

·         260g cod fillet (boneless and skinless)

·         300g salmon fillet (boneless and skinless)

·         80g king prawns

·         500g mashed potato

·         40g mature cheddar cheese (grated)

·         Handful of breadcrumbs

·         1 packet of Freshers Foods pork scratchings

·         1 pint milk

·         60g butter

·         30g flour

·         Parsley (chopped finely)

·         1 Lemon (chopped in half)

·         Salt and black pepper

Method:

·         Cut the salmon and cod into bite-size chunks and place into a lightly buttered pie dish together with the prawns, cover with the milk and a squeeze of lemon and cook gently for about five minutes.

·         Strain the cooking liquor and retain, leaving the fish in the pie dish.

·         Melt the butter in a clean saucepan, add the flour and cook until it turns to a pale biscuit colour.

·         Stir in the cooking liquor bit by bit until you have a smooth sauce to pour over the fish. Add the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper before spooning the mashed potato on top.

·         Crunch the packet of Freshers pork scratchings in the bag and mix the contents with the breadcrumbs. Scatter the breadcrumb/ pork scratching mix over the top of the potato and then scatter on the grated cheese. Place the dish in a preheated (180C) oven for about 30 minutes, until the topping has turned golden brown and juices from the pie are dribbling down the sides of the dish.

For more lovely ideas, check out our Pinterest board Mothers Day 

- The Chatty Pig