This sleepy baby turns eleven months old today.  Happy month-day, David!

Dearest David,

Today you turn eleven months old: only a month to go until you hit the big O-N-E.  Hasn’t this month been a rollercoaster?  I’m going to apologise now for not writing more about you this month, or taking more pictures, but in between the high-fever hallucinating and the throwing up, there hasn’t really been time.  (Swine flu.  Oh joy.  Incidentally, you ARE having the vaccine.)  Never mind, everything is OK when you have meringue.

I’m writing this as you sleep, during my precious work-time.   You are sleeping better in the day and at night because we’ve moved away from blankets and bought you a proper duvet.  The first night you slept under it you slept on your back all night with Donkey tucked in next to you: you haven’t done that since before you could roll over!  The fact that I could just take a photo of you asleep without waking you is testimony to the power of The Duvet.

This month, you mastered your walker, and then a few days ago you took a STEP!  And then another, and then another.  You’re not quite confident enough to walk on your own yet, but when you have your walker (or a chair, or your bead thing, or the high chair, or anything else the right height…) you can run!

We’ve had an interesting month with food, haven’t we?  Just after you turned ten months, you discovered chocolate buttons.  Daddy and I discovered that chocolate buttons are a brilliant bribe (sorry, reward).  This is good, because you seem to have hit the two-year-old fussy stage a year and a month early.  All the wonderful fruit and veg that you’ve been eating since you were six months old?  No thanks.  Pasta in a lovely spinach sauce provoked a tantrum.  Pears were even worse.  Why?  You ate pears last month.  At Rugrats and Half Pints yesterday you refused to even put cucumber in your mouth, never mind bite it.  It’s OK, though.  Daddy and I have come up with a solution: we’re just going to cover everything in hummous or yoghurt, then you won’t know that it’s vegetables.  That, or you can live on Mini Cheddars and chocolate buttons.  And meringues.

Your cousin Wilfred came to stay for a week this month and you had a great time together.  It’s the first time you’ve both been aware of each other, and it was lovely.  You’re (mostly) very gentle with him, although you do splash a little too much in the bath for him.  Watching you play peek-a-boo with him was one of the loveliest things I’ve ever seen.

Talking of baths: you adore them.  There have been days where you’ve had three or four in a day.  Not because you’re dirty (although meringue in the hair doesn’t help) but because you love them so much.  You can now request “bath!” and “splash!”, and there have been occasions when we’ve spent an hour in the bath, playing with ducks, bottles, the shower…  If you didn’t have to come out of the bath, I don’t think you would.

The way you play has changed so much this month.  You’ve figured out that stacking cups stack, and that the farmer in your farmhouse can slide down the chimney.  You’ve changed so quickly that you have next to no age-appropriate toys in the house, but your birthday and Christmas are only a month away, so you’ll have to hang on.  You love sliding the beads around on the bead thing, and you love your tambourine and maracas.  At Grandma and Grandpa’s house, you have a “phone” (a remote without the batteries in), which you pretend to talk to people on.  Talking of talking, you are learning new words almost every day, and you babble as though we can understand you.  You still have some very clear words, and yesterday you uttered your first phrase: “Get down?”.  I can’t wait to have a proper conversation with you.

Your understanding and social interaction are at a whole new level, too.  I asked you to sit down this morning, and you did as you were asked.  You hold your arms out and say “Up!” when you want to be picked up, and you frequently stop playing, give Daddy or I a hug, and then go back to whatever you were doing.  You also know when you’re being asked not to do something, and delight in disobeying us with a cheeky grin.  You’re visibly thinking more: we can almost hear the cogs whirring in your brain.

You’ve developed an unbreakable bond with Daddy now.  Well, you both laugh at fart jokes, find the word “poo” hillarious, and spend your time blowing raspberries at each other.  Maybe it’s just a man thing.  I love sitting back and watching you play together.

Son, I love you so much that I’ll almost think about forgiving you for throwing up in my car the other day.  (Yeah, thanks for that.)  You’re turning into a toddler so fast, and it’s amazing to think that this is your last newsletter before you turn one.  I miss my teeny-tiny baby, but you are so much fun now.  I’m not going to pretend that getting to this point hasn’t been hard, but now we’re here, it’s AWESOME, and I love you.

Lots of love,

Mummy and Daddy (who’s probably going to cry when he reads this)

Liv Live Entertainment Presents
DJ Camilo Saturday November 21, 2009 At Duvet

Duvet
(45 West 21st Street Between 5th & 6th Avenues New York, NY 10010)

Music:
DJ Camilo Spinning Hip Hop, R&B, Reggae, Reggaeton, Pop, Top 40, Electro

Admission:
Ladies Complimentary w/ Advance RSVP Before 12:00 Midnight
Gentlemen Reduced $20 All Night On Liv Live Entertainment Guest List

Special:
Open Bar From 10PM-11PM On Liv Live Entertainment Guest List
2 For 1 Drinks From 11PM-12 Midnight On Liv Live Entertainment Guest List

Doors Open 10:00PM (Sharp) 21+ (ID Required)
Proper Attire | Strict Dress Code (No Athletic Wear, Hats or Boots)

For All Inquiries Such As RSVP, Table RSVP or Birthday Packages Contact:
Bizzy of Liv Live Entertainment @ (646) 246-2561 | Bizzy@LivLiveEntertainment.com

*Always Ask For Liv Live Entertainment Guest List At The Door For Smooth Entry.

For my final marketing project, I have to revamp a duvet, pillow case company……
Fun right?  maybe not.  I’ve worked with all sorts of industries in the past for my various awesome marketing projects
-beer projects (lots of them..actually)
-pure water industry
-pizza
-water bottle
-starbucks, burberry, ice cream and so on and so forth

but honestly…duvets?

But the choice was between duvets and a soccer camp… and what do I know about soccer camps anyway.
I’ve been to golf and tennis camps, but the only knowledge I have about soccer comes from the World Cup 2002 and part of World Cup 2006. (Yes, I only watch when South Korea is still in the game) Oh! and Winning Eleven….if that counts as soccer…

Conclusion is…my presentation is due in less than a week and I have to impress a hopeful-minded, new duvet company owner in less than 15 minutes. I’m counting on my awesome group to pull through.

Duvet Covers have become a popular choice for bedding around the world. Originally it was a type of bedding found in continental Europe or Scandinavia. The Duvet draws its name from the French word for down and that is the material that the quilt that a duvet covers is used with contains. The duvet (or quilt) can contain feathers, silk, wool, cotton, polyester batting or other artificial fibers. This duvet is then used with a duvet cover to keep it clean, or to coordinate it with the decor of a room.

The duvet may be confused with a quilt, but the distinction is typically that a quilt is used on top of other bedding, a duvet is used as the sole bedcovering.

Bedding however can be a great living and hiding place for all sorts of dust and dirt and duvets are no different. Dust mites can thrive in the duvet and it’s important that it be cleaned regularly. If you are allergic to dust and dust mites it would be especially important to find a duvet cover that is resistant to dust mites passing through the material.

Cleaning the duvet seems as though it could be a challenging process. A large commercial washing machine is recommended for a duvet to be cleaned. You should not have a duvet dry cleaned as the chemicals may damage the filler material. If you choose to dry your duvet in the dryer you should stop it periodically and break up any lumps of damp filler material that have clumped together. You should also use low heat to dry your duvet.

It’s worth noting that it takes special measures beyond a simple run through the washer to kill off dust mites.

Dust mites have been shown to be more effectively killed off if certain essential oils are used in the washing process such as pine, eucalyptus, or peppermint oil. These can kill a large majority of the dust mites in the duvet and will also leave a refreshing scent. Unfortunately just killing dust mites is note quite enough. Most allergies to dust mites are to their waste products and their bodies (dead or live) and so it might be effective to shake out or even beat your duvet with a broom as it’s suspended from a line.

After this you will need to redistribute the filling material so that it is evenly placed. If you start out with a dust mite proof duvet cover you will not have to take such extreme cleaning measures of your duvet, you can simply focus your cleaning on the duvet cover on a regular basis and still avoid allergies related to dust mites in a dirty duvet.

Even with a good duvet cover it would be wise to regularly wash your duvet, however it should not be necessary to go to such extreme measures to remove dust mites from the duvet if you have an effective duvet cover.

One advantage to the duvet cover is if they are allergen proof you should be able to just change out the duvet cover for washing on a frequent basis and then on a less frequent schedule clean your duvet. Another advantage to this routine is that you will be able to change out the look and feel of your bedroom on a regular basis as well if you have duvet covers with various designs.

For more about duvets and duvet covers, you may be interested in visiting the authors site where you can read more about caring for a duvet cover.

Dreaming or flying? I think a little of both. The duvet makes for some interesting clouds. I’m so happy to be able to take some more polaroids again. I’ll post some more  of this ‘dream/sleep series’ in future posts.

Pumped like a tire for tonight’s party at Barcelona’s newest club, Duvet:

On a different note:

I’m sure you weirdos have heard of Ratatat. But when Ratatat throws Biggie, 2pac, or other rappers in the mix, they make such jams that you can put peanut butter and bread on the track and call it a PB &J.

Get Ratatat’s newest mixtape album, Ratatat Remixes Vol. II, free here. A couple of the tracks off the mixtape:

Stay fresh. Eat your veggies.

Lundi soir, retour de boulot, message de ma copine anonyme, dite “Charlotte”: “N*** ze poulpe, t’as de la stache? si oui, comment tu la gère? tu veux pas nous pondre une petite poulpitude sur le thème de la stache à la demande de Charlotte? merciiiiiiiiiiiii”

Charlotte, tu m’en veux pas de copier-coller hein dis? Bon dans un premier temps, je me dis: ouhaaaaaa, le poulpe a atteint un niveau d’expertise, d’expérience, et de crédibilité tels, que les poulpettes veulent connaître mes secret de pas-mochitude!!! Trop fort!!!

Puis… les connexions neuronales se font… une minute passe, puis 5, puis 30… jusqu’à ce que l’information descende jusqu’au bout de ses tentacules… fasse le tour de ses ventouses. Et là gros choc: le poulpe a atteint un niveau d’expertise, d’expérience, et de crédibilité… en MOUSTACHE. C’est horrible.

Alors, je revêts mes habits de pauvre poulpe errant, et désillusionnée je me plie à ma responsabilité petite Charlotte aux fraises: le poulpe utilise une pince à épile-touffe. Oui. Le poulpe n’a pas honte. Si on veut pas compter pour des prunes, il faut s’épile la stache grave.

Alors tu veux savoir quelle pince à épiler utiliser: bah je te dirais la mienne que j’ai achetée au Monop’ il y a un an. Je te montre la photo Charlotte, les dessins ça monte plus vite au cerveau.

Voilà, alors maintenant 2, 3 explications: le principal dans l’affaire c’est que la pince ne COUPE pas tes petits poils tout mignon, sinon attention, petit duvet deviendra grosse moumoute hirsute. Donc il faut bien la choisir quitte à mettre un peu de pesetas… car avant de trouver ma pince-soeur, j’ai bien dû tenter l’aventure avec un dizaine d’autres… tiens ça me rappelle quelque chose ça!

Autre conseil final: ne fait JAMAIS d’épilation à la cire (froide, chaude, tiède) sur ta “lèvre supérieure” (l’astuce sémantique des esthéticiennes pour qu’on ait la pas honte de dire “heu… je voudrais faire la moustache aujourd’hui!!!)…. Seul argument, mon expérience: je l’ai fait une fois, pendant 4 heures c’était rouge, donc honteux, et pendant la nuit, des petits boutons blancs ont poussé à chaque petit endroit où se trouvait un poil avant l’épilation… tu imagines… c’est même devenu un poulpe-trauma. Classé parmi les 10 pires “poulpe-trauma” de mon existence.

Voilà, bon courage ma petite Charlotte. Si ça te fais trop mal, pose un glaçon avant de t’épiler. T’auras mal, mais en plus t’auras FROID , et ça… le cerveau s’emmêle, il comprend plus rien, tu l’arnaques comme un bleu

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The day before Halloween and tricky to say the least today. All the big priced horses romped home ahead of my shorties, but I’m still up over the week and tomorrow is another day as they say.

The week is over and the weekend has begun. I’m looking forward to Ascot tomorrow and catching up with my friends in the evening too. Sunday is scheduled to be wet, wet, wet – so I’ll be happy to curl up with the papers under my duvet nursing a hangover for most of the day – bliss!

I bought a new duvet set today. I saw it at Bed, Bath and Beyond and really liked it but they didn’t have it in the full size. So, I went online and bought it. I’m really excited for it. What do you think?

Monty reclining on Stephen's Clothes

We tried to keep the kittens out of the bedroom, but our resolve has been slipping – and they have been getting better at slipping in!

Here Monty is reclining on some of Stephen’s clothes.

Rolo in the middle of the duvet

Rolo has found himself a spot right in the middle of the duvet. The very nice Catherine Lansfield duvet, to be exact. I think it suits him, too!

I love when I stumble across images or stories which can be connected to something else. When I first saw Moncler Gamme Rouge fall/winter 2009 collection, the name of Anastasija Nikolaevna Romanova, the mysterious and tragic story of her family, the end of the Romanov dynasty and Tori Amos’ Yes, Anastasia (from the album Under the Pink) all came to my mind.

You must admit the collection, designed by Giambattista Valli, are so peculiar and precious, so inspired to Russian culture and history (not only the names given to each style, but also the decorations, materials, colours), that it is impossible not to think of the sources he drew inspiration from. Though disappointed by his spring/summer 2010 collection (Prada-ish fringes and animalier prints??? He could have done more than this), I still believe Valli is one of the most interesting Italian designers of his generation, and the Gamme Rouge collections he has designed so far [1] widely demonstrate this.

One of the features of Gamme Rouge collections are the striking colours and materials used. I mean: all the collections are made of duvet jackets and coats, but the ways in which Valli turns these in works of art are simply stunning. I would never ever wear fur, but you must admit the touch of fur in the Ielena jacket is like the icing on the cake. The butter beige silk, the rhinestone decoration on the front and the cone shape of the jacket do the rest.

Should I ever go to a Snowflake Ball, I would surely wear this Lena vest. The silvery taupe colour of the satin is lovely and so is the tiered stole around the shoulders.

Is there anything more luxurious than a fur-lined silk sleeping bag? I don’t like going camping, but I would sleep anywhere, should I have something like Czarina in my luggage.

Most of the items in this collections have features in common, especially the egg shape and the wide collar. It’s funny to see how the model’s mouth is sometimes hidden under the collar of the coat she’s wearing. It’s the case of Anouska, a beautiful coat with ruffled sleeves and black bows accenting the waist-line. The collar of Nadja, a black fur jacket, is even wider.

Tasha and Sasha are dramatic styles, both made of black satin: the first is a long jacket with a gorgeous rhinestone decoration on the puller of the zip fastener, and the second is a sleeveless vest with an astrakhan fur insert on the front. These jackets are accessorized by gorgeous black opera gloves in crocodile-effect leather.

Tereza is based on the same shape of Anouska – here the bows accent the ruffled cuffs – and Svetlana first presents a theme that will be found in other coats – the egg shape, the shawl collar, the gathering at the central waist-line.  Doesn’t Svetlana looks extremely cozy and warm?

Tanya is one of the most classic pieces of the whole collection, because it reminds of traditional trench coats – see the collar and the belt – but padded. Tatyana, on the other hand, has the same collar as Lena, but the shape is different, balloon-like.

Polina and Helena perfectly conform with the rest of the collection, but with a twist: the silk of the first jacket is printed with a chinchilla-like effect [3], while the coated silk of the second has a singular brocade-scale effect. They are both lovely, but I prefer pieces made of simple silk.

Natalia is the mauve and long version of Sasha, while Oksana is the mauve version of Tatyana, with a simple collar.

Raissa is a very peculiar piece: the silk is printed to achieve a fur-like effect, but real fur is applied at the cuffs; the shape is kept simple, to emphasize the fur and the printed silk. Sophia’s collar is amazing, so similar to an embroidered pleated ribbon; I also love the pleats at the waist.

Olga takes the main features of Raissa but in a different order: here most of the jacket is made of fur, and only a small section of fur-like silk is visible. I don’t know why but there’s something in the juxtaposition of materials that doesn’t convince me much.

The shape of Kristina is reminiscent of the infamous Yves Saint Laurent Cocoon wedding dress, and the scale-like gold satin, with those black appliques as decorations, bring the Fabergé Imperial eggs to my mind.

Just a thought about the model’s hairstyle and make-up: I like the fact that she always poses in front of the same white wall, because this gives consistency to the lookbook, but I don’t like her crinkled and puffy hairstyle. I hate when she wears concealer on her lips, but I love the contrast between her fair skin and the red hot lipstick she has in some pictures.

The Russian Sasha Pivovarova is the protagonist of the collection’s campaign, shot by Steven Meisel. She poses in front of a grey wall, a neutral colour which strangely emphasizes the model and the jacket she’s wearing. In the first shot she wears Tamara, a champagne-coloured satin jacket with a double-headed eagle (symbol of the Romanovs) embroidery on the front.

In the second shot she wears Dasha, which has the same shape as Lena, but is made of chinchilla-effect printed silk.

In the third shot of the campaign, Sasha is wearing the Anouska coat, with the crocodile-effect long gloves and a gorgeous rhinestone bracelet. Sasha is very serene and beautiful in these pictures: her natural beauty is emphasized by a little make-up and a rhinestone tiara, put on her blonde hair, which looks even lighter, thanks to a bit of powdering.

My style is very casual, so you will never find pieces like these in my closet. This doesn’t mean I like most of the collection and I wouldn’t mind wearing Dasha or Tatyana, if I had the chance to. Which one is your favourite coat?

[1] The fall/winter 2008 collection was inspired to Versailles.

Source.

I’m thinking of getting this for my bed. I am in need of a new duvet cover and I have been searching high and low for just the right one. I’m thinking this might be it. From what I’ve read in the reviews, it’s a dark dark brown and cream colored duvet, with gold-ish trim, with a green tint to it. What do you think?

How about this one? I like it too. My friend said absolutely no because yellow doesn’t go with anything. I don’t really agree with her. I think this one is cute too. Thoughts?

Doonas, duvets, continental quilts, whatever you like to call the things (I have a few choice words of my own which I can’t share here), well anyway, they drive me nuts! When it comes to wash day I find them incredibly time consuming.

Believe me there are plenty of YouTube videos online that show that they also drive other people nuts as well and while it’s always funny to watch someone else wrangle with these things, it’s not so funny when you’re the one in a hurry or having to change a house-load of them and suddenly can’t find your sense of humour to do the Doona Tango (or should that be the Doona Tangle?). You’d have to be some kind of bed-making saint or contortionist to not find these things a literal ‘pain in the neck’.

Well, it’s not actually the ‘doona’ it’s more the operation of stripping doonas for washing and then having to put a clean cover back on. Sometimes I’ve been so fed up with the things that I no longer stuff them back into their covers but simply use the covers as a ‘bedspread’ as I would during the summer. In the winter it becomes a ‘bedspread’ with the duvet underneath it which seriously defeats the whole purpose doesn’t it? What’s worse is that generally due to the ‘large’ nature of the exercise it’s hard to get the kids involved in the bed making process, thus again it’s usually you who are left to do all of them yourself, thus multiplying the frustration level.

Recently a wonderful alternative to the Doona came to my attention called The Coshee and I love it even more because it it’s an Aussie innovation.

The Coshee (short for cover sheet) is brought to us by the wonderful Jane Tepper at Eco Sleep Australia, a busy Mum of four who wanted an easier solution to wash day and bed changing day. It is a convenient two-part duvet cover and top sheet set for your bed, which consists of a top sheet and duvet cover that clips together using special SnapLock press-studs. Simply brilliant! All Coshees are made from beautiful natural fibres and come in a variety of fabric designs in two seasonal weights to suit Double to Super King size beds.

So go on ‘change your bed for the better’ you’ll be glad you did! Check out the wonderful Coshee now and tell Jane that Angela sent you!

En esta semana en el SAGA Podcast nos dió flojera grabar algún tema para el odcast y por eso nos pusimos a grabar la peor estación de radio en HM y encontramos: radio viral, que en ese momento ponia pura musica de anime. El locutor strider se encontró con los mas extraños escuchas de la radio y los camplació con los temas mas

No olviden dejar comentarios en este post o en nuestro correo podcast@saga-deluxe.net.
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I have been lusting after the Iris quilt from Anthropologie for quite some time now…years in fact.

Anthropologie

You think I’m joking, but I’m really not!  I saw it in an Anthropologie store a few years ago, and I found it absolutely breathtaking, and it is soft as a whisper on the skin.  I am really in love with it, but I’m not sure if it’s something I love enough to commit to and live with every day.  The drawbacks I see are:  it is very bright and bold, and it’s expensive.  If it will last and I will love it forever, the expensive thing doesn’t bother me so much, except that we don’t have the money right now.  Bright and bold…hmm.  I am a bright and bold kind of person, so that’s not really a problem, but I’m wondering if I could live with something this bold in the bedroom, where we are supposed to relax and go to sleep.  I know it would make me extremely happy to see this after a long day of work, and to turn on my bedside lamp and have this beautiful creation greet me each morning.

I’ve decided that before I get settled on one thing, I need to see what all the options are out there.  Here’s the look I’m going for in a few words:  bohemian, floral, colorful, bold, graphic, comfortable, inviting, warm, cozy, and friendly.  I want either a bold, graphic quilt with a more subtle patterned duvet, or a bold duvet with a subtle patterned quilt.  I want to have layers on our bed to make it easier to go from a warm night to a cool one, since the weather changes a lot here in between seasons.  I want fancy, delicious sheets, art on the walls, and a great set of curtains in each window (sheers and curtains with fabulous curtain rods.)  Aaaaaaannd…I’m pretty thrifty, so I try not to buy anything at full price unless I just can’t live without it.  But here’s my dilemma:  I can’t buy curtains, new sheets, or anything else without knowing which direction I’m headed style-wise.  So I’m trying to figure it out here.

Here is another image from my inspiration file, this one is a quilt from Pottery Barn’s fall 2008 collection, which I don’t believe they carry any longer.

Pottery Barn

What I love about this photo is the fact that it looks like they’re inviting you to come have a nap.  It looks warm and cozy for sure, but also fulfills my need for something graphic with the bold orange above the headboard.  Isn’t this canopy bed and wall-mounted reading lamp combination to die for?  I would love to do this in my room.  Sadly, I searched and could not find it for sale anywhere online.  The closest thing I can find is this:

Pottery Barn

I like that it is a bit calmer, but the abundance of pastels doesn’t really appeal to me.  It’s a possibility, but not quite as good as the one from fall of last year.

One place I love to look for inspiration is LivingEtc’s galleries.  They are a British home magazine, and they have the most amazing bold designs.  You can flip through them yourself, you’ll be blown away.  Here are a few of the ones I’ve found on their site:

LivingEtc

I love the shape of the headboard above, and I love how they varied the scale of the stripes to make an amazing statement.  The sheer curtain at right is not to shabby, either.

Living Etc

This one is actually a dressing room, but I can’t resist…isn’t it amazing?  I love the bold mirror with neon!  Tutus are a favorite of mine, as well.  And we all know my favorite color is hot pink, so this one has me totally won over.  Ahh…that I had the space to make my very own dressing room.  I would love it!  Anyway, back to bedrooms.

PBteen

I have always been drawn to the bold, girly aesthetic of PBteen’s catalog.  I love this zigzag pattern on the quilt, and I really think I could make this work for us.  Here is an overall look from PBteen that I love:

PBteen

I am not a huge fan of the flower-power style duvet, but I love how the bold print combines with the other elements in the room to make it all totally fabulous.

Country Living

I love how this room combines lots of bold fabrics, a warm wall color, and that wonderful star to make something very cozy and inviting.  Here’s another one from Country Living that I love, but it’s not my style:

Country Living Bedroom 2

Like I said, this one is not my style, but I could see myself doing something similar.  The brick gives the room enough pattern that you don’t need another bold print, it might get too busy in that case.  I love how elegant this room is, and I love an all-white bed, but I’ll definitely go with something bolder for me.

I’m not entirely sure that going through inspiration files helped.  I think it made me more indecisive because I realized there’s way more options out there than I was originally considering.

What about you?  Are you having trouble deciding which direction to go in your bedroom?  Do you prefer cozy, elegant, bold, simple, or something totally different?  Please share…it might help me get over this hump I’m stuck on!

Electricity can be generated from the static produced during the nocturnal battle for the duvet, claim scientists at the Centre for Alternative Energy in Basel, Switerland. 

 Professor Paulina Merz, who led the research, outlined the group’s findings during a recent alternative energy seminar in Geneva.  ‘We all know that a tremendous amount of energy is expended trying to get your share of the duvet at the night.’ She said, ‘So we needed to find a way of harnessing that energy.’

 ’We discovered that duvet covers made from certain materials generated considerable amounts of static when pulled across pyjamas and nighties.  We adapted a Van de Graf generator to convert this potential into electricity which was then stored in batteries.’

 Merz outlined that during a three-week period she and her husband generated enough electricity to power an electric egg whisk for five minutes.  ‘An astounding result.’ She said, ‘Which would have been even more impressive if Franz didn’t have such a bloody tight grip.’

 However the team admit that there are a few flaws to the system which need to be ironed out before it can be introduced into households.  ‘Unfortunately we forgot to turn it off when Franz insisted upon his monthly allotment of, how you say, nookie – that egg whisk was buzzing away for so long it nearly melted.’

 Fresh from their success the centre is now looking at other ways of generating energy at night.  ‘From thumping lumpy pillows to getting up to go to the toilet – we’re leaving no stone unturned.’ Said Professor Merz, ‘We’re particularly excited about the potential to convert nocturnal flatulence into natural gas.  If Franz sticks a converter, rather than my head under the covers every time he farts, Europe could tell the Russians to shove their gas exports where the sun doesn’t shine.’

 (Written 20 Jan 2009)