I’m taking a leaf out of Ben’s book and starting a weekly tie-up post for all the loose ends and admin stuff I have (not that there’s a huge amount, but I like to think I’m important).

- I’m working on developing a new blog in a similar vein as Kaboodle Blog and Rare Bird Finds, as these are my two favourite blogs and I always thought I would enjoy this style of blogging myself. I’m still working on getting some posts up and ironing out the bugs, but I am thinking about taking on some guest bloggers so if you have a particular product or item you think is unusual or particularly desirable that you would like to write about, let me know. I’ll keep the blog address quiet at the moment as it’s still being worked on, but I promise you’ll be the first to hear about it once it’s up and running.

- I’m going to be in Edinburgh this weekend checking out Edinburgh University and the city itself. I’ve never been before, so it should be interesting. Rob and I are going up with our friends Ben and Sarah, so we’ve decided to take photos of our road trip for all the world to see. Keep an eye out for those on Monday or Tuesday of next week… if we don’t get snowed in up there, as the forecast is seeming to hint at.

- I’ve upgraded to Wordpress 2.5, so I’d appreciate it if you could let me know if you come across any glitches. As far as I can tell the upgrade was successful and nothing broke, but you never know.

- Why are the British fashion magazines so boring? Perhaps its because everything is so expensive that even I can’t fool myself into considering buying the things they feature. Give me Shop Til You Drop any day.

This is coming to you live from my new Inspiron 1525 laptop which, much to my delight, has a touch screen embedded into the keyboard which allows me to control my music without having to move the mouse or touch any keys!

Picture this: it’s a grey, miserable day which you’re forced to spend inside with the future-in-laws and your PlayStation-playing boyfriend. Even though it’s Saturday (prime shopping day), you’ve got no chance of convincing anyone to accompany you into town for a browse through the stores. Faced with an afternoon of boredom (’We can listen to the football game on the radio if you want, and then the Thames Boat Race is on at 4pm on telly!’), you realise you have two choices. One: you can submit yourself to that dull, mind-numbing rainy-day gloom and end up wishing you’d spent the day in bed; or two: you can hit the online stores. I’m sure you can guess which one I chose.

After spending a good couple of hours browsing around, I’ve come to the conclusion that the UK is a far better place to live when it comes to online shopping, simply because postage is much cheaper and the selection is far greater. Here are the top ten UK-centric online stores I’ve come across today - some of them ship internationally, so even if you’re not UK based you can take advantage of my finds.

1. Amazon.co.uk - www.amazon.co.uk

Amazon has long been a favourite of mine as they offer a massive selection of just about everything, from books to DVDs to CDs to electronics and games to home-wares to toys to fashion items. Many a time I have found a rare book or import CD listed on Amazon which I haven’t been able to track down anywhere else. At Christmas, I placed a huge order for books and DVDs for presents for friends, and thrilled everyone with my online shopping prowess. Once you spend over a certain amount you also qualify for free postage, AND the Amazon Wish List program is, in my opinion, one of the best. Recommendations are generated from your wish list so you can discover new authors or musicians without having to browse for hours.

2. Waterstones - www.waterstones.co.uk

I love Waterstones, it’s so much nicer than WHSmith (which verges on being a supermarket, not a bookstore). Every year at Christmas, Waterstones put out a gift catalogue which I pore over eagerly looking for new reads. They have a fantastic selection of every subject I’m interested in too - Architecture, History, Art, Politics, Popular Science, and of course Fiction.

3. Boots - www.boots.com

I only realised that Boots have an online store yesterday, and I spent a huge part of this morning scrolling through their beauty products. Boots, of course, are one of the best (if not THE best) pharmacist/chemists in the UK, and if you’re looking for a good selection of beauty and make-up products, Boots Online has it all. Best of all, they have a load of promotions online - presently, 3 for 2 beauty products.

4. TopShop (and TopMan) - www.topshop.com & www.topman.com

I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the TopShop brand - their clothes are far more trend based than I prefer, and thus they can only be worn for a season or two. Having said that, their online store(s) are comprehensive and really easy to use, and I did find several bags listed in their Accessories section which I was tempted by. During the sales, TopShop also have a dedicated Sales section on their website, which is definitely not a bad thing!

5. River Island - www.riverisland.co.uk

Okay, yes, I’m probably biased, I do love River Island with a passion. Having said that, their online store is fantastic - very easy to use, great to scroll through if you’re browsing, and is updated almost daily with new items. I believe it’s also been voted the Best Online Retailer quite recently, which just goes to show I’m on to a good thing.
6. Zavvi - www.zavvi.co.uk

I still refer to this as Virgin in my head, but they are very firmly re-branded as ‘Zavvi’ and they’re sticking to it. The online store has a better selection than the physical stores, simply because you’re shopping through a central database attached to a warehouse - so if you’re looking for something rare or harder to find, the online store is the way to go. Not as cheap as Amazon.co.uk, but they’ve got some great membership benefits and you can visit the stores in person if you want to check out the products before you purchase.

7. TATE - www.tate.org.uk/shop

The best place to find slightly unusual or arty gifts - books, prints, home-wares, jewellery, toys; you name it, the TATE gallery shop online has it. It’s a great place to pick up memorabilia or souvenirs if you’re interested in an artist or exhibition currently showing, and it’s also handy for finding a present for the person in your life that has everything.

8. Ebuyer - www.ebuyer.com

I didn’t cotton on to Ebuyer until Rob pointed it out a few months ago, and I can see why he likes it so much. If you’re after anything computer or electronics, Ebuyer is the best place to start - simply because they often have great specials and deals on items they have bulk amounts of. We’ve found many a bargain just by browsing through, and it’s generally a lot cheaper than PC World.

9. Marks & Spencer - www.marksandspencer.com

Marks and Spencer is great for basics, but the clothes do tend to be a bit hit and miss. Their food, however, is the greatest creation known to man - and that’s why their online store makes my list. If you haven’t ever tried M&S Lemonade or their sweets selection, I pity you.

10. Accessorize - @ www.monsoon.co.uk
I used to work for Accessorize, and I loved it - each week we’d get our shipment of new products, and we’d take it in turns to open up a box and pull out the new additions to the store. It was like Christmas on a weekly basis… and we got to wear all the necklaces and bracelets we wanted whilst we were on the shop floor, too. Unfortunately, Accessorize closed its doors in Australia, which is why I stock up whenever I’m in the UK. Their online store is fantastic - a huge selection of bags and a great choice of jewellery and scarves makes it one of the best ways to find gifts for your friends without leaving the sofa.

Have you got any favourite online stores that I’ve missed? Care to recommend a site to me? Leave me a message in the comments. For more of my finds from my rainy-day online shopping, check out my Kaboodle profile.

Tower Bridge, London

I love the UK, and I have ever since I set foot in the country all those years ago and walked through Customs in Heathrow without seeing a single person getting their luggage checked. That being said, there are some things I simply don’t understand about the UK and probably never will… but I’m willing to put up with these little eccentricities. Here is my list of the UK’s good, bad, and ugly.

The Good:

• The pubs. Australia may have great weather, but Australian pubs are simply not up to scratch. Here in the UK there’s a pub on every second corner, each with a good selection of beers on tap and any number of comfortable chairs and benches to stretch out on in front of the fire. If you’re lucky your local establishment will be the sort that lets people leave their muddy wellingtons at the door, and which makes the most of the local produce to provide some of the best pub food around.
• The clothes. It’s no secret I’m slightly obsessed with River Island, but there’s a huge number of other equally fantastic (but reasonably priced) brands - TopShop, H&M, Zara, Next, New Look, Monsoon, FCUK… the list goes on. What’s even better is the fact that you have to wear my two favourite clothing items - coats and boots - most of the year because of the weather. Which brings me to my next point…
• The weather. This falls into the ‘Good’ and the ‘Bad’ categories. On the plus side, it snows in the UK, something that is far more unusual in Australia (unless you live in the snow fields of Victoria or New South Wales) than it is here. Snow is still a novelty to me and I expect it always will be.
• The newspapers. How did I ever get by without the Guardian in my pre-UK life? The selection of papers here in the UK is enough to make your eyes water, and when you consider that capital cities in Australia really only have one paper of their own and share the national paper, ‘The Australian’, you really have to wonder how anyone in Australia manages to have anything other than a mainstream opinion about world affairs. Diversity is the key, and the UK certainly has that.
• The junk food. Crisp flavours in the UK are fantastic, as you may remember if you read my post about chips. Sweets (or as I refer to them, lollies) are great as well - Bassetts, wine gums, midget gems, Haribo, Galaxy… is it any wonder I manage to put on weight whenever I’m in the UK?

The Bad:

• The girls. Not all the girls, just some of them. In particular, the ones that coat themselves in fake tan, pluck their eyebrows into non-existence, wear skirts that show the world their choice of bikini waxing, and have super-long plastic nails that click-clack whenever they move their fingers. These same girls are the ones that get pissed on Stella and vodka mixers, over-exaggerate their regional accents, and want to be Katie Price ‘when they grow up’. Luckily they rarely inhabit the same haunts as I do, so I generally don’t have to put up with them.
• The weather. It’s bloody cold, and you rarely see the sun shine. Coming from the land of outdoor barbeques and days at the beach, adjusting to temperatures that freeze your ears and nose in seconds and your fingers and toes in minutes isn’t easy. Luckily I have come up with a remedy - whisky.
• Expensive everything. The food, the alcohol, the petrol, the clothes, the football tickets… you name it, it costs double what it does in Australia, and not just because of the dodgy exchange rate. Luckily I get paid in GBP or I’d really be struggling.

The Ugly:

• Rooney and Ronaldo. Why does the majority of the UK worship the ground these guys walk on? One loses his temper whenever he misses a goal and the other is more concerned about keeping his perfect hairstyle in place throughout the 90 minutes of the game than he is about the welfare of the rest of his team mates. Ridiculous!
• Fish and chips the British way. Instead of doing the civilized thing and having some lightly battered fish with some chips and slices of lemon, the Brits seem to be fascinated with curry sauce, mushy nuclear-coloured peas, and chips that are more liquid than solid. Disgusting.