The astute amongst you, and those of you that know us personally, will have gathered that things are not what they were at MGF towers….

After two and half years of fun, focus, fury and frolics we have decided to call it a day, and go off on other adventures. We wanted to write you all though and say THANK YOU for all of the encouragement, support, work, projects and business you have given us in that time, and let you know that should you need us or anyone like us again and not know what to do, please email and I’m sure we can recommend someone lovely for you.

Our emails remain the same for the moment, and those of you with our mobiles are more than welcome to get in touch that way,

Many thanks for everything,

E, Z & J

P.S Ebonie is still taking on adhoc pieces of work, and any and all inquiry’s should come to her via www.ebonieallard.co.uk

Saturday 29th October

The main event this year is a huge Halloween Fireworks Party at Preston Park. There will be live music, fairground rides, food, competitions and lots more from 5.30pm. The event, which is ticket only, will conclude with a fifteen-minute fireworks display. Entry will cost £10 for adults, £7 for 16s – and-under and free entry to children aged three and under.

There is also an Autumn Lantern Walk taking place in Preston Park at the same time. The event for Children up to 13-years of age has been organised by Friends of Preston Park. So bring along your own home-made lantern and they’ll take you on an evening walk around the park to show it off and banish those ogres and witches. If you want, you can come in fancy dress .. there will also be prizes for the best lantern and fancy dress. Meet at the Ladies Bowls pavilion (next to the Rotunda) in Preston Park and they’ll provide you with light refreshments, hot drinks and activities. If you can, let them know beforehand that you want to come by emailing them at info@friendsofprestonpark.org.

White Night is Brighton & Hove’s unique all night cultural festival where every event has been created specially for the festival, for one night only. So why not spend the night in the company of the city’s most unique, artists, venues, creators and curators. Don’t miss out on the glow in the dark treasure hunt or Heaven & Hell at The Basement where Angels and devils will be on hand to guide you through a series of intimate encounters, moral tests and secret confessionals. For more details on all the evenings events check out the schedule.

If ghouls and ghosties are more your thing don’t miss out on the Ghost Walk of the Lanes which is offering special Halloween walks at 7.30pm and 9pm. The walks will be starting at the Druid’s Head Pub, 9 Brighton Place and take place at 7.30pm, 9pm and 10.30pm … will you be  brave enough to join? Each walk lasts approx 70 mins and there is no need to book – you can just turn up!

Sunday 30th October

Don’t forget the clocks will go back by one hour at 2.00 am marking the end of British Summer Time for another year.

Monday 31st October

Before the kids go out trick-or-treating they can make scary sweets and treats at the Friends Meeting House Brighton from 1.30pm until 2.30pm. Cookery Doodle Doo will be on hand to help make very cheeky coconut ice mice and naughty ants. There will be prizes on offer for the cooks in the best fancy dress outfits. Find out more and book your place here.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend whatever you get up too x

Sideshow Tattoos

With the help of My Girl Friday’s Zoe they will be holding a charity event on October 1st from 10am – 7pm to help support the Brighton and Hove Rockinghorse Appeal.

At Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, the aim is to improve the lives of all sick and disabled children throughout Sussex and Surrey.

Rockinghorse offers tailored support for sick and disabled children by funding projects across the region. Their work saves lives and creates positive experiences for vulnerable children, young people and their families. Many of the children Rockinghorse support have life-threatening conditions, profound physical or learning disabilities, or severe mental health problems.

The event itself will consist of a day of tattooing designs specifically made to show support of The Rockinghorse Appeal. 50% of all takings from that day will be donated, and the designs will be available throughout the year in order to keep donations flowing. There will be 3 sheets of charity inspired designs to choose from, all cheaply priced, remember, you’re supporting a LOCAL charity here, folks.

In addition we will be holding raffles, there will be live music and other entertainment for the children. We have had some fantastic prizes donated by local Brighton & Hove Business including Specs Opticians, The Grand Brighton, Ophelia Fancy, Misafe, and Studio Crafts for the raffle!

Live music will include ‘Ben Faux and his Band‘ during the daytime then after hours at The Jamaica Inn the mighty Skingraft and supporting acts will help the party continue.

Additional donations for The Rockinghorse Appeal can be given at the after party oh and keep an eye out for fire jugglers, fire eaters and other fun crazy stuff!

A little more about the Tattooers:

Owner of Sideshow Tattoos Mike Fathers has been a local tattooer for over 15 years, specialising in Japanese, black and grey but is comfortable in any style.

Manager David Bremer is a California trained tattooer, he has worked in San Francisco, Oakland and Monterey, where he built the now infamous Olde Town Tattoos. He has 14 years experience in all styles, but loves traditional,  black & grey and is the script master.

We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Whilst your home insurance will cover you for some equipment you use for your home business, expensive specialist equipment and public liability insurance is not included in a home insurance policy. Public liability insurance for home businesses is important when your customers come to your home to work with your home business. Every home business is different and it is important to tailor your quote to exactly what you need make sure that you are adequately covered.

If you work from home, you should check your current insurance policy and consider buying home business insurance from one of the many business insurers out there. We at My Girl Friday Ltd use  Simply Business.

A typical home business insurance policy consists of cover that is advisable for a continuous business. Popular covers are available for various situations where you are unable to work. For example being injured in an accident where the home office and or stock room is damaged due to fire.

Public Liability insurance for home businesses will cover you if a business visitor has an accident in your home.

• Legal obligation
• Financial protection
• Employee security
• Employers liability insurance available

Although it is a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance if you have staff, taking out this type of insurance also shows a commitment to them that you care about their welfare.

With Simply Business you can build a policy tailored specifically to your needs. These policies should help get you started:

Public liability insurance – If you are deemed liable for an injury suffered by a member of the public or for damage to their property, public liability insurance can cover your costs. Claims of this sort can be very expensive, therefore it’s vital that your business is properly covered. Simply Business has public liability insurance up to £10m available.

Professional indemnity insurance is necessary for those businesses that give advise to their clients. If your client suffers a financial loss as result of professional advice given by your company, you are likely to be held liable. Professional indemnity insurance would cover you if a claim was made against your business.

Details to look out for when you buy small business insurance:

• Make sure you read and understand any exclusions on your policy. Simply Business offers you the chance to read the policy documents in full before you buy.
• Remember that you are legally obliged to take out employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone. Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to £2,500 for every day you are uninsured.
• Consider asking potential clients what level of professional liability cover they expect, and buy your policy accordingly.

This August from the 25th – 28th Body Control Pilates trained Katie Bringloe is hosting a Pilates Retreat set in the picturesque coastal town of Downderry in Cornwall.

The venue is a beautiful three-story 19th century arts and crafts house, with broad ocean views, and 5 acres of private woodland. The property is perched on the edge of a cliff top location, adjoining unspoilt National Trust land and a quarter of a mile from any neighbours.  Adjacent to the main house is the newly refurbished spacious stone and cedar ‘Boathouse’ with its open plan areas used for Pilates, music production and arts orientated projects. There is also direct access from the grounds to three quiet coves suitable for bathing and the picturesque South East coastal path.

The total cost is £300.00 per person for the four-day weekend and your group would be the only one using the house. The weekend includes 2 daily Pilates classes, 2 daily meals and a choice of accommodation is limited to 8 people maximum.

For more information please contact Katie on katiebringloe.pilates@gmail.com or 07702 884866 and to book your place on the retreat please call Alice at Adito breaks on 07766 915641.

They believe that by getting people together in a social environment, they are able to help you forge new friendships, which in turn could open doors to possible new relationships, either through Soul Mate Events, or the expanding network of friends made through meeting people at our events.

So if you want to meet like minded people in a relaxed and friendly environment. What better way to break the ice, than by participating in a cooking event?

So what can you expect ….

On arrival at the venue you will be greeted by one of our hosts and offered a welcome drink.  You will be registered and given a name badge before being introduced to the other guests, where you will get a chance to talk and mingle before the main cooking event starts.  You will all have this cookery learning experience in common so you can focus on talking about that as a conversation starter and an ice-breaker.

Even if it’s your first visit to one of these events or if you are very shy, you’ll quickly feel at ease because Soul Mate Events always have a host on hand to ensure that the mood is relaxed and that everyone is included. They will help expel the myth that making fresh pasta is difficult.  You will firstly watch a trained chef show you how to make pasta dough before getting a chance to make your own.

You will work in pairs, but you won’t stay with the same partner all evening, so by the end of the night when you sit down to eat, you should hopefully have met with everyone.

Starting from  £45.00 per person, it’s great value for an evening out.  The interactive element of the evening takes your mind off the fact that it is a “single’s event” and allows people to relax and act more naturally.  It also takes the guesswork out of knowing who is potentially single, so if there is someone there that catches your eye, then if you are feeling brave you can make the first move! Click here for more information and to book.

Soul Mate Events have kindly offered My Girl Friday readers and exclusive 10% discount .. to take advantage of this offer email parveen@soulmateevents.com quoting “fy10mr”

For more news on upcoming events follow Soul Mate Events on Twitter and Facebook

‘To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear’.  ~ Buddha

Our motto at My Girl Friday has always been ‘Work Less ~ Play More’ our principles & core beliefs are all about a healthy work life balance. Enjoying your work and making sure you create time and space to work, rest and play. We help people to manage their workload, become more efficient and get more from their businesses and lives.

I had begun to neglect my body, and had started to loose focus on the very essence of my business and my beliefs. I could feel that I was no longer coping well with stresses and strains of my busy life. My energy levels were low, I felt uninspired and lethargic. I was making excuses, “ I have no time to exercise” “I’d rather spent the money on fun things” “I won’t enjoy it” “I’m too tired after work” “I don’t want to get up extra early” “I just want to stay in a watch TV” “I need a glass of wine” and and and….you get the idea.

Then, something switched…… I decided it was time to focus, to try again, to get motivated and get fit. Knowing that starting with my body, getting myself fit would impact the rest of my life too!

I wrote down my goals, and decided to work with a personal trainer to help me focus.

Joao from Sports 13 has been helping me focus, and training with me once a week, the rest of the week I have been exploring fun ways to move my body, get fit and be active. I’ve never been a fan of running, (or exercise for the sake of exercise to be honest) and I wanted to achieve my goals without having to run along the seafront listening to an ipod or standing on a cross-trainer facing a TV or a wall in a gym.  Its just not my thing, I need to be inspired, motivated (tricked and coaxed) in to getting active!

Like all goals in my life I wanted to be challenged and stretched as far as I possible without leaving myself feeling disillusioned. I try to keep my goals SMART > specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely, and with that in mind my goals were:

Loose 2 stone and drop 2 dress sizes (by August) and maintain weight  (Check in again in November) – So far I have dropped almost a dress size (my clothes feel looser, but I’m not in my skinny’s yet) and have lost ½ a stone.

Enjoy being active – This happened pretty much within a 3 weeks, I am having SO much fun!!

Start teaching yoga again – I am a qualified IYN accredited yoga teacher – We’ll see how this one goes …..

Become a sporty person – I was always the last girl picked for the team at school. I hated PE and have always seen myself as the fat girl…..This has got to change, I would say that this is the goal that was the most important to me. In fact it already has started to change. I’m seven weeks in and I’m loving it!!! We’ll see if I can maintain my enthusiasm and this is where I need your help – I want you to tell me if there is a class, or sport or activity that you would like me to try – remember I am not all that fit, and the idea is to try things that are accessible to everyone regardless of fitness or financial situation. If you run a class, bootcamp, or activity that you would like to me trial or if you have seen something that you think looks fun but are reluctant to try it yourself, then email me with the details and I will have a go, and report back!

In the last 7 weeks I have tried out:

1:2:1 Sessions with Joao Arranhado.

His background is in health, fitness and sports, and he has a passion for making peoples lives healthier. He is not the kind of trainer who shouts (that just wouldn’t have worked for me) he is the kind of trainer who makes really practical suggestions and simple changes to your lifestyle to help you loose weight, and get healthy in a sustainable way, meaning you reach your goals whilst maintaining focus, feeling supported and encouraged and most importantly for me feeling like this is a change for life rather than a passing phase.  Sports 13 work with clients 1:2:1 or in small groups, they offer a corporate packages and have recently launched a weight loss and healthy lifestyle programme called ‘Slim Up’ find more info here:

Zumba – I love it!! It’s a great way to get into cardio activity. It’s really fun, the music is great! The classes I have been to have all been positively exhausting, and very hot and sweaty but I left feeling wonderful! For more info on classes and prices click here:

Anyone that follows me on Twitter knows that I have been a Power Plates fan for a while now. For those of you that don’t know what they are or what all fuss is about:

A Power-Plate is a machine that you stand on whilst exercising which gives the body’s muscles a high-speed workout by using vibration to stimulate them to contract and relax. Your muscles generally contract once or twice a second, but by standing on the Power-Plate, its vibrations cause an automatic reflex muscle contraction of 30-50 a second. The Power-Plate workout is a great for those limited on time, due to the effectiveness of training & the fact that many muscle groups are activated at the same time. It’s claimed that 10 minutes on the Power-Plate will have the same results as 60 minutes of conventional strenuous training. RESULT!

Lots of gyms now have Power Plate machines, but I find classes the best way to use them as the instructors will help you to use your time well and give your whole body and work out. I go to Revitalise U twice a week and find their classes give me a full body workout in half an hour. I have seen my fitness levels improve quickly and you can feel and see the benefits pretty quickly too!

Boxercise Bootcamp

I have always enjoyed martial arts & hitting and kicking things, but find full contact and sparing (especially in mixed groups) a bit too intimidating! Boxercise Bootcamp classes are high energy and a great workout for all levels of fitness. I particularly like how accessible they are for beginners.  When I started I was really apprehensive of turning up to a class like this, I was worried it would be a class full of pro’s and I would be the fattest, most unfit person there. This was not a concern for me once I was in the door. I was made to feel welcome and at ease within seconds of arriving, and have been back week on week since my first class! There is no full contact, but a lot of warm up time (I’m sweating within minutes) and then lots of partner, gloves and pads work. There are some classes outdoors and some focus on fat burning , whilst others also have kick boxing elements. They even do some classes with kettle bells! I have found these classes to be a great way to start and I am now keen to start exploring Kung Fu and some other martial arts classes to develop my technique and maybe even some sparing.

Sam Byford Winter’s Shaolin Kung Fu classes are the next on my list!

I have been to a couple of his classes and have found them to be full on but great fun!! In addition to the classes listed on the website Sam has recently started teaching a ladies only self defence & kick boxing class. Tuesday evenings, 6-7pm on the Lewes Road at St Martins Church Hall. For more information or to book a class call Sam on 07772 699147 Sam’s classes are fun, motivating and a great way to learn technique in a relaxed and safe environment. The ladies classes are £20 a month which includes your membership and insurance, and you will find me in attendance if that motivates you? You are welcome to have a go throw me down….

So so far my journey has been fun, and it’s beginning to be rewarding also. I’m off on a yoga holiday (between 13^th – 21^st May) but I’ll be back in no time at all to tell you all about it and in the meantime email me with any suggestion you have.

Mothering Sunday

Let your Mum how much you care by getting one of Bonjour Breakfasts fabulous breakfasts delivered to her door. You can build your own bespoke breakfast box, filling it with and array of her favourites. They supply amazing pastries and cakes from Cocoa, organic porridge, local hand-made chocolates by Chocoholly plus Champagne, treatments, flowers and much more. Remember the deadline is 3pm so get ordering.

Why not join Always Uncommon for and afternoon of cake eating, tea drinking and dressing up. Always Uncommon is a pop up market showcasing emerging designers, jewellers, vintage clothing stockists, artists and illustrators and is the perfect place to spend some quality time with Mum on her day! It will be open from 12 – 5pm and can be found in Brighton’s newest and varied venues The Green Door Store.

You could help your Mum help improve care for other mothers and give babies a better start in life with some of these inspired gifts at UNICEF. You can ‘Deliver a baby’ or give life-saving ‘Magic milk’ for the treatment of severe child malnutrition.

In the evening why not take her to The Medicine Chest, which is tucked away in the historic Brunswick back streets. Find the lantern and enter into a subterranean world, where everyday stresses, aches and pains are soothed away. With an inspired cocktail list. Remedies, concoctions and tonics are prepared with lavish attention to detail. Why not accompany this with a delectable selection of bespoke hors d’oeuvre-style dishes, combining premium ingredients to mouth-watering effect.

Saint Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in style yet again this year at Brighton’s very own Fiddler’s Elbow on Boyce’s Street. The legendary street party is now in its 14th year, and will be held on Saturday March 19th and as ever will be packed with live bands and dancing.  There’s a great 6 Nations Rugby line up on the day too, which will be shown on inside and outside screens.

Boyce’s Street will be closed off and covered over from morning ‘til late so revellers can sing and dance the day and night away.  The pub opens at noon, skilled dancers from the Carey School of Irish Dancing will open the stage show at 2pm.

Throughout the day and into the night a selection of brilliant live bands from Brighton and beyond will entertain with a lively and eclectic mix of Celtic rock, jazz, funk, folk and tradition Irish Ceilidh music.

With indoor and outdoor bars, expect Boyce’s Street to be awash with the best Guinness in town.  In the past, the Fiddler’s has held the record for the most Guinness sold in England on St Patrick’s Day. There’ll be hearty Irish stew and delicious BBQ available throughout the day too.

As always, there’ll be plenty of Guinness memorabilia up for grabs and raffles for great prizes helping to raise money for local charity Passing It On, who also organise the Heroes Run each May are a Brighton based charity that raises funds to build schools and support education in some of the poorest countries in Africa.

So whether you’re Irish or not, pin on a shamrock, paint yourself green or just come as you are but be sure to join us for the party to end all St Patrick’s Day parties at the Fiddler’s Elbow March 19th 2011.