A long standing problem has been to find a dog shampoo that doesn’t irritate our dogs skin but cleans him thoroughly. We never managed to fully get over this problem with our old dog, but since having our new puppy I have been determined to beat this issue, so the hunt began in earnest. Sometimes things just happen to fall into your lap as if by magic, and so it happened on this occasion..... I saw a Facebook post from Hearts and Homespun ( a local company I had used a few times before and always been impressed by) for their “Dirty Dog“ dog shampoo, and thought it was worth a try. It is Aloe Vera based, so cleanses gently without stripping the coat and irritating the dogs skin, and also contains no Parabens or SLS (an artificial foaming agent). Apparently the coconut oil has a gentle natural foaming action of its own.

I only put a 10p size blob in my hand and spread over poochie, and the lather was just right. It smelt lovely and fresh, and rinsed out quickly and easily too -  top marks so far. I towelled puppy dry and thought no more of the bath until that evening, when I glanced over at him whilst he was sleeping. His coat had still got a beautiful shine to it, like it had pre-bath - the shampoo hadn’t stripped all natures protection away. And better still, there was no scurf to be seen either, which had always happened with other products. My boy smelt lovely too, which is something all dog owners want -  after all , that’s why the majority of us wash our animals !

So I can thoroughly recommend this product if you have a dog with sensitive skin, or if you want to clean without taking their shine away from their coats. In fact, if you know anyone who shows their dogs still would ideal for them, as the shine remains and there is no scurf.

The Shampoo costs £5 for 250ml but given the small amount you use it is defiantly great value for money

10/10 Hearts and Homespun, you’ve cracked it for humans and animals alike - I salute you :)

Find out more about the product (and order online) see here

Here at Amber Valley Info we are quite familiar with Ripley based Exotic Meats, not only have they been the main attraction at one of the #AVYourSay Twitter networking events but last summer we purchased a couple of their BBQ packs with a range of sausages and burgers including Crocodile, Kangaroo, Goat, Horse, Reindeer, Llama and Wild Boar to name but a few.

So when Paul Webb of Exotic Meats mentioned they had a new product, Lambs Testicles, we volunteered to give them a try.

Have a read of our review then get over to the exotic meats web site and check out their wide range of products.


Review by Angie from Amber Valley Info

For those of you who have never tried Lambs Testicles (and I bet there’s quite a few of you) I can recommend them. My husband is not the most adventurous when it comes to anything other than main cuts of meat, however, I personally will give anything a try once. I soaked the testicles in cold water overnight, refreshing it several times to leach the blood out. This softens the outer membrane making it much easier to peel away, which is a good job because it is deceptively hard to remove. The testicles do smell very musky and you do wonder how this is going to translate into the taste of the cooked article. When you have removed the membrane you are left with something that actually resembles the meat of a chicken breast (but much smaller, obviously).

The actual cooking of the testicles was really quite simple, I sliced each one in half lengthways before frying them in butter in a shallow bottomed frying pan. All I added was some minced garlic, ground cumin and a few chilli flakes to flavour them. When cooked on each side for a couple of minutes I turned them onto a serving plate and sprinkled them with parsley. They do taste very kidney-esque and are very rich and satisfying for their size. I ate mine with a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the richness, but this is down to personal preference.

My husband enjoyed them too, and he isn’t an offal fan. They are quite a faff to prepare, but I think they were worth the effort. As with anything of this nature, it is the actual thought and mental image of what you are consuming that presents the biggest hurdle to overcome. So, dig out your adventurous side and tuck in to some testicles, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I’m not normally one to be behind the times, but on this occasion I have to confess to missing the boat slightly. Bluey’s held their third “ Flamin’ Galah “ Comedy night last night ( 28th January), and if it was anything to go by, I have missed out on 2 side-splittingly funny nights out. Anyhow, at least I can say I made it along to this one.

Entry is £5 to the event for which you get entered into a prize draw (and I believe last night’s winner pocketed £30 which is not to be sniffed at) and sample a variety of different comedians. Now comedy by its very nature is subjective to each individual, so the huge advantage of an event like this is that you get a wide range of different comedic styles. The other advantage is that because it is held in a smallish town setting as opposed to a city venue you are paying a fraction of the cost of similar events. Another thing I personally liked is that small events like this are where up-and-coming talents are honing their craft, so you feel as if you are seeing potential stars at the beginning of their careers –which could give you future “I saw them when they first started out“ bragging rights!

The Compere for the evening was a guy named “Scott Bennett “, who was funny as heck. He had a great ability to feed off the audience and think on his feet, and soon built up a good rapport with the crowd. First up was an act called “ Wayne The Weird “ who incorporated simple magic tricks into his comedy routine, providing something just a bit off the normal beaten track. The tried and tested formula of getting audience members on stage to help with the tricks worked this time too, providing much hilarity along the way. Wayne might be weird, but he was wonderful too.

Second act on stage was a chap called Nick Banks. At first glance you could be mistaken for thinking he’d just been drinking at the bar in his jeans and T-shirt outfit, and his shaved head and bushy beard was certainly an eye-catching visual. But it was his facial expressions and casual demeanour that really set his act alight; naughty school boy smirks and eyebrow raising carried you along with his expertly timed patter. However, the highlight for me was his unique delivery of an excerpt from the racy book “50 shades of grey“ by E.L James. The passage he read related to the performing of fellatio, nothing comedic there you’re probably thinking........... Now imagine it being read by the character “Frank –oooh Betty – Spencer” from the programme “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave them”. Factor together the written content, impersonation, and the afore-mentioned schoolboy smirking and it was no wonder that the men in the audience needed Tena Ladies too!! Tears were streaming down my face, and down those of many other people.

Check out this You Tube link with a short exert of Nick Banks, 50 Shades Of Grey

Comedy nights like this are never just “each act gets better and better“affairs, that’s not the point of them. Their aim is to provide a wide variety of genres for an audience to experience and also for comedians to find out what works and what doesn’t in their act. Which brings me to the third act of the night, Mike Milling; this act relied very heavily on pre-prepared drawings, a very different strategy than that used by most comedians, and certainly a brave decision. Top marks for originality, but this particular audience (myself included) were not convinced by this approach to comedy.

Last act up was a comedian named Andrew Bird, the most experienced act of the evening. You could tell he had had a bit time more working on his act, the delivery was smoother, he oozed confidence on the stage and used the stage more to walk around on than the other acts. Part of a comedian’s success is his ability to connect with the audience and engage with them, and Andrew did this very well.

Scott, the Compere, did an outstanding job throughout the evening providing several incredibly funny moments himself. His inter-weaving of anecdotes with live audience interaction was very slick, and I would love to watch one of his own comedy slots.

It was a very very pleasurable evening on its own, but combined with the always friendly atmosphere of Blueys bar, great value ticket price and wide selection of beers ciders and wines; it’s a winning formula for a top-notch midweek night out in Alfreton. Good on you Blueys for having the get up and go to host an evening like this, can’t wait for the next one - which incidentally is the 25th March