Tina Calder

Almost half of us will buy too much Christmas food this year, with cheese most likely to end up in the bin. One in five of us will pop more Cheddar, Brie and Stilton into our baskets than we’ll eat over the festive break, according to research. Biscuits, vegetables, mince pies and cream are also

Snogging under the mistletoe at office Christmas parties is getting the kiss-off from Grinch bosses. They reckon that smooches will be banned at nearly one in seven festive dos. Dancing will also be off limits at one in 12 workplace parties. But we look like we’ll still try to grab a sneaky snog — with

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has announced that Northern Ireland’s Holiday At Home voucher scheme will now no longer go ahead. The scheme, which would have allowed households to claim back 50% off a stay of two nights or more in certified accommodation up to a value of £100, was due to be launched this Autumn.

Festive films and turkey sandwiches top a list of people’s favourite things about Christmas. For two in five people, the pandemic has changed what they enjoy most about the festive season. Seven in 10 agreed they should be greener. Save the Children is encouraging the nation to re-use clothes on Friday’s Christmas Jumper Day.  

The Santa Bus has arrived in Belfast, offering families and children the chance to be whisked around the city while meeting Santa. The Santa Bus departs from City Hall each evening until December 23rd from 6pm to 9pm, with journeys taking place every 20 minutes. Visitors to Santa’s bus don’t have to book in advance,

Six in 10 of us reckon life has got too complicated – and three quarters of us say we’ve lost sight of simple joys like a baby’s gurgle. Even shopping is overly stressful thanks to baffling pricing and sales language and too much choice. First on the list of forgotten pleasures was the smell of

Smoking rates in Northern Ireland have dropped by 5% in the last year. The Health Survey Northern Ireland found that smoking rates dropped from 17% to 12% since 2020. The survey also found that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost a quarter of smokers felt they were more motivated to quit smoking. It

Portrush based Zymplify Group have launched a new intent-driven sales enablement platform called Lead Onion. The platform will allow users to identify, prioritise and connect with leads and prospects in real time, as well as allow users to activate buyer-intent data with 17 dynamic intent sources at their fingertips. The announcement comes on the back

One in four of us is at risk of ‘losing everything’ stored on our mobile phones – including precious photos of loved ones. A study revealed only three in 10 of us have backed up the data on our devices in the last 12 months. And 27% have NEVER done so.   Hear more news

Footfall in Belfast has seen an increase thanks to the High Street Voucher Scheme. Research by the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium found that footfall in the capital increased by 3% in November, the highest level of footfall in a major city in the UK. Footfall in Northern Ireland decreased by 5.2% in November, which is

Cottage pie, lasagne and the Sunday roast have topped a list of the nation’s favourite ‘winter warmers’. Researchers found at this time of year we’re fond of beef stew, spaghetti bolognese and cauliflower cheese. Other much- loved classics include mac and cheese, fish and chips and bangers and mash, all guaranteed to warm our cockles

He was the 100-year-old war veteran who raised almost £40 million for NHS charities and captured the nation’s hearts by walking around his garden in the first lockdown. Now the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore want to set up an annual day in his honour in a bid to create a ‘Children in Need

Google has revealed its most searched for term in the UK this year was ‘Euros’, following the England team’s run to the final in July. Football dominated the search engine’s 2021 list, with ‘Premier League’ and the Danish player Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the pitch during the tournament, coming next. The first pandemic-related search,

MPs are earning £350 an hour to take surveys for polling companies, according to research. Firms such as YouGov and Ipsos Mori regularly question MPs to find out the opinions of policy makers. Since the 2019 election, 123 MPs have spent 695 hours carrying out 1,040 surveys – earning more than £116,000.   Hear more

A new study has found that the political dysfunction at Stormont is causing young people to leave Northern Ireland and not return. The research conducted by independent think tank Pivotal found that 73% of young people said going to a university outside of NI was their first preference. The top three reasons for leaving were

We are a nation of clothes hoarders who own on average 58 items but only wear a third of them regularly. Women have 69 garments worth £542, made up of 33 tops, eight jackets, 11 trousers and 17 pairs of shoes, a survey found. Men have 47 items worth £453 – 23 tops, six jackets,

Millions of us admit we struggle with basic grammar and spelling, according to research. More than one in 10 adults admit to getting confused when to use ‘their, there and they’re’, while a further 26 per cent mix up ‘license’ and ‘licence’, and 19 per cent never know whether to write ‘stationary’ or ‘stationery’. And

Tesco is facing potential disruption ahead of the key Christmas period at more than half of its 22 UK distribution centres, unless an agreement is reached with its staff. Unions say 5,000 members had rejected a proposed 4% annual pay rise. They take industrial action at 14 of the supermarket chain’s distribution centres which could