David Cameron's Diary

X Factor 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Well ... it is that time of the year again when X Factor mania really starts to hit.

Yes, the bootcamp is over and the judges have been assigned to their categories .... and the top 12 acts have been chosen.

A couple of opportunities strike me immediately from the opening rounds of betting :

Week 1 First elimination :

John and Edward have to be my tip for the first drop. It is weird just how they won through to the live finals as they haven't actually shown much vocal talent at any of the elimination stages. What they do have is a talent for annoying people immensely. Therefore based upon straw polls I have conducted, I can't see too many votes coming from outside Ireland.

Louis Walsh appears to be the only judge so far to have seen anything of merit in them with Simon Cowell being very vocal that he would drop them at his earliest opportunity.

Whilst I am aware of the patriotism effect, I still think that there is an excellent chance that the Twins will find themselves in the bottom two, in which case I think that it will take a very bad performance from the other bottom two act to change judge's minds.

With odds around 3.3 on Betfair right now (That is, bet £10 and get £32 returned [incl. your stake] if you win), this seems generous to me.

So ... my number 1 bet is for the Twins of John and Edward to leave the X Factor this weekend.

Early Value Bet

Rikki is the camp, quirky Scottish male vocalist who has performed pretty well on each occasion and appears to be very likeable.

Unlike my view on the Irish patriotic vote, the Scottish vote very patriotically (Remember how far Michelle McManus and Davie Sneddon went in similar competitions!). Even the much maligned McDonald Brothers just missed out on a semifinal place in 2006 despite all the badmouthing from Simon each week.

At current odds of 46, although I believe that there are better acts, this looks like a good bet to win with the intent of trading out early at a profit a few weeks down the line. (You can trade bets on betting exchanges such as Betfair and they often give a free bet to get started. Check Betfair site for the latest offers.)

R4i DSi Card | R4i Adapter for the Nintendo DSi

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:53:00 +0000

One of the greatest add-ons for the DS or DSi is an R4i card that allows you to run homebrew (i.e. non-commercial) software allowing you to play movies, MP3s and read e-books etc.

As a by-product, it also allows you to run back-ups of your games from a single Memory Card. I have already lost game cards in the past (well, the kids did, not me) and this makes thing a lot less worrying as there is no swapping of cards.

The R4i DSi Adapter is discussed and reviewed further at R4i-DSi-Adapter who also have a further 10% discount code promotion that is ongoing.

Ivan Cameron

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:52:00 +0000

I haven't written on my blog for a while, but I feel personally moved today to write here.

Ivan was only 6 years old when he passed away, dying at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London earlier today.

As I share the same name as David Cameron, I often hear 'my' name being called out on the TV news and the kids taking great delight in telling me that Daddy - David Cameron is on the television again. Perhaps that is why I feel tremendous affinity with for David, Samantha and their children today.

No parent should expect that they outlive their child and my deepest thoughts and sympathy reaches out to the Cameron family today and the coming days as they grieve over the loss of Ivan.

Zimbabwe - what it were an oil giant?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:31:00 +0000

Grrrrrrrr.....

The circumstances over the last few weeks have really annoyed me.

Mugabbe is no better than Saddam Hussain in my view. The world condemns, but sits by and observes and Tut Tuts to the despicable regime.

Short and sweet by my standards, but I can't help thinking that if Zimbabwe were an oil rich nation then the US and others would be dropping troops in to the country tomorrow proclaiming regime change is necessary.

Aren't politicians incredibly two-faced?

When phones were for making phone calls.

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:38:00 +0000

The latest great Nokia N78 is another new phone with GPS inbuilt, but this phone has yet another new feature that I haven't seen in a phone before - instead of just having a FM receiver to listen to a radio station on the move, this phone also features an FM transmitter in order that you can pick up music from your phone collection.

Does that confuse you ... it certainly confused me. If you have a radio, then what is the point other than the ability to pick exact tracks. If you are like me, then the radio is just some background noise when driving.

Ah well .... for those of you that aren't old fogies like me and like your new all-singing multifunction toys, then here is the blurb on the new phone for you:

Nokia N78 now available
£299.99 SIM free. Contract deals expected this week.
The Nokia N78 is a fully featured multimedia phone. With built-in GPS you can find your location quicker, and automatically tag your photos with your location which you can share with your friends when you upload the pictures online.
Music playback is a main feature of the N78, with up to 24 hours playback, a 3.5 mm audio output jack and the ability to easily synchronise your music collection or rip CDs directly to your Nokia N78.
There’s an FM radio built-in and also an FM transmitter, which allows you to play your music collection from your phone to a nearby stereo (such as your car radio) using a free FM frequency.
The 3.2 megapixel camera has autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens. it can take photos at a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels and can record video at 15fps. Your can ppload your photos and video to your favourite online community like Flickr or YouTube in a single key press. High speed Wi-Fi and HSDPA allows you to upload media quickly.

Compare all Nokia N78 deals here

The Empowering Internet - getting the right deal

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:53:00 +0000

The Internet has come a long way since it first linked a few institutions and provided limited information sets.

Today, we have come to expect the Internet to be a vast library of information and resources at our fingertips and now many of us must wonder what life would be like without access to the Internet.

As consumers, we now have much information to digest allowing us to check others experience of products and services (e.g. honest hotel reviews or real life experiences of using products), enabling us to decide exactly what product is right for us.

So.....

benefit 1, hopefully we will now be able to purchase a product armed with the information to determine whether the product will perform for us, and

benefit 2 ... we get the chance to find the best price for the product

theoretically getting the right product for the right price.

The snag which has recently been pointed out and which may be subject to a regulatory review is that many price comparison services (espec. insurance or utility comparison services) are either promoting deals which are not best for the consumer but earn them the highest commission or more questionably simply choosing to ignore and not to feature cheaper deals.

Comparison engines really only work when they present all available data in an unbiased way and allow the consumer to make the right choice for them.

Mobile phones are a case in point ... the comparison of the phones themselves is relatively straightforward, but the complicated set of tariffs and array of 'gift' offers makes it difficult to compare the deals on offer.

I am personally pleased to be able to promote OneStopCompare - a site dedicated to bring all comparison services to consumers attention such that they get the chance to understand all pricing options available to them rather than seeing a skewed version of the market.

OneStopCompare has to start somewhere and therefore starts dealing with one of the most complex pricing areas with a confusing sets of deals imaginable i.e. Mobile Phone Deals.

My new comparison service is now pulling all known internet available data feeds to give the consumer every chance of picking the right deal across the networks and phone suppliers, providing prices in a comparable way ... do you want a free laptop?... then what is the cheapest contract commitment to enable you to get that deal? OneStopCompare aims to provide you with exactly the unbiased data you need to make that choice.

Whilst I will be trying to bring other deals to the table in the same unbiased way (e.g. utility deals), please let me know if I have missed other available datafeeds for Mobile Phone Deals to enable me to keep my promise of unbiased information. If the feed is available, then I will aim to incorporate it too .... customer is king!!

Earn money online - Tutorial starting

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:40:00 +0000

Over the last few months, I have started doing some Affiliate Marketing on a very part-time basis, making several hundred pounds using different techniques that take very little time to manage.

I am a novice to Affiliate Marketing, so I figure that if I can do it then anyone can and I want to share my learnings and to provide tutorials starting from basics that anyone can follow to make some decent money from the internet.

I have a full time job and don't spend a whole lot of time on developing my sites, but am averaging around £200 earnings per month so far. So... whilst not earth-shattering, it is very much commensurate with spending only 2-3 hours per month in working it ..... and with ext to no promotion.

Because David Cameron's Diary is a collection of random thoughts and outpourings, I have set up a seperate blog over at Affiliate Stores which will be dedicated to providing latest news on Affiliate Marketing and a distinct set of messages and tutorials.

Why not sign up to the RSS Feed. As each tutorial completes, I will prepare an e-book available to all subscribers with chapter and verse on each topic in very easy to read and follow structures.

Latest Affiliate Stores Blog Headlines

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

or alternatively, why not bookmark the Affiliate Stores Blog as one of your favourites now!!

If you wish, you can also subscribe to the blog for automatic updates via email when the blog is updated.

In the next few minutes, I will be posting on the Affiliate Stores Blog how you can earn a minimum commission of £440 for one sale and £84 for another, and the sales are very easy to make. Believe it or not, you will even profit if you buy the products yourself.

All I suggest is that you read the blog and make up your own mind. If it is not for you, then OK, but I expect to take my family on holiday this summer from Affiliate earnings made using these techniques.

I was a novice myself only three months ago and self-taught. If you follow the advice given in the Affiliate Stores Blog you WILL be able earn cash commensurate with the time you spend on your projects.

Happy Earning!!

US Petroleum Holdings - is it a scam?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:40:00 +0000

Nearly three months ago I posted concerns about calls I received concerning investment in US Petroleum Holdings. The calls were very theatrical and raised alarm bells with me.

I am amazed that considering the varied nature of the posts that I make here, Google Analytics tells me that 50% of my visitors find their way here searching for more information about US Petroleum Holdings than any other topic featured here, exceeding even my primary hobby of my Food with Passion website by a factor of two.

IF I HAVE HELPED YOU avoid making an investment that you might regret, I would be delighted if you would stop to make a comment - by making a comment, you will help to raise search engine profile for my articles and help prevent someone else from making an ill-informed choice. So..... if I confirmed your unease and you decided not to invest, please don't just walk away from here .... leave details of your experience and help someone else make up their mind based upon your own experience.

Competition results mean NADA?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Would you be excited to sample food from the second best Indian chef in the UK?

We would be too and were very excited when we discovered that the runner-up chef for the last 2 years in the Indian Chef of the Year competition was working in a restaurant just 10 miles away.

Would the restaurant food stand up to competition standards?

Read our review of The Curry Garden, Rushden and discuss in our forum

Affilistore Plus - Don't be ripped off by parasites

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:27:00 +0000

For the last couple of months, I have been using an excellent affiliate software tool called Affilistore. The developer has charitably opted to make it available for free download and use supported by a separate relationship with an SEO company.

Unfortunately, the internet is full of parasites and the software has now become available for unauthorised sale on many sites with the product advertised as Affilistore Plus.

The Affilistore Plus resellers blatantly lie about them having developed the program entirely on their own and even claim that they set up the demo sites that are owned and maintained by the Affilistore developer.

Affilistore software is not open source and therefore cannot be sold in a Plus or any other way. This is nothing more than Piracy. See Steve Balfour's (author) own comments about the legality of Affilistore Plus.

Don't buy Affilistore Plus and be ripped off. Instead pick up your software for free direct from Affilistore

If you abhor Piracy in this way, please try to create a link to this post to help bring it to the top of Google when anyone searches for information about Affilistore Plus and help alert people to the piracy, find the software for free and help shut these parasites down.

This post URL is : http://www.davidcameronsdiary.co.uk/2008/02/affilistore-plus-dont-be-ripped-off-by.html

Workhouses on Labour's agenda?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:56:00 +0000

If I heard the news correctly this morning, this can be the only natural way the Government can move forward.

I have experience of the Benefits services, having worked in the old Unemployment Benefit Offices and in my days 1981 -1990, the rules were enforced rigidly, with all unemployed being fully aware of their obligations and we had staff that could follow the rules and make sure that benefit was paid out on that basis.

Move forward to 2008 - the environment has completely changed. The claimants now attend the JobCentre to make their claim - great in theory as the JobCentre staff can refer the claimants to jobs and note where there is refusal to consider a job.

From what I understand though, it falls down because of two things:

1. the people in the jobcentre have a legacy of being customer-focussed, helping people look for jobs and are not all ready to deal with the confrontation of telling someone that they may not have been trying hard enough to find work and that their claim is being referred. They did not typically come through the benefit claims route with strict manuals to follow.
The Health & Safety Culture means that it is frowned upon to place yourself in a position of danger, yet the opening up of counters to make way for soft lighting and desks means that claimants (or clients as they are referred to in PC terms) instead of now facing the people who actually determine the payment entitlement across protective counters.

As a consequence of these changes, the culture has been allowed to become soft (and the decay started during the Tories reign) ..... it is all too easy to stay on benefits without actively trying to find a job, and unfairly the benefit axe falls on those who play it straight and are caught out by their honesty - the people who miss appointment being drunk or choosing to ignore the appointments seem to get another chance to improve.

Yet for all that criticism, I know from a partly privileged position that there are moves in place to firm up this regime and to pressure the workshy back into work by lengthening and having more probing interviews for longer term unemployed (already happening in some areas)... to persuade them to try and make every effort to find work. Let's see how that goes ... I remain a skeptic.

But for all that negativity about the way the system works, let's come back to my Blog Title and why I say this.

It was reported on the BBC News this morning that the Government wants to look at ways of removing people from Council Houses where there is persistent unemployment and reliance upon benefits to pay the rent.

What poppycock!! The Government will NEVER do this:

It will potentially penalise children and would be extremely bad PR for the Government of the day.
There is already a problem on the streets with many homeless persons sleeping rough. I hardly see the Government wanting to add to that problem.
To get the evictees out of Council Houses but off the streets, there will need to be additional hostel spaces (or equivalent) created. If we are back here again, then we might as well let people stay in their Council Houses rent-paid by the state as the only alternative would appear to be to build work-houses where people work for their bed & board and state benefits - what a throw-back to the Victorian poor-houses that would be.
It seems inevitable that any eviction in such a way would guarantee an increase in crime numbers.

It is a problem for Government, with a hard-core of unemployed being relatively comfortable and I dare say in some circumstances happy with their lot, but throwing people to the streets is not something that I can see this or any Government being comfortable with as a policy.

I can't see the electorate thinking it a great idea either and the Government works for us and with our mandate (or should do).

Bringing the passion back to Food

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:33:00 +0000

I had to laugh in the last week - one day we hear about plans to install metal detectors in schools to prevent knives etc being taken into the building.

Then a few days later to hear that all Secondary school pupils are to receive practical cookery lessons.

Pray tell....how are the kids going to cook without knives and other kitchen paraphernalia? or are we going to have a second set of metal detectors outside the domestic science classrooms?

There is a serious point though and the truth is that a new generation is growing up unable to cook anything other than microwave meals. To my mind, this arises because over the last 20-30 years or so we have seen both parents out at work and supermarkets found it easy to present a new offering in ready prepared meals.

The cooking skills are no longer being passed down through families and this has been compounded as the skills were not taught via schools either.

I welcome the transparency that we have seen recently on TV, with a sequence of programs dealing with the rearing, slaughter and butchering of our livestock. Supermarkets have sterilised the meat process and with the disappearance of our local butchers, youngsters don't get to see the carcasses being jointed for our meat.

We do need to get back into the kitchens and get back to basics removing the fear of cooking.

Cooking good honest food is not difficult - just a bit of care and attention.........and good ingredients.

I have recently launched a new website with the aim of introducing suppliers of good honest ingredients and giving honest critiques of their offerings and linking to the kitchen tools that you need..... Food with Passion is the site. An additional aim is to prove to myself and to others that home cooking is best.

There is a forum available to chat about food and your favourite suppliers, but to be frank, the take-up of membership is quite slow. It would be great to discover new suppliers of quality produce on our doorsteps. If you are interested in something other than humdrum quality supermarket ready meals and inferior meats, please stop by the forum or the main site and help the site grow to be a great reference stop by sharing your local food producers.

Majestic Wine savings

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:10:00 +0000

****** Offer withdrawn meantime due to software glitches at Majestic. They hope to reintroduce soon. ******

It looks like the credit crunch is hitting retailers. Because I am an affiliate for them on one of my sites, I just got an email from Majestic Wine with a discount code.

They say that they have never given any discount in the past, so they must be somewhat slow meantime.

Anywhere, here is the message if anyone else wants to take it up. I had a very sober Christmas and still have a decent supply left so will not be rushing out myself.

For the first time Majestic is offering you the chance to save an extra 10% off all your wine*, in addition to our already low prices and FREE delivery! This offer is available exclusively online for one week only until January 22nd, so there's never been a better time to re-stock those wine racks!

Spend £50 - £99.99 online SAVE £5 Spend over £100 online SAVE £10 Discount Code: majesticaw081

*Terms & Conditions: £5 off when you spend £50-£99.99 or £10 off when you spend £100+. Can not be used in conjunction with any other offers. Valid on online purchases only from 15th January - 22nd January. Not valid on telephone or instore purchases or in Majestic in France.
Majestic's minimum purchase is 12 bottles, mixed by any style or price. Free mixed case delivery excludes the Scottish Islands, Northern Ireland, Isles of Scilly and Isle of Man and all Gift Solutions packs. E+OE.

Chicken Out - Will it change attitudes?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:13:00 +0000

Britain has become a nation of fast and ever cheaper food.

Whilst I recognise that convenience and fast food has some place in the modern world, I do sense that we are bringing up a generation of kids that think milk comes from a supermarket rather than from cows.

I absolutely advocate transparency in farming methods and a darned sight more honesty from supermarkets about the methods they force farmers into.

In a nutshell, David Cameron supports the Chicken Out campaign to move more chickens out of the intensive barn production of meat and eggs.

What were your your buying habits before Fowl Dinners and Chicken run aired this week? Please complete the poll at Food with Passion Forum.

What will be your your buying habits following Fowl Dinners and Chicken run aired this week? Please complete the poll at Food with Passion Forum.

It is great that UK Chicken Farming methods are getting an airing, but I would like to give a plug for Compassion in World Farming.

Whilst Chicken Out's aim is to improve the welfare of chickens within the UK, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) has a tremendous track record in achieving real change for farm animals across the globe.

They carry out hard hitting political lobbying, investigations that expose cruelty to farm animals and high profile campaigns designed to achieve better standards and happier lives for farmed animals everywhere.

Their vision is a world where farm animals are treated with compassion and respect and where cruel factory farming practices end.

Their mission is to advance the wellbeing of farm animals worldwide.

Why not visit the Compassion in World Farming Site now and see how you can help improve farming conditions across the globe.

£849 discount available on Sharp TVs

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 22:07:00 +0000

Our sister site at Santas Page has been provided with some special January sales discount codes.

Please visit Santas Page for direct links to some terrific bargains....some of them are close to half-price.

Athough there are other offers available, the best bargain is a 46 inch HD Television with £849 discount representing an incredible 47% discount on the usual price of £1799......now only £950 with the Santas Page discount code.

We are pretty confident that if you are in the market for a 46inch HD TV, you will find this discount hard to beat for a top notch TV as this.

Yet another Turkey?

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:49:00 +0000

I have never been a huge fan of turkey. It has always been dry, bland and in some ways like cardboard.

For this Christmas, I decided to give it another go, but this time electing to buy the premier league of turkeys - the Kelly Bronze turkey from Essex - to review for my new Food with Passion website.

Should you buy one of these turkeys next Thanksgiving or Christmas? If you have heard of this type of turkey, but remain undecided, then why not read my honest review over at the new foodie website here.

If you have any opinions, either on the review or on the eating qualities of the Kelly Bronze turkey, then I invite you to share them in the Food with Passion forum.

I thought today was BoxING day

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:27:00 +0000

But now I know that I must have mis-heard and it is actually should be BOX IN day.

Here is the view from the back of car #1 in my driveway this evening.

The red Mazda to the right is actually parked overhanging the pavement to the extent that a pedestrian cannot use it.....they would need to walk into the road. It appears to have been forgotten, but it is actually illegal to park on the pavement, but I guess that we have become accustomed to seeing that style of parking. You will see that the pavement is completely blocked from the second picture. This car is parked so far back because there is another car in front of it on a single car driveway.

And here is the view looking from car #2 . It may not look like it from these images, but I can absolutely assure you that I had zero chance of getting either of my cars out of my driveway this evening had I wanted or needed to.

Now I know that this is Christmas and there tend to be more cars around, and I am not entirely unsympathetic to that, but this is not just a Christmas phenomenon around my way.

Only the other evening I had to maneouvre my XC90 with just a couple of inches to spare either side to get out....and I am really annoyed that had I scratched one of the offending cars, I would likely have been held to blame.

But I am even more annoyed that the Highway code has been forgotten..... Pavements are for pedestrians, not for cars!!

When I had to have two cars (and I do need two cars because my wife and I work at different ends of the country), I actually had the foresight to think about neighbours and buy a house with a double driveway....and by that I mean that I went for a side by side driveway approach to a double garage, yet frequently I still cannot get either car out of the driveway without knocking first on neighbours doors....or equally annoying, having to decide which keys to take on the basis of which car I am being allowed to get out of the driveway.

So yes, I am annoyed and frustrated because I have spoken with neighbours very civilly about this in the past, but still the issue keeps cropping up....remember that neighbour with the single driveway? They have around 5 cars belonging to family members which are often clogging up this street. We even had a broken down one towed back here from a non-resident family member hich has been parked in the street for the better part of the last week, adding to the problems.

Yet, for all that, there is an even more important message than saying that David Cameron is somewhat inconvenienced and aggrieved by this extreme example of congestion.

Thr truth is that in probably every street in the country, someone has parked selfishly to save themselves a few steps to their intended destination and parked where it was convenient for them without fully considering the potential impacts. I am willing to bet that most people base their parking decision around whether they have left enough room for a normal family car to pass down the road.

That is not the right tests to apply....try these instead:

1. Have I left enough room on the pavement for a pram to pass? If not, then I am selfishly endangering a child by forcing their parent to take the pram out into the road ...... and funnilly enough, the pram goes out first into the road before the parent has a chance to assess whether the road is clear, putting an infant at risk because of a driver's selfish lack of thought.

2. Can an Emergency Vehicle get through? Maybe I just have a different sense of perspective, but my friend DENIS the fire-engine looks a hell of a lot wider than a normal car, and I have lost count of the number of times that I have squeezed through a gap in my car, the gap being caused by cars being parked directly opposite each other on the road. If the road is the only way in and you have blocked access to emergency services, then you may be directly contributing to someone's death if you delay vital access.

3. Would I want to try and get my car out through the gap I left?

So.....please pay heed, park sensibly and considerately at all times. I can just about live with nuisance, but I couldn't live with someone's death on my conscience for sake of walking a little bit further than I might otherwise have preferred.....COULD YOU?

Please park safely and considerately,

David Cameron

Webmaster of Food with Passion, Selection Box and others.....

Top Food Producers/Suppliers wanted

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:15:00 +0000

I am a foodie!! I can't abide ready meals where you can't speak to the origins of the ingredients.

In an earlier post, I spoke to this and where I am sourcing my Christmas table. That sparked me into thinking that I would really like to develop my own website with the aim of encouraging the slow food movement and moving people away from fast food, poor quality ingredients and supermarket ready meals. I want to encourage people to start cooking and to appreciate the difference in taste and conscience by eating produce that has been raised with respect for both the land and the animals in farming.

To that end, I launched a site quietly at the weekend. Although content currently takes on a storefront format for selected suppliers that have datafeeds available, I hope will it will develop over time to be much more...the plan is for my site to be a reference manual to locate :

Farm Gate producers
Local Food Co-operatives
Restaurants that produce great meals from local seasonal produce
Organic suppliers
Suppliers of difficult to source Regional speciality foods
Food news
any other ideas that many visitors would like (e.g. recipes)

The slow food site names were taken and therefore my new site is named Food with Passion and I am looking for your help to develop it into a premier food and dining resource.

I am running this as a one man band outside my full time job and I can't cover the UK to find those quiet "Food Heroes" (coining a Rick Stein phrase).

Therefore, if you know of a great food producer, supplier or Restaurant that supports the use of seasonal local produce, please send as much detail as you can on an email to me at food@foodwithpassion.co.uk.

Alternatively, if they have a website, please visit my links page and add the details directly there for quickest possible inclusion.

I am passionate about food.....please help me to document the great foods available from your local suppliers and to make my web site be the premier UK food reference.

David Cameron.

Possibly the cheapest available Wii in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:03:00 +0000

You may have read someof my rants over the high prices being commanded (should that be demanded?) by every retailer in the country.

Perhaps stock has not being moving so fast as entrepenours would have liked, because I have just seen that the Nintendo Wii is now slashed in price at Rapid

At time of posting, the Nintendo Wii console in stock at Rapid with options to guaranteed free delivery before Christmas. In common with many suppliers, this is the Euro version, the onl difference being that it comes with the Euro 2 pin plug....but Rapid will throw in the necessary 2 to 3 pin adapter.

Now priced at £199.99 inc VAT, this is a far better and more reasonable price compared to the £279.99 previously sought. It does come with Wii Sports in the box whch I know is a great set of sports games and more than enough to get started.

I guess that you need to hurry if you are still looking for a Wii in time for Christmas though.

Click here to buy at the new lower price.

Congratulations to Leon, but you did not deserve it.

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:39:00 +0000

This has to be my wost X-Factor betting ever!!

Rhyddian didn't sparkle tonight as he has done and Leon did perform really well tonight in his best performances since the show began and I appreciated a big change over all other weeks when he "choked" in my opinion previously.

I still stand by my earlier opinion that this year has been weak.....can we compare Rhyddian or Leon to a Leonna Lewis or Shayne Ward.....? I think not!!! Leon was a poor quality winner. Don't be surprised if X Factor takes a "rest" next year, because the competition was poor this year

I made some money betting on X Factor, but would have done even better had Rhyddian won as expected. For the first year, I really don't understand Joe Public. Leon would have been my first choice to be out tonight.,,,,maybe the Scottish vote is stronger than I thought.

Some UK Wii Stock located

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:40:00 +0000

Nintendo Wii now available at Rapid

Nintendo Wii console in stock at Rapid. Guaranteed free delivery before Christmas. Priced at £279.99 inc VAT and FREE DELIVERY.

Not the best price ever perhaps, but maybe the only stock that you will find this side of Christmas Click here to buy

Borat Mankini : It really exists!!

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:29:00 +0000

Who would have believed it!!

Following the success of the Borat movie, Sascha Cohen's famous "mankini" is in production and available to buy.

Now I will be quite honest, I am not the shape to try and fit into one of these, but it could be one of those objects that get's people guessing just what it might be for, turning it in all directions trying to figure out how it works (I remember my mother's first attempts at trying to fold my wife's g-strings and not knowing where to start!!). So....don't expect David Cameron to be doing a photo parade anytime soon in one of these.

Maybe it would make a neat stocking filler........I suspect that you could fit about 20 in a typical stocking!!

David Cameron Budget Helper: Free £5 to spend!!

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:09:00 +0000

Because of the popularity of this blog, I have been given the opportunity to invite readers to apply for a £5 gift voucher from Firebox, a great supplier of gift ideas, both big and small.

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X Factor Travesty: Leon should be out

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:50:00 +0000

Apologies to all those folks who hoped to follow my X Factor BetFair betting experience and make a few quid as it happened.

Unfortunately, having two young kids proved incompatible with being online during a 7pm show and giving you my advice. Now that we are down to the last three and the kids are in bed, I would like to give you my critique.

I have backed Rhyddian throughout and traded lower versus my bets on him, and am doing all right to keep some profit (see below), although I made a few other bets along the way - if I trade out on BetFair just now as shown, I make my whole book "green", and if you followed my earlier tutorials, you will know that means I make a profit whatever the outcome......even if someone were to come back as a wild card!!

That said, I am appalled at the both the result and the judges responses this evening.

In my opinion, Simon Cowell was the only judge to give opinions with integrity this evening. Before he opened his mouth, I had already said that Leon was appalling, being out of tune and stiff as a board during his performance.

I feel sorry for Nikki - she should have gone through to the final this evening rather than Leon, were it solely based upon performance.

In my opinion, Leon got a heavy Scottish vote this evening (a la MacDonalds in 2006) which he did not deserve based upon his stiff and out of tune performance (and I say that as a Scotsman and knowing how patriotic the Scots are).

I laughed at Louis's suggestion that we had found a UK version of Michael Buble.......Leon has a great voice when he can shake off the nerves.... he could be another Michael Buble so long as he never has to perform live and only has to record in a studio environment. Leon simply does not have the nerve or stage prescence to become a solo live artiste.

So...... we are down to the last three. Who should you put your money on?

For me, Rhyddian is still the leader in this competition by long chalk.

The MacDonald Brothers carried a heavy Scottish vote last year to keep them in until this point, but at this point in the competition, the rest of the UK vote is divided among fewer competitors and the Scottish 10% population voting for an inferior act is not strong enough to kick out quality acts....that's when the MacDonalds disappeared from view last time. The Scottish vote will be swamped in the final (91:9 %age ponts) and Leon will fall at this hurdle . As an extra comparative, can he be compared to a Shayne Ward or a Will Young? I think not and he will be next out. I would bet on him for next eviction at anything over 1.5 via betfair or your favourite bookie. I wouldn't bet on him at 15-1 (16.0) to win the contest. Save your money or take some-one else's bet.
Same Difference - they are an extremely entertaining act, but are they recording stars? The answer has to be no!! They have done well in X Factor through many visual gimmicks......how much more confetti or similar do we need to see? I think we also need to recognise that Sara is a pretty and pleasant singer, but is not that strong...really she actually has little substance and is quite a weak singer. I am sure that the group will pick up a lot of votes, but for me are no more than an 8-1 chance (9.0)

Now we come to Rhyddian. What can I say about Rhyddian........? Rhyddian had some extremely theatrical performances over the first few live shows and although the staging often came in for sever criticism, Rhyddian never personally received ANY criticism himself....there was a very good reason for that, in that Rhyddian performed flawlessly and brilliantly during those bizarre performances.

I think Rhyddian had to have one disappointing week during the contest and last week was it with his Freddy Mercury and Welsh nationalist performances....and he knew and acknowledged it, but this week he returned to his top form and showed us his strength of performance with "Bridge over Troubled Water" and "You'll never walk alone" receiving standing ovations from the judges and I admit that it was the only act to leave me moved with tears during the former performance. I actually winced at least one point during each of the other acts performances.

Rhyddian is the consumate professional and may be somewhat unemotional when receiving the judges's comments unlike Same Difference and Leon, but that does not come through in his performance.

I have little doubt that Rhyddian will win and I encourage you to consider any bet offering more than 1-6 (1.15). I think that you will still see a profit at these low odds as Rhyddian appears to be a racing cert.

So, I hope that I call it right for you.....I actually managed to win every bet I made on Celebrity...Get me out of here, though I could have been more brave and made a paket after Biggins came into camp (no pun intended). I even managed to defy the odds and win when Beverly was evicted over Hope a few weeks ago, when I took £100 of bets @ 1.2 on Hope being evicted...I whooped when Beverly went, even if she was a better act overall.

So, in summary I would rate the remaining acts chances of winning as follows:

Rhyddian (1.15 chance).....I am fully bankrolled on Rhyddian having £300 on him....the odds are tempting just now, but never bet more than you are happy to lose.
Same Difference (9.0 + chance)
Leon (16.0 + chance)

Bonne Chance to you too.

Remember that my profit and trading opportunities from BetFair come from the ability to both make and take bets, something that you cannot do with a traditional bookie (e.g. accepting bets against Hope being evicted when I won my £100). I cannot advocate it highly enough that you open an account with BetFair or a similar betting exchange. Even if you do not wish to take bets, you will normally obtain better odds than traditional bookies are prepared to make on your own bets

Regards,

David Cameron

Scam: Regency / US Petroleum Holdings

noreply@blogger.com (David Cameron) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:11:00 +0000

A couple of days ago, I picked up my phone and got a mysterious call:

Me: Hello, this is David Cameron
Caller (in American accent): Hi David, this is Daniel Clarke calling from Regency. Have you heard the news?
Me: I haven't a clue what you are talking about
Caller hangs up

I thought then that he had reached the wrong David Cameron....I have had messages in the past destined for the other David Cameron...you know the famous one.

Anyway a couple of hours later he called back again and at one point called me Daniel whilst trying to promote oil stocks suggesting that the outcomes of the latest OPEC meeting would cause oil to RISE $150 a barrel within the next month.

I knew this to be garbage.....he called someone who works for an oil company.

I will not bore you with all the details, but the office there did try to put on a great theatrical show in the background with thumping of desks and people calling out just like you would have seen in Wall Street (the movie).

I told him that he was wasting mine and his time and that he should go or I would hang up as he had done first call. He wouldn't listen and I hung up on him.

He had the audacity to call me straight back again and try to solicit an "ïnvestment" because I was passing up a great opportunity. A quick root around the internet revealed that Regency has spun a few lines in their time and taken more than a few people for several thousand pounds.

Do a search for boilerroom Regency scam and you will see what I mean. e.g. http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=459387

DO NOT INVEST with these people or anyone else that cold calls you. The risks are too great....do your own research.

I don't know where these people are actually based...clearly there are a lot of compaies in the world trading under a "Regency" brand. I make no inference about any other company trading under that name.....hopefully if this rotten scammer calls you now, you will remember them and refuse to have anything to do with them when they try and sell you oil stock.