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Preserved Cherries RICHARD Money knows his Walsall side will face a full-blooded challenge tomorrow from a Bournemouth side "fighting for their lives". The Saddlers need to win to retain any chance of pinching the fourth play-offs place in League One. But while Walsall's late-season loss of momentum is disappointing, it pales into insignificance in comparison to Bournemouth's travails. The Cherries are virtually doomed to relegation, courtesy mainly of a 10-point deduction for going into administration. They are destined for League Two but, in a way, Bournemouth's fans would be delighted if their club are competing in League Two next season. It would mean they had survived. The favoured bid to bail out the club fell through on Monday and administrator Gerald Krasner is now in desperate discussions with other interested parties. This has been a difficult week in a horible season on and off the field for AFC Bournemouth. Yet, of late, manager Kevin Bond and his side have responded brilliantly on the field. Five wins from their last six games have preserved a glimmer of hope of at least avoiding relegation. "Kevin has done an absolutely superb job under the most difficult circumstances," said Money of his counterpart. "Had the club not been deducted 10 points for entering administration, his side would be safe by now. "Tomorrow we will face a Bournemouth team who are fighting for their lives both on and off the pitch. "They have been on an impressive recent run of results and once more we face a team who are in form. They will provide us with a very tough test." Defeat tomorrow would almost certainly relegate Bournemouth for sure but football is a ruthless industry and Walsall must show no mercy. Twice this season they have played the Cherries at Dean Park - and they are yet to win. Bournemouth won 2-1 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy while the teams drew 1-1 in the league. Money's main selection headache will be in midfield. Alassane N'Dour, Darren Wrack and Mark Bradley are ruled out by injury or illness. David McDermott is in contention for a rare start while, at the back, Manny Smith will get another chance to impress in place of broken-foot victim Ian Roper.

lotion sprayer Rexam’s global network of dispensing systems and makeup teams collaborated on the creation of the custom high-tech pump and bottle combination for Avon Anew Ultimate Age Repair Elixir. The Rexam SP343 lotion pump, with 230mcl dosage, was crafted at the company’s Le Treport (France) factory. Suitable for even the most aggressive formulas, the Rexam SP343 is versatile and requires no pre-compression. The custom PP actuator and collar are molded and vacuum-metallized in Shanghai, at Rexam’s Qinpu facility, where the complete pump is assembled. The two-part bottle is made at Rexam’s makeup factory in Shanghai. An inner, injection-blown bottle (PP) with Snap’on neck contains the product, while the outer bottle is molded in clear PCTG and gold-sprayed on the inside and silk-screened on the outside. Rexam’s Snap’on technology enhances high-speed filling. Round sisal body scrubbers from Qosmedix are naturally gentle exfoliators, good for deep cleaning and stimulating circulation. Individually packaged, the scrub bers have a polyester cotton cushion and a stitched cotton banded edge; the elastic band can be slipped on for single-handed scrubbing. A healthy choice for spa or bath gift sets, the scrubbers are available in 3- or 4-in. diameters. Yves Saint Laurent selected Alcan’s Artist Brush tube for Gloss Repulpant, its new shiny lip plumper. The innovative applicator tube delivers a professional result, yet is convenient and easy to use with its pen format, automatic on/off valve system and soft, precise brush. The tube’s graphics represent the stylish codes of the YSL brand: two runs of a brown silkscreen lit up by golden glitter, gold hot stamping and gloss metallic gold cap and casing. New High Glass has announced Candiani, a new line of quality Italian-made plastic cosmetic packaging. The clean lines and fine detail of these bottles and jars combine for an elegant impression. The extensive line comprises more than 40 styles, which are distinct yet compatible. Each style is available in several sizes and capacities. The Cosmetic Packaging Group, a division of O.Berk Company has introduced a new line of low-profile jars in polypropylene. All four sizes—1-, 2-, 3- and 4-oz.— have 70mm neck finishes. The low-profile jars are ideal for many cosmetic/personal care/cosmeceutical products including creams, lotions, bath gels, scrubs, body smoothers, etc. This line can be further enhanced with optional frosting, custom colors and other decorating options. TricorBraun has designed triangular bottles, manufactured from TricorBraun custom molds, to shape a new line of personal care products called Emerge Total Response Therapy. Introduced by Gold Canyon, the new line of Emerge bath products will be sold in triangular 150ml and 250ml clear PET bottles. The 250ml bottles use a dispensing disc closure and include bath soak, bath polish, body lotion and body lather. Body mist is packaged in a 150ml bottle with a fine mist sprayer, and body lotion is also offered in a 150ml bottle with a dispensing disc closure. Half transparent case, half mounted box, the Freecase from Cosfibel is made of a covered cardboard belt and a plastic sheath. Freecase’s originality is in the belt’s magnetic or snap closure, which allows for a lateral opening and folds over one of the cardboard sides. Inside the box, the product is clipped thanks to an exclusive manufacturing process—a single wedge for fragrance samples and a double wedge for bottles, for example, where the object is crimped at both extremities as if it were suspended. A standard item, the Freecase is decoration-free, which allows for personalization of the various components. Axilone manufactured the latest cap of Délices de Cartier as a jewel. Its flawlessness and transparency (made possible thanks to its realization in Surlyn) highlight the bevelled cabochon of the bottle. CCL Tube has upgraded its post-consumer resin (PCR) tube by increasing the amount of post-consumer resin used in the sleeve and commercializing the use of post-consumer resin in the head of the tube, an industry first, according to the company. CCL can load up to 60% post-consumer resin into the tube head and 70% in the tube sleeve. CCL’s PCR tubes are available in most standard tube sizes (3/4- to 2 -3/16 in.) with compatible head/neck finishes. Decorating options include one-to-eight color offset and one-to-six color screen printing, hot stamping, spot and full wrap labeling. A line of co-extruded bi-colored high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles is available from Silgan Plastics. Formed on Silgan’s proprietary wheel equipment, these bottles can be produced in a wide variety of sizes, neck finishes and shapes. The two colors can be introduced as stripes of equal or varying width. In an oval bottle, for example, the stripes can be limited only to the broader sides, while in a round bottle, two stripes can create a half-and-half configuration. Bottles can be topped with color-matched single- or multicolored closures. The standard neck finish allows for the use of either caps or dispensing closures.

Honeysuckle Flower As I walk through the nursery jotting down summer blooming plants I’m flooded with memories. Growing up in the nursery brings all kinds of pictures to mind. You see, my mom and dad bought their first nursery in June some 45 years ago. I was in fifth grade. My brother, sister and I spent many a summer in the back of the nursery building “forts” and playing on the canning pile. As we spent every summer there we of course became familiar with all the flowers in our back yard. People ask every day what blooms in Bakersfield in the summer. My answer: a lot!Starting out with annuals: Celsia, Salvia, Vinca, Marigolds, Cosmos, Petunias (spray for bud worms), Zinnas (love those little star zinnias), Black Eyed Susan Vines, Impatients, Begonias, Gartenmeister Fushia, Allysum, Portulaca and Pentas. These plants will bloom off and on all summer up until the weather gets cold. When you first plant them you must water often. Most of these come in small packs with small root balls, hence you must water two to three times a day until they get established. Once established with a good root system, only water them when the ground is dry. Also feed them once a month for healthy plants and lots of flowers. Shrubs and perennials that give color in the summer are many: plumbago, day lilies, agapanthus, red fountain grass, kangaroo paw, lantana (many new varieties), morea iris, coreopsis, solanum, bidens, salvia (many different varieties), Mexican primrose, cone flower, rudbeckia, lions tail, catmint, dahlias, lavender, lambs ear, yarrow, verbena, Bacopa, Cuphea, gazanias, Hypericum, Myoporum, stipa grass, oleander, bougainvillea, hibiscus, mallow, Cape honeysuckle, Rose of Sharon, Alstroemeria, pride of madeira, cactus, Rhodohypoxis, Zauschneria (grey foliage with orange flower), butterfly bush, geraniums, cistis, Cestrum, astilbe, coral bells, hydrangea, calla lily, Loropetulum, Scaevola, arctotis, Mexican marigold, gardenia, abelia, dwarf pomegranate, statice, silver lace vine, vinca minor, gerbera daisy, euryops daisy, Shasta daisy — the list could go on. Some trees and vines that are showing off for the summer are: crape myrtle, Vitex, jacaranda (can be frost sensitive), Madame Galen Trumpet Vine (what a show of orange — wow!), bougainvillea, star jasmine, mandevilla, Pandora jasmine, Solanum vine, oleander tree, Rose of Sharon (hardy hibiscus), Southern magnolia, silver lace vine, honeysuckle and trumpet honeysuckle. All this color comes from the flowers, and we haven’t even discussed foliage color — that will have to be another article. Again the same principles when planting in the heat are applicable: pay special attention until roots are established. Be sure to hand water in the early morning, and each and every newly planted plant must be checked! Do not depend solely on the sprinklers to get your plants through the transition period from container to the ground. Always mulch around the plant, when you dig the hole twice as big as the root ball use a 50-50 mix of mulch and native soil. Don’t plant any deeper than it was in the container, and make a water well at soil level so the water can trickle down to the root ball. Remember that in Bakersfield heat I do not recommend breaking the root ball! Don’t disturb the plant any more than you have to. The less stress experienced, the less shock the plant will incur. Hopefully these plant lists can spark your interest and get you to try something new. All of these plants can add to the appeal of your yard in the summer while we’re out using our yards. Like for me, planting all this color can help bring good memories of Bakersfield summers. I am truly blessed to have been able to hang out in a beautiful environment all these years. What memories!

Fresh Cabbage St George's Market is about as good an advertisement for seasonal produce as you can get. On any given Friday, the place is thronged with shoppers snapping up the fresh fruit, vegetables and fish that it's increasingly difficult to source in many areas where only cigarettes, tins and magazines can now be found in the corner shops. While Gordon Ramsay's recommendation that restaurants should be fined if they don't use seasonal produce is considered a little extreme, the shoppers mostly agree with the sentiment. Gillian dos Santos (50) and her daughter Morjane (16) were buying bagfuls of fresh fruit and veg with Gillian's mum Naomi Peyton from Belfast. "I lived 15 years in France and I got very used to fresh fruit, fresh veg and fresh fish," Gillian says. "I think seasonal food is very important for the people of Northern Ireland generally — they don't eat healthily. I really miss the fruit in France. You shouldn't go into a restaurant and pay ￡50 for things that have been lying around." Morjane adds: "I think he's right — everything should be fresh." Stallholder James Murdock (75) from Belfast says the likes of Deane's and Paul Rankin source their fresh produce from St George's Market — but there are others who simply contact a warehouse to have produce shipped in. Instead, they should come to somewhere like the market and build up a rapport with a stallholder to source good regular produce, he advises. "There's too much foreign stuff being used — it adds to the eco miles, " he says. "At the minute a good lot of the stuff is local but at times our stuff is coming at the end of the season and you have to go abroad to get it. A bit of aubergine is grown here but not enough to do the Northern Ireland market. "There's a lot of organic stuff grown but it's not nice to look at and it's still unproven." But Melisa Neill (25), a hotel receptionist from Philadelphia who was shopping with her son Josh, doesn't think the pressure should be on restaurants to only use seasonal produce. "I think you go to a restaurant to have something that you wouldn't necessarily have at home. You want to try something different at a restaurant," she says. Her mother-in-law Isobel Neill (58) from Belfast said the experts argue that frozen food is as good as fresh, so you should be able to get seasonal vegetables at any time of the year. "If more people were asking for seasonal vegetables, more restaurants would serve them," she says. Meanwhile stallholder Jim Murdock (45) from Belfast isn't impressed with Ramsay's argument. "Fruit and vegetables are never out of season — he doesn't know what he's talking about," he says. "You only have so much local stuff that you can use. For example, asparagus is mostly imported although you do get some from mainland England. "But things like cauliflower, savoy and cabbage are in season in most months of the year — you may have a couple of months in the year when it's imported stuff. The only fruit we grow here would be cooking apples and strawberries. "He's talking about local produce — I am referring to supplying restaurants the year round. A restaurant phoned me one Tuesday looking for grenadillas — I found a company and we had it by Saturday."

Fat Free Meal A new process for making biodiesel from tallow could allow meat companies to offset emissions taxes and avoid those costs being passed on to farmers. However, misinformation about tallow-based fuel may halt progress of the Biofuel Bill currently being considered by a Parliamentary select committee, and stymie investment in the process. The Auckland by-product R & D company Flo-Dry Engineering Ltd has developed a novel system that costs less and has a higher quality output than conventional plants. Flo-Dry’s managing director Tissa Fernando says that the company has spent the past five years working with specialists from the Universities of Auckland and Canterbury to develop the process and build a pilot plant. The quality of its output meets the specifications for biodiesel set by the Ministry for Economic Development. “Conventional processing methods require a much higher quality tallow in order to meet the MED’s minimum ester content and cold-flow standards,” says Fernando. “Our continuous technique can cope with a free fatty acid content of up to 4% in the raw material, and the final product is ideal for blending with mineral diesel.” News of the new technology comes at an opportune time for meat companies as they get to grips with looming carbon taxes. In the next few years it is almost certain that they will be charged for the emissions from any fossil fuels used for processing, packaging, storage and transport of meat and by-products, and these costs will undoubtedly be passed on to farmers by way of lower schedule prices. However, Fernando points out that having tallow from their rendering departments available for conversion into biodiesel is of great benefit to meat companies. “Tallow is a renewable resource that is naturally very low in sulphur, and greenhouse gas emissions from tallow-based biodiesel are only 25% of extra-low sulphur mineral diesel,” he says. “By converting tallow to biodiesel, companies can earn a premium over normal tallow prices as well as carbon credits of at least double the value of any emissions taxes they might face.” However, the potential of the new technology to offset meat industry carbon taxes could go up in smoke if the Biofuel Bill, currently being considered by a Parliamentary Select Committee, does not go ahead. A key measure in the draft Bill would require a very small but increasing percentage of biofuels to be incorporated into transport fuels. The immediate benefit would be to stimulate development of alternative renewable energy feedstocks and processing systems, and begin to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels for transport.

fuji apple It's amazing how rapidly cold green tea drinks have spread on market shelves. A few years ago they were pretty much unheard of in North America. I can't believe there's even a green tea pop out here now. Here are some of the latest offerings: Nestea Vitao Green Tea with Fuji Apple: the label says it's made with real fruit juice, and has vitamins C, E, and calcium. There's also some emphasis on the antioxidant benefits of green tea. As you can tell by the name, they're pushing the health angle with this one. The apple taste doesn't overpower the green tea, like Brisk Green. It's nice (and the Fuji flavour is distinct), though I think I'd pick just plain green tea drinks over this one. I think the apple taste clutters it up a bit and I'd prefer something simpler. However, there are also other flavours which I haven't tried yet, including mandarin orange. Infinite Health Water Lemon Green Tea: this one is even more overtly a health drink. In fact, it declares itself to be a vitamin and mineral supplement. It has vitamins B, C, and E plus calcium and soy extracts. There are also instructions that state to drink one battle twice daily as a vitamin supplement, and there are also cautions, such as avoiding using two hours prior to or until four hours after taking medication. The taste is pleasant, and more harmonious than the apple and green tea drink I previously tried. But with all those cautions, I'd be more careful about picking this one up again. Pfanner Green Tea Cocktail with Lemon-Prickly Pear: Okay, this is where things derailed. It started off promising, as I'd never seen this brand or flavour combination before. It's a product of Austria. Unfortunately, the prickly pear flavour is too strong, sharp, and perfumey. Disappointingly, I would not recommend this one, except for as a novelty. Pfanner Red Tea Rooibos-Pomegranate: It's not green tea, but I thought I'd give Pfanner another try with a different flavour. This one was much more to my liking, and quite refreshing. The pomegranate flavour is nicely balanced and not too tart. Original flavour, and good taste. Thumbs up. I'd have it again. Tazo Green Tea with Spearmint and Lemongrass: pleasant and refreshing, but not particularly memorable or distinct from any of the other green tea drinks I've had. And hey, if you try any of these, don't forget to be kind and rewind by recycling the bottles.