As if this year wasn’t running away with us fast enough already, ASDA has just revealed its Christmas food range for 2020.
It’s not even August and we’re already talking about the festive season, but if the treats and tipples making up ASDA’s Christmas range this year is anything to go by, then we’re definitely not complaining.
Finally, there’s something to look forward to.
If you’re the type of person who likes to plan well in advance, then you’re in luck because the UK supermarket chain has given shoppers a sneak peak into what they can expect to see on shelves later this year. From party and buffet foods, to a selection of main courses, desserts and even a cheese roulette, there’s certainly some real stand-outs to tuck into.
Fancy an early preview? Here’s just a few of ASDA’s festive feast treats coming in December.
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Main Courses & Sides
You’re not going to be stuck for choice this year.
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ASDA is spoiling us with a great selection of mains including an Easy Carve Boneless Turkey Centrepiece, a Vegan Turkey Joint, and Slow Cooked Beef Shin. Fans of last year’s best-selling 12-piece Pigs in Blanket Centrepiece will be pleased to hear that the retailer is bringing it back once again this year, along with a new Giant Pig in Blanket Sausage Roll too.
ASDA
Other mains and sides in the range this year include a Cauliflower Cheese, Sweet Potato & Cranberry Wellington – which is described as “creamy, rich and hard to resist” – and a Christmas Dinner Parcel, which comes filled with turkey breast, wrapped around a classic pork, sage and onion stuffing, with chopped sprouts, lashings of smoked bacon and finished with a port glaze.
Can you just imagine how ace a ‘leftovers butty’ would taste with that?
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Desserts & Sweets
We’ve all got a ‘dessert hole’ in our stomachs, haven’t we?
Nothing tastes better than a dessert to finish off your Christmas dinner and this year, ASDA will be launching a Gingerbread Cheesecake, a Chocolate Orange Opera cake and some delicious Chocolate & Cherry Houses to name just a few.
The stand-outs here include a ‘Bruce the Brussel Sprout’ Cake, and Reindeer Ice Cream Lollies.
ASDAASDA
When it comes to sweets and confectionary, ASDA isn’t leaving anything out here as some some brand-new Spiced Clementine Fudge, Sour Cherry Nougat, and Spiced Orange & Triple Sec Chocolate Cookies are all to be expected.
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A new and improved recipe for their much-loved Salted Caramel Mince Pies are also rumoured too.
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Party & Buffet Food
A lot of food does get consumed during the festive season, but there’s always room for more and ASDA has outdone itself this year when it comes to party and buffet food.
The retailer will be launching Salmon Mac & Cheese Bites, Chicken & Stuffing Layered Pork Pies, a vegan Bao Bun Selection, and, what is by far the stand-out, Pigs on Fire – a new pigs in blanket-inspired dish with cuts of British prime pork blended with Carolina Reaper hot chilli, perched in a jalapeño, and then wrapped in streaky bacon.
Only for the spice lovers amongst us by the sounds of things.
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Cheese
What’s Christmas without a cheese board?
ASDA has really thought of it all this year and is set to offer everything from a simple but sublime British Farmhouse Cheese Stack, to a Cheese Roulette, yes a Cheese Roulette – which mixes both food and fun, with individually wrapped pieces of tangy cheese – to complete your feast.
Yum.
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Drinks
Back by popular demand, ASDA has confirmed the last year’s standout hit Mince Pie Gin Liqueur will be returning for 2020 and there’s bound to be plenty of people pretty pleased about that.
If mince pies aren’t quite your bag though, some other new additions – Gingerbread Gin Liqueur and Cranberry & Clementine Gin – will also be hitting shelves this year too, so there’s plenty to choose from to say cheers to this December.
It hasn’t yet been confirmed when the 2020 festive food range will be arriving in ASDA stores and online, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled later on this year.
For more information, visit the ASDA website here.
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Inside the Grade I-listed Cheshire mansion currently on the market for an eye-watering £11.4m
Emily Sergeant
A Grade-I listed manor house has gone on the market over in Cheshire, and to say it’s absolutely stunning is a serious understatement.
Oh… but you will need a spare £11.4 million to fork out on it though.
Of course, it goes without saying that the vast majority of people reading this article right now won’t see a sum of £11.4 million ever in their lifetimes, and properties of this size and stature are not the kind we’ll ever get to call home, so the next best thing we can do is just snoop around on good old Rightmove and have a nosey at all the jaw-dropping pictures instead.
Like us, if you’ve got no shame in admitting that one of your favourite internet pastimes is looking up houses you can’t afford in places you’ll probably never visit, then allow us to introduce you to this absolute beast of a mansion in Cheshire.
We’re talking a Grade I-listed, 10-bedroom, has its own library, lake, tennis courts, self-contained lodges, a venue for hosting weddings and corporate events, and is sat in extensive farmland kind of ‘beast’.
This is Dorford Hall, in the Nantwich area of south Cheshire / Credit: Savills
This is Dorford Hall.
Nestled in a secluded, yet still very easily-accessible corner of Nantwich in south Cheshire, the expansive Dorfold Hall Estate boasts a seriously-stunning Grade I-listed Jacobean manor house surrounded by breathtaking Victorian gardens that’s been immaculately-restored and renovated by the current owners over several years to now offer accommodation for modern living within a historic setting.
While the estate may now serve the dual purpose of being a cherished family home, and a picturesque venue for weddings and corporate events, that’s now how it started life in the 17th century.
Built in 1616 and designed in the characteristic Jacobean style, the Grade I-listed Hall is steeped in local historical and architectural significance – with rumours claiming its construction was even expedited to host King James I during a royal visit.
It’s a Grade I-listed manor estate rumoured to have been built for King James I to stay in during the 17th century / Credit: Savills
Now, estate agents Savills call it a “fine example of Jacobean architecture”, all thanks to its symmetrical design, red and blue brick diapering, stone detailing, slate roofing, large mullioned windows, ornate chimneys, and gables.
Accommodation is arranged over three floors, with the spacious reception rooms, bespoke kitchen and dining room, library, billiards room, and the separate lodges, cottages, and apartments for housekeepers, being just a few of the stand-out features it has to offer.
And the wow-factor doesn’t stop with indoors either, as the outside is arguably even more impressive.
It’s currently on the market for £11.4 million / Credit: Savills
Once you’ve entered the estates grounds through the electric gates and make your way down the impressive tree-lined drive, you’ll find acres of mature and historic gardens, new lawn and garden irrigation systems, several outbuildings, and even an enviably-beautiful walled garden with its very-own wildflower meadow, lake.
As mentioned there’s even tennis court within the grounds too, as well as a restored Clock Tower, and the small matter of a RIBA award-winning avant-garde event space and Coach House that’s licensed to hold civil ceremonies.
We know we’ve used the word ‘impressive’ quite a few times throughout this, but what’s one more… it’s all pretty impressive, right?
Dorford Hall is currently on the market with Savills for a whopping £11.4 million, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the property company to arrange a viewing.
Or take the cheaper route instead and just have a nosey at the Rightmove link here.
Featured Image – Savills
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New narrators to take over from Sir David Attenborough for special episode of Planet Earth III
Emily Sergeant
The BBC has announced that some new narrators will be taking over from Sir David Attenborough for a special episode of Planet Earth III.
The BBC stalwart has been narrating nature documentaries for over 70 years now, and is known all across the world as the voice of nature – but, as our natural world faces even greater challenges than ever before, the broadcaster has claimed that “one voice alone is not enough to speak up on behalf of planet Earth”.
This is why, especially to mark Earth Day yesterday (22 April), the massively critically-acclaimed documentary series, Planet Earth III, decided to collaborate with BBC Children in Need for a one-off episode of the show.
New narrators are taking over from Sir David Attenborough for a special episode of Planet Earth III / Credit: BBC
But what exactly is it that makes this episode so “special”? Well, that’s because it’s uniquely narrated by dozens of schoolchildren.
The children – who are each aged between nine and 13, and are all said to be “budding naturalists” – can be heard reading from Sir David Attenborough’s original scripts in a bid to both “champion the power of youth voices” and, ultimately, “speak up for the planet”.
The BBC explained that the 50 student narrators were chosen from schools selected by BBC Children in Need as some of the most engaged fundraisers for the charity across the UK in recent years.
There are some new kids on the block this Earth Day…
Sir David Attenborough steps aside for a special episode of Planet Earth III, narrated by schoolchildren.
Alongside the airing of the special episode, the BBC also gave tens of thousands of children nationwide the chance to tune into a virtual assembly hosted by wildlife biologist, explorer, and presenter Lizzie Daly, as well as take part in a Q&A with the producers of the popular documentary series.
Clips from Planet Earth III were also made available so curious kids could have a go at narrating for themselves.
The special episode of Planet Earth III narrated by the schoolchildren is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer here, but it will also be airing on BBC One on Monday 6 May too.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd July 2020 
