RandomRandomhttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008-12-01T18:58:23ZSquarespaceBlack Country Tay Shirtshttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008/12/1/black-country-tay-shirts.htmlDonato2008-12-01T18:55:25Z2008-12-01T18:55:25ZDid you know that Bostin Group originally brought you Black Country Tay shirts? Or is it Black Country T-shirts? Well i guess it depends which part of the Black Country you are from.

Here is some information about the Black Country:

The Black Country is an area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton, around the South Staffordshire coalfield. It has a combined population of around one million.

By the late 19th century, this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation. The South Staffordshire coal mines, the coal coking operations, and the iron foundries and steel mills that used the local coal to fire their furnaces, produced a level of air pollution that had few equals anywhere in the world.

It is popularly believed that The Black Country got its name because of pollution from these heavy industries that covered the area in black soot. There is an anecdote (of dubious authenticity) about Queen Victoria ordering the blinds lowered on her carriage as the royal train passed through. However, historians suggest that it is more likely that the name existed even before the Industrial Revolution; outcroppings of black coal scarred the surface of the local heath, and the presence of coal so near the surface rendered the local soil very black.

The Black Country is also known for its distinctive dialect, which differs slightly in various parts of the region.

So as you can see, depending on where you are from in the Black Country we all have different accents!

]]>Local Author Has New Releasehttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008/7/28/local-author-has-new-release.htmlkino2008-07-28T08:08:32Z2008-07-28T08:08:32Z

 

Wolverhampton author Mil Millington, noted for his website and subsequent novel "Things my girlfriend and I have argued about", has released his latest book.

Chris is 25. He has a job in advertising he despises - despite being naturally brilliant at creating shamelessly successful campaigns - an 'artistic' girlfriend and his two best mates from university, who spend a lot of time playing pool, drinking Grolsch and quoting lines from Robocop at each other.


But Chris's life is about to change. The eighties are coming to an end and he must take decisive action if he is to fulfil what he suspects is his true potential.
So, after pre-emptively celebrating the fact he is about to hand in his resignation, Chris goes to bed drunk in 1988 but very unexpectedly wakes up in 2006, with an unbelievable hangover, a long-suffering (and worryingly 'old'-looking) stranger for a wife, a life that hasn't turned out the way he had hoped for at all, and an unnerving amount of new body hair.


For any one who has ever felt like a 25-year-old stuck in a middle-aged body this is a brilliantly funny and moving novel about love and experience, choices made and consequences lived with, and how although we may get hopelessly lost in life, the most unexpected people can help us find our way home.


 www.myspace.com/milmillington


]]>Would you believe it?http://www.bostin.net/random/2008/6/22/would-you-believe-it.htmlDonato2008-06-22T11:28:27Z2008-06-22T11:28:27ZHere's an interesting fact i read today:

Buying green power for the average UK home for one year saves as much carbon dioxide as planting nearly two acres of trees, removing a car from the road, or not driving nearly 12,000 miles. Energy generated from wind, solar, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, and biomass has low or no carbon emissions.

 

]]>Peru Inca Trail trekhttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008/5/28/peru-inca-trail-trek.htmlDonato2008-05-28T12:30:12Z2008-05-28T12:30:12ZWell, i done it!

After a lot of blood, sweat and tears, i finally finished the Peru Inca trail trek.

It has been the hardest challenge i have ever done in my life, both physically and mentally and at the same time most rewarding.

I never expected it to be so hard and at times i thought i would not finish, especially after just arriving at Cusco and suffering from altitude sicknes, cold shakes and diarrohea!
 
I have almost reached my target of £5,000 and all it would take is if another 100 people sponsored me £5 each which would get me past the target! My sponsor page is http://www.bhf.org.uk/sponsor/bostin and if you want to send me a cheque instead that would be good too!
 
In celebration of completing this trek, i have decided to have a 24 hour discount sale for everyone on the mailing list on 31st May, this Saturday. Everyone who is registered at http://www.bostin.net/mailing-list/ will be emailed a discount code around midnight on 30th May, which can be used at www.bostin.co.uk for a 20% discount for ALL online purchases on the 31st May only.
 
Feel free to mail this to ALL your Bostin friends and family and tell them to register at http://www.bostin.net/mailing-list/ so they too will get the discount code for 31st May. 


Tara-a-bit!

]]>Bikeweek Family Cycle Day in Sutton Park on Sunday 15th June 10am to 4pmhttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008/5/28/bikeweek-family-cycle-day-in-sutton-park-on-sunday-15th-june.htmlDonato2008-05-28T10:34:15Z2008-05-28T10:34:15ZThis is an event that your family and friends may be interested in. Stands that have been booked to date include:

Company of Cyclists (lots of weird bikes to try www.companyofcyclists.com)

Blendavenda (blend your own smoothie on a converted bike www.blendavenda.com)

Stunt bike rider (www.rjrideguide.com)

Sign posted 2, 5 and 10 km routes to try on your bike

20 bikes for people to use on the 2, 5 and 10 km routes if they do not have a bike

Two food stands have been booked as well

Birmingham City Council TravelWise stand (advice, including the 2008 Birmingham Cycling and Walking Map)

 

More details can be found at: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/familycycleday

]]>Used Black Country website helping our environmenthttp://www.bostin.net/random/2008/2/4/used-black-country-website-helping-our-environment.htmlDonato2008-02-04T07:04:04Z2008-02-04T07:04:04ZA new website has been launched to help the environment.

The website is aimed at reducing the landfill of the Black Country by getting locals to reduce, re-use and recycle items they would otherwise throw away. You can also turn your junk into cash by selling items you have no further use of.

Checkout www.UsedBlackCountry.co.uk

]]>Bostin British Heart Foundation Trekhttp://www.bostin.net/random/2007/12/11/bostin-british-heart-foundation-trek.htmlDonato2007-12-11T23:02:44Z2007-12-11T23:02:44ZI'm fundraising for the BHF to help beat heart disease and urgently need your help.

The reasons i have chosen BHF are mainly;

1. My youngest brother suffered a heart attack in his early thirties. He was fortunate enough to survive.

2. Every year, thousands of people die prematurely from heart disease. It remains the UK's single biggest killer and for the increasing number who survive, life can be frightening and hard.

3. The British Heart Foundation is the nation's heart charity. Every day they save lives, through pioneering research, providing vital information to help people reduce their own heart health risks, campaigning for change and supporting and caring for heart patients.

You can see my progress in raising vital funds, and even forward my page to other people we both know to help the BHF raise even more money and save more lives.

Thank you for your support!

You can sponsor me here>>>]]>Santa is coming!http://www.bostin.net/random/2007/12/2/santa-is-coming.htmlDonato2007-12-02T19:58:04Z2007-12-02T19:58:04ZHo ho ho, you may be saying? But it's true, he's coming and NORAD track him every year.

The NORAD Tracks Santa (NTS) program has been around for a long time, since 1955 to be exact!  And while NORAD has the "history" and excellent technology to track Santa, NORAD cannot expend government funds on the program. Besides the short time a NTS Project Officer spends "managing" the program, NORAD spends only the minimal amount of funds on NTS.

You can find out more about this here at NORAD Santa tracker

]]>B-Proud, B-Loud, B-Bostin!http://www.bostin.net/random/2007/11/24/b-proud-b-loud-b-bostin.htmlDonato2007-11-24T12:09:35Z2007-11-24T12:09:35ZWe love The Black Country and Birmingham and are proud to have released a new range of Tees for you to show your pride of the area.

Check them out at www.bostin.co.uk shop :-)

]]>One way of solving traffic problem in West Midlands?http://www.bostin.net/random/one-way-of-solving-traffic-problem-in-west-midlands.htmlDonato2007-10-29T16:21:35Z2007-10-29T16:21:35ZThe West Midlands probably has one of the most congested motorway network in UK.

The government has now tested use of hard shoulder on parts of M42, which has proven to help reduce congestion and pollution.

Well, there is another way of solving this issue and it is using this very special car M400 Skycar.

Anyone fancy a test drive/fly?

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