10 Valentine’s Day Ideas That Don’t Cost A Fortune – Part One

10) Personal Vouchers

This is a gift that’s fraught with danger and isn’t really very good, but if you insist on doing it then there is one simple rule to follow: be cute and romantic instead of, to put it pleasantly, “risqué”. Nobody likes a risqué voucher. Something like 10 free back rubs or 5 free babysits (if you have children) is much better than two tickets to the gun show.

9) The Romantic Walk (It’s February. This is risky).

“But Murray, a romantic walk sounds so nice! Why is it so low down the list?” I hear you ask. Because we’re British, and it’s February. This has the potential to go horribly, horribly wrong. I once spent valentine’s day walking around the zoo in the freezing cold with torrential rain; I couldn’t even keep my hands warm because it was valentine’s day, and that means holding hands. But if the weather’s nice and you’ve got no better ideas then god speed, good luck and take a scarf.

8 ) The Romantic Night In

If this is your plan, then you must follow one simple rule: cook. Do not, under any circumstances, order in food because then it’s nothing more than a cheap restaurant meal. If you put the effort in to spruce your place up a bit, throw some vegetables in a pot and rent a movie or two then this is an excellent budget valentine’s.

7) Silver Love Heart

I promise, this is the only Gadgets product I’ll promote in this list, and it’s only here because it’s really cute and perfect for the first valentine’s day since you said those magic words. This is definitely not suitable for anyone who’s been together more than a few years, but if you’re just starting out then have a look and thank me on the 15^th.

6) Mix-tape

Warning: Under No Circumstances Should You Misinterpret Mix Tape To Mean “Playlist”, “CD” or “Now 68”. This is all about romance, and taking 10 minutes to burn a CD that they can just skip through means diddly squat. I mean go out there, buy them a £5 Sony Walkman from a charity shop and agonisingly record a track-by-track account of your relationship and what they mean to you. It’s all the good points of a mix CD with the added bonus of not being rubbish.

That’s the end of Part One of this countdown; join us again on Wednesday for the top 5!

10: Saved By The Bell

It’s an absolute teenage classic that was a staple of a million households weekend viewing, and the theme song is the embodiment of youthful abandon.

9: Angel

I’m using my first official Chief Blogger’s Veto to include this as it’s the most perfectly fitting theme song I’ve ever heard. Dark and moody with enough upbeat modern sensibilities to keep an audience of teens with attention spans the size of a small newt engrossed.

8: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Heroes in a half-shell… Turtle Power! Just in case you weren’t sure what you were watching, the theme repeated the phrase “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” so many times that it got stuck in your head for days on end. Great writing.

7: Diff’rent Strokes

The 80′s were a simpler time, where television could be about wholesome family entertainment and trying to bring the world together. Nothing embodies this better than the Diff’rent Strokes theme tune. Whatchu talkin’ ’bout Willis?

6: Fresh Prince

Every single person I know can rap at least the opening few lines to this song. ’nuff said.

5: Friends

It’s arguably the most popular show of all time, and the claps in the theme song are one of those beautiful moments where a room full of strangers can all become 1.

4: Happy Days

Just like Diff’rent Strokes, Happy Days was about better times when TV wasn’t trying to shock you, it was just a nice way to relax for half an hour with Fonzie, Richie and the gang.

3: The A-Team

I defy anyone alive to listen to this song while driving and stay within the speed limit. Go on, try it. I dare you. Can’t do it, can you? That’s why it’s genius.

2: Cheers

I wish this could play every time I walked into a bar, it makes me want the other customers to all cheer “Muz!” at the top of their voices every time I entered. It’s a classic, classic song for a classic, classic show.

1: Thunderbirds

It’s triumphant, heroic and dramatic, everything Thunderbirds itself was. It’s a genuinely phenomenal piece of music that perfectly illustrated the show you were about to watch.

What do you think, Gadget fans? Are these the best theme songs or have we missed some? Hit us up on facebook or twitter and let us know.

So here we are then. February. Unlike it’s little brother January, February doesn’t get it’s #1 holiday out of the way on the 1^st of the month, instead it waits ’til the 14^th so we’ve got plenty of time to prepare. I am of course referring to St Valentine’s Day, that most loving and romantic of holidays. But as with all things, there is a downside to this wonderful holiday: presents. If you get it right it’s love-o-clock, but if you get it wrong it’s a sheepish phone call to the parents asking if you can sleep on the sofa tonight.

There’s a simple solution: you won’t get it wrong, because Gadgets.co.uk has some fantastic ideas for you! We’ve launched two new sections of our site: Valentine’s Gifts For Him and, unsurprisingly, Valentine’s Gifts For Her! Whether they’re big gifts for big gestures or small tokens of appreciation, we’ve got the lot:

If he’s a gadget freak, he’ll love the iPhone AppCopter. If he’s a father, he’ll get a real kick out of embarrassing the children with the Sandal Socks. If he’s got a sweet tooth then he’s certain to fall for the Personalised Sweetie Jar. There’s bound to be something in here no matter what kind of man he is.

Because you’re a man, you’re definitely causing your partner stress, so get her the Bed Of Nails to undo all the problems you’re causing! If you’re stuck for romance, the sterling silver You Are Priceless gift tag is an excellent choice, or if you’re feeling a bit simpler then nothing says I love you like the tasteful Silver Love Heart.

Through the magic of the internet, both of those banners will take you to their respective pages so give ‘em a click and have a look around!

The Dark Knight Rises
ETA: July 20 2012
Supposedly the last in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of a dark, gritty and altogether very entertaining take on a DC comics favourite. This time Batman as portrayed by Christian Bale is pitted against masked muscular psychopath, Bane. A villain that looks like he’ll have you cowering behind your popcorn.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Three Stooges
ETA: April 2012
Peter and Bobby Farrelly, masters of 90s comedy and best known for the double-act slapstick stylings displayed in Dumb and Dumber and Stuck on You, are taking it back to where it all started with a film version of The Three Stooges. The initial cast of Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro sounded too good to be true and of course it was. The film now boasts a less inspiring line-up of Sean Hayes, Craig Bierko and Will Sasso but may still have us rolling in the aisles.

The Great Gastby
ETA: autumn 2012
Cinema genius meets literary genius as Baz Luhrmann makes a go of the F Scott Fitzgerald classic. Never mind the $125 million budget, surely the girls will want to see it for DiCaprio and the guys will go for Carey Mulligan? You wasted your money Baz!

The Great Gatsby

On the Road
ETA: Summer 2012
Walter Salles, director of The Motorcycle Diaries brings cinematic life to one of the greatest road novels of all time. Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ will finally be brought to the big screen this summer. Fans of the book will almost certainly be divided but we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s Paradise for Sal or an old Jalopy.

On The Road

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
ETA: December 14 2012
Peter Jackson returns to middle earth to deal with another J.R.R. Tolkein adaptation. This time ‘The Hobbit’ has been split into two films, the latter of which can be expected in 2013. Expect hairy feet, plenty of action and a ‘best of British’ cast. We’ll see the return of Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee and Andy Serkis as well as the addition of Martin Freeman, Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch and James Nesbitt!?

Star Wars: Episode I 3D
ETA: February 12 2012
It may be the least loved of Lucas’ six legendary movies but if any of the Star Wars movies are a prime target for a 3D make-over, it’s this one. We’re looking forward to a little 3D pod racing even if we can’t have the Millenium Falcon flying over our heads.

Star Wars 3D

Walkers are now giving you the chance to take a guess for yourselves. Although our little office guessing game was just for fun; now you could win £50,000 just for eating a bag of crisps! Now that’s tasty. 

Grab yourself a bag of Mystery flavour A, B or C available at any self-respecting fried potato vendor, have a little nibble and make your guess at www.walkers.co.uk or www.facebook.com/walkers. Three correct guessers will win the grand prize and we’ll finally discover the secret of the mystery flavours on Friday 9th March. Is it a sign of my crisp addiction that I’m really excited about this?

Just to help you whittle it down, here are some suggestions for flavours that are almost certainly not correct:

Gary Lineker’s Feet Flavour
Potato Flavour
Jealousy Flavour
Ice Cream and Custard Flavour
Cold-Chinese-For-Breakfast Flavour
Prawn Cocktail Flavour 2: Revenge of the Prawns
Eyelash Flavour

Happy guessing!

Scottish person.

With those words, the Burns Night Supper is started. It may surprise you to know that I, Murray Stuart Dougall, am a Scottish person. With that in mind, Gadget HQ have asked me to teach you all a wee bit aboot Burns night and whit it entails.

Scottish persons.

As you already ken, Rabbie Burns is the greatest Scottish poet o’ all time, an’ so on the 25^th o’ January every year we hae a big feast in honour o’ his memory. First, the host gives a big speech welcoming one an’ all tae the dinner, which is followed by the Selkirk Grace from the start of the column an’ a starter course that’s usually scotch broth.

Then it’s time for the big yin, the haggis is rolled in an’ the host delivers “Address tae a Haggis”, Burns’ ode to the traditional Scottish dish. I know most non-Scots are squeamish when it comes tae eatin’ haggis, but if you try one new thing this year make sure it’s haggis, it’s honestly one o’ the greatest foods in the world.

After the main course it’s speech time, beginnin’ with a memorial tae Rabbie Burns and then going into the toast to the lassies and the toast to the laddies. Efter this there’s some recitals of Burns’ work, and then we come tae the end o’ the evening. In 1997 when I wis jist 9 years old, my dear mother had taken me an’ ma brither tae Crown Court Church of Scotland fir the big night, an’ at the behest o’ ma elders I stood up an’ sang Flower Of Scotland tae finish off the speeches before the traditional communal singing of Auld Lang Syne.

Burns Night Supper.

An’ that, ye wee Sassenachs, is a Rabbie Burns Night Supper!

(May not necessarily be me or Sam)

A couple of years ago I mistakenly bumbled into a Chinese restaurant with a few friends, completely unaware that we were arriving without a reservation on the eve of Chinese new year. Even after waiting 20 minutes and getting a table, we remained blissfully oblivious to the fact that anything out of the ordinary was happening until a 12-man-long Dragon came charging into the room accompanied by another 12 men beating out pounding rhythms on various drums.

We watch with bemused bewilderment as the Dragon danced between tables and girls started handing presents out to all the guests, ourselves included. For 15 minutes we bore witness to a wonderful display of colours, music, dancing and celebration and then, quick as a flash, it was all gone and we were back to being in a Chinese restaurant.

(May not necessarily be me or Sam)

On a side note, ever wondered why the Chinese zodiac contains just those animals? The legend is that they were all fighting over who would be first so the Chinese Gods made them race across a river to determine a winner. The rat and cat wondered how they were going to get across because of their small stature, so they jumped on the back of the ox. Halfway across, the rat pushed the cat off the ox and just before the ox reached the shore the rat jumped ahead of him, which is why the rat is the first animal of the zodiac. The cat finished so late that he was not granted a year at all, and vowed to be the rat’s enemy forever. The full legend is available here.

The 20 Best Impossible Gifts

20: Dinner at a fancy restaurant with Academy-Award-Nominated-Actor Woody Harrelson

19: A new pen.

18: The ability to Irish dance.

17: Monkey butler.

16: One free punch, redeemable against anyone who has appeared on X-Factor.

15: Post-it notes. Lots of post-it notes.

14: A really, really nice hedge.

13: A producer credit on a Hollywood blockbuster.

12: A pet kestrel.

11: Bi-Polar, the fourth studio album from Vanilla Ice.

10: One free punch, redeemable against Vanilla Ice.

9: The ability to Irish dance with Academy-Award-Nominated-Actor Woody Harrelson.

8: Saturn. You couldn’t go there but c’mon, “I own Saturn”? How is that not a great thing to say!

7: One free punch, redeemable against anyone named Justin Bieber.

6: A producer credit on a Hollywood blockbuster starring Academy-Award-Nominated-Actor Woody Harrelson.

5: Robot butler.

4: That jacket you’ve been looking at in the shop, but you think it’s probably a bit too expensive to justify it and besides, you’ve never really been able to pull of leather so you write it off, but then you look at it again and you think “hmm… maybe I could.” It’s really nice, and you’ve been working hard this month, surely you deserve a little treat right? Beat the January blues and all that. Yeah. That jacket. We want to give you that.

3: Immortality.

2: True love.

1: Bernard’s Watch.

What do you think, readerland? Have we missed something out, have we included something you disagree with? Maybe you want to defend Vanilla Ice, maybe you’re allergic to kestrels, whatever your thoughts are, we want to know!

Thanks to the beautifully-coiffured Professor Brian Cox and the slightly-less-coiffured comedian Dara O’Briain, stargazing has become the new form of reality TV that it’s okay to like. It’s scientifically interesting, intellectually stimulating and can provide us with some unbelievably beautiful and astounding images. But, as the two presenters are keen to point out, stargazing is next to impossible when you live in, or even near, a big town or city.

Obviously, it would be foolish to suggest moving to the countryside just for stargazing; moving homes is a lot of hassle, and you’d have to be pretty gaga for galaxies to even consider such extreme measures. So then, what do you do? Fortunately, as always, Gadget HQ has a solution:

This is our Deep Space Planetarium, a small device that turns your room into an entire galaxy of stars, projecting them onto your ceiling to show you the entire Milky Way and all the wonders within it. It’s stargazing with none of the drawbacks: you won’t get cold, you won’t suffer from light pollution and it’s better value than even the cheapest telescope.

If, like me, you think our galaxy is beautiful but fundamentally lacking in the spaceship and galactic warfare departments, how about this for an alternative? The Death Star Planetarium does exactly the same as the Deep Space, but with the Star Wars galaxy instead of our own! A whole new world of stars and planets at your fingertips, with the added bonus of being able to switch back to the good ol’ Milky Way whenever you’re feeling homesick.

We’re obviously not daft enough to suggest that they can truly replace the wonder of real stargazing but, particularly if you have little ones who are showing an interest in the universe, they’re fantastic ways to familiarise yourself with the night sky before taking a more expensive plunge into the real thing.

For the last two years the Golden Globes has provided us with some of Ricky Gervais’s finest moments, cutting Hollywood superstars down to size with his decidedly British brand of comedy insults. Having been invited back again this year, we were all expecting more of the same, and I for one was very keen to check the videos of last night when I woke up this morning to see who had fallen into his firing line this time.

For the first time since beginning his run as the host of the Globes, Gervais fell somewhat flat. Compared to his previous two appearances he exchanged his trademark brand of political incorrectness for bigger laughs from his Hollywood audience, poking fun at people with a blunted knife where last year he had ruthlessly wielded a rapier.

While Gervais may have faltered, George Clooney rose out of nowhere to claim Best Actor in a Drama for the film that won Best Drama, The Descendants. A year ago Clooney had fallen off the radar somewhat, still a big name but not really appearing to do anything of note, and now he’s garnering accolades by the bucket load for November’s sleeper hit.

From home, Downton Abbey was victorious in Best Mini-Series, and Britain ruled the Best Actor/Actress in a TV Movie category with Idris Elba and Kate Winslet both deserving winners for Luther and Mildred Pierce respectively.

As usual, however, the final talking point would appear to be Ricky Gervais; although his opening speech fell a bit flat, his dropping of the F-bomb later on in the show has had the American media fawning over how controversial he is once again. Controversial or not, it’s a brave man who’d bet against him hosting it again next year.