The Slick Brasier | The Stylist Property Know-It-All

The earliest recorded civilisation in Belize was the Mayan dating from 1500 BC to AD 800. In the late classic period of the Mayan civilisation (before AD 1000) it is believed that up to 400,000 people may have lived in Belize. Europeans arrived in the 16th century and tried to settle the inland areas of Belize but they were forced to abandon these efforts after repeated Mayan rebellions and attacks. Spanish occupied the coast.

English and Scottish buccaneers called Baymen, seeking a sheltered area from which to attack Spanish ships, settled in Belize. During the 18th century the settlers began cutting logwood as it yielded a fixing agent perfect for clothing dyes which was so vital to the European woolen industry. In exchange for an end to piracy, the Spanish allowed the British settlers to occupy the area and cut logwood.

Eventually war broke out over ownership of Belize as an invading force from Mexico attempted to take Belize for Spain whilst a small group of resident woodcutters fought back with the help of black slaves. Glad flower delivery Oxford wasn't caught up in it! The Spanish repeatedly attempted to regain control over Belize until their last effort on 10th September 1798 when the British repelled a Spanish fleet in the Battle of St. George’s Cave.

Custard is a cooked mixture of cream or milk and egg yolk (I prefer milk). The consistency of custard can vary wildly between thin pouring sauce (a little thicker than milk) to very thick cream that can be used to fill pastries, depending on how much egg is added to the mix.

Typically, custard has sugar and vanilla added to it and is used for desserts. Yet custard can also be used in many savoury foods, often for bases such as for quiche. One can cook custard in the microwave, bain-marie or in a saucepan on a stove. It is essential to be cautious when preparing custard as a little too much temperature applied and it will curdle.

Custard has been popular in European cuisine for a great deal of time. During the Middle Ages, custard tarts (custard baked in pastry) were extremely well-liked. The term ‘custard’ in fact originated from the tarts, ‘croustade’ referring initially to the crust of the tart.

In my opinion the only issue at fault with custard is the difficulty involved in cleaning the custard cooking implements. As adhesive and durable as cement, custard once hardened induces the heart to harden towards a formerly loved friend. Also, it's rather annoying when you lose your r4 3ds card in it!

It's very easy to get down, disillusioned and down-right stressed out when you're job hunting. We've all been there, so here is how I kept my head up in even my darkest job-hunting days.

Set up a schedule
It's hard to keep motivated, so avoid losing drive and keep in mind that it's not instant and may take a while to get a new job. Set up a schedule of when you will sit and search and apply and stick to it, it will help you to keep a positive search attitude.

Set a time limit
You're most likely to get disillusioned if you spend hours upon hours sifting through Adzuna job ads. Restrict yourself to an hour or two a day. If you burn out your applications will suffer, lessening your chances of success.

Use your applications for motivation
Keep a note of each of your applications, how you applied and when. This will motivate you and show you just how much work you've done, and give you a handy help when contacted by a potential employer.

Photo: AngelaArcher.com (Flickr)

Anyone that knows me will know that I'm not exactly a trainers-wearing kind of a guy, unless I'm at the gym or going for a run or something. Day to day I'll wear smart casual shoes, in summer I love wearing Toms style shoes that are light and comfortable. I never wear flip flops.

But I'm quite liking these adidas trainers, I suppose they're more shoes than trainers, and that's probably why I like them!

They're only £31 which is an alright price, and as they're Adidas they should be pretty decent quality. And if I order them from USC I get free delivery because they are (just) over £30, so many times when ordering online I'd have to go and find other things to add to my order to qualify for free delivery, but not this time. Knowing me I'll probably have a look around and add some other purchases anyway!

Photo: USC

Don't you just love it when you know you need to buy something specific, go to the shops and find exactly what you need on sale?

Well, that can happen for you almost all the time if you shop cleverly. If I need something specific, I shop around online to find the best deal I can, there are so many sites that help you do that, even Google Shopping is a great and simple way of looking.

And if you're looking for something like a mobile phone contract or a TV deal it is always worth looking online before you try in-store, there are so many 'online only' deals and things like virgin media promotional codes to give you savings that you wouldn't get otherwise.

If you're going to be giving away your money for a product, you might as well find the best deal for you with a quick internet browse.

Photo: s_falkow (Flickr)