In The News!!

So it isn't The Times, The Washington Post or The Sun, but being featured in the York Evening Press is still quite a nice treat.

Here is the link to the full article.

You might wonder why I look so thin on top in this picture. I think it has something to do with the high position of the sun, the reflection of the glass behind and the length of exposure. It has absolutely nothing to do with my rapidly receeding hairline.

Laters

XXX

The Glorious Twelfth

So the shooting season is upon us once again, and a large number of Upper 10 customers are going to be heading to the moors in their new kit from Upper 10.

Our offerings include breeks, field coats, gilets, vests and caps. All made to the usual exacting Upper 10 standards. We stock 100's of tweeds from merchants including Dugdale, Porter & Harding and Bateman Ogden. We have a variety of weights so whether it's a Autumnal afternoon in Yorkshire or a Baltic afternoon in Scotland we can cover your requirements.

Email us on enquiries@upper10.co.uk for more information.

Good luck with the grouse...

Summer Sport

Hello Blog Fans,

Apologies for the dearth of blogging recently - we have been too busy!

Things at HQ are flying at the moment, busy keeping our shirt and suit customers happy!

That said, there has been enough time for Mrs. Mullen Jr to enroll the BC, Slug & JLC on the York Knavesmire Harriers Summer Series - 6 x 10 kilometre runs!

The first race was last Tuesday and to say that I was under prepared would be a mahoosive understatement, and to say that Rachel had told us the truth about the topography of the run would be a downright lie. The first 5K was solidly uphill.

For you amusement you can search the results here but I hope that your scroll down button works.

Ciao

X

Spot the Difference.

Pete Sampras (left picture) Dominic Mullen (right Picture)

Well, Dom is hardly insulted by the comparison. But I must confess there do seem to be certain similarities. I'm not sure of the degree to which their genetc material, or hand-eye coordination is shared...... But on this eveidence it seems a fact beyond question that they have their Barber in Common, if not their dentist- check out Pete's pearly whites!

Who'd have thought Pete would travel to York to get his hair cut? I must catch him next time he's over to see what he makes of Roger's refusal to use a two handed backhand... Its a question thats been troubling me.

Trash TV

I will watch more or less anything on TV. Favourites of mine include Big Brother (series 1 - present), Celebrity Love Island, Love Island (not enough column inches to justify the 'celebrity' moniker), Castaway (Fogle is a dream boat), Hell's Kitchen, The Farm (Loos + Pig as a reminder), The Restaurant...You get the idea, I have a seriously un refined palate when it comes to TV!

One programme that is not allowed to be viewed in The Slug Bunker however is The Apprentice.

I can't stand it. I can't stand 'Suralan'. I can't stand any of the people who have ever been on it.

Whilst I appreciate that Sugar has been very successful throughout his career, though I doubt he sold more than about 20 of those 'communicator' telephones which hilariously the 'PA' still uses on the show, the ritual humiliation of the contestants is boring and for me a massive turn off. He always seems to end up with a 'rough diamond', not much formal education but a hardness and an ability above all to sell anything to anyone, seems to get you the gig!

Whilst I'm at it I find Dragon's Den equally painful. I like the concept of it (obviously) but this too has become a humiliation exercise where too often people who are ill equipped to deal with the trauma of a professional presentation, flounder and come a cropper. No thanks.

That said - I did have my first BBQ of the year last night, the highlight of which were some spare ribs, marinated in Levi's Reggae Reggae sauce!

Finally, I really enjoyed watching The US Masters this weekend. I particularly enjoyed the shape/age of the leading protaganists. Perry, Cabrerra, Campbell & Mickleson are all 40 something (maybe not campbell) and all a little chubbalubba and it felt good to be watching them battle it out, and no matter how fit the young guns are, you can't work on your bottle in the gym!

Ciao
X

Reuters Square, London

A fantastic view of Reuters square in London, encompassing the series of fantastic Mondaine Clocks they have in situ there!

Their setting here says a lot about their iconic status, visual appeal, and performance. Time is money; and in Canary Wharf, such a major business centre, up to the second accuracy is called for and delivered by Mondaine.

We are delighted to have them here at Upper 10, sticking as wqe do, their full range of clocks and watches. For a closer look, please visit us at: http://www.upper10.co.uk/mondaine.html

March is Mondaine Month!

The inclusion of Mondaine Watches to our product range has been a huge success. WHat more could you want, they are an iconic brand with a matching style and memorable design. Of course they are Swiss, which all the best watches are, and furthermore they are the official clock of the Swiss railway which speaks volumes of their accuracy and heritage. They have a wonderful provenance, and are a watch to be taken seriously by anyone building up a watch collection or simply wishing to wear a functional and stylish watch.

Mondaine's uniquely styled and legible face is echoed throughout its extensive range which includes an automatic model as well as watches with an alarm function, sporty chronographs, and pieces with enhanced water resistance and toughened mineral glass. My own favourite was the "Night Vision" which is a purposeful and stylish watch containing tiny gas cylinders rather than the traditional (and not as bright superluminova paint) it reads clearly and brightly at night and at £189- Its a snip!

For the whole of March we will be stocking the entire product range and are thye only authorised dealers doing so for many a mile.... So get down here for a peek, or check them out online at: http://www.upper10.co.uk/mondaine.html

Quite A Suit!

Since its outing at the Brits, we haven't been inundated by requests foe copy-cat suits to rival this one worn by Matt Horne.

Its pretty full on and clearly not something you'd wear every day to the office. Its also extremely close fitting, check out the trousers.... So its hardly Surprising that James Corden wasn't sporting a matching effort!

I think any suit is probably improved when standing next to Kylie!

Heart Vs Head!

Ryan Jones= Dynamic, big, good carrier, goes forward

Steve Borthwick= One paced, too small, goes backwards with the ball

Above in microcosm is one of the many problems we face tomorrow. I'm not an England basher, in fact I'm very patriotic, and I also have nothing against Steve Borthwick. I think Borthwick, is a very nice man, intelligent, and an excellent rugby player- however, he's not big, fast or nasty enough to be a truly international calibre forward.

And basically Wales, on paper at least, are superior on almost every department to us, and they're at home ...... So:

Prediction:

Heart: Eng 18-15 Wales

Head: Wales 38-12 Eng

I know that is a huge cop out and that basically 2 predictions is no prediction at all!- But there you go!

Cold Snap!

This cold snap is getting ridiculous. I can't remember such a prolonged period of having to listen to Dom going on about how much he enjoys wearing longjohns.

A very pictorially topical blog today; thanks for that to the ubiquitous and historically capped Mr Beckham. Clearly comparisons between him and Bobby Moore are not entirely justified, and I think most will agree their true sporting parity begins and ends with their current number of caps.

The superior number of caps on offer these days and Beckham's lack of real success with England surely place him well behind Bobby. But one must commend his admirable stickability, professionalism and ability to do one thing VERY well. Testament also to his fitness which despite one or two high profile injuries has been excellent (think Michael Owen).

Also he's a handsome devil, and wearing this scarf rather well!! If you're shivering away at the moment pop down and get one of our Lovely Merino numbers, very soft and very warm!- And on sale at £35- BARGAIN"

Feedback

We would love some feedback on our revamped site. It has been really successful since it relaunched before Christmas, getting lots of traffic and whilst I doubt it is troubling Amazon in terms of sales it is doing really well.

All rather surprising considering it was built by a gastropod mollusc:

Anyway, please havea look and send us an email with any thoughts!

Ciao for now,

Da Slug

X

Suits You Sir!

Online Surveys & Market Research

West Indies 392 bt England 318 & 51 by an innings and 23 runs

Not the best day for English sport yesterday- And certainly not the best for Cricket. There seems to be a rather large hubristic element to the fiasco following, as it did; hot on the heels of the the IPL sales. I'm not sure of the total sales value of Freddie, KP and Colly, but perhaps their minds were elsewhere!!

Hopping Mad!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7875271.stm

The weather has obviously been a major talking point of late, but this is about the most amusing thing I've seen to come from the snowy conditions! Reminds me of some of the moves I've seen being thrown in the basement of the Gallery in York!

6 Nations! - and Glory Days!

I'm not sure that at the start of the 2004 6 Nations after the above took place, or at the start of the 2008 tournament after JW had steered England to an improbable 2nd consecutive final, that anyone would have thought it would be Andy Goode lining up at No. 10 for the 2009 series. Goode has never been first choice, and still isn't now; but for his calf injury Toby Flood would be starting. However, I wish him luck, he's a decent player and has a solid kicking game and has a chance to claim for his own the berth he has had to watch JW, Charlie Hodgson, Toby Flood, Danny Cipriani and even Olly Barkley dominate. He's more one dimensional than any of those others but Johnson will be banking on him to be more solid and dependable than all (but JW). A solid start is what we need tomorrow, dominate possession and territory get the scoreboard moving and maybe cut lose with our exciting backs towards the end.
I don't think it promises to be a glory Year for English Rugby.
For those wanting a permanent reminder of our high-water mark then try:
http://www.upper10.co.uk/category-22/jonny6.html
Still a best-seller!
I predict: Eng 28-12 Italy

Time Flies!

http://www.upper10.co.uk/mondaine/A6673033811SBB.html

Well, its already a month since I tied the knot- time really does fly... And to think they said it'd never last!
Married life suits very well, I've upgraded from worn cotton slippers to a shiny leather pair and now only the finest shag tobacco ( http://www.smoke.co.uk/acatalog/Shag__Fine_Cut__Tobacco_To_Weigh_Out.html )makes it into the pipe. These are just two of a plethora of small adjustments I've made to live a lifestyle commensurate with my new married status.
Some things remain the same, like the faultless timekeeping of my Mondaine... For those unacquainted check them out on the link above...Timeless Swiss perfection!
Ciao

Happy New Year!

And what a way to start the Year. A beautiful day in Hull and a smashing evening in Beverly. Magic.

Be in touch soon, busy slug at the mo as the Big Cat and his Tigress are sprawled on a beach somewhere!
X

Show Dates

Here is where you can find us over the next few weeks:

13 - 14 October: Presents Galore, Kelso
15 October: NSPCC Gift Fair, Uckfield
15 - 16 October: The Durham Shopping Extravaganza, Durham
27 - 28 October: Tynedale Fair, Matfen
28 - 29 October: Auntumn Fair, Westonbirt
3 - 4 November: Angus Fair, Scotland
4 - 6 November: Irnham Bazaar, Lincolnshire
5 November: Duntreath Fair, Scotland
6 - 7 November: Christmas Shopping, Castle Howard
10 - 11 November: Buriton Fair, Hants
11 - 13 November: Arneston Fair, Perthshire
14 - 15 November: Nettlecombe Court, Devon
18 - 19 November: Malcolm Sargent, Scotland
19 November: Osberton Hall, Lincs
20 - 21 November: Erskine Christmas Cracker, Scotland
24 - 25 November: Perth Fair


More Will be added as we go along!!

See you there

SS

It's SHOWTIME!

So here we go again. We have begun our 2008 CHRISTMAS show season. There you go, the first mention of Christmas this year, October 8th - not bad.

The Big Cat is already on the road - the Ladies of Beaconsfield are about to be offered some seriously tempting wares for the gents in their lives.

This year we are breaking records - over 40 days of shows, between now and the 1st December, so it's going to be busy, busy, busy.

I can hear you all wondering - Will I end up in a more curious lodging than the Salisbury House of Prayer of 2006?

Will Big Cat eat only Pasta Pots from now till Xmas? (what about the wedding diet? - Don't think we haven't noticed BC - only 7 beers last Saturday - that got the alarm bells ringing)

How many Pen Again demonstrations will take place? (my personal estimate = 200-300)

Will The Sherrif be left deflated by my aleing for the 4th year running? (very likely)

So we'll keep you up to speed with all the shows and hopefully some amusing anecdotes along the way.

Remember there are only 78 shopping days till Christmas.

The Slug

PS Relaunch of our website www.upper10.co.uk check it.

Wedding Fever

Firstly apologies for the lack of action recently, our blogger in chief has been busy planning his nuptuals and I've been busy worrying about how long before a wedding to get my haircut, in order that on the day it is represented to it's fullest self. I kid not, and to add to the tension, after I calcluated that it should be 17 days before, I booked a 1/2 hour slot to visit the barber and when I got there, his card machine was broken and I found myself 800m from a cash point with slightly straggly hair.

So here I am, 13 days from N & A's wedding and still no haircut - so I have a decision to make - do I attend with my hair too short, or do I continue to let it grow and hope that the thickness and irish wave of the hair on the side of my cranium steals the show and directs attention from the sparse covering on top...

Next weekend is the trip over to The Lakes to celebrate Big Cat's stag. It's going to be triple wicked. Just organised a little surprise for the Great cat himself, he's going to hate it but that's not the point is it!!

Ok, I'm outtahere, the only thing to say is to thank one time Team Member 'The Sheriff' and the rest of the Department in Lincs. for putting up with Damo this week, we all know he's not easy company and he hates drinking load of ale, but we appreciate it. Fear not, I will be making my annual pilgrimage in October where I can show you what proper aleing is.

Ciao, The Slippery Slug X