Compton Hospice held their annual ‘Big Quiz Night’ last night at the Fordhouses Cricket Club in Wolverhampton.

The evening was organised by Simon Cater from Compton Hospice in-conjunction with Route 39 and sponsored this year by Angel Springs. Although special guest compere Dicky Dodd from Signal 107 radio was unable to attend, the compere for the evening kept everyone going with witty banter and the odd joke where possible.

 
There were 12 teams in total of which included two teams from Angel the angel teams included ‘Return of the Female Bosses’ lead by Customer Retention Executive Christie James, and ‘Miss Dorothy Birdsill, 16 the Lodge, Grimsby’ lead by Telesales Executive Richard Smith.

 
Top prize for the night was £100 Love 2 Shop voucher donated by Angel Springs, with runner up prizes of bottles of wine. There were also various raffle prizes won through-out the night.

 
After a gruelling 10 rounds of questions based on general knowledge and current affairs, name that tune and name that celebrity the winners of the quiz were ‘Miss Dorothy Birdsill, 16 the Lodge, Grimsby’ with ‘Return of the Female Bosses’ finishing in eighth place both personal bests in comparison to last year.

When asked to provide a quote summarising the evening team members said:

 
“Not content with facilitating the successful rescue of the now infamous Chilean miners, as well as assessing and advising the Bank of England over the need for more quantitative easing, Dorothy Birdsall added winning the Compton Hospice quiz to their ever expanding remit” Richard Smith (Team Miss Dorothy Birdsill)

 
“It’s the second Compton Hospice quiz we have attended and after coming 3rd last time we felt we had a chance of winning this time round. We replaced a member of the team which seemed to be the key to our success, filling the last quarter of the knowledge bank.” Simon Bennett (Team Miss Dorothy Birdsill)

“the return of the female bosses smashed it once again wiping the floor with all competition. We also learnt a valuable lesson, there is no such NFL team known as the 69’ers. Christie James (Team Return of the Female Bosses)

 
“Quizzing aint an issue” Sarah Harris (Team Return of the Female Bosses)

“We came, We saw, We conquered” Mark Derbyshire (Team Miss Dorothy Birdsill)

“Pineapples baby!” Rebecca Hollyoak (Team Return of the Female Bosses)

Angel Springs are celebrating getting the first quarter’s sales target of the financial year by having a summer party day!  Even though it’s raining outside there are party games, ice cream and lots of goodies to eat.  The MD even has his Bermuda shorts on!  This is a fantastic result and we wanted to give the staff a treat after a busy month.

Sophia Slater, Customer Relations Team Leader commented ” CRM won the games overall today, we are used to being winners in our team though!”

Jenny Rollason, Customer Retention Team Leader commented  “Today Angel Springs held an “outdoors indoors” garden party, to celebrate hitting targets for the first quarter. There was food, ice-cream, garden games such as skittles, quoits, and everyone joined in the fun and enjoyed themselves!”

Water is a great source of fun and play for kids in summer. Most of us will remember the fun of running through water sprays, swimming in the sea or visiting the local pool on a hot day.

Water is one of the most basic elements known to mankind, and our bodies are made up of almost 70 per cent water – which perhaps explains why we enjoy it so much! Why not take your children to the swimming pool or beach this summer and enjoy the benefits?

Remember to stay hydrated as you enjoy the benefits of being active outdoors. Drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day. You can do this by visiting water coolers, taking a bottle with you or buying water bottles when you are out and about. This lovely, cold water also feels fantastic against the skin.

Avoid buying expensive commercial drinks which are usually full of sugar, chemicals and additives. Your body doesn’t need these things – it just wants plain, good water to keep it looking and feeling great!

As well as drinking water to stay hydrated and healthy, make sure you put on plenty of sun protection and reapply it regularly. Use sunglasses to protect the eyes from UV rays and remember to drink while exercising in the water – many people forget!

It is also best to stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, when UV rays are at their strongest. Failing that, cover up with a wide-brimmed hat and t-shirt, along with your high-factor sun protection.

Finally, avoid drinking alcohol in the sun or you will become very dehydrated. And eat plenty of fresh foods containing nutrients, vitamins and minerals to keep you looking and feeling your absolute best!

• Latest news from Angel Springs leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

If you believe all the advertising around ‘performance-enhancing’ commercial sports drinks, you might be surprised to learn that most of these concoctions are nothing more than sugar and chemicals combined with basic water!

Despite the hefty price tag of some, the truth is that many sports drinks are simply sweetened liquids and they are not required in your quest to get fit.

In fact, over consumption of sugary commercial drinks will interfere with goals for fat loss, because the body will release insulin to deal with the glucose intake and demand simple sugars for fuel – rather than relying on the body’s own fat stores.

There are some instances where sports or performance drinks are valuable, but these tend to be for long-distance or high-intensity training, and even then you can make your own quite easily with water, fruit juice and a pinch of salt.

Your Body Needs Water

When you feel thirsty during exercise, there is only one thing that your body really wants – plain and simple water, whether that’s from gym water coolers or from the tap.

On cold days, you might warm up with a hot tea via the hot water dispensers – the choice is yours. But just make sure you opt for clean and unadulterated water.

Water is closely linked to sports performance and an adequate intake will help you reach your fitness goals more quickly. Water will hydrate your muscles, skin and skeletal system and allow a complex reaction of hormonal changes to take place with maximum efficiency.

One of the most crucial roles that water plays in exercise is allowing your body to regulate its temperature through sweating – this is even more crucial in hot weather.

So drink up before, during and after exercise to stay on top of your game and achieve the results you are hoping for.

• Latest news from Angel Springs leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

Water drives every chemical reaction in our body and it is a core component of our weight, health and appearance.

Water is absolutely essential when exercising or we rapidly become dehydrated and see corresponding drops in performance and recovery.

Our muscles are 70% water and need to be regularly topped up, as every bodily function uses and expels water as part of the natural detoxification processes.

This is particularly the case when working out or playing sports. So, make sure you top up at the bottled water coolers in the gym before you start to exercise!

Remember that our bodies simply want hydration – they don’t want sugars, chemicals or additives, which are often found in commercial ‘energy’ drinks or sports drinks.

These have a role in intense or long duration exercise, but for most people, they simply provide an unwanted sugar rush which prevents the body from burning its fat reserves.

Just use basic water, or add a pinch of sugar and salt to rehydrate after a long and intense training session.

The bottled water cooler is also ideal for topping up when you go about your daily life.

Drink around 1.5 litres at a minimum throughout the day and carry a bottle with you when you travel.

If you do heavy lifting or strength training, you may find that whey protein shakes are a practical alternative to eating four-to-six high protein meals a day and water is all that you need to create one; mix it with the powder in a shaker and enjoy with a piece of fruit to restore your glycogen levels after exercise.

Water can also play a role in your after-exercise regime; try bathing in epsom salts after an intense workout to top up your magnesium levels and restore the precious mineral and electrolyte balance in your body.

These natural salts are highly beneficial, relaxing and can also help to prevent muscle soreness.

• Latest news from Angel Springs leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

If your office lacks energy on hot summer afternoons, it could be that you need to add some hydration to the mix!

Whether taken from the office water coolers or bought in via bottles, water is the key ingredient for health and energy – and in warm weather, our need for water rockets!

For those who love cold drinks, why not experiment in the kitchen with some exotic blends?

Forget sugary concoctions which are full of additives and play havoc with blood sugar levels. You don’t need commercial drinks either – you can simply make your own!

Try juicing up a range of fruits and vegetables for a healthy and nutritious drink. Good options for juicing include apple, cucumber, melon, berries, orange, grapefruit, spinach leaves, wheatgrass and pomegranate.

Have fun with different flavours – try starting with the classic apple, ginger and carrot for a wonderfully refreshing blend that is packed with vitamin A, pectin, soluble fibre, vitamin C and beta-carotene.

And for those who prefer hot drinks, the water boiler is the place to start. Forget caffeine-laced takeaway drinks which will help you to lose pounds (of the financial variety) while putting on pounds in weight!

Instead experiment with fruit and herbal tea blends like oolong and fennel. Barley cup and other chicory-based tea blends are good coffee alternatives and real hot chocolate made with ground cacao and a pinch of chilli is packed with flavour and beneficial health compounds.

Try making hot chocolate the Spanish way with boiling water and a pinch of sweetener for a very rich, powerful drink – or use milk, soya or nut milk alternatives and mix with chocolate whilst heating for a luxurious and flavoursome drink with plenty of calcium.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

In a bid to remain youthful and retain natural good looks, many people spend a fortune on unnecessary beauty products. Often, these are full of additives and chemicals which make the skin over-sensitised and can stress out our body.

Some believe that conditions such as asthma and eczema could be aggravated by our bodies struggling to process a host of chemical additives and ‘toxins’.

So, rather than slapping more chemicals onto your skin, preserve it by providing the essential ingredient of life – water.

The skin is the largest organ in the body and it’s much more than a source of beauty. It keeps us cool, moisturises our body and protects our other organs. Beautiful skin is a sign of wellbeing, health and vitality and strongly associated with youth.

Luckily, it is possible to enjoy beautiful skin by following a few guidelines.

Firstly, drink plenty of water throughout the day. Go to the water coolers at the gym, drink a glass when you get home, and top up a bottle from the mains-fed water cooler at work.

Avoid sugary concoctions which increase inflammation in the skin. Sugar causes skin to age prematurely, breaking down the collagen structures that keep skin supple.

Drinking plenty of water will also allow the skin to cleanse and soften itself naturally, so you may find you no longer need moisturiser as you begin to drink more.

Aim for around 1.5 litres a day and remember that fruit and vegetables are also incredibly high in water content. Incorporate plenty into your diet for beneficial minerals, vitamins and fibre and eat plenty of high-quality protein to repair your body and keep it strong.

Avoid sugary or processed carbohydrates and eat good amounts of healthy unsaturated fats to keep your skin soft and supple.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

We all know that we should drink plenty of water to maintain good health, but why exactly is this?

Here are some surprising benefits of consuming plain and simple H20, whether it’s taken from mains-fed water coolers at work or mineral water bottles.

Water is all you need to detox

Forget fancy products, supplements, detox teas, drinks, powders and other commercial preparations.

All your body needs to detox effectively is water.

Detoxification will happen primarily via your skin and kidneys. It kicks in naturally when you start to eat healthily, exercise and increase your intake of water.

Water versus beauty preparations

Forget expensive oils, beauty creams and lotions; the main aim of most of these preparations is to try to keep water inside your skin.

Instead of moisturising from the outside, keep your skin looking beautiful by increasing your intake of water.

This moisturises and cleanses your skin from within and helps your body to carry out its natural functions more effectively.

Adequate water can also plump out your skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

It can also help to lessen the appearance of dark circles under the eyes, which can be linked to an accumulation of toxins through dehydration.

Increase energy levels

Dehydration is often a primary cause of lethargy, irritability, fatigue and other symptoms such as headaches or digestive disorders.

By simply filling up at work, via a bottled cooler or the canteen mains fed water coolers, you can keep yourself feeling energised and ready to go throughout the day.

Water can help you to lose weight

Often when we think we feel hungry, our bodies are actually crying out for water.

So, instead of simply reaching for food, try filling up with a glass of water and you may well find that your hunger pangs disappear.

Equally, drinking a glass of cold water before a meal can help you to eat less!

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

When you lead a busy working life, it is easy to become dehydrated.

The signs that you need more water will often include a tendency towards headaches, afternoon lethargy, digestive problems, fatigue and other general signs that you aren’t performing at your peak.

Many people tend to mistake natural thirst as a sign of hunger and will eat more food.

This does provide some water, as most food is primarily made from water, but it also provides a range of calories and other nutrients or additives that you may well not need!

One of the best things you can do for your health is to recognise the sign of thirst and use facilities, such as bottled water dispensers or kitchen kettles to keep hydrated.

Remember that if you do feel thirsty, it means that you have already become dehydrated.

Try to avoid this by spacing out glasses of water from the water coolers at work – or hot herbal teas – throughout the day.

Simply fill a bottle at the office bottled water dispensers before you travel off to a meeting, or drink a large glass of water in the office kitchen before you go on your travels.

Whenever you stop to take a break, incorporate a drink and make sure it is a healthy one.

Remember, caffeine, sugar and other additives will not necessarily help you in your quest to stay healthy.

Commercial sports drinks, for example, often contain additives such as flavourings and preservatives and will be filled with sugar.

This will not help your performance unless you are training for many hours at an advanced level.

For most people, basic water is sufficient and you can experiment with whey protein shakes after your workout for muscle repair and recovery.

Remember to sip regularly from your water bottle while you exercise, particularly on a hot day – and don’t forget that you need to drink when swimming too.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.