Everybody OFF THE ROAD!!!

I'm booking my driving test today, so I'm warning everyone now that I will soon be out there, causing havoc and mayhem on our good ol` British highways.

It's not easy being an adult and learning to drive. When you're younger you have no fear. When you're older everything scares you! You find yourself stopping completely at open junctions and saying `should I, shan't I`, regardless of the fact you're the only bugger on the road. And that's just the start of it all. (Or is this just me?)

But despite the fact that I'm going to - or might, depending whether I pass or not - be gaining a valid driving license, I'm still not ready to put my push-bike into retirement. I used to bike everywhere, and still enjoy taking a ride through the woods and round the winding country lanes and tracks. It's good to feel the open wind blowing through your hair, feeling free, and for me it's the closest thing to independence in regards to transport.

So one of these may come in handy. It means I can have the best of both worlds. I can drive to somewhere I can bike....

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/940000116?sck=4604688&caSKU=940000116&caTitle=Power%20Devil%20Bike%20Carrier%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

....Just as long as I don't have to bike to somewhere I can drive. I don't think my bike is strong enough to support the weight of my car...

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

Sun and Shade

Okay, hands up who got caught out by the sun this weekend?

It was such a glorious bank holiday weekend. The patio furniture came out, the BBQ came out, the food was cooked, and the drink was flowing nicely. The sun was shining, and the smiles and laughter was just as bright.

Unfortunately it was a bit too bright.

I woke up the next morning feeling like a cooked lobster. I know it was all my fault. I should have considered the affects of a sunny day spent in the back garden, but when you're merrily enjoying yourself those thoughts are non-existent.

And I blame the fact that we haven't had many weekends as nice as this one for a long time. With us being used to the British climate, the thought of getting burnt on the first real sunny weekend isn't possible in our minds. It's as if after the winter months, we need proof that the sun we are seeing is real and is still just as capable of burning us to a frazzle as it was last year.

Oh yes! I've seen enough proof, thank you very much!

Note to self: Apply cream and invest in some shade covering.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/300088630?&caSKU=300088630&caTitle=3%20x%203m%20White%20Gazebo%20with%20Mosquito%20Mesh%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/300155828?&caSKU=300155828&caTitle=3%20x%204%20Blue%20Gazebo%20/%20Pavilion%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

Let's all go for a dip . . . !

Well, it's the bank holiday weekend, and the weather - at the moment - is absolutely gorgeous! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the temperature is soaring . . . and I'm wondering what everyone has planned.

Imagine, it's humid, sticky, and your children are miserable because it's too hot and they're bored. What's the best thing for a day like that?

Swimming!

But what if you're just too busy to take them, the nearest pool is miles away, and you'll need to remortgage the house just for one day of splashing in the sun?

Then have your own in your back garden!

Don't raise your eyebrows in shock-horror. It doesn't involve digging a huge hole in your back garden. There are other alternatives - like our easy-up pool sets. All you need to do is inflate the top ring and fill it with water. As the water line rises, so will the ring and the walls, creating your pool. Simple and perfect, and your garden is still intact after. The kids will love it.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/300155723?&caSKU=300155723&caTitle=Bestway%2010ft%20Swimming%20Pool%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

And, not only do we sell pools, but we also sell pool accessories, such as pumps, filters, covers and ladders. Consider these also if you are looking to get the best out of your pool.

So, that's the problem with hot weather and bored kids taken care of. Pool maintenance has also been answered, which means all you have to worry about are those sharks - and other such lurking critters!

Just a few rules:

1: Kids, splash as much as possible.
2: Adults, no skinny dipping - unless it's after hours . . .

Enjoy the bank holiday.

D.Ilott
Cybercheckout Ltd

`Swish-Swoo` Handbags

There are some women out there who love bags, are addicted to bags, and who live bags. Just like there are women who love and are addicted to shoes and chocolate. (Hands up if you're one of these)

To all you bag lovers, I'm blogging for you today. (Thought you might appreciate this dress of bags that I stumbled across. Made me smile.)

Our new range include these two chic and modern designed handbags. I took a liking to these. They are simple and elegant, and the inside is funky and bright, a contradiction that works perfectly alongside each other. They can go with any outfit you choose to wear and for any occasion, be it for casual every day use, or an evening out.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/600154807?&caSKU=600154807&caTitle=Natural%20Handbag%20(Crossbody%20Hand%20Bag)%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

Just look at them! Gorgeousness in a bag! `Swish-Swoo!`

And if I loved handbags just as much as I love chocolate and my `pet-hair-remover-magnet-gadget-thingy that could be doubled as a window scraper for your car`, then I'd buy one. Most definitely!

But I'll save my purchase. After all, I have to leave something in stock for you, the customer.

So go on, be a devil-woman and unleash the bag connoisseur within you . . . I promise I won't tell anyone.

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

Utilisation . . .

In this day and age, with the economy in the state that it is, not everyone can afford to buy new products for their purposes. This is where you have to utilise what you already have. For instance:

. . . Our Pet Hair Magnet (my favourite) can double up as a window scraper for your car - if you really want to.

. . . Our firepit can be used as a prop in a fantastic Sci-Fi movie (It's not a firepit. It's a UFO in disguise.)

. . . And our horse rugs can be used as sleeping bags.

. . . Here's the proof:

Our equestrian leader's little `mini-me` was poorly yesterday and so had to be brought into the office with mummy. All he wanted to do was sleep, and what better place to put him than on the floor, wrapped up snug in a horse rug - much to the jealousy of other colleagues who wanted to lie there instead of him. He slept for about three hours.

We could have even tried to cheer him up by playing horsey (utilising yet another rug). . .

It just goes to prove that a little imagination will take you far . . . or get your poorly children to sleep.

I might steal that rug at lunch . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

What's in a blog . . . ?

To be (a company blog) or not to be (a company blog)! That is the question.

What's in a blog?

As a writer, my idea of blogging should be entertaining. You publish words that you want people to read, and you want them to find them interesting, humorous, informative, etc, thus seducing them to come back and read again and again. You need content that will keep their interests hooked, so that they won't get bored and let your blog disappear into the big wide electrical yonder.

Also, as a writer, I want people to read and enjoy my work. There's no real point in writing otherwise. Therefore, it has crossed my mind about how to get more people reading, how to get more followers and how to get more subscribers.

The problem is, this is a company blog. Company blogs are usually used as media, to promote their products, and try and increase custom. There's nothing wrong with that at all. It's a good marketing tactic, and there's a crowd of followers out there looking for just such things. But what about the others? What about the people who just want the entertainment of a blog?

A friend of mine - a fellow writer and successful blogger - said:

"The problem with 'company blogs' is that they are adverts and are seen as such."

If people assume this blog is all about advertising, they probably won't read it, but put a personal blog in front of them, and they might.

So, my question to all you readers out there today is:

How personal can I be with this blog but still keep it professional?

(And to what personal level can I take it to before I get told off . . . ?)

Oh, and I'm supposed to be professionally advertising something here too...so, here's one of our superb products.

Memory Foam Topper

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/940000628?&caSKU=940000628&caTitle=Memory%20Foam%20Mattress%20Topper%20-%20Double%20**FREE%20UK%20DELIVERY&caSKU=940000628&caTitle=Memory%20Foam%20Mattress%20Topper%20-%20Double%20**FREE%20UK%20DELIVERY&caSKU=940000628&caTitle=Memory%20Foam%20Mattress%20Topper%20-%20Double%20**FREE%20UK%20DELIVERY**

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

cybercheckout.co.uk

Strum Your Way into a Musical Future!

`I got my first real six-string,

Bought it at the five and dime,

Played it `till my fingers bled,

It was the summer of 69...`

- Brian Adams - `Summer of 69`

Fortunately, your fingers won't bleed when you play our guitar. The thought of suffering bleeding fingers is enough to stump anyones aspirations. Frankly, I don't blame them, but our guitar is `finger friendly`. Instead of steel strings, they are nylon and easier to use, especially for beginnings.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/900000400?sck=1878017&caSKU=900000400&caTitle=Acoustic%20Guitar%2038%22%20%20**%20SPECIAL%20OFFER%20-%20FREE%20P%26P%20sck=1878017&caSKU=900000400&caTitle=Acoustic%20Guitar%2038%22%20%20**%20SPECIAL%20OFFER%20-%20FREE%20P%26P%20**

I'm not a musical person. I love listening to it - in fact I prefer it to watching TV. I can keep up with a beat and dance along to it (just, if you can call it dancing), but put a guitar in my hands and you'll be greeted with a dumb-struck look, stating `What the hell am I supposed to do with this?` I have many talents, but playing musical instruments is not one of them.

I know people who do, however. Now these are people with talent. I went to a local gig not so long ago, and one of the supporting bands consisted of a group of teenagers. The lead guitarist only looked to be twelve (we were placing bets), and I couldn't believe how good he was. He was that young and playing like a pro. If he keeps up the good work, I've no doubt he'll find the path of musical success.

I really admire people like that. I admire talent and encourage anyone to use it.

Which is why I'm blogging about our guitar. It's perfect for beginners - and it's finger friendly, so you don't have to dread picking it up.

I'll even help you write your first song:

`I got my first real six-string,

Bought from Cybercheckout

Played it till my fingers nearly bled but didn't 'coz it's finger-friendly

T'was the summer of 2009...'

Yeah, I'm no song writer, am I. I won't give up my day job . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

My Kingdom for a Good-Night's Sleep

It's a common thing, and I know it happens to everyone out there, but I have to admit that on the odd occasion my mind draws a complete blank on things. Now, I don't know if it's the blond in me, or whether it's a natural phenomena, but it happened this morning. It left me with the dilemma of what I was going to blog about today. I had no idea.

So, I asked a colleague, and he replied that I should blog about him and express just how tired he felt. (Bless him. Sometimes I expect him to slink in here in the mornings dragging a blanky and a teddy) Whether he meant that literally or not, I decided to follow the `ol' great one's` advice. However, I didn't think he'd appreciate me highlighting how tired he truly looks, with his half closed eyes and his `just-dragged-myself-out-of-bed` look (and we wouldn't have him looking any other way) so I thought I'd diverse just slightly, and blog about the recipe for a good-night's sleep.

It just so happens that we have a new bedding range in - Egyptian Cotton Duvet Sets! (up and coming to our website) As I was writing the product description and getting them ready to load onto the website, I got thinking about their images. The one's we had really didn't do them much justice, so I foolishly volunteered to take them home and redo them.

(Sometimes I'm just filled with stupid ideas! It has to be that blond side of me again!)

It's never fun changing a duvet cover, and King-Size just adds insult to injury, especially when I had a few to contend with. Very quickly I lost the will to live. Not only did I have to make my bed with these new sheets, I had to iron them as well. Where they had been in the packaging the fold marks made them look patterned, and the images come out disastrous.

Now, I bet some of you are sitting there thinking `How hard can it be to make a bed and take some pictures?` Allow me to expose the truth to your `it's easy` fallacy.

It's not easy!

When you're selling bed linen, you want your pictures to look stunning, for the beds to be perfect, so that it makes you feel like jumping all over it and sinking into it's soft cosiness. It's supposed to capture that lure of temptation, so that you want to buy the sheets and create that same feeling at home.

I am now convinced that it is almost impossible to create a perfect picture, and I have no idea how other people do it. Are there professional bed-makers out there? Are there firms that you can hire specifically to come over and arrange your duvet? Or do they just use spray-paint to get the perfect look? One thing is for sure, and that's that I couldn't do it! I couldn't get all the creases out to make the sheet look flawless. I even resorted to ironing the sheet on the bed! It was like mission-impossible, only my bed didn't self-destruct after five seconds.

I gave it my best shot though, despite my cat's ploy to try and ruin me, and I was impressed with feel of the Egyptian cotton. It's a lot more luxurious than normal cotton.

So, the recipe to a good-night's sleep?

Don't worry about those creases!

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout.com

Our Pet Range

For all those pet lovers out there...


We all know and love our pets. To the proud owners, pets are like children. They all come with their own personality, their own traits, and their own mischievous tricks. They can make you laugh, they can make you cry - and they can make you scream and holler - but we wouldn't have them any other way.


We love our pets!


Which is why we now offer a fantastic pet range. We have everything from Dog Beds and Kennels, Water Bowls and Feeders, Training Aids - and Clothing for all those `wannabe stylish pooches` out there. But one of my favourite products is the `Pet Hair Magnet Remover`. I mean come on! How handy is this little gadget?



http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Items/910000018-x-parent?sck=67223218&caSKU=910000018-x-parent&caTitle=Pet%20Hair%20Magnet%20Hair%20Remover%20**%20FREE%20P%26P%20**




If you have a pet, you'd understand that they leave fur everywhere, and if you have a cat like mine, I'm not just talking the odd strand here and there. I'm talking about tufts of it - imagine tumbleweed. This little gadget easily removes unwanted pet hair from carpets, sofas, curtains, car seats - anything. It's great. A colleague even has one. Her husky tends to refurbish the back seat of her car every time he goes for a ride, and she swears by it.

I even went as far as coming up with a new advert:

It really does work!

A picture of my cat before

.... And after....

But for some unknown reason they didn't think this advert would sell it, and my cat wasn't too impressed either.

I can't think why . . .


D. Ilott
Cybercheckout Ltd

A Talent in Football

It didn't take Leonardo De Vinci a day to create his masterpiece, `The Mona-Lisa.` Michelangelo spent four years painting the spectacular ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Talent like this just doesn't happen over night. It takes practice, perseverance and patience.

The same can be said for any talent, whether it involves a paintbrush or not, for example, the only way you can become a fantastic footballer is through practice, perseverance and patience. Need I say anymore?

Here at Cybercheckout, we offer some great footballing products, from goals, to target practice sets, to travel kits. Obviously if you are good at playing football you have a talent, and if you enjoy it, that talent can turn into a passion. These items are great for feeding that passion.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Sports%20and%20Games/Football%20Goals

A talent is something that shouldn't be wasted, and it's a shame when it is. Writing is a talent of mine, and yes, that talent has turned into a passion. I'd hate to waste such a thing, and everyone knows that - which is why they have me blogging.

And with football; if playing it makes you happy, then play it. Indulge! Feed your passion!

And so, the moral of todays blog is: If you have a talent, use it!

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd

Equestrian Shenanigans

Some people will do anything for a trip out of the office.


Among our list of a million and one products here at Cybercheckout Ltd, sits a suave and sophisticated Equestrian range. Newly included in this range are Harry Hall Jodhpurs, Caldene Breeches, Sleeveless Shirts, Show Shirts, and Show Jackets. These are some very smart items, I have to say. And because they are new here they all needed images for the website.


So, off trundled Lisa, Marie and Alison equipped with a camera and these goods. (Lisa owns a little ol' horsey who, after a while and a little persuasion, seemed willing enough to be photographed) The images really speak for themselves. It was a lovely day, which worked in their favour, and they took some really good pictures. A job well done to the team.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Equestrian%20Products/Clothing



- (The Darling Bud of May herself)



But we also have photographic evidence of their dark deeds and plotting Greek Trojan Horse tactics.

For those who are not familiar with this ancient story, a brief lesson in History: The Greeks gave the Trojans a large wooden horse. Thinking it a gift, the Trojans brought it into the battalion, and during the night, the Greeks jumped from inside it and destroyed the city. Lesson over.

The Evidence:

Here, we have the team (the CyberGreeks) recruiting for their secret army.



Here, we have them trying their hardest to blend in and look inconspicuous.



Here, we have them planning where they should leave their trap.



And here, we have them trying to conceal themselves, the final part of their surprise.




And here's a picture of the enemy (the CyberTrojan) they were planning on invading.

( - AKA the Spiritual Guide)

I wonder if he survived the night....

D. Ilott
Cybercheckout Ltd