The “Micro” Mat measures 37×50cm the perfect size for all sorts of situations and locations. Here’s just a few:

• Festival/camping essential to keep tents mud free – the perfect “glam-ping” accessory

• Caravanning – perfect doorway size, because Turtle Mats deserve   a holiday too!

• Pet mats – for food and drink bowls

• Kneeling mats – appealing to the gardener in us to avoid muddy knees

• Car foot-well mats

So go take a peek (you can nip straight there by clicking on the picture) and now for the best bit….they’re only £14.95 each and until the end of July we’re offering free postage* when you quote offer code MM88.

* free delivery offer is available to UK mainland addresses only, postage saving for Micro Mat orders is £4.95, postage saving for Micro Mat orders with Turtle Vac is £7.50.

It may not be the same for you (you lucky things), but over the years I have pleaded with, pestered and cajoled my inscrutable father to reveal what he would like most to mark the day, all to no avail! I have however developed a secret weapon to get round this pernickety-ness (some might say obstinacy), and it’s covered by one word…sport!

Well not just any sport, football and tennis to be more precise and for once timing could not be more perfect with the World Cup upon us and Wimbledon just around the corner. I can picture my dad reclining on the sofa and smiling with glee as England do battle in the qualifiers or as Murray strikes another winning return (mum meanwhile has suddenly found something very interesting to do in the garden). I know without fail a gift along these lines will illicit a similar response – job done.

My grandfather however is a different story, he makes taciturn an art-form, so it came as little surprise when my father ended our telephone chat last week with the immortal words “what gift should I get my dad?”  Oh, how the worm has turned!

I will admit I pondered whether to answer as enigmatically and frustatingly as he always does but the truth is I had the perfect present in mind. My granddad, you see, has his own magic word…trains!

No sooner said then are two Flying Scotsman Turtle Mats winging (sorry I couldn’t help myself) their way to my granddad to adorn his loft. Not the normal place for a Turtle Mat you might think but then my grandfather’s attic is anything but normal – it is in fact a giant model railway set, resplendent with stations and shrubbery, passengers and platforms, tunnels and the obligatory sheep on the hillside….ever the rail enthusiast.

The moral of this somewhat rambling tale is that the magic word isn’t always please. Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s planes, trains or World Cup fever.

Up until Father’s Day (20^th June 2010) we will be offering the Flying Scotsman mats at £34.97, a discount of 30% – order by Sunday so you don’t get left on the platform!

Not only do we have a propensity to fling clothes (and modesty) to the wind when the weather sneaks above 18^oC but we also seem to believe ourselves imbued with superhuman powers as soon as the days lengthen (I like to call this May madness). What other explanation could there be for flinging yourself down a hill after a cheese (unless you were very, very hungry) or seeing shin-kicking as sport. We are lucky enough that “Turtle Towers” is nestled in the Cotswolds and it seems (whether by accident or design I wouldn’t like to speculate) to be the epicentre of quite a lot of the “crazy” and we love it.

Heading out towards Gloucester at Coopers Hill we have the now infamous cheese rolling (which will be missed this year) on the spring bank holiday. I was lucky enough to be there last year, right at the top jostling for position with the German and American TV crews and could only marvel at the recklessness that leads men and women to hurl themselves down that hill into the waiting arms of the local rugby team.

Even closer to us are the Tetbury Wool Sack Races also on the bank holiday weekend at the end of May, where teams and individuals carry 60lb wool sacks up a 1 in 4 gradient hill – this is Tetbury’s idea of a race; a tradition arising from rivalry between the two local pubs The Crown and The Royal Oak. I shall be attending this year, for the first year, come rain or shine so will hopefully have some pictures to add to this and later blogs.

Finally, an event I attended for the first time last year (and will attend again this year) Robert Dover’s Olimpick Games on 4^thJune, where the self-explanatory shin-kicking competition takes place. Villagers and tourists alike venture to a field just outside Chipping Campden to see all sorts of events, most notably competitors kicking each other’s shins (ouch). The culmination of this fabulous evening is a firework display and a torchlight walk back into the heart of Chipping Campden where a band entertains the assembled crowd.

The greatest thing about these events (aside from the camaraderie of wincing at someone falling down a hill or cracking their shin) we believe is their support of rural traditions, practices and businesses; whether this be Smarts Farm of Churcham Gloucestershire, the makers of the much chased Double Gloucester or the Tetbury and Chipping Campden pubs which benefit from increased trade.

Makes me proud that I as well as Turtle Mats are “Made in Britain”.

We are passionate about wildlife and not just our feathered friends in the “Turtle Towers” garden; we believe marine conversation is an important and often overlooked area too.

Following the recent explosion and subsequent sinking of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, marine conservation and the impact this event will have on marine life has come to the fore; as there is increasing concern about both the short and long-term damage the continuing spill of oil will have on the area’s wildlife.

Figures from the Marine Conservation Society show that well over 30 turtles have already washed up dead along the Mississippi coast after eating food contaminated by oil.

Sea turtle species are highly vulnerable to events such as this and with important nesting beaches along the coastline, the impact is felt even more keenly.

So what can we do? As you may have spotted in our catalogues, we have been supporting the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) for a number of years, specifically in their vital work to save marine turtles from extinction and now could not be a better time to get involved too.

This Sunday is World Turtle Day and one key way to make a difference is to Adopt a Turtle with the MCS – with only 1 in 1,000 baby turtles making it to adulthood in some parts of the world, due to various factors including the black market trade in turtle eggs and destruction of habitats your support can make a real difference.

Visit http://www.mcsuk.org/ to find out more about the great work the Marine Conservation Society does both here and abroad and how you can get involved.

Adopt a turtle for World Turtle Day with the MCS - http://www.mcsuk.org/support_mcs/Join Donate Adopt/Adopt a turtle/Adopt a turtle

No longer is spring hiding its modesty behind early morning frosts and hazy showers, now it is out in all its splendor; our gardens and their visitors are testament to that.  We have an abundance of colour from poeticus daffodils proudly and fragrantly showing us their wares to the blossom in its final farewell for the year, leaving in its wake a confetti-like trail of petals.

Our “Turtle Towers” visitors are still setting up camp around our feeders. We have desperately been trying to snap a few shots of our resident yellow hammer but he seems to be a little camera shy! The Jackdaws in all their foreboding menace are however strutting around the feeders like Mike Jagger at his finest and have been since about the beginning of the month. Also spotted: finches, sparrows and tits. No return however of the woodpecker.

Of course, how could we forget April also means spiders – whether you love them or loathe them you’ll find them basking on some sunny wall. When dealing with our eight-legged friends we tend to follow the old English rhyme:

“If you wish to live and thrive, let a spider run alive.”

We’ve been propagating like crazy– white Black Eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata Alba) for which we are having mixed success with only 50% germinating, the ubiquitous sweet peas, Cosmos and other annuals; as well as veg a plenty.

Finally, there’s some rain forecast for this weekend (typically just in time for the bank holiday!) so if you plan to be out in the garden come rain or shine like us, then don’t forget your Turtle Mat at the back door for those muddy wellies!

To be in with a chance of winning the ‘Cupcake’ just post your own original cupcake recipe or flavour combination as a comment on this blog. The entry we here at the Turtle Mat Company consider our favourite will win one Cupcake Turtle Mat worth £44.95. Competition rules apply (see below).

Competition Rules

If you are the lucky winner of the competition, we will contact you via the email address accompanying your competition entry (used when commenting on the Turtle Mat blog) and ask for your full name and address in order to send you your prize.

Only the Turtle Mat Company Ltd. and companies working for the Turtle Mat Company Ltd. have access to your personal details and we do not share them with anybody else for their marketing purposes, without your permission to do so.

1. You must provide the Turtle Mat Company Ltd. with the required details if you wish to enter this competition. The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. (or companies working for the Turtle Mat Company Ltd.) will use your personal details for the purposes outlined above and as outlined in our Privacy Policy

2. The competition closes at midnight on Friday, 21^st May 2010. The prize winner will be notified by The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. on 28th May 2010, at the email address supplied when entering the competition (see above).

3. Entries must be submitted by commenting on the Turtle Mat blog “A Cupcake a Day…”. Entries submitted by any other method will not be accepted.

4. Unless otherwise stated, competitions are only open to UK residents over the age of 18 at the closing date. The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. reserves the right to request proof of age.

5. Your competition submission must be your own work and its originality will be taken into account by the judges. By entering this competition you agree to grant The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. the right to publish and use your entry in all media for all purposes in connection with the competition.

6. The competition winner will be contacted personally. In the event of their being no reply from the contact details (email address) supplied by the winning entrant The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. reserves the right to offer the prize to a runner up or withhold it for use in another competition.

7. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. There will be no cash alternatives.

8. The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries.

9. Entrants must comply with all rules to be eligible for the prize. Ineligible entries or entries made fraudulently will be automatically disqualified.

10. This competition is not open to employees of the Turtle Mat Company Ltd. or any person directly or indirectly involved in the organisation or running of the competition, or their direct family members.

11. The Turtle Mat Company’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

12. The Turtle Mat Company Ltd. reserves the right to cancel the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control.

13. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when entering this competition. Entrants may be asked to take part in post competition publicity.

14. No purchase necessary.

15. This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

16. This competition is administered by the Turtle Mat Company Ltd.

Plum and Marzipan Cupcakes (a delicious ‘Delicious’ recipe with a Turtle Mat Twist)

This is a variation on a recipe we tried out over Christmas and it’s a great way to use up any left over marzipan from Christmas baking too. As the cakes are quite moist we doubled up the cupcake cases so they were extra strong.

Makes around 12-15 cupcakes

For the cakes:

200g golden caster sugar

200g butter, softened

4 large free-range eggs (preferably at room temperature)

100g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

130g ground almonds

50g roasted hazelnuts, chopped

130g golden marzipan, chopped

165g (about 4) ripe plums, stoned and cut into quarters

Flaked almonds, toasted for decoration

Icing frosting (see hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes in “A cupcake a day…” Part 2)

Expanding our culinary abilities (as well as our waist lines) here at Turtle Mat, here is another cupcake recipe or two to celebrate the launch of our new spring 2010 catalogue with its “cupcake-y” cover.

Simple Sponge Cupcake  – Chocolate and Hazelnut

Simple Sponge Cupcake  – Lemon

These variations on the classic sponge cupcake go back to basics but we’ve added an easy twist with either chocolate and hazelnut or lemon flavours; these are made for experimentation and we’d love to hear how you would adapt this simple sponge recipe too.

Makes around 15-20 cupcakes

For the cakes:

150g self raising flour

150g unsalted butter, softened

150g sugar

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

For the fillings:

Chocolate nut spread

or

Lemon curd

For the frosting/topping:

225g icing sugar

Approx 2-3 tablespoons of warm water (or for the lemon cupcakes lemon juice)

Chopped hazelnuts or lemon zest to decorate

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
2. Place cupcake cases (large) in cupcake trays and set aside.
3. Sift the self-raising flour into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and smooth (again, best to use an electric hand whisk for this, rather than a hand whisk – as it can take a few minutes of whisking)
5. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mix, beating well after each addition (the mix may curdle – if it does add a little flour and keep stirring)
6. Add the flour in parts to the batter, folding it gently in so that it is fully incorporated but that the mix isn’t “overworked”.
7. Place a generous teaspoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake case and then add a smaller teaspoon of either the chocolate nut spread or lemon curd depending on the cupcakes you are making.
8. Put another generous teaspoon of the cupcake mix on the top of the filling so it is completely covered but make sure the cupcake cases are not filled to the top as they will rise in the oven.
9. Bake each tin of cakes for 15-20 mins (or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean).
10. Once cooked, cool the cupcakes in their tins for about 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Meanwhile make the frosting by combining either the icing sugar and warm water or icing sugar and lemon juice (depending on the flavour) until the frosting is smooth. It should be roughly the consistency of single cream.
12. Once the cupcakes are cool, chop off the raised tops so they are level or even a little lower than the top of the case (so the icing does not spill over the sides)
13. Carefully pour the sugar frosting over the top of the cupcakes until all are evenly coated.
14. Decorate with either chopped hazelnuts or lemon zest and enjoy!

…May not keep the doctor away but definitely keeps a smile on our faces here at “Turtle Towers”.

To celebrate the launch of our new Turtle Mat spring 2010 catalogue, with its kitchen inspired cover, we have been baking up a storm and thought we’d share with you over the week some of our favourite cupcake recipes.

As always, we would love to hear from you whether it be with recipes, pictures of your baking successes (or disasters), comments on how your Turtle Mats help catch culinary spills (they definitely helped when road-testing these recipes) or any other thoughts.

Finally, keep an eye on the blog over the coming few weeks for a competition to win our new catalogue cover mat – “Cupcake”. So without further ado, here’s the first scrumptious recipe.

Magnolia Bakery’s red velvet cupcakes (with Turtle Mat tweaks) with vanilla cream cheese frosting

A rich, moist and unashamedly decadent American classic. The red colour of these cakes originally came from unrefined cocoa powder but today is often made with red food colouring; however here at Turtle Mat we like to keep things as natural as possible so have improvised with raspberry juice – the cakes now take on a slight pink hue instead!

Makes around 24 cupcakes

For the cakes:

500g plain flour

165g unsalted butter, softened

500g sugar

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

6tbsp of reduced raspberry juice**  (rather than the red food colouring in the original recipe)

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

330ml buttermilk

1½ tsp white wine vinegar

1½ tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)

** For the reduced raspberry juice

A generous handful of raspberries

1½tbsp of icing sugar

A “splash” of water

For the frosting/topping:

300g cream cheese (we used half fat, futilely trying to keep the calories in check)

60g butter, at room temperature

340g icing sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

24 raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
2. Place cupcake cases in cupcake trays and set aside.
3. Sift the plain flour into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Create the raspberry juice by placing the raspberries, icing sugar and water in a pan over a low heat and leave (stirring occasionally) until enough juice is produced for 6tbsp or so; the juice should be roughly the consistency of single cream. Leave the reduced raspberries to cool and then strain the juice.
5. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and smooth (it’s best to use an electric hand whisk for this, rather than a hand whisk as Becca here at Turtle Mat found out when testing the recipe!)
6. Add the eggs, one at a time to the butter and sugar mix, beating well after each addition.
7. Mix into a paste, the cocoa powder, cooled and strained raspberry juice and vanilla extract. Add to the batter and again beat well.
8. Add the salt to the batter than add the buttermilk and floor in three parts, alternating between them and folding the floor in carefully so that it is fully incorporated but so the mix isn’t “overworked”.
9. Mix together the white wine vinegar and bicarbonate soda (watch it fizz!) and then gently add to the cupcake mix (ensuring again it is fully incorporated).
10. Divide the mix into the cupcake cases and bake each tin of cakes for 20 mins (or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean).
11. Whilst the cupcakes are baking make the cream cheese frosting by whizzing all the ingredients together in a food processor until thoroughly combined. This will appear quite liquid so place in the fridge for about an hour to firm up a little before use.
12. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for about 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.
13. Top each cupcake with a raspberry and then enjoy!

You may have guessed by now that here at “Turtle Towers” we are animal and wildlife lovers (just not fans of the mud they bring in on their paws!)

In fact, as I write this Molly and Lucy our loveable but curious “Turtle” dog double act are bounding around our garden. Lucy (Jack Russell) is certainly lively and Molly (black Lab) is the perfect foil to this, being quiet, thoughtful and tolerant (well she has to be with Lucy around).

We also know how much some of our customers love their pets, as we often receive photos of cats and dogs lounging on Turtle Mats. It’s great to receive these so please keep them coming and you can also now add them as fan photos on Facebook too.

With all this talk of our “furry friends” we’d like to tell you about the great work animal welfare charity The Blue Cross do, as they are a charity not only close to our hearts but also close to our home here in the Cotswolds.

We have visited their Burford facility a number of times and seen first hand how they make a real difference. As a pet charity they provide support and information for pet and horse owners – The Blue Cross has a fascinating history of helping work horses in London during the early 1900s as well as horses from the trenches of World War 1.

They provide practical care for pets whose owners cannot afford private vet bills, work to re-home abandoned and unwanted pets as well as educate people on the responsibilities that come with owning a pet.

We were lucky enough to have around 300 spare Turtle Mat – Pet Mats and were pleased to pass these on to The Blue Cross who were able to make use of them to raise much needed funds to support their ongoing work.

If you would also like to show your support for the Blue Cross, find out more about the great work they do or volunteer please visit http://www.bluecross.org.uk

We like to think here at Turtle Mat that we help just a little bit to make mums lives easier; keeping floors and homes cleaner for longer with the dirt-trapping power of a Turtle Mat. Don’t just take our word for it though; the Family Panel (review guide)     thought so too…

http://familypanelreviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/turtle-mat.html

It’s great to receive such positive feedback (stop – you’re making us blush!) and it got us thinking about the secrets our mum’s have shared with us to make housework a breeze.

So we thought we’d spend the week (through tweets #cleaning and Facebook posts) sharing with you the hints and tips that make the boring job of cleaning that little bit more bearable. So to get the ball rolling:

Vinegar is a great household cleaner (good on chips too!)…

* Use white wine vinegar to clean floor tile grouting (two tablespoons of vinegar into a large mug of warm water)

* Cider vinegar (approx 100ml) with about 4 litres of warm water is great for cleaning wood floors – just make sure the mop is well wrung out and not too wet

* Vinegar into the warm water you use to clean glass (1 litre water and 250ml vinegar) makes your windows sparkle, dry-off excess with newspaper

Hope they help and if you have any tips you’d like to share don’t forget to comment, we’d love to hear from you.