Pornstar Martini is the UK’s favourite Christmas cocktail

Pornstar Martini was the UK’s most popular cocktail with 144,000 Google searches over the past 30 days.
Aperol Spritz and Negroni came in a respective second and third.
There have been 50,000 searches for cocktail recipes alone and 14,800 searches for Christmas cocktails in the past month showing a 223% increase.
EggNog a traditional Christmas cocktail made the number nine spot

A study by kitchen equipment experts experts Maxima Kitchen Equipment analysed Google data to find the nations favourite cocktails this Christmas.

The UK’s favourite cocktail this year is a Pornstar Martini with 144,000 searches in the past 30 days alone. The cocktail, which is traditionally made from Vodka, vanilla syrup, lime juice, passion fruit, prosecco and passoa liquer. The popular cocktail was only created in the early 2000’s in LAB London bar and has risen to popularity ever since being a staple drink of choice.

Aperol Spritz came in second and received 80,000 searches over the past month. The cocktail is made up of Aperol, prosecco, soda water and lime. The cocktail is often described as an Italian sunset originating from northern Italy in the late 1950’s.

Negroni which is traditionally an Italian cocktail came in third place for the most popular cocktail this Christmas. It’s made up of gin, Vermouth Rossi, Campari and garnished with orange peel. Traditionally, it is stirred not shaken and served on the rocks (over ice). The cocktail received 71,000 searches this month.

Mojito came out globally as the most searched cocktail but only made fourth place in the UK with an impressive 68,000 searches. The classic cocktail has many variations but is traditionally made up of rum, soda water, mint leaves, granulated sugar and lime. The origins of this cocktail can be dated back to 1586 it is believed.

Cosmopolitan came in fifth place for the favourite cocktail for this Christmas with 68,000 searches in the past 30 days. The cocktail is made up of lemon vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice.

Margarita came in sixth place with 64,000 searches, it was the top choice of cocktail in the USA and 3^rd globally. It is made up of Cointreau, lime juice and tequila.

Seventh place was a Pina Colada with a search volume of 63,000 just in the past month. The summer themed cocktail originating from Puerto Rico is still a favourite even at Christmas it turns out. The cocktail is made up of white rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice.

The cocktail Mimosa took eighth place with a total 61,000 searches. The cocktail is traditionally served in a tall champagne flute and made up of champagne and orange juice.

In ninth place was the traditional Christmas cocktail Eggnog which is made up of eggs, milk, cream, spices such as nutmeg and vanilla, rum and finished off with a whisky or a brandy. It received a total of 59,000 searches.

Espresso Martini which came in tenth place with a search total of 56,000 in the last month. The cocktail is traditionally made up of vodka, coffee beans, and coffee liquer. As a nation of coffee lovers, it is easily understandably how an alcoholic version of the beverage can rank in our top list.

A spokesperson from Maxima Kitchen Equipment commented: “The cocktail industry has grown more and more profitable over recent years however, these search numbers are bigger than anticipated, suggesting that cocktails are now a staple of British culture regardless of if they are consumed at home or in bars.”

	Cocktail	UK search Volume
1	Pornstar Martini	144,000.00
2	Aperol Spritz	80,000.00
3	Negroni	71,000.00
4	Mojito	68,000.00
5	Cosmopolitan	68,000.00
6	Margarita	64,000.00
7	Pina colada	63,000.00
8	Mimosa	61,000.00
9	Eggnog	59,000.00
10	Espresso martini	56,000.00
11	Bucks’ fizz	50,000.00
12	Long island iced tea	46,000.00
13	Mulled wine	41,000.00
14	Bloody mary	35,000.00
15	Poinsettia	35,000.00
16	Daiquiri	29,000.00
17	Bellini	23,000.00
18	Mai Tai	22,000.00
19	Whiskey Sour	18,000.00
20	Manhattan Cocktail	16,000.00
21	Amaretto Sour	15,000.00
22	Tom Collins	15,000.00
23	Black Russian	14,000.00
24	Irish coffee	13,000.00
25	Vodka martini	11,000.00
26	Bramble Cocktail	11,000.00
27	Gimlet	11,000.00
28	Whisky sour	11,000.00
29	French 75	10,000.00
30	Zombie Cocktail	9,200.00
31	Old fashioned cocktail	8,800.00
32	Wassail	8,600.00
33	Brandy Alexander	7,900.00
34	Kir Royale	7,300.00
36	Pisco Sour	6,900.00
37	Snowball Cocktail	5,900.00
38	Gin fizz	5,500.00
39	Godfather Cocktail	4,500.00
40	Sazerac	4,400.00
41	Dry Martini	4,100.00
42	Aviation Cocktail	3,800.00
43	Paloma Cocktail	3,000.00
44	Grasshopper Cocktail	3,000.00
45	Boulevardier	2,600.00
46	Americano Cocktail	2,500.00
47	Negroni Sbagliato	2,300.00
48	Pink lady Cocktail	2,000.00
49	White lady Cocktail	1,600.00
50	Cover club	1,300.00

Police: Keep safe when partying

Everyone should be able to enjoy a night out without worry, but here are a few things you can do to stay safe:

Plan how you’re getting home before you go out.

Arrange a lift from friends or family, or use a licensed taxi hire.

Charge your mobile.

Stick with your friends and look out for one another.

Don’t do drugs, there is no ‘safe’ way to do so. Don’t risk your health and life.

If you see someone acting suspiciously, report them to door stewards, bar staff or police.

Visit our website for more safe night out tips

http://ow.ly/s1Fw50H9AqY

Healthy Heart Tip: Curb Your Couch Potato

We all spend at least some of our time each day sitting down, whether it’s when we are working or watching the television, but research shows that too much sitting can be bad for our heart.

We should ideally aim to sit down for no more than 8 hours each day, but this can be difficult, especially if we have a desk-based job.

Here are some tips on how to be more active:

Set a Movement Reminder

If you are working at a desk, try setting an alarm once every hour to get up and move. This could be as simple as walking to get a glass of water or doing a few star-jumps on the spot!

Vary Your Workspace

If you have access to a standing desk, this can be a great way to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting down. If not, there are lots of ways that you can still change your work setup, such as by using a raised surface like a kitchen worktop, or by placing your laptop on a sturdy box.

Take Active Breaks

Taking a short walk on a lunch break can be a great way to take your mind off your work, enhance your energy levels and get your heart pumping.

Get Creative

Setting cues can help to remind us to move during the day. A fun and creative way to do this is to label each door in your house with an exercise such as squats, star jumps or jogging, and every time you walk through each door, you do the exercise labelled on that door.

For more tips like this, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:
https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Edinburgh Food Project: Food Banks information

OUR FOODBANKS ARE OPEN AS NORMAL THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVE PERIOD

A full list of locations and opening times can be found on our website below:

https://edinburghfoodproject.org/locations/

Lothian announces changes to festive bus services

In light of the Scottish Government announcement regarding large scale events and the cancellation of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, Lothian, Lothian Country and East Coast Buses will be making some changes to our planned routes and timetables for the 30, 31 December and 1 January.

On Thursday 30 December, we will be operating a Saturday service. All diversions for the Torchlight procession have now been cancelled and bus services will operate normal routes.

On Friday 31 December, we will operate a Saturday service, finishing earlier than normal with last journeys through the city centre at approximately 2130.

On the morning of 1 January 2022, we will no longer be operating our special Hogmanay Night Service. We understand that some customers may be disappointed, however with the cancellation of the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street party and the latest advice from the Scottish Government, we do not anticipate sufficient demand for these night services.

As we highlighted this week, we are also continuing to be impacted by the pandemic in regards to team resource which is placing considerable pressure on our operations and therefore it is vital we continue to focus on providing critical links across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Customers are reminded to allow extra time for their journeys and to plan before they travel through our website or our app. Updated data can be found from the 29 December on the Traveline Scotland website.

Our updated Christmas and New Year timetable is available here. You can also read more about our festive timetables here.

Thanks to all of our customers for their patience and understanding, and a massive thank you to all of our colleagues who continue to react and adapt to this ever-changing fluid situation.

Wishing you all a great Christmas and New Year.

UK Government accepts JCVI advice on COVID-19 paediatric vaccination programme

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Our independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, has approved Pfizer’s paediatric vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 following a thorough review of the safety and effectiveness.

“I have accepted the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to offer vaccines to at-risk 5-11 year old children and extend the booster programme to at-risk 12-15s and all 16-17s.

“While our current and unrelenting focus is ensuring all eligible adults are offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine by the end of December because two doses do not provide enough protection against the Omicron variant, the NHS will prepare to offer vaccines to at-risk 5-11 year old children.

“We have secured supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech paediatric vaccine which will start to arrive in the UK from mid-January.

“Vaccines are our best defence against this virus and our booster programme has accelerated rapidly, with almost 30 million doses administered and more than half of adults jabbed, securing vital protection.

“This is a national mission and we urge everybody to play their part by getting their vaccines and booster doses as soon as possible.”

Scottish health boards to receive additional military support

Requests for military assistance at three health boards in Scotland have been approved. NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Grampian and NHS Lanarkshire will receive the support from service personnel to help manage growing pressures as a result of Omicron.

They will begin inductions at the boards in January after the MACA (Military Assistance for Civilian Authorities) support was approved by the Scottish Government.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is adding to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS which is why boards, like their counterparts across the UK, have requested military support to complement our existing resources.

“I’m grateful to military personnel for their efforts at this time, along with all frontline staff in our NHS for the vital role they play in help keeping us safe.

“At this time it is also particularly important that we continue to take all precautions to prevent transmission. So test regularly for the virus, limit socialising in the run up to Christmas, wear face marks where required and open windows to improve ventilation.”

The following MACA requests have been approved by the Scottish Government:

NHS Ayrshire &Arran – 20 service personnel for for 6 weeks.
NHS Grampian – 38 x service personnel for 4 weeks.
Lanarkshire – 32 x service personnel for 4 weeks.

Military personnel will start inductions on January 7th.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay partners with Scots Makar to share inspiring ‘Journeys Home’ film

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay has announced it will be releasing a new film on 31 December from 5pm, providing a free, digital and inspirational part of the new year celebrations, for which the live elements have been recently cancelled.

The film will pay tribute to the hope, love and optimism that people feel when celebrating Hogmanay with those that matter most after a tough year,whilst expressing a positive look forward to Scotland and Edinburgh’s future.

This new artistic collaboration isdelivered by Edinburgh’s Hogmanay producer, Underbelly, on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council.

This project, titled Journeys Home, has been made possible with support from HM Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. The film is based on a short story written exclusively for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay by Kathleen Jamie, the current Scots Makar and draws inspiration from resilience and unwavering sense of communitythat Edinburgh residents and Scotland as a nation have shown throughout the pandemic.

The film features a specially composed soundtrack by Rura, one of Scotland’s most highly acclaimed folk bands featuring Jack Smedley, Steven Blake, Adam Brown and David Foley. With their distinct blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, flute, bodhrán and guitar, Rura capture the true essence of Hogmanay whilst also starring in the film themselves.

The film follows Kathleen Jamie’s four characters; Cait, Donald, Nana Jean and Calum, who narrate their personal Hogmanay stories, contemplating Hogmanay’s past and loved ones lost, as well as their hope and optimism for future Hogmanay celebrations to come.

‘Journeys Home’ is part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay’s continued commitment to providing a free, digital element of the new year celebrations that everyone can enjoy from the comfort of their own home.

The film, co-conceived by Underbelly and Arms & Legs, produced by Underbelly and directed by Ross Addy will premiere on the 31 December from 5pm on the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website here.

From 28-30 December, Underbelly will stream daily at 5pm their 2020 production of Fare Well, which became a global phenomenon, seen by over 1 billion worldwide.

Underbelly Co-Directors, Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam said: “’Journeys Home’ felt like the perfect theme for this year’s film, as people yearn to gather for Hogmanay.

“Collaborating with the creative brilliance of Kathleen Jamie, Rura, and Arms and Legs has been a true honour – together they have made a film which will sing out to the world the creativity of Scottish artists and the hope and optimism that Scotland have for the new year.”

Scots Makar and ‘Journeys Home’ Writer Kathleen Jamie said: “As a writer, I’m not a great believer in ‘inspiration’. You just have to look and listen.

“We all know New Year is a complex time, more than just a big party – though there is joy and excitement too! But even in my own circle we have people who’ll be spending Hogmanay working in hospitals, or grieving loved ones lost in 2021, or who have had to cancel family visits yet again.

“We all know people who can’t bear to be alone, and others who take solace in the natural world, or in art and music. In “Journeys Home” I hope you will find someone or something you recognise, as we take leave of 2021, and look forward to better days ahead.”

For more information please visit https://www.edinburghshogmanay.com

Nightclubs to close in Scotland

Nightclubs will close from 27 December to tackle the transmission of Omicron which continues to spread rapidly.

The measure follows feedback from nightclubs on the impact of incoming restrictions needed to slow the spread of Omicron. It will affect around 150 clubs and will be reviewed after three weeks.

Nightclub premises will have the option of opening to operate with table service and physical distancing, in line with the requirements for other hospitality businesses.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Having engaged with the sector, we have concluded nightclubs should close.

“While it would be open to them to operate with physical distancing and table service – and that option will remain – we believe closure in regulations, combined with financial support, could reduce losses and help nightclubs weather what we hope will be a short period until they are able to operate normally again.

“The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the financial implications for many businesses. We will work with the nightclub industry to develop targeted financial support for businesses that will now be required to close.

“We are providing additional support of £375 million, including £100 million announced last week, to support businesses directly impacted by Omicron and will publish a full breakdown and allocation of funding as soon as possible.”

The regulations come into effect at 05:00 on 27 December.

More than 70% of eligible Scots have had booster or third dose

TESTING WILL CONTINUE EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAY PERIOD

More than seven in 10 eligible adults across Scotland have now had their COVID-19 booster or third dose.

Figures published yesterday show that 72.1% of over 18s who are eligible by 31 December have come forward so far, and more than 70,000 booster or third doses have been given a day over the last two days.

Anyone who has not yet had their booster is still being urged to get ‘boosted by the bells’, as the best way to combat the Omicron variant and protect the NHS.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Today’s figures reflect the enormous national effort which is going on right around the country to accelerate our vaccination programme in response to the Omicron variant.

“I want to thank absolutely everyone who has been involved in the programme, and all the people who have stepped up and come in for their booster.

“There will be vaccination centres open on Christmas Eve, so we want to see as many people as possible getting their booster right up until Christmas. If that isn’t possible for you, centres will be re-opening from Monday 27^th, so please book an appointment today, or look out for drop-ins, so you can join the thousands of people who have been boosted by the bells.

“Getting vaccinated is your civic duty, you not only protect yourself, but your loved ones, those you interact with and the country as whole, so please get your booster as soon as you can.”

Testing will continue through the holiday period

Sites to remain open every day

COVID-19 testing services will remain open in Scotland every day throughout the holiday period.

Test sites will continue to operate, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day, and tests will continue to be processed through the lab network. Test and Protect will also continue to operate every day during the holiday period.

Access to LFD tests will remain available through local pharmacies and test sites (subject to festive opening hours) and LFD and PCR tests can still be ordered online for home delivery over the holiday period.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “I would like to thank all our testing and contact tracing staff for their commitment and dedication at this challenging time which means this vital service can remain open throughout the holiday period as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

“Testing has been at the heart of our response to this pandemic and anyone who has symptoms or is notified as a close contact by Test and Protect should isolate immediately and book a PCR test.

“The emergence of the Omicron variant means it is more vital than ever that we use every tool at our disposal to identify COVID-19 cases quickly and break off chains of transmission.

“We are urging everyone to stay at home as much as possible over the coming weeks and reduce their mixing with other households. People should take an LFD test beforehand if they are visiting friends and family, and before situations where there is a higher risk of catching or passing on the virus.”

Opening hours for testing sites (including local and drive through testing sites):

Date Opening hours

24 December (Christmas Eve) 8am to 6pm

25 December (Christmas Day) 10am to 2pm

26 December (Boxing Day) 10am to 2pm

27 December 8am to 6pm

28 December 8am to 6pm

29 December 8am to 6pm

30 December 8am to 6pm

31 December (New Year’s Eve) 8am to 6pm

1 January (New Year’s Day) 10am to 2pm