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Mardi Gras is the Carnival celebration which begins on or after Epiphany and culminates on the day before Ash Wednesday. French for “Fat Tuesday”, Mardi Gras refers to the practice of eating rich and fatty foods on the last night before the ritual fasting on Lent commences on Ash Wednesday. Other popular practices which occur during the celebrations are wearing costumes and masks, dancing, parades, sports competitions, and the overturning of all social conventions. The length of Mardi Gras celebrations depends on the country and even on the city one is in. Some traditions consider Mardi Gras to last the entire duration between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday whilst others see Mardi Gras as occupying the final three days before Ash Wednesday. Many US cities see Mardi Gras as just taking place over one day, that Tuesday being dubbed “Mardi Gras day”. Cities which boast famous Mardi Gras celebrations are: Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, Colombia’s Barranquilla, Trinidad and Tobago’s Port of Spain, Canada’s Quebec City, Mexico’s Sinaloa, and the USA’s New Orleans. It’s a good idea to head to npower.com/fix before the celebrations kick off to get cheap electricity during the festival period.

The Twilight series concerns, not gu10 leds but the romance between a teenage girl named Isabella Swan and a 104 year old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is composed of four novels and the author is American Stephenie Meyer. The books are immensely popular and were since their initial release in 2005. In 2008 “Breaking Dawn” won the British Book Award for “Children’s Book of the Year” and in 2009, the series as a whole won the Kids’ Choice Award for “Favourite Book”. The series had sold over 116 million copies internationally by October 2010, the figure can only be significantly higher now! Translated into a minimum of 38 different languages, the series is one of the most popular book series in the world. In 2008 the series of novels were the best selling in the USA Today ‘Best-Selling Books’ list. The author, a Mormon, recognises that the series are shaped greatly by her religious values. Meyer deviates from sexual topics regardless of the romantic nature of her work.

I was contacted by a local college to put together a basic profile of different finance roles, so I thought others might be interested too! He's more about being an investment banker: Responsible for: Providing financial services for companies, institutions, government departments and wealthy individuals. Help clients to finance business activities and get the most out of their investments. Salary: £30,000 to £100,000+ yearly. Qualifications: Usually recruited with a 2:1 or first class honours degree. Minimum entry to a degree course is two A levels/three H grades, but banks generally expect graduates to have at least 300 UCAS points. Degrees in any discipline are acceptable, but many prefer related subjects ie. accounting, economics, mathematics or statistics. Pluses include a second or masters degree in a related subject, any any additional language. General requirements: Good memory, confidence to make difficult decisions, strong verbal and written communication skills, strong analytical and mathematical skills, keen interest in finance and enjoy competition. Career prospects: With experience can progress to become fund managers, then vice presidents over time. Investment banking firms: Deutsche Bank, Rowan Dartington, Credit Suisse, Jefferies. Image: Butte-Silver Bow Public Library (Flickr)

Spanish winners scooped the huge £107 million euro millions jackpot the other week. I bet they nearly had a heart attack when they checked the lottery results! That one ticket who have made them richer than than celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (£106 million) and singer and actor David Bowie, who has an estimated personal fortune of £100 million! Imagine what you could do with that much money! First I would pay off all my debts and then go on a huge holiday VIP style. Then on the holiday you can decide what you are going to do! I suppose there would be some downers – there was a documentary on channel four the other week and they showed winners of the lottery and whether it had made their life better or worse. Some it had made their lives worse as they lost friends and the money ended up bringing them bad fortune (ironically) I think sometimes people win too much money and they can’t cope with it. £107 million would change your life dramatically. Picture: euromillionsjackpot.com

My sister dusted off an old VHS player and a load of old videos we've had since we were kids and put on the original Disney Robin Hood. It was insane to watch it after so many years, and so many of the visuals and the characters were ingrained in my memory from the million times I probably watched it as a child. But what was most interesting to look at was how different it was to so-called 'cartoons' and animated films that kids grow up with these days. Did the old cartoonists that drew up these cartoons all lose their jobs? Or did they take a load of animation tutorials and modernise their craft for this new wave of digital technology and animated film making? I miss the old style of kids films, and it was nice to see them again - modern animated films seem almost too clean and perfect now. Photo: Martin.Menu (Flickr)