Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! After a much needed break, we're back and ready to take on 2010. To kick start the new year, here are some of our picks of the month:

Film of the Month: Moon, the feature film debut of director Duncan Jones channels Kubrick's 2001 and Tarkosvky's Solaris but manages to make something new from the fusion. Read our review.

Book of the Month: Open is Andre Agassi's account of his life in tennis and is far superior than the average sports bio. Read our review.

Blog of the Month: /Film (or Slash Film) has news and reviews, trailers, the latest rumours and information on films in production. It covers festivals like Sundance and can count directors like Darren Aronofksy among its readers. Read our review.

And less we forget, here is our pick of the Best Films of the Noughties and the Best Books of the Noughties....

Last minute Christmas Shopping

If you still haven't done your Christmas shopping, then you had better get on with it! Get some last minute inspiration and offers from the pick of our retailers on these specially tailored Christmas shopping pages.



Stocking Fillers
For Gardeners & Gourmets
For Women
For Men
For Home Lovers
Christmas Books
For Kids

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE GOOD WEB GUIDE!

Win a festive 'Party Pack' from Martini Rosato and Pomegreat

The coming party season will see us all enjoy a cocktail or two but none so delicious as this new tipple, The Melograno, which combines the light, fresh taste of Martini Rosato with Pomegreat, the original pomegranate juice drink (which contains the juice of eight pomegranates in every 1 litre carton).

The cocktail was launched into the celebrity circuit and parties this summer, with the likes of George Clooney, Jude Law and Thandie Newton spotted sipping the drink during glamourous events such as Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix.

The handy Party Kit contains a bottle of Martini Rosato, a Pomegreat Original juice, a jug and glasses and a branded trinket. The Martini Rosato is complimented by the juice, helping to bring out the seductive notes of suitably festive spices like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, alongside the light aromatics of raspberry and lemon.

How to make the Melograno - fill a highball glass with ice. Add a single serve of 70ml of Martini Rosato and fill the glass up with Pomegreat pomegranate juice. Garnish with a lime wedge and add ice to taste.

To enter the draw to win, click here.

Giveaway of the Month: November-December

WIN £500 TO SPEND ON DESIGNER JEWELLERY AT ASTLEYCLARKE.COM

With Christmas not far away we’re turning to AstleyClarke.com for ingenious jewellery gift ideas. Discover fine Designer Jewellery gifts from £35 to £25,000. Its exquisite collection includes 1,000 pieces of contemporary and fine jewellery from over 50 internationally renowned designers.

All Astley Clarke jewellery comes delivered in elegant boxes and can be gift-wrapped in hand-printed Japanese wrapping paper, tied with an Italian blue satin bow. Until Christmas, Astley Clarke is offering Free UK next day delivery, same day London delivery and fast International delivery - making it the perfect place to shop for designer jewellery gifts. Shop online at www.AstleyClarke.com, call 0845 680 6848 or visit 6 Junction Mews, London, W2 1PN.

For a chance to win a £500 voucher to spend across the range, just enter CLICK HERE

Christmas Shopping Guides

Why does Christmas shopping always have to be so stressfuland expensive? The truth is it doesn't - well not when you've got one of our handy guides to help you find presents for all the family, and at discounted prices too.

Gifts for Her include jewellery, super fine cashmere blankets for travelling and more...

Gifts for Him include wine decanters, silver cufflinks, shirts and the finest darn pair of socks we've ever seen...

Gifts for Home Lovers include all candelabra's, scented candles, cushions, door stops and more...

Keep an eye out for more Christmas Gift Guides coming soon!

SimonSeeks wins The Good Web Guide Website of the Year 09

Simonseeks.com was picked as The Good Web Guide's Website of the Year 2009. The new concept travel site launched in June 2009 and now attracts over 2000 unique visitors per day, with numbers growing. Founder Simon Nixon talks us through the business.

Explain your business

Simonseeks is a new concept in travel websites, combining quality user generated content, in the form of detailed travel guides of approximately 800 words, and expert moneysaving tips with a comprehensive choice of booking options. Often described as the YouTube of travel, the site now features over 2000 guides written by celebrities, professionals and amateurs alike who share their favourite destinations and insider tips with the community.

What makes Simonseeks unique?

We are unique as we are the only user generated content website to share revenue equally and directly with our writers. This will encourage our writers to take an active interest in the quality and detail of the guides they write for us. This enables us to offer our visitors the very best travel guides free of charge, combined with expert consumer travel advice, moneysaving tips and booking options.

How do you make money?

The revenue comes from commission generated by people reading the guides, clicking through to travel partners’ websites and making a booking. Display advertising revenue is also generated. All the revenue from each guide is shared equally between the writers and Simonseeks.com and each author has a Simonseeks Paypal account and the revenue is generated is paid directly into this.

How much can contributors earn?

The amount will vary depending on the standard of accommodation booked, for example, and the length of stay. The more informative, interesting and easy-to-read a particular guide is, the higher its rating will be and the more income it will generate for the author. A guide is also more likely to attract readers if it looks appealing and has photographs to illustrate it.

To read the full interview with Simon Nixon, click here

Website of the Year 09 - Winner Announced!

The Good Web Guide's first Website of the Year Award attracted over a thousand entries.

A shortlist of 25 sites was chosen and sent to judges including Emma Jones, founder of Enterprisenation.com, Sháá Wasmund, founder of Smarta.com, Liane Dietrich, MD of Linkshare.co.uk; Yanique Francis-Lalin, senior web analyst at Twenga.com, Nick Wills, founder of Beatsdigital.com and MD of Thegoodwebguide.co.uk, Arabella Dymoke.

The standard of the shortlist was very high and judges found it hard choosing a winner. In the end, Simonseeks.com, the new concept travel website which combines user generated content with expert moneysaving tips and a comprehensive choice of booking options was picked as the overall winner.

An awards lunch was held at Quo Vadis, Soho where Nick Trend, the editor of SimonSeeks, received a cheque for £1,000 and a selection of other fantastic prizes. For more details, click here.

Judge Yanique Francis-Yalin (Twenga) said of SimonSeeks, 'I especially like the way the user content is organised and that there are standards to ensure good quality content.' Meanwhile, Nick Wills commented, 'It's solid, executed well and could go a long way.'

Nick Trend spoke on behalf of the team at Simonseeks.com when he accepted the award saying, 'Everyone in the office is delighted and it is a huge boost to our confidence after many months of hard work!'

Runners Up in The Good Web Guide Website of the Year Award 2009 included: Songkick.com, which tracks artists, venues and festivals to ensure you never miss another gig; Findinvestgrow.com, which works with and supports young entrepreneurs; and Shiply.com, which helps visitors to find cheap courier services already making trips across the UK and Europe.

A big thanks to all those who entered the awards. Please do watch out for our Website of the Year Award 2010 - launching soon!

4 November 09