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EVERYONE is talking about The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - the film with a cast list that reads like a BAFTA awards seating plan, and a title that challenges the tongue like a vindaloo ice-pop.

This colourful and poignant movie tells the tale of a disparate group of UK pensioners, who decide to "outsource" their retirement to the cheaper, and more adventurous Jaipur, India.

On arrival at the eponymous Hotel, our star-studded cast of characters meet the wide-boy-with-a-heart hotel owner Sonny (Dev Patel). Despite Sonny's enthusiasm for his crumbling hotel, it soon becomes clear to the Brits abroad that, much like themselves, the hotel's heyday is very much in the past.

As the bustle and chaos of India starts to effect the lives of the merry band, we see how their prejudices are challenged, and their long-held asssumptions about their lives are so easily unravelled. Racism, love, marriage and social expectations are all examined, with a light and intriguing touch from a stellar cast of superb actors.

Old and new

The storyline is not action packed, and trips along at a sedate pace. But the momentum of the movie builds up to a great set of denouments, and a satisfying if unexpected conclusion for all involved.

The India portrayed in the movie is both old and new, modern (phone call centres) and ancient (temples and the Untouchables). All this is seen through the prism of the elderly British person's experience, of feeling outdated, unloved and "past it".

Special mentions must go to the incredible Dame Maggie Smith, whose performance steals every scene she's in. And also kudos to the young Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, whose confident and rounded performance is never once over-shadowed by the actors around him - who boast CVs which are taller than he is.

We left the screening feeling touched by the soft-hearted storyline, and blown away by the crazy, colourful world of Jaipur - and wondering how come Britain can produce so many great thespians?

Must be something in the water.

4/5 Recommended by Justin Webb

You can book tickets to see this movie at the Trafford Centre ODEON Cinema - click here for details.

Why not enter our competition to win a trip to India? Or watch the movie trailer online here?

A SALFORD school had a face-lift this week - when our staff picked up their paint-brushes for a good cause.

St Andrew’s CE Primary in Eccles was in dire need of a new lick of paint for its outdoor classroom area, after the colourful murals that had brightened up the schoolyard for years wore away.

So 19 members of staff from The Trafford Centre donned over-alls and dusted off their brushes, to spend a community day creating new décor for the Barton Lane school.

The idea for the painting day came from a story in the Salford Advertiser, in which an organisation called Tree Inspired was putting local businesses together with schools to work on environmental projects.

We approached Tree Inspired, and they told us about St Andrew’s and their need for a nice, colourful new mural to brighten up their outdoor play area.

We soon had volunteers from all departments, and so an eager gang of security officers, cleaners, catering and reception staff, and managers, took a day out from the shopping centre to refresh the school facilities.

These events form part of Community Connections – a new scheme in which Trafford Centre staff donate up to two working days per year to local charities or community projects.

We were delighted at the opportunity to do something so worthwhile on our doorstep, and we hope our pirate and forest-themed artwork will inspire and motivate the St Andrew’s pupils for many years to come.”

Cash gift

The school has also benefited from a cash donation towards play equipment of almost £2000, collected from the famous fountains at The Trafford Centre.

Headteacher Karen Leyland said: “We are delighted that The Trafford Centre chose us to be the beneficiaries of their Community Connections scheme. It’s really important to us that the learning environment for our children is as good as it possibly can be – and we love the look of the new mural, which brightens up a well-used area of the school no end!”

Ace Décor on Oldfield Road in Salford generously donated paints and tools to the task, while Eccles firm Roy Fisher Design and Build acted as handyman on the day.

Thankyou to everyone who took part, and to St Andrew's for a lovely packed lunch on the day! We hope you enjoy your colourful new space!

BY Justin Webb @ The Trafford Centre

For a disparate group of English pensioners (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup), retirement takes an unconventional turn when they abandon their homeland, enticed by advertisements for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a seemingly luxurious sanctuary for “the elderly and beautiful” in Jaipur, India.

On arrival, they discover that the hotel falls somewhat short of the romantic idyll promised in the brochure, but they are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic young manager Sonny (Dev Patel), and tentatively embark on a new adventure, finding that life can begin again when you let go of the past.

To celebrate the release of the film on 24 February 2012, we're giving away a fabulous holiday for two to India! Enter here>>

Watch the trailer here, but to be in with a chance of seeing the film first, enter our competition to win tickets to a screening on Tuesday 21 February>>

Niamh Norton

I love anything that smells fresh and lemony and this product did not disappoint, I would buy it for the smell alone!!! However I am pleased to say it also works well on moisturising dry cuticles and any other dry areas like elbows, knees, heels etc. a great staple product for winter.

Amanda Graham

Lemony it says and lemony it is! Unfortunately, I found the smell a little overpowering and sickly on what is otherwise a really lovely product. A little went a very long way and left my cuticles feeling soft and easier to push back. Thankfully, the smell did subside after half an hour or so, but the softness lasted all day. A really nice product.

Charlotte Paisley

I was surprised when I opened this to see just how thick the consistency was which means a little really does go a long way. It has a fantastic lemony scent that I just love, but it is quite strong. It really does do its job though, my cuticles look and feel great now thanks to Lemony Flutter. It so moisturising it would do wonders on any other dry skin areas too.

Julia Ward

This looks like yellow putty and has a very strong scent of sweet lemons which I really love. The texture is thick so a little goes a long way. I found by taking some and warming it between my fingers before applying it worked best as it avoided me using too much. It goes on quite greasy but sinks in quickly to a velvety matte finish. I used this on my toenails and their cuticles and it has made them look really healthy and my feet smell delicious. It’s felt like a treat using this and I highly recommend it.

Susan Renshaw

This smells simply divine!! I am in love with the smell of this cuticle butter, it is zesty and fresh and all round yummynses!! I suffer from dry hands and that includes cuticles, which are in a pretty dire state. After having kept this cuticle butter on hand on my desk all week and using it morning and afternoon, I can truthfully say it has made a difference after just using it for several days. My cuticles are much softer and less stressed than they were! I also use it all over my hands as it smells so yummy, but I doubt this will make it last very long and is not the intended purpose! It did leave a slight greasy residue but I would say that’s because I used it for more than its intended purpose and spread all over my hands! Highly recommend this for poorly cuticles and you can’t argue with the £5.95 it costs for such a great little product.

Niamh Norton

I wasn't too keen on the scent but the actual product worked really well on my naturally curly dry coloured hair. Perfect treat to apply before jumping in the bath as it recommends leaving on for 20 minutes then once rinsed off my hair felt lovely and soft and manageable. Well priced at £8.50.

Amanda Graham

This was the first time I'd ever used a pre-shampoo leave-in conditioner but, unfortunately, it will also be the last time I use this particular one. Applying the mask, you can't help but notice the strange and somewhat antiseptic smell, which reminded me of the mouthwash you get at the Dentist's - not really something anybody likes to be reminded of! Whilst it undoubtedly made my thick and, at times, frizzy hair softer and easier to manage, the lingering smell was overpowering and left me feeling nauseous.

Charlotte Paisley

I love this product, it is applied onto dry hair and then left for 20mins and then shampooed out. What you are left with is beautiful shiny, soft and brilliantly conditioned hair. It leaves your hair with a long-lasting cinnamony smell, which I personally didn’t like at first but it is already starting to grow on me. I will defiantly be buying this again.

Julia Ward

As soon as I took the lid off the pot I was hit by the smell which took me back to my last appointment at the dentist. Not a great association but it usually goes the things that are good for us we least want to do. With this in mind I applied about quarter of the pot of beige slimy paste to my long locks which was quite a task as it is applied to dry hair. I waited the recommended 20 minutes and it was such a relief to wash it out as the smell is so overwhelming. I expected my hair to feel smooth once it was rinsed but it felt dry and straggly, quite an achievement as I have fine, oily hair. I shampooed and conditioned after as directed. My hair just felt like it normally would after I do this. Feeling very disappointed I started to blow dry and this was the magic bit…. once my hair was dry it felt smooth and soft and really cleansed. It looked so good I did a few hair swishes in the mirror. This one wasn’t for me but it did make my hair look great. If you can handle the smell and messy application it is definitely worth a try.

Susan Renshaw

Lush is my favourite shop at The Trafford Centre and I am a huge fan of all their products!! I have long, dyed and fairly dry hair, so an effective hair mask is exactly what it needed. The smell of the mask was strong and spicy smelling (in fact reminded me of a vanilla latte from Starbucks), not my usual type of scent I would go for, but for the promise of intensely moisturised locks, it didn’t really bother me. The mask had to be rubbed into your hair whilst it was dry, which I found unusual, and a little messier than normal masks as it seemed to detach itself from dry hair easier than wet and proceed to be blobbed around my bathroom. Anyway 30 minutes later I washed and conditioned my hair as usual and rinsed all traces of the mask away, my hair didn’t feel much different. However when I came to dry it, I could really feel how soft, silky and light my hair felt. It didn’t hold the smell of the mask very much either and I was left with lovely soft rapunzel locks. I used half the tub for one application, so for 2 intensive treatments, £8.50 is a very affordable luxurious hair treat and would obviously go much further on shorter hair.

Amanda Graham

I applied this serum to my cleansed face underneath my usual night-time cream, paying particular attention to those nasty wrinkles around my eyes. A little went a very long way and my skin felt beautifully hydrated without feeling sticky. I woke up to lovely soft skin and I'm sure those dark circles that seem to have taken up permanent residence on my face appeared lighter.

Charlotte Paisley

This is a beautiful youth serum that left my skin feeling instantly smoother and more toned. After just a couple of days of use my skin feels so much healthier and brighter. It has a really thin consistency which means it is absorbed quickly into the skin. The only downside of this product is the high price tag; at £88 unfortunately I will be unlikely to be buying it again.

Julia Ward

My assessment is quite simply, if you are after quick results then look no further.

My skin looks dewier and more luminous and the smoothing effect this has had on my décolleté is amazing…. and I’ve not even been using it for a week! I actually look forward to applying this lovely pale pink serum. It has a lightweight fluid texture and quickly melts into my oily/combination skin without leaving any sticky feeling which I can’t say about all serums I’ve tried. It does have a very strong floral scent but it isn’t unpleasant and it hasn’t caused any aggravation to my skin. There should be a warning on the bottle to only try this product if you are prepared to get hooked!!

Niamh Norton

I have read lots of reviews on this cult product over the years in different magazines so it was great to try it for myself. Beautiful scent which lasted on the skin for quite a while after application, the consistency of the cream was quite light (but I do normally buy body butters) however it was really moisturising and especially effective on dry patches like elbows and knees.

Amanda Graham

I have mixed feelings with this cream. It claims to be superb on extremely dry or flaking skin...and it is! After just two applications to a dry patch on my poor hands who are made to suffer the washing-up three times a day, this cream made a significant difference. It wasn't overly greasy and left my skin soft and supple. However, the fragrance was a huge disappointment; it smelt bland and, unfortunately, didn't have the luxurious aroma that you would expect from a moisturiser with this price tag.

Charlotte Paisley

A thick and luxurious body cream that made even the driest parts of my skin feel softer and silky smooth after just one use. It absorbs quickly into the skin and was not too greasy. This cult beauty product leaves a fresh but subtle scent so great for people who chose to avoid overwhelmingly scented body lotions.

Amanda Graham

Upon first sight of this, I was expecting it to make me look like Jodie Marsh in her recent body building competitions, but it was actually a really pleasant surprise. It has a very subtle iridescent shimmer and just a hint of a colour - ideal for smoothing on to sunkissed arms, legs, shoulders and chest. However, I found the smell a little sickly and the shimmer had rubbed off after only a few hours - very disappointing as, otherwise, this would have been an essential item in my holiday suitcase this summer.

Charlotte Paisley

This shimmery body oil left my skin looking subtly bronzed and smelling great. I wasn’t to shimmery as I have often found with other body shimmers. It absorbs into the skins really fast and leaves no greasy residue and you might expect with body oil.

Julia Ward

I’ve poured so much effort into using so many tanning and bronzing creams, lotions and powders over the years with so many varying degrees of disappointment that I have pretty much settled on being my pale and interesting self now. I was happy to get out there and give it another go but did wonder if it would end up being another one I’d walk away from.

I admit I’ve never tried bronzing oil before so this was going to be a new experience. It looks quite dark brown and has a shimmer in it but not a glittery shimmer. The oil felt greasy when I first applied it but with a little rubbing in it sank into my skin and left it feeling really smooth. It glides across the skin beautifully and I really enjoyed applying it which I usually don’t with bronzing products. There were no interesting positions required to put it on and there were no patchy bits left on my skin. It has a lovely gentle sweet, tropical, floral scent to it – quite hard to describe but the smell reminds me of holidays in the sun.

It didn’t make me look bronzed but it did give subtle warmth and glow to my skin. It also made me smell divine. So, not what I was expecting but not disappointing either and I’m sticking with it. I think it would probably work better with the bronzing claim on someone who already has a tan and they want to enhance it.

Susan Renshaw

Love Love Love this dry shimmer oil. I am a fairly regular ‘fake tanner’, and on special occasions I like a bit of glitter to accentuate my tan. But at nearly 35, I feel I am getting too old for the full on glittered look!! This oil left my skin with a beautiful sexy sheen and a glisten, rather than full on bling and glitter. It felt like heaven to apply and smelt so good too. I’m looking forward to wearing this in the evening on holiday, will be perfect and really compliment my tan! £16 seems a fair price too as I will only wear it on special occasions to glam up my skin, so should last a good while. Great Product, thanks Body Shop!

Niamh Norton

I have been using this product since it was launched last summer, it has an amazing scent on application but unfortunately this doesn't last as long as I had hoped it would, but it does leave a gorgeous sheen and a slight glow which works well over any self tan, also being a dry oil it soaks into the skin really quickly without leaving it feeling tacky. A perfect product for summer months.

Amanda Graham

With a naturally oily complexion I need every bit of help I can get to stop my make-up sliding off after five minutes. I applied this silky primer and instantly noticed that I had a smoother, more even skin tone, with fine lines disappearing right before my eyes. Already very impressed, I applied my foundation which went on beautifully, blending far easier than usual. Even more impressed. And the pièce de résistance? My face stayed shine-free all day long. Super impressed! My new make-up bag essential!

Susan Renshaw

This is the second primer I have tried in a matter of days and this one was considerably cheaper than the first I tried, being just £11. I didn’t expect it would be that great at such a lower price. On application it was a lovely consistency and smoothed really well over my face, leaving my skin feeling really fresh and clean. My foundation smoothed nice and evenly over the top and I actually didn’t need as much foundation as usual. The result was a lovely dewy finish that looked very blemish free. I still needed a little bit of powder over the top as I suffer fairly oily areas in certain places, but my make up stayed on well all day. Great little Primer for a reasonable price.

Niamh Norton

Unfortunately there wasn't enough sample to use on my face so I tried it on the back of my hand which did make it feel velvety soft and left it looking really smooth, I would definitely consider buying this product to try properly especially at such a great price of £11 for a primer.

Julia Ward

I’m always on the look-out for a product that can keep my face shine-free. So many make the claim but have failed to deliver – could this be The One???...

This thin textured clear gel easily smoothed over my face and it instantly mattified my skin and made it feel absolutely gorgeously velvety soft and silky. The effect immediately reminded me of the result I get when using Smashbox Photo Finish Primer which is a highly acclaimed, award winning product.

It created a lovely smooth canvas to apply both liquid foundation and just powder over and it did improve the staying power of my makeup. I really wanted this to live up to the promise of banishing shine, but unfortunately, like all the others that came before, it didn’t do it for me.

At £11 this must be one of the most pocket friendly primers out there and it really did make my skin feel amazing and make the application of makeup easier. I found it gave me a comparable result to a primer which is about three times the price so it must be flying off the shelves at The Body Shop. If shine isn’t a problem for you, I’d say go grab yourself a tube because this is a keeper.

Charlotte Paisley

This is a fantastic primer that does exactly as it says. Just a tiny amount left my skin feeling amazingly smooth and poreless. It’s completely non-greasy leaving your face looking totally matte. My foundation went over the primer beautifully and lasted longer than normal. This product is great value for money and I will be buying it again.

Julia Ward

I’m a huge fan of mineral powder and this didn’t disappoint. The powder is soft and smooth and is easy to brush onto the skin. It gives a lovely natural, mattifying coverage. I dusted some of this over liquid foundation and it didn’t look too heavy.

It isn’t as finely milled as other mineral powders I’ve used but that seemed to make it easier not to apply too much. I couldn’t get it to give my skin the luminosity that my BareMineral foundation does but it certainly gave me a smooth, matte effect. It evened out my skin and covered blemishes without much effort or looking obvious

If you haven’t tried mineral powders before or want a matte effect then I’d say this is a good one to try. It’s easy for a beginner to get started without making too many mistakes with the application and I only needed to touch it up a couple of times during the day to keep my oily/combination skin shine free.

Susan Renshaw

This light feeling powder glides on easily and leaves skin feeling soft, silky and not too set and matte looking. It seemed to let your skin breathe better than many other powders I have used over the years. I used it over the Virgin Mineral Foundation and it really does make your face look fresh and clean, not caked on and thick. I would say if you are buying the Virgin Mineral Foundation and you need a little more coverage, then this powder compliments it perfectly

Amanda Graham

With naturally oily skin, loose powder is an essential item in my make-up bag but, unfortunately for me, it normally needs reapplying throughout the day to keep that shine at bay. I applied this powder on top of my usual foundation and was really surprised at how much extra coverage it gave. It blended beautifully matching my own skin tone seamlessly, and helped to further cover some minor blemishes. Easily the best loose powder I've ever used and I've discovered a new favourite.

Charlotte Paisley

A gorgeous light-weight powder foundation that gives a really light, natural coverage. You can use it alone or over a liquid foundation to set if you want more coverage and a long lasting look. A small amount goes a long way, making it great value for money.

Niamh Norton

I already own this product and it's a great powder for setting my foundation, leaves a lovely matt finish which is perfect for my quite oily T Zone. I like the fact it is a mineral powder, and the colour 102 Natural Ivory is perfect for my pale skin tone. Best applied with a large fluffy brush.