I don't normally like clothes with slogans, but sometimes you just have to express yourself.

The Weekly World Inquisitor is one of my favourite websites because, just when you think the world is really weird, that site shows how it can get weirder. It specialises in stories about government conspiracies, alien abduction, weird science and ... well, just about anything they can make up. And it's very funny.

The site has a number of slogans, and these are now available as a range of t-shirts (in several styles, including organic tees), sweats and hoodies. There are various colours available but, appropriately, they're all dark!

The slogans are:

• Waste no time seeking the truth

• If it's out there, I believe it

• Beyond reason

Each is accompanied by the site's signature alien.

The clothes are sold via the Weekly World Inquisitor's CafePress store, which provides secure credit card ordering and fast delivery.

For more information, check out the Weekly World Inquisitor's online store.

Recently a friend gave me a steam juicer, and I'm finding it a great addition to the kitchen.

For many years now, I've juiced fruits using a centrifugal juicer - like a mini food-processor, with a toothed wheel that grinds the fruit down to mush. This retains the skins etc in the basket and produces thick, gorgeous juice through the spout, but all fruit has to peeled and de-seeded beforehand and the pulp can build up very quickly. It's also a fiddle to clean and the juice doesn't keep - it has to be drunk straight away.

This kind of juicer is invaluable, as is a good citrus press, especially if you like to have fresh, raw juice for breakfast, and the steam juicer doesn't replace it - it's a different beast entirely, and produces a different kind of product, more akin to the bottled juices you get in the supermarket. 

Basically, it works like a giant steamer. You put water in the bottom section, fruit or veg in the top section, and the juice collects in the middle section, which has a tap. You do need, I should point out, a considerable quantity of fruit. 

The steam literally forces the juice out of the fruit (if you watch, you can see it bursting through the skin), and you don't have to peel the fruits, nor take the pips out - all they need is a good wash and the removal of any bruised or mouldy bits. You get a distinctly 'whole fruit' taste.

The juice, in complete contrast to that made with a centrifugal juicer, is thin, pure and clear with no pulp in it, and is already pasturised, allowing you to bottle it straight away and keep it for up to three months (provided the bottles are sterilised and heat-processed).

What I am most pleased about is that it FINALLY enables me to make use of my rock-hard calvados pears, which are small, hard and gritty - totally unsuitable for culinary use. Over the years I've tried everything with them, without success. But with this juicer, the juice produced has no grit in it, and although it needs the addition of honey or sugar, is a pleasure to drink. It's also brilliant for plums - no need to de-skin or take the stones out.

The juice produced is perfect for making clear, bright jellies, using either gelatine or pectin as a set. Incidentally, the product was invented in Finland, where they are more common than toasters, and I wonder if it is because much of the Finns' native fruit comes in the form of berries.  Raspberries, blackberries and other 'seedy' fruit are totally hassle-free to process - no more draining through jelly bags and leaving things to drip, etc - and I really wish I had had this product a month ago, during the currant glut.

You can, of course, use the fruit pulp left in the top section if you so wish, but in that case, you'll need to peel and de-seed the fruit. I processed our Calville Blanc apples, which weren't keeping well, and then flavoured the resulting pulp with cinnamon and cloves and used it in a crumble. The juice was clear and very flavoursome, and made a great drink mixed with fizzy water. 

My steam juicer is made by Japy-Fruit, which is no longer in business and the main drawback to it is that it's aluminium. If I find that I'm using it as much as I imagine, I may consider replacing it with a steel one, which is available on Amazon.fr. There are other makes, too - just Google to see what's available in your area - in the UK, steam juicers are available from specialist cookshops. 

The steam juicer can, of course, be used as a conventional (if very large) steamer by removing the middle section. 

How to use your steam extraction juicer. 

Wash your fruit (peel and de-seed if you're keeping the pulp) and cut into quarters for large fruit such as apples (small fruit such as plums can be left whole). 

Put the fruit in the top section.

Fill the steamer section with water (make sure it's good and full) so it won't boil dry. 

Make sure the tap on the juice section is closed!

Bring the water to the boil and then reduce the heat, but still ensuring it's hot enough to steam. 

For apples and other hardish fruit, steam for 60-90 minutes. Soft fruits are ready in 40-60 minutes. For very tart fruits, you can sprinkle sugar on the fruit while it's in the steamer, rather than adding it afterwards. 

To obtain more juice, drain off a pint or two of juice and put it back on top of the fruit - this 'encourages' the fruit to expel more juice. 

At the end of the cooking time, drain off the juice into glass or steel containers, or leave to go cold and bottle up in plastic. 

If you sterilise the bottles beforehand and heat-process them afterwards, the juice should keep for three months - for this, you'll need heatproof bottles with clip-tops sealed with a rubber ring. 

The new steel version of the Japy-Fruit juicer is available at Amazon.fr. 

The Mehu-Liisa (Finnish) juicer is available at Amazon.com. 

Sadly, no steam juicer appears to be available at Amazon.co.uk but the WMF (German) extractor is available here. 

With the recent sunny days that have been with us, my thoughts have turned to the coming summer and how to protect my face.

In winter I get by with my SPF 4 regular moisturiser from Lidl, but once the sun appears, I'm into total sunblock territory. With my Irish and Scottish heritage and a tendency to go simply red and then white again, I've been maxing out on sunblock all my life. Nicole Kidman, eat your heart out.

Last year, when I went to the chemist looking frankly ruddy with the change of season (if it's spring, it must be eczema...), I asked what SPF the pharmacist recommended. "With your skin, maximum," she said bluntly. 

Maximum for the face turned out to be this cream from Avene, and luckily it is lovely to wear - it feels exactly like a moisturiser and isn't white or sticky. Mostly I wear it alone, reapplying as the day goes on. It makes a serious change from the zinc-based creams I've had to use in the past. 

The SPF, as you can see, is 50+, which ought to be more than enough. Higher SPFs do exist for the body, but they're usually blue in colour and leave you quite shiny. This cream is just fine for everyday use and since I just cut the tube open to get the last of it out, I know I'll be back down the chemist's again soon. 

I have to admit I rather enjoyed this book.

Twiggy has been a fashion icon for longer than many of us have been on the planet and for a 59-year-old, she certainly doesn't look about to pick up her bus pass any time soon. 

Her take on fashion and beauty is very refreshing and down to earth. Full of anecdotes, this book makes it perfectly clear that she doesn't believe in plastic surgery, isn't about to head down the Botox route, will wear her peasant skirts until the day she dies and is addicted to cowboy boots. She also cheerfully admits that when at home she schlepps around in tracksuits and Uggs as she can't be arsed to dress up all the time, and that she hangs onto fashion items in the hope they'll come round again. 

Twiggy is looking fab for her age, but I think it's more of an attitude to life and a degree of scepticism about fashion than that she's overendowed with gifts that the rest of us don't have. She was always an editorial rather than a catwalk model - her 5'6" frame being too short for runway work. Nor is she the waif of yesteryear - over time, she's remained slim but she's certainly filled out in a womanly fashion. Without her makeup, in fact, I was struck by how remarkably she looks like my sister, who is about the same age. 

The book itself isn't a how-to book. If you want advice on dressing for your particular shape or colouring, this isn't the book for you. It's more one woman's take on fashion and beauty, and what has worked for her. This, along with its very nice production design (good paper stock, a wealth of illustration and photography) makes it a nice gift for someone rather than a must-have for your fashion library. 

Nevertheless it is useful. Particularly so for a UK reader, as it has comprehensive listings of boutiques that stock clothes for grown-up girls, including a regional guide. Each section also has suggestions for products you might like to try, in three price bands: luxury, medium and budget (I am SO in the budget range I'm almost off the scale). 

The book is rather strangely constructed and it took me a couple of readings to get my head around it. It starts at the top down, with the face and hair, then works its way down the body to feet and toes, but these chapters are interspersed with a number of fashion chapters, covering areas such as Dressing Up, Style Icon and Dressing for Day. This can make it a bit difficult to go back and find things (for instance, the chapter on Jeans is under 'Bums and Hips' while the chapter on Trousers is under 'Legs', but if, for instance, your main issue is your waist, you turn to the relevant chapter and you'll find everything you need from skincare to dressing for disguise, all covered under one heading.

Among the fashion tips I found the most useful were:

* If you're getting too old for mini skirts, reference the look with a long tunic over jeans. This gives you the same outline with more coverage. 

* When packing for holidays, take two sarongs - one little one to cover your hips and bottom over a swimsuit, and a big blanket-size one to lie on and to use as a modesty wrap. 

* On holiday, three kaftans are useful: one bottom-length to pop over a swimsuit, one knee-length for lunch and to go over jeans, and one ankle-length for evening, especially if your skin is burned. 

* For a weekend away, limit yourself to ten things - it forces you to be disciplined. 

* You can check out the cruelty-free credentials of your makeup at www.leapingbunny.org.

* Juicy Couture maternity t-shirts have extra length, and high armholes that enable you to wear a structured bra underneath. 

* Maternity jeans are very comfy if you carry weight on your tummy, or have had a C-section. 

* A super-thin long-sleeved t-shirt can be worn as a layer under something skimpier (I'm so annoyed I never thought of this - I've had endless trouble finding summer Ts thick enough to wear...)

* Button-front grandad (Henley) t-shirts tend to give you more fabric around your middle, if you're thicker in this area. 

Overall, a very nice read and probably a book I'll enjoy dipping into again. 

Twiggy - A Guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous Over Forty is available from the Second Cherry Bookshop.

One thing I don't think I've mentioned on this blog is that I have acid reflux.

It began quite suddenly, and has been exacerbated by a car crash I suffered in April 2007 - the pulling of the seat belt across my chest has caused some sort of damage. 

My reflux was at its worst at night and would routinely wake me with a choking, burning sensation. Afterwards, I'd be in pain for hours right across my chest and stomach where I'd been burned by the acid - the pain was so bad that I saw my doctor because I thought I might be having a heart attack. 

Anyway, once diagnosed, I quickly got online to see what I could find, and as well as altering my diet to remove acid foods, changing the times at which I eat, etc, I also ordered this prop-up pillow. 

It is a godsend. Prior to getting it I'd already chocked up the legs at the head of my bed, but my husband found anything above six inches made him start to slide downwards, so that was our upper limit. 

I'd also cobbled together a wedge pillow from one designed to prop up your legs, but it wasn't really high enough (you can't relieve reflux simply with extra 'standard' pillows because they bend you over, rather than supporting your whole upper body at the correct angle). 

This memory foam prop-up pillow is a different kettle of fish, as it is truly enormous, with a very high wedge of about eight inches, and allows you to sleep comfortably on your back with both arms and your whole upper body supported, right down to your hips. Personally, I find it more diffiult to lie on my side using the pillow, though I can turn on my right side for short periods. The lumbar rest is also great, though I don't need the neck rest as I use an ergonomic cervical support pillow on top of the wedge pillow. 

This pillow is not cheap - in fact, it's about the most expensive prop-up pillow out there - but I was convinced by the fact that it was designed by a reflux sufferer and by the testimonials on the site. I've been glad I spent the extra money. In paticular, the memory foam section, which is spliced in a layer on top of higher-density foam, makes the pillow very comfortable indeed. Buying the correct pillow cases was also a good move, as they fit snugly and don't crease.

For anyone troubled by reflux at night, this pillow works wonders and I highly recommend it. Other users also recommend it for sinus problems, snoring and sleep apnea. 

The Prop-up Pillow costs from $144.99 from www.propuppillow.com