Yesterday marked the first official day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the longest period of sunlight. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year north of the equator, and from now until December, the days will gradually grow shorter. This years solstice was marked by blazing hot temperatures from Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard in the United States and torrential down pours in the United Kingdom.

Throughout history, the solstice was a celebration of agriculture for many cultures, acknowledging the sun’s role in the community’s harvest celebrating the event with festivals. The celebrations have continued into present day with gatherings across the United States in cities such as Seattle, Santa Barbara and Long Island. Continuing with a 10 year long tradition, thousands of New Yorkers converged in Times Square to celebrate the summer solstice by doing yoga.

The more widely known Summer Solstice celebration took place at the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire where nearly 14,500 people turned up to welcome the pagan celebration of the sun through dark murky rain clouds. Although there was a torrential downpour throughout the preceding evening, crowd-goers were spared rain for the 4:52 AM sunrise.

Celebrate the days of summer with beruby and take advantage of this great Summer Solstice Sales from AccorHotels

April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day! There are plenty of silly holidays out there, any excuse to celebrate! But, we are pretty sure this one takes the cake — or English muffin!

As legend has it… some guy by the name of Benedict, a fancy wall street broker staying in the Waldorf Hotel, woke up one morning with a sizable hangover, with a craving for greasy comfort food. Mr. Benedict, fuzzy headed and not feeling 100%, carried himself down to the hotel’s breakfast buffet where he proceeded to order up some buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a side of hollandaise…

The maître d’ thought this combo sounded pretty tasty and would be a perfect addition to the Sunday brunch menu. Eggs Benedict was immediately added to the Waldorf breakfast and luncheon menus, but not before the ham was substituted for bacon and an English muffin replaced the toast.

Since the 1900’s, there has been a variety of ways Eggs Benedict has been created — here are a few from Wikipedia worth sharing!

• Veggie Benedict, also known as California Benedict, replaces the bacon with avocado and tomato.
• Irish Benedict replaces the ham with corned beef hash or Irish bacon.
• Pennsylvania-Dutch Benedict replaces the ham or bacon with scrapple. Popular in the eastern region of Pennsylvania.
• Eggs Benedict Arnold replaces the English muffin with a biscuit and the hollandaise with country gravy, and also cooks the poached egg longer, so that the yolk is fully cooked.
• Eggs Pope Benedict substitutes German pumpernickel bread for the muffin and German bratwurst sausage for the bacon. It was created when Benedict XVI became pope in 2005.
• Goose Benedict was invented by James Delingpole. It consists of goose fat spread on an English muffin, with a fried goose foie gras stuffed with black truffle and black pudding, topped with a gull’s egg Hollandaise sauce.
• Huevos Benedict replaces the English muffin with a twice-folded warm corn tortilla, and the ham with avocado. Also, salsa roja and cilantro are added on top of the hollandaise sauce.
• Eggs Frederick substitutes tomato ketchup for hollandaise sauce.
• No Eggs Benedict! Click here for a vegan version of the famous recipe!

For all of your timers, poachers, beaters, egg cookers and bowls, shop Chef’s Catalog and save 5% in Cash Back rewards when you shop using your beruby account.

If you were with us last year you might recall a little blog I wrote about tulips — http://blog.beruby.com/uk/2011/05/13/tiptoe-through-the-tulips/

With Spring in the air and Easter around the corner, there is no better time then to reintroduce the bulb brought forth by the Turks… In fact, it is the national flower of turkey and means Turban in Turkish.

Here are a few more fun facts about the versatile flower:

• Tulips symbolize imagination, dreaminess, perfect lover and a declaration of love.
• Tulip bulbs are a good replacement for onions in cooking.
• Tulips come in every color except blue and black.
• If you add a bit of sugar to the water of your vase your tulips will live longer.
• Tulips continue to grow after being cut, up to an inch or more, and its best to cut them under water.
• If you would like your tulips to stand straight up as an arrow, drop a penny in your vase!

Tulips are not the only thing in bloom!

Right now SAVE 27.00% when you take advantage of these budding offers

from Budgetplaces using your beruby account!

Spring has finally sprung and beruby is gearing up for Springtime Celebrations! Over the last month we are happy to announce the addition of several new merchants and advertisers to our community! This means more opportunities to save on the things you love! Shop from top named fashion brands and accessories to computers and home appliances.  Remember with beruby you now receive 100% of the commissions we receive from our advertisers AND you can cash out after you have earned your first pound!!!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the new advertisers we have acquired just for you:

Missing your holiday? Now is the perfect time to check out these great offers from KLM:

Long Haul destinations:

Travel by 31st March 2011

If these destinations require a bit too much time away, consider the fun and cozy city of Amsterdam. KLM has excellent offers including:

Direct flights to Amsterdam

Whatever destination you fancy, KLM likely has a flight there as they service points across Europe, North America and the rest of the world. The Royal Dutch Airline (KLM) will get you to your destination in comfort without a steep price.

Benefit from your purchases with KLM.com when you use your BeRuby account!

Up to £1.67 when you make a purchase

Up to £0.83 when a member of your network makes purchase

You can find KLM.com on BeRuby here and in the category Travel >> Airlines

The winter holidays will be here before you know it! If you’re looking for a truly unique and memorable pressie, than you simply must consider Smartbox. They offer an excellent selection of ‘experience gifts’ to give your loved one a fun gift they’ll never forget! Plus Smartbox carries gift options all over to suit your interests and location. Enjoy adventure gifts, gourmet food and beverage tastings, spa escape gifts, gifts for couples and more. Gifts are available in wide range of prices, so your pocketbook will be happy.

Right now, you can enjoy a Smartbox gift and a savings of 8%! Just enter in the voucher code UKAFF when you check out.

Earn cash back on your purchases with Smartbox.co.uk when you use your BeRuby account!

Earn 3.67% cash back when you make a purchase

Earn 1.83% cash back when a member of your network makes a purchase

You can find Smartbox.co.uk on BeRuby here and in the category Shopping>>Flowers and Gifts

All inclusive getaways allow you to holiday and be worry free. No need to be concerned about where to eat! It’s sorted! Ramada Jarvis is offer a spectacular offer this month with inclusive meals – here are the details:

What you get: 2 night stay, dinner on the first night and breakfast both mornings from £119
£10 off when you book online
Promo code: PAUTUAFC
Dates: 1st September until 30th November 2010.

This is great way to getaway in the UK! Plus, Ramada Jarvis has hotels in destinations all over the world. Enjoy wonderful stays with Ramada Jarvis’ great hotel amenities to make your trip special.

Earn cash back from purchases with RamadaJarvis.com when you use your BeRuby account!

Earn 2.34% cash back when you make a purchase

Earn 1.16% cash back when a member of your network makes a purchase

You can find RamadaJarvis.com on BeRuby here and in the category Travel >> Sub category: Hotels

Escape the hum-drum feelings of returning to work in September with a mini-getaway. Until 30 September, you can enjoy 20% off your pre-pay amount at BudgetPlaces.com. They offer great prices on accommodations, so you can spend on the rest of your trip! Here’s the details of this promotion:

Voucher code: BACKTOWORK
To receive: a discount on prepay amount: 20%

For check in and checkout dates:

Check in Start date: 01/09/2010
Check out End date: 03/10/2010

BudgetPlaces.com offers budget accommodations for getaways all over the world. Choose from over 4,500 budget hotels, hostels, apartments & bed and breakfasts at BudgetPlaces.com to find the place that’s right for you.

Benefit from your purchases with BudgetPlaces.com when you use your BeRuby account!

Up to 10% when you make a purchase

Up to 5.00% when a member of your network makes purchase

You can find BudgetPlaces.com on BeRuby here and in the category Travel >> Hotels

Ready for a holiday? Check out these great deals departing from Birmingham (exemplary prices) from Swiss Air:

Swiss Air is world renowned for their superb customer service and international air travel. Whether you’re taking a short trip or an extended holiday, Swiss Air provides air accommodations to many of the major cities across the world. Find a huge selection of destinations in Europe and particularly in Switzerland at affordable prices at SwissAir.com.

Benefit from your purchases with Swiss when you use your BeRuby account!

£2.00 when you purchase a plane ticket

£1.00 when a member of your network purchases a plane ticket

You can find SWISS Air on BeRuby here and in the category Travel >> Airlines

This week, at Eden4Flowers.co.uk you can pick up these lovely sunflowers for only £19.99 – delivered! This is a huge savings of £14.00!  Plus they’ve got loads of other gorgeous flowers and gifts at prices up to 60% off! Flowers make  for a great gift for almost any occasion. Find beautiful boquets for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, thank you gifts, graduation, congratulations, sympathy or just because! Plus, Eden4Flowers.co.uk gets their products from local growers in the UK!

Benefit from your purchases with Eden4Flowers.co.uk when you use your BeRuby account!

Earn 3.33% cash back when you make a purchase

Earn 1.67% cash back when a member of your network makes a purchase

You can find EdenFlowers.co.uk on BeRuby here and in the category Shopping>> Flowers and Gifts