Ergonomics part 2

Having previously written about the poor state of my office chair and my affection for energy drinks I was stunned not to be bowled over by Herman Miller and Red Bull in a stampede to sign me up to some incredibly lucrative sponsorship deals.

Instead I had to buy my own kit.

The chair

Back-, butt- and buck-saver

Ultimately I chose an on-sale, mesh-back chair from Staples. Specifically it was the Ergo Mesh Executive Chair, and incredibly comfortable it is too.

I'd always suspected that those who spend around £100 on an office chair will feel the benefit. Now I am sure.

It might look like something you'd see in the dentist's surgery, and it is probably too space-consuming for those who perch at a desk in the corner of cramped living quarters, but if you have the room this is a back-saver.

I struggle to imagine that if I spent £800 I'd be sitting even twice as comfortably.

I only wish I had taped myself assembling it. That farce would surely have gone viral on YouTube, earning me numerous lucrative sponsorship deals...

The drink

Blue Spark: Energy drink
of penny-pinching champions

I have long maintained that Red Bull is the least vile-tasting option on the market, while Emerge is one of the most effective.

Neither of these drinks hold any interest for me now.

What about the new 'Limited Edition' Red Bull drinks? They are, it is to be hoped, very limited because they actually beat Emerge for tasting horrible.

The discovery of the month, however, is Tesco's new Blue Spark energy drink.

Blue Spark is half the price of KX, the previously cheapest option at UK supermarket Tesco. KX is a strong contender in my book, being inexpensive, quite effective and with a flavour that nearly escapes the realms of unpleasantness.

Blue Spark has, on the face of it, identical ingredients to KX and I can't tell much difference in the taste, if indeed there is a difference.

But it only costs 35p a tin. Now that's a five-star budget-buy winner!