Posted in July 2009

Beds Glorious Beds....

Source: hazel eyes
Wednesday 29th July 2009, 3:15pm

Not getting a good night's sleep is really annoying not to mention bad for your health. There are loads of sleep disorders to choose from, but if that's not your problem, it could just be that your bed is uncomfortable.

Exclude other causes

Make sure that the lack of sleep is not caused by a sleep disorder, there's useful list on Wikipedia. There are things which can be done to make your bedroom more appealing for sleep.

Rearranging the divan bed

• Remove all distractions from the bedroom. Anything at all including lights, sounds and smells and perhaps install blackout shades a white noise machine and odor reducing cleaning products.
• Use clean, comfortable bedding. The bed may be uncomfortable, but that's not reason not to have the best bedding.
• Add memory foam to the top of the bed. Not only will it fit the contour of your body, it will provide a comfortable layer between you and the bed.
• Cultivate a betime routine to prepare yourself for sleep. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol within 4 hours of going to bed.
• Try sleeping in different positions.

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Supporting Charities

Source: hazel eyes
Wednesday 15th July 2009, 12:00pm

Donating to charity gives a sense of satisfaction and well being, but it is sometimes hard to decide what to do. Is it better to give to a range of causes, or concentrate on one?

There are so many charities and deserving causes that it is sometimes difficult to know which ones to pick. Is it better to concentrate on a local charity, one which looks after animals, a well known charity which carries out work on a national or even international scale - or maybe a mixture?

It is a subject much discussed on Gather with some very interesting articles and comments:-

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977727629

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977179844

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977055805

Its important to remember that dontaing items such as money and clothing is not the only way to help charities, volunteers play a vital part of any charity, whether it is helping out in shops, lending a hand at events or even travelling to other countries to help out (if you have that amount of time available).

In the end, it is the circumstances of the individual which will dictate what and how they can donate to charity. You never know what is around the next corner in these uncertain times.

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Car Hire Prices At Home And Abroad

Source: hazel eyes
Friday 10th July 2009, 2:43pm

Its been a mixed bag for care hire companies in the last week with some encouraging news and some not quite so good news.

Representatives from Europecar and Avis both agree that the economic downturn is going to strengthen the long term future of car hire companies. Travel management companies are also focussing more on car hire uk too. Although corporates are not comitting to longer term car hire contracts at the moment, the TMC's are expected to concentrate more on car hire as the economy recovers.

Europe Prices Cut

The Post Office Travel Services' 'Motoring on the Continent' report has revealed a cut in European motoring costs. Unleaded petrol can be found on the continent for up to 12% less and diesel a whopping 31% less.

Switzerland was found to be the cheapest of those surveyed for unleaded, but Austria and Spain were the best value overall for UK motorists, especially for diesel drivers.

The UK is presently the second most expensive country of those surveyed after Norway. We are also the only country in which diesel is more expensive than petrol.

Staycationers Rejoice

Although Britain doesn't do so well overall in terms of petrol prices, there is some good news in that they are now 10% less than they were last year.

As far as car hire results go, Portugal is the overall best value for money at the moment with a drop of 21% on last years prices, but Greece had the lowest rental price cut (36%), ahead of Sweden (32% drop).

It was Portugals good value rental rates combined with low fuel costs which put them into the lead ahead of the UK, Turkey and the Netherlands.

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Global Warming Causes Shrinking Sheep

Source: hazel eyes
Monday 6th July 2009, 12:57pm

Wild sheep on a Scottish island are getting smaller, according to a recent study.

On the island of Hirta, a study published in Science has discovered that the average weight of its wild sheep was gradually decreasing.

One theory is that global warming could be partly responsible for this as the winters have warmer and wetter, making it easier for smaller, weaker sheep to survive. Food is more plentiful also in the warmer, wetter climate also increasing the chances of survival. The offspring of these sheep tend to be small themselves, perpetuating the cycle. Natural selection still figures in the equation of course, but its not as significant as it once was, the research suggests.

Ordinarily, classic evolutionary theory would predict that the sheep would become gradually larger, but this change demonstrates that global warming is having unexpected effect on today's species.The scientists hope to use the data collected to predict flock changes in the future.

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Family Visiting

Source: hazel eyes
Thursday 2nd July 2009, 12:28pm

As we hadn't been to see the family in Essex for a while we took the bike on its first longish tour to the East coast at the weekend.

Its a lot flatter in Essex than in Devon and someone has removed most of the hedges, but there are nice views of countryside and stuff out in the sticks where the family live.

Blimey it was hot! We had a barbeque the first night we were there which was great - locally sourced sausages and burgers and generous portions of side dishes of various varieties. There's quite a few cousins up there so I think they are used to putting on a feast for 8 adults and 7 kids.

The next day we went for a walk, which we were promised would take about an hour and was about 4 miles - their estimates were a bit generous as it was more like 1.75 hours and the path meandered quite a bit with the route of the river. We ended up getting there at about 1pm and were glad to sit under a tree in the park and have lunch.

Its pretty good for waterbased activities there, lots of sailing, windsurfing for people of all ages and abilities.

We came home on Sunday, taking it fairly slowly and having about an hour for lunch. Its a bit hard on the knees, legs and back, not to mention the drivers wrists doing a longer journey. I'm certainly glad not to have to get on it for a couple of days, but it was a good test for when we do some motorbike touring abroad.

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