Tag: Sunshine

Guest Post: 7 Reasons To Book A Summer Holiday

With schools in the UK just breaking up for the summer holidays, many people still haven’t booked a family holiday. Talks of a double dip recession, job insecurity, rainy weather and uncertainty about the Euro have meant that many families have been left unsure of what to do with their main summer break. But you know you deserve a holiday! So why wait?

1. Don’t tear your hair out at home. Staying at home can feel ok for the first three days of the school holidays. After that, the kids will be running riot around the house, misbehaving and crying out ‘I’m bored’. You will be desperate to escape from the four walls of your home. If only you could escape from your family too…

2. It doesn’t have to cost the earth. In these times of economic uncertainty, many people resist booking a holiday until the last minute. The thing is, in uncertain times more than ever, we need a bit of joy in our lives and holidays are even more important. There are plenty of cheap self catering UK cottage holidays still available for this summer and booking last minute means that you can take advantage of great deals, making your holiday even friendlier on the wallet and hopefully giving you some spare cash to splash on meals out and treats for the kids whilst you are away.

3. Kids love holidays! Anyone remember being the only kid in the class who hadn’t been away for a summer holiday? Just me then? Give your kids some stories to tell back at school and something to write about in their ‘what I did in the holidays’ diary, you don’t want them going back to school looking like the poor kid who didn’t get to go anywhere.
On a serious note, holidays are educational for kids, they can learn about new places and experience new things. You might actually enjoy spending time with them. Going on holiday won’t make your kids behave but you can keep your fingers crossed that it might!

4. It doesn’t have to be loads of hassle. The thought of packing to go away, airports, queues and seasickness can all make it feel like it is way too much hassle to go away. It doesn’t have to be! Keep it simple, stay in the UK, pack up a few essentials in the boot of the car and off you go. There are plenty of places to look for hassle free holidays in the UK, like Web Cottages. You can take your own food and you won’t have to worry about the inconvenience of finding food that fussy youngsters will like when abroad too. Winner! There are enough things to think about without making life more difficult for you.

5. You never know what’s around the corner. It sounds really doom and gloom but you never know what the future may hold. 2013 may mean the end of the world for all we know! If the end of the world or more economic problems, and a whole host of other disasters are potentially just around the corner then we may as well enjoy ourselves now. Book a few days away; if we are all going to die next year at least we can die happy!

6. It’s good for your health! Going on holiday is good for you, fact! Well, the right sort of holiday is. Get away from the house, the office and the car and spend some time in the great outdoors. Loose a few pounds by walking in the countryside or along the coastline. You can even treat yourself to a ice cream or portion of fish and chips, it’s about a balanced diet after all! Not only will you return feeling refreshed and relaxed but you will be ready to back to work and endue the rest of the school holidays.

7. Make the most of the sunshine! Fingers crossed we may actually get a summer this year! News reports say that the jet stream that has been causing awful wet weather across the UK is set to change so we may actually get some lovely British sunshine. Make the most of it and head to the seaside for a beach holiday. Even if it rains, our good old British spirit will kick in. We are used to rainy beach holidays after all.
So, get on your marks, get set, go! Make the most of the school holidays this summer.

July 19, 2012
Guest Post: 7 Reasons To Visit The Middle East And Africa Region

As if you need an excuse to pack your bags – yes, throw in the laptop if you must, just in case you find a spare few minutes for working – and jet across to the Middle East and Africa region. But if you do how about sunshine, beaches, culture, history, hell even meetings in Middle East and Africa are tempting when you consider the surroundings!

1. Full Of Surprises. The Middle East is often featured in the news, and it’s easy to get the wrong impression of these countries. Visit it, however, and you’ll be amazed at what you find, be it the picturesque beauty of the villages of Syria, Tel Aviv’s Jaffa district, the breathtaking Atlas Mountains or the modern architecture in Dubai.

2. Sunshine. Relax and enjoy the balmy and often seriously hot weather in this region. After your many meetings in Middle East and Africa, you’ll be ready to hit the beach or explore the desert. Why not try Jumeirah Beach in Dubai or a desert trek in Jordan? Feel the warmth and then decide how active you want to be! There’s a chance you’ll opt for a cool drink and good book as you chill during your leisure time.

3. Comfort. As a business traveller to the Middle East and North Africa, comfort will be a concern – maybe you have images of sweaty-backed meetings and clammy handshakes. Well, you’d be wrong, unless you happen to be unnaturally sweaty of course. All the major buildings including Holiday Inn Dubai where you can hold your conferences or business meetings have air conditioning to make sure the temperature indoors is far cooler than it is outside. You can work as though you were at home, although when you glance out of the window you may get a surprise!

4. Culture. There is so much to see and do in this part of the world that you’ll be spoilt for choice. Israel is a place rich in history and here you’ll be able to explore ancient sites and enjoy explorative walks. Likewise, Egypt is steeped in history, considered the oldest tourist destination in the world. In contrast, it’s modern fanfare that you get in Dubai, with lavishly constructed contemporary buildings such as the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel, although there is also ample Arabic architecture to view – such as the Bastakiya Quarter and the Jumeriah Mosque.

5. Nightlife. Cosmopolitan cities in the Middle East and Africa region like Dubai have a buzzing nightlife that includes bars and restaurants, concerts, street parties and nightclubs.

6. Adventure. There are fantastic things to do, from diving in the Red Sea to gawping at the pyramids in Egypt. Egypt also offers adventures in the Sahara Desert and Nile cruises for sightseeing in style. Or perhaps an exploration around Atlas Mountains would get your heart racing. Alternatively, there’s the Dune Dinner in Dubai that consists of blasting over sand dunes in buggies, visiting a camel farm, watching a glorious sunset and then tucking into a barbecue dinner – it certainly beats your average UK barbecue of charcoaled bangers, rain and wind with a background view of your neighbour’s ornate flowerpots.

7. Gold. Dubai is called the City of Gold for good reason, and if it’s shopping you’re after then this is the city for you. There is more gold and jewellery on offer than you’ll be able to shake a credit card at in Gold Souk or Gold Market, and many of the air conditioned shopping malls are open until midnight so there’s ample time to part with your hard earned cash.

January 3, 2012
7 Reasons You Know Spring Has Arrived

1. Cheery People. As soon as the sun comes out people start smiling and being happy. It’s so annoying. At least it seemed to be for the cashier in WH Smith yesterday. All I said was ‘Good Morning’ and she looked at me as if I’d just molested her cat. (Not that I know what that look is. Obviously).

2. Chuggers. Or to give them their more politically correct name, tossers. Okay that maybe a bit harsh, but there are bloody millions of them now the sky is blue. It’s hard not to feel resentment towards them when you have to get past what seems like the gauntlet from Gladiators everytime you want to get to the tube station.

3. Legs. They are beginning to protrude from shorts. I am not the biggest fan of men’s legs – you’ll probably find a whole other sex who prefer them more than I do – but it is the men who get them out first. It’s that musty aroma you can smell.

4. Near Death Experiences. This may sound cruel, but I strongly oppose mobility scooters – when I am outside. When the sun is out, the brightness makes it much harder to read the cricket score on my phone. Therefore I am going to be concentrating more on getting the angle right than looking where I am going. Under such circumstances I have a habit of not walking in a straight line and so venturing into the path of a mobility scooter is not so much a possibility as a certainty.

5. Australians. Yes, they are arriving. In droves. They seem to disappear during the winter months – probably to hibernate – but now they are back. And why do none of them seem to work? All they do is sit outside the Walkabout, drink and watch me play dodgems with mobility scooters. What am I? A tourist attraction?

6. Builders. Not that it is particularly unusual to see builders, but it is unusual to see them working. Hopefully they’ll get a bit done before they have to stop again in June due to the dangers of sunstroke.

7. Smoke Alarms. This might sound strange, but the warmer it gets the more regular the sound of a smoke alarm. Usually mine. I would like to blame this on an electrical fault, but no one is going to believe that. It’s more to do with the fact that I put cheese-on-toast under the grill, head off to open the windows and accidentally become distracted in front of the mirror.

March 16, 2010