PC2Paper, the website that allows you send real letters from the internet has just been named one of the top 100 travel websites on The Times website. The website was highlighted in the travel essentials category.

A tearoom in Brighton has taken a firm line on biscuit dunkers. The Tea Cosy has started throwing customers out if they are silly enough to dunk their biscuits in their cup. Resting elbows on the table, clinking your spoon on the side of the cup and using a mobile phone are also likely to get you thrown out.

Dieselpowermag.com is currently running a competition where you can win a T-Shirt and you could also be featured in an article about your ride. All you need to do id submit a photo and entry about your ride to diesel power and they will choose the top three entries to be featured. You can view the current entries on the website and can participate in the online voting from 17.30 on the 22nd August till 17.00 on the 31st August. 

It’s interesting that wrapping something in a different wrapper can make it more appealing and can even make you think it tastes better. Researchers have found that children find food wrapped in McDonald’s packaging than an identical snack wrapped in another wrapper. The study was carried out to try and gauge the power that advertising has on children. In the study which was carried out in the US children were given two identical samples of food, one in McDonalds packaging and one in a plain wrapper. Despite the snacks being identical the ones wrapped in the McDonalds packaging were found to be the tastiest by six times as many children as found the plain snacks most tasty. This study certainly shows the power of advertising.

Shop4Silver are a UK based jewellery store specialising in silver jewellery. They have a very nice range of silver Celtic jewellery including bangles, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and pendants. I found a lovely pair of amethyst Celtic knot earrings for a very reasonable £26.95 and a pair of Lavender shell drop earrings for £17.95 (see below), this is a website I could quite easily spend a lot of money on. After I had found the earrings I noticed they also have matching necklaces. Luckily they offer free delivery within the UK on orders over £60 and with such great products you are very likely to spend that amount.

 

The heat wave in Italy is taking its toll on the local crops especially grapes. A poor grape harvest is predicted for this year meaning we could see a shortage of Italian wine. The heat means that the vines flower too early leading to small grapes. The expected production for this year is expected to be done by around 10%.

If you suffer form Psoriasis you might want to want to try a treatment at the Blue Lagoon - Clinic. Based in Iceland they offer a natural treatment of the condition using the seawater from the Blue Lagoon and its unique ingredients. The waters of the Blue Lagoon deep cleanse the skin, stimulating blood circulation as well as exfoliating the skin. After bathing you then apply the Blue Lagoon skin care products and you can also take advantage of the latest in UNV light therapy which works well in conjunction with the other treatment. After a three to four week therapy you should start to see signs of healing on the skin.

PC2Paper allows you to send real letters from the internet to anywhere in the world. They have recently added a new feature to the website that allows you to upload your contacts as a spreadsheet file. They also have a useful mailbox service where they give you a postal address to send your mail to and any letters received are scanned and made available for you to read online. A great service to use whilst travelling.

After the smoking ban it was widely believed that pubs would begin to smell more pleasant. The lack of smoke, however, has had a different effect. The smell of smoke used to mask other unpleasant odours in the pub, such as stale beer and sweat. A pub chain is now investigating new ways to mask the smell and is trying out different perfumes that could be used. Among the scents being tried are leather, cut grass and sea breeze. We should soon see a much more fragrant drinking environment.

If you are visiting Provincetown you might want to check out Snug Cottage. Snug Cottage is a provincetown lodging that was built in 1825. It still retains much of the 19th century features whilst offering the comfort and luxury you expect to find in first class accommodation. The cottage is surrounded by beautiful gardens so is ideal for a relaxing stay. The cottage caters for up to 30 people and can provide meeting space and business services. A breakfast buffet featuring many New England favourites is provided in the morning so you can be sure to start your day off with a good meal. They also offer a car service to and from the airport. Most importantly they have a complimentary high speed wireless internet service, so all you need to do is remember to take your laptop.

The Campaign for Real Ale has called for brewers to make real ale more appealing to women. Apparently 80% of women have never tried a pint of bitter in a pub. Personally I’m a bit partial to certain bitters and do prefer it to larger. However, when I go out I am more likely to drink wine, simply because bitter can be a bit heavy.

Pilgrim Shoe and Sewing Machine Co., Inc manufacture and distribute high quality parts and supplies to the shoe industry. They have been in the business for over 50 years and have built up a trusted reputation. They offer shoe repair machines and parts, buffing machines, polishing machines, stitching oil and brushes. A small range of their products is on the website but because they stock so many products they can only show a limited amount. You can request a catalogue to see the full range. They ship both within the US and internationally and offer a 30 day money back on all their products, so if for any reason you are unhappy with a product you can return it.

Potato growers in Scotland have brought in a helicopter in an effect to control the potato blight. The helicopter will spray the crop in an effort to halt the blight which is threatening the crop. The farmers are currently facing the worst case of potato blight for around 40 years.

Co-op Travel has some really good late deals at the moment if you are looking for a last minute get away. Not only do they have good deals on holidays, you can also book a number of extras through them, such as extra baggage allowance, extra leg room and excursion and attraction tickets. The website has some useful destination guides so you can make an informed decision on where you want to stay and you can also read reviews on the service. You get a 5% discount for booking online and receive a free personal e-brochure.

The price of a pint of milk is set to rise by 3p because of shortages. The shortages have been caused by the recent floods in the UK. Cattle have been affected because farmers have been forced to keep them indoors. This reduces the milk yield because it means the cows have to be fed on silage rather than on grass. Supermarkets are likely to pass the cost onto the consumer.

Deal locker is a website which is dedicated to helping you find a great deal. The website contains deals and coupons from most well known retailers including Dell coupons, Best Buy deals and Avon coupons. They cover thousands of stores and the website contains tens of thousands of coupons. You can find the coupon codes by browsing by the type of store you are interested in, for example looking at all the deals under the beauty category. Alternatively if you know the name of the store you want to shop at you can simply enter this into the search box to check if there are any coupons for that particular store. You can also browse the site by the most popular deals.

Once you have located a coupon you can also vote on how useful it was using the voting buttons on the website. This in turn helps other users to locate the best and most current deals. Browsing by the recommended coupons means that you will only see current offers that have already been tried and tested and that other users have voted as a good deal. If you come across a good deal that you think is simply too good to miss out on, you can also add a coupon to the website. Doing this means that the coupon is shared on the website, so that all your friends can also take advantage of the offer.
 
The website also has a handy tool called the Deal Locker Bookmarklet. When you are shopping on a website it allows you to simply on to click a button to check whether there are any coupon codes that you can use for that particular site. That way there is no need to go searching around for coupons. All you need to do is add the Bookmarklet as a favourite.

The Treasury Department is considering new labelling for alcohol in the US. The new rules would require companies to put the alcohol content, serving sizes and nutritional information on all alcoholic drinks. Everything from beer cans to wine bottles would have the new labelling. This kind of labelling is already widely used here in the UK, although it is currently not on every alcoholic drink.

I came across this website called Spokeo. It’s basically a new social networking site that allows its users to keep up to date with their friend's blogs, photos, videos and music. The website checks up on your friends so you can see which of your friends have added new videos to their favourites on Youtube, posted new blog entries or uploaded new photos to MySpace all in one place. You can also use Spokeo as an RSS feeder by importing all your friends and feeds into one place so you can stay right up to date on all the latest news.

 

If you are a vegetarian you might want to get your life insurance from Animals Friends Insurance. They are offering a 6% discount on their life cover for vegetarians. This is because medical evidence suggests that vegetarians are less likely to suffer from major illnesses, than people who eat meat. Meat eaters can also take out the policy, just at a higher price.

If you have been looking to build an investment portfolio but it all seems a bit confusing you might want to give giant5.com a try. Their investment portfolio invests in what they call the Giant 5 Funds. The themes are real estate, raw materials, energy, capital markets and bonds. Basically you can own 25 portfolios invested in these five essential themes all in one no-load mutual fund. You can sign up online or if you need some more assistance or have any questions, you can give one of their advisors a call.

New research has indicated that a daily pint of beer or a large glass of wine could raise your risk of developing bowel cancer by 10%. The study was based on data collected from 480,000 people. The risk is further increased for those who both smoke and drink.