A new high speed train has been launched in France. The train which is called the AGV will replace the TGV. The new trains will travel at a top speed of 224mph compared to 186mph, the top speed of the TGV. This would mean that the journey on Eurostar from London to Paris would now take only 1h42 minutes compared to the current 2h15 minute journey. Eurostar whilst interested in the new train have no plans to replace its current fleet of trains for the next ten years, so those who are looking forward to getting to France in less than two hours will have a to wait quite some time.

I play too many games and as a result of this I am always coming across new games websites that help to distract me from other things that I should be doing instead. That said, there are some quite good online games out there to distract yourself with. One that I discovered recently is an online backgammon website. It offers backgammon games that you can play either for fun or for real money. The nice thing about this website is that because it is available in six different languages so you can play backgammon with people from all over the world and it is available 24 hours a day. To play all you need to do is sign up for an account. Then you can either try the “play for the fun” option or deposit some money to play for real cash prizes. This should keep me amused for hours.

Sainsbury’s have withdrawn a promotion that put the price of a pint of cider as 26p. The special deal started two weeks ago and offered the own brand Basics cider for just £1.20 for two litres. MP John Pugh had criticised Sainsbury’s for lacking social responsibility. There have also been concerns that cheap supermarket deals are fuelling a binge drinking culture.

A new website has been launched to help people claim back money from forgotten bank accounts. The website www.mylostaccount.org.uk will allow users to cash in 52 building societies, 42 banks and National Savings accounts. If you think you might have a bank account you have forgotten about all you need to do is complete an online forms giving details such as any previous addresses. The form is then passed onto the bank or building society. Sadly I don’t think I have any forgotten money hiding anywhere.

BT has announced that it will give all of its customers free weekend calls. Its not all good news for customers though as they plan to raise charges elsewhere. Line rental will go up by £9 a year whilst daytime calls will be 23% more expensive. Customers will pay 4p a minute rather than the current 3.25p per minute. BT have also scrapped its evening price cap meaning an hour long weekday call will cost 90p rather than the previous 4.5p. The changes are likely to mean a huge increase in BT’s income.

There seems to be a debate going on at the moment between doctors and ministers regarding whether GP’s should extend opening hours. The government is pushing for longer hours because it says it will meet patient demand. Doctors, however, say that longer hours could affect patient care during the day. I think most people would agree that doctor’s surgery should be open at least one evening a week or perhaps a Saturday morning. There is nothing more frustrating than to arrange to take time off from work to see a doctor especially if the appointment is for something routine like a check up. Often the time taken amounts to half a day by the time you have travelled to and from the doctor’s surgery and this is usually time that your boss at work will require you to make up elsewhere.

I found this website the other day that offers backgammon online. Called Gammon Fortune they offer a safe and secure casino where you can play online backgammon against other users from all over the world. The website offers backgammon tournaments where you can play for real cash prizes. The more people that enter the tournament the bigger the prizes are. Basically you pay a fee to enter the tournament which is put towards the final prize pot. The winner then takes the cash prize at the end of the game. All you need to do to start playing is download the free software and register as a player. You can then choose to play for fun money or for real money. I found the fun money option quite useful because if you are a beginner it gives you a chance to practice before playing for real cash.

Greg Mulholland, a Liberal Democrat MP has called for pubs to introduce smaller wine glasses. He says that many licensed premises have stopped selling wine in smaller 125ml glasses and now only serve it in 175ml and 250ml glasses. His view is that these larger glasses can lead to people drinking more than they want to and more than is safe if they are driving. He plans to introduce a sale of wine bill that will force all licensed premises to offer the standard 125ml measures alongside the bigger glasses. One of these large glasses contains twice as much wine as a small glass or around a third of a bottle.

Nintendo have sold more then 5 million Wii consoles in Japan. The console has reached the 5 million mark six weeks earlier than it took the PS2 to sell the same amount although surprisingly not as quickly as the Nintendo DS which sold 5 million in just 56 weeks, as opposed to the Wii taking 60 weeks. Figures are currently not available for the PS3 and the Xbox 360

The Dixons group which includes Currys and PC World are to stop selling analogue TV sets. They have stopped placing orders for more analogue TVs making it the first electrical retailer in the UK to do so. The company will also stop selling DVD recorders that only have analogue tuners. The company will also step up its campaign to inform people about the digital switchover.

If you need a new suit but are a bit short of cash then you might want to head down to your nearest Asda. They are currently selling a pair of black boot leg trousers and a classic women’s white shirt for just £5. The outfit will be on sale until the 26 February. Asda also sell a men’s suit for only £15. At that price there is no excuse not to wear a suit, although personally I wonder how well made the items are at this price. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has purchased one.

I came across this website the other day that offers online pool and billiard games. It includes a variety of games including snooker, pool and billiards. Because the site is available in several different languages you can play with people from all over world. You can enter the daily billiard tournaments and compete against the other players for cash prizes. All you need to do to get started in download the software which takes a few minutes to install and then register for an account. You can then choose to play for real money or if you want to practise first then you can also choose to play with a “play money account”. The website also contains lots of useful information on how to play each of the games so you make sure you understand all the rules before you start as well as dedicated technical support which is available 24 hours a day.