Provided by Beko
For those of us that count alcohol as a big part of a holiday, there’s little better than sampling the local beers in an exotic location. Now you can check out the qualities of the local beer in advance, as well as suss out what time to book your flight so you’ll be whizzing through arrivals in plenty of time for Beer O’Clock.
A new interactive Beers of the World Map launched recently features the beers that locals enjoy across different countries and regions, with a description of the beer and how strong it is, to decide if it’s for you. The map also gives details of the time difference in each country and just how quickly you can get there to be perched on a bar stool with a pint in hand.
You can check out the interactive world beer map here:
World Beer Map
Travel is one of the finer experiences in life. The world is filled with beautiful destinations, sights, people, and cultures. It’d be a shame to miss any of it, and it’s a shame when the only thing holding you back is your budget. With new tools and lower rates, however, an increasing amount of people can fly and see the world. The only difference is that you need to be more aware of the ways you can save money, like knowing when the best time to book flights is. Opodo recommends booking six weeks before flying for the cheapest airfares, but there are so many ways you can add on to the savings to book the absolutely cheapest flights possible.
For us Britons, domestic and short-haul flights are incredibly popular. There’s also the option of cheaper airlines like EasyJet. On top of keeping short-haul flights low, you can also lower your costs for domestic travel and for long-haul flights out of Europe. Keep an eye out for the deals when flying to Europe and where flights can take you. For instance, if you wish to go to Asia, two short-haul flights may end up being cheaper than one.
The first thing to know about flights is that the prices change on a day-to-day basis. There are two ways that they change. First, the price changes depending on the day you book your flight. Sundays in October tend to be the cheapest dates to fly domestic, Wednesdays in January are the best for short-haul flights, and Tuesdays in September are the best for long-haul flights. As previously stated, Opodo has also concluded that six weeks before you want to travel is the sweet spot for securing the best deal. Technically this means that November travel is best for far away trips, February is the best time to visit a destination in Europe, and early is the best time to fly domestically. Flying too close to Christmas, however, will increase costs again, as this is a popular time amongst travellers.
Of course, missing the six week prime time is easy, but if you do, you do not have to despair. Instead, you should aim to book two weeks in advance, as waiting until the week before can see prices increase tenfold. Although the myth is to book last minute for the best prices, Opodo’s infographic (see below) has determined that this is, in fact, not the case. Instead, you should book in six weeks before travel (31 to 60 days before travel) or, if you miss that, book two weeks before (8 to 14 days before travel). This is the case for all types of travel, from domestic to long-haul. If the prices start to increase, wait them out.
Finding the cheapest flights is not easy, but with insider knowledge and key data from companies like Opodo, any traveller can reduce the costs of their trip significantly. This means you can either do more at your destination or you can go on more trips! Beat the confusing flight price conundrum and book at the right time and travel at the right time.
Lots of homeowners fail to update their properties after living in them for many years. That can make the house look worn and outdated. With that in mind, some quick tips on this page should help you to improve the home without breaking the bank. The final decisions are down to you. The advice in this post is just here to point you in the right direction.
New bathroom suites cost a lot of money, but there are plenty of ways you could cut back on spending. For instance, you could purchase the items from an online auctions website to save money. You could also reduce your home bills, so you have more cash in your accounts or look for payday loan option.
If you’ve had carpet on your floors for many years, perhaps it’s time to update the solution with some wooden flooring or laminate? That can make any property appear clean, fresh, and modern. Best of all? You can use those online auction sites again to save a fortune.
Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, and so you need to ensure it’s both attractive and functional. If you can’t afford to replace the entire kitchen, you could always try painting your cupboards or something similar. Also, give the walls a new coat of paint because they can become stained from all the cooking. Or you can transform your kitchen with a new splashback as it’s also a great way to update the space without going through a full remodel. Put those suggestions into practice, and you should manage to bring your home out of the 1980s and push it into the 21st century without emptying your bank accounts. Enjoy!
As an eco-friendly family and tech geeks, we were really impressed to read about how Yorkshire Water are currently implementing new initiatives and technologies to protect our environment whilst improving services to its customers. As an advocate for aerial drones, I was really interested to find out how Yorkshire Water are using drones to manage its network. They are using aerial drones to help identify leaks on its underground pipe network in York and Rotherham. The drones (UAVs) fly along 30km of underground water pipes stretching from York to Rotherham and will be used to conduct topographical surveys and geo-locate hard to find assets such as inspection chambers, which will enable Yorkshire Water to spot leaks that it might not previously have known about.
According to data provided by Yorkshire Water, the company manages around 20,000 miles of water networks and 32,000 miles of sewer pipes. They are currently providing around 1.24 billion litres of drinking water to their 5 million customers every day, which is not as easy as it might sound. In order to show you exactly what Yorkshire Water is doing in order to keep homes and businesses supplied with water on tap and a sewerage system that is kind to the environment, they have come up with the #NotJustWater campaign to help customers get the most from their water provider. They are aiming to cut environmental damage from leaking sewer pipes by up to 40% and internal sewer leaks by 70%, this alone will have a positive effect on the local environment.
Not only are they trying to reduce the number of sewage escapes, they are also making sure that you know how to look after your home as best you can. This includes preventing blockages, how to make a difference yourself by learning how to save water and there is plenty of information for ensuring your home is winter ready to prevent pipework bursting during low temperatures.
Yorkshire Water also have some water saving eco-friendly advice on products such as using smart shower heads, garden rainwater collections, sensor taps, shower timers and dual flush toilets so by making a small change can make a difference!
Last but not least as we love a good infographic, Yorkshire Water have created an infographic below summarising their ambitions.
Water is something most of us take for granted. We turn the tap or flush the toilet, simple. It was therefore interesting to find out actually how much that happens to get that water to us. Yorkshire Water is hoping to inform and educate its customers on the process of providing water and how they can help.
This post is brought to you in collaboration with Yorkshire Water
Most of us associate the term ‘road trip’ with America and hitting the open road with friends, but did you know that the first ever road trip by automobile took place in Germany! Indeed Europe has some of the coolest driving roads anywhere on the planet. Roads such as Stelvio Pass in Italy, one of the highest mountain passes to drive in Europe and shot to fame in 2008 when it was voted one of the best driving roads by Top Gear and provides stunning views of the Italian and Swiss Alps. Here in the UK we’re lucky enough to have some amazing driving roads ourselves and I did a little feature on 7 of them a few months back which you can read here. I recently showcased the below infographic on my travel blog (travelphant.com) and thought it was pretty cool so I wanted to share on here too – it was created by YourParkingSpace.co.uk and the infographic highlights some of the best driving roads in Europe including the Stelvio Pass which I just mentioned alongside Susten Pass and Route 500 through the Black Forrest in Germany.
Do you have some old tech lying around your home? That might be a computer with Windows 98 or a phone when they really were as heavy as bricks? Maybe, the tech is still fairly new but in this digital age you’ve updated already and even the modern is starting to look old. If that sounds all too familiar, here are some great ideas for how to use this tech.
Depending on the tech you have and the space in your home, you might want to think about setting up a room for your retro technology. Who knows, you might still have a console that plays pong. The first true video game for the masses!
You might find that you can sell your old tech for a nice little profit online. Did you know that there are people looking for Pokemon cartridges in mint condition. So, if you were bought the games but they were never played you might want to think about listing them. Some rare cartridges have sold for thousands.
These days kids expect to receive the latest iPhone and the newest gadgets from their parents. If they’ve been naughty then teach them a lesson and send them back to the stone age by replacing their latest smartphone with a Nokia 3310 – basic but one of the best phones back in the day – so good in fact they’ve brought the Nokia 3310 back. Who knows, they might think it’s vintage and cool anyway.
Or if it really is time to get rid of that old tech don’t just throw it away. Make sure you’re recycling it and doing some good for the planet. You can find out more in the following infographic.
For our generation, those both in the 80s onwards, finding the details of someone is pretty simple compared to what our parents generation had to do to find someone. Of course technology is the major reason why it’s so simple these days and has transformed the way we get in touch with each other. The first UK phone book was launched approx 135 years ago and it had just 288 names and addresses but no phone numbers were included! You had to give the name of the person you were calling to the operator who then connected you.
It’s easy to overlook how much harder it was in the days before the internet to access information but thankfully, the internet and access to multiple data sources has changed all that.
To show you how things have changed in the space of a generation, electoral roll search company Whitepages have depicted how you might have looked for someone in the 1980’s to how you search today.
Image source: Whitepages – How to find someone with the edited Electoral Roll