Enjoy Holidays in Norfolk

With many more Britons choosing to holiday within the UK rather than flying abroad on an expensive get-away, Norfolk is proving to be a popular choice for those looking for a fun, relaxing break.

Why holiday in Norfolk?

Holidays in Norfolk can range from relaxing vacations to fun filled adventure holidays. There is simply something for people of all ages and interests. Many people come to Norfolk for the breath-taking views and scenery and it is a popular resort for people who love walking and hill climbing. Holidays in Norfolk can provide a chance to get back in touch with nature with the magnificent coastline views that are on offer. There are many nature reserves and gardens that showcase the wonderful wildlife that can be found in Norfolk.

For those looking to enjoy a holiday in Norfolk filled with heritage and culture then you are in for a treat. There are many heritage sites in Norfolk that can offer an insight in to the history of the region and of course there are the famous Norfolk Broads; a maze of naturally beautiful lakes and rivers that wind through the countryside offering spectacular views and an abundance of wildlife.

Food and drink ideas for your holidays in Norfolk

Holidays in Norfolk also provide the perfect opportunity to indulge in some fine dining. There are many restaurants and eateries that provide a variety of cuisines to suit all tastes. Of course you can’t really enjoy holidays on Norfolk without sampling some of the wonderful seafood that is on offer due to the extensive coastline. For those looking for a more relaxed approach o dining there are many traditional public houses throughout the region that can provide an inviting atmosphere to enjoy a drink or two after a long day walking through the glorious Norfolk countryside.

Holidays in Norfolk would not be complete without a trip to many of the local markets that are filled with stall after stall of appetising, local produce including cheeses, meats and fruit and alcoholic beverages including beer and ale brewed locally.

Can families enjoy holidays in Norfolk?

Norfolk provides a wonderful opportunity for a family holiday you will never forget. Holidays in Norfolk can be filled with trips to many of the local nature and wildlife parks that are in the area. Meet many different types of animals and enjoy an active day spent out in the fresh air. Of course your holidays in Norfolk wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the seaside where you can enjoy playing along many of the certified beaches and maybe enjoy making a sandcastle or two.

Cutting Motoring Costs

Hardly a day goes by without another item in the news about rising oil prices and the knock on effect on the price of petrol. Drivers are feeling the credit crunch severely, and there are no signs that the oil prices will drop back to more reasonable levels in the near future. However, there are many simple steps that all motorists, whether they drive a car, motorbike or a van, can take to try to reduce their motoring costs.

When filling up your tank with fuel, take time to shop around to see which outlet locally sells the cheapest fuel. If all are selling at the same prices, consider using one of the retailers which offers some sort of loyalty scheme. Another money maximizing tactic is to take out a money back credit card and use that to pay for your fuel. It won’t cut fuel costs directly but will get you a little back in vouchers or cash back. Several supermarkets offer deals whereby if you spend a certain amount in store, they will give you a voucher worth up to 5p off a litre of petrol and this can make a considerable difference to the cost of filling up.

When out and about in your vehicle, try to drive steadily and avoid any sudden acceleration or braking. This will help maximize your fuel efficiency and will get you more miles per gallon. Cutting your average speed by a small amount can also improve fuel consumption. If at all practical, ditch the car or bike altogether for shorter journeys and consider either walking or cycling. Many companies are now offering incentives for car sharing and by offering a colleague a lift to work every day you can slash your weekly cost for petrol by half.

Insurance is a compulsory cost for all motorists and shopping around when renewing your policy can ensure you get the best price for your policy. Many finance companies will give discounts if taking several classes of insurance together, so consider asking your home or travel provider if they will give a discount for placing vehicle insurance with them also. Many insurers are now doing multi vehicle policies, so if you have more than one car or bike in the house you can take out a multi bike insurance policy or one which covers more than one car, which often works out cheaper than insuring them all individually. For specialist or unusual insurance cases, such as a multi bike insurance policy covering racing or classic bikes, it is always best to approach a broker who is an expert in the field and will be able to approach all of the specialist insurers.

Volunteer Safety

Before you go to the country where you will be volunteering, you need to know which safety precautions to take. This is important not only for your personal safety or for your health, but also for the sake of your community where you will be the volunteer.

There are so many things to know that will influence your safety precautions. The first of these is what the health precautions are that you need to take. This would include making sure that your vaccinations are up-to-date. You also need to make sure that you get any additional vaccinations that may be required. As an Africa volunteer you need to know about Yellow Fever and get your vaccination for that. You also need to be very aware of the areas where Malaria is prevalent. There is no vaccination against Malaria and therefore you will need to take a Malaria net for your bed, cream mosquito deterrents and citronella oil and burners. Many of these things can be bought in the country that you are going to – just remember to take a small amount with you to tide you over until you can get more.

Apart from your health, there is also your physical safety that you need to take into consideration. As an Africa volunteer, you need to take note of the security status of the African country that you’re going to. The United States Department of State and the United Nations issue statements and lists of countries considered safe or unsafe. It is on their websites so you can easily look it up.

Your agency should also be able to give you an overview of the security status of your host country and give you exit instructions where the security situation is unstable. Along with this you (or your agency) should register with your country’s embassy in the host country. Should anything happen to you or in the country, the embassy will be aware of your presence in the country and be in a position to help you.

In addition to the above, the Africa volunteer also needs to be aware of the crime situation in the country. It is wise to have a money belt and to wear sensible clothes when out and about. It is also wise to go out in groups of two or more. Be careful of dark nooks and crannies and beware of un-asked for overtures or advances by the general population.

All things considered you can expect to have a rewarding volunteering experience if you take care of yourself and act responsibly. You can never predict what is going to happen - whether you’re at home or in your host country. Always be careful.

Inheritance Laws Related To French Property

In the UK it is not uncommon to find persons bequeathing their wealth to a person outside their family. In recent times, some of the wealthiest persons in the world have hit the headlines for announcing that most of their wealth will be donated to a foundation. Not so in France - and it has nothing to do with French citizens not wanting to share their wealth. Rather, it is because of the inheritance law around French property.

According to French inheritance law, there are strict guidelines on how a person’s wealth should be distributed. The common thread is the emphasis on keeping wealth in the family. First, you cannot allot your entire estate to third parties. A certain minimum proportion must be reserved for your relatives. In French law, this minimum proportion is referred to as réserve légale.

The remaining estate is what can be distributed outside the family and is known as quotit disponsible. Note that the law envisages relatives as persons in the benefactor’s bloodline - meaning that the spouse does not directly qualify. However, a spouse would be considered if there are no children in the marriage.

There are fixed percentages for the réserve légale depending on the number of children. If the person that passed away had only one child, then the child is entitled to 50% of the estate and the rest can be distributed to the spouse and/or third parties. If there are 2 children, then the percentage reserved for the children goes up to 66.67%. With the three children, the percentage for the children will be 75%. With 9 children, the réserve légale will be 90%.

In short, the more the children, then the lower the proportion of the deceased’s French property that will be legally distributable to third parties. If there are no children in the union, the spouse is entitled to 25% of the estate. Another way that a couple can prevent the property automatically going to the children is join ownership. Any asset that was jointly owned by the two automatically reverts to the surviving spouse irrespective of the children in the relationship.

The question then would be, with such elaborate inheritance laws, are wills recognised under French law? The answer to that is yes but on one key condition – any part of the will that conflicts in one way or the other with the provisions of the inheritance law is automatically rendered null and void. There are additional conditions for a will to be enforceable. First, the will must be hand written - typed or printed wills are not allowed. Second, it must be written by the benefactor – not by their spouse, children or lawyer.  

The Indestructible Bridgedale Sock

If you look up references for Bridgedale socks you will find a multitude of comments from people who have worn them all over the world and they all say the same things. Even wearing them for extended periods of time, in places that other socks would become soaking, freezing or sweaty, the venerable Bridgedale sock remains comfortable. This is down to the material that is used, which is known by the registered name WoolFusion. This is a blend of natural wool and synthetic materials that allows the foot to remain dry and comfortable, while preventing blisters from developing. Regardless of the type of terrain you expect to meet, Bridgedale have the perfect sock for you no matter what your age or gender. Male, female and junior fittings are all available.

 

They have so much confidence in the effectiveness and durability of their product that they back it with a three year guarantee. This guarantee seems to hold true, since there are reports of people getting serious hard usage from their socks, including one chap in Argentina who retired his pair after eight years, so it seems that the Bridgedale assertion that you are more likely to lose a sock than to wear it out, is correct.

 

So who can benefit from investing in a pair of Bridgedale socks? Well, pretty much anybody who spends long periods walking or running, including at least one fellow who walks five or six mile daily wearing them along with sandals. Unlike regular sport socks, these socks have extra padding in key places as well as inbuilt support. This, combined with their ability to remove excess moisture from the foot, makes them popular with long distance runners, cross-country and marathon runners alike. Anglers, standing for hours in chilly rivers, can comfortably spend longer in their quest for that elusive salmon or specimen trout, without their feet becoming numb with the cold.

 

Hikers, trekkers, orienteering enthusiasts and others who enjoy exploring the wilder parts of the countryside can find a sock that is perfect for them in the huge range of options that Bridgedale has to offer. As can hillside sheep farmers, who might spend hours rounding up and tending their flock. Because these socks are so affordable, there is no financial reason to bear the discomfort of spending what should be quality time with nature, suffering from blisters. Whether you are going to spend time on the snow covered mountains of the Scottish highlands, or trudging across the moors in winter time, then the sock for you is the Summit endurance range. These socks have been specially designed to cope with long periods of extreme cold and have even been recommended by people who have faced the mighty Everest.

Economy Holidays: The Family Holiday Park

They used to be the stuff sit-coms were made of (unless I’m the only one who actually remembers “Hi-de-Hi”), but the make-do-and-mend approach associated with family holiday parks is not only part of their charm but actually, in terms of some of the investment that has gone into UK tourism, a bit of an injustice. However, family holiday parks are never going to shed their value for money image and for some, this is the exact marketing strategy they are going for, so let’s look at how to find yourself an economical getaway at a family holiday park....

 

  • Believe it or not, some holiday parks will honour your supermarket loyalty vouchers as payment towards your holiday park break! As of November 2010, Park holidays have re-launched their scheme for 2011 but be warned - where previously they have accepted the whole of the value of the holiday in Tesco vouchers, this has now stopped and the booking clerks tell us that you will be expected to pay at least 25% of the holiday in cash or by card. Disappointingly, both the Park Holidays and the Tesco Clubcard websites still currently state that payment in full can be made by vouchers so obviously some clarification is needed! However, even if full payment by vouchers is truly no longer the case, you could still get a week long family holiday for under £150, depending on when and where you go.

 

  • Buying a newspaper at the right time of year can save you a packet towards a short break holiday. Even if you’re not normally a Sun reader, it’s a sacrifice worth making to buy the paper for week, collect a full set of vouchers and then book yourself a break for approximately £9.50 a head for three or four nights. You need to be a little flexible in terms of dates and places, but if you can accommodate this, you could end up in a luxury family holiday park, for a minimal payout!

 

  • Camping: it isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but kids do love it and many family holiday parks welcome customers who bring their own caravans or tents, for a fraction of the price of their own on-site accommodation. The joy of this is that you get the use of the park’s facilities just the same as if you were paying full-whack! If you are canny, the camping side can also cost you less than you think – borrow or share camping equipment with others and use it on a rotation basis throughout the holiday season, to ensure that you all get value for money from it!

 

So, a few ways to achieve a bit of rest and relaxation at a family holiday park, for a fraction of the full-price cost!