What has inspired me to create this post?

A few people I know have gone away recently and somehow they’ve mentioned that they don’t know where to begin in terms of what to pack. They were concerned that they’d leave something important out!

I used to go and stay in Leicester a lot so I created my own check list to make sure I didn’t forget anything.

It was so simple. I made it once, kept it on the pc so I could add to it or share it with others (I didn’t have a blog back then, you see, so forwarding by email was the key?! ) and I’d keep a print out of it in the suitcase that I took for weekend travel so it was at hand when I needed it. As easy as that.

Now that I have a blog I thought I’d share it with you in the hope that it will help someone else feel less disorganised or rushed when packing.

If I’ve left anything out please do let me know.

Essentials: ~

Credit card – just in case
Cash (foreign) – order from https://www.travelex.co.uk (better than M&S rates – free collection from airport at check-in.)
Resort details
Drivers license
Tickets to airport if going by train
Tickets to country
Travel insurance details
Oyster card if using LT
Something that will support you if you have particular dietary requirements. For example we are vegan so we take the Vegan Passport with us which explains what we will/won’t eat in many different languages.

Things to sort out/arrange: -

Car parking arrangements
Lift to the airport
Taxi

Clothes: ~

Pashminas
Jewellery
Glasses
Shoes/Sandals
Casual clothes
Dressy clothes
Night clothes
Swimwear
Tights/socks
Underwear

General things: ~

Toothbrush
Drivers licence – especially for ID if we go you go somewhere where there’s a minimum age of entry.
Toiletry bag ~ deodorant, shower cap, cream, perfume, nail cutter, toothbrush, cotton pads, cotton buds, make up, make up remover, sanitary items, wet wipes.
Night clothes
Beach/Swimming clothes
Say wear – casual, light, easy to change and walk in
Evening wear – dressy as well as smart casual.
Undergarments – suitable for specific clothes that you’ve packed
Socks/tights
Evening wear shoes
Sandals
Walking shoes
Flight wear – baggy so it’s comfortable plus comfy shoes
Daily medications
Insect repellent
Suntan lotion
Watch
Book to read on the train/plane
Paper to write letters or notes of some sort
Ipod? Music?
Camera with batteries and charger

Hey guys. My friend was telling me about the fact that he was going away and didn’t know what to take. I stumbled upon this website and found a section helping travellers prepare for when they are away. It’s pretty good! What do you think?

* think about what you are doing at all times and trust your instincts – don’t take risks that you wouldn’t at home!

* don’t openly display valuables such as mobile phones or digital cameras and consider using a padlock on suitcases or backpacks

* find out about local customs and dress, behave accordingly and obey local laws -there may be serious penalties for breaking a law that might seem trivial at home

* be careful when taking photographs, videos or using binoculars. Such activities may be misunderstood, especially near military installations

* consider taking your mobile with you or renting one whilst you’re away. Store useful numbers such as the local police and the nearest embassy or consulate

* check with your service provider to make sure your phone works abroad

* check whether it’s safe to drink local tap water- if not, stick to bottled water and avoid salads, non-peeling fruit and ice in drinks

* use your judgement when buying and eating food you’ve not prepared yourself

* respect the environment – don’t buy wildlife souvenirs, conserve resources like water and don’t drop litter

* check import regulations for food and plants with Defra before you attempt to bring them back to the UK

My friend was telling me about the fact that he was going away and didn’t know what to take. He hadn’t started packing yet and wasn’t sure where to begin.

I stumbled upon this website and thought the content was great in terms of preparing well before you travel. So I thought I’d share it with you.

We’ve put together this travel check list to help you plan for your trip abroad and stay safe whilst you are there. We’ve got more advice for specific types of travellers in our Travel advice relevant to you section.

Before you go:

* check our travel advice pages for the country you are visiting. Sign up for email alerts and you’ll get the latest updates for that country

* register with our LOCATE service so we can get in touch with you if something goes wrong

* find out where the nearest embassy will be – check their website to find out what services they offer and their opening times

* don’t travel without insurance – make sure it covers you for any activities you are likely to undertake such as extreme or water sports

* travelling within the EU? Then get a free European Health Insurance Card for free or reduced emergency care – you still need full travel insurance though!

* check with your doctor whether you need any vaccinations at least six weeks before you travel

* make sure you’ve got correct visas for the country you are visiting and that your passport is valid

* for certain countries your passport must be valid for 6 months after the date you travel – check before you go

* take photocopies of your passport and other important documents and keep these separate from the originals when you travel and/or store them online using a secure data storage site.

* tell a friend or relative where you are going and for how long for – give them some idea of your itinerary if possible and an emergency contact number

* take enough money for your trip and some back-up funds in a mix of cash and travellers cheque – make a note of the cheques’ numbers before you go

* invest in a good travel guide to help you plan your trip

* driving abroad? Make sure your licence is current and valid. Make sure you are aware of the driving laws in the country you are visiting

 

What has inspired me to create this post?

A few people I know have gone away recently and somehow they’ve mentioned that they don’t know where to begin in terms of what to pack. They were concerned that they’d leave something important out!

I used to go and stay in Leicester a lot so I created my own check list to make sure I didn’t forget anything.

It was so simple. I made it once, kept it on the pc so I could add to it or share it with others (I didn’t have a blog back then, you see, so forwarding by email was the key?! ) and I’d keep a print out of it in the suitcase that I took for weekend travel so it was at hand when I needed it. As easy as that.

Now that I have a blog I thought I’d share it with you in the hope that it will help someone else feel less disorganised or rushed when packing.

If I’ve left anything out please do let me know.

Clothes: ~

• Pashminas
• Jewellery
• Glasses
• Shoes/Sandals
• Casual clothes
• Dressy clothes
• Night clothes
• Swimwear
• Tights/socks
• Underwear to match the clothes you’ve packed
• Clothes for work if you’re going straight to work after your break

General things: ~

• Toothbrush
• Drivers licence – especially for ID if we go you go somewhere where there’s a minimum age of entry.
• Toiletry bag ~ deodorant, shower cap, cream, perfume, nail cutter, toothbrush, cotton pads, cotton buds, make up, make up remover, sanitary items, wet wipes.
• Daily medications
• Watch
• Paper to write letters or notes of some sort
• Ipod? Music?
• Camera with batteries and charger
• Make – up
• Book to read while you travel
• ID
• Maps/sat nav

So I was on my way to Kings Cross to get a train to Grantham. All I had to do was: -

Go from Pinner to Baker Street & then

Baker Street to Kings Cross

The train terminated at Wembley Park. We got told there was signal failure, a line was suspended, a fire somewhere else etc. It all affected the journey I needed to make!

After that another Metropolitan Line train terminated at Wembley Park too.  I waited 14 minutes to get the Jubilee Line to Baker Street. The only choice was to get the Hammersmith and City or Circle Line to Kings Cross. After what felt like a long wait, I made it to Kings Cross. I’d missed my train so I went to the Information Desk.

The man who was at the desk asked me questions about my ticket and said he wasn’t sure what to tell me because I had a Super Saver Ticket which meant I could only use it on one specific train. He suggested I go back to the tube station and ask for a ‘delays on the underground compensation form’

I assumed it’ be a form I fill out and send off later so I was anxious when I  had to wait in line to simply get a form. I may miss another train! Anyway it was my turn and I got told I needed to go to the Supervisor’s Office. I asked someone else and he showed me where it was. A supervisor came out and he asked for my surname which I thought was strange.

Anyway, he came out with a sheet with my name on it and an explanation of why I was delayed. He said I’d just have to give it to the staff at the platform and they should let me board the next train.

It worked and it was great!

We recently got the flat we live in valued. What a learning curve!

We met our first estate agent, saw some new homes with them and then got our place valued. After their valuation, all I can say is WOW! I was SO chuffed! If I could sell for the price they quoted, I’d have made £100, 000 on my flat in 4 years. This means we’d have more of a budget in terms of buying! I was so tempted to sign on the dotted line and instruct them to sell the flat but I didn’t. Thanks goodness! I’ll explain why later.

After seeing a few places with them we fell for one place in particular. The person who valued our home said that the person selling would accept £50 000 less than the asking price because ‘he’s done it backwards’. It’s not his fault but he’s fallen for a place and is now desperate to sell to ensure he gets it! He said he didn’t want us to get in the same situation but he thinks it’d be worth our while to see it. We saw it and got in the same situation. We LOVED it! Now the thing is; we put an offer in at the amount he suggested and he said they won’t budge at anything more than £20 000 less than the asking price. Thus £30 000 more than what we expected to get it for. So we’ll have to let that go. No probs. We can live with that.

However, re our home; the estate agent said we NEED to put our home on the market so that we are classed as an ‘aggressive’ buyer. If we want to buy a place and he puts an offer in on our behalf; the seller will want to know that we’re serious about it all. By our home not being on the market, we haven’t had details published, we’ve not had viewers. Thus we’re not anywhere near selling. If us buying a new home is dependent on us selling; the seller will probably tell us to ‘get real’ & get a firm offer first. Now this can work both ways. If the estate agent’s SURE that we’ll sell quickly, we could wait, find a place and then put ours on the market. (This was suggested by a HIP surveyor). However, many estate agents don’t put all the properties on their books. If they know that they can sell it ASAP and they know who to go to i.e. there’s someone who’s chain free and ready to buy or someone who has a firm offer on their place and can buy quickly because of that; the property won’t need to be advertised. Why? Because it will sold straight away without the agent putting any effort in! If ours isn’t on the market, they won’t bother showing us all their stock.

Also, in some ways, the process of selling is longer. Each sale has to start with a HIP now. This all takes time and money. Also the HIP is valid for one year so you wouldn’t want to get that done if there’s nothing that you can afford or there aren’t many properties for sale, because you may well have to pay for another HIP if it’s not valid when you finally buy & sell.

Please take caution when deciding WHO to instruct to sell your property! Here are some things to ask: -

1. What’s the fee that they have for selling your home?
2. Is there a tie in? If so, how long are you tied in for?
3. What’s the fee if you sell your home via many agencies i.e. multiple agencies & does this affect how long you’re tied in for?
4. Do you they have someone in-house who can carry out the HIP for you? Can they suggest anyone else who can do it cheaper? (If they only ‘flog’ the company they suggest; don’t accept it!)
5. How quickly will they advertise your property and how?

Things to look out for: -

1. Do they try and get you to sign them up straight away and push that you sign their T’s & C’s (terms and conditions)?
2. Did they look at your home properly? Did they seem attentive? Did they ask questions about how long your lease is if you’re a leaseholder? Did they ask about the service charge if that applies? These are things that will be important to the people viewing your property.
3. Do they justify what they’re basing the value of your property on? Do they show you ‘comparables’? These are properties similar to yours that are in the same location which sold recently. Thus if a property similar to yours sold for £200 000 last month, it won’t be worth £250 000 now, for example.
4. If they tell you they CAN get £50 000 extra for your property because they have people on their books looking for a place ‘just like yours’ don’t believe them! Even if they find a mug who’ll spend over the odds for your property; when it comes to being surveyed by the lender; it’ll be compared to those near you (as mentioned above) and it’ll be devalued. Thus you’ll have wasted time, money, got your hopes up and you may even be tied in to firm with incompetent employees who overvalued your property.
5. Try and keep your cards close to your chest. The more you can tell an agent the better. They’ll get a feel for what you like and dislike and show you appropriate properties. Contradiction to keep your cards close to your chest right? Well…if you fall for a place, try not to let on. Some estate agents play on your emotions to ensure they get you to spend more so they get a fatter pocket through commission. Thus keep calm & try not to show how interested you are.
6. Some agents don’t share your offer with the person you want to buy from. They come back to you after a week and say that someone’s offered more than you and then encourage you to outbid them. You get into a bidding war with an ‘invisible buyer’. The seller benefits as does the agent. However, you are then out of pocket.
7. If you instruct an agent to sell your home, beware of agents who get their ‘friends’ to come and view your property within a few days/a week. These potential buyers relay lots of positive feedback but then you hear no more. Thus you chase the agent and are ‘drawn in’. This is when they may suggest you drop your price because the buyer said ‘they’re still looking’ because the price isn’t right for example.

Something you can do yourself: -

• Use a site called Zoopla to find out how much your property is worth. This site does the whole comparable thing for you. You’ll see how much it was last sold for and that should be how much you paid for it! It will also show you how much it’s worth now.
• Another site that does the same is called NetHousePrices
• Look online for cheaper HIPs
• Keep CALM. Also try and keep your cards close to your chest. I’ve explained why this is important above.

Some must knows: –

Any contract that’s signed in your home comes with a 14 day cool off period regardless of work done because of it e.g. viewings etc.

If you have any other advice or tips please leave a comment below this post.

We were having a discussion on the JainVegans group and Trisha sent a message about why cheese can never really be vegetarian. It’s short, clear and logical.

Making cheese doesn’t involve any direct slaughter, but a dairy farm is part of a larger agricultural system.In order for a sheep (or any mammal) to lactate, she has to give birth first. From this new generation, only half, at most, will be those who will be milked, (the ewes). What happens to all the little ram lambs? Some go on to “stud”, but most will just end up being killed for their flesh.

In addition, even many of those who will be milked end up as “food” when they are no longer productive.

People may like to view this site which gives a very interesting look into “free range” etc and a interesting look into the secrets and horrors of the milk and the associated industry- the veal industry – Humane Myth  http://www.humanemyth.org

Farmers in small operations do not allow animals to live out their natural life because it is unprofitable. Dairy farming involves a great deal of meat production.

So, cheese can never be vegetarian because it leads to the indirect slaughter of animals for their flesh.