Now the beauty of days out in the United Kingdom is the cheaper travel on trains if you travel in a group of at least four people. This is called GroupSave. We seriously recommend that you Google GroupSave to see what else you can experience. A typical off-peak return ticket costs about £15.00 per person. Now make use of GroupSave which is in simple terms, four people travel for the price of two… a massive saving!

As you can read from the headline, we made our way like so many other people to Brighton. The atmosphere on the beach is amazing and it’s close to the train station. The pier is a massive attraction to those who can not sit still on the beach for long periods of time. The sea is calm and can be a bit cold but that does not stop people from splashing about. It’s a pebble beach….yup, stones! Mind you, it is quite comfortable and you will be thankful that everything is not covered in sand at the end of the day.

Do yourself a favour; take sunscreen as the sun can be quite unforgiving most of the time. A small cooler bag is ideal if you do not fancy paying through your ears for drinks and food on the beachfront.  You can buy a cheap beach umbrella at B&Q for around £8.00, a definite good idea if you are intending on spending the whole day there. Brighton has a great feel to it, the atmosphere is vibrant and exciting, what is not to like?

It is great to see a nation behind their team even though they are not always performing well. Go England…..sorry, I have got money riding on Portugal!

A lot of soul searching and hard grafting has been done and we are now in the process of buying a house in London. Never thought that would be possible after 5 years and a bit of debt build up but we made it through. We are classed as first time buyers and the whole process can be a bit daunting but it will serve as an excellent guide on this website once we have the keys in our hands.

Buying a house in London may not necessary be your cup of tea but you would still be interested to know what your options are when you live in London. We have done the house-sharing, the renting of the own flat and hopefully soon we would get the keys and complete the next step.

The DVLA in the United Kingdom is actively promoting their motorcycling campaign called think. It is a good campaign that can be heard on the radio and seen on TV throughout the day. This whole idea of mentioning the campaign on here was sparked by me witnessing another motorcycle accident this morning. A street bike was stuck underneath a garbage truck in the middle of a busy road. Luckily both parties were not hurt and were both struggling with the police officer to get the bike out again.

The five most common factors in road accidents that involve injury to motorcyclists are:

• failed to look properly
• loss of control
• failed to judge other person’s path or speed
• careless, reckless or in a hurry
• poor turn or manoeuvre

Pardon my dodgy photos but I had to do it sneakily, felt a bit weird about taking photos of the accident scene but I guess real life photos send the message home better.

These two pieces were outside the Royal Festival Hall in Waterloo. My first impression of the first photo was that they are busy constructing a huge artsy Christmas tree already. It did not occur to me that it was part of the London Design Festival, specifically called Supercell by Marc Newson. The Southbank is amazing; you will always find different things being displayed and constructed bringing the element of new and fun to the area.

The London Design Festival is an annual event that takes place in London at various locations. Their website has more information on the matter as there is a lot to take it. Quickly, check it out before it is too late and you will need to wait to 2010.

It has been four days now and I have seen light coming from the carrot seed tub. You are going to laugh at this but I used one of those clear containers you tend to buy a leg of lamb in the supermarket. Obviously it has been cleaned properly before I used it and it is big enough to be a home for my carrots. The carrots will not be big but will do as baby carrots. I will be trying my hand later during the year at garlic, so stay tuned for that.

Ok, I realise that this update is a little sad but it shows you that you can plant food in your windowsills in London, even though there is no space. The summer of 2010 will be a green one as I will plant ten times more than this year!

Crystal Palace Map

“KICC announced that they intend to turn the venue into a place of worship (D1 planning use) despite the fact that the building has a designated D2 planning use for leisure. They will be applying to Bromley council for Change of Use.

The purchase of the Bingo hall by KICC came out of the blue and many of us just turned around and all said we wanted a cinema. People had been lobbying to bring a cinema to Crystal Palace for many years. The ex Gala bingo hall is the perfect venue. It was built as a cinema in 1928 and still retains many original features. We care passionately about retaining its D2 leisure use for the benefit of the whole community.

Crystal Palace Campaign

The local community have made their feelings perfectly clear. They neither want nor need a change of use. Over 4,500 local people have signed a petition to this effect.”

There are a few things YOU can do to help them out. We all like to stand behind a good cause and it feels great to do it as part of the community. Here is a few ways you can help the Picture Palace Campaign. Hurry, time is running out!

• Draft letter to neighbouring councils urging consultation response.
• Join the Facebook group
• Leaflet for distribution
• Local Councillors voice their support for retention of D2 status.
• Poster for notice boards
• Request a planning application consultation letter.
• Sign the online petition
• Who to contact and how to contact them
• Write to them
• Use Twitter to spread the word to get more support

Rember that the Picture Palace Campaign has only got until the 1^st of October!

I have joined a local forum where people living in my area have come together to make a change, little changes though but a change non the less. Ever since joining the forum I have felt a strange sense of belonging and I urge everyone coming to London to blend into the local community to make the area better. This is needed unless we want a crime ridden area where people are too scared to be themselves or live in their own area. Think about it!

The community spirit really does wonders for an area. By supporting the locals, voicing your opinion and to meet up every now and then all play a vital role in society. I am not much for meeting strangers in the townhall but I am willing to lend a hand to clean up the area or even to visit and support a local fair. What possitive changes can you bring to your community?

There is roughly eight million people living in London and a vast majority of them make use of the transport for London network to get around. All these people touch buttons to open doors, hold on to poles inside tube carriages and use handrails in busses. These spots are all potential breeding grounds for the common cold virus . People are generally not very hygienic and it is important to protect yourself otherwise you would get the same cold over and over again throughout the year.

There are a few things you can do to protect yourself without it interfering too much with your life. Most people travelling around London carry some sort of bag with them which means you will have space to store a small bottle of antibaterial handwash. Most stores sell these in pocketsizes which requires no water, basically rubs dry. This is ideal for London and every traveller should have one, heck, everyone should carry one of these at all times.

The reason for the dramatic headline is because it sends a clear message and the NHS uses it on their campaign against the cold virus. It is quite catchy and should be followed where possible. Catch it in a tissue, bin the tissue at the earliest convenience to kill it dead in it’s tracks. Stay safe by following basic hygiene advice.

Earlier this week I was running around like a headless chicken trying to get last minute train tickets from London to Glasgow. Why last minute? Don’t even go there. Anyway I racked my brains and abused Google but I could not get tickets for less than £200 per person. To be paying that amount of money would be insane, so wrote off the trip until someone recommended going by coach. I had travelled across country before on a coach but it was not my most memorable or comfortable trip yet so the thought had no occurred to me.

Scouring around on Google trying to find tickets, I found National Express. They had available seats and good deals too so we decided to take the plunge and get tickets. It was going to be an eight hour bus trip so we opted for the departure time in the middle of the night. At least we would be asleep for most of the journey. Arrived at Victoria Coach Station at around 22:00 and we sat around with what looked like hundreds of other people opting to travel by coach. The coach bus itself was not big but it was going to have to do. They do not sell any refreshments on the coaches, so if you decide to use them, get your own snacks and drinks before the time.

The journey itself felt quick as busses are allowed to do 100mph on the motorways, loved it. All coaches come with safety belts which are required by law. My biggest concern was that I needed to have a toilet facility on the coach and luckily all of them have one. Not the most spacious place but it will do. The coach made two stops where people could grab a quick snack and stretch their legs and we used them each time. They do not allocate a lot of time on these stops, about 15 each, so you have to make it quick.

It was definitely an experience travelling in the middle of the night. I would recommend you give them at least a go before not opting to travel by coach. It would probably save you a small fortune if you want to explore the United Kingdom. A word of advice, if you are planning on travelling at night, take a travel pillow with as some coaches can be quite uncomfortable to sleep in. Oh, grab an Ipod or something with music, it helps. The National Express coaches can really be the cheaper alternative.