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# Wednesday, 31 October 2007

Easyjet has recently brought GB Airways for £103.5m. GB Airways currently operate services under the British Airways brand to Southern Europe and North Africa. They currently operate a total of 39 routes from Gatwick, Manchester and Heathrow and have a fleet of 15 Airbus aircraft.

posted on Wednesday, 31 October 2007 11:10:21 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 30 October 2007

You may soon need to use your passport to travel to Ireland. Irish officials have been asked to work on ending an agreement that currently allows free movement between Britain and Ireland. There are reports that an electronic border problem will be put in place by 2009 although the home office has said it has no immediate plans for a change. The system would help in the tracking of terrorist suspects, criminals and illegal immigrants.

posted on Tuesday, 30 October 2007 13:11:34 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 29 October 2007

The Airbus A380 superjumbo completed its first flight last week. The flight had 471 passengers on board and flew from Singapore to Australia. The passengers had bid for the tickets on eBay with the proceeds going to charity. The planes includes double beds and 23 inch flatscreen TVs. It sounds great.

posted on Monday, 29 October 2007 21:52:49 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Sunday, 28 October 2007
Pelni

blogoftheweek_thumb This week's travel blog of the week is Travel-Junkie.com written by Boris Glumpler. One post that I found interesting is about travelling on a Pelni boat in Indonesia. The experience doesn't sound very pleasant with 50 people sleeping in one room for four days with poor food and smelly toilets and showers. He does, however, point out that travelling on the boat is very cheap and also safe and gives some useful tips on how to survive the experience.

 Dragon

One tip that he gives is to remember to take a large sheet with you that you can use for sleeping and also to wrap yourself in. He also says you should take your own cutlery unless you want to eat with your hands.

 

Other interesting articles include this picture of a Komodo dragon and a list of his top ten dive spots in South East Asia including what you are likely to see there.

posted on Sunday, 28 October 2007 18:30:07 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 26 October 2007
British Airways are to ban surfboards on its flights from the 6th of November. They say that the large size and handling problems means it can no longer carry items such as surfboards, hand gliders, javelins, canoes and pole vaults. Members of the Newquay based British Surfing Association whose who often use the Gatwick to Newquay flight have reacted angrily to the announcement.

posted on Friday, 26 October 2007 11:51:32 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 25 October 2007
It has been announced that 44 post offices are to close in Scotland. The Post Office will reduce the number of branches in Argyll and Bute by seven, Glasgow by 27 and Central Scotland by 10. There will be a six week consultation period during which communities can give their views on the closures. The following branches are due to close.

Argyll & Bute
•    East Princes Street, The Post Office, East Princes Street, Helensburgh
•    Gallowgate, Gallowgate, Rothesay
•    High Street, The Post Office, High Street, Campbeltown
•    Hillfoot Street, The Post Office, Dunoon
•    Kirn, The Post Office, Dunoon
•    Mossfield, Combie Street, Oban
•    Ralston Road, 125 -127 Ralston Road, Campbeltown
Greater Glasgow
•    Anderston, 76 St. Vincent Terrace, Glasgow
•    Auchenback, 60 Aurs Drive, Barrhead, Glasgow
•    Balornock, 34-36 Drumbottie Road, Glasgow
•    Bowling, 32 Dumbarton Road, Dumbarton
•    Brucehill, Brucehill Road, Dumbarton
•    Carmunnock, Clarkston, 17 Busby Road, Carmunnock, Glasgow
•    Croftfoot, 509 Castlemilk Road, Glasgow
•    Crow Road, 304 Crow Road, Glasgow
•    Drumchapel, 135 Garscadden Road, Glasgow
•    Forge St, The Post Office, Forge Street, Glasgow
•    Gilshochill, Glenavon Road, Glasgow
•    Govanhill, 328 Allison St, Govanhill, Glasgow
•    Greenbank, 29 Eaglesham Road, Clarkston, Glasgow
•    High Street, 271 High Street, Glasgow
•    Hyndland, 37 Clarence Drive, Glasgow
•    Kelvindale, Kelvindale Mini Market, 361/367 Kelvindale Road, Glasgow
•    Kingsridge, 55 Inchfad Drive, Drumchapel, Glasgow
•    Levenvale, Co-Op Store, Argyle Street, Alexandria
•    Muirend, The Post Office, 367 Clarkston Road, Glasgow
•    Newton, 107 Glasgow Road, Dumbarton
•    Nithsdale Rd, 8 Kildroston Street, Glasgow
•    Radnor Park, 379 Kilbowie Road, Clydebank
•    Red Road, 51 Red Court, Glasgow
•    Sandymount, 18 Grantlea Terrace, Glasgow
•    Springfield Rd, 98 Springfield Road, Glasgow
•    Temple, 58 Fulton Street, Glasgow
•    West End, 125-127 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow
Central Scotland
•    Bothkennar, Main Street, Skinflats, Falkirk
•    Brightons, Quarry Brae, Brightons, Falkirk
•    Church Street, 206 King Street, Stenhousemuir, Larbert
•    Cultenhove, 104 Cultenhove Road, Stirling
•    East End, 161 Main Street, Callander
•    Forth Crescent, 36 Abbey Road, Riverside, Stirling
•    Greenhill, 2 Lea Park Drive, Bonnybridge
•    Highland Dykes, 66 Wheatlands Avenue, Bonnybridge
•    Nethermains, 4 Fleming Court, Denny
•    Thornhill Road, 192 Thornhill Road, Falkirk

posted on Thursday, 25 October 2007 14:02:28 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Statistics have revealed that one in three flights that departs from London is late. This is compared to New York and Dubai in which more than half of flights land on time. The delays are blamed on congestion, security clampdowns and the time it takes to get passengers through the terminal to departure lounges. It will be interesting to see if these figures improve with the opening of terminal five.

posted on Wednesday, 24 October 2007 16:32:56 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 23 October 2007

Union leaders have recommended that their members accept a deal on pay and flexible working that could end the long running postal dispute. Royal mail has offered its staff a pay rise of 5.4%. However, the deal does not address concerns over working hours which could still mean daily deliveries are shifted to the afternoon. The proposed deal will now be subject to a ballot of individual members.

posted on Tuesday, 23 October 2007 16:21:59 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 22 October 2007

blogoftheweek This weeks PC2Paper Travel Blog of the week is City Guide a Community Travel Blog focused on things to see and do worldwide. People are free to promote their own city by submitting articles around several topics such as dining, entertainment, the art, natures and the outdoors...

 

The thing I like the most about this blog is the diversity and how many of the articles are accompanied by informative videos and images. One of my favourite articles is about the Chobe National Park in Botswana which contains one of the highest concentrations of wild life on the African continent, the article describes the park in depth and also mentions the famous Victoria Falls and large elephant population the park is so famous for.

 

posted on Monday, 22 October 2007 23:34:29 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 19 October 2007
Postal workers in Liverpool have agreed to end an unofficial strike which has now lasted nine days. The strike action was called off after workers were offered the right of negotiation over flexible working hours. Workers will return to work today with deliveries resuming on Friday. PC2Paper customers should expect delays to mail sent to this area whilst postal workers work to clear the backlog.

posted on Friday, 19 October 2007 17:40:52 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 18 October 2007
Singapore Airlines has unveiled a new fleet of superjumbos. The new Airbus A380 planes will allow customers to relax in their own double bed. They will have 471 seats split between economy, business class and a class beyond first. The first beyond seats will include a suite with a 22 inch flatscreen TV, linen by Givenchy and upholstery by the makers of seats for Ferrari and Maserati. The suites are likely to cost around £3,500 for a return flight so are not cheap.

posted on Thursday, 18 October 2007 14:39:17 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 17 October 2007
An inquiry has been launched after two planes collided at Heathrow airport. The planes were both taxiing the runway when one of the planes clipped the wing of the other. No one was hurt in the incident but the passengers were evacuated as a safety precaution.

posted on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 16:31:16 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Around 800 postal workers in Merseyside are continuing their unofficial strike action. This is despite hopes of a deal to end the national postal strikes. These wildcat strikes continue to affect 21 sorting offices in Merseyside. PC2Paper users should expect delays to any mail to this area.

posted on Tuesday, 16 October 2007 17:21:19 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
Further strike action planned for this week has now been called off by the Communication Workers Union. The union is currently holding talks to decide whether or not to accept a Royal Mail deal. An announcement is expected later today on whether the terms will be accepted.

posted on Tuesday, 16 October 2007 17:16:14 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 15 October 2007
If you are looking for a good deal on a holiday you might want to try discoverycruiseline.com. They are currently offering a Bahamas vacation special. The deal is for three days and two nights at the Flamingo Bay Resort on Taino Beach in Grand Bahama. Prices start at $169.98 for two people and under the deal your companion gets to stay for free.

The Flamingo Bay resort also has access to the Taino Beach Resort Pool as well as tennis, basketball, water sports, miniature golf and beach volley ball. The rooms are also only five minutes away from the nearby white sand beach. The special offer is available for limited time and also includes the roundtrip discovery cruise.

posted on Monday, 15 October 2007 16:20:32 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
Despite hopes that Royal Mail and the CWU have reached a deal to prevent the strikes there are still unofficial strikes in some locations. Postal workers in Merseyside are continuing with their fifth day of strikes causing further disruption in the area. PC2Paper users should expect delays to mail in these areas.

posted on Monday, 15 October 2007 14:20:11 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
Union leaders will meet today to discuss whether to accept a deal to end strike action. The agreement was brokered on Friday and in aimed at ending the dispute. Union leaders will meet at 2pm today to discuss the terms, with Royal Mail workers being balloted by post. The details of the terms are expected to be released after the meeting.

posted on Monday, 15 October 2007 14:13:55 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Sunday, 14 October 2007

blogoftheweek_thumb This week's travel blog of the week is Travel Babel written by Claire Walter from Colorado. One of her most recent articles talks about what services are included when you stay at a hotel. Claire mentions her stay at the Midland Hotel in Manchester and the fact that internet access was not included in the price. She ended up having to pay £15 for 24 hours of high speed internet access which amounted to around $30 dollars taking into account the exchange rate. Personally I always look at hotels that include internet access in the price, as I have found you do tend to pay extortionate rates especially when travelling abroad, and internet access is often essential when travelling on business.

Another interesting article highlights a luggage lock that uses words instead of numbers. This is something I would find really useful as I can never remember pin numbers and like Claire tend to be better at words than numbers. Called the WordLock, they are available in a range of different colours to co-ordinate with your bags and use a simple 4 letter word rather than numbers. What a good idea!


posted on Sunday, 14 October 2007 22:21:44 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 12 October 2007
Talks have resumed between Royal Mail and postal union leaders today with a view to stopping official strike action planned for next week. Despite the talks unofficial strike action is continuing in Liverpool with all 21 delivery depots walking out. This will cause further delays to deliveries in this area. If talks between the two sides fail there are due to be further postal strikes next week.

posted on Friday, 12 October 2007 12:47:50 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
If you are looking around for a last minute getaway you might want to go to Madrid. HotelClub currently have a number of good deals on Madrid accommodation, some of which start at only 59 Euros a night. All the rates shown on the website are also inclusive of all taxes, so there are no hidden costs.

The same website also has a useful guide to Madrid hotels which recommends which hotels you should stay at to be close to some of the main attractions like the Debod Temple and the main museums. If you are looking for some hotel news you might also want to have a look at their blog which has a number of useful articles including taking your pet on holiday and the top five spring destinations. It also has interesting articles about the best and worst European food, it is certainly worth a read.

posted on Friday, 12 October 2007 09:42:45 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 11 October 2007
Unofficial strikes have continued today in some parts of the country. Postal workers in London and Liverpool took part in a second day of unofficial strikes with the action spreading to Merseyside. The rest of the country’s 1,500 delivery offices were working normally today clearing the backlog from last week’s strikes. However, these unofficial strikes will cause further delays to mail in some areas.

posted on Thursday, 11 October 2007 18:11:14 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Despite the organised strike action by postal workers finishing this morning there have been reports of some unofficial strike action continuing in some regions. Staff at more than 20 delivery offices including parts of London, Glasgow, Merseyside and Lancashire have continued to strike in protests related to their working hours. Some reports suggest that staff continued to strike after turning up for work only to be told that their workings hours had been changed without prior agreement. Mail posted to the affected areas will be subject to further delays.

posted on Wednesday, 10 October 2007 14:26:22 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
Although the current postal strike is now over and mail will now be posted daily as normal, we would like to remind customers to expect a delay in delivery times. Mail is likely to be delayed whilst Royal Mail staff work hard to clear the backlog. During this time we cannot guarantee delivery times.

posted on Wednesday, 10 October 2007 09:59:43 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 08 October 2007

blogoftheweek This weeks PC2Paper travel log of the week is Stuck In Customs a blog filled with some of the most spectacular photo's taken by its author Trey Ratcliff on his various travels, using a photography technique called HDR of which he provides a tutorial.

One of the most amusing photos is as Trey refers to it "The Kwik-E-Mart in the Backstreets of Beijing" featuring a Chinese equivalent of a 7-11 store.

I heartily recommend a visit to this blog just  to browse through the stunning photographs, as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. 

posted on Monday, 08 October 2007 22:16:02 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 04 October 2007
We would like to remind customers that due to the current postal strikes in the UK any mail sent from Thursday 4th of October to Tuesday 9th of October will be delayed. There are now no postage collections or deliveries until Wednesday 10th of October. Any letters received during this time, will be processed on Wednesday 10th of October. There may also be delays to postage times in the days following the strike as postal workers work to clear the backlog of mail. All US bound mail is unaffected.

posted on Thursday, 04 October 2007 10:57:20 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 03 October 2007
If you are looking at booking a last minute break to avoid some of the British winter you might want to have a look at hotelreservations.com. They specialise not only in Hotel Reservations but also in flights and car hire. With a choice of 70,000 properties worldwide they have a lot of options. You can also book a vacation package that includes everything. If you prefer something a little more flexible the website also has vacation rentals.

The website is searchable by destination as well as check in and check out date and the number of people who are travelling. An important feature of this website is that you can view it in your own language and currency which is always useful. You also have the option to search the website using a map. This is quite useful if you want to go to a certain region but are not really bothered about which resort you go to.

If you are unsure where you want to go you might want to have a look at the destination guide on the website. It has useful recommendations for holidays based on your interests. It highlights the best beach holidays, the best family destinations, the best bed and breakfasts, the best spa destinations and even the best destinations for golf and gambling. The guide also has lots of useful information about all the destinations offered including useful tips on where to stay, when to go, money and currency and what sort of food and drink you should expect. It also includes information on the local culture and entertainment, postage and even maps of the area. I found a lot of useful background information on St Lucia where I am thinking of going in the new year. I also found some good deals on vacation rentals in the area.

posted on Wednesday, 03 October 2007 19:45:58 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 01 October 2007
There will be some disruption to our service this week due to the planned postal strikes. There are currently no collections on Thursday 4th, Friday 5 and Monday 8. Any mail sent on these days will be processed as normal but will be delayed until the next available collection.

For customers sending mail shots during this week, we recommend sending them before the close of business on Tuesday of October, so as to ensure a printing slot for Wednesday and avoid delays to your letters.
posted on Monday, 01 October 2007 16:56:37 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback