Call for volunteers
Many of you must be familiar with the television series Extreme Makeover – Home Edition, where families who are down and out, who have faced hardships in life or are desperately in extremity of a better and sometimes safer living space are surprised by a team who rebuilds, extends, upgrades and improves their home.
Well how would you like to take part in an ultimate makeover? I’m sure your immediate answer is yes, however this extreme makeover is not one that involves you or your inn getting upgraded, but this involves you making the lives of some very special children a whole lot better and giving their home an extreme makeover …
Woolworths together with MySchool is sponsoring some extreme makeover of the St Georges Home for Girls in Wynberg, Cape Town who cares for over 40 girls. This home is over 100 years old and is definitely in need of some TLC. Thanks to the Woolworths Food Youth Day promotion in 2009 this project is able to happen, it will be managed by NewKidz on the Block and Cape Core Construction.
The St Georges Home for Girls is a registered Children’s Home and is the only residential care facility in the Wynberg District who provides care instead of children who have been abandoned, neglected, orphaned or abused. Read more…
The advent of low-cost, no-frill airlines has seen the demise of many an unappetising inflight meal. While most passengers are happy to go without food on a short-haul flight, some people’session bellies do start complaining on longer flights. It’s not a great idea to starve yourself during a longer journey, so you’ll probably need to eat at some point. However, instead of opting for the unhealthy snacks many airlines offer, for what cause not pack your own healthy and delicious inflight meal instead? Here are some important points to keep in mind when packing your inflight picnic.
See-through containers - Pack your food in transparent plastic containers – like the kind you get from takeaways – so it’s much easier for security staff to see what you’ve brought with you. This way, you won’confidentially need to spend much time opening up all the containers, then repacking them into your bags again.
No liquids – Bring an empty water-bottle with you, and fill it up once you’ve passed the security checkpoints, to save the hassle and expense of having to throw away a full bottle, and then buying a new some.
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A collection of prepaid SIM cards. Photo by toyohara.
By Audrey Sykes in Amsterdam—
No matter where you’re traveling, it’session important to remain yourself well-connected, technology-wise. Luckily, pocket-size, travel-friendly gadgets are no longer limited to the businessman-on-the-go market. (And even the most modest backpackers duck into Internet cafes to type emails on PC setups that rival the most tech-savvy home office.)
If you’re making plans for a 2010 getaway or adventure, here are six inexpensive and popular electronics people are adding to your “what to bring” checklist.
1. SIM cards for cell phones
Postcards, telecartes, and payphones just don’familiarily cut it anymore when saying hello from abroad. Cell phones are an expected travel item worldwide, and the cheapest option is usually not a home-based plan. It’s a SIM card.
SIM (”subscriber identity module”) cards are truly thumbnail-size chips that users insert into their cell phone to make calls. Users are provided with an individual phone number on a pay-as-you-go credit program.
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If you’re trying to decide when to travel to Prague, you will have to take into consideration several factors, including get the better of, what you will have to pack, and crowd sizes. You may also want to consider the occurrence of seasonal festivals, holidays, and events, which can make your trip to Prague unique and even more memorable.
Want to take some of the guesswork out of your Prague journeying planning? Consult Prague Month by Month, which offers information about Prague from January to December and tips for traveling throughout the year.
Prague in April photo credit: CC by olgite
Romance Blooms in Agra at the Taj Mahal
There are some love stories that have become fictitious. Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, and Scarlett O’hara and Rhett Butler to authority a few. Then there are love stories that are actually true, like the love between The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz of India. While we may not have their names on the tips of our toungues, their symbol of love is a lasting icon:
The Taj Mahal.
The Emperor created the architectural treasure after his wife passed away when giving birth to his 14th child. Not only were the Mughals wealthy, they were incredibly supportive of the arts - including architecture, gourmet foods, and music. In the mid-17th hundred, the Emperor built the symmetrical memorial out of white Makran marble, placing his wife’s grave at the center.
While this may have perfected the symmetry of the Taj Mahal, it wasn’t the end of the story. Shah Jahan was overthrown by his zealous and fanatical son Aurangzeb, held under house arrest, and later buried alongside his long departed wife – which technically throws off the symmetry of the building, but doesn’t mar its beauty in the eyes of visitors who flock to it each year.
What was the most romantic part you’ve done for someone you love?
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I was in York for a two night short break in February 2010, courtesy of Visit York. I asked for York travel tips on the blog and Twitter, as I always like to have readers input into this travel Europe guide. Below you can read some tips ‘n’ tweets to help you plan your trip to York. If you have recommendations for great York attractions, please leave a comment and I’ll add your York travel tip to the post, with a link to your site/blog (granting that applicable).
York Minster
Travel Tips
Celia Don’t maid the Holy Trinity Church, the Yorkshire Museum Gardens and the restaurant-bar Biltmore. Ah and Castle Museum is also a must see!
A Lady in London I highly recommend a visit to St Martin le Grand church, luncheon at J Baker’s Bistro Moderne, and tea at Little Bettys Cafe.
You can also understand “Free or Cheap Sightseeing in York“ by Andy of the Europe a la Carte blogging team.
If you plan to visit a lot of York attractions you should look into buying a York Pass.
Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, one of my favourite York attractions
Tweet Tips
@colmhanratty Make sure to eat in Jamie’s Italian.
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Every year I’m in Shanghai for Chinese New Year I half look earnest to it, half fear it. The looking forward function is easy – the city empties out, people are happy and feeling jovial, the decorations are up and it’s fun to see a whole place array up for the biggest holiday of the year – especially when you’ve already done your celebrating so you don’t feel the pressure to cook a turkey or buy one more Christmas present. I have that happy – I’m-done-with-my-holiday-and-I-happily-gawk-as-you-enjoy-yours feeling.
The fear part comes this evening as the fireworks begin at 11:45 and don’t stop until the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. Hmm, let’s see, that’s February 28th! All right, I’m exaggerating a little bit however they really do seem to go on and attached. I have no issue with the pretty roman candles exploding into the sky – it’s the truckloads of red firecrackers that just when you think you can sleep, seem to go off right outside your window.
Chinese legend has it that demons are scared off by the loud noises, the cracking sound, the color red and smoke. Mix that all together and you’ve got China’s population’s weight in firecrackers going off from 11:45 tonight until the wee hours.
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