However, all is not lost even if you’re up against some serious competition. Where smaller sites have the advantage is that they can create more personalisation than the larger sites can. That’s important as, no matter how much money is thrown at it, you just can’t tell in advance how people will reach your site. Thus, if you keep the content fresh and relevant to you then chances are that a small site can get noticed almost as much as one with a large budget.

What you’ll not get is a top ranking position for very popular keywords but you can get top positions for more unique key phrases.

There’s no really easy way out of this as the house removals company simply can’t do all the work for you and what the various companies offer is basically along a range from complete DIY through to them doing nearly all of it. Where you choose along that continuum is down to your wants and resources although do bear in mind that the complete DIY approach isn’t necessarily cheaper than some of the options that provide you with a lot of assistance.

At the extreme DIY end you can potentially move all the stuff yourself using only your own transport. That’s an option that’s really only viable for moves involving a fairly small amount of stuff and/or over fairly short distances. It is definitely the cheapest option and not too tiring if you can stage it over an appropriate period of time. In practical terms most people can’t do that though and they generally need to hire a van. These two aren’t mutually exclusive as you could move all but the larger items of furniture yourself, using the van just for those larger items.

Moving up you’re into getting people to do some or most of the move for you. That generally doesn’t get you out of packing (unless you want a serious bill, of course) but does ease the move considerable as you’re not lugging boxes out of your current house and into the new one.

Why? Sure you’ve already got Mastercard and Visa, won’t they do?

Well, they probably will do and, yes, it’s true that outside the British Isles and North America, acceptance of their cards isn’t nearly as widespread as it is for MC/Visa. However, when you get your credit card stolen (and you will do sooner or later), it’s the only one that you can depend on getting replaced whilst you’re on holiday. With Mastercard and Visa you’re depending on a lot of connections working and, particularly if you’re going to one of the countries in the former Eastern Bloc, then that infrastructure just isn’t in place.

OK, so it’s handy when it’s stolen abroad, but what about in the UK? Well, acceptance is pretty much universal these days and you’ll pick up a nice cashback bonus at the end of each year. It might not always look as worthwhile as some of the points rebate schemes but how often have you actually used the points that you’ve accumulated. Besides, with points you’re stuck with whatever the card issuer has in their catalogue, whereas with cash you can get whatever you want.

Definitely worthwhile as a third card and I think you’ll be surprised at how often you use it.

Well, I’ve tried that and I’ve yet to find one that can come up with a suggestion that is outside the standard off the cuff ideas that anyone could reel off. Until now that is.

Holiday.co.uk aren’t quite there yet but are definitely heading in the right direction I think. For a start they have loads of information on places that really are all over the world which isn’t always so easy to come by if you’re aiming for somewhere that’s truly out of the ordinary. A less obvious difference is that you can actually book the flights online to really exotic places which you can’t do on most normal travel sites.

Now, to be fair, you can’t always get hotels in the more exotic places. However, that’s something that’s commonplace across the majority of travel sites. For instance, although I could have booked a flight to Quito in Ecuador, they didn’t have a hotel listed there although you could call them for a hotel as, unlike most online places, they have real people on the phones which is something that you usually need for really out of the way places.

From all that you’d think that they only had exotic destinations but, of course, that’s far from the case. They’ve the usual beach, ski and city break options but even there they tend to offer that little bit more than you find on most travel sites. Not only that, but you can be considerably more flexible with your search options than on any other travel site that I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a LOT). Normally, you’d need to say at least where and when you’d like to go but you can leave out the where and the when can be up to seven days different from the date you give which lets their system come up with some ideas that you might not have thought of.

An excellent site with the information that you need to plan even the most exotic trip but which retains the ability to offer you holidays at the ordinary end of the scale too and with the flexibility that people are looking for these days. Of course, in many ways this should be no surprise as they’re ABTA’s very first online travel agency, dating way back to 1994.
 
 

With this in mind their range will suit any woman of any age…even Granny! taking a further look I love the range of cami’s in the brochure; not cheap and tacky looking, just romantic, sexy and so stylish at the same time. Just as I said, even Gran could treat herself to something from this range.

Stockings have made a huge comeback in ladies fashions in recent years and there is a nice selection of style and design - women today prefer the hold-up style stockings which can be worn under skirts, even trousers, and will give any set of legs a sexy allure. My favourite is the seamed style - very 1940’s Hollywood.

For those who are into Ann Summers designs you will find this range at Knickerbox; we all know what to expect from an Ann Summers selection so I don’t need to say too much more…

If you are making a gift selection then take a look at the Top Ten; this gives you an idea of what are the most popular items. Guys, this should help you if you are choosing something for your lady. If you want to make a saving check out the clearance sale section as there is always a list of items on discount and each item is something special.

The other great thing about this unique company is that they have a philosophy which came from being environmentally conscious long before the trend became world-wide.

Their clothing line began back in the 1970’s on a kitchen table - that simply. Ever since then their clothes have been chosen as the only garments that countless adventurers choose to take.

These clothes have in-built protection features which will protect the wearer from a variety of elements:

* wind

* rain

* snow

* heat

* certain illnesses and skin conditions

The clothes are waterproof and sun proof and treated to repel and withstand bacteria and contamination from parasites.

As well as a fantastic range of travel clothing Rohan also present to you a line of wonderful travel accessories which are entirely practical, functional and look great as well.

Rohan clothing is also the top choice of high profile adventure documentary makers; film makers, explorers and expedition trekkers.

Do you have a special occasion coming up and need to find a great gift? why not spare your feet the walking distance and simply have a look at what is available on ‘Thanks Darling’?

This is a site with a difference: there is an astounding variety of gift ideas available - absolutely everything to suit any age and anyone. Men and teenage boys are especially difficult to buy for but on this site you will have not trouble finding something at all.

They have hampers, gifts for sports enthusiasts, experience packages and even some ideas for those who like to get an adrenalin rush out of life.

They offer online purchasing from a very safe and secure site as well. You would have to walk a long way to find so many different gift ideas in one place so definitely have a look: someone will certainly say “Thanks Darling” if you do.

Come on own up - which woman does NOT appreciate a beautiful bunch of flowers being given to her; the great thing is that Eden4Flowers do not just do ‘bunches’ of flowers - you can choose from a stunning range of floral arrangements that is sure to please anyone.

One great way of making that gift even more special is to add an extra special touch such as chocolates. Flowers say everthing you need to say that is why they make such an ideal gift for someone special. Why not add a touch of fun as well…choose some balloons to go with the flowers and chocolates as well or even a bottle of wine or champagne.

Their delivery is super fast so if you wish to impress someone this evening your selection can be delivered right in time and the flowers themselves are all fresh, bright and put together by skilled florists.

Now that summer is almost here it is great to be thinking about getting our kids out of all those stuffy coats, stockings and boots and into lovely light summer clothing. Childrens fashions have come along in leaps and bounds over the past years and it is a joy to go shopping for things for the kids to wear, especially if you are going away on holiday.

Great Little Trading Company has a wonderful range of clothes for the kids; all top quality and right up to date with regards to fashion. For both boys and girls you can get items that they can wear out to somewhere special or simply play around in.

You will also be able to buy accessories and items for their bedrooms if you are thinking of renovating as well as great things for the playground, yard or for playing indoors.  Their catalogue is free so register online and order right away and you can purchase online. If you have any special occasions coming up take advantage of their gift finding service too.

I’m terribly stingy when it comes to hiring a car. Whenever I can, I spend the time to go through all the car hire companies operating in the airport that I’m flying to because their deals change at different times.

Yet, every single time that I’ve done that recently I’ve ended up with Holiday Autos.

They’re not really a “proper” car rental firm in that you won’t find a sign in the airport saying “Holiday Autos desk” and that’s what keeps their prices low. Whereas Hertz, Avis, Europcar and the rest are paying for people to staff their offices (and each one has thousands of offices) and to buy enough cars to be able to offer you things like a guarantee of having a car, all that Holiday Autos do is negotiate a bulk hire rate and pass the savings on to you. I say “all” but, of course, that’s hard enough I’m sure.

One of the interesting things I found is that although Europcar are normally the outfit that supplies their cars around Europe, it costs more to hire the same car directly from Europcar and the terms of the rental aren’t as good either. For example, I wanted to do a one way drop off once: the Holiday Autos price was 30€/day for the car whilst the Europcar rate was 50€/day AND there was a 100€ dropoff charge from Europcar vs none from Holiday Autos.

Anyway, save yourself both time and money and just book with Holiday Autos. Just be sure to book well in advance as they do sell out of the very best offers quite early.