I have had my Vodafone mobile broadband for a couple of months now and have to say its great being able to connect to the internet just about anywhere. I travel a lot for work and mobile broadband is ideal for me to keep check on my emails and send documents to my work colleagues as well as posting on my blog.

I was in Preston for work earlier this week and meet up with a colleague of mine for lunch in the hotel he was staying in and he was telling me that even though the hotel had internet access he was struggling to do his work because it kept cutting off or was slow. I told him that I had a mobile broadband dongle and very rarely had any issues with it. He said “it must cost you a bomb for that”, and I told him that I pay £5 per month until the end of July and £15 a month after that.

He was shocked at how cheap it was and said he was going to look into getting one for himself; he also said that it was cheaper than what he was paying a month for his home broadband connection.

The competitiveness or broadband companies and the introduction of broadband comparison sites has made broadband and mobile broadband cheaper than it has ever been.

My parents are going down to London to visit my brother in September and they have asked me to have a look at how much it would cost. I started by looking on thetrainline.com as I guessed that a train journey would be the cheapest option. My parents live in Glasgow so I typed in the from and to information as well as the date. It took a couple of seconds to show me the price and I was shocked, £116 each and it took 5 and a half hours!

I decided that I would try a domestic flight instead and went to the BMI website as I have flown with them before and they were cheap. I typed in the information again and pushed the Get Flights button and waited a few seconds. The outbound flight cost £32.50 and the return flight cost £37.50, meaning a grand total of £70 each; that’s a saving of £46 each and it only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes.

I don’t know where the train companies get their pricing from, but if you want to travel from Glasgow to London then a cheap flight will save you not just money but time as well.

My wife has been playing bingo at 888Ladies for a couple of months now and really enjoys it. Her friends have also joined so they chat and have a laugh online while playing their bingo games.

After initially winning a couple of £10’s in her first week, she had had nothing for a month or so till last night when I heard a loud scream from the computer room, followed by “I’ve won, I’ve won”. I had to see what all the commotion was so went upstairs and found my wife giggling in the computer chair.

She had won £180 pound and was really happy, at least this will keep her occupied for the next couple of weeks as she can carry on playing bingo games without having to put her own money in and buy herself something nice too!

My nephew is being christened at the end of August and it gives our family the chance to go down to London for the weekend! Having grown up near London during my childhood I have been to London quite a few times, but my wife has only been once and the kids have never been, so a bit of sightseeing is in order.

The christening starts at midday on the Sunday so I plan to get down to London on the Friday night and then do some sightseeing on the Saturday. I’ve had a quick look for hotels in London, and because the christening is in Clapham it should be easy enough to get to the centre of London with kids in tow.

London hotels aren’t as expensive as you think either, starting from around £75 per night for a family room and should be ideal for what we need it for. It should be pretty interesting for the kids too and will give them something to talk about with their friends when they get back.

I have been renovating my en-suite bathroom for a few weeks now (mostly on a night after work) and successfully fitted my new towel drying radiator. The radiator I went for in the end was the Aeon Karnak Heated Towel Radiator from UK Bathrooms; I got it for just £189 and have to say it looks great in the en-suite.

This radiator has a chrome finish and can be heated via the central heating system or you can buy an electric heating element if you want an electric towel rail.

All in all I’m very pleased on how nice the towel drying radiator looks and would definitely think about another one for the main bathroom.

Dating can be tricky, and we all make mistakes. Whether you’ve met the girl of your dreams down the local pub or through an online dating service, avoiding these common blunders will help you become a better partner.

1. Getting physical too soon. It’s no secret that men are usually more motivated by physical attraction than women, but moving in for a kiss or a quick feel on the first date will make you seem pushy and shallow. Pull back and go at her pace, which will show you’re respectful and interested in more than a one-nighter.

2. Dominating the conversation. This is not a job interview where talking freely and frequently about yourself is the key to selling yourself. Ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully, and demonstrate to your date that you’re genuinely eager to know more about her.

3. Behaving rudely. Charming your date is wonderful, but if she sees you stiff the bartender out of a tip or speak harshly to your waiter, it could be a real turn-off. Treat your date and everyone else around you with politeness and regard.

4. Leering at other women. There is not a man on earth who is capable of eyeing a woman subtly, no matter what you think. Checking out other women while you’re on a date is beyond rude, it’s vulgar and crass, sending the message that you can’t be trusted to remain faithful or that you’re keeping your options open. Focus on the woman you’re with, not the one across the room.

I’m currently looking for a new bed and mattress to replace our master bed which we have had since we were married (just under 13 years). We have a wooden one at the moment and most of the bedroom furniture is also wood so I will get one that best matches the current furniture.

I have found a couple of wooden beds that I like so far, but don’t really know what sort of mattress to get. I think it’s one of those things that you have to try out in the shop, so will probably take a trip to my nearest bed shop and sit on a few to decide which one feels best.

I will probably end up buying the bed off the internet because at the end of the day its just a frame to hold the mattress and they are far cheaper than in the shop. Can’t wait to get a decent night’s sleep, the old bed is getting a bit worn out; just hope that I don’t like it too much or I may be getting into work late!

I was going through eBay the other day and its flooded with World cup merchandise, from bulk t shirts that clearly been done by t shirt printing company’s and are trying to make a quick quid on the back of the world cup.

I was looking for retro England shirts from around 1980 to 1985 and all i got was cheesy printed t shirts.

Hopefully England will win today but if they don’t I can’t see that they’ll come home with heads held high, I’d hardly say that they have played with pride or passion.
It can’t fully be played on them; they should change the formation from 4-4-2. We could try a 4-3-3 which would give us an extra striker up front and enable us to have the ball fed to a better selection of players, maybe playing hesky in the middle would be the best option.

Under new proposal outline learner drivers will be required to memorise directions, follow signs to get to a final destination and also have their instructor present during the exam. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) says the new section will promote ‘independent thinking’ and mimic a situation where a driver gets lost. Driving schools in Sunderland are now preparing new drivers ready for when the new proposals come however there is no definite indication on when that will be.

Research from the DSA suggests the changes will cause the pass rate to fall from 42 to 18 per cent which is less than one in five. However there has been some criticism from motoring groups with some saying it will make the test too difficult but others say it will prepare learner drivers for ‘real world’ driving.

The general manager of the Motor Schools Association, John Lepine, said: “If the pass rates drop by those figures it will be a massive extra cost to learner drivers who already have a lot to pay. That’s a crazy amount for test results to plummet by.”

Also Hugh Bladon of the Association of British Drivers said: “The whole driving system is absurd. These new measures are missing the point of stopping reckless drivers on the road. These confusing new tasks could just make it more costly and take more time for learner drivers to pass their test. Learners need to be taught the basics of driving first before they’re allowed on the road. You can’t stop them passing their test as denying people their license is denying them their freedom.”

The DSA say that “the new test will expose learners to real-life situations like getting lost and having to flag down passers-by to ask for directions as well as examiners will ask candidates to drive to a specific location by memorising his or her verbal instructions, or by following road signs. The learner will then drive for around 10 minutes without any help or prompting from the examiner. Candidates will also be asked to perform a five-point turn – or U-turn – in a road to mimic a driver going the wrong way and having to turn the car around.”

Many instructors and driving schools in Sunderland are aware of the impact this new test will have on pupils, after the DSA tested the new section on 100 learners they made five times more mistakes than the traditional test. However the learner drivers branded it ‘effortful, mentally demanding and frustrating’ and just 18 per cent passed, less than one in five.

I’m quite into my tech stuff and have been quite excited to see what Apple’s new iPhone 4 would feature. As pictures of the iPhone 4 had been leaked for over a month before it was official I already knew what it looked like, but looks aren’t everything especially in the Smartphone market.

I have been quite disappointed by the last couple of iPhone’s ( the 3G and 3GS) as they weren’t much of a step up from the original iPhone, but this newest device has a plethora of new features including a better screen that has a resolution of 640 x 960, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and front mounted camera for video calling.

The battery has also been overhauled to make it last longer and the camera can record High Definition video up to 720p at 30fps.

My mate has pre-ordered his already and I’m looking forward to getting a nosey at it; who knows my wife’s contract is up soon, so could always get an iPhone 4 and swap if with my HTC Desire if she would let me