An Age of Magic

Protecting your credit cards from inside your wallet.

Another son, another birthday – with five of them it seems I am buying birthday gifts all year round. This time it is son number two and he turns 23 next week, he lives on the other side of the world too so I cannot simply take him out and let him choose what he wants. This kid has a habit of losing things and has in the past two years dropped his passport in a creek – don’t ask how – and when he pulls his hanky out of his pocket there followView posts a shower of coins and notes. Men always store their money in their back pocket…why?

He has just gotten his first credit card so what would suit him is an rfid blocking wallet; they protect your chip and pin card and guard against fraud as well. Your details cannot be scanned and they work even when folded over. Brilliant idea!

Popularity: 17% [?]

Bring on the Spring!

I cannot remember experiencing cold weather like this – even when we were living in France where it was freezing during the winter, and you had to deal with the icy, gale-force winds that blew between December and February each year. I always thought it was cold there and was glad to move away, but THIS beats all that!

I am still trying to become acclimatised to these northern European winters – not sure that I ever will though – and this weather is not helping. The summers not being warm enough – or long enough – don’t help either. Am I just whining…? yeah – but it’s the weather for it. We are getting more of our rooms double-glazed and new blinds to insulate the house better because parts of the house are like a freezer room.

And what happened on the weekend…? the boiler burst! we are getting to know the plumbers here on a personal basis these days!

Popularity: 81% [?]

Can you be a health tourist?

Actually you can so long as you are a citizen of an EU nation, although try telling that to British NHS officials. It has been happening for a long while that people from around Europe have come to the UK specifically to take advantage of the facilities and treatments that other poorer nations in the EU cannot provide at the same standard. But many British people don’t realise that they too can do the same in countries like France.

EU directives state that it’s citizens can seek treatment outside their home country if ‘undue delays’ cause them hardship – so it is possible for British people to ‘health travel‘ themselves. If you cannot get your hip operation done within a reasonable time in the UK and you are in extreme pain you’re well within your rights to travel to France for the operation and then return home with any receipts to hand over to the NHS…which they MUST reimburse to you.

Popularity: 41% [?]