Unless you have been asleep for the last week you will know that an amateur metal detector found a magnificent hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold in a field in Staffordshire last July. The finds, amounting to over 1500, have been partially cleaned and experts are drooling over quite what this means and how it explains what idiots over the years have called the Dark Ages. Dark they certainly weren’t and this treasure shows how capable they were at working metals and how artistic they were as well.

In case you were unaware, we are in the middle of National Cruise Week. Around my way you would have been hard pressed to notice. The travel industry doesn’t even have a big consumer show celebrating cruising. That is held in March (next year 27-28 March at Olympia in London. This year it was at Excel in London last March ). In the local travel agents (supposedly 2000 are involved) I saw no great displays either just the usual Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise cards posted in windows. Yet 1.5 million of us go on cruising; many more than go skiing for example.

From the website:

“This site explains what you have to do to bring your pet dog, cat or ferret into (or back into) the UK through the Pet Travel Scheme (or PETS for short) without putting it into quarantine. It also explains the requirements for bringing many other types of pet animals into the UK. This site also tells you about quarantine in the UK for animals that don’t qualify for PETS. Printable factsheets are available for both vets and the public.”

From the website:

“The Passport Office, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs, issues passports to Irish citizens.

All Irish citizens are entitled to apply for an Irish passport. Services are provided by the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork and by Irish Diplomatic and Consular Missions overseas.”

From the website:

“The National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) promotes standards in travel medicine, providing travel health information for health professionals and the public.

NaTHNaC is funded by the Health Protection Agency.”

From the website:

“The Identity and Passport Service is responsible for issuing UK passports and identity cards and for the registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales. It is an executive agency of the Home Office.”

From the website:

“HMRC’s purpose is to make sure that the money is available to fund the UK’s public services. We also help families and individuals with targeted financial support”

From the website:

“Community Legal Advice is a free and confidential advice service paid for by legal aid.”

From the website:

“The Adviceguide website is the main public information service of Citizens Advice, providing people with round-the-clock access to CAB information on their rights – including benefits, housing and employment, and on debt, consumer and legal issues.”

From the website:

“Consumer Focus is the statutory organisation campaigning for a fair deal for consumers in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland.

Advice for individuals on energy and post is given by Consumer Direct (08454 04 05 06).”