Severe Weather Flood Warning for the South West of England issued by the Met Office.

While the UK basks in the sunshine there are two extremes of weather on display in the South of England today. While the South East has been declared a Level 3 Heatwave by the Met Office the South West has been issued with a Severe Weather Warning for Flooding.

Thunderstorms are forecast to affect parts of South West England during the day with more than 15 mm of rainfall in 3 hours in some places. The heavy rain is expected to hit Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.

The rain is likely to have a dramatic impact with travel disruption on motorways and other road travel. Motorists are advised to take extra care and refer to the Highways Agency for further advice on traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

French travel retailer Aelia is to introducing a new travel size men’s fragrance called Travelling. Available only in a 75ml travel size it will be available exclusively in their Duty Free outlets.

Azzaro Travelling - Travel Size Fragrance for Men

Aelia has previously collaborated with Parfums Azzaro (the Clarins Group) to produce exclusive ranges such as Jetlag and Cockpit. The new fragrance will be gradually introduced across their outlets which are in 20 airports in France, Great Britain and Poland.

The new travel size fragrance is described as fresh, woody and exotic, and is presented in a “refined and elegant” bottle, according to Aelia.

A ban on the display of tobacco products in retail stores across Ireland enters force today and will also have a major impact on travellers transiting through Irish Airports.

Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) will face the removal of all products from public display, with no advertising or branding allowed at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

The government has given a commitment to permit the DAA and other travel retailers to display a pictorial list of tobacco products in their stores but the necessary legislation has yet to be passed.

The exemption to the Public Health Tobacco Act will apply to several key aspects of the new rules and will allow travel retailers to display a pictorial list of products up until 2013.

Film makers are hoping to record the largest official gathering of zombies at this year’s Big Chill Music Festival.

Festival-goers at the Big Chill in Ledbury on 6th August have been asked to be extras in “I spit on your rave”, a collaboration between WARP films and Film4.

People have been asked to arrive in costume for filming but make up will be on hand to get that authentic zombie look!

1,227 people took part in the largest official “zombie walk” so far in Nottingham in 2008 but at this year’s Big Chill Festival at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury they hope to smash this and get into the Guinness Book of Records as the “Most Amount of Zombies Captured on Camera”.

This year’s Big Chill Festival runs from 6th – 9th August with a line up including Andy Askins, Annie Nightingale, Basement Jaxx, Jazzie B, Marina and the Diamonds, Orbital and Wonky Pop to name but a few.

If you going along to the Big Chill make sure you’ve got your Festival Day Survival Kit or if you’re lucky enough to be there for the 3 days, your Festival Weekend Survival Kit and travel size toiletries.

Ryanair have announced that it plans to end all passenger baggage check-in at the airports from which it operates next year.

From October the airline will still allow baggage to be checked in for the hold but will make significant charges for the “service”.

Ryanair have already introduced a totally online check-in system, where passengers print out boarding passes at home. If they forget, it costs £40 to have it reissued at the airport. They then check their baggage in for the hold at a “bag drop” at the airport.

Under the latest plan, passengers will be allowed to carry more bags through security (two or more, according to the respective airports’ rules) to the aircraft. They would then leave all but one bag at the aircraft steps, possibly paying £5 per bag for each placed in the hold.

“What it means is no more waiting at the carousel, no more losing your bags, no more wasting your life in over-priced airport terminals. You can bring unlimited bags as long as you can get them through security.” Mr O’Leary said.

Obviously this move also benefits the airline. Ryanair believes the move could save them £26 million a year, as they would need just one baggage handler per plane instead of five.

This will have a major impact on what passengers can actually pack in their baggage for their holiday, as all their travel size toiletries will now be subject to the airport security regulations for the carriage of liquids.

London Luton Airport (LLA), who saw their passenger numbers increase to over 10 million in 2008, are introducing a new range of charges for access and parking at the airport from July 1st 2009.

The most contentious of which is that they will begin charging drivers £1 to drop off passengers from July 1st. In order to use the Priority Set Down Area, you will have to pay a £1 charge for 10 minutes, although the vehicle cannot be left unattended at any time during this period.

However, there are still other options available for pick up and drop off parking for motorists from both the Mid Term and Short Term Airport Car Parks.

In the Airport’s Mid Term Car Park, you can park for free for up to 60 minutes and use the free bus service to and from the airport terminal. The buses depart every 10 minutes and the journey takes around 2 minutes.

In the Airport’s Short Term Car Park, you will be able to park for up to 15 minutes for £2.50 or up to 30 minutes for £4.50. Blue Badge holders will be able to use dedicated disabled parking bays free of charge for up to 60 minutes. The airport terminal is around a 4 minute walk from this car park.

Luton Airport already charges £1 for the use of luggage trolleys and if you need a clear plastic bag to take to take liquids through security that will cost you another £1.

Just to emphasise the case that “time is money” at Luton Airport, you can also pay £3 to use a “priority lane” to get “fast tracked” through security.

Whatever Airport you plan to depart from for this years summer holiday make sure you’ve got all your travel size toiletries and liquids in a clear plastic bag ready to go through security. It will save you time and hassle, as well as avoiding Luton Airport’s £1 charge for a plastic bag!

The new Clarins “Well-Being Stop-Over” kits focus on moisturising the skin, to counter the effects of jet lag, dehydration and fatigue that flying can cause. There is one set for women and one set for men.

Clarins has provided Air France with amenity kits for Air France First and Business Class travellers since 2004 but will now provide travel size kits for general in flight purchase.

Each set will retail at €29 and contains four travel size, security-friendly skincare products in a clear zip topped plastic bag which are said to provide all the moisture that your skin needs both during and after flying.

In addition, with the purchase of each set, travellers will receive a special 10% discount coupon valid for treatments and massages at selected Clarins outlets.

Clarins Travel Size Kits

The “Well-Being Stop-Over Women” set contains a 30ml HydraQuench Cream, a 50ml Hand and Nail Treatment Cream, a 15ml Colour Quench Lip Balm and a 100ml Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser.

The “Well-Being Stop-Over Men” set contains a 50ml Moisture Balm, a 20ml Active Hand Care, a Lip Guard and a 30ml Active Face Wash.

Before you fly you might want to check out our Travel Size Clarins range or bag an even better bargain with a Clarins Trousse for dry skin or Clarins Trousse for combination skin.

No – it’s not a new band headlining at the Glastonbury Festival!

With less than two weeks to go before the Glastonbury Festival starts, it’s our pick of the top ten travel size toiletries you can get to save valuable space when you pack your rucksack for your camping trip to Glastonbury.

With nearly a million of us enjoying this years “sell-out” Festival season you can’t start planning your trip to Glastonbury early enough and make sure you’ve got your travel size toiletries in advance.

1. Simple Travel Size Companion Mini Set – 4 travel size toiletries inside a clear plastic zip lock bag. Perfect skincare for the Festival in a tiny wash bag.
2. Carex Travel Size Hand Gel with Aloe Vera – The tiny travel size 50ml bottle provides up to 100 applications and kills 99.9% of bacteria without needing soap and water.
3. Nuage Anti-Perspirant Deodorant Spray – A slim line 25ml travel size deodorant that gives you 24 hour protection for the (hopefully) hot days and warm nights.

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Get Rid Of The Old Folks And Party

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, suggested that teenagers get rid of embarrassing parents and party this summer by snapping up one of Ryanair’s Father’s Day Gift Vouchers which are available from just €25 on www.ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Father’s Day gift vouchers are the ideal gift for those who think that Mom and Dad could do with a relaxing holiday -  or simply those who really need a break from their parents. Ryanair’s gift vouchers can be redeemed online for a relaxing week in the sun or great value city break on Ryanair’s 850 routes across 26 countries.

The Father’s Day vouchers are available until Sunday 21st June 2009.

If you still need something special for Dad for Father’s Day check out the great travel size toiletries or Father’s Day Special Offers at our online shop.

London Mayor Boris Johnson this afternoon unveiled emergency measures to keep London moving as the 48-hour London Tube strike looks set to go ahead.

The strike is due to begin at 7pm on Tuesday 9th June and will bring the London Underground to a halt on Wednesday and Thursday, with normal service due to be restored on Friday 12th June.

The London Underground, affectionately known as the Tube, is used by around 3.5 million passengers a day and its closure will have a huge impact on the whole of public transport services across London.

The Mayor has unveiled plans to cope with the additional “surge” in passenger numbers for the rest of the network as follows:

Buses – London buses operate around 700 routes with services being boosted by up to 100 extra buses on key routes on strike days.

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