Weather not so good in Britain & Ireland Try and find the sun

Is this like the view from your window?



The BBC website reports "You will need a brolly on holiday in the UK in August - the Met Office is issuing a revised forecast for more unsettled weather well into the month. It is a far cry from the "barbecue summer" it predicted back in April."

Want to get away from it? There are a great choice of self catering holiday homes in Southern Europe and other destinations on the jmlvillas.com website.

Pay a visit today, make arrangements direct with the owner, make sure you take out Travel insurance


If you are renting a car Holiday Autos is one of Europe's leading car rental companies, offers great deals to top European destinations including Paris, Rome, London, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. Renting a car through holiday autos gives you the chance to escape the crowds and enjoy the freedom to explore Europe at your leisure. We partner with only high-quality trusted suppliers, and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that you have the best vacation car rental experience when you book with holiday autos!

Finally if you do rent a car visit the new insurance4carhire.com site and buy your car hire excess from a provider on the site.

By the way, it does rain in southern Europe in the summer too. The picture on this blog was taken in the south pof France in the middle of summer about four years ago.

The weather forecasters could still be wrong and northern Europe an ideal location to stay at.

Furnished rental on AST available at Wexham, Slough Berks

A neatly furnished ground floor apartment on the outskirts of Slough, Berks at Wexham has just come on the market.

Ideal for anyone working at Wexham Park Hospital, Pinewood Film Studios or in the general Slough Stoke Poges area.

It would suit a couple or one person (sorry no room for children and regret no pets)

Letting agents Staples and King in Cippenham have full details - Further picures and info here

Their contact number is 01628 661469 or by email lettings@staplesandking.co.uk

The property has a minimum let of six months and is available long term. There is parking and shared gardens. Part of the garden is very private.

Buses run a 30 second walk away on the Wexham Road and the M4, M25 motorways are close at hand as is London Heathrow Airport.

What will London Luton Airport charge for next

In late June the taxi took us to London Luton Airport that was once a great place to travel from. Now you have the feeling that they will shortly be influenced by one of their major customers Ryanair and even charge for the toilets.

They have this speedy security check in scheme. It means you pay £3.00 per person to "jump the queue". On a very hot Saturday afternoon there were not many people travelling and we passed through the "normal security" in under 5 minutes.

Upon our return the taxi driver had to pay £1.00 to pick us up and I had to do exactly the same earlier this week when I dropped off some relatives. The only alternative is to park on a dangerous yellow line or at the car park that is a 2 minute bus ride away!

They have also introduced charges for baggage trolleys. Unlike most airports that have a similar scheme to supermarkets and DIY stores whereby you put a £1 / €1 into the trolley to release it and get it back, At Luton it keeps it!!

What a welcome for the visitor to England. We need returning visitors in the present economy and to start taking money off them as soon as they arrive at the airport like this is not good.

The airport is owned by Luton Borough Council but is operated, managed by London Luton Airport Operations Ltd and the majority shareholders are Spanish.

No doubt this company is trying to sueeze as much money as possible from the travelling public. What a difference it Nice Airport for example. There is the "Kiss and Fly" drop off zone (no charge), Free car parking for a few minutes and they even allow dogs to greet their owners friends.

Mind you, everyone wants to charge when they can. I was shopping for food in High wycombe, Bucks yesterday afternoon.

Sainsburys are having a new store built opposite the Eden shopping centre. They have a temporary store off the beaten track in an industrial area. It is situated in a marquee. There is a car park in front of it and you have to pay to use it 50p 30 mils, £1 an hour etc. You have to spend £15 or more to get the car park costs back. As I had only spent just over £9.00 I could not get my 50p back.

Had I gone to Morrisons which much more in the centre, the car parking is free as is with so many supermarkets. I appreciate that these stores have their car parks for their customers, however when you establish a car park in an industrial area and put a tent there with a supermarket in it, I think this is pure greed Wycombe District Council.

It certainly puts me off shopping at Sainsburys in High Wycombe. One thing though., they did not make you put money in the trolley or even keep it. Now that is something supermarkets could do, imagine the profits then!!

Holiday Home owners must keep contact details up to date

A major problem we experience at www.jmlvillas.com is that an advertiser of a self catering holiday rental does not keep his / her contact details up to date.

Most people wanting to rent a vaccation rental will use the contact box to send an enquiry email. The system does not work if the owner has changed an email address and forgets to login on the "owners" part of the site to change the details.

When an owner advertises, they can include their email address (which is not exposed, but the message is forwarded to them) a direct link to their website, mobile and landline phones and a fax number...who still uses faxes much these days?

It is a great shame people don't do this as they then think they are not receiving enquiries.

Another problem we have discovered is that when the enquiry is sent to an advertiser is has been bloocked by an anti spam device on their computer. So if you are an advertiser, do make sure that you do not do this.

Advertising on jmlvillas.com is still very good value. Only £11.75 for one year including VAT. For 365 days (and nights) a year. Advertise in a colur magazine or paper and the ad (which can often be on a small circulation) only lasts a matter of weeks or days and usually costs a lot more.

A few years back even putting a postcard ad in a local newsagent was costing around 50p a week. How many people would see it compared to the number finding the property and the full details on the web.

Please keep the details up to date and the enquiries will reach you.

More holiday news from Cyprus

Irene has just sent in her latest news of what is going on in Cyprus.

Firstly: The improvements to the coast road between Paphos and Agios Georgios are almost finished and there is a new roundabout now at the Coral Bay/Peyia turn off, so please adjust your directions, if relevant. And just past this roundabout, on the right going towards Agios Georgios, you will find the brand new Philipos Supermarket which is badly needed in this area. Philip has assured us of the same competitive prices as offered at his original supermarket in Peyia behind the church, and for Sundance Villas clients spending over 50 Euros you can claim a free bottle of wine.

Then, Children and water. We all know children and water do not mix. And holidays are so much more relaxing when children can swim. When mine were babies they learnt to swim early by wearing a poly otter costume with removable floats. As the child becomes more proficient you simply remove the floats and eventually they are swimming with no floats! Another benefit of this type of costume is that the child's arms are not restricted, as they are with arm bands. These costumes are available for babies through to adults, and there are costumes for disabled people too. Poly otter/Zoggs also have sun resistant float costumes too, including some with t shirts which could prevent children and babies getting burnt shoulders. Prices start at around £20 and GB Sports are offering 10% off.

And talking of learning to swim, you may have viewed our new All Season Villa Ampeliti with the heated indoor pool. This is an ideal property for non (and nervous) swimmers to learn to swim in privacy. And most adults over 5' 3" can stand up anywhere in the pool. As it is our first season we have been comparing Villa Ampeliti indoor pool temperatures for the last couple of months, with our outdoor pools (which are really warm now) and Villa Ampeliti has been around 29' which is about 2' warmer than outside pools. We are aiming to keep it to around 26' all year which is comfortable and warmer than most indoor pools in UK. All Cyprus properties are at http://www.jmlvillas.com/search.php?country=Cyprus

Have you thought of Buying in Cyprus?

Now is a fantastic time to consider buying in Cyprus as the Euro rate is recovering, and the market has been flat, so sellers are welcoming buyers with open arms. Here are some recent amazing sales: A 3 bedroom detached villa in Tala, with stunning views, pergola, BBQ, all screens included, central heating, full A/C and fully furnished was originally on the market for ?444,000. (£376,000 Sterling). It sold for just €300,000. (£254,237 Sterling).

And another incredible bargain, a 5 bedroom villa in Tala, heated swimming pool, many extras, originally €470,000, (£398,305 Sterling) sold for ?320,000 (£271,186). It definitely pays to put offers in!

If you would like a List of our Properties starting with a bargain 1 bedroom apartment with pool in Kato Paphos at just €55,000.

That is allfrom her for now, however at the busy of time of year don't forget your Travel Insurance, Car Hire or Car Hire Excess Insurance and you could soon be taking advantage of a late summer holiday.

Changing babies nappies in French restaurants

Last week on two consecutive days in the south of France, babies were having their nappies changed on restaurant tables. In both cases they were outside, however the outside area actually formed part (and in one case all) of the restaurant.

In Biot on a Wednesday evening there was this mother changing her baby with diners all around, fortunately I was not in close proximity. The next day at lunchtime in Villefranche sur Mer, I had just finished eating, but others had not and this couple put their baby on a pad on the plastic table cloth on the table they had been eating at and proceeded to carry out the change operation.

Apart from offending those enjoying their food, had I walked past that restaurant whilst the baby was being changed, I would not have wanted to eat there.

It must be a difficult situation for restaurant owners, however as I have never seen this happen before wonder if this is a “one off” or rather two off situation or has it come common now in France.

In both cases the restaurants (like many older smaller establishments) only had very small toilets, however I did notice that on the Thursday the baby’s parents had a very smart pram and the operation could have been carried out in/on the pram in the street outside.

It would be interesting to hear other similar stories, as I don’t personally think this helps the much quieter tourist industry this year.

The Old Village, Loule - Portugal - Golf

The name sound more English than Portugese however there are Townhouses and Apartments in The Old Village in Vilamoura. Look at the view of the golf course on the left.



This Old Village Townhouse is an unusual private development nestling within the Pinhal Golf Course in Vilamoura. It was modeled on the famous development of Port Marian in Wales, which was made famous by the television program "The Prisoner". The Townhouse has 3 bedrooms set within colourful gardens and is completely individual in design, furnishings and location.

The old village development must be one of the most tranquil settings for your holiday accommodation in Vilamoura, with it's cobbled streets with no cars or traffic making it completely safe for children. Accommodation in Vilamoura is just 15 minutes walk to the centre of Vilamoura, and 20 minutes to the nearest beach. From Vilamoura and the old village you can travel by bus to anywhere in the Algarve, and the taxi service around Vilamoura and Quarteira is very reasonable priced. The Old Village is safe for children and tranquil as no traffic is allowed on the streets, it has 3 swimming pools for the use of the guests.

If you want to find out more visit jmlvillas.com HERE If you have stayed at this development let us have your comments.

Take a Summer Break at a Resort on The Algarve - Portugal

Elaine has contacted us saying they have some availability for July and August in luxury villas, townhouses and apartment resorts throughout the Algarve.

She says "We have two, three, four and five bedroom villas in Vale do Lobo that range from €1800 to €3000 euros per week in July and August."

There are beautifully furnished two bedroom spacious apartments look over Vilamoura Marina and is a short walk to the Blue Flag awarded Falesia Beach. An ideal location. The price is €1000 euros per week for July and August. See these great holiday self catering rentals at jmlvillas.com.

There are holiday rentals available in Albufeira - Alentejo - Almancil - Beiras - Carvoeiro - Costa de Prata - Loule - Meia Praia - Porches - Quinta do Lago - Rest of the Algarve - Vale Do Garrao - Vale do Lobo - Valverde -Vilamoura -West Coast of Portugal including Lisbon.

If you have been to the Algarve on holidays (as I did some 30 plus years ago) share your experiences on this blog.

How about a holiday on the Norfolk Broads?

This recently added self catering holiday rental on the Norfolk Broads also has an indoor heated swimming pool. It might be around 32 degrees in parts of England at the moment. but it is not often that warm. So it is great to be able to swim inside in your own pool.

The house that is featered at english cottage rental.com has 3 bedrooms (SLEEPS UP TO 6) - 1 bathrooms - Dishwasher - Washing machine - Satellite TV - Private pool - Pets welcome - Beach nearby - Bars nearby - TV " Close to River - Restaurants nearby - Internet access - Microwave - Lake nearby - Park nearby - Close to airport - Golf .

Shangri La, Rollesby, Norfolk England situated in a rural location within 5 minutes walking distance of Rollesby and Ormesby Broads, within 10 minutes driving of Great Yarmouth. It has quite a large lounge, separate sitting room, quite large kitchen, utility room, all fully equipped, large conservatory cum dining room. 3 double sized bedrooms, one with king size bed, one double bed and one with twin beds. A downstairs cloakroom with toilet, and upstairs family sized bathroom with jacuzzi bath and separate shower cubicle. Outside is large garden area, with separate indoor heated swimming pool. Across the road is a large playing field with childrens playground. Out front is room for 4 cars on the driveway.

What else do to do there apart from swimming in the pool?

Great Yarmouth with large sandy beaches and leisure facilities, including horse racing stadium, golfing facilities etc., is less than 10 minutes drive. Within walking distance are 2/3 excellent restaurants, the nearest local shop is 5 minutes driving by car, the nearest supermarket is less that 10 minutes by car, the nearest town is Great Yarmouth which is approx. 10 minutes by car.

This self catering rental is situated within the middle of a concentrated area of natural beauty, areas of historic importance. A perfect area for walkers, such as Peddars Way. It is suitable for all - from families who wish to spend hours on the beach, also frequenting the leisure complexes and circus events etc., of Great Yarmouth, to those wanting a relaxing, walking or holiday with an occasional boat trip, or those who purely want a home from home experience with the benefit of having a pool in the back garden!

Ever had a holiday on the Norfolk Broads. Share your experiences with us via the blog.