Friday, 22 August 2014

LCH Weekend Wish List: 22nd August 2014

It's the last bank holiday weekend of the year so at LCH, we thought we'd give you our top picks of what to do over the long weekend!


Where to go?



As many of you may know (and have already based your bank holiday plans around it!), this weekend sees the return of the famous Notting Hill Carnival.

Notting Hill Carnival began in 1964 and is Europe's biggest street festival with around 2 million people visiting the 2 day event (and that's not including the 40,000 volunteers and 9,000 police officers!)

The Carnival itself is across Sunday and Monday but there are countless warm up and after parties across London (from Thursday to Monday night) if the 2 day event just isn't enough for you. 


Where to eat?



If attending the Carnival then you'll be spoilt for choice of what to eat. The Carnival boasts around 300 food stalls which collectively serves five tons of chicken, 30,000 corn on the cobs and one ton of rice and peas... So when it comes to where to eat, this one is down to you!



Where to drink?



Again, you needn't look far to find somewhere to quench your thirst at the Carnival. Around five million hot and cold drinks are served over the 2 days, including 25,000 bottles of rum and 70,000 litres of carrot juice!

Generally though, there are only 2 things you should drink at Notting Hill Carnival: Red Strip from a can and Punch from a plastic cup!



Remember, however you're travelling to and from Notting Hill this weekend, make sure you plan ahead as there will be a lot of closures. You can look here on the TFL website for more details.

Thursday, 21 August 2014

LCH News Update: Car hire prices under scrutiny

Car Hire companies have been in the spotlight this week after the European Commission have raised concerns over the varying price of car rental in the EU.

For some, picking up the same hire car, from the same location at the same time, could cost considerably more depending on where your place of residence is in Europe. For example, the European Commission used as an example a German driver who was booking a hire car online for his visit to the United Kingdom. When he filled out that Germany was his place of residence, the cost of the hire then doubled. While some drivers are unable to make bookings at all due to their IP address!

Michel Barnier, vice-president of the European Commission has said:

            "Some companies were keeping to the non-discrimination principle, but it was not fully applied throughout the sector. 
The single market should be a daily reality, not only for major international companies, but also for consumers of Europe"

Car rental and leasing accounts for around 30,000 complains made to the European Consumer Centres network which deals with cross-border complaints and following this, the BVRLA have advised that they will work with the Commission to help regulate the cost of hires across Europe. 

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

LCH News Update: Motorway speed cameras

Driver's beware! A crackdown being led by Avon and Somerset police means that those who exceed the 70mph speed limit on motorways will be caught and issued fixed penalty notices or court summons. 

Motorway cameras, until recently, were mainly used during road works and at times where variable speed limits were in force, but as of the 27th June these cameras are being used just like any other speed camera.

This proposal was tested on stretches of the M4 and M5 in June this year. As a result, 549 drivers were caught travelling above 79mph (the actual speed limit which is calculated as 10% + 2mph) during the 2 week period! 

There is also a new generation of speed cameras being introduced onto our roads called Hadecs3 (Highways Agency Digital Enforcement Camera System). These are not placed overhead on gantries but discreetly mounted to the side. They, like the poles they are mounted on, are painted grey and require no white road markings to aid in speed readings.

These cameras have already been installed on stretches of the M25, so keep an eye on your speed between junction 5 and 7!