When it comes to spending time outdoors, many people know that it is wise to wear sunscreen if you are going to be exposed to the sun for a long period. What many people don’t know is that there is also special UV protective clothing designed to offer you even more protection.What is UV protective clothing?UV protective clothing, as the term suggests, is clothing that protects you from the UV rays of the sun. It differs from normal clothing in that it blocks up to twice as many UV rays, and as a result is more expensive. The popular fabric choices for these types of garments are nylon, lycra and polyester. With everyday clothing you get some protection, but this depends on how close the fibers are together, and this often means warmer outfits on hot days, which can be counterproductive. This will protect you from the sun, even on those seemingly harmless cloudy days.Why is it better?While sunscreen and UV protection clothing essentially have the same function, the clothing option would be the better choice simply because it is more convenient. With sunscreen you have to reapply the lotion often and you can often miss spots. With clothing you put on one garment, which does not rub or sweat off. This is good for kids who like to have fun and dread having to make frequent stops to get screened. You won’t be exposing nasty chemicals to your skin or worry about your child’s sensitive skin being affected by them. It is also better than sunscreen because it protects against more of the UV rays so is more effective.UV protective clothing is a good investment if you spend a lot of time outdoors and want to take care of the good health of your skin.
Travel and the Economy
In spite of the global melt down and the economic crisis facing many an industry, there is one industry that is still thriving. The travel industry. Recession or no recession, people have to travel and they do. Not only domestically but also internationally. Not only for personal purposes but also for business and for tourism also. We can almost say that the stress of the economic depression is making people travel and relax!There is a saying that goes: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. And, on the same analogy, one individual’s idea of relaxation might be a villa in the South of France overlooking the beach and the sea, surrounded by “Abigails and Andrews” whereas that of another may be a tent in a remote spot on the same beach.Just like in housing, where houses are being foreclosed and going for a song and it is a “buyers market”, the travel business is also on cloud nine and the offers for a memorable vacation in some of the exotic places on the planet surround the potential traveler. Travel agents the world over are trying their best to get people to travel. It is now time to take advantage of these offers and have a rollicking holiday in a new place.But do you choose a place and do your budget or do you do your budget and choose a destination. The second is the wiser course as the first may turn out to be unaffordable. But there are such o lot of offers that you can even choose a place and then do your budget. Just see to it that it does not get you in the red, financially.Once you have made up your mind to go somewhere for a vacation, immediately a number of questions popup. Is your passport current? What are the places that you are going to visit at your destination? What kind of accommodation are you going to live in? An independent house, a condo or a hotel room? What about transportation? You have to choose a location that is fairly easily accessible from the place of your stay. Try finding a resort that has its own transportation to the local attractions.These are only some of the factors that you have to consider before setting out on your dream vacation. But whatever maybe, this is the ideal time for you to take that ideal vacation and make use the travel deals on offer.
What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime
What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.
As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.
That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.
Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.
Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.
Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.
Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.
That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.
Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.
Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.
My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.
Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.
And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.
All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:
• Farm eggs
• Fresh vegetables
• Cow’s milk
• Freshly baked bread
• Coal for our open fires
Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.
Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.
Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.
Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.
My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.
The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.
Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.
Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.
People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.
In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.
Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.
• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.
• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.
• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.
On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.
Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.
We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.
Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.
My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.