A conclusion based on conversations between myself and friends, colleagues and anyone that will talk to me, is that Channel 4’s superbly entertaining “Come Dine With Me” programme, is fast becoming a British TV viewers favourite.

If you’ve not seen it before, a quick summary of the programme is this:
4 or 5 members of the public (from all walks of life), who are not acquainted before the start of the show, take it in turns to host a dinner party for each other on consecutive nights. They then critique each other’s efforts and give a secret score out of ten; the host that scores the highest wins £1000 cash.

The greatest entertainment factors arguably are created by the very quick witted and rather sarcastic commentator (for viewers’ ears only) and the fact that they seem to vet the participants so that they fall into one or more of the following categories:

a) Socially Inept
b) Ideas above their station
c) Can Cook
d) Can’t Cook

…with the odd fussy eater thrown in for good measure.

I have to say, I’m addicted.

As well as delighting in the social characters, I love to see what creations are being made on the food front. Travel inspired dishes adorn each series with spices and herbs from around the world. Some successfully delivered and some not so!

Not brave enough to enter the show (even though I possible do fall into the required categories), I’m publishing my own recipe for ‘Albondigas” (Spanish Meatballs), for all you WeFly fans to try at home!

Just one thing, if this popular tapas dish inspires you to go to Spain to sample the real thing, remember you can book your low cost flights and hotel on WeFly.co.uk!

RECIPE FOR ALBONDIGAS (Spanish Meatballs)

Balls:
400g quality Pork Mince
1 onion – chopped finely
2 or 3 cloves of garlic – chopped finely
Dijon Mustard – 1 tablespoon
Tarragon – 1-2 tablespoons
Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil – for frying

Sauce:
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Good pinch of smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
First mix all the ingredients for the pork balls together well in a large bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large based frying pan. Take small portions of the pork mixture and mould into small balls by hand (approx. size of a plum) and place in the heated pan.
Brown each of the balls on all sides (do not cook through properly yet). You many need to do these in batches, depending on the size of your pan.

Then add the tin of tomatoes with the spices and seasoning. Similar gently on a low heat (with lid partly covering the pan) for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy as a Tapas Dish, accompanied with a glass of Spain’s wonderful red wine from the Rioja region.

Alternatively, add another tin of tomatoes when cooking to create extra sauce and serve with spaghetti or pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan on top.

I am the computer I sit glued to day in day out.
I am the dark rain cloud that sits above my office.
I am the wet washing on my clothes line.
I am the person that pays the bills.
I am the stuffy, packed commuter train that just keeps on going from A to B.
I am the irritable man that won’t let me lean over his shoulder to read his newspaper.
I am the bottle of wine I consume most evenings.
I am a holiday offer I booked on-line
I am the excited child that wants a ‘sit-on-pulley’ suitcase that my mum won’t buy me.
I am the aircraft that defies gravity and soars through the sky.
I am the sun that bakes down on glorious beaches
I am the breath of fresh air that I so needed.

I am who I am because of Wefly.co.uk

Credit to ‘Orange’ for such a catchy advertising campaign. It makes you think, why are you who you are? Any other “I am who I am” poems welcome! 

Ever Ever stayed in a hotel that was like something out of a Carry On film or Fawlty Towers? Watching Basil Fawlty belittle his guests upon check-in or Sid James propping up a hotel bar as the ceiling tumbles down around him may be hilarious to watch on TV but the humour disappears when in real life the hotel you’ve booked starts to show a scary resemblance.

Choosing the right hotel for the right price is everyone’s dilemma. Let’s face it, we are all looking for the best value for money, whether we are booking a 2* or a 5* hotel. Some of us are happy with just a clean bed for the night, others prefer to pamper themselves in complete luxury. Everyone’s expectations are different, so how can you make sure the hotel you are planning to book meets yours?

Well, rather than take the factual and sometimes glamorous write ups presented by the hotel itself at face value, how helpful would it be to have the unbiased and honest revues of fellow travellers that have stayed there before you?

Yes. That’s what we figured. That is why Wefly.co.uk has teamed up with TripAdvisor, one of the world’s leading on-line travel communities, where travellers from all over the world post their views about their experiences at various hotels. Wefly.co.uk offers literally 1000’s of hotels available to book on-line at very low prices, a growing number of which now have links to reviews from TripAdvisor.

So whilst we can’t exactly let you ‘try’ before you ‘buy’, we can help you ‘know’ before you ‘go’ and make a more informed decision before you book.

What’s been interesting for me to see, and a tip I’d pass on to you, is that the comments for  the same hotel can vary considerably, so be sure to read as many of the reviews as possible – not just the first one on the list. It really brings home that everyone’s expectations are so, so different and what works for one person, might not for others. However, the one thing that does work for all, is making sure you’re getting a good price – something Wefly.co.uk are superb at.  

Hong Kong vs Seoul City; USA vs Canada; Dubai vs Thailand. No, it’s not the line up for the World Cup, but the constant debate on where is best to buy the things we most desire at a price that’s unheard of in the UK.

Whether it’s electrical goods, tailored suits, gold jewellery, cosmetics or fashionable labels, snapping up the bargains abroad is very enticing for the British traveller. Whilst many of us choose a destination solely for our holiday needs, a growing number of Brits make their choice based upon the shopping benefits. Some claim they can even justify the cost of travel by making it up in savings on the goods they buy. Of course, there’s the added bonus of having fun and taking in some culture at the same time.

During September to early December, airports are awash with pre-Christmas shoppers going to the USA and such likes to buy their presents. With the pound doubling to two dollars, their suitcases are empty on the way out and packed full upon return. The US is particularly infamous for cheap cosmetics and personal care products with brands such as Clarins being as much as half the price than here in the UK. Well known clothing labels are also a key attraction, with everything from Levis to top designers.

Hong Kong has built a reputation for being a haven for purchasing electrical goods at a fraction the UK price and even tailored-suits. An up and coming rival to HK is the little known Seoul City, which claims to be even cheaper and offer better quality. With Korean Air airfares from London to Seoul City starting at around £453, it makes a fascinating alternative to the traditionally visited Asian cities.

What bargains have you found abroad, and which countries are best for which goods in your opinion? Let us know and we can add offers to that destination on our list of Shopping Break holiday deals on wefly.co.uk.

I don’t know about you, but the school Sports Day at my daughters’ school is a long awaited event that holds much expectation. Having practised their running techniques on the way to school every day for the last 10 months (partly so they can improve enough to beat the fastest kid in the class and partly because we’re always late), they were eager to put their skills to the test on the big day.

Of course, like Wimbledon, when the big day came it poured down. So much so that I felt like an extra in a biblical epic - all that was missing was Noah and his Ark. But being a true Brit, the head teacher was having none of the whimsical moaning about it being too slippery or the fact that it’s hard to run a race with your winter coat and hood on – no, we would make a start and hope for a break in the thunderous clouds! Needless to say, there was no break and after 45 minutes of being soaked through to the skin, it was given up as a bad job. Bitter disappointment drained their little faces as yet another year passes where they don’t get to beat the fastest kid in the class.

The need for having something else to look forward to is completely overwhelming. Whilst we are lucky enough to have a holiday booked during the summer break, the rain brought home to me just how horrid and depressing a long cold winter is without any sun, which is why I immediately came home and started to search for Winter Sun deals on wefly.co.uk. As a second holiday it couldn’t be too expensive but with it being winter, I knew that we’d need to go further afield to find the sun. I decided upon an All Inclusive resort as the spending money required for the holiday is next to nothing.

Whilst searching for myself, I found so many offers that I decided to put them on the wefly.co.uk offers page in case there are others out there feeling the same as me!

More and more people are marrying abroad these days and with the unreliability of British weather, it’s not hard to see the attraction. Using the setting of sun-soaked Greece as the location for the hilarious wedding in the new musical film, Mamma Mia!, is a prime example. Unfortunately not all of us have a guest list that are able to break out into a good old ABBA song every now and then in order to get things going!

Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. However the reality is that it’s often the most expensive day of your life and fringed with disappointments - and that’s not taking into account the husband or the weather!

Booking a wedding abroad brings even more anxieties than you might experience here in the UK. Relying on a tour operator to arrange this most important event, or an hotelier whose English is even poorer than your grasp of the local language can feel like you’re handing over your most prized possession to a stranger.

I have several friends that have taken the plunge overseas and they all have mainly good stories to tell, but it’s true that things can go wrong. From listening to all theirs, my main piece of advice is to try and visit the venue or at least the country you’re planning on getting married in first. This is not always easy if it is a 5* resort or so far afield that you can only afford to go to once in your life. However, the benefits of knowing the culture and setting and more importantly, liking the culture and setting you are taking your vows in will help you keep your expectations for your “Big Day” on the right level and feel like you have a little more control.

If you have enjoyed (or not enjoyed) taking your nuptials in another country and have advice for the WeTalk readers, we’d love to hear from you. Funny, Happy or Tearjerkers – we love a good wedding story.

Hello and welcome to WeTalk, the official blog of the top online travel site wefly.co.uk.

We’ll soon be using this blog to tell you what’s happening in the exciting world of WeFly - all our top offers, new promotions, site improvements and competitions, along with (we hope!) a dose of good old British humour.

Watch this space!