Not to harp on about the rain, but if you hate the idea of having to stop in the rain to pick up a video and then even more annoying, having to rush to make sure you get the video back before you are fined, you might like to try An Post's new online movie rental service, www.anpost.ie/movies. Here you go online and pick out your movie. It is posted directly to you (75% of post sent in Ireland reaches its destination within 24 hours with the remainder taking no longer than 2 days). You can keep the movie for as long as you like without a fine, and then send them back by post (prepaid envelope). There is no charge for postage. The cost to join is 7.99 (light users), and you can pay by credit card or laser. You can also enjoy a free trial if you think you would like to test the service first. Another special benefit is the wide variety of classic movies and not just the latest releases. I also love being able to watch the trailer and read reviews from others who have seen the movie before I order it!

www.mabs.ie

This website helps anyone who is either in debt or worried they may be getting into debt to manage and deal with their problems. It is full of practical advice and guides and written in good plain English, avoiding thankfully, financial services jargon. The adviceis suited to both personal and family debt. It also has lots of practical advice on how to stay out of debt in the first place and again all advice is easy to understand and follow (maybe not so easy to implement!). I particularly like the advice on negotiating with your bank or mortgage provider which is really easy to follow.

http://www.arthurdevany.com/

This website is all about a new approach to losing weight and keeping fit and young(ish)! Today we are told to eat regular meals consisting of a balance of the food groups and to take regular exercise, dominated by steady aerobic activity like cycling or jogging. This is all wrong! Well, it is according to Arthur Devany, the author of this website. Firstly let's stress that he is not selling anything, except for subscriptions to his website (less than 50 euro). His new approach is called Evolutionary Fitness. Basically he believes that our bodies' needs in terms of diet and exercise should based on our evolutionary make up, which is predominantly hunter-gatherer. Therefore we need to focus on eating fresh meat and fish as well as fruit and veg and avoid processed food and carbs (especially cereals)! He is building up a fair following and as I have been following his advice for the past 3 weeks, I feel much better and have far more energy. He also advises we take exercise to keep fit, but does not agree with the theory of regular exercise. Again, his reference point is our ancestors whose exercise was characterised by sudden and irractic exercise bursts, i.e. when hunting for food or running away from danger. But as always make sure you take advice from a qualified professional before embarking on any new diet and especially if you have any health issues, special dietary needs or are young or elderly.

http://www.i-escape.com

The rain is still pouring down. If you want to fantacise about exotic holidays and maybe even put a deposit down on some future sunshine, this lovely website could help! i-escape.com features a wonderful range of top of the market holidays. You can sign up to a really wonderful eNewsletter and receive more temptations into your gloomy office inbox. I'm afraid I have not managed to afford one yet, but I love it when I get my email update and spend a few minutes thinking about where I could be and view those gorgeous pictues of white beaches, luxury beach huts, outdoor showers, orange tress and a glass of cold chardonny. Ah, bliss.

www.boards.ie

This Irish website which is full of online boards and forums is really useful if you need to research a topic. Alternatively one of the guys in our office recently moved to Maynooth and used it to post queries to find out more about his new location and said it was a brilliant source of information for a new comer. So cut short the learning curve and post your query to boards.ie