Argus Car Hire

The season of cackling witches, flickering jack-a-lanterns, crackling fireworks, sugary treats and cheeky trickery is once again upon us. Traditionally a time of renewal and reflection, in recent years, Halloween has seen an explosion in popularity, especially amongst children. Here at Argus we’ve come up with a round up of most magical Halloween events on offer this October 31st.

Origins:

Halloween dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was the celebration of the pagan new year in Ireland, Northern France and the United Kingdom. Celts believed that on the eve of the new year, the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. To celebrate the event, Druids built huge bonfires, where people burned crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic gods. During the ceremony, the Celts wore costumes, usually consisting of animal heads and skins and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. By 800 AD, Christianity had spread to the Celtic lands and with it came a number of feast days. In 1000AD Samhain was replaced with three sacred days to honour saints and martyrs-The eve of All Saints, All Saints and All Souls Day. Together they were known as ‘Hallowmas.’ The festivities were celebrated similarly to Samhain, with bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils..

As Europeans migrated to the United States, they gradually brought with them various Halloween traditions. Millions of Irish fled to the United States to escape the Potato Famine of the 1840s and helped to popularise the festival in the United States. Borrowing from Irish and English customs, Americans eventually began to dress up and go from door to door asking for food or money, a practice that became known as ‘trick or treating’. By 1900 Halloween parties for parents and children became the most common way to celebrate the day. Today Halloween is the second biggest holiday in the United States.

Disneyland Resort Paris

Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Disneyland Paris is promising a frightfully good show this Halloween. Between October 6th and November 4th 2007, the Disneyland Resort Park will be overrun with Disney Villains, Pink Witches, and Pumpkin Men in what can only be described as ‘merry mischief’..

Ghoulish Goings-On Include:

• Daily Halloween Show by Disney Villains at Sleeping Beauty Castle
• ‘Halloweeniversary’ cooking lesson with Goofy
• Soireé Halloween (October 31st)
• Fireworks display as part of the Soirée Halloween
• From 8.30pm-1am, the park’s attractions will remain open for a night of spooky spectacles hosted by Captain Jack Sparrow.

Disneyland Florida

Billed as ‘Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party’, from October 4th to November 2nd 2007, Disneyland Florida really gets into the spirit of Halloween with an extravaganza of parades, fireworks displays and Halloween costume parties.

Halloween Party Highlights Include:

• Trick-or-treating throughout the Magic Kingdom Park at various locations.
• A HappyHalloWishes fireworks spectacular (Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky)
• Mickey’s ‘Boo-to-You’ Halloween parade
• Disney characters disguised in their favourite Halloween costumes.

Bookmark:

API Spanish Air Travel Security Procedures

UK and Ireland customers flying to Spain (including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands) from September 19th 2007 are advised to allow extra time for airport check-in on account of new security measures launched by the Spanish Government.

Under the new regulations, airlines must provide the Spanish authorities with certain personal information about passengers before the aircraft departs. This information is known as Advance Passenger Information (API).

The required information is taken from the coded strip at the back of the traveller’s passport and includes:

• Full Name
• Nationality
• Date of Birth
• Passport Number

Some airlines may require passengers to register their API information before arrival at the airport either through their website or travel agent.

Spain is the EU’s first country to require the collection of API for visitors, but the policy is expected to be adopted by other member states within the next twelve months.

Ryanair Check-In Charges

From September 20th, passengers of no-frills airline Ryanair are to be charged €3 (£2) for check-in at airports. The airline is on a major drive to encourage online check-in, offering a number of incentives for online check-in passengers:

• Passengers who check-in online will board the aircraft before those who choose to check-in at the airport.

• Up to September 20th, Ryanair was charging €6 (£4) for online check-in but is now scrapping the charge.

Ryanair has justified the new charges by saying that they reflect the cost of providing the service. Check-in fees are the latest in a range of changes being introduced at the airline.

• In March 2007, Ryanair introduced charges of €3.50 (£2.50) for carry-on luggage for flights booked online and €7 (£5) per bag if presented without booking at the airport. Subsequent bags cost an extra €3.50 (£2.50) each.

In efforts to reduce excess baggage fees, Ryanair has increased its luggage allowance from 25kg to 30kg, which breaks down as 10kg in carry-on luggage and 20kg in check-in luggage.

Bookmark:

At Argus Car Hire, your safety is always our priority. As the seasons change, so too do road conditions. Fog, floods and black ice…the winter months trigger a number of potential dangers which can make driving difficult and hazardous. The following is a guide to precautions that should be heeded when venturing out on the open road this winter.

Golden Rules for Winter Driving:

• Slow down
• Set aside extra time to complete the journey
• Keep your distance

Driving in Foggy Conditions:

• Use dipped headlights
• Reduce your speed
• Drive a safe distance from the car in front of you. A good way to gauge distance is if the tail-lights of the car in front of you are visible, you’re too close.
• Allow extra time for your journey to avoid rushing in poor visibility.

Driving Through a Flood:

• Keep engine revs high and speed low
• If travelling through the flood spot, go slow enough to avoid drowning the electrics or loosing grip.
• If you’ve passed through deep water, check your brakes to make sure that no damage has occurred.

How to Avoid a Skid:

Look out for potential dangers such as wet leaves, shady areas, black ice and frost, especially on bridges. Black ice most commonly occurs in very cold conditions on wet roads. Special care is advised at night on exposed bends, underneath trees and bridges where light is poor and on higher ground.

• Reduce speed as soon as you see a potential skid spot.
• Never brake quickly. If you have made the mistake of braking too quick, release them immediately, then reapply again quickly but gently.
• Reduce acceleration, but don’t take your foot completely off the accelerator.
• Use the highest gears possible under the conditions. As you gently brake, move down in your gears until you come to a gradual halt.

Winter Car Care:

Never use boiling water to clear a frozen windscreen-it can damage the glass.  Always keep a can of de-icer handy.

Watch out for pedestrians and cyclists! Poor visibility puts vulnerable road users at even greater risk. 

Bookmark: