| Fast rail offering hip personalised travel
E-TICKETS, on-board DVD rentals, events, and even new encounters French rail's new iDTGV trains are testing a new way of travel. Music blares from a speaker in a bustling bar and conversations get louder as customers just out of Paris meetings trickle in, settle down and order drinks. The barman hands over a beer, spilling a little as the brightly-coloured buffet car on the top deck of a customised high-speed TGV train rolls into its three-hour journey to the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. Joined to a regular TGV train, this iDTGV, playing on the French word "idee" or "idea", is operated privately, but owned by the national SNCF rail company and designed as a laboratory for future rail travel. Planned party train on the way The iDTGV was launched in December 2004 and offers cheaper tickets, internet reservations, and services aimed at pleasing passengers, including a soon-to-be launched party train, to help the SNCF better compete with low cost airlines.
Bridal Bargains
Soon-to-be brides packed the Friends Center of Southern Ohio Medical Center on Sunday looking for bargains and wedding ideas at the 2008 Bridal Expo.Rhonda Ballengee, of By Design Floral and Bridal in Sciotoville, is chair of the committee that hosts the annual event - along with Tammy Wagner, of Party On Rentals in Wheelersburg, as treasurer. She said it started at the Ramada Inn about 12 years ago, but her committee took over the show about six years ago.During the show, retailers like Ballengee and Wagner can setup displays for interested brides-to-be to browse through. Wagner said it was a great way for local shops to get their names out to the public.Along with Party On Rentals were displays for event planners, caterers, photographers, disc jockeys, videographers, limousine services and much more.
Oh, for an intelligent social engineer
Because of their disadvantage they have foolish and irresponsible attitudes to money, which they spend unwisely. They can't be trusted not to spend it on drinking, smoking, junk food and other unhealthy things; nor can they be trusted to spend their time wisely in exercise and study - instead they will sit around watching television, and not even ABC programs. And young women can't be trusted not to have babies for money. Therefore it is necessary to take them in hand, assign social workers and other advisers to tell them what to do and what to eat, and above all, not give them money without strings. That is pretty much what most of the criticism of the Federal Government's new family tax payments and baby bonuses is about. It is ironic that much of this is coming from the Labor Party, which once campaigned strongly against the idea of paying the dole in kind (food orders, and so on) during the Depression, and sponsored the introduction of the Maternity Benefit - the now forgotten one-off payment to new mothers.
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