As a proud Welsh company, we were very excited to read that Rhossili Bay in South Wales has been voted Britain’s best beach – sounds of celebratory corks popping.

It is safe to say the beach stomped to victory in the Cadbury Flake 99 Great British Beach Awards 2010, receiving nearly 50 per cent of the votes. Next was Tresco in the Isle of Scilly receiving a humble 19 per cent.

I am completely biased, I know, but that stretch of beach is one of the most picturesque and beautiful locations in the world, and I am pleased to see that it is getting the recognition it deserves.

Go Wales!

I am sure you will all remember the tragic E-Coli outbreak in the South Wales Valley, which resulted in the death of a five-year-old boy and 157 others falling ill. After an inquest of into the outbreak, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) pledged to roll out a Scores on the Doors system in Wales, designed to help customers decide where to eat and buy their food by grading restaurants and other food outlets on their hygiene levels following inspections.  The results of these inspections were expected to be available online by autumn this year.

Being a Welsh company and in the business of helping to keep people safe from food hygiene risks, I have been following this story closely and I was really disappointed to read that a full set of the Score on the Doors results would not be available until 2012.

Over 200 local authorities in the UK already have a grading system in place and it’s disappointing to see that Wales is falling behind in providing important information which could affect the wellbeing of the public. The implementation of the grading scheme in Wales has been far too gradual, meaning that the potential for outbreaks of food related illness is still a very real possibility.

Existing information on food outlets should be made available online immediately, rather than waiting for a full set of results to be published. Bacteria such as E-coli will always reside where conditions and food hygiene is poor, so it’s important that the public has access to recent inspection results. The public can use this to make informed and safe decisions about where to eat and which food suppliers to use, without having to wait for the full Scores on the Doors results.

It’s unacceptable for consumers to have to wait until 2012 to see inspection scores for their local food outlets. The FSA needs to work swiftly to ensure that up to date and accurate inspection results are available for the general public, bringing standards in line with the rest of the UK.

OK, so this entry isn’t necessarily about health and safety or food posioning, but I thought it was worth a mention nevertheless.

I was reading this month’s issue of HotelBusiness and I stumbled upon an article about a piece of research by Jurys Inn. The hotel chain surveyed 4,000 consumers to get their opinion of what cities were the most and least welcoming. Both lists are below:

The most unwelcoming cities in the UK:

1. London

2. Glasgow

3. Bradford

4. Birmingham

5. Liverpool

6. Manchester

7. Aberdeen

8. Wolverhampton

9. Belfast

10. Leeds

The most welcoming cities in the UK

1. Southampton

2. Norwich

3. Exeter

4. Brighton

5. Plymouth

6. York

7. Oxford

8. Nottingham

9. Derby

10. Portsmouth

As many of you know, Check Safety First is headquartered in Chepstow, Wales, and very proud of it. So, you can imagine my disappointment to see that not one Welsh city made the list of most welcoming places. I might be biased, but Wales is home to some of the friendliest people you will ever have the pleasure to meet. We demand a recount

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the lists?

Source: www.sejour-vacances-ski.com

So, has the recent snow and big freeze tempted you to take a winter holiday, or would you prefer to hibernate until the summer kicks in?

Personally, I am sick of the winter, but if you’re not then here’s a list of suggestions for perfect winter sports and activity breaks:

1-    Build shelters and spot bats by day and snuggle up your log cabin by night in Yorkshire.

2-    The more adventurous of us may fancy searching for snow buntings in the Highlands.

3-    A Narnia-inspired skiing break for the family in Switzerland.

4-    Blast away the cobwebs in the Lake District by hiking with ice picks and crampons.

5-    Adrenaline junkies might like the sound of speeding around in snow scooters in France.

6-    If your kids are missing the snow now it’s melting they fancy this ‘Snowmen in Sweden’ break.

7-    A scenic cross-skiing adventure overlooking pine forests in Scotland.

8-    Learn essential survival skills in Derbyshire, including how to light a fire from a bow drill.

9-    Those who like orienteering might prefer to navigate their way round Bienn Damph in Scotland.

10- Finally, a mountain bike trek with a visit to a Welsh Whisky distillery – an interesting, and potentially dangerous, combination.