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DEE SNIDER, BRUCE KULICK, RUDY SARZO, JOHN CORABI To Take Part In 'Monster Circus' Concert

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Carnival Fantasy New Orleans

Bargains galore as Christmas comes early for shoppers

Guardian Unlimited

- 21 hours and 41 minutes ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/41393?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+Bargains+galore+as+Christmas+comes+early+for+shoppersch=Businessc3=The+Guardianc4=Retail+industry+%28Business%29%2CChristmas+%28Life+and+style%29%2CBusiness%2CCredit+crunch+%28Business%29c5=Unclassified%2CCredit+Crunch%2CBusiness+Marketsc6=Julia+Finch%2CMartin+Wainwright%2CPatrick+Barkhamc7=2008_11_21c8=1121628c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=Retail+industryc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FRetail+industry" width="1" height="1" //divpShoppers were lured back on to the high street yesterday as stores slashed prices in an attempt to kickstart the vital Christmas trading period and shift unsold stock./ppIn the annual game of chicken between consumers and stores, the retailers have blinked first. There may still be 34 shopping days until Christmas, but over the past three weeks sales have fallen off a cliff for many retailers. Faced with what some analysts have warned could be the worst Christmas for 30 years as a result of falling house prices, rising unemployment and rock-bottom confidence, retailers have already resorted to price cuts and promotions./ppIt was Marks Spencer's decision to hold a one-day 20% off "spectacular"- for the first time in four years - that prised many reluctant shoppers out of their homes and offices. /ppBut the shop windows in the West End of London were plastered with posters promising bargains. Debenhams was in the middle of a three-day 25% off sale and there were sale signs up in Jane Norman, Mexx, Clarks, H Samuel, and Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group chains, including Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Bhs./ppNew figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested retail sales were proving unexpectedly resilient. The ONS said sales dropped by just 0.1% in October, leaving them 1.9% higher than last year. This was way ahead of forecasts in the City, where analysts had been predicting a slump of 0.9%./ppBut in recent months economists and retailers have repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the ONS figures. Even the Bank of England has suggested the data should be treated with caution./ppDavid Tinsley, an economist with nabCapital, predicted the official figures would soon catch up with reality: "The figure will probably crash around November or December."/ppSurprise sales can anger shoppers who have bought items at full price and yesterday some MS customers were certainly planning revenge. One woman, who asked to remain nameless, said several of her friends were buying items at 20% off which they had already purchased and planned to return with their original items another day to get a full refund./ppNevertheless, MS boss Sir Stuart Rose insisted the discounts had given the UK's biggest clothing retailer a much-needed boost: "It seems to have touched the spot. It's a riot."/ppShopper Judith Limbert, who had travelled to Oxford Street from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire for the MS sale, said consumers were waiting for bargains: "In the runup to Christmas I suspect people are going to hang on and hang on, waiting for sales." /ppLimbert had been planning to buy Christmas presents in MS but had been waiting to see if it would offer reductions. She said her family would definitely spend less this year and would look for bargains on the internet. "We've got less money in that our utility bills are higher and food bills are dearer."/ppA survey yesterday said that 80% of consumers plan to spend less this year and there was more gloom from credit rating agency Moodys, whose chief international economist, Ruth Stroppiana, warned: "Britain's retailing sector is expected to come under increasing pressure in coming quarters as the country's highly indebted households continue to rein in expenditure." /ppOver at the new Westfield shopping centre in west London, in the basement food hall of MS's vast store, trolleys were clattering through the tills./ppWith a recession around the corner, it was clearly time to stock up on champagne. A couple from Dorset were piloting a trolley laden with MS bubbly. They bought 36 bottles - and saved nearly pound;450 on the shelf price. /ppThe champagne was a triple bargain. On top of the 20% off was another 10% discount and a pound;5-a-bottle reduction for buying more than 12 bottles. The result was a pound;26 ticket price slashed to just pound;13 a bottle./ppIsabelle Marsh bought 36 bottles for just under pound;500, compared with the pound;936 full price./ppMarsh runs Bournemouth-based Viva Las Vegas, a fun casino business for private parties, and the champagne will be used as prizes. /ppAt the next till her friends Kay and Roger Brahams, from Surrey, who are also in the casino business, were doing exactly the same. They also had a collection of blue spotted bow ties and waistcoats for their croupiers - four waistcoats, four bow ties and two pairs of black trousers for pound;124, down from pound;155 for one day only. "It's for the business," said Roger Brahams. "It is too good to miss." /ppOn the clothing floor, however, there were many shoppers who had used the discount day to bring forward purchases they were planning to make anyway. Mark, a BBC employee, had popped in to buy an pound;80 coat he had his eye on. "My wife rang me this morning to tell me about the sale," he explained. He paid pound;64 and walked away very pleased. /ppIn Sheffield city centre, Carolyn Bowler had nipped out in her lunch break to buy a box of Christmas crackers, but by the time she had heaved her way out of MS she had three of them, plus a new dressing gown./pp"You've to shop carefully these days," she said, as three women marched past with purple Debenhams balloons and leaflets promising "25% off plus look inside for half-price bonus deals"./pp"These offers are bringing people out, no question," said another lunchtime shopper called Marion - "please don't print my surname in case my children read the paper and it spoils their Christmas surprise". The surprise is that Marion is making them clothes herself this year, instead of buying new ones./pp"You've got to cut back at times like these," she said. "We certainly have anyway, because my husband's not had a job since the summer. No one knows what the future holds any more."/ppIt was all music to the ears of Ian Fleming, who was supervising Debenhams balloon women. Enticing punters with the likes of a shimmer bow back dress reduced to pound;37.50 from pound;75, he said: "Shoppers will never get tired of good value and a bargain. This is working. It's even better out at the Meadowhall shopping centre."/ppThat, however, was impossible to check: reporters were barred from doing interviews in the sprawling complex beside the M1 because of the current spate of gloomy stories./ph2Key tactics for shoppers to cash in on stores' price war/h2pIt is the year of the tactical shopper, according to one retail expert, with yesterday's "flash" or "guerilla" sales at MS and Debenhams marking the start of what is likely to be a long and protracted war between high street stores. But for the savvy shopper hoping to secure the ultimate bargain, where and when is the time to strike? /ppIn order to secure the best bargain this Christmas, shoppers should look around and keep an eye out for promotional vouchers, said Lauretta Roberts, editor of Drapers magazine. /pp"My advice to shoppers is shop late. It's a buyers market out there and it is not going to be too difficult to find a bargain."/ppAnother way of saving money is to hit the shops before the official sale. "Even though they don't advertise the fact, many of the big department stores like Selfridges or Harvey Nichols discount their products from December 24. You get the best choice, unlike post-Christmas, when there often little left."/ppA further wave of price cuts can be expected from Boxing Day onwards, with January sales slashing 50% off many products immediately, she said. There are lots of other ways for shoppers to maximise their funds over the festive period. But it requires commitment and tactical thinking, said Martin Lewis, founder of moneysavingexpert.com. /pp"This is the year of the targeted and tactical shopper. As well as promotional sales we are seeing a rash of big discount shopping vouchers," he said. Vouchers currently featured on the website include 30% off at Gap, 40% off at Threshers and 20% off Shudoo, who sell Ugg boots, set to be a Christmas favourite. /ppAnother way of getting the best deal is to use price comparison websites, such as shopping.com, kelkoo.co.uk and pricerunner.co.uk, he said. For example, one Christmas must-have, a Wii Console + Sports Pack, costs pound;184.99 at Dixons, but on tdgstore.co.uk can be found for pound;179.99./pp"Different comparison websites are better for different products," said Lewis, who recommended find-dvd.co.uk for dvds and bookbrain.co.uk for books. /ppOnce the cheapest product has been identified, shoppers should try to buy it through a cash-back website, such as topcashback.co.uk, he added. "Cashback websites are paid 5% for sending you to a particular site, but instead of pocketing that cash they share the proceeds with their users by discounting products further."/ppHe also advises shoppers to use cash-back credit cards, such as American Express, which offers 5% back on purchases for three months. Using a credit card for expensive purchases also protects buyers, he added./ppIn 2007 the average British family spent pound;840 on Christmas. Choosing carefully this year, they could save 5% to 50%, said Lewis. /ppDoesn't all this calculating detract from the joy of the impulse buy? No way, he said. /pp"We are entering a recession, and there are two ways you can deal with it. Stop spending or make the money that you have got go further."br /strongAlexandra Topping/strong/ppstrongBargains/strong/ppstrongGap/strong/ppUltra-low rise jeans was pound;39.50 now pound;9.99br /Saving 75%/ppstrongDebenhams/strong/ppFour Royal Doulton crystal goblets was pound;80 now pound;32br /Saving 60%/ppstrongCurrysdigital/strong/ppLogik DAB digital radio was pound;139.99 now pound;59.99br /Saving 57%/ppstrongHouse of Fraser/strong/ppChristy Sorrento bath towel was pound;22 now pound;11br /Saving 50%/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/retail"Retail industry/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/christmas-xmas"Christmas/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/creditcrunch"Credit crunch/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Businesscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727742112100421654622"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Businesscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727742112100421654622" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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Corby and Crawley hope to become university towns

Guardian Unlimited

- 21 hours and 42 minutes ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/32700?ns=guardianpageName=Education%3A+Corby+and+Crawley+hope+to+become+university+townsch=Educationc3=The+Guardianc4=Higher+education%2CEducation%2CUK+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CEducation+Weekly+Education%2CHigher+Educationc6=Anthea+Lipsett%2CPolly+Curtisc7=2008_11_21c8=1121635c9=articlec10=GUc11=Educationc12=Higher+educationc13=c14=h2=GU%2FEducation%2FHigher+education" width="1" height="1" //divpCorby, Crawley and Croydon are bidding to join Cambridge as university towns, it was announced yesterday. Basildon, Basingstoke, Dudley and Stockport are also among 27 areas in England bidding for funding to launch new higher education (HE) centres, said the universities secretary John Denham. They are among the first places to apply to take part in the government's "university challenge" initiative, launched in March./ppDenham said the project would help regions hit by the recession by providing education and regeneration in rural areas as well as cities. Opposition MPs accused the government of "knocking up" the idea to compensate areas which had been earmarked for casinos but missed out after the project was scaled back at the beginning of the year. /ppPartnerships of regional development agencies, local authorities and colleges have put together bids for the universities centres, which will teach a range of degrees but fall short of being standalone universities because they will not have their own degree-awarding powers or privy council approval. /ppUniversities in neighbouring areas will be a crucial element in the partnerships accrediting the degrees. The government wants 20 new higher education centres planned within the next six years. The new centres could provide study places for up to 10,000 students./ppMinisters want the centres to open up the chance to study for a degree for people who would not have given much thought to a degree previously. According to economists, every extra job a university creates is matched by another elsewhere in the economy, such as in restaurants and bars, to cater for the student population./ppBut Martin Freedman, head of pay, conditions and pensions at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Some of the 27 towns interested in setting up higher education centres already have successful further education colleges. We don't want these colleges and new universities to compete for students at each other's expense./pp"In the light of the government's cap on the number of extra HE students, this proposed university expansion raises questions about how additional universities can function if limits are placed on the number of students?"/ppUniversities are already struggling to fill their places after ministers were forced to cut the numbers funded to go to higher education next year. Last month, Denham froze additional student numbers after admitting the government had botched its estimates for student grants and could no longer afford its support package./ph2University hopefuls/h2pAreas bidding to run universities: Accrington, Basildon, Basingstoke, Corby/Kettering, Crawley, Croydon, Doncaster, Dudley, Ebbsfleet, Halifax, Havering, Herefordshire, King's Lynn, Milton Keynes, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sandwell, Scarborough, Shropshire, Somerset, Stratford Island, Stockport, Swindon, Thurrock, Wakefield, Wallsend and Wirral/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/highereducation"Higher education/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Educationcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727773112100421654622"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Educationcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727773112100421654622" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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economy,colleges,margins,accused,recession

Les 20 ans de Ginette au casino de Paris ! (Vie de geek)

Reportage : Les 20 ans des Têtes Raides, un grand moment! (Obiwi)

Les casinos misent sur Internet

Johnny Guitar (1954) de Nicholas Ray

Shangols

- 1 days and 9 hours ago

p style=text-align: justify;Il y a bien western et western, et là on est franchement dans du pur plaisir intégral. Il y a un brin de nostalgie (Crawford et Hayden qui ne se sont pas vus depuis 5 ans, une histoire damour avortée digne de emCasablanca/em), une forte dose de tragédie (Carradine impérial, Borgnine en salop royal et un duel de gonzesses infernal), un soupçon de chasse aux sorcières (écho ou non du maccarthisme, cette foule dhommes en noir qui se fait mener par le bout du nez pour exclure quot;létrangèrequot; vaut son pesant dacharnement), des couleurs aussi tranchées que le regard bleu acier de la Joan et une action explosive comme ces rocs qui, dès le générique, volent en éclats. Bref quand Jean-Luc Godard dit que quot;Ray, cest le cinémaquot;, on veut bien le croire les yeux fermés./p p style=text-align: center;a target=_blank href=http://storage.canalblog.com/78/90/110219/32707486.jpgimg height=338 border=0 width=450 src=http://storage.canalblog.com/78/90/110219/32707486_p.jpg alt=ag_Nicholas_Ray_Johnny_Guitar_DVD_Review_03_rc2_brd_043_01 //a/p p style=text-align: justify;On assiste au départ à un véritable huis-clos tendu comme un ceinturon: un type à la coule avec sa guitouse, une Joan Crawford qui ne desserre point les dents, une foule dautochtones déchaînée et quatre petites frappes qui jouent les innocents. On saccuse les uns les autres, il y a de la vengeance dans lair, des amours mis de côté et des actes manqués (entre le quatuor Crawford (Vienna), Hayden (Johnny), McCambridge (Emma) et Brady (Dancin kid). On se demande si dentrée de jeu cela ne va point tourner au pugilat mais le Johnny Guitar détend plus ou moins tout son monde; on aura juste droit à une bonne baston entre ce dernier et le Borgnine qui finit à moitié borne. Vienna que tout le monde abhorre pour son opportunisme - elle est venue sinstaller dans le coin en attendant larrivée du chemin de fer - a 24 heures pour fermer son saloon-casino et les quatre branle-manette, sauf lErnest, sen sortent avec un avertissementnbsp; (ils sont malgré tout lourdement soupçonnés davoir tué le frère de lEmma). Tant quà faire, ils décident denfoncer le clou dès le lendemain en braquant la banque du coin, alors même que la Joan venait retirer ses petites économies... Mise dans le même sac que les fuyards, une chasse à lhomme sorganise./p p style=text-align: center;a target=_blank href=http://storage.canalblog.com/67/06/110219/32707598.jpgimg height=338 border=0 width=450 src=http://storage.canalblog.com/67/06/110219/32707598_p.jpg alt=a_nicholas_ray_johnny_guitar_dvd_review_05_rc2_gb_055_52 //a/p p style=text-align: justify;Si la Joan paraît au départ sèche comme un coup de trique, il faut la voir peu à peu lâcher du mou pour finir dans les bras du Hayden après une discussion danthologie... Cinq ans ont passé, chacun tente de faire le malin, mais lattraction est fatale; cette petite accalmie sera de courte durée, la Joan décidant de plaquer là le Johnny pour revenir dans ses meubles... Heureusement le bougre veille. La séquence où lon retrouve la Joan dans sa sublime robe blanche en tulle (hein?, oui bon, je sais po, mais ça sonne bien) jouant du piano dans cette grande salle déserte alors que la foule tout en noir débarque est un régal; Emma remonte chacun des hommes comme des pendules pour lyncher la Joan alors que cette dernière plus têtue quune mule corse décide de ne pas lâcher un pouce. Bon cette fois-ci cela va dégénérer, lEmma foutant rageusement le feu au troquet. Celle-ci est possédée, un vrai démon, exhortant les pauvres mâles tout pantois à en finir avec elle... Mais le Johnny qui a dautres cordes à sa guitare empêche le lynchage in extremis. Lassaut final est digne de emDuel au soleil/em même si la toute fin est plus hollywoodienne quHollywood lui-même./p p style=text-align: center;a target=_blank href=http://storage.canalblog.com/71/11/110219/32707547.jpgimg height=360 border=0 width=450 src=http://storage.canalblog.com/71/11/110219/32707547_p.jpg alt=KMP_DVD__000562_16_11_50_ //a/p p style=text-align: justify;Si la direction dacteurs et le scénar sont au taquet, dès le huis-clos douverture, cest un bonheur de voir les trente mille changements dangles de prise de vue et la précision du montage. Rares sont les westerns où chaque plan est autant calibré et les scènes daction plein de bruits (des explosions un peu pour le fun, mais on sent que la colère, comme la montagne, gronde) et de furie (Mercedes Mc Cambridge est à deux doigts de la camisole de force...). Cen serait presque parfois presque too much mais on savoure lensemble avec un méchant petit sourire de plaisir jusquau The End, qui tombe après une ultime chtite chanson envoutante. A Ray in the sun.nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; /p p style=text-align: center;a target=_blank href=http://storage.canalblog.com/21/24/110219/32707623.jpgimg height=237 border=0 width=320 src=http://storage.canalblog.com/21/24/110219/32707623_p.jpg alt=johnny //anbsp; /p

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emma,bras,corse,innocents,clou

The International Casino Games Nears the Halfway Mark With the Best Online Casino Promotions Around

The Killers, Human live concert privé Nouveau Casino 27/10

CARMINE APPICE's SLAMM To Perform At Sky City Casino This Weekend

Rien ne va plus pour les casinos français

[App Store Release] Pai Gow Poker

iPod touch Fans forum

- 1 days and 16 hours ago

Category: Games
Released: Nov 19, 2008
Price: $0.99

Description:
Pai Gow Poker for the iPhone and iPod Touch lets you play Pai Gow Poker without risking any of your hard earned money beyond the purchase price of the app. You may have seen this game in a casino but were too intimidated to play or were worried you would lose your money because you did not know how to play. Well worry no more, now you can learn to play without risking real money betting. Pai Gow Poker is based on the Chinese Domino game called Pai Gow. Pai Gow Poker is played with a 53 card deck of standard playing cards, 52 cards plus 1 joker. The object of the game is to make two poker hands after being dealt 7 cards. One hand should contain 5 cards and the other hand should contain 2 cards. You are trying to make the highest ranking 2 hands that you can with the provision that the 5 card hand must rank higher than the 2 card hand. You are playing against a dealer who also makes 2 hands, both of your hands must rank higher than the dealers hands for you to win. If both of the dealers hands are higher then you will lose. If neither you or the dealers hands both rank higher than the other then it is a tie or "push" and you do not win or lose. One little gotcha is that if your hand and the dealer's hand is of the same poker rank then the dealer wins that hand, remember, the dealer has to win both hands to be declared the overall winner. One more little detail, if you win both hands the dealer will pay off your bet at even money, however a 5% commission will be deducted from your winnings. This commission is one of the main ways that the casino tilts the odds in their favor. Warning after playing with this application you may want to try the real thing on your next trip to Las Vegas.

Website: http://www.mobilityware.com/iphone/Default.htm
Support Website: http://www.mobilityware.com/iphone/Default.htm

Note: The description above is the official one supplied by the application developer and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of this site or its staff.

Get it on iTunes: Pai Gow Poker

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Legend rock band Scorpions performing in Estoril Casino

'If it was possible to fail - I failed' - Patrick Barkham takes a green driving test

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 21 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/31326?ns=guardianpageName=Environment%3A+%27If+it+was+possible+to+fail+-+I+failed%27ch=Environmentc3=The+Guardianc4=Ethical+living+%28Environment%29%2CTransport+UK%2CEnvironment%2CUK+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CEthical+Livingc6=Patrick+Barkhamc7=2008_11_20c8=1120880c9=articlec10=GUc11=Environmentc12=Ethical+livingc13=c14=h2=GU%2FEnvironment%2FEthical+living" width="1" height="1" //divpI like to think of myself as a green driver. In my quest to beat my car manufacturer's official fuel consumption figures (so-called hypermiling), I smugly cruise at an energy-saving, diesel-powered 56mph. But am I really driving as efficiently as I think? /ppI drove - slowly - to Bedfordshire to find out. /ppI had seen the intriguingly named Millbrook Proving Ground on Top Gear, when Jeremy Clarkson et al thrashed some trucks around its 45 miles of twisty track. For the BP Ultimate green driving test, however, I was required to proceed super-sedately in a two-litre petrol Ford S-Max./ppThe greenest drivers complete the 7.85-mile course - a mix of stop-start city driving, hill starts, mountain tracks and motorways - on one litre of petrol. I would see how far a litre would take me. (Disappointingly, I would not actually come to a halt; the engineer's laptop just beeped when I used up my litre, while two data loggers kept track of the vehicle's speed and fuel consumption.)/ppI was not given any tips beforehand, but how hard could it be? I may not be Lewis Hamilton but anyone can drive slowly. As I climbed into the S-Max, memories of my real driving test flooded back. I had fluked a pass despite being so nervous that my left leg shook uncontrollably whenever I pressed the clutch. Fifteen years on, I pulled out of the parking bay and stalled./ppTackling the "city" stretch first, I had to keep stopping and starting. Anthony Sale, a Millbrook engineer, sat in the back, quietly making notes about my driving on his laptop. After coasting up to a few gloriously empty roundabouts in neutral - believing this would help my fuel economy - I came to the incredibly steep truck slopes. Big two-litre engine, short slope, oh dear: it took an enormous high-revving, fuel-gobbling wheelspin to heave the S-Max up the hill. /ppNext up was the twisting "Alpine" road, the stuff of test-drive dreams. I trundled sensibly through the gears and tutted at the asphalt patch where James Bond's - or rather, Daniel Craig's - stuntman had taken a huge chunk out of the road when rolling his Aston Martin in Casino Royale. And at that moment, not even five miles into the course, Sale's laptop gave a disapproving beep. I had, in effect, run out of fuel./ppI still had one stretch left: the high-speed bowl. This section simulates motorway driving, except there are five lanes and, rather thrillingly, futuristic-looking Saabs and Opels sped past me at 100mph. Here, surely, I could excel. I smoothly took the car up to 56mph and held it there in fifth gear./ppBack at the test centre, I was ushered into the results room. Sale holds the record for the "perfect run"; he achieved 34mpg, emitting 191g of COsup2;. /ppMy score, however, was a shock. The good news? I had beaten motoring correspondent Quentin Willson. The bad? If this test could be failed, I was a failure. I averaged just 24.31mpg - 40% less efficient than the ideal score - and emitted 267g of COsup2;. Over a year (and 10,000 miles), my inefficient driving would cost me an extra pound;558.94 in fuel and, even worse, dump more than an extra tonne of COsup2; into the atmosphere - 4,301kg in total./ppWhere had I gone so wrong? Despite trying to drive smoothly, I had braked and accelerated far more than necessary. The key to fuel efficient driving, Sale explains, is to keep your speed consistent. That requires concentration and anticipation. "It's looking much further ahead, it's lifting off the accelerator much earlier rather than keeping at the same speed and braking at the last moment."/ppMy acceleration should have been slower and steadier. "Imagine you've got an egg on the throttle and you don't want to break it," says Sale. Gear changes should have been smooth and progressive./ppMy supposedly fuel-saving habit of slipping the car into neutral to coast up to traffic lights was not only unsafe, but actually used more fuel than driving in gear. "What you really want to be doing is coasting in gear," explains Sale, so that the engine is being turned over by the movement of the wheels. Put it in neutral and the engine has to use fuel to keep it idling. /ppPerhaps a green driving element should be added to the real driving test. At present, this test is too expensive to offer to the public although BP is touring the country to pass on green driving tips and bust some myths./ppThe biggest is that green driving slows you down. Despite driving 16mph faster than the optimum speed - 40mph in fifth gear - along the motorway section, just like the fabled hare I still finished the course more than a minute slower than the most economical drive because of my stop-start style. So the tortoise is not only more fuel efficient, it is faster too. "Everyone thinks that driving economically is driving slowly," says Sale. "It isn't. It's driving smoothly. You can drive economically and get somewhere quickly as well"/ph2How to get the most from your fuel /h2pstrongShut your windows and turn off the air con/strong/ppYou can leave windows open at speeds below 40mph, where there is a minimal increase in fuel-sapping aerodynamic drag. Air con increases fuel consumption at all speeds./ppstrongCheck your tyre pressure regularly/strong/ppUnder-inflated tyres increase the rolling resistance between the tyres and the road, causing you to use more fuel./ppstrongRemove car clutter/strong/ppAll of us tend to have unnecessary clutter - and weight - in cars. I've got a heavy box of maps. Removing these and roof rails when not in use can reduce fuel consumption./ppstrongLook further ahead/strong/ppThe key to fuel-efficient driving is driving smoothly. Better anticipation of hazards ahead means less needless acceleration and less sharp breaking. Coasting to a halt in gear is a big fuel saver./ppstrongMaintain your car/strong/ppChange your air filter annually and ensure your engine is working effectively. Fuel companies claim you will get more miles from a tank of (more expensive) premium-grade fuel. This is said to improve engine combustion and enable the car to run more efficiently./ppstrongStop driving/strong/ppEveryone can cut down on short journeys. Short drives are uneconomical: when the engine is cold, it uses more fuel than when it reaches the optimum working temperature. Catalytic converters, which reduce exhaust emissions, are also less efficient when cold./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicalliving"Ethical living/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/transport"Transport/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Environmentcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227179756172112011162445102"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Environmentcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227179756172112011162445102" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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