It’s official: festival season is in full swing! Whether you’re chilling out at a local festival or heading to some of the big players like Glastonbury or V, packing is essential. If you like to leave things to the last minute, don’t fear! Fulton Umbrellas has created this handy festival checklist; pack your backpack full of these and we guarantee you’ll be set whatever the weather!

Festival Checklist: What To Take To A Festival

• Dry shampoo — you might be in the middle of a field, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have great hair!
• Sunhat — the British weather is interchangeable, so pack a hat for when the sun’s out to avoid sunstroke.
• Umbrellas — rain is synonymous with festivals. Don’t forget your brolly — check out our designer range for one that will stand out from the crowd.
• Wellies — an obvious one, but essential none the less!
• Waterproof jacket — keep dry and pack a waterproof jacket for when the heaven’s open.
• Reusable water bottle — festivals usually provide water stations, so you can dodge those high prices and fill up for free.
• Torch — finding your way back to the tent can be difficult; a torch will help.
• Tent & sleeping equipment—pop-up tents are great for taking the hassle out of pitching. You’ll also need an airbed or roll mat, sleeping bag and pillows.
• Sun lotion — make protecting your skin a priority and pack an SPF.
• ID — festivals are tough on under-age drinking, so prove your old enough and take along your ID.
• Toilet roll—don’t rely on those portable toilets
• Wet wipes — perfect for freshening up after a day of dancing.
• Phone charger — how else are you going to share all those photos if your battery dies? Most festivals provide charging points.
• Towel — if the heavens open during the last act of the day, a towel will help you dry off before bed.
• Camping chairs — more comfortable than grass, pack some if you’re camping at a festival.
• Earplugs — noisy neighbours be gone!
• Sunglasses — a festival must-have that makes it easier for you to catch all of the on-stage action.
• Bin bags — throw a couple of bin bags in your backpack to collect your rubbish during and after your festival fun.

With the essentials in place, you’re all set for having the time of your life, whatever festival you attend! If you’re after some more great tips, festival veteran Edith Bowman has shared her top tips for enjoying the best of British music festivals.

There’s nothing worse than settling down for a good night’s sleep, only to find yourself wide awake by 3AM, watching your alarm clock edge closer and closer to morning. Whether it’s down to lifestyle choices or night time routine, there are lots of factors that can contribute to your quality of sleep. Take a look at these 7 tips that can help you drift off for a restful night in no time.

Make time to exercise

Scheduling regular exercise into your day has an impact on your quality of sleep. Walking, running or hitting the gym can lower stress levels and tire you out, resulting in a better sleep. Make sure to time your workout right, however, as exercising too late at night could leave you overstimulated before bedtime.

Cut the caffeine

Treating yourself to a flat white to pull you out of that morning slump is fine, but caffeine before bedtime is a big no when it comes to a restful sleep. Cut out caffeine altogether after 2pm to ensure the effects have worn off by the evening, and try to have no more than 3 cups a day.

Relax and unwind

Give yourself some time to relax before bedtime by creating a little wind-down routine. About 2 hours before hitting the hay, run yourself a relaxing hot bath with some calming epsom salts. This will relax your muscles and help your mind unwind after a stressful day, leaving you in the perfect state for a deep sleep.

Make yourself a brew

Before getting settled into bed, make yourself a relaxing cuppa. Herbal mixes of ingredients such as chamomile, valerian, lemon balm and lavender in decaffeinated teas have been shown to reduce anxiety and act as a mild sedative, making them the perfect drink to sip before bedtime.  

Limit the electronics

You might love getting snuggled up on the sofa at night, catching up on your favourite reality show with a glass of merlot – but it’s important to switch off the TV before bed. The screens of electronics such as phones, laptops and TV’s can keep your brain alert and decrease the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, and should be avoided as much as possible.

Get extra cosy

If you find yourself constantly tossing and turning through the night, the issue might lie in your bed itself. Old and worn out mattresses can become uncomfortable over time, and the wrong pillows can lead to neck and back pain. Consider investing in a new bed, such as a divan bed with memory foam mattress for optimum comfort, and go for specialist pillows that give you the right support to help you sleep soundly.

Read a book

Bedtime stories aren’t just for kids! Incorporate reading a chapter or two of a good book as part of your nighttime routine, for a sure fire way to promote relaxation and pry you away from your smartphone.

When you start talking about budgeting for home repairs you know you’re a grown-up. Although it seems like a boring subject, maintenance problems and saving for unexpected repairs is important to consider for any home owner.

Anyone who owns a house will tell you that home maintenance is completely unpredictable. Unexpected disasters like the bathroom flooding or lightning hitting your roof are the worst. They catch us by surprise, and require frantic searches for a solution. If an unexpected disaster happens in our home, fixing it will involve money – and probably lots of it.

In an ideal world, we’d have a little pot of cash stored away for exactly these kinds of problems. Housing experts agree that sensible homeowners should budget 1% of the value of their property every year to maintenance and property repair. And with the average house price in the UK being £215,847, that means we should have a home improvement and repair account to the tune of £2,158.47 per annum. That’s a lot.

In all honestly, how many of us do that? Not enough, apparently. Rubber roofing specialists Rubber4Roofs surveyed 3,000 UK homeowners to find out what their home-fixing slush fund was worth. Taken on average, they found that Brits only budget £1,438.98; that’s a national shortfall of £616. Not ideal if your boiler suddenly breaks down over the winter, or your washing machine suddenly springs a leak.

With this in mind we’ve come up with 5 ideal ways to budget for home repairs.

Do the Math

According to GNB, the most common property maintenance problems include broken appliances, boiler and hot water tank faults, toilet and plumbing issues, damp and mould problems, electrical complications and redecorating. Now you have an idea of the most common problems, do the math. You’ll soon realise that you need to take budgeting seriously.

Make a list

A shocking number of people drastically underestimate the costs when it comes to home repair. Jot down what you might need to have replaced in the next few years. Revisit this list every now and again to remind yourself of potential future repairs. This will remind you that you need to save.

Get some quotes

Whether it’s the cost of a broken boiler or repairing your roof, call around and get some quotes from local contractors on how much it might cost to fix. This way you’ll have a ballpark figure on how much you need to save. Obviously you’re not going to reach your target straight away and it will take time to save this amount. However, you’ve got to start somewhere.

Save for the worst case scenario

Chances are that very few big-budget disasters will happen, but aim to save for the worst case scenario. For most people this will be roof repair, though sometimes this may even involve the foundations of your property. Once you’ve got your quote for how much it will cost, from roofing experts or house foundation repair companies, aim to save up this amount.

Get Insurance

Paying for insurance may seem like a drain, but you’re probably better off getting it than not. It may provide a financial safety net should the unexpected disaster occur.

We know that the above list is asking a lot. Planning for future expenses of something like home maintenance isn’t exactly fun. But if you at least try to save, it will be less of a headache when disaster strikes.

If you’re a fan of Peep Show (if not – get your act together!) you’ll know that the latest and last season was aired in 2015. In the opening episode, Jeremy exploits what he perceives to be a decisive issue between Mark and his new flatmate Jerry – the temperature of their flat. Hilariously, Jeremy manages to sow the seeds of doubt in Mark’s mind by stating that their compromise of 22°C (Mark is used to 21°C whilst Jerry prefers 23°C) means they are “both uncomfortable by 1°C.”

This seemingly innocuous observation eventually culminates in Jeremy ousting Jerry as Mark’s flatmate – as the natural order is restored once again. Given Mark’s obvious attachment to his favourite temperature, it made me wonder whether other Brits share his passion for a particular temperature within the home, and whether they agree on the sanctity of 21°C.

The average temperature of a British home

According to a study conducted by OVO Energy in 2012, the go-to thermostat setting for Brits is 20°C. But what accounts for its popularity? The World Health Organisation considers 18-21°C the most ‘comfortable temperature’ while anything below 16° is a respiratory risk and anything above 24°C is a cardiovascular risk, so it makes sense that so many Brits are naturally predisposed to such a temperature.  There are significant spikes at 15°C, 20°C, 25°C and 30°C in an otherwise consistent bell curve, leading us to believe that we just like a round number, which certainly accounts for 20°C towering above the rest. As far as Mark’s yearning to be a “normal functioning member of the human race” goes, his preference for 21°C stands him in good stead.

How long and at which times does the average person heat their home for?

Committing to a specific temperature is only part of the puzzle where heating your home is concerned. The hours and cycles in which you choose to heat your home is almost, if not more important, than the temperature of the thermostat itself. Most frequently, the people of Britain heat their homes for an average of 8 hours a day. Despite this, there is a split when it comes to how best to use the hours. Whilst the minority (30%) use them all up in one go, the majority opt for two cycles, allowing them to slip out of bed and into a glowing heat, and return home from school and work to a toasty home. For this reason, the peak times for switched-on heating are between 6 and 9 in the morning, and 4 and 10 at night.

How to make the most of your central heating

We couldn’t help but check if there was any semblance of truth in Jeremy’s theory on central heating – that by giving the boiler something to aim for, it actually heats up quicker: “I don’t actually want it to be 29°C, but you’ve got to give it something to aim for. It’ll get hotter quicker.” As much as we’d like to verify Jeremy’s claim, we’re going to have to side with the more level-headed Mark on this one – “You set it, it achieves the correct temperature, it switches off.” Whatever temperature you task your thermostat with, it is going to work at the same constant speed. All you need to worry about is getting a quality central heating pump – it saves you having to think of ways to outsmart the boiler.

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