Here at dealchecker.co.uk we spend most of our time working our socks off trying to find great travel deals for our consumers so from time to time we need a bit of a break. That’s why we now have Braindash Fridays. Every member of the team is encouraged to give their brain a bit of a workout on this great new website.

Braindash has a range of great Quizzes, Games, Puzzles and (the bit we really like) Travel Trivia! We’ll keep you posted with the leaderboard as the weeks go by, personally I don’t fancy George’s chances.

You may have noticed some cool new features popping up on dealchecker recently. If you are flexible with the dates you can travel then this is going to make it much easier to find the cheapest deal. Travolution (the industry magazine) has been talking about it too.

So what’s new? We have added a list of the best holiday deals we have found to many of our destination pages. You can sort them by star rating and departure location and we are constantly updating the list so you can trust the prices. It’s amazing how often you can get a seven night holiday package for under £200 - bargain!

Check out the pages for Tenerife and Bodrum to see what it’s all about.

If you subscribe to our newsletter look out for some new things over the next few weeks too.

its the friday standup (or sit down)

The dealchecker gang giving their thoughts on the week gone by.

Thanks for all your hard work this week guys - new flights deals gone live (http://www.dealchecker.co.uk/cheap-flights/new-york.html) + super cool segmentation stuff. We’d also like to welcome Beach Holiday Deals (http://beachholidaydeals.co.uk/) to the dealchecker family.

Just found this fantastic video by Chris Rehage a German filmmaker who backpacked along the Silk Road in China.

He filmed short clips of himself as he went along which are all set against beautiful backdrops. It’s also fun to watch his beard grow over the months he was on the road.

Clam chowder is originally from New England, but I like the San Francisco version that was created in 1849 and is served in a sourdough bread bowl. When you’re hungry it’s good to know you can eat your tableware too. 

Ingreedyients: 

• 3tbsp butter 
• 6 rashers bacon, cut into 1cm squares
• 1.5 cups onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 cups button mushrooms, halved
• 2 cups potato, cut into 1cm cubes and placed in 1 ½ cups of water
• 1tsp salt
• 1/2tsp pepper
• 2tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup clam juice
• 2 cups fish stock
• Clams, chopped
• 1 cup milk with 1 cup cream
• Sourdough loaf per person

Method:

1. Sauté bacon and butter in a large pot until it’s almost crisp, add the onion and garlic and sauté until it’s almost cooked, then add the mushrooms and sauté until they’re golden brown. 

2. Add the potatoes (and water), salt and pepper. Cook uncovered on a medium heat for about fifteen minutes until the potato starts to soften. 

3. Whisk the cornstarch with the clam liquid and stock. Add this to the pot and continue cooking on a medium heat.

4. Add the clams, milk, and cream. Bring it to a simmer and then continue cooking until the clams are done which should be five to ten minutes.

5. Hollow out the sour dough loaves to form bowls and pour the chowder into the bowls. Eat with a spoon or just by tearing off pieces of bowl and dipping it into the chowder. Yum!

Windsurfing, rock climbing and diving is as adventurous as most of us get on holiday, but that wasn’t enough for this guy who parachuted into the active Mutnovsky volcano in Russia.

He landed on ice but had to be pulled out straight away to avoid poisonous gasses. Good on him for trying, and it’s an amazing video, but I think I’ll be sticking to leisurely strolls on holiday.

We were sorry to hear this morning that Freedom Direct has gone out of business after 12 years. We know that the online travel company was popular with dealcheckers, so if you have an existing booking here are the numbers to call and the websites to visit. Note: it also applies to bookings made under their other trading names - holidaysyoulike.co.uk, holidaysyoulike.com, hotsunholidays.co.uk, and snowdeals.co.uk.

You will need to submit a claim to the Civil Aviation Authority and for further information you can contact CEGA, ABTA’s claims handling partner on 01243 621500 or ABTAClaims@cegagroup.com.

For more detail check out this TravelMole article.

Taste of London, Birmingham and Edinburgh 

Birmingham: 9th -12th July Edgbaston’s Cannon Hill Park, London: 18th - 21st June Regents Park, Edinburgh: 29th - 31st May Inverleith Park.

Chefs from the top restaurants in each region take their signature dishes to the park for you to sample. Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall will be in both London and Birmingham this year to do cooking demos. Get your tickets early for London because it always sells out. Visit the website.

York Festival of Food and Drink

York 18th to 27th September 2009

This festival is held in historic buildings around the city and aims to educate people about what they are eating. Past events have ranged from a Young Chef’s Competition, food and drink demonstrations and an Ale Trail. Plus, as this a non-profit event all your money gets put back into the local community. Visit the website.

Exeter Festival of South West Food and Drink  

Exeter 17th - 19th April

Highlights of this spring festival are the Castle Courtyard where you can try food from dozens of chefs, Celebrity Cooking Theatre and Friday’s Blackthorn & Tribute Festival After Dark where you can sample ales, oysters and hog roasts. Visit the website.

Great British Cheese Festival 

Cardiff 26th - 27th September

This festival is dedicated to one of our best loved foods with 450 varieties from Britain and Ireland expected to be showcased. The ‘focal point of the cheese calendar’ will include master classes and plenty of tastings. Visit the website.

Ludlow Food Festival

Ludlow, Shropshire 11th - 13th September

This festival turns 15 this year and has a programmes crammed with events including a sausage trail, an ale trail, a waiter’s race, a whisky festival and pudding tasting. Don’t miss the strange food on offer in the Slow Food marquee. Visit the website.

For more foodie events go to Food Lovers Britain, where you can find something to nibble on every weekend.

Getting stuck on a boat with John Mayer will be a nightmare to some people and a dream come true for others. But if you are in the latter camp get yourself to California super quick because the ‘Mayercraft’ departs today.

Yes, really.

John Mayer has chartered the plush Carnival Splendor cruise ship, invited a few lesser known musicians (well ones that haven’t dated A-list actresses), and is taking hundreds of fans on a four-day cruise.

As well as the leisure activities on Splendor - pools, club, Spa, casino - Mayer will also be hosting theme nights, karaoke, trivia contests and drinking games. Plus of course the man himself will be performing.

If you’re a fan of John and you can find out more here.

Struggling to get good water pressure in your shower? These ones ought to do it. Here is my list of the world’s top waterfalls which just happen to be located in some of the world’s most beautiful countries. I’ve even included a video of the favourite.

5. Sutherland Falls, Fiordland, New Zealand

You will need your walking shoes to find this 580m tall waterfall. It’s located along the Milford Track which is a multi-day walk that winds through Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Site. Sutherland Falls are one of the highlights on this world-renowned hiking route. 

4. Yosemite Falls, California, USA

This is one of the tallest waterfalls in the world and also one of the most easily accessible. There are plenty of walking tracks in Yosemite Valley which take you to different areas of the falls. Yosemite Falls doesn’t flow all year but when it does the water descends a massive 739m.

3. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada and New York, USA

These falls are so wide they straddle two countries! Niagara Falls are so popular that lots of hotels and casinos have popped up along its edge so you can see them in comfort from a restaurant or bar. However the best way to see the mighty falls is to take a boat trip to the base. Niagara Falls boast the biggest volume of water of any water fall in the wall - an average of about 7000 cubic meters per second!

2. Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil

Set in a rainforest, the Iguazu Falls are actually made up of 275 waterfalls. These span a massive 3km and 1000 cubic metres of water topples off every second. The falls are very tourist friendly with plenty of boardwalks winding around the falls so you can get a good view.

1. Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls are the largest in the world and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. When the massive Zambezi River, which is about 1.7km wide, is forced over a 108m drop into a narrow gorge it’s spectacular. It averages about 1000 cubic metres per second but can increase up to 3000 cubic metres! The falls create mist which can be seen for miles so try to visit when it’s not at it’s wildest because you may not be able to see them through the mist!