Stag Night UK

The Budget 2010 - What Does it Mean For Stag Weekends in the UK?

Well what's the most important thing for stag groups when they go away on their stag weekend. Well firstly it's the petrol to get there. Next month's increase in fuel duties will be staggered announced the Chancellor. So fuel duty will go up by 1p in April 2010 and another 1p in October 2010 with the remainder next January.

The next item to consider is the tax on beer, wine and spirits. This will rise, as previously announced, from midnight on Sunday. There will be more increases as alcohol taxes will also rise by 2% above inflation for two further years from 2013. Of note is the tax on cider which will increase by 10% above inflation from midnight on Sunday. This is a massive increase for those cider drinkers. Does that mean the end to the popularity of Magners? Does mean the Spanish Archer , El Bow, for Strongbow?

However what our customers repeatedly tell us when they visit us in Wales for their stag weekend is how cheap the beer is. £2.35 for a pint of bitter and £2.55 for a pint of lager in our bar can't be bad compared to some London prices! So even with the price hikes we are still excellent value.

Tobacco duty will rise from today by 1% above inflation, and will then go up by 2% above inflation each year until 2014. See the table below showing the increase in cigarette prices which makes for interesting reading. At these prices I'm amazed people can still afford to smoke.

If you lead a similar lifestyle compared to last year, the indications are that you will be £8.12 worse off.If you drink 1 pint of beer a week, 1 glass of wine, 1 glass of spirits and smoke 1 pack of 20 cigs a week. Visit the BBC website to work out the impact on your household income. Doesn't look like stag weekends are going to change much as a result of this budget!

Breakdown of difference

	2009/10 £	2010/11 £	Difference £
Alcohol	96.70	99.91	£-3.21
Tobacco	242.86	247.77	£-4.91
Fuel	0.00	0.00	0.00
Income tax	0.00	0.00	0.00
National insurance	0.00	0.00	0.00
Child benefits	0.00	0.00	0.00
Tax credits	0.00	0.00	0.00
Vehicle excise duty	0.00	0.00	0.00
State pension	0.00	0.00	0.00

For more information on stag weekends then visit the Call of the Wild website.

Call of the Wild Success Recognised by Visit Wales

If you've never visited the Visit Wales blog (Visit Wales being the former Wales Tourist Board) then now is your chance as they have made mention on the blog of the number of recent awards that Call of the Wild have won. We have been listed in the SMARTA 100 Top 100 Small Companies in the Uk and SMARTA 100 Top5 Small Companies for Business Ethics. We also won a few weeks ago the leading Wales Award 2010 for Business Leadership Initiative in the Community and the Award for Leading management and Leadership Skills Development.

Take a look at what is an excellent blog.

Stag Night Games - Nintendo Wii Drinking Games

Some inspired ideas here from this group who obviously have too much time on their hands to think up these games. However some good ideas for the stag night if you are seeking some inspiration.

Wii Bowling

Rules:
Every time you roll: Drink one for each pin left standing.
You get a strike - Everyone else drinks one.
You get a spare from a split: Everyone else drinks two.
You roll it into the gutter: Finish your drink.

Boxing

Rules:
You get knocked down: Drink until your character gets up.
You get knocked out: Finish your drink.


Mario Kart

Rules:
You fall of the edge: Drink one.
You come in X place at the end of the race: Take X drinks. Example- You finished in 4th place, you take four drinks.
You win the race: Hand out two additional drinks to anyone.

Smash Brothers

Rules:
You knock someone off the map: Everyone else drinks one
You get KO'd: Finish your drink.

Mario Party

Rules:
You earn a star: Everyone else drinks one.
You land on a:
-Red space-Drink 1
-Bowser space-Drink 2
-Blue space- Give 1
-Green space-Give 2
-Donkey Kong space-Give 3
-Everytime you get passed-Drink 1
-Land on the same spot as someone else-Everyone on that spot Drinks 2
-Pass start-Drink 2
You win a minigame: Hand out two random drinks

For more information on stag weekends then visit the Call of the Wild website.

Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Front of Caerphilly Castle in wales taken on Saturday. This is Wales's biggest Castle and well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Caerphilly Castle, Wales 13th March 2010

Wales' biggest Castle never fails to impress especially on a glorious sunny day.

Maen Llia Standing Stone, Brecon Beacons 14th March 2010

Maen Llia is a massive standing stone located at the head of a pass between Fan Llia and Fan Nedd in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It measures 3.61m high, 2.75m wide and 0.46m thick. Its can be seen from the base of the Valley. Nobody actually knows why it is there. It  could possibly be a territorial marker or it could mark an ancient trackway, guiding travellers across the watershed. This would make sense given the bad visibility that is often experienced in the Valley so it would be a logical assumption to make that it was a marker stone.

A legend says that whenever a cock crows, the stone moves off to drink in the River Nedd. According to another story, the stone visits the River Mellte on Midsummer morning

Leading Wales Awards 2010 Winners Call of the Wild Ltd

Geraint Lewis from Call of the Wild was last week named, not once but twice,  as one of Wales’ top leaders at a prestigious ceremony at Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel.

Geraint at Call of the Wild was recognised for his outstanding leadership in the Business Leadership Initiative  in the Community and Leading Management  and Leadership Skills Development for the Leading Wales Awards 2010. We were the only company to win two awards at the event which is unique.

The Leading Wales Awards recognise great leadership at all levels across the public, private and voluntary sectors in Wales, celebrating individuals whose excellent leadership skills have made a strong impact and resulted in positive change within their organisations. This year the awards have sought people, whose leadership has made a real difference in Wales.

Caving in the Mendips - Anybody fancy a drink??

Were on a caving trip in the Mendips, Got a bit thirsty so we thought we'd take a break!

The Outdoors Show 2010 - Free Tickets from Call of the Wild

The Outdoors Show, the UK's largest outdoors show is back and is set to be bigger and better than 2009. The Birmingham NEC will be packed to the rafters with rock and ice climbing walls, woodland rambling trails, gear demos, axe forging, fashion shows, a great British festival, Careers zone, Cycle simulators, brand arenas, tent city, skymasters, The ESP experiment, Wilderness camp, slacklining, participation events. There will also be guest speakers including Joe Simpson, Ben Fogle and James Cracknell

This year you could be going free of charge courtesy of Call of the Wild's partnership with The Outdoors Show! We have 9 pairs of tickets to give away. Tickets are valid for any one of the 3 days. (On the door value £18 per ticket). Just phone us up or e-mail us and quote "Outdoor show tickets" and give us your name and phone number.

We'll be drawing the winning names and posting off your pair of tickets on Tuesday 16th March. You can watch the draw taking place on our website at 1pm on the 16th and see if your name is drawn out. Visit our video page to view the video at 1pm.

Click here for more information on our Outdoors Show Offer

Sun is shining in the Brecon Beacons

Glorious sunshine on the drive into work today - 3 days in a row. Great for our activity groups today who are canyoning and climbing.