Do you shop when you go on vacation or holiday? What do you look for? What do you like to buy? Souvenirs for yourself? Presents for friends and family back home? The latest fashions? Gourmet goodies?

I'd love to know what kind of shopping attracts you when you visit the UK so that I can seek out and feature more of what you are looking for. Make your voice heard by taking the Shoppers' Poll.

Vote for your leisure shopping favorite

1. I don't shop on vacation unless I really have to
2. Craft shops, galleries and boutiques
3. Fashion and designer bargains
4. Souvenirs and gifts for friends
5. Gourmet goodies and cookware
6. Duty free

Find out how other people voted

A goat for a poor family in the developing world, at any rate. That's what 15 books donated to British charity OXFAM can buy.

As an author, I'm not sure I felt all that great when I learned that the UK's second biggest bookseller is OXFAM. But when you consider how much good a few good books, shared the second time around, can do in the world, it's hard to argue.

OXFAM raises more than £20 million a year in its shops and 87 pence in every pound goes directly to the people you'd want to help - not to middle men or into the pockets of the Robert Mugabes of this world.

This month, OXFAM have launched their first book fair - two weeks of special events at hundreds of OXFAM shops around the country. Between now and July 18, you can take part in celebrity events, crossword puzzle competitions, children's book fairs, book donation drives and more all over the place.

So, if you are looking for somewhere to leave those paperbacks you bought to read on the way over to the UK, or considering buying some new books for your holiday journeys to come, think about dropping into an OXFAM shop to see what's going on.

To find an OXFAM shop or an OXFAM Bookfest event, visit the online OXFAM Bookfest Eventfinder.

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On July 11, 1859, Big Ben chimed for the first time over London. That makes London's most famous landmark 150 years old tomorrow.

Originally the name Big Ben was only applied to the largest of the five bells in the tower - the one that strikes the hour. Now of course the title is also used for the four quarter hour bells, the clock and the tower itself.

The big bell, which sounds the note E, stands about seven feet tall and weighs 13.7 tonnes (about 15 tons). The hammer that strikes it weighs 200kg or about 450 pounds. There are four more bells - the quarters - weighing between 1.1 and 4 tonnes and striking the notes G sharp, F sharp, E and B.

• Find out more fun facts at Big Ben's official birthday website
• Watch a video of Big Ben striking 12

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Enjoy England, the official website for breaks and days out in England, has organized an enormous number of Kids Go Free offers all over the country this summer to help families take full advantage of the fine sunny weather that's predicted. The offers vary, but in most cases, one child goes free with each paying adult.

Here are a few examples:

• Historic cruises of the city of Lincoln with Lincoln Boat Trips in the East Midlands.
• A chocoholic's dream day out to Cadbury World in Bournville, near Birmingham in the Heart of England.
• A roaring time at Dinosaur Isle, Britain's first, purpose-built dinosaur museum, on the Isle of Wight
• Learning and playing at the same time at Eureka! The National Children's Museum in Halifax, Yorkshire

To get a voucher for one of these, or dozens more special Kids Go Free summer offers, visit Enjoy England's Kids Go Free Pages and browse through the selection.

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