Anyone who has children will know how difficult it can be to keep them entertained (and therefore well behaved) on long car journeys.

‘I Spy’ and other traditional games don’t quite cut it these days as in-car entertainment, they seem only to keep shouts of ‘I’m bored’ at bay for a few minutes!

Thankfully there are now alternatives to ‘Count the Ford Fiestas’ and such games. Take a look at these headrest DVD players.

With music, videos, games + headphones they are almost guaranteed to give endless fun - motorway journeys will never be the same again!

So the new Standard and Basic Membership system went live at the end of last month. Whew!!! It has been such a stressful time, so much to take care of!

Happily it went without a hitch and the number of Standard members is rising (more slowly than we would have hoped but we’ll give it time).

Just to recap on the differences, Standard members (they pay a small membership fee) can post up to 50 Sell Trade Leads, 50 Products, unlimited Buy Trade Leads and unlimited Partner Trade Leads, have an extended company profile including more contact details. They can also post Documents and appear higher in lists and search results. It all serves to make their company and products a lot more visible to Buyers and, we all hope, will help increase the volume of international trade these members enjoy.

For the time being Basic members can post 2 Sell Leads, 1 Partner Trade Lead, Unlimited Buy Trade Leads, 2 Products and a Company Profile. This subscription level is free and is really aimed at Buyers.

Those of you who are considering subscribing might be interested to know we’re running a promotion until the end of this month - 33% off the first quarter’s membership fees!

Love this, it really puts things in perspective!

Sadly nobody on the trade portal is selling trips to Arcturus and beyond but if you’re interested in making a go of it yourself why not buy some nitromethane?  The trade lead details sound pretty technical but apparently one of its uses is as a rocket propellant.

We’re looking forward to the introduction of subscriptions on the trade portal later on next month. Subscriptions will mean we’ll be able to offer members an improved service.

There are to be two categories of members - Basic and Standard.

Standard members, who will pay a fairly small subscription to use our services, will be able to post more trade leads and products than is possible at the moment and there will be a range of other features designed to improve the marketing of their companies and products.

Basic membership is free and is meant for people who haven’t used the site before and want to give it a try before committing and also for people who only want to submit ‘Buy’ trade leads. Basic members will have access to a limited range of the site’s facilities.

I bought some goji berries yesterday (I’m such a sucker for the latest health fad!). But they were really expensive, £2.75 for 75g of dried berries, can you imagine that?

Goji berries are apparently the most nutritionally rich fruit on the planet - high in amino acids, trace minerals, carotenoids, vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin E, polysaccharides - you name it.

They grow in many parts of the world, you might know them as wolf berries, but most commercial production these days is in China. The berries are scarlet red in colour, are about 1 - 2 cm long and slightly sweet to taste.

All manner of claims are made as to their health giving benefits, goji berries are said to have anti-oxidant properties, improve circulation, enhance liver function, improve eyesight, boost the immune system and many others. So many health benefits that I’m seriously considering making these berries a regular part of my diet.

I had a quick look on the trade portal, there’s a range of health, agricultural and food products but nobody seems to be selling goji berries specifically. I wonder if anyone would be willing to sell in reasonably small quantities?