If you are from our neck of the words, you have heard that a hosepipe ban is to be introduced in most of north-west England for the first time in 14 years. The temporary ban which will affect millions of householders in the region, will come begin 6am Friday.

The firm said the measure will help “safeguard essential supplies”. Water levels in many reservoirs and lakes have plummeted to less than half their capacity due to the region’s driest start to the year since 1929.

Ironically this hosepipe ban comes just months after hundreds of properties were flooded in Cumbria following severe storms; more than 1,300 properties were flooded across the county, with Cockermouth, Workington and Keswick worst affected.

John Sanders, from United Utilities, said: “Despite some recent rainfall in the north of the region, reservoir levels are still significantly lower than we would expect at this time of year and are now at a point where we need to impose some temporary restrictions on our customers.

If you’re a keen gardener, you probably won’t be too impressed by the news. One promotional product you may approve of is a branded desktop garden. Now you can show the world you have green fingers, without reaching for the hose pipe.

Branded desktop gardens are a fun promotional item that will brighten up any work space. Having your logo noticed is generally the point of promotional merchandise; something that will defiantly be achieved with this quirky corporate gift.

Branded mousemats are a big cheese within the promotional products industry ever since the 90s, with their popularity not showing any signs of slowing down.

Gift Selection can supply the widest range of branded mousemats you could possibly wish for. The beauty of branded mousemats is the large amount of advertising space, right there on your desktop. Look down about a bit…yes you got it!

Gift Selection has regular low cost branded mousemats, while if you’re looking for something a little more unusual then a branded Liquid filled mousemat is bound to get your brand noticed. Another option is to add a calendar to the mousemat - ideal for the thrifty promotional product buyer!

Gift Selection has a wide range of models in stock here in the UK, so your lead times won’t be long. Speak to one of their friendly team today for more information.

If you’re looking to order some promotional plastic pens, Prodir pens will be your number one choice for style and quality. Prodir pens are Switzerland’s greatest export aside from watches, fine jewellery, army knives, cheese and Roger Federer.

Aside from making great branded pens, they have also become a sponsor of a project to bring back brown bears to Switzerland, Italy and Austria. They are backing the Ursina project which aims to create a safe habitat in the Alps, implementing new livestock management techniques to get the bears back roaming the place again.

It is being led by nature conservation charity WWF Schweiz which is already a partner with Prodir. WWF has warned that brown bears will become extinct in the Alps unless action is taken. So help the bears and buy some branded Prodir pens that’s what I say. Quality distributors like Gift Selection and Pens2order can supply the full Prodir range, the DS1 right through to the DS7.

USBs, data sticks, flash-drives, memory cards these are all popular names for the same thing, but many people don’t know much about them, despite being a very important product for all kinds of industries.

What is a flash memory?

In your promotional USB stick, you will find a flash memory chip, which is a component of almost every electronic device. This memory is super-portable, and importantly is constantly powered. This allows the user to program or erase data safely and quickly, without requiring outside power to maintain date stored on the chip.

Why is there often no prices on promotional product distributers website?

Branded USB sticks vary in price because the memory chip inside varies in price. Why would there price fluctuate? Flash memory is treated as commodity product, as only a couple of manufacturers (Samsung, Intel etc) supply the entire world. This leads the supply and demand ratio open to easy manipulation, as there can be a very large demand from only a few organisations. Apple Computers for example is responsible for buying 20% - 30% of the entire market.

How long will my promotional USB last for?

Branded USBs are extremely robust, leave one in your jeans while there in the washing machine, and they’ll still probably work (I said probably, don’t sue me if it doesn’t). Partly because they have no moving parts, they aren’t prone to wear and tear.

There is some disagreement over how long your USB flashdrive will keep running for. Some say they will last forever, but I would disagree. It is safe to say that for all intents and purposes your USB won’t break down on and you, and will very likely last longer than you.

You can’t catch us out on Prodir pens here, any little update and you’ll be the first to know…

The latest promotional Prodir tit-bit of information are the metal options available on the smart DS3 model. If you fancy making your branded Prodir pens a little luxurious, then why not try the new push button or nose cone in galvanized silver. If you want something a little more feminine then the serious looking galvanized silver, then the DS3 range is now available in a range of attractive gloss finishes.

Finally Prodir have finally come round to the idea of bringing out an eco friendly model, and have realized the corn starch based DS3 too.  Prodir are known for their relatively eco friendly business practices, but is only now that they have included a proper eco pen to their range.

To see some samples of the new promotional Prodir options, ask the friendly sales team nicely at pens2order, and they will be happy to help.

For 2010 Giftselection and Pens2order are launching a new range of low cost promotional pens – the Scripto series.

Scripto being the Latin word for ‘I write’, this budget pen brand is actually rooted in early 20th Century American ingenuity and design. Scripto went into business in 1923 and was known as the M. A. Ferst Company. It was a major supplier of graphite leads. The following year the company name was changed to Scripto. The company hasn’t looked back, and is popular in the U.S promotions market.

In the New Year they will offer a collection of “noteworthy” promotional items, in a range of smart designs and expressive colour ways. There is the eye catching Scripto feather ballpoint, right through to the cost effective Stockholm and Marcos models, set to rival popular models such as the Senator Superhit or the Alaska Frost.

 So if you are looking for a low cost promotional pen, the sort of thing to give out at trade stands, or to send out in the mail, why not make some enquiries about the new Script range of branded pens.

When the Tories win the next election, millions of middle-aged workers will be forced to wait an extra year before collecting their state pension. It is certainly a bold move, which risks alienating voters currently in their 50s. Surely it is simply a matter of necessity? Something must be done to aid the countries failing finances, and that a planned rise in the pension age from 65 to 66 must be brought forward by up to a decade.

Great Britain currently runs on an eye watering deficit, while these plans will apparantly help to reduce this by £13 billion a year. Under current Government plans, the pension age is set to rise from 65 to 66 in 2026. The women’s pension age will start rising next year from 60 until they are gradually aligned with men’s.

With this in mind it might be a good time to start handing out branded piggy banks from Gift Selection. A branded piggy bank is just the sort of promotional product that this country seems to need. Admittedly probably not as handy as branded ISA, a branded piggy bank is not without its uses.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a; branded ceramic piggy bank, branded metal piggy bank or a branded plastic piggy bank – there is a promotional money saver to suit you. A promotional money saver is a novelty item, but still has a practical element to it. With their quirky appeal and great branded potential, they might just save your bacon.

With a quality branded conference folder from Gift Selection, you will certainly look like you mean business. Branded conference folders are the professional way to stay organised, and promote your business at the same time. Giftselection have very affordable conference folders, made from quality soft grained PU – these leather look folders will look smart printed with a wide variety of businesses artwork.

Make sure to look out for the details on your next promotional conference folder. Ask their friendly staff if you require gilt cornering or special internal pockets for example. On the other hand if you have a bigger budget, then embossed leather folders always make for a tasteful corporate gift. If you need to, Giftselection have the facilities to pantone match the leather for your folder or create pockets exactly to your specifications.

Promotional conference folders will keep your important documents safe and sound, and are ideal for training days or general office use. Branded conference folders can include all sorts of specific features including: handy internal sleeve, pen loop, A4 pads of paper and calculators etc.

Give the friendly team at Gift Selection a call if you are in the market for branded conference folders, and ask them if you have any questions at all.

My favourite promotional product these days is still the branded USB men.  I’ve been spending probably too much time of late, living in my own little fantasy branded USB men land as you can see. The fact that I mainly pull their body parts off, probably doesn’t reflect well on my character, but there you are.

In our office we have a range of branded USB men taken from the standard range. If you’re not interested in splashing out on a completely bespoke USB man, then you’ll want to know what standard branded USB men are available. My favourite branded USB man is the surgeon (pictured), but there is quite a range of other characters. Giftselection are one quality supplier of branded USB men, and if you give them a call they will be happy to send you images of what is available.

When ordering a standard branded USB man, the minimum order quantity is only 50 pieces. While the USB men are available in every memory capacity up to 4Mg, and can be printed in up to four spot colours - but only the chest area.

If you require a sample of a branded USB man, contact the friendly team at Gift Selection or call 0845 481 8090 for more information.

Printed promotional USB drives are popular corporate gifts for all sorts of businesses. If you’re planning on giving lots out, you probably won’t want to spend a fortune on an individual USB.

Bracelet USB drives are one the cheapest promotional flash drives available, but their quirky appeal means despite their low cost, they are still popular. A younger audience in general I think would approve of a printed bracelet flash drive, as it’s a promotional gadget that they can really get to grips with. The beauty being that silicon branded USBs are extremely hard wearing – which is ideal for kids.

Silicone wristbands are available in a few different styles, and if ordered in quantity can even be pantone matched. A quality supplier of promotional Silicon USB drives is gadgets2order, who have a full range of memory sizes available.