LONDON – A recent study carried out by Which? has rated Thomas Cook as being the worst short-haul airline. This conculusion was reached, largely due to Thomas Cook’s online booking system.

Various factors were taken into consideration when rating the various short-haul airlines, including the extra charges which are added to each booking. For example, Easyjet charges £3.50 for each booking, while Ryanair charges £5 per passenger for each leg of the journey, which can ratchet up the price considerably if you’re booking for a number of people.

Thomas Cook had most opprobrium heaped upon it, however, for its booking system which won’t tell you the full price of the fare until you’ve entered in full contact details. Most airlines in the study only required passenger names before the person making the reservation could find out the total cost.

PROVENCE – Whey-faced boyband bod, Ronan Keating, has taken his kids on holiday to the South of France, where he’s met former bandmate, Keith Duffy.

Although said to be attempting to patch things up with his wife, there’s clearly a lot to be done and he has gone on holiday without her. The pair haven’t been seen together since last month.

Going by the probably fictional accounts in the newspapers, Duffy and his missus invited Yvonne, but she didn’t want to go. The decision may just have something to do with the whole separation thing. Ronan’s probably not her favourite person at the minute and holidays are supposed to be relaxing and fun.

CYPRUS – A recent Skyscanner study into holiday costs has found that Cyprus is the cheapest holiday destination. Various factors were taken into account to jduge this, including the prices of various items, such as beer and coffee.

Other countries which also fared well, were South Africa and Greece, although it was not mentioned whether the World Cup might have a significant impact on costs in Cape Town, Durban and the like.

At the other end of Africa, Egypt and Morocco were also found to be affordable destinations, although when flights were also taken into account, the results had a more euro-centric look about them, with Poland and Portugal featuring.

PARIS – A recent study has found that holidays in France are the most expensive in terms of costs while you are away. However, France’s location and the range of different holidays on offer means that these findings are vague at best.

A Skyscanner study compared the prices of various things, including coffee, beer and a meal and found that France was more expensive than many countries that we tend to think of as being more costly, such as those in Scandinavia. However, while beer is particularly expensive in cafes in France, wine from supermarkets is astonishingly cheap, particularly by British standards. Discrepancies such as this were not taken into account in calculations.

Similarly, while French ski resorts can be extortionately expensive, other areas of the country are far more reasonable – even areas on the Cote d’Azur, an area widely considered to be the place for millionaires and celebrities.

Dear Bangalore,

Why can’t I sit on the grass in Cubbon Park?

I walked in, everyone was sitting on the grass, I sat on the grass, but within 30 seconds, a woman had come over to me with a whistle and blown it at me. When I looked confused and didn’t move, she blew it again and gestured for me to get up.

I sloped out of the park, tail between my legs, past dozens of other people doing exactly the same thing. I’m 99 per cent confident that I wasn’t exposing my testicles via the leg of my shorts, so as far as I’m concerned I was doing nothing wrong.

Why can’t I sit on the grass in Cubbon Park?