Winchester Images

The story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is popular with children (and adults!) throughout the world. Indeed, over the centuries, many visitors have wished to see the real Round Table.

There’s great debate among some historians about Arthur, the legendary King of England. The story is thought by some to be just that – a tale, made up for entertainment purposes.

For others, the tale of King Arthur and his knights remain, at least partly, historical fact.

Arthur was first mentioned in ‘The History of the Kings of Britain’, produced in the 11th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It was not until 25 years later that mention was first made of the Round Table.

The city of Winchester is known to have been the ancient capital of Wessex, in the south west of England. For centuries, people have travelled to this historic city to see King Arthur’s Round Table.

Hanging on the wall of the Great Hall is a table that is more than 5 metres in diameter and that weighs some 1200 kilograms. Painted on the table are the names of the 24 knights of the Round Table, plus a depiction of Arthur himself at the head of the table.

For years it was thought that this might really be the Round Table of legend – in fact, some even suggested that the ancient city of Winchester might be Arthur’s Camelot.

In recent years, the table has been more accurately dated and we now know that it cannot have been the actual table.

Despite this, the Round Table that hangs in Winchester does date from the 14th century – although it may be a fake, it’s a very old fake!

Given the history of the city and its links to such legendary characters, it’s little surprise that Winchester remains so popular with tourists. The city has a number of museums that appeal to younger visitors too.

If you get the chance, maybe you could seek out King Arthur’s Round Table.

By: Keith Barrett

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With the credit crunch hitting us even harder just as we unpack our suitcases, people are going through extreme measures to accumulate a little extra cash. Travel insurance scams have seen an 80% increase recently as the credit crunch develops with holiday makers claiming on items which have not even been stolen or claiming for more than the items actually worth.

Some people have booked holidays but now cannot afford to go on them; you will lose your deposit if you can’t attend your holiday if pre-booked. So people are paying a visit to the doctor and pretending to be ill so they can obtain a sick note, they can then use this sick note to legally get a full refund from the holiday provider.

It is extremely hard to determine a genuine claim as the foreign police are often uninterested in lost or stolen items such as cameras or iPods resulting in low prosecution rates for fraud abroad.

With the number of claims increasing it has forced the insurance companies to act, they now look out for tell tale signs from a claimant and can determine a fraudulent claim much easier now than a genuine claim. They are however, reluctant to release these signs.

If you have a claim rejected, it will be marked on your credit rating and will remain there for three to six years.

This has also forced the insurance companies to bump up their premiums resulting in the honest genuine people paying more whilst the frauds claim the extra cash. You can still save money on travel insurance by shopping around and comparing quotes.

By: Barry Loughran

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