There's nothing like a bit of live, stand-up comedy to see you through the tough times, but good quality laughs don't come cheap - that is, unless you're prepared to sit through endless re-runs of QI and Mock the Week on the freeview channels...

Fortunately for those who love unseen and live material, studio recordings of TV and radio comedy shows are happening almost every day, and are a well-kept secret among those who regularly attend. The only 'payment' you'll be required to give is your own laughter. and visiting a studio can be a fun and intriguing day out, providing and insight into the behind-the-scenes lives of your favourite comedy names!

Read on to find out how you can get tickets

For me, the term 'working holidays' has always conjured up visions of slogging away in a field for the best part of the day before settling into a hard bunk for the night with a group of total strangers. Which probably has a lot to do with why I've never gone on one...

So I was surprised when I heard that a friend had just come back from a lovely trip to a villa in Spain where she spent a few hours with the owner of the house each day tending to and watering the garden and the remainder of her time relaxing on the porch, enjoying al fresco meals and swimming in the pool. It sounded very much like my idea of a perfect holiday, but with activities thrown in for when sunbathing gets dull. Best of all, she paid just £15 a day for her fabulous accommodation.

Sound too good to be true? Read on to find out how to find a working holiday that works for you

Of all aspects of wedding planning, the gift list is one detail that seems to cause the most disagreement. While some couples are happy to ask for the traditional nest-feathering household items, the old-fashioned registry is definitely falling out of favour: most couples now marry later in life when they've already kitted out their homes - and let's face it - if you can't afford a toaster you shouldn't really be spending money on a wedding. Our greener (and thriftier) sensibilities also mean that we are less likely as guests to buy duplicates of these items just to 'show willing'.

So if you're attending a wedding this summer. what can you buy for the couple that has everything?

We don't cope well with extremes of temperature here in the UK, so I doubt many will be surprised to learn that the current heatwave is already being linked to a spate of 'sickies' amid claims that the economy could loose up to £190 a day in lost business.

Of course, what with swine 'flu getting its second wind and the real possibility of heat stroke, it's hard to tell how many of the absences are due to genuine illness, versus hypochondria and the wayward deisre to sunbathe. But in the name of proving those alarmist doom-mongerers wrong, let's take a look at what you can do to help prevent physical and economic meltdown.

Each year, I'm one of thousands of people who make the pilgrimage to Edinburgh for the heady dose of arts, music and comedy that is the Fringe festival, and each year the train fare from London becomes a little bit more horrifying. There are other travel options, and they're far cheaper - but I flatly refuse to fly anywhere that isn't overseas, and having tried the coach once I know that the train is the only choice for me. I tend to buy my tickets second-hand. But why does the most obvious and sensible route have to be so prohibitively and inexplicably expensive?

The short answer is privitisation of the railways, which has driven costs up and up. After National Express started charging customers £5 to reserve seats, passengers are voting with their feet, pushing the franchise into deep trouble. The company doesn't expect to be able to meet it's payment obligations, so the East Coast mainline is highly likely to come under state control later in the year.

But will nationalisation bring ticket costs down?

First it was the MPs' expenses, then MJ's missing millions - and now it's the Queen's cashflow crisis that's causing concern.

We've certainly developed a taste for unearthing the ugly truth behind the bank accounts of the (apparently) rich and famous, and the publication of Buckingham Palace accounts today is bound to provide more fodder for the nation's anger at a time when wasteful behaviour is definitely not in vogue.

So how has her Madge managed to get into such deep water and what does this latest crisis mean for her taxpaying subjects?

Can you imagine what 100 grand on beauty products looks like? Cheryl Cole's face provides an authentic answer, as it has been reported that this is the amount that the former singer and WAG spends on cosmetics in a year. That's an awful lot of fake tan and mascara...

To many, the news comes as a bittersweet reminder that with enough money to burn, most of us could scrub up pretty well. But the fact remains that most of us don't have £100,000 to spend on anything, let alone cosmetics, so a bit of cheating is required.

Thankfully, the beauty industry often cheats as well, so it's quite possible to play it at its own game and look fantastic without falling for every fad going. As a self-confessed beauty junkie, I've had a fair bit of experience scouting out the cheap products that really do work and identifying the pricier ones it's worth splashing out on.

Read on for a few tips on how to look a hundred thousand pounds without bankruptcy!

Cynics who claimed that Michael Jackson's death would provide the best possible boost for his turbulent career were proven right this weekend, as many of the star's most loved hits shot to the top of the charts.

After an unprecedented surge in downloads and CD sales, hits from Jackson's back catalogue are now dominating music charts across the globe, with compilation album Number Ones occupying that very position in the UK. An incredible 43 singles out of the top 200 are now Michael Jackson or Jackson Five tracks, and Jackson's work now accounts for all but one of the new entries in the top 40. A full rundown of the songs enjoying new-found success can be found here.

But as Jackson died with debts to the tune of £300 million, will this sudden spike in popularity be enough to rescue his estate?

When Woolworths closed its doors for the last time in the new year, there was little doubt as to which of its product lines would be most sorely missed.

The 'Pick and Mix' counter quickly became the sad symbol of Woolies' demise, prompting a wailing and a gnashing of (decayed) teeth from children and nostalgia-seeking adults alike. But if you're already missing your cheap sugar rush, you'll be pleased to hear that you can now find jazzies, snowies, pear drops and all their other old favourites right here on the internet, as the Woolworth's brand has just begun trading as an online business, complete with its own Pick 'n' Mix.

So does this mean is Woolworths back from the dead?

To his fans, perhaps the saddest detail of Michael Jackson's death was its timing. On the brink of an epic comeback, the star was poised to re-establish himself as one of the greatest forces in pop history. Rehearsals for his planned UK tour were said to be going well, pointing towards a storming return to form that could restore the star's tarnished reputation for good, but the long-awaited show was not to be, leaving thousands of grieving fans stranded.

Those same fans, some of whom are reported to have paid four-figure sums for front row tickets, will now be left deprived not only of their hero but of possibly the biggest event in their calender, which was tantalisingly close. £50m worth of tickets had been sold for the show, which was to begin on 13 July. So what should you do now if you bought one of those tickets?