On my travels, it's amazing what sorts of strangely different stuff and gadgets you can find being retailed at service areas! Most of these gizmos are, for the most part, nearly useless, but every now and then a gadget turns up that just begs inquisitiveness. On my return home from a job, I stopped at a local filling station for fuel. Nothing unusual about that, I agree, but it was one such gizmo that caught my eye.

A torch that needs NO BATTERIES ! Hmmm. Torches are a neccessary part of our toolkit, and batteries are expensive! At home, it's a normal thing to find torches with flat batteries when you need them most. Two very good reasons to make a purchase - and on investigation, it got even more pressing.

The "Forever Flashlight" relies on an LED to provide the illumination, and works on the Faraday principle. For those not familiar with things scientifique, that is that a change in magnetic environment in a coil induces a voltage. So, if the given principle can be applied to charge a small ni-cad battery, the requirement for standard dry cell batteries is negated. The LED used has an exceedingly low power drain, which enables the torch to function for nearly five minutes on a single 15 - 30 second charge (shaking).

No more batteries, no more replacement bulbs, as ergonomically friendly as you'd ever want, waterproof, and - it'll float! Visible for up to a mile, this has to be one of the best "finds" yet at £5-00 a throw. Idealic to put in the car, and forget! Or to take with you if you do a lot of serious walking holidays. They're not bad if you need a light at home, either, so watch out for them!