This year three additional attractions have opened including the professor’s explanation of chocolate-making

This year three additional attractions have opened, including the professor’s explanation of chocolate-making.Yet the games played by the professor and elsewhere on this sprawling site are simple ones Cadbury World is not the land of sophistication It’s just that the chocolate makes us light-headed. And there is chocolate at the beginning, in the middle and, if you pay, at the end. After the “lecture” Christopher, six, has chocolate on his mouth and more bars in his pockets. He hands me yet more bars that he has mysteriously acquired as we are launched into the long corridors.We see a robot loading wrapped bars on to pallets and a human loading bar wrappings on to the machines Chocolate speeds by in every direction. Other white-clad operatives move about, avoiding eye contact with the happy throngs from outside. I see my children – I think – absorbing the unstated but powerful message, itself well worth the admission price: work hard at school or you’ll work somewhere like this.

Signs explain that the humans work 12-hour shifts, and, perhaps in a nod to the philanthropic ethos of the Cadbury family, efforts are made to vary their tasks.We see chocolate being made the “Thirties way” and take the opportunity to sample. We are offered liquid chocolate, to the despair of a harassed mother.On we march, dutifully, and in order, for despite the huge numbers, the crowds are controlled with Disneyesque precision, from the moment we enter via a tableau of Mayans encountering cocoa. The management stresses that failing to book in advance carries the risk of being refused admission, and the factory tour is not always available. But by the time we reach the excellent museum, the crowds have melted away.There are some crass exhibits, however. An automated commercial featuring robotised characters masquerading as a “play” delighted Christopher’s brother Joe, 11, and sisters Eleanor, 13, and Melora, 15, with its absurdity.They all agreed, though, that Cadbury World was a great day out.

How sweet.Cadbury World (0121-451 4180; www.cadburyworld.co.uk) is at Bournville, Birmingham Opening times vary, so call before you visit.. Mrs Doyle, Father Ted’s housekeeper from the TV sitcom of the same name, took over from Hector the Tax Inspector last week in a new £5.5m advertising campaign for the Inland Revenue. MoneynetMortgagesSearch Mrs Doyle, Father Ted’s housekeeper from the TV sitcom of the same name, took over from Hector the Tax Inspector last week in a new £5.5m advertising campaign for the Inland Revenue.
The Revenue’s hope is that Mrs Doyle will be able to persuade those taxpayers affected by self-assessment to return their forms by 30 September, and so avoid having to work out how much tax they owe. People who miss this deadline will have to do their own calculations – by 31 January – or face an automatic fine.However, taxpayers should be aware of another key date, 31 July. By then, those who have to make a second payment on account for the tax year ending 5 April 2001 – mainly the self-employed – must get their cheques in to the Revenue.

If this applies to you, it doesn’t mean you actually have to return your form by then; the Revenue is only interested in your cash at this stage.If you expect that once the final figures are done, you will have earned less than you did in the previous year, you can request to pay a reduced amount. Ask the Revenue for form SA303, in which you must estimate how much you expect to earn and give reasons for the shortfall. If it turns out you’ve miscalculated and you end up earning more than you thought, you will have to pay interest on the difference.The 31 July deadline is also an important date for those who have still not settled their bill for the tax year ending April 2000. The tax owed on this should have been paid by 31 January 2001; if you didn’t pay it, you will have already received an automatic £100 fine and a 5 per cent surcharge.

If you don’t pay up by 31 July, you will get a second 5 per cent surcharge. And those who failed to submit their tax return by 31 January 2001 will incur another automatic penalty of £100.Even if you don’t have to make any payments on account or have outstanding fines, it is far less hassle to complete your form now and send it to the Revenue before 30 September. But beware, because the Revenue can get their calculations wrong.According to a recent National Audit Office report into the self-assessment system, there were around £100m of processing errors last year. “The Revenue can make a mistake; [inspectors] are only human, after all,” says John Whiting, president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. So what should you do if you want to avoid a mistake but don’t want to work out your own tax? Calculate roughly how much you expect to pay; if the Revenue’s sums are wildly different, query them.The first step in filling out your tax return is to ensure you have all the pages you need. Everyone gets an eight-page form, along with supplementary pages, depending on your circumstances.If you haven’t received a return, you probably don’t need to complete one.