The New Printing Service On The Block Is Print Lion

There is a new kid in town, to coin a phrase The Eagles used many moons ago, and that new kid is Print Lion, a new addition to the Printing universe. Print Lion are an online printing service who provide free delivery on all of their products and are certainly from what I have seen an excellent outfit with quality at the core of their business model.

They work hard at delivering all their products quickly and efficiently and keep their prices very competitive as they know that the competition is pretty fierce in the printing world. They know that most printing products must be delivered to a deadline, as that is the nature of the business, and they have the manpower and equipment to do just that for its customers. Their standard lead time is 5 days but if there is a reason for a quicker turnaround they will do all they can to do just that.

The finishing and the printing is of the highest quality and they can supply their customers with a wide range of promotional items which include posters, pop up stands, brochures, leaflets, business cards, bannerstands, business cards and banners. They can do large format print as well if you require a large banner or poster or sign.

For an example let`s take a look at their pop up stands, which come in very handy for an exhibition or an event. They are ultra easy to assemble and just as easy to fold away, and they also come in a plastic carry case for ease of transportation and to protect the pop up stand from any damage. In fact this plastic carry case can also double up as a table which you can use at your event or exhibition. You will be pleased to know that these stands come with lights that will help to give your pop up stand an even better look.

For more information and to order any products why not check out the website at the following link: Print Lion

Kennedys Jewellers New Stock

Kennedys Jewellers & Watch Shop, who reside in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, have some fabulous stock in their shop at this present moment in time and so I thought I would devote this post to Kennedys and some of their items in stock. I have been a long time devotee of this store as they have so a great range of jewellery and watches for both men and women.

Firstly let us take a look at these pieces of jewellery from Cristallo di Milano, they are truly beautiful and a great accessory if you are out partying or enjoying some time with friends or loved ones this coming weekend! Cristallo are a pretty unique brand that are always worth checking out.

They have also by popular demand got more Quoins jewellery in stock. I love Quoins pendants, they are so cool and original, they are so diverse and they use natural materials to create their jewellery, not to mention the sheer quality of the finished product. Here is a photo of some Quoins jewellery in store at Kennedys now;

The store, always looking to be one step ahead of the opposition, have produced some great little gift boxes with their brand name on them which are absolutely perfect if you are buying a piece of jewellery or a watch as a present for someone. Take a look at the boxes below and see what you think, it is a good for both Kennedys as they are promoting their business brand through the boxes and for the customer who is getting a natty little box!!

Kennedys have a very wide range of jewellery in store, including Cristallo, Quoins, Rebecca, Sphere Of Life and Guess, and they have some wonderful watches which include brands such as Casio, TW Steel, Casio and Citizen. They are well worth exploring and checking out if you are looking for that little something special for you or your loved ones.

Sphere Of Life Jewellery

If you don`t know anything about Sphere Of Life jewellery at present then you are in for a real treat as I am sure you will be blown away by this brand and the pieces they have for you. Their brand motto is "Personal Jewellery For All Of Life`s Occasions" and all this motto is a bit clunky for my taste they do live up to the tag.

Sphere Of Life jewellery is particularly good if you are looking for a present for someone and the packaging they present the jewellery in is superb and so great for giving out as a gift. They have Friendship Jewellery pieces that come in chunky, cute or themed designs, and they are very clever in using themes to portray emotions and you can find something suitable for any kind of occasion.

Some of the newest arrivals in this jewellery are the Daisies pendant, which is a silver pendant with enamel details in the shape of daisies (obvs). Then there is the Onyx Charm Bracelet which comes in either black or white and is absolutely beautiful and can hold 3 Sphere Of Life charms.

There is also the new Charm Bracelet which is in silver and holds hanging charms and beads. You don`t have to only wear this with Sphere Of Life charms, you can wear it with Pandora or Thomas Sabo charms for instance.

I particularly like the Shooting Stars - Make A Wish pendant which is yellow gold plated, and you personalise the pendant with an engraved message. I love the stars on this and it is definitely favourite with me along with thousands of others.

All of their trinkets are very eye catching, and as they send them out to you already beautifully packaged, and you can also personalise many of the items, they are perfect gift for a friend or that extra special person in your life.

Kennedys Jewellers & Watch Shop have a great selection of Sphere Of Life jewellery, including the Forever Love jewellery range. You can find them in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, why not check them out they will soon have an online shop for you to purchase from.

A Website Makeover & Ecommerce Store

I was looking around at a few websites today and I noticed that the Kennedys Jewellers site was having a makeover, and I suspect it is going to have an Ecommerce store which is not before time. In this day and age to have a business such as a Jewellers or a Watch Shop and not be selling your products online is little short of crazy.

If you are only selling direct from your shop you could be missing out on customers from every far flung part of the world you can think of, from Kazhakstan to Samoa, and so this about turn by Kennedys Jewellery Store is long overdue.

People are used to buying goods and services online now, they no longer see it as a risk, and so if you are an established and respected business by promoting your products through your website and your social media channels etc you can really make a killing and take your business to the next level.

Ecommerce stores are fairly easy to set up these days, you just need to find a web developer who creates these types of stores and get yourself a payment processor that will process all on the online purchases for you. Many businesses start with PayPal initially and then move onto other methods at a later date.

But once you have your website all set up with your online store that is not the end of your work, you need to then actively promote this store by ensuring you have your site properly optimised for all your keyword terms and you need to work hard at connecting with potential customers on all the social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc and drive these people back to your website.

You can also work at building high quality backlinks to your site which will both drive traffic to it and also it is likely to help you achieve higher Google rankings for all your keyword terms.

And finally, a word on Kennedys Jewellers & Watch Shop this is a great store with a wide range of quality branded items so just keep an eye on their website.

The Most Important Features Of Windows

There are many important features to a window that go towards making it a good window or a not so good window for your requirements, so lets look at a few of them here:

Window Pane: It all depends if you want a nice, clear sight of the outside world, or if you want a clear sight but you don`t want people to be able to see inside easily, or you may want tinted windows that block out the street or scenery in front of you, so you take your choice in this respect.

You may want a single glazed window, a double glazed window or even a triple glazed window. Double or triple glazed windows of course are more likely to keep the heat in your house than a single glaze. You can also get double or triple glazed windows where the space between the window panes is filled with inert gas and this improves the thermal performance of the windows.

You can also get tinted windows which absorb much of the heat which comes through a window, thus keeping the room nice and cool, and these are particularly useful in hot climates or offices with big windows where otherwise the heat could become uncomfortable for the office workers.

There are insulated glazed windows where the glass panes are spaced apart and they are hermetically sealed and this insulates the window and keeps the heat inside the home.

There are low e-coatings which you can have on the glass that will reflect much of the heat that hits the window away but still let in the light so you have a nice bright room.

Window Frames: Lets move onto window frames and there are many types of window frames to choose from. You can go for wooden frames which are good for insulation, but expand and contract in different weather conditions and so do tend to need maintenance and not last as long as some other types. Metal, or aluminium frames, are poor for insulation as they conduct heat quickly but they are a strong, light material and very popular.

Composite frames are hugely popular now, they are mixture of composite wood materials and why they are popular is they have good thermal properties but they are more stable than ordinary wood frames and so last longer and deal with moisture better.

With fibreglass window frames the air cavities can be filled with insulation which gives them an improved thermal performance, and there are also vinyl window frames which again can be filled with insulation, and they have good moisture resistance and do not require any maintenance such as painting.

Hinges & Window Types: Finally lets take a look at what sort of window type you want for your home or office.
Casement window: this is hinged on the right or left and opens outward with a handle.
Double hung window: this has 2 sashes which slide vertically to open and close.
Fixed window: this window doesn`t open at all but gives you an unrestricted view.
Awning window: this has hinges at the top so opens outward from the bottom.
Gliding window: this is a window with a moving panel which slides to the left or right to open.
Skylight window: this is for a ceiling and some are fixed but others are on hinges and open for ventilation.

I hope you have enjoyed this feature on windows and has given you food for thought!

Legal Aid Boycott By Practitioners Still On

The boycott by solicitors of taking on any new legal aid work in a protest against the stringent legal aid cuts brought in by the government will continue at least until Thursday of this week, when a group of practitioners are due to conduct talks with Michael Gove on the issue. The boycotting of new legal aid work started on July 1st when another cut of 8.75% was introduced, this seemed to be the final straw for many working in the legal profession as they felt that the access to justice was no longer there for great swathes of our society.

The groups who are meeting Michael Gove this week include the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association, the Big Firms Group and the CBA. These practitioner groups are going in the hope that they can persuade Gove to put a temporary stay on the latest cuts until there is a full and frank review of the legal justice system.

The truth is that they are probably going more in hope than expectation. Gove is proving just as popular in his new role as he was in his Minister of Education role previously, and as the government seem hellbent on bringing in cuts right across the board in health, law, education and social services, there seems little prospect of them taking any notice of a few solicitors associations.

There was a further rally by legal groups in Manchester outside the Crown Court, and there the solicitors voted to make further protest moves if there was no resolution on Thursday by withdrawing completely from duty solicitor work.

Prospects do not look rosy at all and the threat to the legal justice system by these cuts is very real. The solicitors and legal associations have every right to protest and protect the interests of many of the most vulnerable in our society but whether their protests fall on deaf ears remains to be seen.

So This Is How You Put In A New Window!!

If you have ever ruminated on a long summers day how to install a new window in your home, or someone elses home for that matter, then ruminate no longer as this is your lucky day. We have below a mighty fine video by House Improvements on how to safely and expertly install one.

It only takes Shannon, who is the installer and presenter of the video, 23 minutes in the video to install a new window, I would suggest if you are not as much an expert as this dude that it might just take you a tad longer.

Doing your own work is such great fun and you can`t beat the satisfaction of creating your own little piece of magic here on earth. However, and you probably knew there was going to be a however, if DIY on this scale is not your bag and you would rather bring in the experts then go right ahead. I can recommend Smyth Window Systems in Northern Ireland for one, they are expert window suppliers and installers.

Check out the video below mon amis:

How Nutrition, Dieting And Fitness Have Moved Forward

It is interesting to see all the new information and methods that are prevalent with regard to fitness and nutrition. I put dieting in the headline subject matter but this has become a dirty word now and not before time. A dieting regime means that you are on a diet which by its very nature can only be sustained for a short to medium length of time. As soon as you abandon the diet you go back to our old ways of eating and you end up worse off than when you started.

A sustainable eating plan which is both nutritious and does not leave you feeling hungry and which can be run alongside a fitness plan is definitely the way to go. Calorie counting is old hat and is not a long term sustainable option.

Indeed if you are pushing yourself fitness wise you are likely to need more calories than ever to both keep up your energy levels and build up your muscle tone.

There is a guy on Instagram called The Body Coach and he is excellent!! He runs a 90 Day Shift, Shape and Sustain plan which is a tailored fat loss plan to both get you looking buff and in rude health at one and the same time. Low calorie this is certainly not as he will be getting you to eat more, exercise hard but in short, sharp bursts, and with this so called 90 Day SSS Plan you will be burning fat but building lean muscle.

This is a very flexible weight loss plan, and he has over 80 set recipes with hundreds of various ingredient combinations, but it will give you a great education in nutrition and macronutrients and it will give you a plan that you can follow for the rest of your life!!

Losing weight should not actually be an end in itself, but looking fit and toned, and more importantly being healthy, most certainly should be. If you shift your focus to these aspects then you will find your journey a whole lot easier. It`s not rocket science but if you give your body the right nutrition at the right time and follow a fitness plan tailored to your age and fitness levels then you will be on the right track.

It Is 2015 And We Still Don`t Have Equal Pay For Women?!!!

The subject of equal pay should have been put to bed 30 years ago but it seems that we still have plenty of examples of companies who pay different rates for different genders (including some of the big supermarket chains----allegedly). They do this in a kind of indirect fashion so they can`t fall foul directly with the equal pay commission.

This is not always the fault of the male species though, Many women do not see the value of their own worth and put up with low paid jobs, being overseen for promotion, low expectations etc without putting up much of a fight. They all need to realise that if they don`t fight for their rights they won`t get them.

Nobody (apart from a misogynistic few) want to go back to the bad old days of no women in management positions and so it is up to everyone of us to ensure this doesn`t happen.

Women need to promote themselves more and have the desire and commitment to get right to the top in their chosen profession and men should ensure there are no barriers blocking the promotion of women. The regulations on equal pay and equal rights should be more tightly controlled and stringently applied, and any company or person who transgresses should be severely dealt with.

We want everyone, regardless of colour, creed or gender, to get a fair crack of the whip and we don`t want anyone to have any excuses that they cannot progress because of discrimination in the workplace. Likewise we want people to get out of their comfort zone and see what they can do with their life if they really push theirselves. Life is what you make it and there are now laws in place to give everyone the chance to shoot for the stars.

And here`s another thing, if a person only strives for equal pay that is a pretty limiting ambition, why not strive to be the best paid person in the company?!!

Home Improvements

It is the summer and when summer arrives my mind always turns to improving the look of my home. I have a particular method for deciding what I am going to spend my money on each year. What I do is put a few hours to one side and walk through the house slowly room by room, carefully taking notes of each room.

I write down how each room makes me feel, if there are any signs of wear and tear in the rooms, what I like or don`t like about a room. I sit down in each room just to ruminate and let my imagination wander, thinking what I would ideally want each room to look like.

Last year it was the windows in the living room and hall which were badly in need of renewing along with the front and back doors. I also redesigned the main bedroom completely, rearranging the bedroom furniture, changing the colour scheme and introducing lots of pictures and small accessories.

Anyways I digress. Once I have been through all the rooms and made my copious notes there are then three main factors to bear in mind:

1. What would I most like to change about the house.
2. What needs changing or renovating the most.
3. What can I afford!!

If all 3 of these things converse then that is the best situation but more often than not I have to go with what needs the most urgent attention and what I can afford, then I sometimes have a little money over to get something I have had my eye on.

It is a great feeling to change things around in your home, freshen them up or change the design or colour scheme etc. It gives a feeling of invigoration and renewal.

Greece, The Money Men & The UK

Unless you have been living in a cave in Burnley you are probably aware that Greece is a bit short of cash at the moment. It is all a convoluted mess but let`s try and make some sense of it. The Greek people have basically been stuffed by their own government and now are going to be stuffed by the EU powerbrokers. A fair playing field it is not.

The Greek government instigated proceedings by cooking their own books and have ended up owing money to the EU that they have no earthly chance of paying back. And now the EU are attempting to call in the debt, hoping that the Greek people agree to decades of austerity so that they can recoup their money. Of course by the laws of the EU they are legally entitled to do so but ethically the whole thing stinks to high heaven.

The Greek government should never have got into such debt in the first place (whether they should have ever joined the EU and the Eurozone is a moot point too) and the EU should never have let them. The only people not at fault for this mess are the Greek people yet it is they who will now suffer. The men with the money as ever cause complete chaos and leave it to the man and woman on the street to pick up the pieces.

The Greeks I am sure have scoured all the small print of the EU constitution to find some legal way of bailing out without paying their debts but come up short, so the only other option is to renege on the debt seeing as the EU are unwilling to renegotiate.

The EU along with the UK government of course bang on about this money owed as being the tax payers money but let`s face it, it is all pretend money being thrown around in the EU trough and they could easily write off the debt if they really wished. The UK are now scaremongering and warning the problems in Greece could lead to further austerity measures in the UK although how much more Dickensian they can take the UK back to I have no idea!!

So in summary there could be a few years of misery in store for the Greek people and we in the UK will be tagging along for the ride (at least for the next 5 years of Tory government). Don`t you just love the mover and shakers in charge of our lives?!!

Legal Aid, Access To Justice & Pro Bono

Below is an excellent video which shows a debate on legal aid, access to justice and pro bono, produced bi PIlnet, The Global Network for Public Interest Law.

As we know there have been enormous cuts to legal aid, and pro bono services are certainly worried that their aid will encourage the government to make ever more legal aid cuts. They like to stress that their pro bono work should be an addition to legal aid services and not a replacement for it.

Access to legal services for all members of society should be the aim of any developed society but this is sadly not the case in the UK at present. Even before the legal aid cuts there was not access to justice for all the people and so these cuts have only exacerbated the situation.

Anyway check out the video yourself, get yourself a coffee, it really is an hour well spent!

Fracking Is THE Big Issue Of The Day In The North West

To frack or not to frack, that is the question that is on everyones lips here in the North West, and it seems fracking is like marmite, you are either all for it or you feel it is going to be the death of all of us in the not too distant future.

Lancashire County Council have now deferred a decision over whether they are going to allow the firm Cuadrilla to start hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in their area on the Fylde coast until Monday, in the meantime they are going to seek more legal advice over the issue. Meanwhile anti-fracking protesters have been massed outside the County Hall in Preston determined to show the strength of feeling against this process and telling Cuadrilla to `Frack Off`!!

So what do we know about the process of fracking? Here is what they do, they drill about 1 to 2 kilometres down into the ground and then they drill laterally from there for about another 1 to 2 kilometres. Then huge amounts of water, sand and chemicals are directed through massive pressure down into these holes which then releases gas from the shale and this carries up to the head of the well.

The problem is that in many countries this fracking process has led to small earthquakes, contaminated water, and land unfit for any purpose. Cuadrilla claim that this is down to bad working practices in these areas and they would have regulations in place that would ensure this would not happen.

Of course believing a multi-national company who see profit as the only real value of any process would be naive in the extreme, so will there be enough independent regulators and evaluators in place to assess and control the fracking process?

Many countries have thought better of it and banned fracking from their shores. If the Council say yes to fracking and anything goes wrong the legal implications are grave for them and the company.  

Improvements In Health And Nutrition Mean We Can Keep Younger And Fitter For Longer

If you are savvy enough to look after yourself and keep up with the latest guidelines on health and nutrition then it is fair to say that you can be fit and healthy to a ripe old age. Advances in nutritional science mean that we know so much about how the body reacts to and digests different foods, what are the foods we should be eating, when, and at what time and in what quantity.

We have known for the last 40 years or so of course that too many pastries, sugar and alcohol etc is bad for you and not only makes you fat but can lead to various diseases too, such as heart disease and cancer. But we are learning more and more about how processed foods can be such a health hazard to us. Fresh, natural foods are the way to go, using wholemeal and wholewheat products.

It is important to get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables of course, but it is also important to have a balanced diet and ensure that you get enough protein and carbs in your diet. Nuts and pulses are particularly an excellent food source for all sorts of reasons, and oily fish an absolutely essential element of your diet.

Whereas once the emphasis was on cutting down on fatty foods we are now told that some fatty foods can actually be good for you, but you have to be careful to avoid the nasty trans-fats which can do so much damage to you. The key to good nutrition seems to be to eat non-processed foods and avoid sugary foods whenever you can.

And how you exercise is sooo important!! High intensity training is far better for you than lifting heavy weights and you can now get your personal trainer to set you a training regime to keep you in peak condition and to get the maximum out of your trips to the gym. Activities such as aerobics, dance classes, yoga and pilates are all great for your heart, health and soul.

And if all else fails you can try one of the beauty treatments to keep you looking young and beautiful such as laser treatment, botox and facelifts etc. We truly do live in enlightened times!!

The Tories Show Their True Colours After Their Election Victory

As expected the Conservative Party, now they have a majority in the House of Commons, are showing their true colours and there have been some very concerning developments already. Lets inspect the evidence:

Chancellor George Osborne has pinned his flag to the austerity mask, saying they were looking to make more budget cuts across the board. This is worrying news for everyone trying to scrape a living on the bottom rungs of society or who rely on benefits. Cuts to social services, legal aid, health care, probation services, work and pensions, police etc affect the people at the rough end of the scale and there are thousands of people hanging on to the edge of the cliff for grim life.

The most worrying new announcement is that they are determined to go ahead and scrap the Disability Living Allowance. This is beyond cruel as this allowance is a lifeline for thousands of disabled people who without it will in many cases lose contact with the outside world, will no longer be able to get out and make a contribution to society, and many will be forced to give up their independence and move into care.

The Tories claim that the Councils will now be able to provide the necessary help for these disabled people but as their budget will be further cut it is unlikely that they will receive adequate aid from them. They have not ring fenced care for this section of society so it will be up to individual councils to give provisions or not.

David Cameron thankfully, for the moment, has had to climb down from his proposal to scrap the Human Rights Act which is a safeguard for all countries right across Europe and beyond. This utterly ridiculous proposal has been shot down due to opposition from both ministers in Parliament and human rights groups and indeed anyone who has an ounce of common sense!!

All this is just the start. Coming out of the EU could be the next disastrous move if the proposed referendum goes ahead. Cameron is opposed to such a move but many in his Party would certainly welcome it leaving us increasingly isolated and prey to this unforgiving Tory government.

I know they have a majority but isn`t it time we fought back?

All You Need To Know About Sliding Sash Windows

If you are thinking of getting new windows for your humble abode then you maybe want to think about sliding sash windows. For your information a sliding sash window is made of one or more movable panels/sashes, and these help to form a frame to hold the panes of glass, which can often be separated by narrow muntins. If you are wondering what a muntin is they are strips of wood or sometimes metal that are there to divide and hold panes of glass in a window, and they can also be sometimes called sash bars.

Classically these windows have 3 panes across and 2 up on each of 2 sashes and this gives what is commonly known as a six over six panel window.

The term sliding sash window refers to the type of window that is opened by sliding vertically or horizontally, and these types of window have been around since at least the 17th Century in England. Many Georgian and latterly Victorian homes had sliding sash windows.

The windows can be opened at either the top or the bottom, or sometimes both depending on the style, and although you cannot swing these sash windows outward many of the more modern types of sash windows tilt in and out which is great both for cleaning and ventilation.

If you already have a sliding sash window installed in your home but it is getting a little worse for repair, if possible it may be a good idea to get the window repaired and waterproofed but if the window is beyond repair you can get a window company to design an authentic replacement for you.

If you are a traditionalist I am sure you would want your sliding sash window to be made of timber, but an alternative is to use a composite structure with timber on the interior so it retains that classic look but clad with aluminium on the outside so that they will be very durable.

If You Could Just Wear One Piece Of Jewellery-----

Imagine if you could only wear one piece of jewellery (besides from your wedding or engagement ring if you have one) for the rest of the year, then what would it be? It would be devilishly hard to choose I am sure particularly for the ladies.

I think most people would pick some piece of jewellery that was very visible if this was the case, as obviously a nipple ring or toe ring or navel jewellery, although great if you like that kind of thing, would probably not be your first choice of jewellery.

The best way to choose would be first to think of your favourite pieces of jewellery and make a note of them all and lay them out on your bed. Then think of the pieces that you really do not like doing without and take the rest out of the equation. Next choose the ones which are the most versatile in that they look good whatever outfit you are going to wear or whatever occasion it is whether it be work or a casual night out or a more formal setting.

By now you should not have a great deal to choose from!! From there I would just use your instinct and choose the one which makes you feel good when you wear it. Of course this is all make believe as you will never have to make such a choice but it is actually good to do this as it gives you a good idea of a hierarchy for all your jewellery so that you can put your more essential pieces in one box, put your versatile pieces in another box, the rest of your favourite pieces in another and all the others in another box (you may feel that you could do without some of the remaining items and sell them on or give them to charity). So this can be a good exercise for you.

I suspect most people for their one essential piece of jewellery would pick something like a favourite necklace or bracelet or maybe their favourite earrings or ring. As I do not wear any jewellery at all this is totally irrelevant to me!!

What To Look For In A Solicitor

When you require the services of a Solicitor you need to make sure you choose one that ticks all the right boxes as it is massively important to pick the best one available to you at the right price. Here are some of the qualities you should be looking out for in a Solicitor:

• First of all integrity is crucial and don`t always think this comes as a given!! Choose one that you feel is going to be straight with you and be honest and reliable.
• Recommendations from friends, family or colleagues are always good to have. If you ask around I am sure you will find a few people who have used a Solicitor in the past so ask them about their experience with them, if they dealt with them efficiently and professionally, if they were friendly and most of all did they get the results they desired. 
• If you are looking to make a claim for compensation for an accident or negligence etc, I would make sure that the Solicitor worked on a no win no fee basis and also that you will receive 100% of the compensation from them if you win the case as the Solicitors fees can be paid as costs from the defendant. 
• It is always worth checking online and seeing if there are any reviews about Solicitors in your area. If you find a Solicitor that has a few reviews and they are all positive then there is a good chance they will do a decent job for you.
• Some Solicitors specialise in certain areas, be it criminal law, medical negligence, road traffic accident claims, conveyancing or employment law etc, so it is worth checking out who is an expert in the area you are requiring a Solicitor for.
• One of the most important aspects is how they deal with their clients, so ring around one or two solicitors to ask for advice and see what their customer service is like, if they are prompt to get back to you and if the staff are all helpful and friendly. 

If you use these snippets of advice as a template you should not go far wrong. The Solicitors I have had dealings with and who I trust implicitly is Gus Campbell Solicitors in Armagh and Portadown in Northern Ireland. 

All You Need To Know About Composite Doors

Now being a bit of a DIY buff with a big interest in all manner of  home improvements one of the items I came across recently was a composite door. Not knowing exactly what this was I decided to delve into the subject and here is what I found out.

Composite doors are basically doors which are made up of a variety of elements as the term indicates. Often the outer frame is composed of steel reinforced uPVC and the door leaf is composed of a thermo set fibreglass skin which is fixed onto a water resistant composite material, surrounded by a high density foam core. All of this makes a composite door an extremely tough and well insulated proposition!

Below are three examples of some gorgeous composite doors as produced by Smyth Window Systems

Due to the structure of the composite door they have a huge strength to weight ratio and so are one of the most secure doors on the market. As you can see by the pictures of the doors above the wood grain finish is pretty much to die for! A very attractive addition to your home. Infact Smyths have designed a hinge especially for these doors which are concealed and these look so much better than the flag hinges that are more commonplace on composite doors and can be, dare we say it, a little bit tacky and unsightly!

Some of the features and advantages of composite doors include:

• Exceptionally secure doors due to their toughness and durability.
• Very similar in price to your normal uPVC door.
• High thermal insulation will keep the heat in your home, which is a must considering we are having a summer which is doing a great impression of winter in the UK right now!!
• You can get a large variety of colours and decorative glass designs with a composite door which if you are picky is another big bonus.
• Robust sound proofing keeps the noisy neighbours at bay!

So there we have it, if you didn`t know anything about composite doors you certainly do now, its been a pleasure to be of service.

The Hatton Garden Heist And Lessons To Be Learned

Now that 9 members of the Hatton Garden heist have been remanded in custody, to be brought to court at a later date, there are a few issues that this raises for the future and some questions to be asked.

One question I would like to ask is that why would a 76 year old risk everything by getting involved in such criminal activity? How many years has he got to live to enjoy the trappings of wealth in the unlikely event that he had managed to avoid being caught and convicted? All I can think is that he was not the brains of this organisation, although what else he could have brought to the table at the ripe old age of 76 I have no idea. Surely he could have stuck to gardening, bowling or running a flower stall?!!

The heist on Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd was one of the biggest heists ever carried out in Britain and it is believed they made off around £200 million in jewellery and cash. What is very concerning is that the press and media are already romanticising these criminals by using language that to me is glamourising these thugs and criminals.

The heist has been called "daring" and even one of the detectives on the case said it had all the hallmarks of a "Hollywood Film Production". The police have also called the raid "highly audacious". No doubt producers are already getting their cast together and urging screenwriters to have something in place so that a film will be out before the year is out along with a TV series and books. And if, at their senior age, any of the heist members are still alive at the end of their sentence, which may be stretching it a bit, no doubt they will be paid a handsome sum for their memoirs.

It is believed that significant amounts of the jewels and the cash have now been recovered. To get into the vaults it is thought that the thieves disabled a lift and then abseiled down a shaft which I suppose is rather clever but they will not be feeling so clever now as they contemplate the rest of their life in custody.

I hope that the police have learnt some lessons from this and are more vigilant in the future when alarms are activated. Even with the huge cuts in the police service that the Tories have brought in I am sure they could have sent out a patrol, particularly when you look at the possible sums at stake.

Negative Inflation And How This Affects The UK

In April UK inflation actually turned negative for the first time since 1960!! Another term for negative inflation is deflation, a term which gets all economists running for the hills, so the government would rather use the term negative inflation to avoid any undue panic!

The inflation rate (the Consumer Price Index) fell to -0.1% in April and Chancellor George Osborne was quick to accentuate the positives of this negative inflation, saying that the lower cost of living which is mainly being driven by last years fall in oil prices would help the average family with their budget and he claimed that, with the slowly improving wages across various sectors, the feelgood factor would soon return to the UK.

The inflation rate is expected to stay low for the next few months at least with an estimated rise to about 2% by the end of the year.

Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie of course saw the whole scenario in a completely different light and claimed that the majority of UK families are still struggling to pay the bills and these deflationary figures could reduce business enterprise, productivity and growth which would lead to even worse standards of living.

It all depends on if your glass is half full or half empty (or if you are Tory or Labour/UKIP/Lib Dem/Green/SNP!) as to whether you think the economy is running along the right lines. Certainly the government have kept the deficit under a modicum of control, but you could argue that their continual cost cutting measures have dampened down the economy and not allowed for the growth that could have helped us come out of the recession at a lot faster rate.

The most damning aspects of the last 5 years have been the ever increasing gap between the haves and have nots, the cuts to legal aid and legal services, the cuts in the benefits system, the proliferation of food banks as more and more people fall through the safety net, the cuts in the NHS and welfare services.

Many solicitors and legal experts are saying that the legal service is on the verge of collapse due to the huge cuts throughout the system, including cuts to legal aid, fees, court administration etc. People are not going to court and letting people and companies who should be prosecuted off the hook or they representing themselves, but badly.

It is a tough old world out there and it is important in these times to try to develop a sense of community and help as many people as you can. What doesn`t kill us makes us stronger.

Don`t Forget Your Last Will And Testament

Sorry to put a downer on your day but everyone at some point or other needs to think about their last Will and testament. If you have any family or friends or organisations you want your money to go to it is hugely important to have a Will so that you know your wishes will be adhered to. Once you actually get around to getting one drawn up it is actually a relief and a weight off your shoulders as you can rest easy knowing any property and possessions will be going to the people you truly want them to go to.

You can draw up a Will by yourself without having a professional helping you out, but in all honesty I would advise you to get in touch with a reputable Solicitor as they will ensure you have every base covered and there are no holes to pick at in your Will.

If you don`t have a Will when you pass away you have died intestate and there are certain rules that govern intestacy. Only married or civil partners, and some other close relatives can inherit under the rules of intestacy. Also if you have made a Will but it is found to be not legally valid then the rules of intestacy will decide how your estate is shared out. And if you are divorced, or legally separated from your civil partner, you cannot inherit any of the estate under intestacy. Passing away without a Will cam cause all manner of complications for the people you leave behind.

 When you make a Will you name an Executor, or Executors, and they will be directed to carry out the wishes of your Will. It is normal to name more than one Executor as if you only had one and something happened to the Executor or they are not available when you die there would be no-one to carry out the execution of your Will.

So in summary make sure you have a Will drawn up, particularly if you have family and you want to ensure that the right people inherit your estate. As more and more families in the last 20 to 30 years split up and then remarry it is important you sit down and think who you want to inherit your property, money and possessions.

The Simple, Easy, ONLY Way To Lose Weight AND Keep It Off

This will probably not come as much of a shock but there is really only one way to lose weight and there are 3 components to this weight loss regime. If you follow these simple instructions you will lose weight and lose it for good. It is not a diet plan as such but a way of life which is enjoyable and healthy and will leave you feeling fit as a fiddle!!

There is so much rubbish written about the weight loss industry, mainly because it is such a lucrative area, and there are so many people and companies selling pills and potions and their own method on how to lose 14 lbs in 14 days or something similar.

So here is how to cut through all the waffle and follow a simple plan that will never go out of fashion, simply because it works. Here are the 3 components:

1. Eat less, pure and simple. If you are eating a lot of food, no matter what type of food you are eating, you will put on weight. Your body will look bloated to cope with the amount of food you are digesting. If you think about it cows are nearly always on the plump side around the midriff and they only eat grass!! This is because they eat an inordinate amount of it so their stomachs become bloated. To stop eating too much food I suggest you get smaller plates and you only make as much food as you need, don`t make too much as the temptation will always be there to eat the extra food. Likewise if you eat out just have the main course instead of starter, mains and dessert!!!

2. Eat the right foods that will be easy to follow and easy to keep to, just don`t forget to control your portions and don`t eat late in the evening. Make sure around 40% of your intake is made up of fruit and vegetables, 30% made up of wholemeal pasta, wholemeal rice and potatoes, and 30% made up of meat or fish (if you don`t eat meat or fish you can substitute for beans and pulses. Make sure you have a good balance of different fruit, vegetables, meat, nuts and pulses and eat a good colour range so you are having green, red, yellow foods etc in the same dish. Now here is an important point, watch out with your sauces if you like them, there can be lots of bad trans-fats in many packaged sauces so read the labels, try to have more natural yogurt on your food and make your own sauces when you can so you know exactly what is in them. If you love your sauces just have a little on your food, don`t smother it!! If you can have fresh food rather than processed foods you will be a lot slimmer and also a lot healthier, rid your body of all the additives, colourings and hidden salt and sugar in processed food and you will feel better within a week I promise!

3. Lastly exercise. If you can burn off more calories than you are eating you will lose weight, very simple!! Exercise not only helps you lose weight but gets you in great shape and can keep your heart and organs healthy. If you are the sort of person who struggles to motivate themselves to exercise then join a fitness group or hire a personal trainer.

And that mon amis is my very easy to follow plan, of course you need to add meat to the bones of the plan regarding the foods you eat each day but follow these rules and you will lose weight and feel like a new person.

Let`s Hear It For Energy Efficient Windows!!

If you want to save energy in the home one of the best ways to do this is definitely by installing energy efficient windows. A large percentage of heat that you lose from your home escapes from your windows so having the right windows in you home can be a great boost in reducing your heating bills.

Types of energy saving windows you can install include double glazed windows, triple glazed windows or secondary glazed windows. Good energy efficient windows, besides saving you money on your heating bills and keeping you warm and cosy in your home, also reduces your carbon footprint and so is great for the environment. As well as reducing the loss of heat it will make your home a less draughty place and get rid of those cold spots in your house that drive you crazy!! Double or triple glazed windows will also cut out the noise levels from outside your home or from next door, which is particularly useful if you live on a busy road or you have noisy neighbours!! Lastly double or triple glazed windows, if you have an expert window installer who supplies you a quality product, can greatly reduce the amount of condensation in your home which can of course lead to dampness and mould.

Want to know how energy efficient windows work in practice? Well here goes:
Double glazed windows as you probably know have 2 sheets of glass with a gap of about 16mm in between them (the gap between the pains is often filled with gas) and this gap insulates the home to keep the heat in and reduce the chances of any condensation. Triple glazed windows have 3 sheets of glass so in theory give you even greater protection from draughts and heat loss.

Make sure you get a good window supplier as it is vital the windows are installed correctly and that they are of superior quality. They must be installed so no air escapes through the windows, they should let plenty of sunlight through and of course they should insulate and keep the heat in your home.  

`Crazy Miss Cokehead` Gets Awarded £3.2 Million In Compensation For Sexual Harrassment

Svetlana Lokhova, who was dubbed as `Crazy Miss Cokehead`, among many other things, has been awarded £3.2 million after a tribunal agreed that she had been sexually harrassed at work. This is a huge payout, particularly for someone who had only 1 years employment with Sberbank CIB, but there were factors that led the tribunal to award this amount of compensation for her claims.

Ms Lokhova was awarded £44,000 by the court for her hurt feelings and a further £15,000 compensation was awarded in aggravated damages. But the bulk of the compensation, £3.14 million, was awarded towards her future loss of earnings. This was because her annual salary was £750,000 per year at Sberbank CIB, working in equity sales, and in fact her legal team had claimed compensation of £19 million for her loss of earnings etc, but this figure was dismissed as it was felt she could certainly gain employment again, albeit it was not likely that it would be in the banking industry.

Ms Lokhova had made a total of 22 claims but only 3 of them were actually upheld which included sexual harrassment, gender related discrimination and constructive dismissal. Some of the claims she made, besides that she was named `Crazy Miss Cokehead`, was that she was sent a raft of abusive emails, her boss had said she had an "unfortunate natural brain chemistry", she had been accused of being a drug addict, and all her complaints had been totally ignored.

The scale of the victimisation led to her being forced to go off sick in January 2012 and she resigned altogether in April 2012.

The moral of this story, if you are an employer, is to ensure that you have a zero tolerance against any offensive or denigrating behavior and that you always take any claims by an employee seriously and follow them up. The fact that in this case they did not and that the managers were also involved with this offensive behavior led to the employment tribunal awarding such a large payout.

If you are planning on claiming compensation for unfair dismissal or you need legal help in any other area of employment law check out Gus Campbell Solicitors who can give you advice on how to proceed.

Using QR Codes

QR Codes are becoming more and more commonplace now and I am sure if you look around you when out and about you will see them on the side of vans, in shop windows and on leaflets and posters. That`s not to say you know what they are for or how to use them!! I would say that the majority of the population have an idea of what they are but they maybe don`t know all the ins and outs of them.

QR Code is short for a Quick Response Code and it is basically machine readable code in the form of black and white squares, and in the main they are used for storing URL`s, so that when they are scanned on a smartphone they take the scanner to a website. All websites can have their own unique QR Code.

It is easy, if you have a smartphone, to download a free QR Code scanner onto your phone which will enable you to scan QR Codes. If you have an android phone you can go to the Google Play store and there are a few different scanners you can choose from, and if you have an iPhone you can go to the Apple store to download one. Once you have downloaded a scanner whenever you want to use it you simply open up the App and scan the QR Code and it will take you directly to the website it is connected to.

And if you have a website it is very easy to create a QR Code for the site, you don`t have to be a technological genius and it doesn`t have to cost you a penny. I use a website called http://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ where you just put your website URL in the box provided and click Create QR Code and you can then download your QR in either PDF or EPS format.

QR Codes are fantastic promotional tools to use with any advertising literature, you can put them on company vehicles, shop windows, on emails, the list is endless. The use of them is going to become much more widespread in the coming weeks and months so it is a good time to start using them now, particularly if you have a business.

Online Solutions

Check out Online Solutions from the following pictures, sometimes pictures say more than a thousand words!! Online Solutions have a team of experts who help any business or organisation to improve their online presence in a variety of ways.

What The Ramifications For Our Health Could Be If The UK Leaves The European Union

As the election approaches on May 7th many of the political parties, including of course our friends UKIP, are claiming the only way forward for our nation is to leave the European Union. The Conservatives, if they are given another term, are certainly euro-sceptical and many of their members would like nothing better than to leave the EU behind in the forlorn hope that Britannia can rule again.

But most people probably do not realise the ramifications of leaving the EU. Of course we know of the trading implications as we would lose a huge amount of trade from all the companies and countries who are happy to do business with the UK as an EU business partner, but would no longer deal with us if we were on our own.

There are many other issues to contemplate. For instance the EU Courts exert strict rules and regulations over the countries within the EU to ensure that the people in those countries can be treated in a fair, safe and just manner. One example is the push for EU countries to have cleaner air in their towns and cities. All countries should have complied with the rules by now so that there would be less air pollution which could save a great many peoples lives and enhance the nations health.

Unfortunately for people in the UK the government have still failed to comply and lag behind the rest of Europe in this respect, so that the EU Supreme Court have given them a deadline to reduce the level of pollution. If we were not in the EU the government would have done nothing to improve our air quality and it would be impacting greatly on the nations overall health.

Likewise there have been many instances where there have been human rights abuses that have fortunately been brought to the attention of the EU Courts who have ruled in favour of individuals who have been treated unfairly in the UK. It is vital that we have justice for all in this country.

The plain truth is that the current government cannot be trusted to deliver a fair and just society, and as the poorest members of society have borne the brunt of the recession and the governments austerity measures they often need the help of the EU Courts to ensure that the Tories are not riding roughshod over them.

In the last few years we have had huge cuts in the legal justice system and legal aid, the NHS has been severely affected and large areas of our social services have been cut to the bone. We need a higher authority on our side to ensure we have someone to appeal to if all else fails, and for this reason along with many others we need to stay as part of the European Union.

Is An Englishman`s Home Still His Castle?

Back in the `80`s when I bought a house I paid around £16,500 for it and I think another £1,000 went on the associated expenses for the surveyors fees, estate agents fees and solicitors fees. I wasn`t on a great wage and so this was a substantial sum but the deposit I had to put down was only about £1,000 and the mortgage affordable and so I dipped my toe in the housing market

Fast forward to today and very few young people can even think about buying a house with the limit of their ambition being to find enough money to rent one. This is no surprise when you look at the figures. A house here in the North West even of the seriously run down variety will put you back around £70,000 at best, and as the banks are asking for extremely hefty deposits this means the chance of most young people getting on the housing ladder are slim to none and slims just left town.

If you can afford to purchase a house of the rundown variety of course you have to then get the house renovated which will again cost you a not inconsiderable amount. You may need new uPVC Windows and doors

We get the usual guff from the economic analysts, banks and politicians saying that a boost in housing prices is good for the economy and all of us but how can it be good for the ordinary working person if they can`t afford to buy one. I live in the North West which has some of the lowest housing prices in the country (unsurprising when you take a look at the housing stock) but if you live in a 50 mile radius of London the chances of purchasing a shed never mind a flat or house is remote. This can surely not be good for anyone?

We need to get back to affordable housing prices and get the banks to accept affordable deposits as downpayments. We need lots of brown field housing development and we need to improve and expand the number of rented accommodation available to our young people. If we don`t do this we are going to have generations of people who live with their parents for the best part of lives and that does not augur well for a healthy and stable society.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

If you are like me and still a big kid at heart I have found a website that might just be of some interest to your good self. Check out DoctorFunnyBone which is a site that has lots of good magic tricks and puzzles to amuse you. They have an online store with a few of the aforementioned items on them but what also interests me is that they have magicians for hire!!

Oh I do love a magician, especially when there is a party and there are kids about, as a good magician always keeps them entertained and out of trouble which is a feat in itself. What DoctorFunnyBone do when they are appointed as magician for the day is show us all a few magic tricks, and what is fabulous about them is that they also show you how to do some of the tricks themselves. They also let you take your favourite trick home with you so you can practice it on your friends, family and colleagues.

By the look of the website they are also looking for people who will be interested in a business opportunity which will entail promoting the doctorfunnybone brand. This could be a great opportunity to anyone who is looking for some part time work and who likes to entertain people, they would need to be outgoing and good with members of the public including children.

They have some `Show Me How` videos which are good fun to check out some of the tricks that are on sale on the website. All the magic tricks that they have are fairly simple to learn and children can quickly learn how to do them so that they can perform them with their friends and impress them. DoctorFunnyBone are a family friendly business who pride themselves on being good clean fun for all the family. They are based in Armagh in Northern Ireland and will perform magic tricks at parties or events right across the country. I am glad I checked them out, so should you!

Mental Health In A Dysfunctional World

Even the most optimistic among us have to admit from time to time that we live in a seriously messed up world. Much of the Middle East is a hell hole which the West`s dabblings and interference only ever make things worse. There has just been an earthquake in Nepal which has decimated much of the country. Russia seems to be on a course of provocation and determined to wrest back control of Ukraine.

And as for the UK, as the rich get richer and the poor get ever poorer, our communities and the social fabric which holds us all together seem to be on the verge of imploding. Many people are just about living from one pay cheque to another, with less support to fall back on now that the health service and social services have been cut to the bone. All the above seriously impacts upon the nations mental health and many people cope with alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal drugs to blank out the fact their lives are spiraling out of control.

Putting aside the mess outside our front door, or indeed inside our front door, how do we manage to keep our sanity in this dysfunctional unforgiving world? Is it possible? There are coping mechanisms you can use that mean you don`t have to resort to alcohol or drugs to get by.

One mantra I always use when I have problems is `One Day At A Time`. Don`t put pressure on yourself to put the world to rights in one fell swoop, it`s not going to happen, better to deal with the things you can have an influence on one at a time. Ignore all the things you have no control over and sort out the issues right in front of you.

Another good piece of advice; get rid of all the people who are having a negative influence on your life, or at least as many of them as you can. Fill your hours with people who you genuinely like to be around. The difference this one thing can have to your mental well being is staggering. It is very important you socialise with people, never cut yourself off from the outside world as that can be a slippery slope. The best times in life are when we are spending them with the ones we love.

Which leads to a very important point, if you are in an abusive relationship - mentally, physically, spiritually or any other darn way, get out now. Not tomorrow but now, take action, get help if you need to, but choose to live the life you want to.

Also learn to say no. It`s a very simple word but many people have forgotten how to use it. When you don`t want to do something say no, be firm, you only get one life and you deserve to live it on your own terms.

Finally, learn to stop and smell the roses. The pace of life can catch up with you and it can all get a bit too much but once you have learned to say no (see above!!) you will find you have some time each day to kick back and relax and have some me time! Put it to good use, you could meditate, do yoga, use creative visualisation, or just sit with your favourite coffee and think positive thoughts.

Love yourself, it`s the first step to good mental health. Take care.

I Have Fallen In Love----With Instant Text Messaging!!

I am not the type of person to fall head over heels every other week, in fact I am not easily impressed usually, so when I say I love TextSolution I have not done so on a whim. This is a full blown romance!! Let me explain.

TextSolution is a business that is run from Armagh in Northern Ireland, and there are a great many things that impress me about their service. Firstly they provide a service where you can instantly text a group of people, however many that group may be, directly from your computer.

Now the best thing is that when you contact people by text rather than email the open rate is astonishingly better. Email open rates usually languish around the 5% mark whereas if you send messages by text the open rate is nearer the 95% mark!!

So you can either type out a message on your computer, click send and all the people in your group will instantly get a text when using the instant text messaging service. Or you can use the mobile app that is available from TextSolution so that you can use your smartphone to send out the message to all your clients or members.

Another thing I really like about this is you can send out files and attachments with your messages, so you can send just as much as you could with an email, but in text format instead. You can send out pictures, videos, PDF`s and other files.

You can also receive inbound text messages through the same TextSolution service, and you can schedule automatic replies if you wish to. This is truly a great service for anyone who likes to be able to contact their clients or members at the drop of a hat, quickly and easily, and when you do you know you will get a very large open rate, which to me is what it is all about.

|If you want to avail yourself of this service they also do a 14 day free trial, there is very little not to like about this to be honest!! The service is cost effective and very reasonably priced so I have to say I would not be without it now. My love affair is firmly established and could well turn into a long term relationship.  

How To Survive In A Stress Filled World

Let`s face it we live in a crazy world and I don`t think any time soon it`s going to get any less crazier, in fact quite the opposite. The world seems to move so quickly that some days it seems to suffocate you so much that you can hardly breathe. With smartphones all around you there`s no way to escape, your every move can be charted and scrutinised. How any `celebrities` manage to stay sane I will never know as they can`t walk more than 10 yards in public without someone wanting to take a selfie with them. 

As humans we need time to breathe, to stop and smell the roses. With this in mind here are a 5 of my own tips on how to stay calm and relaxed within this maelstrom and get to the end of the day without your mind becoming completely frazzled. 

1. Firstly, and I can`t stress how important this particular tip is, learn to say no. Yes it is that simple, if you start to say no when someone asks you to do something you don`t want to do it will give you control over your life once again. It is amazing how much time we spend doing things we get coerced into doing and the stress this puts us through is enormous, plus saying yes when we really want to say no makes us feel powerless and irritable afterwards which does our mental health no good whatsoever. Just say no!
2. Breathing has been at the core of how we control our emotions and stay calm for centuries and in many civilisations, and this is because it works. When you are feeling stressed, or before you go into a situation that you feel is going to be stressful, make yourself comfortable and concentrate on your breathing, breathe out and bring in your stomach as the air is expelled, then breathe in and extend your stomach and feel the air slowly filling up your body. Control your breathing and concentrate on nothing else for at least 5 to 10 minutes and when you have finished you should feel more relaxed and energised.
3. Give yourself something to look forward to every day. When you wake up in the morning think of something that you would really like to do that day at some point, something that you can easily fit into your schedule. Then however bad your day may be there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It may be something really mundane like watching part of a box set you have been meaning to check out, or calling at your favourite fish and chip shop or pub on the way home from work, it doesn`t matter as long as it is something you can look forward to. 
4. Don`t take life too seriously as that way leads to madness!! Learn to laugh at lifes ups and downs, don`t get upset when a car cuts you up on the way into work and when anyone makes a snide comment about you brush it off as if it were a gnat. If you want to win every day of your life you will if you have this attitude as when you have the right mindset you can never lose.
5. Finally look after yourself. The fitter and healthier you are the better your mental state of mind will be and the better you will be able to cope with whatever life throws at you. The healthier you are the more alert and mentally sharp you will be too. Getting in shape should involve eating the right foods as well as exercising each day. Once you start to get fitter and you are eating more fruit and vegetables and nuts and the rest you will start to feel better about yourself, feel more confident and be able to deal more effectively with the stresses and strains of life. That`s not to say you shouldn`t always feel good about yourself, loving yourself is the start for anyone wanting to live a contented and productive life.

There we are, I feel better already for having written this post!! Take care and keep in touch mon braves.

Are Watches Being Made Redundant By Mobile Phones

I remember a time when you were a nobody if you didn`t have a good quality watch strapped to your wrist, but there is a feeling that those have gone now and gone for good, particularly with the advent of the smartphone. Now I am not saying by any means that we are seeing the complete demise of the watch but there is no doubt that a smartphone can do anything a watch can do and lots more besides.

I think it is right that there are now more mobile phones in the UK than people and 99% of the population would never think of venturing outside their house without their trusty smartphone in their pocket or their hand. If you surveyed a large section of the population and asked them what is the most important item to remember to take out with them the majority would say their mobile phone.

One of the functions that a smartphone can do is give you the time of day, and it can also give you the time of day in any part of the world you care to mention!! It can also provide you with an alarm, a calender, a diary and somewhere where you can store notes. Mobile phones now look so sleek and cool now, the colours are great and of course you can take photos of them including the obligatory selfies, and you can instantly upload your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or send them directly to your friend smartphones. You can also create videos and upload them directly to all the social media channels.

So where does this leave the humble watch which basically tells the time for you? I think you will agree that if someone has to choose between either a smartphone or a watch that a very large percentage would plump for a smartphone. But there is still a place for watches, be they the classical watch or the designer watch. There are some super looking and innovative watches out there, including Guess watches, Casio watches, Police watches, Calvin Klein watches, Sekonda watches, Citizen watches and Ice watches to name but a few, and some labels are still a status symbol with many.

Many people like to check the time quickly and easily with a watch and they can be very much a jewellery item piece as much as any other. Some people don`t feel dressed without a watch on and they would never go out the house without their watch.

So in summary there is certainly still a place in society for a watch, but its overall status has been somewhat eroded by the ongoing dominance in every strata of society and in every country of the mobile phone.

Are `Legal Highs` Legal Anymore?

If you have been keeping in touch with the news over the last few months you will have noticed a great many news items involving legal highs, both the use of them and the selling of them. The other day, for the first time in the UK, two men pleaded guilty to selling dangerous substances, namely the legal high Novel Psychoactive Substances. This is very much not before time and there certainly needs to be a tightening up of the regulations with regard to this and many of the other substances.

One of the problems I feel is in the use of the term `Legal High`. This gives the impression to many of our naive youngsters (and not so young but foolish members of our society) that as these highs are legal they must be fine to take. This cannot be further from the truth in many cases and if they cared to read the small print on some of these products they would see that on some of them it says `not to be ingested` or `not to be taken by mouth`, even though all the traders who sell these products know that that is exactly what people intend to do when they purchase these substances. The fact is calling some product a legal high both puts people off guard and they risk taking substances that could in fact cause them great harm, and also it gives retailers a term to hide behind if they are confronted by anyone, they can shrug their shoulders and say it is perfectly legal for me to sell this product.

Legal highs have led to a number of people throughout the UK being taken to hospital and there have been a number of deaths that have been connected with them too. And many of them can be just as addictive as some illegal drugs and they are leading to all sorts of anti-social problems within our communities here in the UK.

What we need to be doing, besides banning many of them and making it an offence to take these legal highs in public, is to be giving a new name to them so people are more wary of getting involved with them in the first place. Why can`t we put a label on these products in large print saying `Potentially Harmful Substances` and start to call them this instead of legal highs? This may make many members of the public think twice before trying them out in the future.

The Window To Your Soul

This post is all about windows, and not as the title suggests metaphorical windows but physical windows you can touch, shine and smash as the mood takes you. I am sat here with the sunshine blazing through my window on a beautiful spring day and on a day like this windows are the most important part of the house. But they are also very important in the winter as they will either keep your home free of draughts and warm or if they are showing signs of wear or frankly not very well installed windows you might be in a draughty house with the central heating on trying to keep warm.

So lets take some time out to check out a few different types of windows and see what takes our fancy:

Lets sashay over to the Sliding Sash Windows first. Sliding sash windows are basically windows where the glazed panels are opened by sliding vertically or horizontally, and normally they will have 3 panes across by 2 up on each of 2 sashes. These are a very traditional type of window very popular in Georgian and Victorian times. The problem these types of windows used to have when they were just made of wood was they could rot, swell and/or distort and so they had to be extremely well maintained. However now you can get uPVC sash windows this is no longer a problem and they can be energy efficient as well as helping to provide sufficient cooling of interiors during hot weather. If you open both the top and bottom of a sash window in about equal measure this will allow warm air to escape and keep your rooms nice and cool in the summer time.

Now we move onto Triple Glazed Windows. The advantage of these is that they can save you money on heating bills and you will also find they reduce the level of noise from outside of your house if you live in an area that has a busy main road or particularly annoying neighbours! If you use a good window supplier who installs your triple glazed windows just right then they should reduce condensation on the inside of your windows by around 70%. And as you probably know condensation can lead to mould and even respiratory problems if people in the house are asthmatic or suffer breathing difficulties.

Casement Windows can be pretty cool too. The definition of a casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges, the hinges are always at the side. Many new types of casement windows have multi-chambers within their profile that can really reduce the heat loss in your home. The main advantage to a casement window is that they work great for ventilating your home, they can be hinged to open outward and angled so that any breeze from outside is directed through the window into your home.

Finally we check out our favourite cousins offering, French Windows. French windows can give your home a breezy, airy feel and the opening allows unrestricted access and maximum ventilation which is wonderful on a spring or summers day. They are large door sized lattice light, and if they have a hinge on them they are then French doors rather than French windows. French windows come in pairs or multiple variations of pairs and are perfect for opening out onto a terrace or into a garden.

Which of these windows you prefer (you may want different types of windows for different parts of the house) may depend on what part of the world you are in, the style of your home or your own particular penchant. Below is a picture of a sliding sash window.

What Are The Best Types Of Massage

Are you the type of guy or girl who just loves a massage? There are so many different types of massages you can have we thought we would ruminate on them so that if you are indecisive it will give you a good background knowledge on what sort may be the one for you.

We are going to start with the one which I particularly hate!! This is the deep tissue massage which I sincerely hope I never ever have again for as long as I am on Gods earth. With a deep tissue massage the masseur goes deep into the tissues of you legs, arms and shoulders. It can be very healing and many athletes swear by its recuperative powers, but it is also very painful at times and can leave aching limbs for 2 or 3 days afterwards.

Some people go for having just a part of the body massaged, some sportsmen may just want the legs and thighs massaged, others may just want a neck and shoulder massage, but there is also the full body massage which targets all the body.

A massage with the addition of aromatherapy oils is a lovely treat and is a real favourite of mine. A range of essential oils can be used for this, with the most popular being lavender which of course is ultra relaxing, but there are also oils which can energise you or reduce your stress levels.

Another type of massage which is very relaxing and calming and is becoming increasingly popular is the hot stone massage. This, as the name implies, involves placing hot stones in various areas of the body and gently massaging each area with them. As well as this being healing and a great muscle relaxant it is also supposed to help with the bodies natural balance.

A Swedish massage is probably the most well known type of massage and is one that most people still generally go for. With this type of massage the masseur uses oil and long, smooth strokes to relax the muscles and is definitely a good one to start with if you have never had a massage before.

For pregnant women there are massages that you can have sitting upright in a chair and involves massaging the back, hips and shoulders and finally the scalp. This can be very comforting and soothing for mums to be.

There is also foot massage, or reflexology as it can be called, which is the applying of pressure to various points of the feet which correspond to different organs and systems of the body. For anyone who has a job which involves being on their feet all day this can be a wonderful way to de-stress you and your feet.

We hope this information has proved useful and if you have any thoughts or comments please fire away, we love a bit of interaction on our posts.