|
WIN TICKETS
WITH Southport Reporter®
TO THE DAILY MAIL IDEAL HOME SHOW 2005!
TAKE A FRESH LOOK AND DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE…
NEDITERRANEAN living is the spectacular theme for this year's Daily Mail Ideal Home Show in association with npower (2 March to 28 March 2005, Earls Court). So if you've ever dreamt of swapping your home for a French Chateau or even a Cave Home, next year's show is the place to be!
The show will feature four authentic show homes including a stunning 'Property Keysol' Spanish Villa styled exclusively by Linda Barker, a beautifully designed Venetian Apartment complete with canal and gondola, a French Chateau courtesy of Allied Carpets, and finally a 'Cave Home', one of the trendiest living spaces currently to hit the Mediterranean. Showcasing the latest interiors and forthcoming trends, the Cave home will be styled and designed by interior experts Justin Ryan & Colin McAllister.
Each show home will be positioned around a central Plaza, which will be used to convey the passion and culture for each country using street performers, live entertainment and much more!
Plus there are so many new features that this year's show cannot be missed:-
Ideal Home Magazine Room Designs & JJA ADA Interior Design Clinic - A double decker feature area that will showcase stylish room designs courtesy of Ideal Home magazine downstairs, as well as an interactive workshop area upstairs offering all visitors 15mins free interior design consultations courtesy of JJA ADA Interior Design Clinic
This Morning LIVE at the show! Don't miss your chance to see Fern & Phillip in action. Come and watch your favourite daytime programme broadcast live from their very own sofa at the show for a whole week (7 to 11 March)
The Freestyle® Men's Gadget Zone - For the first time ever, the Show is introducing an exciting area that is totally dedicated to the latest gadgets and gizmos sponsored by Freestyle® Mortgages Crown Town, Want to pick up the latest colour trends? Our team of experts from Crown Paints know everything there is to know about paint, so whether you want to learn how to mix and match colours or take away colour wheels, this interactive area has something for everyone
Garden Ideas Haven with Magic 105.4 - Brand new for this year's show, a unique area for those passionate about their gardens. So whether it's an English Country rose garden, a Mediterranean landscape or an urban roof terrace, our garden designs will showcase different ways to maximise your outdoor space
The Heart 106.2 Makeover Challenge - Presenting the first ever on-air home make-over challenge! Vote for your favourite designer from one of ten contestants battling against each other to design, build and create a stylish room in the house DIY Theatre. Take your pick from a series of masterclasses with host of celebrity experts sharing their know-how on absolutely anything to do with DIY and interiors Sizzling Kitchen. Leading celebrity chefs will be cooking up mouth-watering
specialties and easy to follow recipes with a Mediterranean twist!
Concept Product Awards - See short listed designs from students across the UK to reveal the next generation of design talent, judged by celebrity interior designer, Kevin McCloud
Junior Concept Products Awards. From the success of the Concept Product Awards, this year's show is also inviting budding young designers (aged 8 to 11) to get creative and design a product for the home, with winning entries being displayed at the show Indulgence Zone. The place to unwind with free manicures and make-up consultations courtesy of London College of Beauty Therapy and Color Me Beautiful.
Plus there will be bags of shopping, the latest products and exclusive show bargains so make sure you don't miss out on this great day out!
We've joined forces with the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show to offer 4 pairs of lucky readers the chance to win a pair of tickets, worth £24 each, for a weekday of their choice. Just email us your name, phone number and address and answer this simple question...
"What is the venue of this years show." For your chance to win and if you're not lucky enough to win. Why not call the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show hotline on 0870 606 6080 or log onto www.idealhomeshow.co.uk for a discounted ticket.
Enters must be in by February 4 2005.
Ticket Information:- Discounted tickets are available by calling the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show ticket hotline on 0870 606 6080 (booking fee applies) or visiting the website at www.idealhomeshow.co.uk.
The Show will open from 10am until 8pm every day, except Thursdays when the show is open until 10pm.
On the door ticket prices are as follows:-
Adult Weekday ticket costs = £12.
Adult Weekend ticket costs = £15.
Concession Weekday ticket costs = £7.50.
Concession Weekday ticket costs = £8.50.
Concession are for children 5 to 16yrs and senior citizens 60+ (Under 5s are free entry).
|
Riverside tenants aged 60 plus gain benefits boost
TO ensure that pensioners who are tenants of Riverside Housing in North Mersey Division, which covers Southport, claim money due to them, they will be able to call upon a benefits troubleshooter. The Department for Work and Pensions is funding a Welfare Benefits Advisor who will be based at Riverside Housing's offices in Sefton and will work on advising Riverside's 2,100 tenants who are aged 60 plus and live in North Mersey on how to make claims.
Malcolm Wicks, the Minister for Pensions, as part of the Partnership Fund, made the announcement this week. Recruitment for the post will take place in February 2005.
A recent survey suggests that around 40% of tenants could be underclaiming in the North Mersey area and now Riverside Housing, will be able to ensure that more elderly people will be able to access funds they are entitled to. The new project will target 19 sheltered housing schemes in North Mersey area.
North Mersey Deputy Divisional Director Carol Lavender said:- "We are delighted that the Department for Work and Pensions has backed our proposal which is very good news for our elderly tenants in this area.
The new benefits advisor will be able to work with some of our most vulnerable tenants and ensure a better understanding of their needs."
The Department for Work and Pensions with their target of paying Pension Credit to at least 3 million pensioner households by 2006.
PERSIMMON SHELVES STAMP DUTY FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS
A national survey recently showed that 25% of first time buyers are deterred from buying their own property because of the hidden costs of stamp duty. So Persimmon Homes is now offering for a limited time only to pay the tax on selected properties at developments across the northwest. The survey also found that 30% of younger buyers were unaware of what stamp duty entails, which is a dramatic decrease in understanding from the same age group in 1975 in which stood at 6.5%.
Kate Barlow, sales director for Persimmon Homes North West, explains:-
"The law dictates that stamp duty must be paid on properties costing £60,000 or over. 10 years ago, when the average price of property was just £51,731, first time buyers were not affected by the tax. However, with the average house in today's climate costing £154,805, very few people are exempt, and the costs can run into thousands of pounds.
At Persimmon we recognise the difficulties youngsters today are facing when trying to get on the property ladder. This is why, for a limited period, we are offering stamp duty paid on selected properties across the region, in order to give first time buyers a helping hand."
The company is currently building homes across the region, including Merseyside,
Runcorn, Wythenshawe, Manchester and Ellesmere Port. For further information on the range of properties available throughout the northwest, please call 01942 277277 during office hours or visit
www.persimmonhomes.com.
LOOKING FOR LOVELORN LADYBIRDS
THIS year the Woodland Trust and the UK Phenology Network are teaming up with Springwatch with Bill Oddie, shown on BBC, to try and find out when various seasonal species are appearing during the spring.
With the knowledge that our climate is changing the UK Phenology Network is studying how nature responds to that change and it wants the help of everyone out there. Research conducted by the UK Phenology Network and Cambridge University gives a hint that ladybirds in particular may be waking up some 11 to14 days earlier than they did 20 years ago. And this could be a worrying trend, which is being spotted all across the natural world. Why is this important, well review the following facts. The end of ladybird hibernation, which is dependant on temperature, is timed to coincide with the emergence of aphids. Any change to this relationship could spell disaster for the ladybirds and field-day for the aphids.
Bill Oddie says:- "Is spring coming earlier each year? If it is, what impact might it have on British wildlife? You can help us find out the facts by taking part in the Springwatch survey. The more people are involved, the more information we can give to conservation organisations to help them protect our threatened species."
Jill Attenborough of the Woodland Trust says:- "We need your help to spot when ladybirds first appear and when you see them mating. You can let us know what you have seen by logging onto www.spotted.org.uk."
The new website is part of Nature's Calendar and will open at the beginning of February - right in time for the start of the ladybird season. There is a special version for children and teenagers as well, Nature Detectives aimed at 4-18 year olds, which has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Both can be accessed through www.spotted.org.uk and offer the chance to record many other species including the first cuckoo first flowers on trees, frog spawn and bumblebees - to name just a few.
Gardener's friend fab facts:-
The
ladybird's bright colours are a warning to predators of its foul taste. When disturbed the ladybird will secrete small amounts of its oily foul-smelling blood from its knees as a further warning to predators such as ants or birds.
There are 27 different types of ladybird in Britain, and another 20 species of the family Coccinellidae which are small and not so brightly coloured so they don't look like ladybirds.
The 7-spot ladybird is mainly found in woods over winter when it takes advantage of the more moderate environment to go to sleep.
Some ladybirds will over winter in large groups in sites, which are used year after year. It is thought that sleeping ladybirds attract other ladybirds to sleeping in the same place by releasing pheromones. Ladybirds can be seen piled on top of one another while sleeping.
Some species of ladybird mate for up to 9 hours at a time and, in the breeding season with a different partner every day.
In the spring ladybirds lay eggs; up to 50 per day, up to 2000 in their life. The eggs hatch in 1 week and the larvae start eating the aphids.
An average 7-spot ladybird will eat more than 5,000 aphids in its year-long life.
|
