christopherj-blog2

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Plastering kent

If you want to add value to your house, you can consider adding a conservatory. But it's important that you find out what you need and what your budget can allow. Conservatories can be simple and complex. The simple ones cost less but the advanced structures like orangeries cost more. If you want to build a conservatory on your own or by someone else, you may want to keep the 5 things given below in mind.

1. Purpose

You can build one on your own, but you can also hire a tradesman to do the same for you. But first you need to decide who it is for and what purpose it will serve. Do you want to build it to be used as an outdoor room? Or do you want to use it as an extension of your home? Another important factor that you should keep in mind is safety. Make sure you answer all these questions.

2. Planning Permission

Usually, you don't need Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent? to get planning permission; however, in some cases, you may have to. For instance, you may need to get permission if your conservatory is going to cover most area of your land, or if it is higher than the top-most part of the roof of your property. Aside from this, you need to apply for permission should you want to include balconies, raised platforms and verandas, just to name a few.

3. Design of the conservatory

Make sure your conservatory matches the design of your house. In other words, the design of the conservatory shouldn't be entirely different from your house. If you want to be on the safe side, you may want to match the design of the conservatory with that of your house. Keep in mind that the conservatory is not attached to the backside of your home. What you can do it have it wrapped around your house in the shape of L.

4. Direction of the conservatory

Direction of your conservatory matters a lot. If it faces south, it may get too hot in summer; therefore, you may have to buy blinds and make arrangements for ventilation. Moreover, plaster ceilings below the glass may be a great option for making this little "house" habitable. In the same way, if the conservatory faces north, it may get cold in winter. Therefore, you may want to choose the right direction for it.

5. Material and cost

As far as the cost goes, you can get one built for as little as £10,000. However, it can cost you much more based on the kind of conservatory you need. If you are on a budget, your best option would be PVC. On the other hand, if you are looking for the highest quality one, you can go for wood. All you need to do is choose an option that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

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Plasterer kent

So you are going to take to the ski slopes for the first time but the whole idea is just rather daunting. Never fear, here are a few tips to get you up and running or should we say skiing. Try to get some time in the gym before going skiing, most often people go on vacations to go skiing and you don't want to get to the slopes, ski for half a day and then not be able to work for the rest of your stay. Get to your local gym and ask the instructors what exercising you can do to be more fit and ready to hit the slopes. Lots of squats and much inner body core muscle exercise I would imagine.

Then, some people say that you should do some sort of sport that is close to snow skiing to get you used to the movement when skiing. I would think if you come from the warmer climates, you could try water wake boarding - being towed behind a boat - although that is going to prepare you for snowboarding more than skiing. Not sure what else you could try. Watch a ski instruction video, most ski apparel shops should have a video or two in stock which will give you good tips on how to ski. Kent's clinic (kentsclinic.com) has a great video series to help anybody learn to ski or to improve their skiing abilities.

You are going to need ski apparel, or we could say skiing clothing and protective gear. The tip here is not to go for the best brand, but go for a brand that is average and which has a good name - normally the older styles will have stood the test of time. The important ski apparel item is the ski jacket, this is critical in either making or breaking a ski trip. Too light and you will be cold, too thick and you will not be able to move - if it does not breath properly, you will sweat and then your sweat will get cold and so will you. Also be sure that your jacket has enough packets, like the ski pass - often jackets have special pockets for ski passes and also keys and cellular phones.

The other item of ski apparel that is important are the pants, not as critical as the jacket, but it will also spoil your day if you are wet or cold. The other bit of ski apparel that is important are the layers/undergarments - things like long johns, like a t-shirt underneath or body suits, but the idea is that you can keep yourself warm even by just wearing the Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent? number of layers to protect you - just be careful of overdoing the number of layers as it affects your movement while skiing.

On the equipment side and especially for the first time I recommend that you hire your equipment - that way you are not stuck with them if you don't enjoy skiing, take a good couple of thick socks to use with the ski boots - and a couple of big band aid plasters to put over the blisters! To fully enjoy the skiing, make sure you are fit, warm and flexible - just that can make all the difference to your skiing holiday.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plasterer tonbridge

No other movie industry can beat the juggernaut of Hollywood. No, not even the sing-and-dance movies of Bollywood and the chop-and-kick films of China come close to rivaling the influence, imagination and income of Hollywood.

And where else can you see movies that visibly exploit the bane of civil rights activists and the boon of security technophiles - CCTV systems - but in good old Hollywood? From heroes to anti-heroes, CCTV systems have been put to good and bad use in the movies, from which you too can get ideas. Now, if only you had the assassin training of David Webb a.k.a Jason Bourne and the hacker capabilities of Riley Poole.

"The Bourne Ultimatum"

You probably remember this movie as the last in the Bourne trilogy of author Robert Ludlum, with Matt Damon portraying the spy-cum-assassin-with-amnesia Jason Bourne. (And stop swooning over People's 2007 Most Sexiest Man Alive; you are embarrassing yourself and there is no one to catch me when I swoon).

When Jason Bourne (insert dream-eyed sigh) met with journalist Simon Ross in a train station, the CCTV systems were employed by the Central Intelligence Agency to track him down. It was too bad for the CIA men that he was very adept at escaping detection even with pan-and-tilt surveillance cameras.

And since this is Hollywood, Jason Bourne gets to live a fourth life amidst all the assassination attempts. You are left to wonder when he will be back to take on the resident evils of the government.

"National Treasure: The Book of Secrets"

Now, here is one movie you will appreciate for Nicholas Cage's deadpan expressions. Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  That and the fact that it feels like somebody has read one too many Wikipedia articles and pieced everything together into one crazy quilt that amazingly looks well-sewn! And that is why it topped the box office during its run and remains to be one of Cage's most profitable movies. Maybe the smirk helped.

Anyways, CCTV systems were used and this time the reliable Riley Poole put his hacker skills to work. Ben Gates ran a red light, got himself photographed doing so only the plank was in the photo, and then Riley violated the terms of agreement for Internet use. Now, the next time you run a red light, hide your face and make sure you are driving a stolen car.

"Wanted"

Can someone really instigate a shooting war in a grocery store with supposedly medium-range CCTV systems and get away with it? Well, if the movie is to be believed, you can when you are a foxy assassin appropriately named Fox protecting the "most insignificant asshole of the century".

The movie also tells you that in a big city, people are so apathetic that even when someone else's face is plastered with a big "Wanted" sign and he is your officemate, you would not notice. Or is it because Wesley had a different aura to him when he discovered that he is "The Man"? Or is it because people in movies are so blind they fail to notice that Superman is Clark Kent?

Maybe CCTV systems ought to have the technology where people's facial features, physical characteristics, and even DNA samples taken from afar are automatically compared with a database. Then again, Hollywood will come up with movies that will beat that idea. You can bet your bottom dollar on that, too.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plasterer kent

Making world class carp baits is not just an art form and a science, but an extension of your own self. You can do it with the right knowledge and enough practice and catches feedback to hone your skills and experience, so things become as instinctive as they are for carp! Carp are constantly dynamically adapting individuals so the concept of the ultimate carp bait is misleading, however you can constantly adapt baits to keep your results much higher than the herd using readymade baits! For the best, read on now!

It might surprise you to discover I see fishing bait as an extension of my journey into ultimate personal health and nutrition and vitality and longevity. Carp are great teachers; they are our long lost ancestors! Carp really do respond to substances that we respond to, hand it is amazing how many substances that carp are renowned for being stimulated by such as chilli oleoresins in hot peppers etc and spirulina and now regarded as super foods by modern science!

Nutritionally speaking baits are about energy as all nutrition is diverted towards vital energy for survival, be it proteins, fatty acids, terpenes, carbohydrates, fats and a multitude of substances whatever they are, that ultimately assist in promoting the most energy efficient metabolism of the human or carp body.

But bait is not about feeding fish Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent? unless you happen to own a fishery and want to exploit paying anglers and charge then basically for feeding your fish. Angling bait is not about feeding fish or supplementing natural diets, but about inducing feeding behaviours even if merely curiosity feeding. Far too many anglers get caught up in how much of a bait will be biologically available and use mathematics to try to discern and refine limiting amino acids effects so maximised levels of nutrition are utilised and converted into tissues for muscle fibre regeneration and growth and repair etc and not for fueling metabolism and all pathways and roles requiring energy, from respiration to muscular contractions used in swimming to locate food and equally vital gill movements etc.

But frankly you can out-fish readymade baits sorted for amino acids simply by exploiting habit-forming (even addictive,) and exceptionally potent bioactive and enzyme-active bait substances etc within your own homemade baits. You could also do it many other ways, including using very high doses of fermenting products or bye-products within your baits. Certainly only a proportion of what is available that stimulates carp feeding is supplied by fishing bait companies and there are very many other suppliers and substances that are very potent indeed than these companies will generally admit!

Of course carp bait companies favour using substances that will be most profitable to them. In fact most of the more potent substances in readymade carp baits are not used in anywhere near the levels that you can use them within homemade carp baits, in order to out-fish readymade baits. Fishing bait companies do not advertise that fact in the flashy magazines do they?

As you can tell, I am not the biggest fan of the whole commercial side of fishing, and every time I see a flashy magazine with yet another round or barrel shaped boilie or pop up bait it just makes me laugh at the amount of conditioning and brain washing taking place because smooth-surfaced heated readymade boilies are not the ultimate bait and can easily be out-fished!

Why do you think the average angler is disappointed with his results using readymade baits? Surely fish should be jumping on the bank for them if they are as good as they are advertised! But in fact I know of some of the latest leading brand readymade boilies that have been used for pre-baiting on some high profile waters deliberately to prime fish for video making and the fish have left the readymade baits alone for two full weeks before the baits broke down without being eaten! I will not mention the brand here but it is one of the biggest leading brands in the UK and not Nash although they have obviously taken a bashing anyway, but if you want details about which bait I am referring to you can contact me to find out!

I might add that many companies will market a new bait based on results of field tester catches where they are provided with a far more potent version of a bait than the version the public will actually will be buying as the next big thing! I hope many of you take good note of this! Not all readymade bait companies are this crafty but if you find your results are average then think about making your own so you can always ensure your baits are even better of those that initial field testers get hold of!

Bettering bait is all about having a control bait and constantly experimenting and refining with slightly refined versions of that bait, altering levels of substances, substituting some for alternative ones and so on - really exploiting the fact you have 2 or 5 rods. Few anglers realise that even using 3 homemade baits each with a different flavour levels can hook different fish in a water due to the fact that each individual fish has a unique degree of sensitivity to any particular substance.

The most optimised and most functionally-effective bait is about guaranteeing the most potent continual release of feed-triggering bait substances which are most highly concentrated in solution possible; and that really sums it all up!

All heated bait is very seriously impeded in its functional potential to catch fish because bait substances in concentration in solution are the big key to the most successful baits and heated baits are coagulated and sealed so very little soluble substances are available to form concentrated impactful solution being sealed into the matrix of the bait! These heated baits have damaged under-optimised proteins so perform far below maximum potential and it really makes me mad that heated boilies are claimed to be the ultimate carp nutrition, the ultimate bait format.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plasterer kent

Everyday the capital of Great Britain embraces the scores of thousands of tourists, offering the entertainments for every exacting taste. It can be a walk around Westminster, City or Knightsbridge, a breathtaking flight on the London's Eye or a refreshing boat trip along the Thames or something else - tastes, as they say, differ. But there is something in common that unites different tastes of those who come for the English sights - it is that peculiar and unique spirit of the olden times with an exquisite scent of the monarchy and unshakable English traditions. The best way of feeling this spirit is to distance oneself for a while from the hustle and bustle of London especially as the countryside has plenty of special places to offer.

Only about 30 minutes by train from Charing Cross or London Bridge in south-eastern direction and voilà - we are in Kent, in the scenic town of Sevenoaks, to be exact. Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  After a deafening bubbling of London and its at times mismatched combinations of old and new, it seems as if you have suddenly found yourself in an unspoiled architectural paradise. In such places there is a feeling that things haven't really changed a lot for the last few centuries and that you've been carried to the world of Jane Austen for example. By the way in the house number 50, which is at High Street, used to live Jane Austen's great uncle, so it is quite possible that the renowned British novelist visited Sevenoaks at least once.

Sevenoaks envelops by its calm cosiness, and the strolls along the miniature streets with the old buildings threaded on them can't leave anyone indifferent. But the highlight of this place is a venerable 550-year-old Knole House surrounded by a 1000-acre park. But it's not just a park - this is the park with surprise. Knole is one of those places where you can not only come into contact with majestic British history and Brits traditions but also get in touch with nature, and to do it quite literally. There are no limits to the visitor's rapture, especially to those who are with the kids, when in the car park they are being met by deer. Some of these animals certainly feel at ease with people and even sniff the representatives of "homo touristicus" with the object of something edible.

Built in the 15th century, Knole House had been changing owners for quite a while, it was even one of numerous residences of Henry VIII, unless his daughter Elizabeth I granted the stately home to her cousin Thomas Sacville. The successors of Thomas Sacville have been living here ever since; nowadays they occupy a part of Knole House. Another one is opened to the public from March until November and exposes an opulent collection of ancient furniture, tapestry, paintings and household articles for the general viewing.

After leaving the brightness of sunshine behind Knole House's threshold, its interior atmosphere appears especially cryptic and supernatural: poorly lit rooms and corridors, sunk into oblivion residents of the house austerely scrutinizing from the portraits, the walls plastered by fantastic creatures carved out of wood, the squeaking floorboards and a somewhat specific smell of the past giving off by wainscoted (paneled) walls and the furnishings. This property is also interesting by that it has 365 rooms, 52 staircases and 7 courts, thus being a so-called "calendar house". The immense size of Knole House is mostly noticeable from the side, where it seems that it is not a house and even not a palace, but real medieval town. This medieval town-looking skyline makes the place a perfect set for the historic dramas, like for "The other Boleyn Girl" starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

Knole Park is not empty even during winter months - there are always visitors, not mention the summertime, when the site draws both the locals and the tourists like magnet. Many families having picnics in the immediate vicinity of Knole House, the deer peacefully grazing nearby, the couples strolling under the huge trees or alongside a compact valley, that obviously used to be the riverbed. All together it makes an amazing feeling of joyful harmony and serenity.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plastering kent

The term Louis refers to the name of 18 French Monarchs who reigned from 1300 to the French Revolution. The Louis Mantelpiece should more rightly be called a Louis revival mantelpiece as it was the product of the 19th century when French architects and interior decorators sought to produce styles, which mimicked the type of fireplace which was popular during the reigns of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI. In reality the fireplaces of this era were a lot more elaborate than the revival designs, which were made in France and England during the Victorian era. A typical Louis revival projected around 9 inches from the wall. The front was flat and box like with a wide rectangular opening. The designs were more graceful than the British marble fireplace of the era and were often made by Italian craftsmen with extra detail and finishing undertaken by French artisans.

The revival Louis XV surrounds have graceful curves and the designs which are popular today are much more likely to be from this origin. Louis XVI fireplaces are square and much more masculine and could be mistaken for many traditional English designs which have been popular for 200 years or more. The small and feminine Louis XV Pompadour has probably been the most successful of all the Louis designs.

Georgian

The Georgian era spanned the years 1714 to 1820, although the latter period is more correctly called Regency. It was during this time that many of today's stately homes were Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  being built or remodelled as the landed aristocracy flourished. Inigo Jones, an architect during the previous century, was the inspiration for the early Georgian period up to 1760. His pattern books were available to landed gentry throughout the country and, filled with designs incorporating elements from Greek mythology, they inspired designer's like William Kent to provide fireplaces which formed a voluptuous centrepiece to grace grand rooms.

The history of the fireplace now falls conveniently into two halves. Immense, ornate designs characterised the earlier part, while the latter half saw mantelpieces with a more subtle, classical influence.

In middle class households designs were altogether simpler - faux imitations of marble or expensive hardwoods replaced the real thing. More reserved, and cheaper, fireplaces would also be seen in the less important rooms of stately homes indicating that the pockets of even the richest landowners were not limitless! These designs did not percolate down at all to the farmers and yeomen who made up the majority of house owners. Their fireplaces were often the inglenook designs with large wooden lintel that we see in thatched cottages today.

The second half of the century is, without doubt the age of Robert Adam and the fireplaces that bear his name. With his brother James, Robert Adam produced pattern books covering all aspects of architecture but it is probably for the fireplace that he is best known. Adam was a master of detail - his designs, although smaller and less extravagant than were common in the previous fifty years, included beautifully finished detail, almost all taken from classical mythology. This could include a gold-leaf Etruscan motif or even a Wedgwood ceramic plaque.

Important rooms featured designs in fine white statuary marble embellished with swags, ribbons, lyres and urns, whilst less important rooms, and the vast emerging middle class, would be supplied by scaled down copies of these designs in a variety of imitation designs and materials. In the never-ending change that is furnishing fashion, the designs became more classical and less ornate in the dying years of the Georgian period and influences, such as the Chinoiserie (Chinese influenced design) favoured by the Prince Regent, George IV, became more evident. In many ways this period was the heyday of the fireplace, the design dimensions and features still copied in a myriad of imitations for today's market.

Regency

Like every décor trend over the last four hundred years the Regency period cannot be seen in isolation. In fact, it is incorporates elements and inter relates with trends, social differences and politics both before and after the period. Regency fireplaces tended to be much less elaborate than those of designers such of Robert Adam. Gone were the small inset pastoral scenes so beloved of the mid 18th century aristocracy. In their place came very rectilinear designs with the typical reeded leg. The leg itself might be flat with the reeding as an inset or even in the form of single or double Greek columns apparently supporting the fireplace header. The reeded panel might be taken across the header but other designs included twin parallel lines, Acanthus leaves or other Greek images - Medusa's head or Roman triumph images were also popular.

Marble was a popular material for fireplaces although, at times, supplies from Italy, Spain and Portugal were blockaded by the Napoleonic wars. Statuary marble (the variety used for sculpting statues) was preferred, although its cost tended to limit its use to the main, public rooms. Other 'reception' and 'retiring' might have fireplaces in faux marble, manufactured in wood or toughened plaster and painted, by highly skilled but low paid artisans, to resemble marble.

In France fireplace style had developed separately from that of Britain. During the French Revolution, many of the extravagant chimneypieces installed throughout the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI were ripped out and shipped abroad. In their place came fireplaces, still influenced by the empires of antiquity but with less decoration and grander mantelshelves than examples within the UK. With France's close relationship with the fledgling USA this influence can also be seen in New England homes of the period including the White House (which is only white because the Brits burnt it in 1812 and it had to be repainted - white!).

Regency influence has remained popular to this day. Many town houses from this era survive in London although the largest houses were demolished for their land during the late Victorian housing boom. Where Regency houses had been stripped of their original fireplaces by subsequent generations keen to modernise their homes, modern reproductions have been used to fill the gaps and recreate at least some of the splendour of that period. Indeed, the simpler design of Regency fireplaces has proved easier to reproduce than the elaborate splendour of its predecessors which are regarded as 'over the top' by the present generations.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plasterer kent

Kent is a big country, full of beautiful countryside and home to a more relaxed lifestyle. For those that need their urban fix, London is under 60 miles away with good rail and road links from the coast. For that extra special city excursion, Europe is 75 minutes by ferry or you can hop on the Eurostar to Paris.

No Hassle to Get Started

Many builders that have new homes for sale in Kent are offering generous incentives to potential buyers such as paying the stamp duty and solicitor's fees. These offers are always changing, so it is good shop around and see who's got a good deal on.

Decorated exactly as you wish

Orange paint, hideous flowered wallpaper and carpet that was around when Churchill was in Downing Street. With a new house, you don't have to worry about fixing someone else's decorating disasters. Many new homebuilders allow you to choose the fittings and colours before the home is complete, so you can just move in and enjoy!

No hidden defects

Your house is brand new so you don't need to worry about hidden damp or rot underneath the plaster. Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  The roof won't need doing for at least another 20 years and the boiler has never been used. A brand new house really does have its advantages.

Sport and Leisure

Since you don't have to spend your weekends stripping wallpaper or refinishing floors, you have more time to take advantage of all that Kent has to offer. For starters, the area has more castles than anywhere else in the country. Then, there is the 67 golf courses, horse racing at Folkstone, motor racing at Brands Hatch, cricket at the Canterbury Cricket Ground and, of course, loads of water sports such as kite-surfing and sailing.

Seaside

Kent has more miles of coastline than any other English county and more than 1/3 of Kent residents live in coastal districts. Over 14 million people visit Kent each year on holiday. You, on the other hand, can just live there and enjoy the sea all year round.

Get Ahead

Kent is a great place to get ahead. With weekly wages on par with Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester and higher than Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle, you'll have more money to take advantage of Kent's extensive leisure scene. The low housing prices make the situation even more inviting. Here's a list of average house prices in comparable districts.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plasterer tonbridge

You're looking at your website and thinking... it's time it had a makeover, so you happily hire a web designer to do the design and development work for your new site. You quickly realise that web design work is expensive so you try and reduce the project cost by writing the copy for the new website yourself.

Does this sound like you? Happy to spend lots of money on web design because you can't do it yourself, but keen to write the copy because that's the easy part, right?

Wrong!

The uncomfortable truth is that too many business websites fail to meet the basic expectations of their customers and it's often poor writing that's to blame. If the information on a website is poorly written, badly organised or just hard to find this is a sure-fire way to drive potential customers away.

Writing website copy is best Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  left to a web copywriting specialist because it requires creativity, structure and considerable care and attention to detail. There are also a quite a few tricks of the trade, just as there are with plastering.

Here are 5 reasons why you should hire a web copywriter:

1. Writing for the web isn't like writing for print

People don't read web pages in the same way as they read pages in a book or a magazine. Reading a screen is harder on your eyes, so rather than reading word-for-word website visitors scan the page content looking for the key information. Good web content has to be written based on the likelihood that the page will be scan-read.

For this reason a web copywriter may use around 50% fewer words than he might do in print. Key words will be highlighted in bold type and there will be extensive use of page summaries, bulleted lists and meaningful headings and sub-headings.

2. If a website isn't easily found it's a bit pointless having it

Most people know that a high proportion of the traffic to most websites comes from search engines such as Google. They also know that most people don't look beyond Page 1 of search engine results. It's pretty clear then that you need to be on Page 1 for those key search terms which you expect potential clients to type in a search box in order to find your business or service.

Helping your website to gain visibility doesn't just happen by magic though - you need the text on your website to be Search Engine Optimised. SEO-enhanced website content gives your site greater visibility, and this means more targeted traffic, hence quality leads and higher sales.

Customers aren't the only audience for your content though - search engine spiders and directory editors are looking at it too. They're checking the copy on your website for relevance in search engine results.

A web copywriter will identify the most important keywords and phrases before he starts writing your content. He won't stuff your content full of keywords, as this can be awful for your readers, but he'll ensure that your keywords and phrases appear in the right places.

It's not an easy balance to achieve.

3. Get it wrong and customers won't come back

When people come to a website they're usually there for a reason - usually it's to buy something, to find information or to be entertained. Well-crafted page content laid out in a logical manner will help site visitors to find what they want with minimal effort.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plastering kent

Located about 50km away from the city of London, Rochester, Kent is set atop the River Medway, which allows for some great sights and many activities. As a historic town, the area is not only charming to visit and tour, but it also offers plenty of tourist attractions set against a traditional and very British background, make it even more attractive to those looking for a potential holiday location. From shopping at the small boutique shops to touring the famous Norman Rochester Castle there is plenty to do in the area to keep you busy throughout your holiday.

The area surrounding Rochester is also filled with plenty to do, as Kent is one of the main tourist regions of the Southeast corner of Britain. With this in mind you will have a wide choice of lodgings including top range hotels and motels.

For a look back into the history of the Rochester area the Watts Charity Museum and Guildhall Museum are great places to start given that they are conveniently located next door to each other. The Watts Charity Museum is the inspiration for Dickens' short story the 'Six Poor Travellers House' and the Guildhall Museum offers a look back into the area which dates back into Roman times. The ceilings of the Guildhall are also worth a close look given they are beautifully created plaster ceilings that were donated by an Admiral back in 1695.

Another notable attraction in Rochester is the Rochester Cathedral, which has been a religious base since 604 AD when the Saxons first erected a cathedral on the same site. According to legend, the cathedral burnt down in the 12th century, ravaged in the 13th century, and damaged in the 17th century by Cromwell's soldiers, but despite the test of time has always been rebuilt and today the result is a nice fusion of many centuries of architectural design which contains everything from the Norman Cathedral archways to narrow Gothic arches to modern features of the 20th century.

While visiting the Cathedral take a Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent? minute to cross the street and visit the Rochester Castle, which was built during the Norman period and is so impressive that Charles Dickens once announced that he wished to be buried within the castle grounds. Although some of the castle has fallen into disrepair due to different battles that took place in the area, today there is a still a large intact spiral staircase that allows you to reach the top of the castle and look out over the city walls of Rochester, which is a view well worth the four pound admission fee.

Most people who holiday in the Rochester area choose to stay in unique and quant bed and breakfasts such as the Riverview Lodge and caravan holiday parks such as Allhallows Holiday Park. This is due to the fact that it allows them to have a home away from home, from which to base their daily activities and provides for a low key and relaxing holiday experience enriched with the charms of the cute local B&B's and caravan parks most of which are locally owned.

Elizabeth Wright is an experienced travel writer who likes to share her experiences and expertise through article writing. Haven Holidays have 35 holiday parks across the UK, many with seaside locations and all with a huge range of leisure activities to keep the whole family entertained. To find out more information about Allhallows Holiday Park, visit the Haven website.

[christopherj-blog2]

Plastering kent

Across the world there are many examples of plastering techniques, in this article we are going to discuss some tips on choosing the right plastering technique and how a plaster finish can make a room look bigger. However, most people would not notice the difference since the overall effect of these different techniques simply adds to the interior design of a room and as we discuss it is all about subtle use of tones and textures.

In Britain we use a mixture of these different techniques but usually most new homes can be finished with a smooth coat. In the late 70's and early 80's plastering techniques took a more artistic route from rough circles or semi-circles to horizontal and vertical lines, something which in modern times we have spent endless hours removing.

One of the best investments into home improvement is ensuring smooth and flat surfaces which are either painted of tiled, this is sometimes the most mundane of all the DIY jobs. By using a specialist one can ensure a plastering finish that will last years and it will save you time so that you can begin to plan your room.

The technique discussed below describes a type of finish that is both hard-wearing and yet waterproof.

Italian influences

What most people don't realise is that it is now possible to bring a little bit of Italy back home with the beautiful Italian plastering finishes that are increasingly becoming popular.

I would recommend choosing one Looking for a cheap plasterer in Kent?  that adds a subtle difference to the room it is intended for. For example you may be intending to re-plaster a wet-room, by adding one of the Italian influences which have subtle blue gradients blending into white at the top would make a room seem taller - whereas if the gradient goes horizontally then this would make the room seem longer.

These Italian influences add a unique finish to a room but their benefits are not just the look and feel of the surface, the plaster itself is an extremely good non-porous surface which simply evaporates the water before it has a chance to get in and damage the surface.

In the last ten years these Italian plastering techniques have become very popular and a number of consumers are now interested in transforming their home into a little bit of Italy.

Whilst most British plastering techniques are well suited to their location, they are nonetheless usually plain and uninspiring. By utilising these artisan techniques that have been around for centuries we can bring to life a tired bathroom or walk in shower, create inspiring rooms to live in and really start to enjoy the quality plastering without even noticing it.