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The Velocette 500 Thruxton STORY BY GRAHAM CLAYTON// PHOTOS BY GRAHAM CLAYTON OCTOBER 1 2009

1967 Vintage Velocette 500 Thruxton Motorcycle The first time that I ever saw a Velocette Thruxton was at a road race at Harewood Acres, a long-since-gone converted airfield circuit near Delhi, Ontario. The Velo’s owner had parked it in the paddock and wandered off to watch the fairing bashing going on through Gunnery Corner. To me the 500 Velo was pure eye candy.

The Thruxton had the purposeful look of a true road burner, albeit with a decidedly dated looking engine. Sometime earlier I had read a road test on the model in Cycle World, so I knew what I was looking at and what the 500 cc bike was capable of. Little did I know at the time that the Thruxton model would be the most advanced, and also the final version of the high-cam Velocette OHV single.

The history of Velocettes is also the history of a family motorcycling business that would span three generations. The company’s founder, Johannes Gutgemann, was a German immigrant who settled in the Birmingham area in the West Midlands of England. Initially, Gutgemann went by the Anglicized name John Taylor, and by 1904 was building motorcycles in partnership with William Gue. Their bikes were sold as Veloce motorcycles. This early venture failed in 1905, but Taylor went on to form a new company of his own, Veloce Limited. Taylor had two sons, Percy and Eugene, who were both very capable engineers. In 1908, the two sons started their own firm, New Veloce Motors, which would build cars, as well as small displacement engines that would power motorcycles built by their father’s firm ,Veloce Limited, located in London.

In 1909, Veloce introduced a 276 cc 4-stroke single of non-conventional design that didn’t sell well. The firm responded by offering a new 499 cc model powered by a more standard design 4-stroke single with belt final drive. This model was a market success and sales began to grow.

In 1911, Veloce launched a small displacement machine that was designed for ladies. Powered by a 206 cc 2-stroke engine, this model was the first to carry the Velocette name. That year Gutgemann took out British citizenship and changed his name yet again, this time to John Goodman.

By 1916, New Veloce Motors had failed, but was absorbed into Veloce Limited as its in-house engine operation. Over the next decade, the Veloce Motor Company introduced a variety of new models using different engines designed by the two brothers. What became evident was that the brothers had quite different design interests. Percy was into high performance and racing models, while Eugene was focused on the design of more basic and utilitarian models meant for mass consumption. This dichotomy of design interests persisted for years at Velocette and taxed the resources of the small firm.

In 1925, Percy Goodman designed an OHC 348 cc sports prototype that was designated as a K model and badged as a Velocette. Three of the new K models were entered in the Isle of Man Junior (350 cc) TT road race, but didn’t do well. The following year a revised KSS model was entered in the Junior TT and it won. Thus began a period of racing works 350 cc OHC Velocette TT singles that would span twenty-five years. Velocettes would win the 350 cc Isle of Man Junior TT again in 1928 and 1929. As a result of those wins, Veloce began selling a new over-the-counter 350 cc racing model, the KTT, that would become hugely popular among privateer racers and would dominate 350 clubman racing for the next decade. The 350 KTTs would win the Isle of Man 350 Junior TT again in both 1938 and 1939.

When postwar road racing resumed in the Isle of Man in 1947, works 350 KTT riders won the 350 Junior TT for three years straight. Not only that, but when the FIM Grand Prix World Championship series resumed in 1949, Velocette won back-to-back 350 GP World Crowns with KTTs ridden by Freddie Frith in 1949 and Bob Foster in 1950. Freddie Frith was an incredible 40-years-of-age when he won his 350 cc World Championship, and promptly retired from racing. During the twenty-year period, 1930-1950, the Veloce Motor Company designed and built a variety of different motorcycles powered both by 2-stroke and 4-stroke motors. Mainstay models that sold well through the 1930s included the 248 cc MOV (1933), the 349 cc MAC (1934), and the 495 cc MSS (1935). Each of these models incorporated a high-cam, short pushrod layout that became standard on all of the road-going Velocette 4-stroke singles, including the later Thruxton.

Once the war was over, Velocette began reintroducing their road-going OHV single models.

Unlike some larger competing British firms, Veloce had produced few bikes for the war effort, and had to struggle to get back on their feet when peace resumed. Veloce was always a relatively small firm and never employed more than 400 workers. Their machines were much more hand-made than those built by their competition, a factor that contributed to their higher price tags. If Veloce had focused fully on moving ahead with updated road-going singles in the early postwar years they would likely have recovered their pre-war market strength, but this didn’t happen. They tried to do more than their modest resources could support and suffered for it.

Percy Goodman died in 1951 at which point the Velocette works race shop was closed.

By now brother Eugene had introduced a new model, the LE, for which he predicted large volume sales. The ungainly LE employed a pressed-steel frame and came fitted with running boards and leg shields. It was powered by a 149 cc water-cooled, side-valve, horizontally opposed flat twin with shaft drive. The engine had to be cranked to start and employed a hand gearshift. Not surprisingly the public didn’t go for it, though it did prove popular as a local police bike. Even so, sales were barely one fifth of Eugene’s expected volume. It should have been dropped, but wasn’t.

In 1956, responding to market demand for bigger and better bikes, Veloce introduced two new sports models, the 500 Venom and the 350 Viper. The Venom was capable of 90 mph (145 km/h) and could easily be upgraded for racing use. From 1960 onward both models were also offered as Clubman models with lowered bars, tuned engines and upgraded suspension for high-speed use. The Venom Clubman proved to be a popular model and performed very well in endurance racing.

In March of 1961, the factory took a team to France for an attempt on the 12-Hour and 24-Hour Speed Records for a 500 cc machine. The venue for the attempt was the banked Montlhery circuit outside of Paris. The company’s up-rated 500 Venom Clubman succeeded in setting a 12-Hour Record at 104 mph (167 kph) and a 24-Hour Record at 100.05 mph (161 kph). These results cemented the reputation of the Velocette Venom as a fast and durable machine. In 1964, the firm introduced a special version of the Venom Clubman with a new cylinder head, narrower valve angle, larger inlet valve, revised intake and a large Amal GP carb that in order to fit necessitated cutting a notch in both the gas tank and the oil tank. The new machine won the 500 class of that year’s gruelling Thruxton 500 mile endurance race giving rise to a new model introduced the following year.

This model was the Velocette Venom Thruxton introduced in 1965, a genuine ton-up café racer for the serious enthusiast. The Thruxton had a new cylinder head based on a squish-type design that had been developed by Lou Branch, Velocette’s U.S. importer. It incorporated a two-inch down draft intake, a larger intake valve, a high performance camshaft and a higher 9.2:1 compression piston. Fitted with a 1 3/8” Amal GP carburetor, the standard bike produced 40-41 bhp at 6,200 rpm, and was good for a top speed of 105-110 mph (169-177 km/h) in stock form.

The Thruxton came with clip-on handlebars, rear-set foot pegs, a humped leather racing type seat and a notched 4.5-gallon fuel tank. Other features of the model included separate stand-up speedo and tachometer, a sweptback header pipe and a traditional Velo fishtail muffler.

The frame employed was a standard Venom dual loop unit with a single front downtube, fitted with upgraded telescopic front forks and dual Girling shocks at the rear. As with other Velos, the angle of the rear shocks could be adjusted to accommodate varying passenger loads by making them more vertical for heavier two-up riding.

The bike ran on 19-inch alloy rims front and back, fitted with a 3.0” x 19 front tire and a 3.5” x 19 rear. Stopping power was provided by a 7.5” (190 mm) diameter double leading-shoe front drum brake with an air scoop and a 7.0” (178 mm) single leading shoe rear brake. The bike had a fairly hefty dry weight of 390 lbs. (177 kg) and a wheelbase of roughly 54 inches (1.37 m).

As with any high performance, large carb single of the day, starting required adherence to a set procedure if trouble was to be avoided. This typically involved tickling the carb (flooding the float chamber), easing the piston over compression with the use of the compression release, setting the throttle opening, and then giving a good non-stiff-leg downward kick on the kick starter. A well set-up bike would usually start with 1-3 kicks.

Being a non-counterbalanced single, vibration was a fact of life with the Velo, but back then most big bikes vibrated. At idle the front wheel would dance a bit, but once underway the vibration was not a problem, and would disappear above 4,500 rpm, which made the bike a comfortable high speed cruiser.

Fitted with standard gearing, the Thruxton would be pulling only 4,000 revs at 70 mph (113 km/h), and could cruise indefinitely in the 80-90 mph (130-145 km/h) range. More than a few British 650 twins of the day found staying with a 500 Thruxton hard going at speeds above 80 mph.

The one clear chink in the Thruxton’s armour was its ability to overrun its headlight in high-speed night riding. The Velocette electrical system was 6-volt which yielded a relatively yellow and weak light output.

The high speed and good handling capabilities of the Thruxton were proven repeatedly in race competition. A Velo Thruxton team won the 500 cc class of the 1965 500 Mile race, run that year at the Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire, England. Then two years later, a pair of Velocette Thruxtons finished first and second in the 500 cc class of the inaugural Isle of Man Production TT race. Race winner Neil Kelly averaged 89.89 mph (144.7 km/h) for the distance with the fastest lap at over 91 mph (146.5 km/h), while second place finisher Keith Heckles had a race average speed of 89.15 mph (143.5 km/h).

A tweaked production racing Thruxton could produce a further 5 or 6 bhp over stock and, when fitted with a full fairing, could top 120 mph (193 km/h). Later model Thruxtons were fitted with a concentric type Amal carb, a higher compression piston, and from July 1968 onward had the traditional Velo flywheel magneto system replaced by a battery and coil ignition (still 6-volt) that was reportedly a lot easier to live with.

In early 1969, the British motorcycle weekly Motor Cycle ran a road test using a staff member’s up-dated Thruxton. Two of the things that really struck the testers about the 500 Velo was its tractability and its fuel efficiency, something that they hadn’t expected from a big single fitted with a GP carb.

The testers reported that the Velo had a non-lugging speed of 28 mph (45 km/h) in top gear, and could paddle along all day at 3,000 revs. Fuel economy testing revealed the following remarkable results of 96 mpg at 30 mph, 70 mpg at 50 mph, and 57 mpg at 70 mph. These were the type of fuel economy results than you would typically get with a good 250 cc machine in the late 1960s, not a built-for-speed 500.

Production of the Thruxton continued until late 1970 by which time Veloce was financially on its knees. Far too much money had been spent on the various LE variants which drained cash from the firm, plus other abortive designs. The last of these was an unsuccessful 250 cc 2-stroke, flat-twin scooter called the Viceroy. It was hoped that this model would enable the firm to cash in on the scooter craze.

In the final years of Veloce Limited, two of John Goodman’s grandsons were managers of the firm. After sixty-six years in the motorcycle business the family voluntarily closed the company in February of 1971.

By then the firm had reportedly produced some 1,108 Thruxtons, half of which were exported, with over two-thirds of those coming to North America. Most of the Thruxtons were fitted with a silver and blue pinstriped fuel tank, but from 1967 onward the model could also be specially ordered with a more traditional black with gold pinstripe Velocette tan

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The UK's most festive street names revealed – St Nicholas proving most popular

Street names are quite often run-of-the-mill, but also festive it turns out! With Christmas just around the corner, Sell House Fast reveals research to find out which region of the UK is home to the most festive street names.

Who would guess the UK is home to almost 300 festive street names?! With ‘Christmas Pie Avenue’ being the most festive of all of them.

Related: A new estate agent is offering potential buyers the chance to test drive a house before investing

ST Nicholas Street proved to be the most common festive road name. And as it turns out, when it comes to street names, Rudolph is not the most popular reindeer…

UK’s most festive street names revealed…

Image credit: Getty images/Mike Kemp

The East of England came out on top, with the most festive names with a cracking 53 streets with Christmas-themed names. Followed by the South East and North West, both with a jolly 36 festive-themed street names.

St Nicholas addresses are most popular in the East of England, with 103 variations found.  Shepherd road/lane/street/close features mot in the North West, with 50 located.

Pine tree close/lane/street is favoured in the West Midlands, with 37 found. Did you know there are 27 Noel roads in the East Midlands?

There are also 10 streets with the festive associated word ‘turkey’ in them. Nine addresses including mistletoe, and two Gingerbread Lanes and a Christmas Pie Avenue.

The most common reindeer-related street names

Image credit: Colin Poole

1. Comet is the most commonly found reindeer name on England’s streets, with 61 in total. Most of these are found in the North West of England.

2. Vixen has 15 different street names. The South of England and East of England are both home to the most street names involving Vixen.

3. Rudolph, not proving so popular, has only six street names. The majority of those being based in London, and the most popular street name being Rudolph street.

4. Dancer has five street names, nearly all of them again in London and the most popular name being Dancer road.

5. Cupid has two street names. With ‘Cupid’s Chase’ found in Southend-on-Sea and ‘Cupid’s Alley’ in York.

Talking of houses: View all of our house tours right here

To get these results Sellhousefast.co.uk searched out a range of seasonal and Christmas related words into Streetlist, adding up the total per region.

Is there a sign of festive cheer on the street where you live?

The post The UK's most festive street names revealed – St Nicholas proving most popular appeared first on Ideal Home.

from Ideal Home https://ift.tt/2PL4ISc

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America’s Hottest—and Most Unexpected—Real Estate Markets in July 2019

Getty Images; realtor.com

The nation’s hottest real estate markets in July weren’t the big, famous cities that most folks would expect. But what they lack in glitz, excitement, and skyscrapers, these smaller metropolitan areas more than make up for in affordability, according an analysis of July realtor.com® data.

Many of the metros at the top of the list are industrial towns throughout the Rust Belt that have undergone revitalizations and are booming again. Or they’re smaller, less expensive alternatives to pricier cities a few hours away. Such is the case with Sacramento, which is just an hour and a half northwest of San Francisco but has a median home price that’s nearly half that of the larger city.

(Metros include the main city and the surrounding smaller towns and urban areas.)

The No. 1 slot? It went to the industrial town of Fort Wayne, IN. This city has been on the upswing for years and still has a strong manufacturing sector and a burgeoning arts scene. That’s caught the attention of builders, who are putting up new homes throughout the area.

The hottest markets “have a decent economy. They’re producing jobs. They’re growing,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com. “They have lower home price tags, and they have more starter homes than other markets.”

Homes in Fort Wayne, about two hours northwest of Indianapolis, got nearly triple the views on realtor.com than the typical properties throughout the rest of the country. Meanwhile, the median days on market for the market fell seven days over the past year.

“Many of the buyers we work with realize they might be able to buy a house and have a monthly mortgage payment less than the rent payment,” says Beth Walker, a Fort Wayne–based real estate broker at Fairfield Group Realtors who is also president of the Upstate Alliance of Realtors.

“Young people don’t want to always max out what they can afford,” she continues. “People are finding smaller, [cheaper] cities where you can buy a good-sized home and not be mortgage poor and afford a good quality of life.”

Fort Wayne–area buyers can find starter homes going for between $75,000 and $200,000, she says. But they had better act fast.

“A move-in-ready house that lists for under $200,000 will typically sell within 24 to 48 hours,” Walker says. Those are for homes within the city limits and surrounding suburbs. “And it’s not uncommon for it to have multiple offers.” That can push prices up between 10% and 20%, she says.

Fort Wayne was one of three Indiana metros to crack the top 20 hottest markets in July. Lafayette, IN, also a manufacturing town, fell from the third spot to sixth place.

“We are a very affordable market,” says local associate real estate broker Jennifer O’Shea of Keller Williams Realty. “Our economy is booming, so there are lots of opportunities for employment.”

Many of her clients are moving into the area from other parts of the country to work at Purdue University, in neighboring West Lafayette, IN. About 42,000 students are enrolled at the school.

“You can enter the market for around $100,000 [to snag a starter home,” O’Shea says. But those who are willing to pay more can get quite a bit more for their money.

For $250,000, “you can get a really nice, 2,400-square-foot, brand-new, single-family home with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths,” she says

Below are the rest of the hottest markets for July:

The hot list

Metro Rank (July 2019) Rank (July 2018) Fort Wayne, IN 1 12 Rochester, NY 2 2 Columbus, OH 3 7 Pueblo, CO 4 15 Midland, TX  5 1 Lafayette, IN 6 47 Kennewick, WA 7 71 Manchester, NH 8 26 Colorado Springs, CO 9 22 Spokane, WA 10 27 Janesville-Beloit, WI 11 7 Yuba City, CA 12 32 Monroe, MI 13 34 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 14 4 Dayton, OH 15 13 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 16 86 Buffalo, NY 17 33 Omaha, NE 18 23 Sacramento, CA 19 24 Akron, OH 20 44

  Editors’ note: Realtor.com is upgrading its database to a new system that allows for more enhanced listings tracking. The July data contained in this article is a preview of the new database and may be adjusted once the conversion is complete.

The post America’s Hottest—and Most Unexpected—Real Estate Markets in July 2019 appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/july-2019-americas-hottest-and-most-unexpected-real-estate-markets/

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Order Spirits Online - Vodka, Gin, Brandy, Whiskey & others All Delivered within 30 minutes!

Welcome to 24 Hour Alcohol – Your guide to 24 hour off licences and late night alcohol delivery services

Since 24-hour drinking was introduced in England & Wales, it’s been possible to shop for booze at any time of night from premises with 24 hour alcohol licences. It’s not always easy to seek out alcohol late within the dark or in the early hours of the morning, so we’ve compiled a database of all shops licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours each day .

If you can’t get right down to your nearest 24 hour shop to shop for booze in the dark , on-demand alcohol delivery may be a brilliant alternative. Simply order beers, wines and spirits online and your drinks are going to be dropped off direct to your door in no time. Late night booze delivery is out there during a growing number of locations. In large cities like London and Manchester, delivery speeds are often so fast, it’s almost instant alcohol delivery!

Here at 24 Hour Alcohol you'll find off licences and alcohol delivery services licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours each day , so you'll buy booze late within the dark or early in the morning. All off licences and drink delivery services listed on this website are legally allowed to sell alcohol “after hours”, thanks to 24 hour drinking laws in England & Wales that came into effect in 2005 (Licensing Act 2003).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Tesco & Asda supermarkets have suspended 24 hour opening for the foreseeable future, with most Tesco & Asda stores now closing at 10pm (some Tesco and Asda stores are now open until midnight). Many other 24 hour shops in our database are open for business as was common , however, some retailers are operating reduced opening times, so we highly recommend phoning ahead to see that your local 24hr shop remains open as normal to avoid a wasted journey. Most on-demand alcohol delivery services have returned to normal, so you'll get drinks, cigarettes and groceries delivered to your door almost instantly.

Order alcohol on-demand for delivery direct to your door

When you need booze in the dark but can’t visit a 24 hour shop, on-demand alcohol delivery is that the perfect solution. We’ve all been during a situation where the bevies ran out early and it killed the party. Now that 24 hour alcohol delivery may be a reality, it’s changed everything. Getting drinks delivered is as easy as ordering food online from a takeaway. choose between a variety of beer, wine, spirits, champagne, lager, cider, alcopops, even cigarettes and tobacco, finalise your order and keep it up enjoying your night while your alcohol is brought round to your house by a friendly delivery driver.

View our section dedicated to Alcohol Delivery to find out more about the delivery of booze on-demand and the way to put an order. you'll also select a selected area to seek out companies delivering late night drinks to your location: London, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester, Preston, Blackpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Luton, Watford & St Albans, Slough, Swindon, Chester & Wirral, Liverpool, Norwich, Southampton and Taunton & Yeovil. Don’t forget, some alcohol delivery companies don’t open 24 hours, but most do open all night, so are handy once you desire a drink after hours. 24-hour alcohol delivery

Buy booze from your nearest shop with a 24 hour alcohol licence

When 24 hour drinking regulations were introduced in England & Wales, many pubs, bars, clubs, supermarkets, convenience stores, corner shops, petrol stations and alcohol delivery services were granted permission to sell 24 hour booze, but most of the people had no idea the way to determine where these premises were located, so couldn’t legitimately buy alcoholic beverages in the dark . to unravel this problem, 24 Hour Alcohol has obtained the locations of all 24 hour off licences within the whole of England & Wales, supplying you with access to booze 24/7.

Find out more about 24 Hour Off Licences or use our nearest 24 hour off licence locator to seek out shops selling booze all night near your current location. you'll also browse all shops licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours by selecting a locality… Wales, Scotland, England: London , Greater Manchester, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, County Durham, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex (Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex), Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire. Contact Us:

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Last chance to vote for Enquirer awards winners

Voting closes on Friday to back your favourite firms among the The Top Ten winners of the Construction Enquirer awards.

The company or project with most votes within each category will be confirmed on awards night in Birmingham on October 9.

All Top Ten winners will receive their awards that night at the Metropole Hotel in front of a crowd of construction’s finest.

More than 15,000 industry votes have already been cast for our Top Ten winners.

Being voted for by your peers makes an Enquirer Top Ten place a unique badge of honour – awarded to construction companies by construction people.

The industry has spoken and chosen its best places to work, favourite firms to do business with and best sites to work on.

Now all sides of the industry will come together to celebrate their success at the awards night in Birmingham on October 9 alongside UK Construction Week.

Tables are selling fast for the event which is the perfect chance to say thank you to the staff and suppliers who have helped win these prizes.

The current roll of sponsors includes Aluprof, Laing O’Rourke, Kier, Torsion, Engage and JLT as a host of other firms look to become part of an event engaging the entire industry.

Further sponsorship opportunities are available to associate your brand with the awards.

Category sponsorship packages cost £7,750 including a table of ten on the night.

For more details contact Stephen Blackie on +44 (0)20 3225 5200 or email stephen.blackie@media-ten.com

Tickets for the awards night cost £275 or £2,750 for a table of ten.

The evening will be hosted by everyone’s favourite architect George Clarke with comedy from king of the one-liners Gary Delaney.

To book your places please click here

Voting lines will be kept open to pick your favourite Top Ten winners until midnight August 31,

  TOP TEN WINNERS (alphabetical order)

Best Client to Work With (Public and Private)

Argent

Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City University

Crossrail

Highways England

Manchester Airport Group

North West Construction Hub

Scape

Thames Tideway

University of Manchester

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Over £250m)

BAM Nuttall

Graham

J Murphy & Sons

Kier

Laing O’Rourke

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work For (£50m – £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Blu-3

Colmore Tang

Jenner (Contractors)

MCS Group

Speller Metcalfe

Stepnell

Taylor Woodrow

United Living

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Under £50m)

Bespoke Construction

Coombs

CW Duke

Gelder Group

GMI Construction

Hightown Group

Jarvis Contracting

Knights Construction Group

Pilon

Torsion Group

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Over 25m)

Aarsleff

Astins

Billington Structures

Briggs & Forrester

Carey Group

Danny Sullivan Group

Lucas

N G Bailey

Stanmore Contractors

Vital Energi

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Under £25m)

Avanti Traffic Management

Bespoke Construction Services

Cidon Construction

Clarke Facades

DMC Contracts

EYG Group

Northvale

O’Donovan Waste Disposal

O’Brien Contractors

SMD

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Over £250m)

Costain

Graham

Laing O’Rourke

Lendlease

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Vinci

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Under £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Caddick Construction

Colmore Tang

Farrans

Jenner (Contractors)

Knights Brown

Russells Construction

Shaylor

Stepnell

Best Specialist Contractor to Work With

Billington Structures

Bourne Group

Dodd Group

Fitzgerald Contractors

ISO Spaces

Lucas

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Prater

SMD

Plastic Surgeon

Best Construction Supplier to Work With

Aluprof UK

Barhale Construction Services

Danny Sullivan Group

Etag Fixings UK

Falcon Green

Groundforce

Jomas Associates

JSP

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Newton Waterproofing Systems

Best Consultant to Work For

Arcadis

Bidsmarter

Engineering Design Consultants

Invennt

Jomas Associates

Kingston Barnes

McLeod + Aitken

Purpol Marketing

Soben Contract and Commercial

Turner + Townsend

Best Construction Project to Work On (Civils)

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme – Balfour Beatty/Costain/Skanska

Chelsea to Battersea Tunnel and Pipeline – Barhale, Cadent Gas, Mott MacDonald, Skanska and tRIIO

Crossrail

Elan Valley Aqueduct Rehabilitation – BNM Alliance

Hinkley Point C – BYLOR

Leeds Flood Alleviation – BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald

London Bridge Station redevelopment – Costain/Balfour Beatty

Mersey Gateway – Kier/Samsung/FCC

New Wear Crossing – Farrans/Victor Buyck

Queensferry Crossing – Galliford Try/Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge

Best Construction Project to Work On (Building)

Bloomberg London – Sir Robert McAlpine

Bracken House, London – McLaren Construction

Elephant Park, London – Lendlease

Gascoigne Estate – Bouygues UK

Manchester Airport Transformation Programme – Laing O’Rourke

Old Admiralty Building, London – Willmott Dixon

Port Street, Manchester – Bardsley Construction

St Mary’s Row, Moseley – Bespoke Construction

Trago Mills – Kier

Nottingham University GERA Building – Aluprof

[ebenalconstruct]

Last chance to vote for Enquirer awards winners

Voting closes on Friday to back your favourite firms among the The Top Ten winners of the Construction Enquirer awards.

The company or project with most votes within each category will be confirmed on awards night in Birmingham on October 9.

All Top Ten winners will receive their awards that night at the Metropole Hotel in front of a crowd of construction’s finest.

More than 15,000 industry votes have already been cast for our Top Ten winners.

Being voted for by your peers makes an Enquirer Top Ten place a unique badge of honour – awarded to construction companies by construction people.

The industry has spoken and chosen its best places to work, favourite firms to do business with and best sites to work on.

Now all sides of the industry will come together to celebrate their success at the awards night in Birmingham on October 9 alongside UK Construction Week.

Tables are selling fast for the event which is the perfect chance to say thank you to the staff and suppliers who have helped win these prizes.

The current roll of sponsors includes Aluprof, Laing O’Rourke, Kier, Torsion, Engage and JLT as a host of other firms look to become part of an event engaging the entire industry.

Further sponsorship opportunities are available to associate your brand with the awards.

Category sponsorship packages cost £7,750 including a table of ten on the night.

For more details contact Stephen Blackie on +44 (0)20 3225 5200 or email stephen.blackie@media-ten.com

Tickets for the awards night cost £275 or £2,750 for a table of ten.

The evening will be hosted by everyone’s favourite architect George Clarke with comedy from king of the one-liners Gary Delaney.

To book your places please click here

Voting lines will be kept open to pick your favourite Top Ten winners until midnight August 31,

  TOP TEN WINNERS (alphabetical order)

Best Client to Work With (Public and Private)

Argent

Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City University

Crossrail

Highways England

Manchester Airport Group

North West Construction Hub

Scape

Thames Tideway

University of Manchester

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Over £250m)

BAM Nuttall

Graham

J Murphy & Sons

Kier

Laing O’Rourke

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work For (£50m – £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Blu-3

Colmore Tang

Jenner (Contractors)

MCS Group

Speller Metcalfe

Stepnell

Taylor Woodrow

United Living

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Under £50m)

Bespoke Construction

Coombs

CW Duke

Gelder Group

GMI Construction

Hightown Group

Jarvis Contracting

Knights Construction Group

Pilon

Torsion Group

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Over 25m)

Aarsleff

Astins

Billington Structures

Briggs & Forrester

Carey Group

Danny Sullivan Group

Lucas

N G Bailey

Stanmore Contractors

Vital Energi

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Under £25m)

Avanti Traffic Management

Bespoke Construction Services

Cidon Construction

Clarke Facades

DMC Contracts

EYG Group

Northvale

O’Donovan Waste Disposal

O’Brien Contractors

SMD

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Over £250m)

Costain

Graham

Laing O’Rourke

Lendlease

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Vinci

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Under £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Caddick Construction

Colmore Tang

Farrans

Jenner (Contractors)

Knights Brown

Russells Construction

Shaylor

Stepnell

Best Specialist Contractor to Work With

Billington Structures

Bourne Group

Dodd Group

Fitzgerald Contractors

ISO Spaces

Lucas

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Prater

SMD

Plastic Surgeon

Best Construction Supplier to Work With

Aluprof UK

Barhale Construction Services

Danny Sullivan Group

Etag Fixings UK

Falcon Green

Groundforce

Jomas Associates

JSP

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Newton Waterproofing Systems

Best Consultant to Work For

Arcadis

Bidsmarter

Engineering Design Consultants

Invennt

Jomas Associates

Kingston Barnes

McLeod + Aitken

Purpol Marketing

Soben Contract and Commercial

Turner + Townsend

Best Construction Project to Work On (Civils)

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme – Balfour Beatty/Costain/Skanska

Chelsea to Battersea Tunnel and Pipeline – Barhale, Cadent Gas, Mott MacDonald, Skanska and tRIIO

Crossrail

Elan Valley Aqueduct Rehabilitation – BNM Alliance

Hinkley Point C – BYLOR

Leeds Flood Alleviation – BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald

London Bridge Station redevelopment – Costain/Balfour Beatty

Mersey Gateway – Kier/Samsung/FCC

New Wear Crossing – Farrans/Victor Buyck

Queensferry Crossing – Galliford Try/Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge

Best Construction Project to Work On (Building)

Bloomberg London – Sir Robert McAlpine

Bracken House, London – McLaren Construction

Elephant Park, London – Lendlease

Gascoigne Estate – Bouygues UK

Manchester Airport Transformation Programme – Laing O’Rourke

Old Admiralty Building, London – Willmott Dixon

Port Street, Manchester – Bardsley Construction

St Mary’s Row, Moseley – Bespoke Construction

Trago Mills – Kier

Nottingham University GERA Building – Aluprof

from http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/08/28/last-chance-to-vote-for-enquirer-awards-winners/

[ndbasilica]

Last chance to vote for Enquirer awards winners

Voting closes on Friday to back your favourite firms among the The Top Ten winners of the Construction Enquirer awards.

The company or project with most votes within each category will be confirmed on awards night in Birmingham on October 9.

All Top Ten winners will receive their awards that night at the Metropole Hotel in front of a crowd of construction’s finest.

More than 15,000 industry votes have already been cast for our Top Ten winners.

Being voted for by your peers makes an Enquirer Top Ten place a unique badge of honour – awarded to construction companies by construction people.

The industry has spoken and chosen its best places to work, favourite firms to do business with and best sites to work on.

Now all sides of the industry will come together to celebrate their success at the awards night in Birmingham on October 9 alongside UK Construction Week.

Tables are selling fast for the event which is the perfect chance to say thank you to the staff and suppliers who have helped win these prizes.

The current roll of sponsors includes Aluprof, Laing O’Rourke, Kier, Torsion, Engage and JLT as a host of other firms look to become part of an event engaging the entire industry.

Further sponsorship opportunities are available to associate your brand with the awards.

Category sponsorship packages cost £7,750 including a table of ten on the night.

For more details contact Stephen Blackie on +44 (0)20 3225 5200 or email stephen.blackie@media-ten.com

Tickets for the awards night cost £275 or £2,750 for a table of ten.

The evening will be hosted by everyone’s favourite architect George Clarke with comedy from king of the one-liners Gary Delaney.

To book your places please click here

Voting lines will be kept open to pick your favourite Top Ten winners until midnight August 31,

  TOP TEN WINNERS (alphabetical order)

Best Client to Work With (Public and Private)

Argent

Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City University

Crossrail

Highways England

Manchester Airport Group

North West Construction Hub

Scape

Thames Tideway

University of Manchester

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Over £250m)

BAM Nuttall

Graham

J Murphy & Sons

Kier

Laing O’Rourke

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work For (£50m – £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Blu-3

Colmore Tang

Jenner (Contractors)

MCS Group

Speller Metcalfe

Stepnell

Taylor Woodrow

United Living

Best Main Contractor to Work For (Under £50m)

Bespoke Construction

Coombs

CW Duke

Gelder Group

GMI Construction

Hightown Group

Jarvis Contracting

Knights Construction Group

Pilon

Torsion Group

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Over 25m)

Aarsleff

Astins

Billington Structures

Briggs & Forrester

Carey Group

Danny Sullivan Group

Lucas

N G Bailey

Stanmore Contractors

Vital Energi

Best Specialist Contractor to Work For (Under £25m)

Avanti Traffic Management

Bespoke Construction Services

Cidon Construction

Clarke Facades

DMC Contracts

EYG Group

Northvale

O’Donovan Waste Disposal

O’Brien Contractors

SMD

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Over £250m)

Costain

Graham

Laing O’Rourke

Lendlease

McLaren Construction

North Midland Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine

Sisk

Vinci

Willmott Dixon

Best Main Contractor to Work With (Under £250m)

Bardsley Construction

Barhale

Caddick Construction

Colmore Tang

Farrans

Jenner (Contractors)

Knights Brown

Russells Construction

Shaylor

Stepnell

Best Specialist Contractor to Work With

Billington Structures

Bourne Group

Dodd Group

Fitzgerald Contractors

ISO Spaces

Lucas

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Prater

SMD

Plastic Surgeon

Best Construction Supplier to Work With

Aluprof UK

Barhale Construction Services

Danny Sullivan Group

Etag Fixings UK

Falcon Green

Groundforce

Jomas Associates

JSP

MGF Excavation Safety Solutions

Newton Waterproofing Systems

Best Consultant to Work For

Arcadis

Bidsmarter

Engineering Design Consultants

Invennt

Jomas Associates

Kingston Barnes

McLeod + Aitken

Purpol Marketing

Soben Contract and Commercial

Turner + Townsend

Best Construction Project to Work On (Civils)

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme – Balfour Beatty/Costain/Skanska

Chelsea to Battersea Tunnel and Pipeline – Barhale, Cadent Gas, Mott MacDonald, Skanska and tRIIO

Crossrail

Elan Valley Aqueduct Rehabilitation – BNM Alliance

Hinkley Point C – BYLOR

Leeds Flood Alleviation – BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald

London Bridge Station redevelopment – Costain/Balfour Beatty

Mersey Gateway – Kier/Samsung/FCC

New Wear Crossing – Farrans/Victor Buyck

Queensferry Crossing – Galliford Try/Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge

Best Construction Project to Work On (Building)

Bloomberg London – Sir Robert McAlpine

Bracken House, London – McLaren Construction

Elephant Park, London – Lendlease

Gascoigne Estate – Bouygues UK

Manchester Airport Transformation Programme – Laing O’Rourke

Old Admiralty Building, London – Willmott Dixon

Port Street, Manchester – Bardsley Construction

St Mary’s Row, Moseley – Bespoke Construction

Trago Mills – Kier

Nottingham University GERA Building – Aluprof

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/08/28/last-chance-to-vote-for-enquirer-awards-winners/

[medullasend-blog]

Sell My House Fast, the most efficient way to sell your property quickly for cash without the need for you to hire and deal separately with estate agents, surveyors or solicitors yourself in the Birmingham and West Midlands area.

https://www.sellmyhousefasthq.co.uk/

[viralhottopics]

London: Insider Travel Guide

(CNN)Buckingham Palace, the Dickens Museum, Hyde Park, a Hitchcock walking tour, Kew Gardens, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, St. Paul’s cathedral, the Thames, Wimbledon — these are just a few examples of the best of London.

But like a Dickensian novel, the best of London’s real character seeps out of the cracks that split its major attractions.

Yes, London is the world’s financial capital (along with New York), yes it’s Europe’s cultural hub and, yes, more than 300 languages are spoken within its perimeter. But we don’t care about any of that, mate.

Just a Chunnel ride away — Paris: Insider Travel Guide

Transport links have been improved, hotels have had facelifts and restaurants have been refitted.

London looks better as a result and now — before the dust and grime settle down again — is a great time to visit the city.

Hotels

Luxury

The Savoy

It came a year late and 100 million over budget, but in October 2010 one of the world’s most legendary hotels opened its doors after a rumored 200 million facelift.

Unlike some facelifts, however, the results for this old lady — now owned by an Arab sheikh and run by Canadians — are impressive.

Perfectly located for the shops of Covent Garden and the cinemas of Leicester Square, it was Marilyn Monroe’s London hotel of choice and, if you can stretch to the 400-plus nightly fee, it can to become yours.

The acclaimed Savoy Grill — now in the hands of acerbic celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (do not expect the steaks to be as blue as his language) — can be expensive, but is not overpriced.

Tip: rooms 328, 428, 528, 628 enjoy river views but entry-level prices.

Charlotte Street Hotel

Situated in London’s media neighborhood just north of Soho, this former dental hospital now contains 52 individually designed rooms, including loft and penthouse suites.

The huge, comfortable beds and trademark polished granite and oak bathrooms are suitably indulgent, and some rooms have luxuriously high ceilings.

Tip: if you can afford it, go for one of the split-level loft suites.

Among other things they feature TVs in the bathroom.

Mid-range

The Arosfa

This reasonably priced townhouse hotel was once the Bloomsbury home of artist John Everett Millais.

It’s close to Euston Station, the British Museum and the shops of Oxford Street. Wi-Fi is available and breakfast is included.

Tip: Arosfa has only 15 rooms, so book early.

The Rookery

Located in a quiet area a short distance from the Barbican, St. Paul’s, Holborn and the City, the Rookery is characterized by open fires, Georgian detailing, wonky floors and bulging bookshelves.

There’s an honesty bar downstairs, a tiny garden terrace for the summer, 33 double rooms and two singles.

All are as quirky as the building.

Bedrooms are named after people who lived in the Dickensian buildings at some point over the last 250 years — including a disgraced preacher and a prostitute hanged for murder.

Tip: there’s no restaurant, the perfect reason to head down the road to the acclaimed St. John for some meaty, masculine English fare.

Budget

The Hoxton

A pound for a room?

Take a dozen and still have change for a show.

This smart budget option could not be better located, bang in the middle of the capital’s most buzzing nightlife area.

The Hoxton has been a big hit since it opened in 2006, not least for its famed 1 rooms, which it sells throughout the year.

A word of warning: during the last sale, 500 rooms were booked in less than 10 minutes.

There are no mini-bars, suites, or turndown service, but you do get complimentary Wi-Fi, a banana, yogurt and orange juice for breakfast and one hour of free calls each day to anywhere except “Costa Fortune,” according to the management.

Tip: when Pret A Manger sandwich shop entrepreneur Sinclair Beecham opened this 205-room hotel, he used the nofrills airline approach to setting room rates — the earlier you book, the less you pay.

Dining

The Wolseley

Just along from the Ritz Hotel, the Wolseley exudes history and style.

Housed in a former car showroom, and later a branch of Barclays bank, it has vaulted ceilings, polished marble, an art deco interior and the odd celebrity.

Poached native lobster, Cornish crab, two types of caviar and three kinds of oyster decorate the menu.

Harden’s has tipped The Wolseley as an excellent business restaurant, but the look and feel is anything but stuffy, so leave the laptop in the office.

Traditional English breakfast here is a must and, with a reported 1,000 covers each day, so is booking ahead.

Wild Honey

Head to the exclusive Mayfair area of London for dinner and you might expect to need a government bailout to settle your bill.

Not so at Wild Honey.

Value is the theme in the wood-paneled dining room with favorites including crisp ox tongue and slow-cooked venison.

The Saturday lunch menu will set you back 29, as does the a la carte.

The cheeseboard is excellent.

Aurora

Great location, excellent service.

Aurora on Lexington Street is small, intimate and has excellent service.

The walls are painted a bohemian blood red with the interior dark, cozy and unpretentious.

The modern European menu is as equally unfussy and changes each month.

There are two sittings, one at 7:15 p.m. and the other at 9:15 p.m. — opt for the latter and you can finish off at one of the many late-night bars of Soho, London’s boozy and sometimes seedy entertainment quarter.

Tables on the ground floor enjoy a better ambiance than those downstairs.

Busaba Eathai

Some serious (London) Thai.

Nestled within the underbelly of Soho, this is communal Thai dining in stylish, understated surroundings.

The no-booking policy means you can expect queues on Friday and Saturday nights, providing the perfect opportunity for people-watching (and Sohoites deserve some watching).

For groups of two or less, the wait should be no more than 15 minutes.

There are no starters or desserts, just mains and sides, but they’re excellent.

The tom yam talay, green papaya salad and morning glory are particularly hard to decline.

Service, unfortunately, can be hit-and-miss.

Leon

Right behind the Tate Modern museum, this is one more than two dozen Leon eateries in London and arguably the best.

It’s the ultimate credit-crunch restaurant, comprising healthy eating, ethically sourced fast-food and rock-bottom prices.

Dishes are fresh, simple and seasonal.

They include a range of wraps, superfood salads, soups and hot meals — the Moroccan meatballs and the chili chicken are great.

Lunchtimes can be busy with office workers from the Blue Fin building rubbing shoulders with journalists from the nearby Financial Times.

Nightlife

Experimental Cocktail Club

The only way to ensure entry to this Chinatown speakeasy is to e-mail before 5 p.m. (reservation@chinatownecc.com); phone bookings are not an option.

Cocktails here aren’t that experimental, but they’re excellent and come in at around 10.

The Havana is a house favorite.

You’ll find mirrored ceilings, ancient Parisian architecture, tiny couches, total intimacy and a 5 cover charge after 11 p.m.

Check out the loos, which sport flamingo wallpaper.

The entry consists of a scruffy door, absolutely no signage and doormen with firmly held views on just about everything.

Good luck.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

No best of London experience is complete without a beer at one of its many historic pubs and they don’t come much older or more historic than Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.

Frequented by Mark Twain, Voltaire, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde, the pub has been on this site since it was rebuilt in 1667 after the Great Fire of London.

Charles Dickens, known to have been a regular of this higgledy-piggledy temple to serious drinking, referred to it in “A Tale of Two Cities.”

Expect to have to stoop, dive down cramped staircases and contend with sawdust-strewn floors as you move from room to room.

The real draw?

A pint of Sam Smith’s for a fraction of the price of beer in other London pubs.

Booking Office

Cunningly named, the Booking Office sits on the site of the old booking hall of St. Pancras station and is found in the lobby of the refurbished St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

It’s a great place to enjoy a cocktail while admiring what is undoubtedly one of the architectural wonders of the capital — a magnificent red-brick Gothic masterpiece that was formerly the Midland Grand Hotel.

The Midland Grand closed almost 80 years ago and only narrowly avoided demolition.

It was reopened in 2011 after a seemingly never-ending 150-million refit.

The cocktail menu lives up to the surroundings and shows a deep respect for the history (and abundance) of British drinking with sours, fizzes and cobblers.

Ronnie Scott’s

It’s dark, it’s dingy and the waiters shush you if you talk over the numbers.

We like.

Ella, Miles and Curtis are just some of the greats to have graced Ronnie’s down the years.

This seminal jazz club tucked away on Soho’s Frith Street is worth a visit even if you don’t like jazz.

It’s jazz hands all-round if you do.

Tables are arranged in neat, tiered rows around a sunken stage, with luminous red lamps dotted around the dim room.

Seats are priced according to the view and act.

Cocktails are very much a club asset.

Unfortunately they’ve stopped serving The Ellington, apparently a favorite of the Duke himself, but the choice is plentiful.

Forget eating here — it’s not the main draw and largely a disappointment.

Shopping

Selfridges

Hailed as the world’s best department store by many industry insiders, Selfridges dominates the west end of Oxford Street and is made up of six floors, four hectares of shopping space and two exhibition halls.

Although second to Harrods in terms of size and celebrity, it’s less touristy, more cutting-edge and attracts a more discerning clientele.

It’s high-end, high-octane and comes highly recommended.

You can stay the whole day, leave empty-handed and still feel like Julia Roberts in that scene from “Pretty Woman.”

In any case, it contains 10 restaurants to keep your energy levels up while its personal shoppers can do the hard work for you.

Borough Market

London’s oldest market — dating to the 13th century — is also its busiest.

On the banks of the Thames just south of London Bridge, you’ll find beautifully displayed organic fruit and veg, cheese, cakes, bread, olive oil, fish, meat, beer, wine and chocolate.

Go hungry, go early, sample everything and bring cash — few stallholders accept credit cards.

Columbia Road Flower Market

With thousands of flowers crammed into one noisy Victorian terraced street, London’s Columbia Road Flower Market — now lined with fancy boutiques — is a throwback to the old East End.

From 8 a.m.-2 p.m. every Sunday, the flowers and plants up for sale are some of the best (and cheapest) around.

Arrive early to avoid the crowds. Blooming marvelous.

Attractions

Views from Waterloo Bridge

Londoners bore visitors to death about how great the views are from Waterloo Bridge, but they have a point.

Although it contends for the title of ugliest bridge in London, the views are inspiring, and you can save yourself the money it costs to ride the London Eye (and the one-hour wait) and head here.

On one hand are the Royal Festival Hall, Elizabeth Tower (as Big Ben has been renamed to commemorate the queen’s Diamond Jubilee), the Houses of Parliament and the BT Tower.

Looking in the other direction you can take in the views of St. Paul’s, Canary Wharf, the Gherkin (as the rather phallic skyscraper properly called 30 St. Mary Axe is dubbed), the Oxo Tower and the recently completed Shard, which cost 450 million to build and at 310 meters is the tallest building in the European Union.

The views after dark are especially good.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Christopher Wren’s masterpiece has squatted imposingly in the City of London for the past 300 years.

It famously withstood the Blitz and has become something of a monument to the resilience of London.

Down in the crypt you can check out the tombs of some of the nation’s greatest heroes including Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.

You can also try out the acoustic quirks of the Whispering Gallery and continue the climb to the Golden Gallery for views across London.

Tickets cost 18 from Monday to Saturday. The cathedral reverts to its traditional role on Sunday, when it’s open to worshippers for free.

48-hour itinerary

Taking on London in one weekend is like eating soup with chopsticks. You haven’t got a chance.

But if you insist on trying to devour the monster in one short sitting, here’s a suggested hit list.

1. Arty start

After an early breakfast at one of the many stalls of Borough Market (see review), take the short walk beside the river to the Tate Modern.

Tate Modern

London’s most visited (it’s free) and innovative gallery, Tate Modern is housed in a former power station with the space itself as much of an attraction as the collections.

The interior is a glorious, unpretentious playground of modern art, as appealing to children and amateurs as it is to adults and art experts.

Permanent collections include works by Matisse, Rothko and Andy Warhol, as well as the best of contemporary British art.

If you get bored, you can wander along the South Bank to find the Royal Festival Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, The Hayward art gallery, The Royal National Theatre and the London Film Museum.

Plus a gaggle of performance artists who could be break dancing or impersonating Charlie Chaplin.

2. Showstopper

Soho is perfect for an early dinner — Aurora and Busaba Eathai are strong contenders (see reviews) — and one of many shows in Theatreland.

Theatreland

Theatreland is the largest theater district in the world.

It’s bordered by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west and Kingsway to the east with its heart being Shaftesbury Avenue, home to six theaters.

No trip to London is complete without catching a show, but show business can be an expensive business, so head to the half-price (for performances that day) ticket booth in Leicester Square.

It opens at 9 a.m. but queues form much earlier.

3. Tower trail

Day two begins with breakfast at the Wolseley (see review) and a trip east to the Tower of London.

So that’s what nearly 3,000 diamonds look like.

For a thousand years the Tower of London, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has protected, threatened, imprisoned and occasionally executed the people of London.

Luckily, these days it serves only to entertain and educate them.

The biggest draw is the crown jewels. The Imperial State Crown alone is made up of 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and five rubies — basically very bling.

The medieval palace, Traitors’ Gate, the Yeomen Warders (“Beefeaters”) and the ravens add to the atmosphere.

Legend says Britain and the Tower will fall if the six ravens ever leave.

Best to get there before that happens.

4. Park up

Weather dependent (yes, it sometimes rains in London) the rest of the day could be best spent in Hyde Park — one of the capital’s lungs.

But if the weather beats you, nearby Exhibition Road can offer cover in the form of the Science Museum, The Natural History Museum or the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Entrance is free, although charges are sometimes levied for special exhibitions and events.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is one of the greatest city parks in the world.

It has been open to the public since 1637, covers 142 hectares and contains more than 4,000 trees, a large lake, a meadow, ornamental flower gardens and two restaurants.

Monuments include The Serpentine Bridge, the Joy of Life fountain, the Achilles statue and the Diana Memorial Fountain.

Swimming races are staged in the Serpentine on Saturday morning and Christmas Day.

Open from 5 a.m. to midnight all year round.

5. Bike with Boris

Hardy visitors can join the dots of a London visit on a “Boris bike.”

Set up in July 2010, the public bicycle sharing scheme is modeled on Montreal’s.

The bikes, referred to as “Boris bikes” because rumbustious, larger-than-life mayor Boris Johnson launched the scheme, can be picked up at any one of 315 docking stations dotted around central London.

They’re designed for short trips and, so while the first 30 minutes are free, a two-and-a-half-hour trip will cost 10.

+44 (0)20 8216 6666

Read more: http://ift.tt/1Hf27Dx

from London: Insider Travel Guide

[evolutionproperties]

New data predicts that by 2020 only 25% of 30-year-olds will own a home

Home ownership among 25 – 34-years-olds has fallen from 59% just over a decade ago – to 37% today. The Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts that by 2020 only 25% of 30-year-olds will own their own home.

Sellhousefast.uk analysed data by Savills, identifying only 16 out of 348 council districts across England and Wales offer a single buyer on an average income the ability to purchase independently – and none are in the South of England.

Evidently, it is fast becoming impossible for many to purchase where they live – but none more so than those situated in the South.

Unsurprisingly, the data found single buyers are priced out of Greater London, the East and the South East completely, where property prices are continuing to spiral out of control. In fact, recent figures from gov.co.uk reflect the average house price in Greater London (£483,803), the East (£281,513) and the South East (£316,026) as far greater than the North West (£152,259), Yorkshire and The Humber (£154,985), the West Midlands (£181,328) and Wales (£148,177.) Proving great disparity between regions.

Robby du Toit, Sell House Fast director, comments: “Evidently the housing market is in dire straits and there isn’t really any way around it. Collectively, we need to push through it. Take advantage of every available opportunity; whether that means raising housing issues locally, or politically to promote change; seek advice from property professionals and attempt to save where possible. Positively, there is movement and progression – such as the recent Government Housing White Paper for England, which outlines ways in which first-time buyers will be supported. Now more than ever, it’s important to stay informed and to continue to hope that change is on its way.”

[dutifullycoldenthusiast-blog]

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We perceive which agents will probably be good for your carpet and good for the environment. Any breakables should be removed from the room previous to any cleansing going down. We totally understand that the standard cleaning is vital for you and for this reason we continuously attempt to preserve and develop our providers to the next degree. As well as cleaning carpets we provide cleansing providers for upholstery, all delicate furnishings, workplaces, massive buildings including schools and church buildings, and also empty properties for letting brokers. We as carpet cleaners are proud to have many satisfied prospects ranging from households massive and small to workplaces we even clean bus & coaches. Comprehensive instructions are given to each of our operatives stating exactly the providers the client has requested. These guys turned up on time, and did a tremendous job of our living room carpet. This leaves you with a clear and contemporary smelling carpet which seems to be & smells like new. We work with a group of skilled, highly skilled and nicely trained cleansing suppliers that can carry out the tasks as requested which vary anything from residential carpet cleaning to window cleansing. However, our highly-skilled cleaners have come across virtually each type of stain recognized, and can deal with every mark and defect individually, picking out exactly the precise resolution wanted to neutralise and remove the supply. Our carpet cleaning services group is fully educated and extremely motivated in professional carpet and fabric cleaning, steam cleansing and carpet stain removal. This effective methodology of cleaning gives you a clean, dry carpet with the minimal of fuss. Our carpet cleaning service uses a scorching water extraction system which leaves absolutely no sticky residue. The Nationwide Carpet Cleaners Association is the only impartial UK commerce physique solely dedicated to the craft of carpet, upholstery, and other smooth furnishings cleansing. Ideally, attempt to settle for a carpet cleaner who can carry his personal carpet cleansing water. Aquaris Carpet Solutions is fully educated by the Nationwide Carpet Cleaners Association. We provide the residents in Birmingham with services which are customised based on their particular wants. We only undertake the tasks that we have explicitly specified, and will keep away from up-sells or further prices past the quotes. We provide a cheap alternative by professionally cleaning carpet and fabric.

Stain removal/Stain safety process-Whether or not it is a grape juice stain or a coffee stain or could also be paint art work, we guarantee to make use of probably the most superior stain removal strategies on your carpet to make it a stainless carpet, obviously a carpet with a stain can affect its look we use completely different methods and substances that may not solely rid off the stain however the pet odor too. Whether you require knowledgeable carpet cleansing company for a full house or flat, or simply for a single room or emergency carpet clear, please name us to arrange a no obligation quote. Our carpet cleaning prices begin from a bit of as £10 for an entire room, contact A-Class Carpet Cleaning for a no-stress quotation. We provide a superb, value efficient Workplace Cleansing Birmingham service to all areas of Birmingham. But when your carpet or ground masking is not appropriate for warm water extraction cleaning, then we've a variety of other cleaning strategies that we are able to use together with hand cleaning of sensitive carpets. The enterprise is devoted to serving to business business and householders get the very best return from their carpet and onerous surface floor overlaying investment. Our residential cleaners in Birmingham can deal with any cleaning ordeal which vary from upholstery cleaning, mattress, ground, window, rug cleansing and a complete lot more. Importantly, don't exceed the really useful concentration at a dilution of such funds or danger discolor the carpet pile. All of our cleansing brokers are skilled to a really excessive normal and satisfaction themselves on delivering the very best in buyer satisfaction. Should you would need our service during the weekend, don't fret check my blog this website professional carpet cleaning birmingham Check This Out carpet cleaners in birmingham have a peek at this web-site weblink check my blog professional carpet cleaning birmingham upholstery cleaning birmingham - we are right here to work for you daily. In varying sizes, from small to giant, appropriate for each home, business and industrial use, our high pressure washing machines are a fast cleaning solution. Our companies are among the many most sought after by residential in addition to business customers in and across the surrounding areas.

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Scs carpet cleansing providers are dedicated to providing an expert and inexpensive carpet cleansing service. The Cleaning Mentor will track progress to make sure that all of your particular cleansing requests have been met, as well as making certain our workers are diligent, pleasant and courteous as well as monitoring quality management and security requirements. A good way to know who to rent is to examine if they are IICRC licensed Heaven's Greatest Carpet & Rug Cleaners is an IICRC certified firm and our technicians are educated and examined by the IICRC. Minster Cleansing Providers provides an expert carpet cleansing service that cleans deep down into the pile, keeping your carpets in pristine situation and giving your organisation the completion it deserves. STEP 1: VACUUM - Vacuum your carpet at least once every week so you can get rid of filth and pollutants, and they will not get trapped in your carpet. If you are keen on any of the cleansing options provided by our Birmingham carpet cleaners, just give us a name and we will offer you a free, no obligation estimate. Our cleaning methods have been tried and examined through the years guaranteeing we simply carry and remove dust and mud right from the bottom of your Carpets, Rugs and Upholstery. For almost all of shoppers carpet is a expensive constructing ‘material' to switch, therefore the importance of implementing a tailor-made programme for sustaining carpet longevity. That's the reason so many companies within the Birmingham area come to Relkogroup searching for quality carpet cleaning services. As we view the carpet or upholstery fabric in your house we may enquire about areas of concern which you will have, for example staining or pivot points on the bottom of the stairs. In case you need a fast response to tackle spillages and stains or to clear up after flooding, call Communal Cleaning Providers We provide emergency cleansing while you need it, with improbable low charges and a prompt, professional service. Natural extracts like citrus fruits are used in detergents, grease cleaners and soaps. All our cleansing merchandise that we use are usually not solely form to your carpets but above all safe to you and your family and pets. Frequent wet cleaning result in leaching particular impregnation carpet, which is used in the production of safety from the extreme pollution.

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