Preserving cut flowers

Posted on June 17, 2011 by josheblogs

Here are some quick tips on keeping your cut flowers nice and fresh, and preserving the flowers as long as possible.

Firstly, make sure you get the freshest flowers you can – if you go for flowers that look a little sad, the chances are that they wont last.  Florists are usually kept cool to preserve the flowers, and they generally wont have lots of air movement for the same reason.  Pick flowers from a shop that hasn’t kept the flowers in the direct sunlight, is nice and cool and where the flowers look fresh and are still in plenty of water when you buy them.

so, let’s get to some quick pointers.

Tips for keeping flowers fresh

The general points to start with, are all based around being as kind as possible to the flowers.  They are delicate, need lots of water and will tend to last less time if stressed (by which I mean anything that is unnecessarily harsh on a flower, like lack of water).

  • Get your flowers home quickly!
  • Get them into water immediately - obviously if you have flowers delivered, they should be nice and fresh, but don’t then hang about and admire them for too long before getting them into water.
  • Keep flowers in a  cool place – rapid evaporation can lead to lack of water, wilting.  Warmer environments generally age flowers more quickly
  • Keep flowers out of drafts – these can cause wilting and rapid loss of water
  • Keep flowers away from direct sunlight – sunlight bleaches colour and heats the flowers, ageing them prematurely.
  • Make sure they are kept well watered – flowers that run dry will wilt.  If they are allowed to wilt for a long time, or more than once, they will often either not recover, or the petals will fall or age more quickly 
  • Use plant food – it is there for a reason, it preserves the flowers

So, as you can see, preserving cut flowers need not be too difficult,  The trick is to avoid anything that ages them.  Your florists will be the end of a line of suppliers who have generally all taken care to preserve your flowers for as long as possible.  Some simple care from you will prolong your enjoyment.

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Cheap promotional mugs

Posted on June 1, 2011 by josheblogs

Mugs are just such a great item for promotional purposes.  Like our earlier article on usb sticks, promotional mugs offer many similar benefits.  Okay, you cannot store data on them (although you can store your tea in them, at least for a minute or two!) but what I mean is that they are ever present and very useful items.  At its best, a mug will become the favourite vessel for your customer’s daily cuppa, and as such, it may attain favoured status on their desk.  So don’t stint! 

Go for a quality mug, that looks great, is useful (not too large or too small), preferably is dishwasher safe and not too over-the-top as far as your promotional message is concerned. 

Make sure your mug has a message!

Don’t forget why you are sending / giving out your mugs – it’s to make people remember you.  So:

  • Make the mugs attractive - a proper design and something that will look good on a desk
  • Include your company name, telephone and web address on the mug
  • Include a call to action – ‘call us now for your fresh supply of widgets… etc. :-)
  • Send or give the mugs out at special occasions or as a thank you to your customers for their business that year.

Perhaps even tell them that if it breaks, they can ask for another!

The idea here is to get the mugs used, make your customers remember you and keep them looking at your name.  That way, hopefully, as your customer has his daily cup of tea or coffee in the morning, and is just contemplating that he may have to order some more widgets, your name will be first in his mind. 

Now that’s why these handy promotional mugs make such sense… don’t you think?

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The cost of cheap flowers?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by josheblogs

When you buy flowers, do you stop to think of the real cost of these items?  By cost, I’m not just meaning how much you spend, I mean the cost to others.  I’m not preaching, and I’m certainly not saying that it’s bad to buy cheap flowers; just that perhaps, the more aware of where things come from you are, the better your choices will become.

Now why do I pick on flowers?  Well, I got to thinking the other day, about when I was much younger and used to work at a chrysanthemum nursery.  This is something that you would be hard pressed to find in the UK these days – a privately owned, family run nursery, that actually produced UK grown flowers, for the UK market, locally. 

I was sad to hear that this nursery closed down a couple of years after I stopped working there because of competition from abroad.  It actually became cheaper to import flowers from Africa, than to grow them in the UK.  Apart from the loss of jobs, it always has struck me that it was such a waste of talent, and of accumulated knowledge that was past down the generations.  These guys actually made their own machinery to automate the process – unique pieces of equipment that mixed compost, filled trays, and other items that prepared seed beds.  Techniques for sterilising the soil, heating the greenhouses and generally making the jobs easier, were constantly improved. 

The uniqueness of this equipment was shown to me, by having worked at more than one nursery, where I saw another piece of hand made equipment there for compost mixing – fascinating that they all were so inventive and able to produce such items of equipment to serve a need.

After generations of growing first flowers, then vegetables and back to flowers, as the markets changed, this chrysanthemum nursery finally shut, and the knowledge and skills were lost.  The other cost, of course, being that local people lost their jobs.

A turn in fortune for UK flowers?

Interestingly, now perhaps the tables are turning a little.  With the world becoming more aware of finite fuel supplies and the real cost of pollution and of squandering resources, people are becoming more aware of where something is produced.  Flowers are starting to be grown in the UK on a large scale again, and there appear now to be large, industrial scale glass house production units, once again springing up, producing cheap flowers and other vegetables. 

So when you buy flowers – perhaps look to see where they were produced – maybe you can choose something grown in the UK, or even locally, rather than abroad. Perhaps this wont even cost you any more than those flowers that are imported…

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Cheap promotional USB sticks

Posted on May 12, 2011 by josheblogs

There are all sorts of promotional items that are great as give-aways, but by far the best, are the useful ones.  These include pens, mouse-mats and mugs, but what makes promotional USB sticks one of the better gifts is that it is so useful in every day life. 

USB sticks, stick around!

Why are USB sticks so great to give away?  Well here are seven, quick reasons, straight off the top of my head:

  1. They are useful – it’s the kind of thing that pretty much all businesses use for quick transport of files.
  2. USB sticks are portable – they are a manageable size, and therefore are more likely to be taken with you than any other promotional item I can think of.  They often have handy key ring loops on them too.
  3. They are stylish – the designs of many usb sticks are very slick and this means that they are more likely to be seen, say on a key ring (see also portability!)
  4. Your logo or promotional message is likely to be easily and clearly printed.
  5. Promotional USB sticks have a long term life span – if you don’t stint on the capacity, a USB stick is likely to be with your customer for a long time, if they regularly use that sort of thing
  6. USB sticks are relatively cheap giveaways (unless you go for the larger capacities)
  7. Receiving a useful promotional product is more likely to produce a favourable result – i.e. they remember who you are!

So, now I’ve got you convinced that Promotional USB sticks are for you, click here to learn more.

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Short term motor insurance

Posted on May 5, 2011 by josheblogs

Why is ?????short term motor insurance useful?

In a nutshell, some people need ??short term motor insurance for a number of reasons. It may be that, as a young driver, you only require cover during holidays.  This can be useful, as it can help to cut down the costs over the year, which are very high for the younger driver. Think of it this way – if you live on campus at university, and you only come home at Christmas and during the Summer, this means you don’t pay for the rest of the year.  

Similarly, if you are a young driver and are still at school – you need to ask whether it is worth the extra money just so you can drive, rather than get a bus.  Also, if you live at home, you may be able to get cover on your parent’s insurance.  As with university students, short term motor insurance can provide a handy means of insuring a vehicle for your use during the times when you most need it, such as during the Summer holidays.

A flip side to this, is that you wont be building up your own no claims bonus, but this may be negligable when compared with paying the full cost for a year’s insurance. 

As an older driver, short term insurance may be necessary if you are borrowing a car from a friend, or family member.  Just remember, you may be covered third party on their insurance, if you have your own insurance on another car already (check this with your insurance company and with theirs) or it might be cheaper to be a named driver on their policy.

We advise you speak with an insurance company or two, and also with some brokers.

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Serviced offices Mayfair

Posted on April 21, 2011 by josheblogs

What are serviced offices?

Serviced offices provide the complete range of services and  other items considered key to running a normal business, such as furnishings,  office furniture, telephones and Internet connection. In certain areas of London, such as Mayfair, these type of offices are more prevalent.

Mayfair serviced office space often has all of this and more, with different areas such as meeting rooms,  communal kitchens, break out areas and printing facilities. 

Usually,  members of staff are on site for building and facility management which will include receptionists, security and concierge services similar to those run in hotels.

Key benefits of a serviced office space

One of the key benefits, especially for companies requiring a move into prestigious areas, as with Mayfair office space, is that immediate requirements for office space can be met in a flexible manner.  This facilitates fast office moves. 

This kind of arrangement particularly benefits companies who need overspill office space, for for instance where projects need temporary expansion or where there is a  need for swing space for moves between leases.

Flexibility is offered to businesses within Serviced offices centers, with their buildings allowing internal expansion, particularly useful for companies who encounter more frequent change in staff turnover.

Due to the flexibility of tenure, and a  minimal outlay on costs for fitting out offices and less need to have bank or directors guarantees, this is often a good proposition for new business or start ups companies which have a  limited history of trading.

Because serviced office agreements are formed by way of a license, there is no need for companies to liaise via solicitors which will also save time and money.  

Credits: Thank you to Serviced offices Mayfair, for supply of this article.

E.& O.E.

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Easter egg hunt

Posted on April 18, 2011 by josheblogs

How to plan an Easter Egg hunt!

This is a great bit of fun, if you do it right.  Most people seem to do a simple hunt, by placing eggs around the garden for children to find.  This is a good idea for smaller children, but I find even older children will engage in an Easter hunt if there are clues involved.  

Easter egg hunt clues.

Clues for your Easter egg hunt, are best if done as rhymes, I find.   This doesn’t have to be complicated – just a couple of lines on a piece of paper.  This is how I do it.

  1. Decide on your first hiding place.
  2. Write your first clue, which will lead to this place and keep that.
  3. Write the next clue and hide it at the first hiding place. 
  4. Continue from place to place, adding clues each time, which will lead to the next clue.
  5. Decide where the Easter eggs will be hidden.
  6. When you are done, gather the children together, and give them the first clue.

When planning the Easter egg hunt clues, I make a note of where each clue is, and where that leads, on a separate sheet of paper, just in case.  I then actually quickly run through the clues and make sure I can follow from place to place.  The whole thing takes around 30 minutes to plan and execute.  Once it’s ready, make sure each child gets a turn reading out the clues and then unleash the children.  Here is a great site that gives some good example clues for your Easter egg hunt. 

If you make your clues cryptic, then it will take the children more time to find the next clue and it is amusing watching them run off to different places, each hoping that they will find the next clue before the other child does. 

Let us know how you got on!

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TV Listings tonight

Posted on April 18, 2011 by josheblogs

We hope you like our new structure for the TV listings section of our website.  See what’s on TV tonight at the following channels and many more besides:

BBC TV listings | ITV listings | Sky TV listings | Channel 4 and Channel 5 TV listings | Other channel’s TV listings

 As this site was originally developed for TV, and then later, other areas of the directory were added, we are keen to make sure that this original feature is as useful to visitors now as ever it was. 

How our TV listings work

We ultimately use a third party for our TV lists, as there is a licence fee to pay were we to do this directly.  When we gain a higher status, it might be that we can then list the programmes directly.  For now, we have done the following when organising our site:

TV provider > TV channels > Daily TV guide (off site)

We would welcome any constructive feedback and welcome comments on how you feel we could improve our structure.  For the moment, we have had good feedback that we are giving an easy channel for getting you the information in as short a space of time as possible – just two clicks and you are there.

What’s next for our TV listings?

Well, it’s over to you please!  We want some ideas of what you would like to see?  Do you want up and coming film reviews, TV reviews of series, or would you like to know what’s coming soon?  The jury’s out as to where we go from here, but with your helpful feedback, we hope to make this site as useful as possible.

Happy TV watching!

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Cheap flowers delivered

Posted on April 18, 2011 by josheblogs

It’s always nice to have flowers delivered to you – the thought that someone has taken the care to send you flowers is part of the experience.  So, if you are wondering what to send your special someone, flowers are an ideal start.

Whether they are expensive, or cheap, sending flowers helps you to connect with the person, and lets them know that you have thought of them, so take care what you send.  Even if they are cheap flowers, there is still thought that can be put into purchasing them.  For instance, do you know:

  • What type of flowers they like?
  • Their favourite colour
  • Whether they like scented flowers of not

If you are sending flowers, don’t forget that they also have meanings.  If you send roses, these have a much more romantic connotation, but beware, all roses are not the same!  Red is for love but other colours have meanings too, some mean ‘I love you not’ for example.  We will go into that in more detail in other articles.

Why send flowers?

  • As a thank you
  • As a gift – birthday’s , anniversaries, etc.
  • To let someone know you are thinking of them – for birthday’s, weddings, funerals etc.
  • To let someone know how you feel about them

With the advent of large scale flower imports, cheap flowers now encompass even roses, which can be bought very cheeply from flower shops or supermarkets, so you are not especially limited to the type of flower to send.

If in doubt about the flowers you want delivered, just go for pretty flowers and those with scents. You can find out a person’s preferences when they have received them, and surprise them next time! But remember, cheap doesn’t mean low quality!

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Jo’s first blog (Jo Blogs)

Posted on March 11, 2011 by josheblogs

Hi,

Sorry about the name, my husband installed this and thought it was amusing and so I’m stuck with it!

This is our first post on our new blog! We will keep the blog updated, at least weekly, and so come back each Monday, or subscribe to our RSS feed (bottom right) to see our latest posts and keep up to date.

Although this is a TV site, we will also be dealing with elements from our growing directory and basically, any topic that takes our fancy, that we think you might find interesting!

Hope to see you back soon!

Jo. :-)

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