In today’s difficult economy, where gas and electricity bills have sky-rocketed, mortgage rates and house prices have soared, and essential food items are more expensive than ever, it’s no wonder that many ordinary families are having to Scrimp and Save every penny they can to make ends meet at the end of each month. It’s the poorest people who are struggling to juggle their wages and any benefits they are entitled to, and the families who are not receiving any extra income, who are the ones finding it harder and harder to keep their heads above water. They can no longer afford to buy brand new electrical equipment, even if it’s essential for their work, children’s schooling or keeping in touch with family and friends.

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They have to look at alternative and affordable ways to be able to buy their mobile phones, and computers and they are now looking for companies that can provide them with Cheap Laptops that are of a great quality but within their tight budgets. Professional companies such as https://www.refurbishedlaptops.co.uk/ have stepped into that much needed market and can provide quality, reconditioned laptops that have been programmed with all the essential software people need, so they can carry on with essential online work projects, while their children complete their school assignments and they can keep in touch with family and friends.

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These professional companies are a lifeline for parents and working families all over the country and they are providing an essential service to hardworking ordinary people everywhere.

Living and working in London can be incredibly hectic, with thousands of people travelling around the busy city for work and leisure. Having a stunning sandy beach on your doorstep at the Ruislip Lido and the seven-hundred-acre nature reserve and woodland to go to and unwind certainly helps the lucky locals and inhabitants of London. The beach may be artificial but the beauty of the landscape with the magnificent trees, sandy beach and wonderful natural environment is real.  If you are lucky enough to live near this area you will know that the lakes were used during the second World War for training Aircrew in survival techniques.

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Being a local to this beautiful part of London you will also know that there are professional, locally based companies like http://www.theboyswhosew.co.uk who are specialist Curtain Makers London, who can provide you, your family and friends with quality, bespoke fabrics and curtains for your homes.  Living near the city and working in a busy business environment, you want your home to reflect a warmth and calmness that encapsulates your family dynamics. Quality fabrics used to make your individually designed window coverings that keep in the warmth in the cold winter months but allow the air to circulate throughout the hot summer.

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Tasteful designs that reflect your families style and taste and made from quality, practical fabrics that will stand the test of time, just like the beach, woodland and nature reserve on your doorstep.

With the snowdrops and longer days starting to herald the arrival of spring, our homes need to change to adapt to the new season and the incoming warmer weather. Changing the way we live to suit the season helps us to be comfortable and make the most of where we live. Here are some of the things that you can do in the house now that spring is on the way…

Spring Cleaning – When it is this time of the year it is traditional to blow away the cobwebs of winter and get some spring cleaning done. The regeneration in the earth inspires us to get on and clean. Now is a good time to sort out and get rid of the things that we don’t need.

It is also a good time to really give your house a thorough and deep clean. Pay attention to all those hard to reach areas, air it out and let the spring in!

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Check your Boiler – Over the winter, the boiler has been working hard to keep you warm, and now is the time to pay it some attention to make sure that it is working properly and is safe. Get a professional like this Cheltenham boiler service company to come and service it before you turn your heating off for the warmer months.

Now is also a good time to check the rest of the heating system, like the radiators and ensure that everything is working properly. If any repairs need to be done, then you have plenty of time to do it before next winter rolls around.

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Get the Garden Ready – This time of the year is a busy period for gardeners, as the flowers start to make a comeback. Although frosts and chilly nights are certainly not off the cards yet, now is a good time to start making those all-important preparations for the summer. Start plants off in a greenhouse or even indoors on the windowsill, so that when the weather is warmer and the plants are bigger you can plant them straight out into the garden.

You can also get the garden tidied up now and cut back bushes and overgrown areas to make way for the new growth.

In April 2022, a new law was introduced in the UK that changed the way divorce is dealt with. Prior to this, couples had to use one of five reasons for applying for divorce. These were adultery, desertion, unreasonable behaviour, two years separation with consent or five years separation without consent. It is now much simpler, with couples able to claim that the marriage has just irretrievably broken down. The option to contest has also been removed. Continue reading What is a No Fault Divorce? →

Moving home is probably one of the most stressful things you will ever do throughout your life but when you have young primary school aged children to consider, choosing your next family home can be a real nightmare!  The family home should ideally be in a great location for parents to get to work easily and close to a remarkable Primary school that has outstanding Ofsted results, a superb teaching and support staff and an ethos that puts the children’s education, health and happiness first.  These forward thinking educational environments have Primary School Websites that have  been designed and built by a professional company such as http://www.fsedesign.co.uk/websites-for-schools/primary-school-websites.

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Your new family home should provide a safe environment for your Primary aged children and have the space for them to grow and flourish.  The Primary school you choose for them should provide the same criteria. Your home should give them access to an outdoor play area as well as room inside to play and learn, the right Primary school will offer your children the same privileges.

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The school will have stimulating, exciting teachers, with fully trained, experienced support staff that have the children’s best interests at heart. A superb range of educational resources that will provide all their students with the best chance to achieve their full potentials and succeed. If your new family home is close to a Primary school with these credentials and provides your children with the safe environment they need to excel, then it’s the right one.

In the winter it is essential that we take good care of ourselves – the colder and darker days bring with them their own problems, and we need to make sure that we are healthy in order to get through the winter and make the most of it.

As much of the natural world goes to sleep for a time, here are some of the things to focus on to ensure that you are as healthy as possible over the winter…

Our diet is really important in making sure that the body can function healthily. What you put into your body has an effect on your health overall, and as winter is a time when there are many bugs and germs flying around, a good diet is an important part of making sure that your immune system is up to tackling these. Include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables – squashes, beans and root vegetables are all abundant at this time of the year as well as being really good for your body and packed full of nutrients.

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It is also important to get plenty of water into the body. Cutting down on the amount of alcohol that we drink is also a good idea, as this has many negative effects on the body and immune system.

Caring for your mental health is also essential over the winter. Make sure that you have a good mental health and self care routine – this could be writing a daily gratitude list or taking yoga classes. Do activities that benefit your mental wellbeing – things like knitting can help to calm the brain and knitting kits like this https://www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/knitting-kits are a great way to get into knitting.

You could also wrap up warm and head to the woodlands – the presence of the trees can help to calm and soothe an anxious mind and walking is great for your body and your brain.

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Staying warm is important in the winter and with the cost of gas and electricity being a worry for many people, it is important to look at all the ways that you can keep your home warm. Good insulation will preserve the heat, so check that your windows are not letting the cold air in and use things like draught excluders to keep the heat where you want it!

The Jewish New Year festival of Rosh Hashanah is held every year over a special two-day period of families, eating together, praying and reflecting.  This year in 2022 this intensely religious festival will begin on the evening of the twenty-fifth of September and continue until nightfall on the twenty-seventh. Celebrating the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman to be mentioned in the Bible and the role of human beings in God’s World.

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One of the most traditional of the customs included in the Rosh Hashanah Festival is the blowing of the Shofar, a cleaned-out rams horn as specified in the Torah.  The symbolic horn is blown everyday for the month before the two-day New Year Festival and is supposed to awaken listeners and make them ready for the judgement day. This time of year is very special to Jewish families and they often send each other Rosh hashanah cards from a company such as cazenovejudaica.com/uk . The families come together and prepare special meals such as apples dipped in honey, the head of a fish, dates, pomegranates, pumpkin-filled pastries and leek fritters.

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The pomegranate is specifically chosen to represent the family being fruitful like all the seeds found inside the juicy fruit. Prayers are chanted as close to running water as possible and all the sins of the family are symbolically thrown into the flowing waters. The festival ends with the holiday of Yom Kippur.

We have a rather romantic view of the Cowboy. Fed on a steady stream of Hollywood movies and TV shows, the view of this hardy pioneer, going westwards across North America, has taken on a mythical quality. Big stars like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Roy Rogers all made their names by playing Cowboys some 50 years after the practice and way of life stopped being so common. Where does the view of the lone Rancher family, enjoying life in their Timber Frame House with only the livestock or fields of corn for company, come from.

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One of the reasons we are able to know so much about the Cowboy and the Wild West is the invention of photography. Families, Outlaws, Law enforcement and public offices were keen to use the new media to record their lives and significant events. As a result, it’s one of the first periods of history that we start to see picture evidence along with written accounts.

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The other most crucial factor is that as the USA starts to become the most prosperous and influential country in the world, it wants to see its history in a positive light. Its people are proud of these brave ancestors who fought off the elements and made the country a success. The portrayals of the time have become more gritty and realistic. The recent Netflix series Godless is one example, but the trend for less romanticised accounts of the old West really began with the work in the 1970s of Directors Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone.

If you have worked as a team leader and studied how teams form and the stages that they go through, you will probably have heard of Bruce Tuckman. In 1965, Tuckman, who is an American psychologist published papers and a book on this theory behind group development. These theories are still very much used today and are noted as forming, storming, norming and performing, with the latter stage being when the teams are working together towards their common goals. As well as publishing his theories he also worked as a professor of Educational Psychology at Ohio State University.

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The key phases that he identified are:

Forming – this is when the team is first benign developed or a number member joins. It is the time when the individuals are working out what their roles are and figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each person.

Storming – this is the phase where tensions can rise as people try to settle into their roles. It can be an incredibly useful tiem to get your team working on activities that will help strengthen their working together.

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Norming – this is when the team has settled into their roles and are benign work function as one unit and working towards their goals.

Performing – the team is performing incredibly well at this stage and you will be able to use Corporate Gift Boxes as a way to thank the team for their work and for completing their projects.

Good mobility is essential for older adults who want to remain in their homes and stay independent as long as possible. It allows people to continue to be active, socialize with their families and friends, and maintain their health. However, good mobility isn’t always easy to achieve. When a person’s range of motion becomes limited, it can lead to injuries. A few ways to maintain mobility is to make good use of mobility aids where appropriate.

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In general, people with limited mobility need to increase their flexibility. Increasing mobility will make it easier for people to do activities inside and outside of the home. This will improve accessibility, which will slow the progression of the decline in mobility and help people maintain adequate activity levels. In addition, improved mobility will improve your ability to complete tasks. Keeping your joints mobile will help you to remain mobile, and that can lead to overall better health. In fact, full joint mobility is the key to a healthy lifestyle. For a range of Mobility Aids, visit a site like www.abilitysuperstore.com/

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When it comes to lifestyle, good mobility will ensure that you maintain your independence as you age. The more flexible you are, the less dependent you will be on others and mobility aids. If your mobility is deteriorating, you may be at risk for disability, which will make it more difficult to lead a normal life. If you’re concerned about maintaining your mobility, you’ll need to take steps to maintain it and mobility aids can play an important part in this.