Stepanovich Blog

Choosing a gift should be an enjoyable experience - for most of us, the hardest part is coming up with an all time great idea.

Of course choosing and purchasing the right gift is only the start. Next it’s trying to organise the wrapping or it and ensuring it arrives to the recipient looking a million dollars no matter how much has been spent. More and more gifts are now being sent by courier or mail with friends and family often living some miles away. With work and life commitments making many of us victims of having very little time and leaving jobs like gift purchasing to the last minute, the ability to be able to find a gift, purchase it online from that outlet and even have it wrapped or gifted boxed and sent direct to the recipient, we doesn’t get any more convenient and helpful.

Fragrances are always a popular choice. Fine fragrances are not usually purchased yourself as they can be quite expensive. The nature of the beautiful bottles and packaging make a fragrance gift something really special. ‘niche’ fine fragrances can now be purchased from specialist department stores sourced from around the world so you can be sure of buying a unique scent that is not available on every high street. Fragrances make great gifts for him too. Men are even less likely to purchase an aftershave for themselves. There is now a huge choice of men’s fragrances ranging from the heavy and more traditional scents to the fresh and lively modern scents.

Department stores should be the first port of call when looking for great gift ideas. They stock a large cross section of articles for men, women and children of all ages and tastes. Department store assistants are often very helpful and advice can be sought. A very comforting thought for many men when buying for their loved one!

Kendal is an ideal base when visiting the south and central Lakes also across to the western Lake District and even the Yorkshire Dales.

Kendal is the biggest town in the south and central Lakes area and has great transport links should you not have a car. The number 555 Stagecoach bus goes from Kendal town centre right up to Keswick along and operates and hourly service. The bus journey alone is worth going on as you pass Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, views towards Skiddaw and Helvellyn finally arriving at Keswick. In fact, the A591 was voted “Britain’s Best Road” by sat nav users last year. Oxenholme – The Lake District train station is just a few minutes from the centre of Kendal which is a West Coast Mainline stop. Trains to and from London, Glasgow and Edinburgh operate from here also a local service to Windermere via Kendal.

When staying in or around Kendal there are many places to that are worth a visit. The Kendal Museum and Abbot Hall Gallery are both excellent attractions with exhibitions changing regularly including work from local artists as well as Bridget Riley and Henry Moore. The local produce available in this area means there are a number of artisan producers and delis stocking food from around the region. The Cumberland sausage and Damson Gin really are worth a try!

The choice of accommodation is varied in Kendal from large and small hotels to self catering properties and some lovely Kendal Bed and Breakfast properties. Staying on the outskirts of Kendal is an excellent idea getting both the convenience to Kendal with all its amenities whilst staying in a quiet location.

Helsington is located just one mile from the centre of Kendal making it the perfect location to stay when visiting the “Auld Grey Town”. It is situated at the southern end of Kendal and is reached very easily from the main A591 road. Helsington has one of the prettiest churches in the south Lakes. Set on the side of a hill, the views from the church are magnificent. The Lyth Valley right round to Morecambe Bay can all be taken in.

As well as the church, Helsington Laithes Manor is another notable building. The original building is believed to date from the 13th Century, when the Manor of Helsington belonged to Margaret de Ros. The West end of the main block is of medieval origin, probably late 15th C. It is said to have a chapel with a pre? Reformation window. Helsington Manor was owned by Marmaduke de Thwenge. At his death in 1323 it passed to his son, William de Thwenge and in 1374 the property, in the estate of Thomas de Thwenge, passed to Robert de Lumley. The year 1511 brings the first reference to Helsington Laithes which passed to Sir George Lumley. The House then came into the hands of Henry VIII, who in 1539 leased it to Sir Thomas Seymour, for 21 years from Michaelmas 1540.

In general, the interior design of the home is being taken more seriously and is being enjoyed even by the average home owners. We are starting to see famous and notable designers creating ranges for leading brands which is enabling the homeowner to achieve an individual or more sophisticated look.

To complement the interest people have in cooking and dinner parties the items on a dining table and the settings should be strongly considered. How the food looks on a plate is extremely important as well as how the plate looks within the table setting. The look of the food is the first impression and as is regularly said, you eat with your eyes. The food itself needs to look appealing but what it is presented on can also greatly affect the way the dish looks. Top chefs know the importance of this and they will be the ones that choose the dinnerware range for the restaurant. Only a few years ago, a standard plate would be used to serve all the dishes. Now there are curved, square, rectangle, oval and shallow bowls.

You cutlery then needs to match the dinnerware. A traditional set of cutlery would look out of place next to a modern square plate for example. Likewise, a modern set of cutlery would not feel right with a traditional set of china plates. Leading cutlery brands such as Arthur Price cutlery have been manufacturing high grade cutlery for over 100 years. Their traditional ranges remain popular but they have introduced contemporary ranges in keeping with the modern look that many home owners are requesting.

One of the leading modern cutlery brands at the moment and one which is synonymous with innovative design is Villeroy and Boch. Villeroy and Boch cutlery as with other brands of such stature retain a timeless design but firmly keeping with a contemporary look. Due to the nature of stainless steel, cutlery can be a real statement on a dining table. For a customer wanting to achieve a very contemporary look, modern cutlery perfect finishing touch.

The Eden Valley is a beautiful, yet little known area in Cumbria, which lies between the Lake District National Park and the North Pennines - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To the North of the Eden Valley lies Carlisle and Hadrian’s Wall, whilst to the South you will find the fabulous Yorkshire Dales.

There is an excellent choice of accommodation available within Eden including hotels, guest houses, Cumbrian cottages and caravan parks. Away from the main holiday season many of the Lake District holiday cottages offer the flexibility of short breaks rather than just whole weeks, so visitors can enjoy a long weekend in the area and perhaps buy some fresh local produce to cook yourself at the property. However your eating requirements are catered for by the many excellent restaurants and traditional pubs that reflect the local flavour.

Historic Penrith, often referred to as the “Gateway to the Northern Lakes”, is the major town in the Eden Valley, with a good mix of traditional shops selling locally made products and crafts, including famed Cumberland Sausage and Penrith Toffee.

When it comes to places to visit during your stay the Eden Valley offers a wide range of historic houses, castles, gardens, craft workshops, galleries and museums. In fact there are over seventy visitor attractions in Eden. For the more active there are many sporting facilities including sailing, windsurfing, horse riding, golf, squash, tennis and fishing.

One of the area’s key activities is Appleby Horse Fair, which takes place every June. The Horse Fair gathers together travelling folk from all over the country, buying and selling horses, keeping alive a 300 year old tradition. This is Britain’s largest gypsy gathering, with hundreds of tradition horse-drawn caravans converge on nearby Gallows Hill.

Walkers will find Eden is wonderful walking country, either a leisurely walk along river banks and lake shore or you can take to the higher paths over the Pennines and Lake District fells. In fact, the Pennine Way National Trail reaches into the Eden Valley at Appleby-in-Westmorland as it winds its way towards Scotland. Cyclists can follow the coast to coast (C2C) and Cumbria Cycle Way, both routes are clearly marked along the way.

The River Eden provides challenging fishing, and has in place a “Go Wild” scheme to enable visitors to try wild fishing on the river.

Portable Building Sales recently won a contract to supply two modular buildings to the Coventry Primary Care Trust.

The first modular building we installed as a temporary walk in centre, was a used 6 bay modular building.

Prior to arrival on site, jackpad foundations were used to erect the building instead of traditional concrete foundations.

Portable Building Sales have agreed to purchase the building back after the Primary Care Trust no longer have a use for the building and in addition will also purchase the jackpad foundations leaving a clear and clean car park area once again.

The Portable Building Sales “buy back” scheme ensures that the building is removed safely, professionally and to the current Health & Safety and CDM regulations. They ensure that the Primary Care Trust has no disposal problems and receives payment for the building before it is removed.

Portable Building Sales Ltd is one of the few companies in the UK to provide this type of service.

The used steel framed modular building that was supplied consists of six plastic coated steel modules which have white Upvc double glazed windows. The building also has a plasterboard lined ceiling and walls and a double thickness plywood floor.

This used modular building was decorated internally, cleaned externally and reinstated electrically to the latest regulations.

This temporary modular walk in centre building complies with the current Part L2A 2006 building regulations and is extremely environmentally friendly as it only uses 3% of the energy required to manufacture an equivalent new modular building. This is because the embodied energy is transportable and therefore can be relocated to a new site.

Also there are significant cost savings to the client and in this instance the tax payer as well, as this building was approximately a third of the cost of an equivalent new manufactured modular building.

Portable Buildings completed the installation of this building within four weeks from the date of order and to the client’s complete satisfaction.

Even though this modular building is pre-owned, Portable Building Sales still provide a 12 months guarantee with the building.

Portable Building Sales provided the Coventry Primary Care Trust with complete peace of mind throughout the process of attending meetings, submission of our Health & Safety plans, supply and installation of the used modular building, arrangement of the crane, to even organising the transportation and temporary traffic management to enable the building to be off loaded from a road adjacent to the site.

For more information please visit http://www.portablebuildingsales.co.uk or telephone 01482 656590

There are a variety of reasons why the Lake District is a great place to visit in the autumn and winter months. Starting with autumn and the colours in the landscape are simply beautiful. Browns, reds, oranges and yellows shower the roads, fields and fells. An excellent time for artists and photographers to visit the Lake District.

Moving to November and December and the Lake District is lucky to have a good share of those spectacular bright sunny winter days when the air is at its crispest. On days like these, you can see for miles and they are excellent times to go walking or to visit the area for a short break. In November especially, there are some great offers available in Lake District hotels. For those wanting a real escape and complete tranquillity, November is ideal.

January celebrates the New Year, recharges the batteries after a hectic, over indulgent Christmas and can be one of the best value short breaks you have. The Lake District is becoming a popular choice in January. There are many activities to do in the Lake District along with the possibility of snow still being on the fells. As with hotels and leisure accommodation throughout the country, Cumbria hotels and Lake District hotels have excellent rates for January as it is traditionally thought to be the quietest month of the year. This enables the consumer to enjoy short breaks in the Lake District at fabulous prices, much needed after Christmas but especially when everyone is being hit by the economic crisis.

Savvy travellers are noticing the great value deals to be had in the winter months. Holidays are quite often being thought about and planned for spring and summer but waiting until then without a break is too long. A short break in the Lake District can combine a much needed break with the chance to go canoeing, sailing, walking, mountaineering, fell running, cycling, the list goes on. The most popular, cheapest and most accessible is walking on the hundreds of fells in the Lake District. Wainwright alone walked and wrote about 214 of them but there are many further smaller fells allowing walkers of any age or ability to sample what the English Lake District is famous for.