Period Features

Film Location

Have you ever wondered what it takes to get your home featured in magazine advertisements and as a TV and film location? You might be surprised to learn that your home does not have to have 'star quality' to be eligible. Location scouts need all sorts of properties from council flats to country piles and in all sorts of condition and styles of décor. Owners can register with a production company or a location finding agency. The majority of agencies will register your property for free and will look to negotiate a share of the fee if the property is used by a magazine or film company. Fees vary enormously from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds depending on the type of property, how many days filming and perhaps most importantly the budget available for the shoot (there is no such thing as a 'standard fee' as there is no standard budget). It is an exciting way of earning some extra income from your home but it is not necessarily all glamour as production companies can bring lots of staff and equipment and they can cause huge disruption to you and your neighbours. If you live in London or the South East you are more likely to find your property in demand as that is where film crews are often based but property in other areas will be needed by companies filming regionally. Property offering good parking opportunities (people, equipment, furniture, props and canteen facilities all bring vehicles) and the possibility of secure storage may have a distinct advantage. It is possible that certain features or parts of your property might be what attract a company to using your home so the photographs sent to the agency are important. Take advice or read the agencies guidelines before submitting photographs. To find out more about locations agencies see
www.rrhobbs.us
www.shootfactory.co.uk
www.hha.org.uk
and
www.thespacemen.com

Old Beams

If you have old or original beams in your home which have suffered from being painted 'pub black' or coated in some other unsuitable paint finish you might have thought about stripping them. However, the sandblasting process is quite harsh and messy and often forbidden in listed homes. Hand stripping is generally recognised as being a very time consuming process and a true labour of love. The solution? Renaissance Beams believe that they have a viable alternative to sandblasting and hand stripping beams: the no mess 'back from the black beam' process. For more information and 'before and after' photographs visit
www.renaissance-beams.co.uk

Creative Ideas For Young Children During The Easter Holidays

If you are wondering how to keep the children amused on a wet Easter holiday afternoon you will be pleased to learn that there are some excellent free resources available on the internet. Perfect spring themed activities for children include information on making a spring bracelet or a daffodil badge or a daffodil or sheep handprint. Also available are scrapbook papers in spring colours, origami instructions to make a paper tulip, a spring flowers sorting game and colouring pages to print out. For lots more ideas visit the Activity Village
www.activityvillage.co.uk

For children under the age of five there are some good resources at www.under5s.co.uk Their theme pack on Spring costs £10 but there are plenty of free resources based around Easter such as colouring sheets to print out and shape recognition and counting games. Fun, free and educational and at the click of a mouse what more could you ask?

Spring Gardening Tips

This article comes from UKTV Gardens website and gives advice on Spring Gardening.

With the arrival of spring comes the beautiful sight of budding flowers and blossoming trees. Your garden begins to brush aside the monotone shades of winter and the promise of colour begins to become evident once more. What should you be doing to get your garden ship-shape for the forthcoming months? Read on for our handy horticultural tips and advice.

To get the most from your spring garden, add sensuous smelling plants that will fill your garden with their sweet aroma. The Royal Horticultural Society recommend shrubs such as Christmas box (Sarcococco confuse), the winter honeysuckle (Lonicera x purpusii), wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox), as well as the many beautiful species of Dapne which are sure to leave your garden smelling better than the best Parisian perfumery!

If you're putting in new plants this season, don't forget that they'll be relying on you for food and water. Add a liberal sprinkling of compost to your planting hole and give them a slow release, general fertilizer. Remember to water them well! Read more

18 Inspiring New Colours From Farrow & Ball

The new Farrow & Ball 2008 Colour Card is bursting with a range of stunningly contemporary colours. Eighteen striking new colours have added a more contemporary edge to the colour card and include a mixture of versatile neutrals, pretty pastels, rich greys and earthy chocolate browns, as well as a few surprises!

All colours have been named to reflect their source of inspiration and historical reference point and fit seamlessly into the existing colour card......if your old favourite has been discontinued it is still available to order.