Green City Opportunities

With the number of gardening programmes on TV starting to rival the number of cookery  ones,  a whole new younger audience is waking up to the horticultural world. But where are these people increasingly choosing to live?…in city centres where space is tight and green space is at a premium. It’s with this as the  background that UrbanGreen, an Amsterdam based company, has been launched.

The concept is to provide a service to inner city gardeners by supplying plants that thrive in low light  environments, together with the space saving pots, trays  and containers that will be appreciated by people with limited space. The companies store is situated in the heart of the city, negating the need for the usual trek out to a suburban garden centre. This is made possible because everything is smaller than normal.

The company aim to expand out into 15 other Dutch cities in the coming years. Would this work in British cities with big inner city populations like London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol? There doesn’t seem any reason why not.

Buildings Insurance Reminder 

Assess the insurance value of your property accurately – use the on-line calculator at the Association of British Insurers’ web site at www.abi.org.uk.
 
A study from Halifax General Insurance reveals that 35 per cent of home-owners think the insurance value is the same as the market value. This is not so. Buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your property if is damaged or destroyed by a natural or man-made disaster. This is not the same as the market value.
 
You need to make sure that you are covered correctly. Over-insured, and you are paying out unnecessarily. Under-insured, and you will have problems claiming if the property is destroyed. Visit www.abi.org.uk today.

Our Favourite Money-Maker

 
Talking to members, the favourite money-maker right now is buying and selling prints from old newspapers and magazines. There’s a good income to be made simply by packaging these prints neatly, categorising them by theme and then selling them on to collectors on eBay
 
The most popular themes at the moment include animals, sports (especially golf and horse racing), royalty, music hall artists, topographical (named locations) and children.
 
Your best-buys are very early magazines from before and between the wars. These generally contained lots of prints. The best ones to look out for include Illustrated London News, The Graphic, Sketch and The Sphere for prints and advertisements in general. As ever, we have a how to article on request.  

Burglar-Busting Advice

Safeguard your home – remember your basic, burglar-beating savvy. According to figures from Halifax General Insurance, theft claims are up by 20 per cent at this time of year.
 
Lock up when you’re out and remove keys. Door frames should be 44mm+. Exterior doors should be fitted with five-lever mortise deadlocks. Top and bottom bolts are advisable. Place valuables out of sight when you are not at home. Fit visible, key-operated window locks.
 
Lights can be a deterrent. Timer switches turn on lights when you’re out. An infra-red sensor switches on when something is in range. Alarm boxes are visual deterrents. Don’t leave a spare key outdoors. Experienced burglars know where to look. Mark belongings visibly with your property number and the postcode.