tesco Insurance

Car insurance with Tesco

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got me a great deal on my classic car a cortina mk2 Mr Ian Ryan

house rewire

So you think you're up for a house rewire.

If you have got to the point, where you are considering having your house rewired then the following maybe of help.

Most rewires to domestic properties come about for one or more of the following reasons.

* As a result of an inspection / report
* Observations made by others, whilst work has been carried out
* Problems with sockets / lights not working
* Old light fittings / sockets and wiring
* Insufficient sockets / light points
* You just know it by looking at it

To be fair, it may be that the installation looks in a bad way and does not have an up-to-date fuse board, and as such would not conform to today's wiring regulations (BS7671). However that's not to say that the whole installation will need replacing. You may find that by installing a new fuse board c/w RCBO's and the replacement of a few sockets / light fittings, it could be brought up-to- date. To establish just what the condition is of your installation, you should have a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR) carried out this would then identify any areas that need attention. It's possible that having looked at the fuse board and the cables coming away from it, we could say forget the PIR, you need a rewire.

Whilst it is not possible to tell if an installation is safe without carrying out a PIR, I feel that it is possible to tell that it is not safe and that it does need a rewire.

As soon as you see a fuse board that's from the 40's or 50's with rubber cables coming from it, you can be pretty sure that it's time for replacement. Another tell tell sign that a rewire maybe called for, is when you have had Mr DIY or Mr Man from the pub, or old Frank from work carry out the electrical work. We are able to tell that whoever did the work had only a limited knowledge; the type of cable used, the way it is installed, the type of outlets used, the circuit design (well lack of it) and the missing certificates.

As I said, "Whilst it is not possible to tell if an installation is safe without carrying out a PIR, it is possible to tell that it is not safe"

Okay, so moving on with your installation; most of it was wired in the 50's and Mr DIY has had a go, so yes it is time for the rewire, what can you expect.

I have been carrying out electrical installation work for the last 25years, but I am still amazed by clients who are about to have their house rewired, and expect the wiring to be installed without any mess or any disturbance to their home.

A rewire is the most disruptive and invasive work that a property can undergo.

What's involved?

Well, every and I mean every room will need to have the following carried out

* Furniture to be moved out
* Floor covering to be taken up (not too good if its laminate)
* Floor boards to be lifted to gain access to the floor voids
* Walls to be chased out for switches/sockets
* Also a bit of dust and mess

When it comes to rewiring the lighting to the top floor, this requires the loft to be cleared so as we can get to each of the lighting points and to each switch drop.

Then comes the re-decorating (Not by us I'm glad to say)

I have had clients that would prefer conduit or mini-trunking installed on the surface, rather than to endure the mess and upheaval mentioned above.

The best time to have this work carried out is before you move in, so if possible try to find out if your new home needs a rewire and if so can it be done before you move in. However, if you are now happily living in your (that's in need of a rewire) home, there are a couple of ways the work could be carried out.

You could consider having the work done in phases, one area at a time done, this is not so traumatic as having it done in one go, but it can take what seems like months to get it completed, also by carrying out the work in phases, it will cost more.

Do you like getting stuck in?

One option maybe to lets us carry out the technical work, and let you move the furniture, take up the floor covering, lift the floor boards, even chase out the walls, and make good the walls. We have worked with clients that are happy to attend to this part of the work, and leave the technical bits to us. This can work quite well, and the cost will be less.

Go Away

What I am about to suggest, may at first sound odd! but if you are to have a rewire, then consider having it done when you are on holiday. This way you will miss out on all the fun of moving the furniture, taking up floor covering, the dust, and the make shift living conditions; also it could be cheaper. Okay, when you come back it will look like a war zone, but a tidy war zone, and an electrically safe war zone.

It may not be as bad as I suggest, but if you start off with the worse case, it can only get better.

If you think that you may need a rewire or need any help with your electrical installation, please contact Major Electrical Ltd, and we will be happy to help you.

shopping for sandalwood oil

Paula, the team manager of Empire, was sadly fired in last weeks's episode of the apprentice despite making what seemed to be possibly the best set of products seen this series - the Rock Poole seaweed based soap and shower gel. Despite the pathetic leadership of rival team leader Noorul, Paula found herself in Sir Alan's firing line after producing a loss of £68.04. Her mistake? Mixing up cedarwood oil and sandalwood oil.

Whilst Empire insisted that the two names sounded the same (the only thing we can see in common is the word 'wood'), the difference in terms of cost was about £1170 per kilo. Cause we're the scientific type, we've had a look on Wikipedia and can inform you with the following:

"Sandalwood essential oil provides perfumes with a striking wood base note. Sandalwood smells not unlike other wood scents, except it has a bright and fresh edge with few natural analogues. When used in smaller proportions in a perfume, it is an excellent fixative to enhance the head space of other fragrances. The oil from sandalwood is widely used in the cosmetic industry and is expensive."

OK, sounds good, but what about cedarwood?

"Cedar wood and cedar oil is known to be a natural repellent to moths, hence cedar is a popular lining for modern-day closets in which woolens are stored. This specific use of cedar is mentioned in The Iliad (Book 24), referring to the cedar-roofed or lined storage chamber where Priam goes to fetch treasures to be used as ransom."

Personally I wouldn't want moth repellant in my soap, however if the team had used cedarwood instead of the more expensive sandalwood, they would have rightly won the task with a profit of £590. Admittedly it didn't help either that the team sporting a trainee stockbroker (in the form of Ben) couldn't do some simple primary school maths, and thought ingredients costing £700 would cost a couple of quid. That comes firmly under the category of 'epic fail'.

If you saw the after-show, The Apprentice - You're Fired, afterwards on BBC2, you'll have seen Paula given a book as a leaving gift. We've had a look on the internet, and you too can own this essential (pun intended) guide to your essential oils, and pretend to be your favourite Apprentice star. It's called 'The Essential Oils Handbook: All the Oils You Will Ever Need for Health, Vitality and Well-being' and you can buy it from Amazon now for the measly price of £6.99 delivered. The book costs £7 - the team wasted £700 on ingredients. Sounds like a 100x markup to me. Had the team known about this book beforehand, it would've been a no-brainer, and could have kept Paula in a job.

car insurance comparison

just doing some online car insurance qoutes for my new car found a good site just fill one form in and they do all the rest , because I'm sick of filling forms in at the other sites,

Car insurance online

Aleksandr Orlov, founder of comparethemeerkat.com, is urging people not to use his site when shopping around for cheaper carinsurance.

It seems that people looking to compare car insurance quotes are confusing comparethemeerkat.com with the similarly named comparethemarket.com, one of the UK’s leading car insurance comparison sites.

The problem has escalated to such extreme levels that Aleksandr has decided to launch a TV advertising campaign to educate the masses and clear up the confusion once and for all.

The message is clear, comparethemeerkat.com won’t help you find cheaper car insurance but if you’re looking to compare meerkats than Aleksandr is more than happy for you to stop by.

This ingenious piece of marketing is really taking off with Aleksandr proving a real hit on facebook, youtube and twitter.

If you’re considering using comparethemarket.com to search for a car insurance quote be sure to check out our review of their site. As for comparing meerkats, we’ll leave you in the dependable hands of Aleksandr.

New Spring atalogue out Now !!

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What’s more, they’re offering you £15 off your first order of £25 or more.

Order your FREE book today, and look forward to an amazing shopping experience with Littlewoods.


Terms & Conditions
*Your request for a book will also act as a request for us to open a Littlewoods credit account for you subject to status. If you are not accepted for a credit account you will not be entitled to your discount or sent a catalogue..

Littlewoods vouchers

Littlewoods Vouchers - Huge Savings on New Gym Equipment

It’s a brand new year, time for a new you! Check out the great deals on all new gym equipment at Littlewoods.

Run or jog your way to a svelte and healthier you with the Pro-Form Compact Run Treadmill. This treadmill offers a protech cushioning to provide support, a large running surface for stability and ease, 10 personal trainer workouts, duel display tracks speed, incline, pulse, distance, time and calories.

Originally this treadmill was priced at £1099.00 but it is now on SALE for £799.00!

Plus if you enter the following voucher code: XX340 you don’t have to pay until 2010!

Also enter voucher code:ZG999 to receive 15% Off your first order.

They also offer Free Delivery!

I honestly can’t think of any othe reason why you would pass up on this great deal, and taking active steps to a healthier, happier you!

Although many retailers, such as Play.com, now include free delivery in their product prices, unfortunately the web's largest retailer Amazon still hasn't cottoned on to this craze. Standard first class delivery from Amazon can be expensive - for example an electronics such as an ipod item could cost up to £5.88 to be delivered (or for Royal Mail to lose it). Fortunately for a short period of time, Amazon is now offering all customers a month's worth of free next day deliveries, courtesy of their Amazon Prime service.

Amazon Prime is a subscription service from Amazon, a bit like a golf club, or paying to get into the House of Lords. You pay Amazon £49 a year, and get free stuff and preferential treatment in exchange for your hard earned cash. One of these treats is unlimited free next day delivery on all qualifying products, so if you're a serial Amazon shopper, this could be quite a worthwhile service to have under your belt. But that's not all - you can also get:

- Express delivery (before 1pm) for the discounted rate of £4.49 per item

- Evening delivery (same day) for the discounted rate of £7.49 per item, if you live in Birmingham or London

- The ability to share your benefits with up to four other people in your household

There's no minimum order value, meaning there's no more buying unnecessary stuff just to get up to the £15 free Super Saver Delivery threshold. If you want to buy the Now 18 CD and listen to it in the car on the way to work in a couple of days, you can.

Best of all, for a short periodncel the service by the end of the month, Amazon will automatically start to bil Amazon are offering Amazon customers who have not previously used Amazon Prime with a free month's trial of the service. If you're looking to buy a new TV or home furnishings from Amazon, it may be worth taking a look to see if you can start a trial and get quicker and free delivery. As with any freebie, there are a few catches and clauses - if you don't cal you for the service, although £49 a year works out at just about £4 per month, which isn't too bad, and you could probably spend that amount on delivery from Amazon already. Free delivery is only available on certain items, and you can't get free delivery if you live in some ridiculously remote offshore cave in the British Isles - but have a look at the Amazon website for details.

Click here for more information on free next day delivery with a month's free trial of Amazon Prime. Give it a go if you're shopping with Amazon, you've got nothing to lose!

“2008 was a year in which onlineshopping faced steep rises in the price of their staple food items, far beyond the general rate of food inflation. mySupermarket.co.uk, the supermarket comparison site, has uncovered an increasing trend of ‘downshifting’: consumers swapping their favourite branded products for a supermarket own brand alternative, often surrendering long-standing brand loyalty to make significant savings.

The attached table gives a detailed insight into this recent trend, but to summarise:

• Pasta is the product people are most willing to downshift on with an 8% increase in the sales of own brand items since last year.
• Other items people are happy to downshift include crisps, tomato ketchup and cereal - with sales of own brand products up 4% on last year.
• Cola is one product which shoppers don’t seem to be willing to compromise on with 91% of sales going on branded, a figure which hasn’t changed in the last 12 months.

The items which have seen the greatest trend for downshifting are many of the staple items which have seen significant price rises.

“With shoppers seeing the price of their weekly shop rising, becoming a savvy shopper became more important than ever in 2008. Downshifting is a quick and easy way of saving money and is something which is becoming increasingly popular. There is a definite correlation between the areas where prices have risen sharply over the past year and where shoppers are downshifting and whilst there are certain products which shoppers seem unwilling to compromise on, many are surrendering their brand loyalty on favourites such as ketchup as they move to an own brand alternative.

Saving money doesn’t have to mean giving up our favourite products or deserting our chosen supermarket. By simply swapping brands or taking full advantage of special offers we believe shoppers can often save up to 20% on their shopping bill. The trend for downshifting is set to continue into 2009, but rather than shoppers having to trawl the aisles, they can input their weekly shop into mySupermarket.co.uk and the Price Checker tool will automatically highlight the ‘downshift’ item as well as like-for-like alternatives.”

Product	2007 Own Brand (% sales)	2008 Own Brand (% sales)	Change
Cola	9%	9%	-
Instant Coffee	14%	17%	3%
Crisps	19%	23%	4%
Ketchup	21%	25%	4%
Tea Bags	23%	26%	3%
Breakfast Cereal	28%	32%	4%
Bread	35%	36%	1%
Baked Beans	35%	38%	3%
Biscuits	39%	39%	-
Water	43%	45%	2%
Toilet Paper	61%	60%	-1%
Tinned vegetables	62%	63%	1%
Pasta	56%	64%	8%
Juice	68%	66%	-2%

Source: MySupermarket

empty cupboards

tesco phoned while i was out, and have left a message on my a/p saying they wont be delivering my food order today, so i need to rebook another delivery slot

But i cant see how you can do this. according to my account, i can no longer access that order, as its 'being picked'. which i think is an automatic message, cause its obviously not being picked

Does this mean i will have to re-do my total order? also today is change-over day for the offers, so anything in my basket that was on offer, wont be, come tomorrow

Why is it, the one time you have totally empty cupboards, and had decided to do an online shop, because you knew it would take you a couple of hours to get round the shop (grumpy kids in tow), that it goes t!ts up.

Free Range Chicken

I had this problem with my local Somerfield after the first HFW programme. At first you had to be in there before 9.00am to get FR chicken otherwise it was all gone. Gradually "the shock" of the programme wore off and people stopped buying it so much. After a while you could go in at 6.00pm and get it reduced to half price.

After that they simply didn't stock so much.

I don't know why Tesco don't have FR chicken on the shelves, it could be because the supply is just not there and they can't actually buy enough to satisfy demand.

Or it could be that they don't have the demand for them, so don't stock so much.

One thing I do know, if the supply was there and the demand was there, Tesco's would be selling it.

I don't believe for one minute that Tesco are not stocking FR chicken just to annoy HFW, or anybody else! Tesco are so big for one reason, and one reason olnly, they sell what the customer want's to buy at a good price.

I will sell you childrens clothes made by 7 year old Indian kids in a sweat shop without batting an eyelid. They will force the price of coffee down so much that south amercan farmers starve, and not lose a wink of sleep over it. They will force the price of milk and veg down so much that half the farmers in the Uk go out of business, and not care one jot.

Putting FR chicken on the shelves would be nothing to them. Nor would stopping selling chickens at 2 for a fiver, if people didn't buy them.

The reason they don't have enough FR chickens for sale is either becasue they can't get enough, or they can't sell enough.

The reason why they have chickens at 2 for a fiver is because they can get them, and sell them.