Need a chimney sweep 21st Century style?

I've just used a Chimney Sweep who did an amazing job in  no time at all and left no mess whatsoever - cost only £65!   Apparently if you use your fire it should be swept annually.  I was rather taken aback when I answered the door to him as he looked more like a personal trainer than a chimney sweep!  The company are based in Teddington but operate throughout London.  They also carry out other chimney/fire related services such as stove cleaning etc.

www.acleansweepltd.co.uk

Make mine Murder... from Sally

A friend of mine is about to have her first book published in February.  I have been given a few sneak previews and have read a couple of snippets from it....  and it looks fab!  
Here is the artwork for the dust jacket and the blurb for the back. I'm not exactly sure of the publication date, but do look out for it if you fancy a good read!

Great tips before you go - with CMO!

 A few tips from my trip.

www.trustedhousesitters.com
A great site that connects people who want to housesit with people needing house sitters.  We left the house, dog and cat with a lovely couple of girls we found on the site - and it didn't cost us a penny.  Did I trust them? Yes I did, we met one of them before we went away and my gut feeling was she was absolutely genuine - and she/they were. People housesit for all sorts of reasons and if you're going away and want someone to look after animals and keep the house occupied it's a perfect solution.  It cost me just under £10 for a months subscription, but if you go away a lot you can sign up for a year.

www.parkatmyhouse.com
Another great find - we wanted to park in London for the week because we could not take bikes up on the train as we were leaving too early (you can't arrive in London before 10am with a bike on SW Trains). So on this site I could search for people who had a spare garage/drive space where we could park the car - it cost about £10 a day.  You can find places all over London and can rent them by the day/week/month - a super service.

Septime restaurant
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187147-d2185868-r129539114-Septime-Paris_Ile_de_France.html. This is the place we ate my birthday dinner - for all you foodies out there - just make sure you book it next time you are in Paris.  You can only book dinner over the phone and up to no more than either 3 or 4 weeks in advance - sorry can't remember which.  But if your French is not up to Scratch I'm sure CP could help out.

Stuck for a day out ? JVP recommends a Micro Brewery

I visited a micro-brewery in Wimbledon/Wandsworth at the weekend which was very good, By the Horns - http://www.bythehorns.co.uk/

Beers inc. Diamond Geezer, Stiff Upper Lip, Lambeth Walk and Bobby on the Wheat.
I can't actually vouch for any as I don't do beer, however, my partner rather liked the porter!

Looking for a decorator - just mention Caroline's name

Looking for a decorator?

Then I can recommend a friend of mine for painting and decorating -
Liam Corrigan 07830156249.

Currently painting our place - doing a great job. Works on a day rate, completely trustworthy.

Mention my name when you call him.

He's not Hounding you...

Hi All,

Apologies for the shameless self-promotion (and if I've badgered you already) but I've just launched the website for my little dog coat business, Hounds Of Hampton.

If you could spare a few minutes to take a look at the website at some point, Hounds Of Hampton and spread the word if you know of anyone with a small cold dog!

If you could also spare some time to "Like" the Hounds Of Hampton Facebook page, that would be great too! Facebook Page

Thanks for your support in my new venture!

James (and Rusty) xx

Come Dine with me... from CMO

STOPGAP SUMMER

GARDEN PARTY
Saturday 25th June 2011, 12pm onwards
I’d be delighted if you and partners / family could join us for a big
Stopgap garden party at home in Epsom.
Drinks will be served from midday followed by lunch – a totally casual but delicious affair!

You can swim, play petanque or tennis, enjoy the bouncy castle or
just relax in the sun with a cold beer – the choice is yours!
~~~
If you can make it and I do hope you can, please RSVP to me (claire.owen@stopgapgroup.co.uk) by Friday 13th May
letting me know how many are in your party (and ages of children please)
along with any dietary requirements.
~~~
Sunridge, 7 Ruden Way, Epsom Downs, Surrey KT17 3LL

Get it there... CHEAP from Claire

UK parcel delivery
If you need to send a parcel anywhere in the UK at a low rate, try this site: www.parcelmonkey.com. I was given a golf bag for xmas and needed to send it back, but as it was from an online retailer we had to pay the return cost. I got a quote from UBS and via parcel Monkey I ended up paying less than a 1/4 of the price I was quoted!

Space in a van
If you need to move anything large around the UK - we wanted to send a sofa up to the Midlands office - you can put your requirements on the website www.anyvan.com - and people with a van who want to do the delivery can bid for your job. We had originally been quoted £150 for someone to do the delivery and ended up accepting a bid for £60 from a lovely guy called Cem. He picked the sofa up and delivered it on Monday as promised.

Get yourself some real Juzzi Jewellery by CP

Looking for something to give at Christmas.?
Have a look at these beads, bracelets and earrings made from recycled paper by fair trade communities in Kenya Here is the website link www.juzionline.com

BACK TO PARADISE! Thanks to CJO

I randomly popped into Paradise Bar last week to find the manager of my lovely local pub in Twickenham behind the bar. The two guys that own it admitted that they have handed it over to a set of people that had no idea what they were doing and have now asked Alan to come in and sort it out.

He would love to get us all going back there and the Stopgap 10% discount button is still on the till!

New chef, new menu (Nice salads, wraps, sandwiches, pizza oven, fresh pizza, they make their own bread etc), wines are good too.

They will be putting in a new kitchen and creating a restaurant upstairs, will offer the room up there for meetings and will not charge us for the hire.

His name is Alan Rickets - 020 8332 7122.

You CAN have your cake! From Stephen

For those who remember the lovely Bea, an ex SG'er, she's now producing the most spectacular celebration cakes in her spare time!

Please take a look, they're works of art!

If you would like to contact Bea

for a quote please contact her on beacowley@hotmail.co.uk

CLICK ON LINK TO VIEW CAKE PHOTOS

www.mediafire.com/?4mbjnynmmtz

KEEPING IT CLEAN! from Claire

Dry Cleaning & Tailoring - Fast Stitch
If you need dry cleaning or repairs done, I have found Fast Stich (just under the office on Eton Street) to be very good. I'm not sure how they compare price wise, but I don't get the impression they are any more expensive than anyone else. But they are good and they are very convenient!