Parsons Son and Basley’s first auction of 2010 defied all expectations of the market with an 80 per cent success rate selling just over £1m worth of residential and commercial property. Six out of the seven lots offered sold in the room with one sold prior, one sold after and two withdrawn. The lots were spread throughout east and west Sussex.

Leaders encourage landlords to benefit from boiler scrappage scheme

Leaders are advising their landlords in detail about the government’s new boiler scrappage scheme to help as many as possible to benefit from it, and to help reduce their tenants’ energy bills and CO2 emissions. The newly launched scheme gives homeowners in England, including private landlords, the opportunity to claim £400 off the cost of a new energy efficient boiler when they replace an old G-rated boiler.

Project Pink

Prior to Microsoft announcing their intention to debut a mobile environment called Windows Phone 7 later this year, the company was already at work on new mobile devices under a separate initiative known internally as Project Pink. Pictures and other materials recently leaked to a popular tech blog appear to reveal new details about two phones Microsoft is known to be developing under the Pink line: the Pure and the Turtle. Leaked photos show that the interfaces for both Turtle and Pure emphasise social networking tools and other Web 2.0 features that also dominate the Windows Phone 7 interface. The software features a start screen that rejects static icons in favour of real-time feeds from popular social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. It also offers always-on access to e-mail, Xbox games, Bing search, and other tools.

iPad update

In the US consumers will be able to purchase Apple’s new iPad devices on 3 April with the UK units likely to be available at the end of April. The iPad will debut with 12 apps specially designed for it including Apple’s iBookstore. In keeping with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ distaste for Adobe’s Flash, that feature will be left out. Apple said most of the 150,000 applications available for its iPhone will also be available for the iPad. UK prices are rumoured to be £389 for the base 16Gb model, £439 for the 32Gb model, and £489 for the 64Gb unit. All these are higher when compared to the US.

Sony rumours

Rumour control has it that that Sony will be introducing an Apple-like web-based service and a new range of portable devices later this year.

PCs or Macs

Pilot schemes that allowed the staff of two major IT suppliers (Citrix and Cisco) to choose their own computing devices have revealed that many employees prefer Macs to PCs. Citrix, which supplies software that enables users to access applications from any device, ran a pilot last year which allowed 10 per cent of staff to choose their own device, found that 40 per cent of the workers involved chose Macs. A similar pilot by Cisco saw 50 per cent choose Macs.

Office 2010 discounts

Microsoft has announced that its UK pricing for Office 2010 will mirror developments in the US, where pricing has been reduced to entice more users. When the product is released here in June, end-user costs will reflect this strategy to grow market share through reduced prices. All new PCs will ship with a copy of Office Starter 2010 – a free product that offers the Office experience while encouraging people to upgrade to the full paid version. The boxed versions of Office Home and Student will cost £109.99, Office Home and Business will cost £239, while Office Professional will retail at £399.99. Prices for the product key (basically OEM) alone are now £89.99 for Home and Student, £189.99 for Home and Business, and £299 for Office Professional.

Skype on Nokia

Nokia is embracing Skype, making available for free the Internet-telephony (VoIP) app in the Ovi app store. Over 200 million Nokia handsets will be able to download the Skype app and make cheap calls abroad while away from the computer. Skype for Symbian will allow calls on both WiFi and 3G data connections, though calls using the 3G connections will also come out of your contract data allowance. Otherwise, you can make free Skype-to-Skype calls or call traditional lines anywhere at a fraction of the regular cost. Nokia phones such as the N97, N97 mini, X6, 5800 or the business-minded E72 and E90 are included on the complete list of Symbian devices to support the new Skype app.

Walk into any of the massive computer retail outlets and you might well be entering an alternative reality. Computers and computing are such a massive part of modern life and, as a consequence, the choices are almost infinite. Where once the market was clearly divided between PC users and Apple Macintosh devotees, the boundaries these days are less clearly defined. Today, software is more frequently compatible across platforms, games are available in all formats and, with the rise of the iPod and iPlayer, Macs have captured the market’s imagination.

So there you are, surrounded by row upon row of IT options, much of which is marked with unintelligible technical detail and little with simple information to help you make the right decision. It’s a computer minefield and one that can be very costly if you don’t get the right initial advice.

At the end of the day, the choice must surely be made on suitability for purpose and, of course, budget. You will also want to know who offers the appropriate ongoing services once you have made your purchase. This week, three of the city’s top computer businesses highlight what they do in a simple and easy-to-read format. From hardware and software to call outs and maintenance, this guide gives you a good starting point and provides you with contact details enabling you to get a full picture and the right answers to your computing needs.

Solutions Inc

Hove store: 255 Old Shoreham Road,
Hove, BN3 7ED, 01273 200825
Brighton Store: 12-13 Brighton Place, South Lanes, Brighton, BN1 1HJ, 01273 730236
Repair centre: Unit 6, English Business Park, English Close, Hove, BN3 7ET
www.solutions-inc.co.uk
info@solutions-inc.co.uk

Hours of Business

Hove store

Monday–Friday: 9am–5pm
Saturday: 10am–5.30pm
Sunday: 10.30am–4.30pm
Brighton store
Monday–Saturday: 10am–6pm
Sunday 11am–5pm

Services Provided

Home
Business
Desktop
Laptop
PC
Apple Mac
Wireless solutions
Cabling solutions
Networking solutions
Repairs (01273 200999)
Home visits (01273 200900)
High street or retail park premises
Retailer of software
Retailer of hardware
Walk-in diagnostics
Service contracts
24 hour call out
7 days a week: retail
7 days a week: services

Founded in 1992, with 18 years’ experience and year on year growth, Solutions Inc. are among the most established, successful and respected Apple dealers in the country. They have five retail locations across the UK including Brighton, Hove, Chichester, Bournemouth and Guildford, as well as a team of Apple certified technicians based in their Hove repair centre, providing on-site services as well as Apple warranty and out-of warranty repairs. On top of this, they have dedicated teams of Apple education advisors and business account managers as well as being an Apple Authorised Training Centre. Please call 0844 8751 610 for any enquiries.

Geeks-On-Wheels

Europe Limited
30–31 Devonshire Place, Brighton
www.geeks-on-wheels.com
www.geeks-on-wheels.eu
info@geeks-on-wheels.com

Hours of Business:

Monday–Friday: 8am–9pm
Saturday–Sunday: 9am–5pm

Services Provided

Home
Business
Desktop
Laptop
PC
Apple Mac
Wireless solutions
Cabling solutions
Networking solutions
Repairs
Home visits
High street or retail park premises
Retailer of software
Retailer of hardware
Walk-in diagnostics
Service contracts
24 hour call out
7 days a week

Geeks-On-Wheels fix computers, and are winners of the 2009 national PC retail awards – ‘Best Technical Support’ category. Announced as finalists in the 2010 national PC retail awards – ‘Best technical Support’ category. Geeks-On-Wheels are also members of checkatrade.com

Cancom

110 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XF, www.cancomuk.com; brighton@cancomuk.com

Hours of Business

Monday – Friday: 9am–6pm
Saturday: 10am–6pm
Sunday:Closed

Services Provided

Home
Business
Desktop
Laptop
PC
Apple Macintosh
Wireless solutions
Cabling solutions
Networking Solutions
Repairs
Home visits
High street or retail park premises
Retailer of software
Retailer of hardware
Walk in diagnostics
Service contracts
24 hour call out
7 days a week

Cancom Brighton is a great place to buy Apple products. They provide an exceptional shopping experience showcasing the full Apple product line of Macs and iPods in a customer friendly environment. They offer outstanding service and advice for both consumer and professional users, as well as a program of in-store demonstrations and expert training. Their Business to Business Teams are available to discuss installation, training, data transfer, data back-up strategies and much more.

Bloor Homes are celebrating the instant success of their new West Sussex development, Teulon Court, selling two houses over the opening weekend of 27 and 28 February and raising £500 for the British Heart Foundation charity.

The British Heart Foundation relies heavily on donations to fund research into heart conditions, and their national Wear Red Day took place the day before the opening of Teulon Court. Bloor Homes saw this as an opportunity to raise money for the organisation and promised to donate £250 for every home sold during the launch.

“It was a really successful weekend,” says Teresa Quinlan, sales advisor for Bloor Homes. “We sold two houses and we raised money for the British Heart Foundation.”

The Teulon Court development consists of just eleven homes, creating a sense of peace and privacy. The houses are modern but with a classic feel, which fits perfectly with the scenic village of Angmering. The development is named after Samuel Sanders Teulon, a nineteenth-century architect who designed the village church. The location of the homes adds to their appeal: “The beach is about a mile away, and in the other direction there’s some beautiful countryside,” says Teresa. “The station is within walking distance and there are frequent trains to Brighton city centre.”

Visitors to the launch were also impressed by the BloorHomesStart2 scheme. The scheme allows buyers to pay for a percentage of their property at the time of purchase, and the remainder within ten years. It’s a great opportunity for people who might otherwise struggle to buy a new home.

Teulon Court is an exclusive development in a picturesque setting, and there is already a great deal of interest in the remaining nine houses. For your chance to own one of these stunning homes, visit the site today, or call Teresa Quinlan on 0845 606 7015 for more information.

Teulon Court, Station Road, Angmering, West Sussex, BN16 3RB, www.bloorhomes.com

I love the way that language evolves. Doing a Delia filled me with total delight when it was announced that it had gone into the dictionary. I like that kind of change, so much so that I do wonder whether all the fuss about the apostrophe is worth worrying about.

I have a vocabulary littered with words from my childhood that no longer come into play. I can’t remember the last time I had call for midden or slutchy. Now there is a word, slutchy, can you guess what that means?

The other day Mr R was telling me about some custard that had gone awry at the hands of his father. When I probed it turned out that Mr R, in his sickbed, had requested a bowl of custard. Crumble and custard, spotted dick and custard? No, just custard.
Well call me old fashioned but in my book custard is a thing that you have with something. For example, steamed sponge and custard, apple pie and custard, bananas and custard.

“Call me old fashioned but in my book custard is a thing that you have with something”

Now there is a thought, developing language and all that. All of those items, common items, come with custard. I suggest that the word custard should be changed to be andcustard. Given that, I heartily disapprove of custard as a solo item, this minor change to the language would be highly appropriate and would also discourage the inappropriate eating of custard without an appropriate partner.

So what else can we dispense with or add to the language. Well who drinks gin solo? No one, okay so gin becomes ginand. This is fun. What can we get rid of? Well Planning Department could become Department That Says No. I know, it’s not shorter but it might be a tad more accurate given the number of people that whine to me about their applications.

So could we then rename the National Health Service the National Sick Service as they actually deal with sick people and not healthy ones? And while we are at it can we please dispense with the term Human Resources and go back to personnel? I think Human Resources sound like the trafficking of flesh rather than the care of employees.

I’m on a roll, the call for not using actress and waitress is fine by me, lets get rid of Mrs and Miss and Ms at the same time, Mr too for that matter, and just have a common M. For all. Now that is a tidy concept.

Of course I am merely jesting, I rather like the quirks of the English language. I like the complexities, the silent letters and the words that sound the same but have different spellings. I enjoy knowing that English, as a second language is amongst the hardest language to learn. So this is M.K signing off, bye.

Ali Saber is a businessman who chooses not to wear a formal suit. He would rather adopt the fashionable London style of wearing a good shirt and jacket over a pair of smart denims, but strictly no tie. And it’s a good look: sharp, modern and inoffensive.

Over the last year it has also been a look that has served him well, helping him to move in the monied circles that he needed to, in order to establish himself and his new business.
Ali trained as a financial adviser at Charcol.

“I was older than everyone else when I started, and I always felt that I was behind and had to catch up,” he says. “In my heart I believe I am a consumer champion. I can’t just sit back; I have
to make things happen. All of the institutions that govern what we do in the finance world have rules, that is very important. But they are bureaucrats, and sometimes you have to take them on.’’

The core of Marcot is financial services, finding mortgages for people as well as insurance. Ali is quick to point out that some companies who claim that they can find a mortgage for anyone – no matter what – may not be being very clear. “It is possible to find mortgages, but in some cases the terms offered would be crazy. In my role I should advise some people that a mortgage is not always the right route.’

So why, in a declining market, did Ali decided to go it alone? “I was made redundant and it was not a nice feeling. I was not alone, and at that time I saw a lot of people in the industry burn. My outlook was that I needed to see hope. In tough times you need to be smarter, so I took the skills that I had learned and I applied them to a market that I thought may give a return. For the last year I have been working in Mayfair in London developing my contacts and carving a business niche for myself. It led me to discover that their was an opportunity for me as a property search agent, working at the top end of the market. In Mayfair that is pretty smart, and it does mean that in this field I seldom deal with properties priced under one million pounds.

“In my heart I believe I
am a consumer champion. I can’t just sit back; I have to make things happen”

“The service I offer is very popular with overseas clients, and especially those with children who have come here to study and take advantage of our excellent education system. For them, buying a property is a far more sensible investment than renting and they are all very keen to have investments in the UK property market right now.”

So what Ali does is a combination of finding finance and finding homes? “Yes, and I do believe in the idea that these are homes and not just business investments. When I am doing a property search for a client it is key to any success that I go along and, through interviewing them, find out exactly what their needs and actual requirements are.

“It is becoming easier, once again, to find mortgages for most people. And although I operate at the luxury end of the property search market I do find mortgages at the lower end too. With the economy coming out of a financial life support system banks have adjusted and they need to lend.”

Ali’s approach is pretty down to earth. “I want to give advice you can trust,” he continues. “My personal belief is that we may be coming through this crisis, but it won’t ever be the same as before with people lending ridiculous amounts of money to people who clearly have not been able to pay it back. That said, mortgages and re-mortgages are starting to come back.

“Right now, the property search element of Marcot is really working for me. I am not just an advisor but far more entrepreneurial. I like to have a trim business. I see that, in a way, as a reflection of my personal life which, physically I have trimmed down massively. Losing weight was something I knew I had to do and doing it whilst setting up Marcot seemed an ideal idea.”

Ali is ambitious but, I sense, not greedy. He has ideas that he has gleaned from idealistic business manuals. “The book that changed my life was How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis.” He quotes: “‘Those who say it cannot be done should get out of the way and let those who are doing it do it.’” It’s a statement that rings true.

“Marcot may be a small company but it has energy and determination to grow fast. I will do whatever I can for a client – but I will not bend the rules. Everything we do is checked for compliance. I have a desire to be independent despite the fact that we currently operate as part of a financial network; an umbrella company that gives both me and my clients protection.

“Being in London inspired me to build a future. I made good contacts with top estate agents and solicitors. I was very proud that when I worked for a large organisation I did not get the award for making the most money for the company, but I did get an award for treating customers fairly based on lots of very positive customer feedback. I don’t do the hard aggressive sales tactic: pressured sales do not work. I would rather think of clients as family, then I have to do my best and they have to trust me.

“It’s very satisfying to see the face of someone you have helped. This is a far more responsible but harder market than before, but I like to work hard and enjoy the benefits. Right now I still have a long way to go, but it is certainly happening and I am enjoying that.”

Ali Saber and his company Marcot are set to offer a very special and personal service to clients, not only in the finance and home sector, but also with commercial properties and property investments. He is a man who has set himself targets, the five stone weight loss was simply the start, but having conquered that he now seems ready to challenge the world.

Marcot, Enterprise House, 83a Western Road, Hove, BN3 1JB, 01273 764717, www.marcot.net

Ren double duvet cover £45; Housewife pillowcase £10; Pink standard pillowcase £7; Barrel glass vase £12/10, all by Linea for House of Fraser, www.hof.co.uk

Bold, bright and beautiful,

Ben de Lisi polka dot green and red cushions £10 each; Ella dog cushions, purple and green, £18 each; Spots green mug £5; Red Ella dog mug £5; Green fleece throw £30, all www.debenhams.com

Nature calls

Floral fabric £14.99 per metre, www.jeffbanks.co.uk

Home comforts

Mister Smith, 23 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1UF, 01273 605574

Re-cover, re-use, recyle

Mister Smith, 23 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1UF, 01273 605574

It takes 27 Charlie And Lola’s to get to Cornwall. I know this, not because we’ve got some portable DVD player, but because it’s how The Boy measures time, a modern variant on ‘Are we there yet?’

After 18 Charlie And Lola’s, we realised we’d forgotten the Youngest’s ‘special chair’, the one that means he can be awake and you can still do stuff. Just as chaos theory states a butterfly flapping wings on one side of the world can cause a tsunami on the other, so forgetting to load colourful plastic into the car in Sussex leads to chaos in Cornwall.

On Monday we went to the Eden Project. I left two things in the car, half an uphill mile away: the pram rain cover (deliberately, it was sunny, although cold) and the tickets (accidentally). A butterfly must have been flapping its trouble-causing wings again because when we arrived at the visitor centre the rain was hammering down. And we needed those tickets.

“We’re in the rainforest, so The Boy instantly strips off to his vest, like some sort of mini Bruce Willis”

Finally, we got to see the biomes, and other stresses melted away. These are majestic structures, as striking as I’d imagined and all the more impressive for being built inside a quarry. Inside, they’re a botanical feat. We’re in the rainforest, so The Boy instantly strips off to his vest, like some sort of mini Bruce Willis. (Die Hard With An Eco-Conscience? Slated by the critics for an hour-long scene when our hero sorts rubbish into plastics, paper and glass?) Back to reality, and the biome is perfect for a five-month old in one sense (lying on his back in the pram is ideal for gazing at the magnificent glass ceiling), but problematic in another (how to regulate a baby’s temperature in both climates: Cornwall in February and the rainforest?)

Later, we head for Mevagissey, a nostalgic trip as me and my wife camped near there 12 years ago. We promise The Boy an ice cream after his tea. As other parents will know, restaurants don’t give hot water, so we wait – ages –
as they disappear to heat the milk to room temperature. When it arrives, it’s far too hot. We ask for cold water to cool it down. We wait ages again. I then get into a row when the waitress accuses me of somehow making the milk hotter than when she gave it to me. We eat our food annoyed, wanting to leave asap, when The Boy reminds us we’d promised him ice cream. He’s not budging. I know it will only take one Lola (five minutes) for him to eat it, but having argued with the bar staff, I feel a proper Charlie going to order it.

A past tradition was to collect and store things for a girl’s future marriage. It was usually a family heirloom: Grandma’s linen tablecloth or such. (Perhaps what poorer families practised if they didn’t have property to leave behind?) It was something you received when you flew the nest, to help make your own nest. I always remembered mine was wrapped in old newspaper and stored in a box in my parents’ kitchen. My mum had shown it to me when I was a little girl: “One day this will be yours!” I had so wanted to play with it, but my mother wrapped it back up and was adamant that it was a gift for marriage.

I had forgotten about it until recently my mother said: “I’m doing a clear out, so do you want this teapot, then?” I don’t own a teapot, so taking off the 1970s newspaper shielding it from dust for 30 years, I was actually excited.

“Even when I was seven, my mother didn’t believe I would ever need a teapot for two”

When you are little everything seems bigger; the stairs at your old house seem huge looming up above you. Washing hands, you used to struggle to step up to the sink. Now you look down at the sink like a giant. The stairs are twee and now only take three strides to step down. Well, it was kinda similar with the teapot. I towered over the teapot; it was tiny. I looked at my mum. “You bought me a teapot for one? For my marriage?!” I never married. Did my mum predict the future or manifest it?

The pure white china teapot for one sat there delicately on the kitchen table, amongst playdough and toddlers toys, like an old spinster lady at a noisy family party. I think it trembled. If it could have spoken it would have said: “It’s not my fault you never got married! Come on, let’s have a nice cup of tea, er, but make your mother’s in a mug, as I haven’t got much room in here…”

Typical, even when I was seven, my mother didn’t believe I would ever need a teapot for two. Then why did she bother buying/storing it for three decades? I can only imagine she was a confused hippie at the time, all that lentil/mushroom consumption leading her to believe the teapot was much bigger. Perhaps she knew it was a teapot for one and after seeing the way I interacted within relationships at seven years old didn’t hold much hope for marriage. Or maybe she was reading Germaine Greer at the time, burnt her bra, smashed the teapot for two, and replaced it with my teapot wearing a banner that said ‘Why can’t women drink tea on their own?’ and chanting: “We women refuse to be confined to tea-making stereotypes! We have the right to drink tea independently!” Call me old fashioned but I wish she’d got me a teapot for two…

Two years ago, I wrote about the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Connaught Centre on Connaught Road in Hove. The building’s owners, City College, were looking to consolidate their property portfolio which may well have led to the Connaught’s sale and demolition. If Ninka Willcock and her Brighton Society colleagues and contacts hadn’t stepped in to campaign for listing then perhaps the site would now be home to a Tesco petrol station.

The Connaught Centre began as Connaught Road School and opened in 1884. Separate entrances existed for teachers, junior boys, junior girls and mixed infants. It was built by John T. Chappell and designed by Thomas Simpson at a total cost of £12,180. A pleasing mixture of red bricks, yellow bricks and terracotta leaves us in no doubt that Simpson went above and beyond the call of duty. Grand gables, huge windows and no gap between façade and pavement stamp the building’s authority on its surroundings. Simpson was also responsible for Finsbury Road School, Downs Junior School and St. Luke’s School in Brighton, but the Connaught is his only surviving building in Hove. It is an excellent example of a Queen Anne-style school and is generally well preserved internally and externally. These features strengthened the case for listing.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for listing buildings of ‘special architectural or historic interest’ and is advised by English Heritage and other organisations when assessing applications. Around half a million buildings feature in the register which is published by the Secretary of State’s Department. A register of local listed buildings is kept by Brighton & Hove City Council though.

The Connaught Centre was awarded Grade II Listed status last year – its 125th birthday in fact! A listed building should not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission but this level of protection mustn’t be taken for granted. Listed buildings do vanish. Indeed, look at the Grade I Listed West Pier.

A number of events, displays and competitions are being held at the Connaught Centre on Saturday 20th March to celebrate the building’s 125th year. Research on the building is still being undertaken and members of the public are being encouraged to bring along any interesting documents or photographs.

For details on the celebrations, see www.connaughtcentre125.blogspot.com or call 01273 667744. The Victorian School Experience for ‘children of all ages’ certainly does sound like fun.

Get in touch: robert@buildingopinions.com or www.buildingopinions.comsystem