Any UK kitchen fitters out there?

Jackie B

I've been told that its cheaper to fit a completely new kitchen if I buy the full units from a trade company than just replace the doors from a company such as B&Q. Is this right? I thought just doors would be cheaper....

Answer
Doors are expensive. They know that a lot of people will just change doors to give their kitchen a new look so are outrageously priced to suit.
The base units (Carcas) are not too cheap either.
I'm sure you could get the basics cheaper from trade than a full set of doors from B&Q. You need to shop around. Like I will soon too. Last time I bought a kitchen, I found the exact same kitchen in a "Trade DIY" store and also in Focus DIY. The brochures had the same picture, but one was literally reversed!
The Focus price was 10% cheaper, but the worktops in Focus were crap. We bought the worktops from the trade place because they had a vast range, and also cut the "Scribe joint" for about £25 including the three barrel/pull nuts for the join. Go for the scribe joint, the olde worlde style jointing plates look crap once you've seen the worktop joined properly with a pre-cut scribe joint.
BTW, not a kitchen fitter but fitted 4, 5th coming up 2007 late.
.

Has anyone ever used a picnic set and would you recommend getting one?

dnrally

I am looking into buying a picnic set so I can use it for car camping. I am trying to decide if it is worth it or should I just pack a bunch of my own and put it in a sack. I like the idea of having a carrier, of keeping all the cutlery and stuff in one place, and I like having all that set aside just for camping.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Answer
Looks nice at Henley with a straw boater....Luton Boater I should say....and a nice tartan or gingham cloth on the ground.

Otherwise just pack you own stuff. It's a lot more convenient, a lot cheaper, and you pack what you want instead of taking everything with you every time.
There's good kit around for outdoor eating. Far removed from the days of enamel mugs and plates, and good enough to use at home.
Lovely stuff around now.
Nice designs and lots of choice, so just get what you need or want.
I've been camping, walking and cycling, most of my life but for visiting my family we go on differently.
Luxury stuff. In a car....hehe.
We do a lot of long car trips all over UK, and to be quite honest a decent cardboard box or a couple of carrier bags does a better job than a wicker basket. You can use large sandwich bags or white bin liners for wrapping and keeping things seperate, and take a square or oblong bowl for washing up even and put the box in it. We do.
And you can chuck the boxes and bags if they get spoiled or worn.
More free ones available anytime.
Have a good time.
Eating al fresco is OK...well Al didn't think so till we told him what it meant...
....have fun.

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What is the cheaper option, Marquee or Hotel reception?

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ShaunaP

tryin to have a low cost wedding reception due to huge family :/

we are aware that often the cheapest hotel or room available for a wedding reception is not very nice looking and almost worth paying more for a nicer room - but then the meal is a rip off

however

we were wondering would it be cheaper to hire a nice big marquee and have family do the catering, we have land which we could use, iv no idea how much they are on average :/ (UK)

wot u guys think?

Answer
There is no hard and fast rule.

Who are you hiring the marquee from?
How big is it?
Do they set up or do you?
Do you need a floor?
Do you need to hire other equiptment (tables, chairs, bain marie, glasswear, plates etc?

Which hotel are you considering?
How big is the room?
Do they do the catering or can you choose your own?
Whats included?

Etc. So you can see how many variable there are that may effect the price.
I would suggest you go get some quotes. It can work out very similar or very different in price defending on what you want.

Personally I think the hotel is good only because they usually include the extras (tables, chairs, glasswear, cutlery, crockery) which can all add up.

Where can I find the famous Gerald Ratner speech of 1991?

Truman

The one where he says "People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?", I say, "because it's total crap".

Answer
Gerald Ratner, the former retail tycoon responsible for one of the most famous gaffes in corporate history, is hoping to relaunch his career on the internet.

----------------------------------------

Although widely regarded as "tacky," the UK-based Ratners chain of jewelry stores shops was nevertheless extremely popular with the British public. That was until Chairman Gerald Ratner's now famous speech at the UK Institute of Directors in April 1991. During which, Gerry muttered this now-famous phrase:

âWe also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95.
People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?"
I say, because it's total crap."

-------------------------------------------------

In 1991 Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an everyday
speech at the Institute of Directors. Should have been. When the words "total
crap" come out of his mouth in connection with a decanter and glasses set sold by
his company, H. Samuel, it all turned out slightly different. The Rise and Fall...And
Rise Again tells the full story, in Gerald Ratner's own words, of what lead him to
that point at the IoD, the horror of what happened in the immediate aftermath,
the fallout and the comeback. This is the fi rst time Gerald Ratner has given his side
of the story. And what a story it is. You'll fi nd out:
* How he wiped £500m off the value of his own company virtually overnight
* All the details about the initial gaffe and how he compounded it by remarking
that some of the earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but
probably wouldn't last as long"
* How "doing a Ratner" has entered into the vocabulary of British business
* The wilderness years sitting glued to the sofa in front of Countdown
* How he has bounced back, rediscovering his entrepreneurial spark by building
up a health club business and, more recently, the immensely successful online
jewellery retailer Geraldonline.com
* The story's not over yet...

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How do you introduce silver ware and plates?

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~Lil' MaMA

My daughter is 1 years old and I gave her a bowl today and she did exactly what I thought she would do. She took the bowl and dumped it in her lap. she thought it was funny.

Answer
Suction bowls!! And suction cutlery. I got this set:
http://www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/product.aspx?CategoryID=practicalproducts&ProductID=81711&language=en-GB

It was well worth it as it really clings on. Some of the cheaper ones you can buy in the supermarket aren't so great so I recommend getting this one despite the price as it worked for us for months. I started her on it at a year or so and I don't think I gave her a bowl without suction till she was well over 2 years. It's not just the mess that's a problem, it's the food wastage I couldn't stand. To have an entire dinner wasted in one go just broke my heart. You still need a plastic mat on the floor as they will still reach in the bowl and grab a handful and throw it, but at least that isn't the whole lot just like that!

Or you could put only a small bit at a time in the bowl till they are ready. I also switched to whole foods rather than soggy foods till she got the idea, like toast or fish fingers in their bowl and reserve the messy stuff for spoon feeding still. Work up in small stages till they are used to the transition.

This set comes with a spoon and a fork, but the fork is so like a spoon that it is good to use both as you never know which hand the child will want to use so it is good to have one on each side. My daughter is 2 1/2 now and has started requesting a knife as they use them in nursery, so it will be quite a while till you need to get on to those.

Good luck with it!

My fiance and I are planning to be married in October. Does anyone have any thrifty ideas?

maery

We're kind of tight on cash. I'm looking for suggestions and ideas to pull off something nice but very reasonably priced. DIY ideas welcome as well!! Thanks!

Answer
I got married last December and did a lot of it on a budget as we were paying for it. I know that because I live in the UK how we have weddings over here may be in some way different to in the US or Australia but the principals are probably the same :)
first of all make a list of the 'must haves' - the things you have to have to make it your day; you want to do it as cheap as possible but you also dont want to look back in the future and think 'I wish we'd had....' as you can't go back and re-do it. that said, don't lose sight of what the day is about - you and your partner making a life-long commitment in front of family and friends.
For starters, we made out own invitations - buying the card, paper and decorations from ebay and online craft stores. i am not a 'crafty' person but with some practice had made something no one else would have. I got some plain card, printed the inserts on the home computer on paper sheerts and attached them using silver cord that i tied in a bow, with silver beads threaded on to the cord. Glued some red hearts and stamped the wording on the front and voila... enlist the help of friends and your partner and you're set ;) I bought the place cards online and hand wrote them with silver pen - but some people let people sit wherever so you dont need place cards and I didnt bother with a seating chart. i made the favours, buying bits from ebay, including the sweets to go inside. I also made small table gifts, which were fun 'toys' I got from ebay and wrapped in silver paper then got my sister and nice (bridesmaids) to give them out when they were seated, as an ice breaker - it was Christmas season so it seemed apt and people loved them.
My dress was a bridesmaids dress, cos I wanted a simple strapless red gown and the one I chose was just right. It wasnt second hand, it was off the peg but the shop took it in to fit me and I loved it. My hubbie got his suit and his brothers best man suit from an outlet, so that was cheaper. My tiara was from ebay, as was my bag and I bought gorgeous artificial cala lilly bouquet from ebay - bonus being I get to keep it forever - no bouquet tossing for me! :P
We had our wedding in the afternoon, straight away cutting costs for everyone, and chose a venue we could hire for free - they recoup their costs through the bar bill, food etc. I invited only family and very close friends to the wedding breakfast and went for the menu that would suit most tastes - no one will remember if you had fancy nibbles or if they had a fancy plate of something unprounounceable... they will remember if it was edible and thats about it :P
I had one free drink for each of the wedding breakfast and included in the budget wine to go with the meals, but for the toast gave the guests sparkling chardonnay and only had champagne for the top table - no one noticed the difference. I didnt have an open bar and no one expected it - its an unneccesary expense and weddings cost enough as it is, plus its not a tradition over in the UK.
I had a DJ quite cheap through the venue but the ipod idea is great and make your own cd to be played while you eat. The crockery and glasses and stuff came from the venue.
I negotiated with the venue re table decorations but i would say you dont need to go OTT with those and can make your own - no one will remember them and a couple of fish bowls with bear grass and gerberas looked really effective - in the evening they were put on the bar with tea light candles in, which are super cheap to buy from Ikea.
My photographer and I negotiated too, and I settled on a DVD only deal, which means I get all the pictures and can print out what i want when i want. I limited his time with us as luckily our venue had an in-house photogrpaher who took pictures of the evening guests, as I think its great to have pics of everyone there - but you can aks guests to give you copies of theres and may be worth putting blank recordable discs on the tables with little cards inviting people to take them home and out their pics on their then send them back to you - people really dont mind.
The cake I found via the internet - a lot of it was done over the internet because I was being married miles from where I live - but shop bought cakes can be as good and you can buy decorations to go on there from most supermarkets. I didnt have a videographer as I am camera shy but thats personal preference - i did consider hiring or borrowing a camera and asking a friend to do it.
I didnt go crazy on a honeymoon - we had a 'mini moon', which was cheaper and closer to home but no less special.
i think that covers most things.. theres also a site called 'myweddingpath' which lets you build your own pages for free, really easy to use and is a handy way for people to RSVP, get involved with the planning etc.
Good luck and have a great great day :)

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Has anyone ever used a picnic set and would you recommend getting one?

cheap plates sets uk image

dnrally

I am looking into buying a picnic set so I can use it for car camping. I am trying to decide if it is worth it or should I just pack a bunch of my own and put it in a sack. I like the idea of having a carrier, of keeping all the cutlery and stuff in one place, and I like having all that set aside just for camping.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Answer
Looks nice at Henley with a straw boater....Luton Boater I should say....and a nice tartan or gingham cloth on the ground.

Otherwise just pack you own stuff. It's a lot more convenient, a lot cheaper, and you pack what you want instead of taking everything with you every time.
There's good kit around for outdoor eating. Far removed from the days of enamel mugs and plates, and good enough to use at home.
Lovely stuff around now.
Nice designs and lots of choice, so just get what you need or want.
I've been camping, walking and cycling, most of my life but for visiting my family we go on differently.
Luxury stuff. In a car....hehe.
We do a lot of long car trips all over UK, and to be quite honest a decent cardboard box or a couple of carrier bags does a better job than a wicker basket. You can use large sandwich bags or white bin liners for wrapping and keeping things seperate, and take a square or oblong bowl for washing up even and put the box in it. We do.
And you can chuck the boxes and bags if they get spoiled or worn.
More free ones available anytime.
Have a good time.
Eating al fresco is OK...well Al didn't think so till we told him what it meant...
....have fun.

How do you introduce silver ware and plates?

~Lil' MaMA

My daughter is 1 years old and I gave her a bowl today and she did exactly what I thought she would do. She took the bowl and dumped it in her lap. she thought it was funny.

Answer
Suction bowls!! And suction cutlery. I got this set:
http://www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/product.aspx?CategoryID=practicalproducts&ProductID=81711&language=en-GB

It was well worth it as it really clings on. Some of the cheaper ones you can buy in the supermarket aren't so great so I recommend getting this one despite the price as it worked for us for months. I started her on it at a year or so and I don't think I gave her a bowl without suction till she was well over 2 years. It's not just the mess that's a problem, it's the food wastage I couldn't stand. To have an entire dinner wasted in one go just broke my heart. You still need a plastic mat on the floor as they will still reach in the bowl and grab a handful and throw it, but at least that isn't the whole lot just like that!

Or you could put only a small bit at a time in the bowl till they are ready. I also switched to whole foods rather than soggy foods till she got the idea, like toast or fish fingers in their bowl and reserve the messy stuff for spoon feeding still. Work up in small stages till they are used to the transition.

This set comes with a spoon and a fork, but the fork is so like a spoon that it is good to use both as you never know which hand the child will want to use so it is good to have one on each side. My daughter is 2 1/2 now and has started requesting a knife as they use them in nursery, so it will be quite a while till you need to get on to those.

Good luck with it!

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