Wow! I am amazed how long it has been since a blog update! Shows what a busy schedule and being a new parent does for you, not that I would change anything but hey, I have missed a lot of blog time! There has been an awful lot happening over the last few months (nearly a year!) and it’s almost impossible to even start beginning a blog discussion on these.
In terms of us here at Spareground towers, we have gone a bit quiet but we have not gone away. There are two of us who do this site solely in our spare time, both of us also hold down full time jobs and have a very busy family life. In any case, we are still here doing things in the background and planning and scheming all sorts of things to make this site get more coverage and appeal and better to use all the time.
One of our aims is to make sure we make people know about this website in time for the Olympics. We already have a lot of London listings now for accommodation and parking and we aim to target the Olympics specifically so users can just rent out their property, parking garages etc for this time. Of course, we all know it is not just London who will benefit from the Olympics in 2012, there are a host of other events happening throughout the country and no doubt a lot of our visitors to these shores may stay on and extend their holiday time.
The upcoming Royal Wedding is also an event that those living in and around London may benefit from. Only this morning on BBC, there was a discussion of how Londoners could make money by renting out their property for the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, no reason why those who own parking spaces couldn’t do likewise!
We have been approached by a few magazines and newspapers over the last week or so about how users can use the site to make themselves some extra cash so keep an eye out for those.
Finally if any of you have some Spareground success stories then we would love to know about them. We’d love to build a success story portfolio that we can use to share with the media and if you would like to be part of that, whether as a known or an anonymous user then do let us know.
In the meantime, keep spreading the word! We’ve been around a good while before David Cameron came up with his Big Society idea,…perhaps I ought to let him know we have a group of people here already making the most of what they have!
www.spareground.co.uk
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Monday, 19 April 2010
Bringing us back to earth with a bump
...or thankfully not in the literal sense, as was anticipated could be the case for planes flying over UK and European airspace in the last few days.
No doubt the ash crisis has been an enormous inconvenience for a huge number of people, hundreds of thousands of which are still stranded in places they no longer wish to be.
I know a few still struggling to get back to Blighty but the resolve shown by many more in working their way closer to home has been admirable to say the least (plus expensive in a lot of cases).
Now I do not wish to poke the embers further but in some ways, I don't think this volcano erruption in Iceland has necessarily been a bad thing (aside from people's financial losses); no one has died from it, and it has quite simply, put us back in our places and made us realise it is not us who are in charge in this world.
What have we realised? Well, it is much nicer having quieter skies and hearing the birds again for starters, and do we generally need to undertake the amount of trips we do take? Even with the advances in online conferencing, there are thousands of business trips being made daily, and at a random guess, I would imagine a good 50% could be done via telecon facilities etc.
There will be disruptions to businesses awaiting goods from overseas, from food commodities to pharmaceuticals so getting goods to our our shelves may very well see a knock on effect soon.
It has shown us quite simply how much we depend on and are used to the availability of air travel.
Maybe now we ought to re-assess what we really need without relying on air travel.
Do we need all these food imports, could we not simply grow our own and eat in accordance with the seasons? Use sites like Sparegound or Landshare and take charge of your food production, it actually feels pretty good to do that!
Could we not generally save on travel costs and car share where possible, I know a lot of people have already offered such services via twitter and other social media during this 'crisis' .
Look to buy local or UK produced products whenever possible.
Holiday in the UK! Get some money pumping back into the UK economy, we have a fantastic and beautiful country and we all ought to appreciate it a bit more. Dust down that tent and get some fresh air in the lungs!
Enough people have shown that UK 'plucky resolve' this last few days, ..we are not a bad bunch at all.
p.s. as to how some newspapers can somehow lay blame onto Gordon Brown for this is laughable. Journalism at its very worst.
http://www.spareground.co.uk/
No doubt the ash crisis has been an enormous inconvenience for a huge number of people, hundreds of thousands of which are still stranded in places they no longer wish to be.
I know a few still struggling to get back to Blighty but the resolve shown by many more in working their way closer to home has been admirable to say the least (plus expensive in a lot of cases).
Now I do not wish to poke the embers further but in some ways, I don't think this volcano erruption in Iceland has necessarily been a bad thing (aside from people's financial losses); no one has died from it, and it has quite simply, put us back in our places and made us realise it is not us who are in charge in this world.
What have we realised? Well, it is much nicer having quieter skies and hearing the birds again for starters, and do we generally need to undertake the amount of trips we do take? Even with the advances in online conferencing, there are thousands of business trips being made daily, and at a random guess, I would imagine a good 50% could be done via telecon facilities etc.
There will be disruptions to businesses awaiting goods from overseas, from food commodities to pharmaceuticals so getting goods to our our shelves may very well see a knock on effect soon.
It has shown us quite simply how much we depend on and are used to the availability of air travel.
Maybe now we ought to re-assess what we really need without relying on air travel.
Do we need all these food imports, could we not simply grow our own and eat in accordance with the seasons? Use sites like Sparegound or Landshare and take charge of your food production, it actually feels pretty good to do that!
Could we not generally save on travel costs and car share where possible, I know a lot of people have already offered such services via twitter and other social media during this 'crisis' .
Look to buy local or UK produced products whenever possible.
Holiday in the UK! Get some money pumping back into the UK economy, we have a fantastic and beautiful country and we all ought to appreciate it a bit more. Dust down that tent and get some fresh air in the lungs!
Enough people have shown that UK 'plucky resolve' this last few days, ..we are not a bad bunch at all.
p.s. as to how some newspapers can somehow lay blame onto Gordon Brown for this is laughable. Journalism at its very worst.
http://www.spareground.co.uk/
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Happy New Year from Spareground
Wow! Where did December go?!? Had hoped to get a blog post squeezed in before Christmas but alas time was not on my side.
It was a very busy month for me, lots of exciting things happened family wise and Spareground took a bit of a back seat ride but still,…we’re back on track now.
A lot of money making websites have been encouraging people to look after their money better and make more of it as their New Year’s Resolution and we have had a good few mentions which is always nice. (Thank you lovemoney !)
Of course, we fully support it too, renting out your parking space, your driveway, your storage such as an unused shed or barn, your land or even renting out your house or room is always a good way to make some extra money. Over the last year, we have seen some pretty innovative listings on the site too which we really love. Some of our favourites are a log cabin in London, band rehearsal space in Lincs and a room for piano lessons or supper clubs in Newport!
We are also keen for people to think about using the website to raise money for charities, and other fund raising projects. There is no reason why if you are a school or sports club or other organisation that you can’t use Spareground for fund raising purposes. It would be lovely to see it happen!
What we also need to get across too, you don’t have to charge! I know! Free?! ? Well, if you list a garden for veg growing purposes, accept a trade of garden goods for use of the land.
In Hilary Benn’s Defra report Food 2030 the proposal is put forward to get a ‘land bank’ for people to list and search for spare land. This is nice but it already exists within Spareground, Landshare and locally based garden share schemes up and down the country. Is there really need to regurgitate what is already there and peddle it as a Government initiative. Use Spareground!
Onto other things, October 2010 sees the arrival of the golf Ryder Cup in Newport and this is a great opportunity for the people in this area to rent their space and make some money. Visitors to the area will be keen for any Ryder Cup accommodation and parking offers available so now is the time to start thinking about it.
Right, I am wondering if Cambridge is going to miss this impending snow dump, so far we seem to have been missed entirely. Good job I stocked up on the tins of Spam this morning!
www.spareground.co.uk
It was a very busy month for me, lots of exciting things happened family wise and Spareground took a bit of a back seat ride but still,…we’re back on track now.
A lot of money making websites have been encouraging people to look after their money better and make more of it as their New Year’s Resolution and we have had a good few mentions which is always nice. (Thank you lovemoney !)
Of course, we fully support it too, renting out your parking space, your driveway, your storage such as an unused shed or barn, your land or even renting out your house or room is always a good way to make some extra money. Over the last year, we have seen some pretty innovative listings on the site too which we really love. Some of our favourites are a log cabin in London, band rehearsal space in Lincs and a room for piano lessons or supper clubs in Newport!
We are also keen for people to think about using the website to raise money for charities, and other fund raising projects. There is no reason why if you are a school or sports club or other organisation that you can’t use Spareground for fund raising purposes. It would be lovely to see it happen!
What we also need to get across too, you don’t have to charge! I know! Free?! ? Well, if you list a garden for veg growing purposes, accept a trade of garden goods for use of the land.
In Hilary Benn’s Defra report Food 2030 the proposal is put forward to get a ‘land bank’ for people to list and search for spare land. This is nice but it already exists within Spareground, Landshare and locally based garden share schemes up and down the country. Is there really need to regurgitate what is already there and peddle it as a Government initiative. Use Spareground!
Onto other things, October 2010 sees the arrival of the golf Ryder Cup in Newport and this is a great opportunity for the people in this area to rent their space and make some money. Visitors to the area will be keen for any Ryder Cup accommodation and parking offers available so now is the time to start thinking about it.
Right, I am wondering if Cambridge is going to miss this impending snow dump, so far we seem to have been missed entirely. Good job I stocked up on the tins of Spam this morning!
www.spareground.co.uk
Monday, 23 November 2009
Updates, Enterprise and Christmas!
Catch up
It’s been a very busy few weeks on all fronts and it’s a dark rainy Cambridge morning now where I finally get clicking on this keyboard!
At Spareground towers , we’ve been looking into ways of improving the website and after sending out consultations to various individuals and groups such as the UK business forums, we now have our Version 3 designed which will be fully launched in the New Year. There are a few things we have been aware of but it’s been a good process in gleaning peoples’ viewpoints. What has been encouraging is everyone has commented on the fact that they really like the concept of the website so that’s very encouraging to hear.
We have also now partnered up with the Green Christmas Appeal which is a great idea and venture. Good luck to them and we hope it’s successful. Do take a look at their website, and if you do decide to buy a tree or anything else from their shop then you can take advantage of the current discount offer of 33% by entering ‘spareground’ in the discount code box. Please look and please support if you can!
Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be at the Home Business Enterprise Nation conference in London. It was really enjoyable meeting up with others who has set up businesses and with a number of top notch speakers (Mike Finnegan and Doug Richard of Dragon’s den to name a few), it was pretty inspiring stuff! So, I now have my head filled with a load of things to promote Spareground and get it more known throughout the UK! Watch this space!
As always, I am continually surprised by the ingenuity of users in the creation of their listings. In addition to parking spaces to let, garages and driveways to rent, gardens and greenhouses to let or landshare options, storage space and properties per se, we now have on the Spareground website a rural meadow for wedding or other functions and even a room with a piano for lessons or even a dinner party (there is a kitchen available for use too!). People really are looking at their spare space, amazing stuff and keep them coming!
Right, Christmas shopping lists to get sorted now so until next time….
www.spareground.co.uk
It’s been a very busy few weeks on all fronts and it’s a dark rainy Cambridge morning now where I finally get clicking on this keyboard!
At Spareground towers , we’ve been looking into ways of improving the website and after sending out consultations to various individuals and groups such as the UK business forums, we now have our Version 3 designed which will be fully launched in the New Year. There are a few things we have been aware of but it’s been a good process in gleaning peoples’ viewpoints. What has been encouraging is everyone has commented on the fact that they really like the concept of the website so that’s very encouraging to hear.
We have also now partnered up with the Green Christmas Appeal which is a great idea and venture. Good luck to them and we hope it’s successful. Do take a look at their website, and if you do decide to buy a tree or anything else from their shop then you can take advantage of the current discount offer of 33% by entering ‘spareground’ in the discount code box. Please look and please support if you can!
Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be at the Home Business Enterprise Nation conference in London. It was really enjoyable meeting up with others who has set up businesses and with a number of top notch speakers (Mike Finnegan and Doug Richard of Dragon’s den to name a few), it was pretty inspiring stuff! So, I now have my head filled with a load of things to promote Spareground and get it more known throughout the UK! Watch this space!
As always, I am continually surprised by the ingenuity of users in the creation of their listings. In addition to parking spaces to let, garages and driveways to rent, gardens and greenhouses to let or landshare options, storage space and properties per se, we now have on the Spareground website a rural meadow for wedding or other functions and even a room with a piano for lessons or even a dinner party (there is a kitchen available for use too!). People really are looking at their spare space, amazing stuff and keep them coming!
Right, Christmas shopping lists to get sorted now so until next time….
www.spareground.co.uk
Monday, 19 October 2009
Park and Run in Cambridge!
Last week the Cambridge Evening News published its article on the impending hike in car parking charges in Cambridge. Parking spaces in Cambridge are now likely to reach the £23 a day figure in the city which is hardly likely to be greeted with open arms. There is no easy solution to this, you have to ask why this figure has to be so ridiculously high and one would guess that the increase in fees (a 4% rise in income for the city council) are to be re-invested in increasing public transport into the city centre.
The much anticipated guided bus route will soon open and hopefully this will see further a reduction in the numbers of cars trying to park up in Cambridge centre. One would have hoped that any increase in parking charges could have been postponed at least until a review was made on the effectiveness of the guided bus route.
The Cambridge Evening News poll as to how people will respond found that 66.9% of people will look to go elsewhere, 26.5% will look for alternative transport and 6.6% will continue to pay the car parking fees.
Not pretty reading for Cambridge based businesses.
So! Those schools, churches, private business premises, and those with private driveways in the city, get your parking spaces for rent on Spareground!
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
This last week also saw Spareground featured on the Radio Surrey and Radio Sussex Sunday morning DigIt programme, it’s nice that the website is still attracting media interest and long may it continue!
My trip to Wales did not prove to be as successful as I had hoped in promoting Spareground but I won’t be giving up on it not by a long shot! I am still looking to promote it in every corner of the UK as it can only set to directly benefit most of the people at some stage. The more users we have then the better for everyone.
Yesterday also saw me complete my first 10K race. This was the first time that Cambridge has hosted a run10K for cancer research event and I really hope it goes ahead again next year. The weather was great, the course organisers did a fantastic job and the samba band playing their drums and their hearts out on Midsummer Common were brilliant! My body wasn’t feeling that great today though but I’m sure it’ll pass off at some stage.
Perhaps that what we need in Cambridge, lots of shower facilities somewhere so people can Park and Run! Park on the outskirts, run into town, shower and then get on with your daily business!
www.spareground.co.uk
The much anticipated guided bus route will soon open and hopefully this will see further a reduction in the numbers of cars trying to park up in Cambridge centre. One would have hoped that any increase in parking charges could have been postponed at least until a review was made on the effectiveness of the guided bus route.
The Cambridge Evening News poll as to how people will respond found that 66.9% of people will look to go elsewhere, 26.5% will look for alternative transport and 6.6% will continue to pay the car parking fees.
Not pretty reading for Cambridge based businesses.
So! Those schools, churches, private business premises, and those with private driveways in the city, get your parking spaces for rent on Spareground!
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
This last week also saw Spareground featured on the Radio Surrey and Radio Sussex Sunday morning DigIt programme, it’s nice that the website is still attracting media interest and long may it continue!
My trip to Wales did not prove to be as successful as I had hoped in promoting Spareground but I won’t be giving up on it not by a long shot! I am still looking to promote it in every corner of the UK as it can only set to directly benefit most of the people at some stage. The more users we have then the better for everyone.
Yesterday also saw me complete my first 10K race. This was the first time that Cambridge has hosted a run10K for cancer research event and I really hope it goes ahead again next year. The weather was great, the course organisers did a fantastic job and the samba band playing their drums and their hearts out on Midsummer Common were brilliant! My body wasn’t feeling that great today though but I’m sure it’ll pass off at some stage.
Perhaps that what we need in Cambridge, lots of shower facilities somewhere so people can Park and Run! Park on the outskirts, run into town, shower and then get on with your daily business!
www.spareground.co.uk
Monday, 5 October 2009
Bringing In The Sheaves
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve
Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves
When I was a kid, I used to love singing this in Sunday School,…I had no idea what “the sheaves” were but nevertheless I used to enjoy singing it with gusto and eyeing up the harvest produce display on the front altar. Back then, in the early 70s the sights of all that fruit was heaven to me! Unfortunately and a sign of the times, but it would probably generate rows of churned up faces of terror in a lot of kids.
My allotment this year has been rather bountiful in its yield, more so than we normally have and it’s been a hard job eating through what we had! A lot has been given away or frozen and we still have the butternut squash the cabbages and sprouts plus the parsnips to come too. We had none of any last year. I think I am one of the few people who squeals with delight when I see the arrival of sprouts on the shops! If I tell you I love you more than sprouts, then you know I really do!
The desire to get allotment space or garden space for growing produce still remains high and thankfully with Spareground and schemes such as Landshare, there are now options other than notoriously long waiting lists available for people to find this space. Lots of schools, churches and community groups are also seeking growing space as a way of educating both children and adults in growing food and appreciating it that bit more. My own nieces and nephews are involved in such schemes and whereas before, a lot of vegetables were considered to be the devil’s deeds, they are now far more open to at least trying what they have helped grow from seeds to something steaming in a pot on the cooker.
Long may it continue I say.
When I was a kid, I used to love singing this in Sunday School,…I had no idea what “the sheaves” were but nevertheless I used to enjoy singing it with gusto and eyeing up the harvest produce display on the front altar. Back then, in the early 70s the sights of all that fruit was heaven to me! Unfortunately and a sign of the times, but it would probably generate rows of churned up faces of terror in a lot of kids.
My allotment this year has been rather bountiful in its yield, more so than we normally have and it’s been a hard job eating through what we had! A lot has been given away or frozen and we still have the butternut squash the cabbages and sprouts plus the parsnips to come too. We had none of any last year. I think I am one of the few people who squeals with delight when I see the arrival of sprouts on the shops! If I tell you I love you more than sprouts, then you know I really do!
The desire to get allotment space or garden space for growing produce still remains high and thankfully with Spareground and schemes such as Landshare, there are now options other than notoriously long waiting lists available for people to find this space. Lots of schools, churches and community groups are also seeking growing space as a way of educating both children and adults in growing food and appreciating it that bit more. My own nieces and nephews are involved in such schemes and whereas before, a lot of vegetables were considered to be the devil’s deeds, they are now far more open to at least trying what they have helped grow from seeds to something steaming in a pot on the cooker.
Long may it continue I say.
Spareground has also through this year seen adverts for people seeking land for other uses such as keeping chickens or bees or other livestock, for grazing of horses etc and we have been surprised by the generous offers of free or very cheaply available land.
We have also had offers of land for camping, and for storage of large vehicles, boats, caravans etc so hopefully we will see the website continue to grow year upon year.
Now we are in the harvest season and the time for clearing space is on us, the time is probably right to list that piece of land you don’t use. Let someone help clear it for you and get some plans in place for growing season 2010.
My land clearing time is now intertwined with my 10K training. My legs seem to be permanently aching at the moment but I am sure it’s doing me some good! I will be running my first 10k in just over 2 weeks time for cancer research, so feel free to check my sponsor page if you so wish.
http://www.run10ksponsorme.org/annejones
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Check your insurance! fancy a spin in an Aston Martin?
This is not going to be a ‘War and Peace’ blog entry, these last few days have been pretty hectic and with some horrible lurgy working its way into my system, I have little energy to expend!
This week saw another radio interview; this time for BBC Radio Nottinghamshire on 21st Sept. Quite a good interview, questions I had not been asked before mainly concerning security of property etc and as I always say to people, if you are unsure about letting out to someone, then don’t go ahead. Seek further advice if necessary from your Citizens Advice Bureau or even your local police station and get signed agreements in place as to what is or what isn’t permitted.
This brings me onto another serious issue concerning insurance. If you are taking advantage of the Government's Rent A Room Scheme to earn upto an additional £4250 tax free a year then read on. There was an article published in last Sunday’s Observer which brought to light the amount of insurance companies which do not allow lodgers living in your home within the remit of their insurance policies. Any claim you make wirthout disclosing you have a lodger could be invalidated. Two of the main ones who totally oppose lodgers in your home seem to be Esure and More Than so if you are looking to rent a room in your house then you must check your insurance policy first. Give them a ring to clarify; if there are problems then there are lots of other insurance companies out there which will permit renting a room to lodgers. You will also need to find out of they have any criminal convictions. See the article for further details http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/sep/20/homeowners-student-lodgers
Finally, are you involved in sorting out corporate functions for your company or business? Then why not take a look at http://www.alanblencoweracing.com/
Alan kindly supports and links to our website, as we do to them, and he has emailed me to let me know they have an Aston Martin DB9 that they now use for corporate days, so if you’re interested then get in touch with him and he’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
Finally, our listings continue to grow, lots of offers of parking spaces, garden space, storage facilities including more caravan storage and even 10 acres of land in mid Wales for horses or cattle, along with storage facilities big enough for boat or caravan storage.
We also have our wanted list growing. If you have an unused garage, or workshop, cabin etc in London then there is a writer seeking such places as their workspace. Lots of wanted listings for storage of cars motorbikes caravans needed too!
Right off to watch TV…
http://www.spareground.co.uk/
p.s this blog entry turned out to be just as long as the others,….oh well..
This week saw another radio interview; this time for BBC Radio Nottinghamshire on 21st Sept. Quite a good interview, questions I had not been asked before mainly concerning security of property etc and as I always say to people, if you are unsure about letting out to someone, then don’t go ahead. Seek further advice if necessary from your Citizens Advice Bureau or even your local police station and get signed agreements in place as to what is or what isn’t permitted.
This brings me onto another serious issue concerning insurance. If you are taking advantage of the Government's Rent A Room Scheme to earn upto an additional £4250 tax free a year then read on. There was an article published in last Sunday’s Observer which brought to light the amount of insurance companies which do not allow lodgers living in your home within the remit of their insurance policies. Any claim you make wirthout disclosing you have a lodger could be invalidated. Two of the main ones who totally oppose lodgers in your home seem to be Esure and More Than so if you are looking to rent a room in your house then you must check your insurance policy first. Give them a ring to clarify; if there are problems then there are lots of other insurance companies out there which will permit renting a room to lodgers. You will also need to find out of they have any criminal convictions. See the article for further details http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/sep/20/homeowners-student-lodgers
Finally, are you involved in sorting out corporate functions for your company or business? Then why not take a look at http://www.alanblencoweracing.com/
Alan kindly supports and links to our website, as we do to them, and he has emailed me to let me know they have an Aston Martin DB9 that they now use for corporate days, so if you’re interested then get in touch with him and he’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
Finally, our listings continue to grow, lots of offers of parking spaces, garden space, storage facilities including more caravan storage and even 10 acres of land in mid Wales for horses or cattle, along with storage facilities big enough for boat or caravan storage.
We also have our wanted list growing. If you have an unused garage, or workshop, cabin etc in London then there is a writer seeking such places as their workspace. Lots of wanted listings for storage of cars motorbikes caravans needed too!
Right off to watch TV…
http://www.spareground.co.uk/
p.s this blog entry turned out to be just as long as the others,….oh well..
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