Keep your home safe over Christmas and the New Year

Empty houses and heaps of Christmas presents mean that December and January are the months people are most likely to be a burglary victim.

Homes are already filling up with presents while families make plans to visit friends and relatives over the festive period.

But the increased number of expensive items in our home and the longer hours they are left empty. A perfect opportunity for thieves.

But there is now a growing number of devices that can help in protecting your house and everything inside it.

Security-boosting devices include smart lighting systems that mimic your typical household lighting usage pattern while you're away, automated smoke-releasing generators, cameras with facial and number plate recognition, and sensors that learn your behaviour and notify you when something out of the ordinary happens.  All of these can be linked to your mobile phone via integrated smart home controllers.

Simon Mathieson of Finite Solutions North West points out:  “Nothing concerns us more than the fear of someone breaking into our own home, yet very few homeowners know about an intruder until they are already inside.

"A simply burglar alarm system is no longer a good enough warning for homeowners or deterrent for burglars as research commissioned by GoCompare last year concluded that over three quarters of brits ignore burglar alarm sirens on neighbours’ homes.

“A bespoke smart home solution can provide the benefits of intelligent entertainment and lighting but it can also provide peace of mind. It allows you to see, hear and check on your home at all times and warns you of the presence of an intruder as soon as they step foot in your garden.

“A good integrated home security system can be automated to arm/disarm itself through sensors inside and outside the house. Smart home systems also provide a view of the CCTV cameras and door entry systems, allowing you to remotely open the door and let people in.

“An exterior perimeter heat or mass based detection system surrounding a property will warn whenever an intruder steps foot in your grounds by displaying CCTV footage on your TV screens and giving you early warning of a problem before the intruder ever reaches the property.

The smart integration of security systems also extends beyond in-house control. Thanks to the latest bespoke security solutions, our clients are able to monitor their home security remotely. Dedicated iPhone and iPad apps offer access to the home automation alarm system remotely and this provides an extra level of security and peace of mind by instantly displaying CCTV images on your phone and activating lighting inside and outside the property to give the impression you are at home and even giving you the ability to “shout out” to intruders via exterior speakers to inform them police have been called.”

Finite Solutions has a show house in Leeds dedicated to showcase integrated smart home technology and security as described above.

To learn more visit www.finitesolutions.co.uk.

Forget Brexit! Get out there and spend!

Whilst we would be the last people to tell you to spend more money than you really can afford, we are also mindful of the Brexit nonsense that has crept in to everyday conversation ever since the vote to leave actually did vote to leave!

No pay rise due to Brexit, no Christmas Party due to Brexit, etc., etc., etc.

Sales figures are up this year, so post-Brexit Britain looks to be doing OK, so let's get down to a bit of retail therapy!

The Funniest Stuff

This is the latest book from Colin West and it's going to be a must buy Chirstmas gift for the children in your life!"

It's a fun book filled with more of the great and hilarious poems of Colin West and there are wonderful and very witty cartoons on each and every page, all these illustrations are from the highly imaginative and creative pen of Colin West, himself.

You and your children and grandchildren will reads about and see a whole gallimaufry of wonderful characters such as the Lollopibg Lollop, Miss Fibbery-Gibert, frollicking Fritz, the Wizzard who met up with a lizard, (with somewhat shocking results!) learn what the girl in curlers did, how problems with spelling might occur, what might make Michael feel sick and what a fussy pussy likes to dine on.

It is a book that is to be gleefully and joyously shared with children and you can be certain that these poems will be remembered and recited by you and them for many, many years to come.

It is published in hardback by Matador at £9.99 and is available for purchase from our own book and gift shop which you will find here >>> https://goo.gl/AzQ0XD but please do remember that if you want it before Christmas you should request exress delivery.

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Crabbies

Crabbies drinks are perfect for the Christmas period.

Just picture the scene, the gloaming is settling in, the birds are making their last forages before they retire to their nests in your garden's hedges for the night, the standard lamp in the corner of your living room is casting a soft glow, the lights are twinkling on the Christmas tree, the fire is crackling with some coal and a couple of nice logs, the Bose stereo is playing some nice Christmas carols and you are eating some freshly baked minced pies whilst you are contentedly sipping a glass of Crabbies alcoholic ginger beer.

Life, you realise, couldn't be any better.

Well, perhaps it could! How so?

Crabbies want you to try something a little different this year. The very clever people in their drink's kitchen have been working very hard on creating some new flavours that are equally as good as their original product, but which taste different.

There is now Crabbies Scottish Raspberry Flavour and Crabbies Light, too!

You can buy these new flavours, as well as the wonderful original flavour, from most off licences, supermarkets and some convenience stores, too.

And you'll find them in all Wetherspoon pubs and other discerning pubs and bars.

To find out your nearest stockist (retailers or licenced premises) please visit
http://www.crabbiesgingerbeer.co.uk/find-crabbies/.

And do have yourself a Crabbies' Chirstmas! I know we will!

Get Stoopido!

You must get Stoopido for your family for this Christmas!

It's simple, yet it is utterly crazy and will have everyone laughing their heads off when you and your family and friends play round after round of this fantastic game, the game they are all raving about, the game that is called Stoopido!

You roll the dice, and then race to slap the matching face feature or give the squeaker a good squeeze!

The player who is the fastest then has the opportunity to pick a funny facial part for a rival player and the last player with a full face wins the game!

Each game set comes complete with four sets of special glasses, 25 double-sided mask features, four slap pads, one loser's selfie card, one squeaker and one dice.

Although the description here is deceptively simple, the game is absolutely hilarious to play.

It's made by Drumond Park of www.drumondpark.com and should cost about £14.00. It's available from all good toy stores but if you want to buy it online you can do so here at our very own gift and book shop, but do remember to use the express delivery option as it is getting very close to Christmas. >>> https://goo.gl/AzQ0XD

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