Giants in Chester

The sun shone, crowds packed the city centre and giants came out to play at the annual Midsummer Watch parade.  Saturday and Sunday saw Chestival hit full swing with a spectacular street carnival celebrating Chester's history as the giant making capital of England.  During medieval times every town had a giant that would be paraded at the midsummer solstice, many towns would have their centre piece made in Chester which was renowned for making the best giants.

At the weekend more than fifty of these creations were paraded from the Cathedral doors around the city and back to the city hall accompanied by drummers, marching musicians and town criers.  Giants included the green man, a king and his knight and an enormous Robert Baden-Powell.

The day started with crowds being entertained by Buckley Brass Band in the town hall square while enjoying delicious food from Hickory's Smokehouse outdoor stall.  Following the parade, hundreds of festival goers gathered at the Roman Amphitheatre for the final performance of this years musical Mystery Play 'Noahs Flood'.  Chestival continues throughout June and July with music, art, theatre and sporting events across the city, for further details visit the event website http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/

Candy Cabs in Lymm

Crowds gathered in the sunshine as the cameras started rolling on new BBC comedy series Candy Cabs. Bridgewater Street in the village was closed and transformed into a film set with numerous business premises being re-decorated for the programme, most notably the old post office painted bright pink to match the taxis in the title and the youth club becoming Hotwheels Garage. Locals got a sneak preview of the programme as they were allowed to watch several scenes being filmed on the street itself.

Among the cast spotted in the village were former Eastenders stars Paul Nicholas and Jo Joyner with Claire Sweeney of musical Chicago and T.Vs 60 Minute Makeover. On spotting actor Dennis Lawson, one excited local businessman exclaimed “I’ve just seen Wedge from Star Wars!” The series written by Jane Lush and Johanne McAndrew and produced by Splash Media is a comedy drama about two unlikely northern women who embark on a business venture and start up a taxi firm. Billed as “Britain’s most glamorous taxi fleet”, several of the onlookers in Lymm pointed out the similarity between the fictitious company from the series and Pink Ladies taxis, although no one at the set to comment on whether the programme is based on the Warrington firm.

Buying a Piece of History

How many house hunters have you seen on property programmes saying they want a house with 'period features'?  Then they complain that there is only one bathroom / no en-suite / no garage etc.  Don't they understand that a property with period features is by its very nature, old?  Toilets were outside (if there was one at all) and the car hadn't been invented!  I always share the frustration of the programme's presenter.

This doesn't mean that old properties can't have many of the mod-cons taken for granted today or that modifications cannot be made to incorporate them.   However when buying older properties there are issues to take into consideration.  Old properties are often listed buildings meaning alterations must not change the character of the building and planning permission on listed buildings frequently takes longer to approve, expect to have to resubmit applications several times.  Building materials used for alterations to listed properties will have to match as closely as possible those used for the original building.  This can be expensive if the materials have to be specially made or specialist builders employed.  Even if the property isn't listed care should be taken that alterations are sympathetic to the property to prevent harming the value and re-sale potential of the property.

I recently viewed Marsh Farm, a tardis-like six bedroom 17th century farmhouse that the present owner proudly told me is the second oldest house in Sale.  Among its many period features are the most incredible and unique vaulted ceilings I have ever seen.  Even older is the picture-postcard cottage on Ferry Lane in Thelwall or slightly younger the ideal first time buyers cottage in Cale Green Stockport, all of these have retained their beautiful period charm while blending the requirements for modern living.  If only the T.V presenters could show them to their house hunters.

Manchester Celebrates Jaguar

Manchester Celebrates Jaguar has been a month long opportunity for members of the public to drive a stunning range of cars and find out more about the legendary company.  As a big fan of Jaguar cars, the chance to drive a brand new £60,000 luxury Jag wasn't one I was going to miss!

On the morning of the 20th May at the event's base in Spinningfields I was handed the keys to the head turning XK8 convertible and after being shown how to use the automatic and paddle shift gears was asked "can you have it back in an hour?".  Taking the wheel for the first half an hour before swapping with my Dad (whose favourite car is the original XK8), so enjoyable was the drive the answer to the question was very nearly "no, we're keeping it for the day!".  That evening at Royles Jaguar in Wilmslow we attended one of a series of presentations in the region by the head designer of Jaguar's new flagship XJ, where the ideas behind the creation of the stylish new car were explained.

The celebration reached its peak on Sunday with a lively family fun day at Tatton Park where large crowds enjoyed cooking demonstrations by celebrity chef Aiden Byrne, massages, huge kids play zone, falconry displays and duck herding!  Film star-cars in the form of Austin Powers Union Jack liveried XK8 and the machine gun and missile wielding James Bond bad guys car from Die Another Day were in attendance.  The stars of the show though were the complete current range of Jaguar cars, all available to test drive.  Again not wanting to miss the chance we took out the XFS and XJ, both of which were simply beautiful to drive. 

Manchester Celebrates Jaguar has been a unique and enjoyable way of getting to know an iconic British brand, creating new admirers in the process.  Special mention must go to Laura Wolfe and her team at Journey9 and Alexandra Rowne at Jaguar cars for putting on such a fantastic event.