As Nikki Mills, PHOENIX FM’s very own confidante to the stars, was off today (probably hobnobbing with all her show biz friends) I got an extra hour this afternoon, which was just great.
In the first hour of the show, I was joined by Craig R Smith who has been running his own business involving bespoke kitchen, bathroom and bedroom installations. Craig had a lot of advice to give on the virtues of improving your current home and adding to its value rather than moving, at a time when the housing market is not so buoyant. One interesting point he made was that regardless of the value of properties involved, the actual physical cost of moving averages around £15000. Whilst the price of the home improvement is very much a movable feast, the extra value which can be added to the property, can often exceed this figure which could be multiplied still further once the housing market starts to recover. Whilst caution might suggest that hard earned cash should be left in the bank, the present level of interest rates might encourage people to think about this factor more carefully.
My conversation with Craig can be found here: -[audio:https://www.phoenixfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Craig-R-Smith.mp3|titles=Craig R Smith]
Later, in our BRENTWOOD & BILLERICAY BYGONES feature, Frances Clamp revealed some very interesting facts about ARCHER MEMORIAL HALL in Billericay. This is the old hall that was demolished, not the one that is still there today. Her contribution is here: – [audio:https://www.phoenixfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Bygones-15th-November.mp3|titles=Bygones 15th November]
Next week Frances is going to be looking at the history of Sainsbury’s in Brentwood, which believe it or not, dates back to October 1924. Now I always try to do a little advanced research into Frances’ chosen topic, but since by her own admission she has a direct line on this one, not available to me, I will just have to sit back and listen to what she has uncovered!
That’s all from me for another week. Look after yourselves and hope you can join me next Saturday at noon.
All the best,
Scott
