Express yourself through painting

Series 2 of the BBC’s Big Painting Challenge started on BBC One last weekend. In the programme, passionate amateur artists undertake an intensive six-week painting 'boot camp' to hone their skills in a bid to become the overall champion.

Artists, whether amateur or professional, will have a certain style with which they are comfortable. This can say a lot about their personalities.

Many of us, though, are less keen to put brush to canvass and prefer to buy the art that brightens up the walls of our homes. But what we choose can still say a lot about us.

A study that was carried out by the University of Amsterdam found that people who like abstract art are most likely to be risk-taking sensation seekers. Those who prefer traditional figurative pictures tend towards order, rules and hierarchy at home and in the workplace.

This piece in the Huffington Post  is a bit of fun and shows how famous paintings can reflect your personality.

And if you have a creative streak and enjoy creating certain types of images, your personality may be broadly similar depending on the style you adopt.

If you are looking for artwork to brighten up your walls have a look here for some inspiration.

Allison Homes cash boost for Good Neighbour Scheme

We are delighted to have been able to provide a cash boost for a worthy cause close to the Pinchbeck Fields development. The Gosberton and Quadring Good Neighbour Scheme applied for cash from the Larkfleet Hones Community Fund and we were happy to answer the call.

The fund was set up to help community groups and ventures which support the Larkfleet vision of integrating new developments into the community. It supports charities like the Good Neighbour Scheme which are based within ten miles (16 kilometres) of any Allison Homes or Larkfleet Homes housing development.

We welcomed the application from the Gosberton and Quadring Good Neighbour Scheme because it supports residents and unites the community, and because it’s close to our development at Pinchbeck Fields, just north of Spalding.

The Good Neighbour Scheme is a national initiative being rolled out to villages in isolated and remote areas by voluntary services. It is aimed at assisting people who don’t have a support network and those who need help in times of crisis. The scheme helps people obtain services that would normally be inaccessible to them by providing them with transport and highlighting other local services that are available to them.

This initiative is designed to combat loneliness and isolation by encouraging its users to be socially active. Ultimately this will help to ease pressure on GPs' surgeries which have seen a rise in patients with no medical requirements attending clinics simply because they are lonely.

The Gosberton and Quadring Good Neighbour Scheme was launched at an event where a cheque from the Larkfleet Homes Community Fund was handed over by our own Charlotte Barber (pictured on the right holding the cheque).

It’s important to us that when we build new homes for people, we develop real communities. We are delighted to support charities and volunteer groups, like the Gosberton and Quadring Good Neighbour Scheme, in the areas where we are working. Groups like this are very often the backbone of the community and the value of the support which this funding offers to the people who use their services is immeasurable.

Jane Parker of the Gosberton and Quadring Good Neighbour Scheme told us: “As a community organisation we are passionate about bringing together a wide range of people from our community. It helps reduce isolation for some and helps others access services that they would otherwise not be able to.

“The money from Allison Homes and the Larkfleet Homes Community Fund will help to fund our core activities, including providing transport and companionship and helping with small household tasks.

“We also want to hold afternoon tea events and coffee mornings and to start up a lunch club and a walking group. This funding will help us to do that.”

Avoid the rush - Easter weekend supermarket opening times

As the Easter Bank Holiday weekend approaches some of us might be starting to panic that we haven't got enough provisions in the house - particularly if we're expecting family or friends.

Often, we go to the supermarket and it’s like the world is about to end. Everyone and their granny is battling around the shelves stocking up on ‘essentials’.

But there’s no need to worry. Most shops are still open. And although supermarkets run limited hours and are closed on Easter Sunday – when we were young they were closed every Sunday, go figure – a little planning will help you to keep the household running smoothly should you start to run out of the staples or you have forgotten the joint for Sunday lunch.

Here’s the low down on supermarket opening hours this Easter weekend:

ASDA
Good Friday 7am – 10pm
Saturday 7am – 10pm
Sunday CLOSED
Monday 7am – 8pm

Morrisons
Good Friday 6am – 10pm
Saturday 6am – 10pm
Easter Sunday – CLOSED
Easter Monday – 8am – 7pm

Sainsburys
Good Friday 7am – 10pm
Saturday 7am – 10pm
Easter Sunday – CLOSED
Easter Monday 9am – 7pm

Tesco
Good Friday 7am – 10pm
Saturday 7am – 10pm
Easter Sunday CLOSED
Easter Monday 9am – 6pm

Waitrose
Good Friday 8am – 8pm
Saturday 7am – 9pm
Easter Sunday CLOSED
Easter Monday 8am – 6pm

So, apart from limited opening on Monday, the shops are only closed for a day. Don’t panic! Just ‘keep calm and carry on’.

Happy Easter!

Allison Homes sponsors prestigious awards

Awards season is well under way. As well as receiving a few nominations – the Resis and the Best Society Awards spring to mind – the Allison Homes team is also doing its bit to support the industry by sponsoring a category in the First Time Buyer Awards.

The First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards take place in April and we are sponsoring The Best Estate Agency for First Time Buyers category.

These awards - some of the most acclaimed in the industry - are an annual celebration of some of the great lengths that housebuilders like us go to in order to help aspirational buyers on to the housing ladder. Now in their ninth year the awards exist so that the best in the business are recognised and rewarded for their hard work.

This year’s event will take place on April 20th 2018 at The Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London, where industry professionals will come together to find out the winners and highly commended of the 18 categories.

It’s a tough job but someone's got to do it. We will be on hand to present a gong to the Best Estate Agency for First Time Buyers – and get to meet Jonnie Irwin, host of A Place in the Sun, to boot.

Spring has sprung - at last!

It was the first day of Spring this week. The Vernal (Spring) Equinox – when the hours of day and night are roughly equal – was yesterday, Tuesday 20 March.

It couldn’t have come soon enough as far as we’re concerned at Allison Homes. And hopefully we’ve seen the last of the snow and the ‘Beast from the East’ too!

The improving weather and upcoming Easter holidays will hopefully encourage you out and about – perhaps to one of our show homes?

Some people reckon Spring had already Sprung – on 1 March. This is a construct of the weathermen designed to make it easier to describe the seasons for weather forecasting; Winter is December, January and February, Spring is March, April and May, Summer is June, July and August, and Autumn is September, October and November.

The astronomical seasons, which coincide with the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstice’s, are not quite as convenient. But we firmly believe that it’s true Spring.

To mark the occasion, we thought it would a bit of fun to have a look at some of the traditions that surround this celestial event and the coming of Spring.

Balance an egg
Following an ancient Chinese tradition, it is claimed by some that the Equinox is the only day of the year when an egg can be perfectly balanced on its end. Egg balancing is believed to bring good luck and prosperity.

New Year
In some parts of the world the equinox marks the start of the New Year. The Iranian New Year or Noruz has been celebrated according to Zoroastrian tradition for 3,000 years. Lasting for 12 days the celebrations include visiting friends and family and the exchange of gifts.

Moveable feasts
The Equinox plays a role in calculating the dates for Jewish Passover and Christian Easter. Passover is observed on the first full moon after the equinox. The date of Easter Sunday is usually the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring after the March equinox. Because this changes Easter can be as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April.

In many Christian cultures, eggs are closely linked with Easter. Also known as Paschal eggs, these are usually decorated chicken eggs that symbolize fertility and rebirth. Many Easter related events feature the Easter egg as the central theme. Traditional games like egg hunts, where children search for colourful Easter eggs; egg rolling, where eggs are rolled down a hill; and egg dancing, where eggs are laid on the floor and people dance while trying not to damage them, are held all around the world.

And don’t forget chocolate eggs!

House repair bills rising

One of the things putting most of us off repairing our homes is the cost.

As a result, British homeowners are storing up a list of repairs with a cost totalling on average more than £24,000, new research has found.



Worryingly, according to a poll undertaken by trades search website myjobquote.co.uk, over half the homeowners who responded said there were potentially dangerous risks in their homes that were not being addressed. The main reason for this with almost three quarters of homeowners is that they simply can’t afford the repairs, so they let them drift.

Problems cited were things like dodgy plug sockets, faulty electrical installations, leaking plumbing and broken windows.

It seems that many of us don’t look beyond the monthly mortgage repayments when it comes to managing the costs of our homes.

There is of course a straightforward way around this. Buying a new build home from a reputable housebuilder like Allison Homes means that there should be no repairs required. Everything is new and shouldn’t require repair or replacement for some time.

New build homes are also more energy efficient than older homes. According to Energy Performance Certificate data, more than eight out of 10 new builds have the top A or B rating for energy efficiency compared to just 2.2 per cent of existing properties. Government data shows that as a result, new homes are using on average 103kWh/m2 worth of energy compared to an average of 294kWh/M2 for existing homes.

This means that new build home owners will spend on average £443.30 a year (£276 heating/£108 hot water/£60 lighting), well under half of the £1,072 the owner of an older home can expect to spend – saving, on average, £52 a month, or £629 a year. 

You could spend the cash you’re saving on energy and repair bills or on something more interesting – a season ticket to your favourite football club or pay your broadband bills for example.

Spring into a cleaner, less cluttered home

In case you missed it we are currently in the middle of the Great British Spring Clean, a campaign organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The campaign has a simple aim: to bring people across the country together to clear up the litter that blights our towns, villages, countryside and beaches.


The team at Allison Homes is doing its bit, by backing the Corby Clean and Proud campaign – a new initiative being led by the Great Oakley Group and the de Capell Brooke family. Allison Homes has worked closely with the Great Oakley Group and Alexander de Capell Brooke on the delivery of Oakley Rise, part of the larger Oakley Vale development in Corby.

The Corby Clean and Proud campaign is urging Corby businesses to pledge to keep the town’s streets clean and tidy.  Businesses are encouraged to take the CLEAN pledge and participate in the Great British Spring Clean. CLEAN calls for businesses to;

• Commit to reducing the litter local to the Corby community.
• Learn more about the impact of litter in our communities.
• Engage with fellow businesses for a collective effort to keep our area clean.
• Act as an ambassador in promoting waste reduction.
• Notify the council if you spot any excessive littering.

You will have heard the adage that charity begins at home. So should cleaning campaigns. The Great British Spring Clean is also an excellent time to tidy and declutter your own home, as well as your neighbourhood.

Here are some things you can do for effective spring cleaning:

• Declutter – go through your stuff, decide what you really need and what you can live without and get rid.
• Dust – break out the duster and the Mr Sheen and give your whole house a good dusting.
• Deep clean carpets and upholstery – if you have a deep cleaner use that. If not, consider getting a professional cleaner to really cleanse your home.
• Get rid of pet hairs.
• Give the oven a clean with bicarbonate of soda.
• Clean the fridge.
• Use the dishwasher to clean the kids’ plastic toys.
• Steam clean the microwave.
• Go through your wardrobe – if you haven’t worn something for some time the chances are you won’t for a while. Pare your wardrobe down to the essentials and discard the rest.
• Wipe over bathroom surfaces with white vinegar for a deep clean – soak tiles and shower heads in white vinegar over night before rinsing to remove lime scale and other stubborn stains.
• Make your home smell lovely with fresh fragrances and keep the place well-aired with cool wafts of air through open windows.
• Outside the home, keep the garden leaf-free.
• Why not 'go to town' on the car as well? Keep it as clean as your house and feel great every time you go for a drive.
• Don’t forget to give the windows a clean and clear away any cobwebs that may be hiding in the corners of the window frames.

When you have decluttered why not make a bit of extra cash by putting anything saleable on eBay or consider going to a local car boot sale. Or if you’re feeling benevolent take your old belongings to your favourite charity shop.