Something for the weekend
The car’s the star
To the judging session for the East Midlands Property Dinner at The Curve in Leicester, and whilst everyone else was there, who were we waiting for? Why, Miller Birch’s Mark Bielby, of course. Mark knows his onions, and so we couldn’t start without him. But why was he late? Because his car wouldn’t fit under the barrier at the entrance to the multi-storey next door. It’s been a good few years for Mark and Miller Birch, clearly.
It’s not the winning…
East Midlanders are among the most excited in the UK about the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics, according to research by PwC. 44 per cent of consumers in the East Midlands said they were looking forward to the event and the benefits it could bring. The region is the most excited outside London, beating the West Midlands (41 per cent) and the South East (43 per cent).
According to PwC, this regional interest may be linked to an appreciation of the economic benefits that the event could have on the UK economy as a whole. In the East Midlands, 61 per cent of people believe the 2012 Olympics will have a positive impact on the UK economy, compared to just 44 per cent of Londoners.
East Midlanders are not necessarily planning to attend the event, however. To date, only 2 per cent of consumers in the region have successfully secured tickets to attend sporting events during the London 2012 Olympics. Oh.
Sending out an SOS
City construction company boss Ian Hodgkinson and 20 local building trades trainees from Derby College are to feature in the BBC television home makeover series ‘DIY SOS’.
They will appear in a programme presented by Nick Knowles in which a North Derbyshire family with two young children see their house transformed internally and externally in just over a week.
"We don’t yet know when the programme will be screened but the new series of ‘DIY SOS’ will begin in August," said Ian, the managing director of Pride Park-based Hodgkinson Builders.
As well as having a hands-on role in the makeover, Ian also sourced the tradesmen to help the regular ‘DIY SOS’ team with a major refurbishment of every room at the house.
The Derby college trainees and apprentices were included because of the high standard of their work.
Said Ian, a long-time ambassador for young entrants to the construction industry: "They absolutely loved it and did extremely well. The job was great experience for them."
