Lovely Charing - Kent

Charing retailer about to spill the beans

Wood You Like Ltd - retailer in wooden flooring from Charing - is about to "spill the beans" and will publish a 160 pages paperback on 19.03.10 which reveals all the "tricks of the trade" to DIY-ers on how to install a wooden floor like a pro!"

Wood You Like's Wooden Floor Installation Manual is first in its kind: written by experts who deal with wooden flooring and all the different situations imaginable on a daily basis, situations and circumstances you can encounter too but with the Manual at hand are no longer an obstacle for diy-ers.

"How do I install the last row?"..... "My room is part chipboard, part concrete. What do I do?".... "Can I install a wood floor in a kitchen?".... “I've got underfloor heating, can I have wood flooring?".... "Do I glue or float my wood floor?".... . "The pack says to glue it, the supplier says nail it. Now what?".... "I've got two dogs and four kids, my wife likes wood flooring, what do you suggest?".... "How do I know how much wood to buy?".... "There are Marley tiles, can I glue a wood floor on them?”....

Just a small collection of questions that has found its way to Wood You Like's inbox over the last 5 years. After answering all questions individually the owners/directors have now turned these Q&A's in a comprehensive manual (160 pages) on installing natural wooden floorboards for diy-ers based on real circumstances you can encounter - and solve - too.

Installing a wood floor isn't rocket science - all it needs is some common sense, patience, the right preparations at the right time and of course quality materials and the right tools. Wood You Like's Installation Manual for Wooden Flooring covers it all: including tricks of the trade to install your own floor like a professional! More information can be found at www.woodmanual.co.uk

(Book is already listed on Amazon.co.uk too)

Thank you Allan

From the village

A BIG Thank you to Charing Stores

The recent snow affected all of us in one way or another. I had 14" of it in my garden and, as I write, it has only just melted and disappeared. I was one of quite a few people in Charing who were snowed in, so I needed extra help.

There is one person who I believe deserves our extra thanks. Allan Dixon of Charing Stores normally has an early start to his day, but during the snow this was lengthened quite considerable. With a 3.30am start he delivered the milk, returned to base and sorted the newspapers and magazines for delivery, returning again to sort out groceries for delivery. He did this mostly on his own, using his van and a sledge. This took him much longer than usual and he helped so many people like myself, who could not go out. He literally went that extra mile to help so many of us.

So many thanks Allan for pulling more than your own weight to help us all where you could.

From all the snowed in folk of Charing: Thank you Allan!

Lovely greetings from Spain

Received in the inbox:

Hello:

My family and I were spending New Year Holidays in a cottage very close to Charing. We are from Spain and we enjoyed a lot with the landscape of the surroundings and also with the village. I would like to share some photos of Charing snowed.

Also, I would like to thank:

• A taxi driver who take us from Ashford to Charing Station (the train was cancelled because of the snowed)
• Some boys (I think from Charing) who helped us towing our car to Charing Hill one with snow and ice on the road in the same night.

We are looking forward to come but and see Charing and also my nephew that born 2th of this year.

Congratulations, you have a very beautiful village in spite of goose that didn't allow to approach to the farm near the church and the snow that did not allow to enjoy with the market.

Best regards,
Cristina

Picture this - new feature

Latest addition to the Charing website: Charing in pictures (idea triggered when we received a snowy picture of Charing's High Street on a quiet Sunday morning).

The plan is to fill the "gallery" with more lovely pictures of what's going on in lovely Charing, from scenic views to all the activities in and around the village.

Send your image in, email it to info @ wood-you-like.co.uk, add a little story to it to be published underneath your picture and it will be seen on the Gallery as soon as possible.

Over to you now, get the cameras out!

You can enter the Gallery also through the link on the left hand side: Charing in Pictures.

Snow!

Always a nice "picture" - as long as you don't have to travel through it! If you have to, save journey and take care.

Friday morning - the sun is just getting up too (click on image to see the larger original)

 

Sunday morning, birds searching (and finding) seeds in quiet garden, sun's out again too (click on image to see the larger original)

Schools out for the Christmas break, the School field is having a field day on its own (click on image to see the larger original)

Merry Christmas - will it be a white one?

Wood You Like an extra Christmas present?

It looks like the Government will stick to the plan and change the VAT rate back to 17.5% on January the 1st - that's only 5 weeks away from now!

So, if you want to give yourself an extra Christmas bonus or present, order your natural wooden flooring from Wood You Like before the end of December 2009 - on New Years Eve we will be open for business till 5pm.

Treat yourself to the most robust floor covering that becomes even more beautiful over time, is easy to clean and anti-allergic plus keeps its value for many years to come.

Your savings on the VAT change can easily add up to £ 100.00 for a quality floor and quality installation service. Our quality ranges cater for any interior design and budget - come and select your own preferred natural wooden floor from our showroom in Charing where you can view over 78 different floor types, from hard wearing wood-engineered pre-oiled or pre-lacquered floorboards to bespoke Design Parquet in many wood species.

Make your New Years Resolutions a month earlier: order your floor now!

Visit our showroom, call us on 01233 - 713725 to discuss your requirements and calculate your savings immediately or send us an email.

How to pamper your wood floor - from the Charing wood specialists

This is the only robust floor covering that becomes more beautiful over time!

One of the (many) benefits of real wooden flooring is its natural diversity. Every block, strip or board has its own unique character. This gives every floor a truly unique "one off its kind" appearance. No two natural wooden floors are alike.

Every wooden floor 'matures' over time, Oak will get its characteristic honey colour, tropical species will become darker. All in a natural gradual way, 'growing' into its ultimate beautiful appearance.

A wooden floor only loses this lustre when it is neglected, even those with a gloss varnish finish. If neglected long enough its protecting layer against dirt and drips will also be lost.

And it is so easy to make sure your beautiful wooden floor stays ‘fit’ and healthy.

Easy maintenance is another benefit of wooden flooring, especially now with the modern high quality liquid polishes. The days of waxing on hand and knees are long, long gone! All it takes really is to apply the most suited polish for your floor once every 5 to 6 months! That's all. If you like you can buff it in deeper with one of Wood You Like's cast-iron buffing blocks - 100% guaranteed to work better and eco-friendlier than any of the electric domestic buffing machines we know of.

What will happen with your wooden floor when you take care of it in this simple way? In fact your wooden floor will reward you time after time, with every maintenance care you give it.

It will keep its dirt repellent character and will become even more beautiful, showing off all its natural allure for you and your family, friends to enjoy and admire.

In our Charing showroom we only stock the highest quality maintenance products – for every type of finish. And if you really want to pamper yourself and your floor you should ask for our ‘fixed-price’ maintenance service and let us do the work.

Select the wood you like and the maintenance products you need at www.wood-you-like.co.uk. Start enjoying this robust (hardwood), easy to clean, anti-allergic and eco-friendly floor-covering immediately and for many years to come.

Natural wooden flooring: a true asset in any home, never losing its value!

With the warmest regards
Wood You Like Ltd (member of Charing Business Association)
Showroom on School Road, Charing - just off the A20
Tel: 01233 713725 

Leeds Castle "in" Charing?

We all know Leeds Castle is not that far from Charing, but this close??

All "down" to the wonderful weather we have been having these last weeks, plenty of hot air balloons have been spotted early mornings and early evenings. Most higher up in the sky, but Leeds Castle's must truly favour Charing.

Talking about nice weather, hardly any rain has been spotted in this area all year long. See here for all statistics on rain fall in Charing over the last 10 years. Not just a lively lovely village in Kent, one with plenty of the best weather in the South East!

Addition 01.10.09: with thanks to David Hutton for another (better quality) picture of the hot air balloon (with the remark: "terrified the horses two nights running!!"

(Click on the image to enlarge it to its full glory)

How to pamper your wood floor - from the Charing wood specialists

This is the only robust floor covering that becomes more beautiful over time!

One of the (many) benefits of real wooden flooring is its natural diversity. Every block, strip or board has its own unique character. This gives every floor a truly unique "one off its kind" appearance. No two natural wooden floors are alike.

Every wooden floor 'matures' over time, Oak will get its characteristic honey colour, tropical species will become darker. All in a natural gradual way, 'growing' into its ultimate beautiful appearance.

A wooden floor only loses this lustre when it is neglected, even those with a gloss varnish finish. If neglected long enough its protecting layer against dirt and drips will also be lost.

And it is so easy to make sure your beautiful wooden floor stays ‘fit’ and healthy.

Easy maintenance is another benefit of wooden flooring, especially now with the modern high quality liquid polishes. The days of waxing on hand and knees are long, long gone! All it takes really is to apply the most suited polish for your floor once every 5 to 6 months! That's all. If you like you can buff it in deeper with one of Wood You Like's cast-iron buffing blocks - 100% guaranteed to work better and eco-friendlier than any of the electric domestic buffing machines we know of.

What will happen with your wooden floor when you take care of it in this simple way? In fact your wooden floor will reward you time after time, with every maintenance care you give it.

It will keep its dirt repellent character and will become even more beautiful, showing off all its natural allure for you and your family, friends to enjoy and admire.

In our Charing showroom we only stock the highest quality maintenance products – for every type of finish. And if you really want to pamper yourself and your floor you should ask for our ‘fixed-price’ maintenance service and let us do the work.

Select the wood you like and the maintenance products you need at www.wood-you-like.co.uk. Start enjoying this robust (hardwood), easy to clean, anti-allergic and eco-friendly floor-covering immediately and for many years to come.

Natural wooden flooring: a true asset in any home, never losing its value!

With the warmest regards
Wood You Like Ltd (member of Charing Business Association)
Showroom on School Road, Charing - just off the A20
Tel: 01233 713725 

European Culture in Charing

Smartaupairs is a small agency specialising in Cultural Exchange in a family environment. When asking them what they do they will say that the message ‘Enjoy Cultural Childcare’ really sums up what they do for host families, not only in Kent but all over the UK; helping them to realise the full benefits of embracing a young European into their family life to helps with childcare in exchange for an opportunity to develop their language skills further.

The team started with the MD who is Dutch and speaks four languages. The office started from the family home, a converted barn on the outskirts of Charing and then moved to a small office across the road from the school when we needed more people in the office. In the Charing office they have had help from interns (young people on a work experience program) from the Netherlands, France, Germany, Estonia and Finland. One of these talented interns is on full time employment as the agency’s UK  Program Manager.   

And now there are even more exciting changes on the horizon, as Smartaupairs is setting up a second branch in Adelaide, Australia. The Charing Office will be exchanged for a home office in Maidstone as the team will be split over these two locations.

‘We will really miss our lovely office in Charing’, says Nicole Kofkin, the MD, ‘we were so comfortable in our bright and modern office with easy access to the High Street for lunch at the coffee shop from the corner-shop. Everybody is so friendly and it is so nice and quiet here. When the weather was nice we would even have picnics at the park!’

To find out about hosting an au pair in your family, why not visit
www.smartaupairs.com today

To find out about the office space, which is now available to rent
www.taylorriley.co.uk