stalbanslife

Switching from a steady 9-5 in an urban office to a flexible, relaxed, home office has numerous benefits. From the absence of a lengthy, stressful commute to choosing your own hours, home working is like a dream come true for many. However, to make home working successful, you really need to set up a dedicated office from which you can work and keep your home and work lives separate. Whether you convert a shed in the garden or take over an entire room of the house is up to you, but there are some things that are necessary to make a home office work no matter where you set up shop.

One of the most important items of furniture in a home office is a desk. There are a whole variety of desks to choose from depending on your requirements and space limitations. Here are our top picks of home office desks from Ryman.

Limited Space

If you are using a corner of a room or you are limited in terms of space, a corner desk is your best bet. These desks neatly fit into otherwise unused spaces and make the most of all the available space. The more sophisticated corner desks have slide out tables for your keyboard and concealed shelving.

Part-time

If you are only going to be working part time, you could get a desk that looks less conspicuous. Ryman’s New England Shaker Style desk is ideal. This desk is an attractive piece of furniture and wouldn’t look out of place in pretty much any room of the house, yet it still works as a desk thanks to its side draws and seating space.

Computer focused

If you need to spend most of your time on the computer you need a desk that is ergonomically designed to help minimise back pain and eyestrain. It’s important to get a desk where the screen can be raised to eye level and the keyboard can be lowered to minimise repetitive strain injuries. Computer workstations are the most versatile and are your best bet. They come with draws, slide out keyboard rests, raised screen plinths and can be curved in shape so you don’t have to stretch to use the mouse. If you buy your office chair at the same time you can achieve the best set up for your body and one that makes work life a lot easier. Read this guide from the NHS on how to sit correctly to avoid back problems, sight issues and RSI.

If you’re looking for ways to get outdoors and get active on your visit to St. Albans, we have plenty of action-packed ideas for you. From watersports adventures to paintball fun, there’s an active holiday treat to suit everyone.

Waterside Holiday Park

If you love waterports, then you’ll love Park Resorts Waterside Holiday Park. Situated just over an hour’s drive away at St. Lawrence Bay, it’s an ideal base for those looking to take a trip to the seaside. Just 10 minutes walk through the park’s landscaped grounds will find you on the beach itself, and there are lots of activities onsite designed specifically with active families in mind. Kids will love the indoor and outdoor heated pools, as well as snorkelling, aqua team games and hydrodome fun. Out of the water, there are sports courts, archery, adventure playgrounds, the Festival of Football and more. And if you plan on making it a regular family holiday destination, Park Resorts is currently holding a used caravans sale with caravans available from just £8,995.

Find out more: http://www.park-resorts.com/holiday-parks/essex/waterside/

Cuffley Camp Outdoor Activity Centre

Just a half hour drive from St. Albans, the Cuffley Outdoor Centre is the ultimate in outdoor activities. Set in 90 acres of outstanding natural beauty, this spacious woodland offers a wealth of activities for families of all ages, including mountain biking, archery, pond dipping, shelter building, tree climbing and more. You can explore the woodland at your leisure and camp out under the stars at one of the centre’s twelve individual camping areas.

Find out more: http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/hertsoutdoors/cuffley/index.shtml

St. Albans Annual Half Marathon

Plan your visit to coincide with the annual St. Albans Half Marathon for a fun day out for all the family. The 2012 Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 10^th June and includes a special 1.5 mile children’s fun run too. Whether you run it, jog it or walk it you’ll find food stalls, free physio and massage tents, face painting, a climbing wall and party games to enjoy.

Find out more: http://www.stalbanshalfmarathon.co.uk/

Zap Combat – Paintball & Laser Combat

A 30-minute drive from St. Albans, Zap Combat is a huge 40-acre outdoor woodland adventure park for all. Choose between laser and paintball combat and compete with friends in an array of games zones, scenarios and special missions. The site is open throughout the year from 9am to 6pm, with adult and junior games available for those aged 11+.

Find out more: http://www.zapsports.co.uk/

A St Albans-based theatre director and magician has spoken of the ‘tremendous success’ of his latest endeavour, which appeared on Primetime TV on Saturday night.

Tony Middleton, AKA Sonic, has worked closely with world-class magician Chris Dugdale for many years, and the two performed an astounding feat on ITV’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us.

Sonic was particularly pleased with the reaction they got from Jonathan Ross, who hosts the program. He said “The show was a tremendous success. Jonathan Ross couldn’t believe his eyes, and Penn & Teller said they would be very proud to perform the trick in their own show.”

The trick involved Chris Dugdale directing two volunteers in a prediction routine from a projected screen, only to reveal he was one of the selected volunteers and was wearing a mask and disguise. According to Penn, this trick was “worthy of Mission Impossible.”

Although the routine did not win a trip to Las Vegas, it won critical acclaim on, among others, social media site Twitter. Users praised the original routine saying “wow”, “unbelievable” and “best trick of the whole series.”

The duo are now opening a show, “2 Faced Deception”, in the Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End, running from 13th September to 1st October. Director Sonic is also completing his book for magicians entitled ‘Performing Magic; a Handbook on Performance for Magicians, with a forward by veteran magician Paul Daniels.

Until then, Sonic can be seen every Sunday from 1pm at the Veer Dhara Indian Restaurant in St Peters Street, St Albans. These weekly spots are growing ever popular so don’t miss out!

For more information or to book Sonic for your private party, wedding or corporate event, please visit www.sonicmagic.co.uk

St. Albans is rapidly acquiring a reputuation as a good venue for comedy gigs. The Alban Arena frequently gets national names to visit and perform. We now even have our very own comedy ‘festival’ annually, with Laughs in the Park. Now I wouldn’t say it is anywhere near Glastonbury’s exalted position in the national psyche, but as it’s only the second year of existence, it still has time.

Like last year, the main attraction is Eddie Izzard, but this year ably supported by Ross Noble and Tommy Tiernan. The compere duties were given to Ross Noble on the day we attended, which worked well as his surreal take on life enabled him to run with ideas and events thrown at him and then bring back ideas and references into later material.

First of the ‘main’ acts was Tommy Tiernan, one of Ireland’s top comedians, but little known over here. A high energy performer that enjoyed running with ideas at breakneck speed. Lots of laugh out loud moments and an impressive set. The usual topics of family, aging and religion got the Tiernan treatment. He wouldn’t be an Irish comic if he didn’t rip into the Catholic Church. Easy target these days, but he was still able to find a few new twists.

Last up was Eddide Izzard, fast becoming a national institution after his marathon heroics of a couple of years ago and all-round nice guy persona. I saw him back in the 90s when he was somewhat infamous for his cross-dressing and surreal humour. I really like Eddie Izzard, but like his 90s shows, I rarely had laugh out loud moments. Very amusing, but not memorable.

Finally we had the fireworks, withh all the acts wandering through the crowd to get a prime view. They were not disappointed. So overall a good evening out at an event with a lot of potential for the coming years. Food deserves a special mention, varied choices and my burrito was fab. Looking forward to next year already. maybe my namesake Tim Minchin could be added to the bill?

The name Battle Proms comes from the Battle Symphony by Beethoven.  On an annual basis, this popular event takes place on the grounds of 400 year old Hatfield House, home of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury.

The whole concept of ‘Prom’  is to increase the popularity of classical music by playing at an informal setting, in which crowds can move around, eat, dance or whatever they choose. I performed all four actions last Saturday as I absorbed myself  in this charismatic event for the third time.

The crowd varied from young children to 90 year olds. We enjoyed everything from the beautiful orchestral pieces of music, the Napoleonic camp, the traditional fairground, a Diablo winestand but my personal favourites were the Infantry Displays (truly outstanding and a must-see) and the ever amazing 1812 Overture with its live canon fire.

The Sailor’s Hornpipe and Jerusalem brought a huge reaction (and maybe a joyfully patriotic tear or two!)  from the crowd, as did Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1.  The Grace Spitfire (which served in World War II) did acrobatics overhead as the orchestra played appropriate music in the background. I am not a fan of warplanes but this Spitfire experience sent shivers down my spine. And did I mention the fireworks? I must have taken about 50 photos of them in my desperation to capture the brilliant effect!

My children are pop music fans but have always enjoyed the Battle Proms, especially when the sun sets and little lights appear everywhere. My 12 year old said ‘I love  the sense of community and the way the crowd is so enthusiastic.’

If you want to share your experiences of Battle Proms, please add your comment below.

To note;  Hatfield House is twenty minutes from St Albans town centre. Good bus connections. More information on www.battleproms.com and Hatfield House events; www.hatfield-house.co.uk