Jo-ann Hodgson
Biography
Jo-ann Hodgson is a journalist with a background in environmental, music and property reporting. She gets around a bit and has written for everything from ranty feminist websites to the ‘magazine that’s free on the bus’. She’s from the north and you may remember her from such shows as Songs of Praise and Last of the Summer Wine, which have both been filmed in her home town.
by me!
very good tips! are going to be extremly helpful Thank you!
by Jo-ann Hodgson
Hi Suz, thanks for your comment. Do you have any top tips for keeping the costs of flowers and balloons down?
by Stela Yordanova
British Red Cross bridal charity shop in Dorking, Surrey, has a beautiful range of both new and second-hand wedding dresses and bridal wear. Profits support the vital work of the British Red Cross. www.redcross.org.uk/bridalshop
by Suz
Love the article - keep your sense of humour for the wedding planning and you will be fine! You can save costs on your wedding meal by using your wedding cake as the dessert and rather than going with your venues set buffet packages swap items around to keep the costs down. There is a growing trend with weddings to have themed buffet stations. Mexican, Chinese, I have even heard of a mash potato bar - with extras of course! This way the wow factor is there for your guests but the costs would be reduced as you wouldn't need to have starters. For the booze ask your venue if they will allow you to bring your own - they will charge corkage but this could end up being cheaper - and it is a great excuse for a booze trip! Make sure you do lots of shopping around for all of the extras you want. And if you need any help finding cheaper alternatives drop me a line.
by Tamsin Hemingray
In a former life I worked in the internal communications department of one of the largest government departments. One of my jobs was to edit the page of letters and emails from staff that we published each week on the intranet. You would be pretty amazed just how often the topic of people *not* flushing after themselves came up as a "hot topic". It really did get people upset. Weird.
by Charlie Peverett
Perhaps if the loo was flushed from a reservoir of rainwater on the roof this would be more clear-cut - but the thing about the water most of us use to flush is that it has to be pumped around the system and treated with chemicals - both of which have a significant impact on the environment (not to mention the cost of metered water to the business). So while we have a lot of water per se, fresh, drinkable water is precious - and not the stuff we should be flushing away, litres at a time, to get rid of relatively small amounts of urine. Could the boundaries of professionalism not adjust to accommodate this? During an environmental crisis, not to mention a financial one?
by Pooh Bear
Think it would look a little unprofessional if a client was to see an unflushed toilet. Surely living in one of the wettest countries around we should have water to spare
by Charlie Peverett
Not glamourous, I agree. But should we be flushing 1000s of gallons of water away for no better reason than it's distasteful for someone else to see your wee? Delving further into the bowl... there's also the point about the extra chemicals you might have to use on a loo that's stained by 'letting it mellow'. How much water do you have to save to justify the extra splodge of bleach?