Tulse Hill Community Market

On 25th January 2014, the Tulse Hill Community Market opened its doors in the Scout Hut in Upper Tulse Hill. The market opens fortnightly on Saturdays between 11am and 4pm. The market is now located at the James Wilson Coffee Shop, 357 Norwood Road, London SE27 9BQ.

Local young ladies aged between 13-17 years old set up the market to showcase their skills and products as budding business people and to help others locally to sell their wares. Everyone is welcome who can pay the modest table fee. 

Edward Ashdale estate agents have helped to publicise and fund the market. John Adamthwaite said, "It's a pleasure to be associated with the young ladies and their new market."

Tulse Hill Community Market upcoming dates in full:

• October    11th and 25th
• November    8th and 22nd
• December    13th and 20th

Please add this post to your Favourites, as we expect to add more information and updates including dates of the markets. 

Contact

If you'd like to get in touch with the market organisers, their contact details are:
 
Email: waistknotwantknot@live.com

Mobile numbers: Nicole on 07904 662306

Jennyfer on 07539 232992

You can browse our other blog topics in the Index here. 

Can Get Satisfaction in Bromley

The Rolling Stones famously sing a song titled Can't Get No Satisfaction. Bromley, on the other hand, can get satisfaction, even well-being and 
happiness, as has been newly revealed.

One of the Bromley homes we're currently selling - here

Recently, an Office of National Statistics (ONS) report showed that the wellbeing of people living in Bromley is above the national average and indeed much of the rest of London.

The Personal Well-Being Across the UK report - here - revealed some interesting facts. Bromley came out rather well. The detailed tables which can be accessed in the report are, perhaps unsurprisingly, somewhat detailed and complex. However, here are a few highlights, courtesy of an article in the Bromley News Shopper which ran a story about the report titled "Satisfied with your lot in life?" on 30th October 2013.

Life satisfaction

UK - 7.41
London - 7.25
Kent - 7.51
Bromley - 7.54

Happiness


UK - 7.28
London - 7.19
Kent - 7.37
Bromley - 7.53

Worthwhile


UK - 7.66
London - 7.51
Kent - 7.81
Bromley - 7.90

Anxiety


UK - 3.14
London - 3.43
Kent - 3.03
Bromley - 3.21 (well, no one's perfect)

What can we conclude? If you're already living in Bromley, you might want to stay put. It's nice here. If you're in a less happy place, consider moving here (with help from Edward Ashdale!). Of course, the statistics may not be reliable and certainly don't apply to everyone, but it is still good that one of our offices is based somewhere that does get some satisfaction.


Key points of the over all report:

• Personal well-being improved in the UK between 2011/12 and 2012/13. Ratings for life satisfaction and the feeling that the things we do in life are worthwhile increased on average, whilst anxiety levels fell.
• The proportions rating their personal well-being as very high or very low fell between 2011/12 and 2012/13 in the UK, while the proportion rating their well-being around 7 or 8 out of 10 increased.
• Among the countries of the UK, Northern Ireland had the highest average ratings for life satisfaction, worthwhile and happiness in 2012/13. A greater proportion of people in Northern Ireland rated their life satisfaction, worthwhile and happiness as very high (9 or 10 out of 10) than in any other country.
• Among the English regions, the South West and the South East had some of the highest levels of average life satisfaction and worthwhile ratings in 2012/13. The South West also had proportionately more people than any other region rating life satisfaction, worthwhile and happiness as 9 or 10 out of 10.
• The relationship between personal well-being and local circumstances is complex and the reasons why different areas of the UK have different levels of personal well-being is not yet fully understood. ONS plan to publish further analysis later this year looking in detail at how different aspects of where we live contribute to personal well-being.

 Read our earlier posts in our Index, here.
 

Sam's Word 6: Going nuclear and keeping calm and carrying on

It was interesting to see this week that the UK government has committed itself to a new

nuclear facility as a future electricity source. There are many issues involved - many existing power plants coming the the end of their lives and needing to be decommissioned; the cost of the electricity set in order to attract overseas investment; reliance on overseas investors who are bound up with other governments; safety; waste; positive investment in Britain and creation of employment; and finally the fact that some other nations, notably Germany, are firmly committed to electricity production without a nuclear component. Not an easy issue at all and among our staff and the wider public there is sure to be quite a range of views.

One definite plus is that, whatever the source, the future national electricity supply is being secured. We don't want power outages. Among our staff are a few very experienced estate agents (mentioning no names) who remember the last ones! In those days there were no computers smaller than would fill a room, not all TV's had colour, mobile phones were (probably) on TV's Tomorrow's World and seemed as futuristic as the robotic space aliens who were in the Cadbury's Smash advert laughing about old-fashioned potato peeling.  

We had our broadband go down recently for a few days in one of our offices. We managed and we kept our clients happy, but just imagine outages that would take out and offline internet, smart devices, unsmart devices, anything needing electricity? It's probably best not to. Though, for all the advances in technology, and online property portals and so on, estate agency remains very much a people business. 

It is our people you see when we first value your home if you're looking to move, or take you on our 100% accompanied viewings to properties for sale or let. It is our people who put through the paper (and electronic) work that moves transactions from offer to completion. It is our people and the people and the services we work with who ensure our landlords and tenants are happy with the properties they rent if an issue arises, say a boiler going wrong (yes, they need electricity too). It is our people who live our values and have the passion and friendliness and professionalism we cherish and who help us to innovate and to grow. Also, our people ensured that the loss of broadband is, to use a familiar phrase, a drama not a crisis. As one of our people myself, who you could quite likely meet, I enjoy the range of things we do and being hands-on. Often hands-on the steering wheel of my car as I go to and from meetings and viewings, in fact.

The strength of our team is a great comfort as we look forward to occupying our new office. Once we move in, there may be a teething problem or two. A washing machine upstairs may go wrong and produce a flood (fingers crossed as I write this)! Whatever happens, I know we have a great team and with them we will be able to keep calm and carry on. In fact, like the national grid, we're rather looking forward to our own bit of increased capacity.

Sam Samuel, MNAEA CRLM,  October 2013

You can check out our earlier posts in our blog index.

Cheese biscuits and the Met police...

A while ago we ran a My Dream Home art competition with a local school and we've blogged about local schools in case it is helpful to people moving to the area. Now we've done something a little different.

Some of what schools do as they educate chiildren can be very earnest. For example, some people might view maths or science as unexciting (though pretty much anything, taught well, can be fun). However, some things are very interesting to children and as any parent knows, food - and cookery lessons - are popular.

We are, then, pleased to be able to share a recipe for cheese biscuits, by the kind courtesy of the Cookery Club at Worsley Bridge Junior School in Beckenham. Do try the recipe and enjoy it (and feel free to bring a sample round to one of our offices!).

Cheese Twigs/biscuits recipe

Ingredients

130g plain flour
50g margarine or butter
80g coarsely grated cheese (strength according to taste)
1 egg yolk
1-2 teaspoons of water

Method

1. put on apron
2. tie back long hair
3. wash hands thoroughly with soap
4. put flour and marg into bowl and mix together with a fork
5. add cheese and stir
6. mix together with egg and add enough water to bind mixture together
7. put mix onto floured board and roll out thinly
8. cut into strips or shapes using a cutter
9. makes approx 30 – 40 twigs or 20 – 30 biscuits, depending how thin you roll them and what size cutter you use
10. place in oven until golden approx 8 – 10 mins

On a slightly less tasty note, our Tulse Hill office recently sponsored a police talk in Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham. Pupils need to know things that are good for their future safety and good citizenship and we were glad to help with that too.

Please view our Index blog post here to read earlier our blog posts.

Our Blog A-Z Index

If you're viewing our latest blog post, we think it's nice to have an easy way to browse our earlier posts. 

So, this is an A-Z Index of our blog posts. Probably the most important post we've published is the one talking about our Values and our Testimonials post - which between them show why we're worth choosing. You may also find our recommendations on reliable property related services handy too. Onto the Index:

A

A baptism of fire for my first lettings agreement (2015) A successful first year of Edward Ashdale estate agents (2013)

B

C

Calling Tulse Hill Businesses! (2014)

D

E

Estate Agent on the radio (2015)

F

Fifty posts, Cake, and a Manifesto for an Estate Agent (2014)
Football that means something (2014)
Front page news (2012)

G

Great estate agents blend the old and the new (2012)

H
  
Happy days for Bromley (2013)
Historic posts 1 - Ashdale's first newsletter before the merger that created Edward Ashdale Estate Agent (2008) 
Historic Posts 2 - Testimonials (2008)
House price reports (2012)

 I

In the news again (2012) 
It's a Selhurst Thing (August 2014)

J

K

Kevin's Property Blog (December 2015)
Kevin's Property Blog (February 2016)

L

Lambeth Country Show-n off at its best (2015)
Landlord and letting agents advice 1 -  Gas Safety FAQ (2012)
Local and national events calendar 2013 (2012)
Location! Location! Location! and the headlines (2013)

M

Market reflections 1 - house sale reasons and lettings cowboys (2013)
Moving in... with the Queen of Clean (2015)
My Dream Home art competition (2012)

N

New partnership, new newsletter for Edward Ashdale Estate Agents (2012)
Nostalgia Corner - posts from pre-Edward Ashdale days (2012)
New landlord? Don't be nervous (2016)

O

On The Market.com is on the market (2015)
Our community - St Christopher's Hospice (2012) 
Our new eBook and a hat-trick for landlords (2016)
Our team - John Campolini (2012) 
Our team - Derrick Boyce (2012)
Our team - Sam Samuel (2012)
Our team - Hayley Mortimer (2012)

P

Professional photography - an essential part of our service (2012)

Q

QR Codes and you (2012)

R

Rising Prices and Signs of the Times - thank you, Bromley Times (2015)
Rolling Stone says it will be a great 2015... so do we (2015)

S

Sam's Word 1 - Beware inflated expectations and valuations (2013) 
Sam's Word 2 - Don't always go with the big dogs (2013)
Sam's Word 3 - Current issues concerning the London residential property market (2013)
Sam's Word 4 - The look of Estate Agents and working in different areas and markets (2013)
Sam's Word 5 - Barnstorming (2013)
Sam's Word 6: Going nuclear and keeping calm and carrying on (2013)
Sam's Word 7: Over the hill (2014)
Sam's Word 8: Trick or Treat? (2014)
Sam's Word 9: OTM and the Estate Agents Markets (2015)
Sam's Word 10: Doing anything for a sale (2015)
Sam's Word 11: In the news again: and why shouldn't you be? (2016)
Schools In Focus 1 - Highfield Junior School, Beckenham (2012)
Schools In Focus 2 - Valley Primary School, Bromley (2012)
Schools In Focus 3 - St Marks Church of England Primary School (2012) 
Schools In Focus 4 - Clare House Primary School (2012) 
Schools In Focus 5 - Highfields Infants School, BR2 (2012)
Schools In Focus 6 - Worsley Bridge Junior School, Beckenham (2012)
#Sharethelove (2014)
Some property related services to consider (2012) 
Spring News 2013 (2013)
Stripes and Strypes (2015) 
St Matthews Project gains an outstanding award (2014)

T

Take comfort in accompanied viewings (2012)
The Great British Bake-On (2015)
Tips for landlords 1 - new energy regulation is coming (2015)
Tulse Hill Ladies Market (2013)
Tulse Hill Community Market Takes Off! (2014)

U

Useful post - South London local online (2012)

V

W

Ways to make housing affordable (2014)
Welcome to the new Edward Ashdale blog - 21st century estate agents with traditional values (2012)
We value being friendly (2012)
What gets an estate agent out of the bed in the morning (2012)
Whisky Galore (2015)

X

Y

Your moving people are moving - a bit (2013)

Z

Your moving people are moving... a bit

We're a 21st century estate agents with traditional values, not a removals company. That said, we are employing some removals skills of our own at the moment as our Bromley office is moving to larger premises.This is a great development, as we've been doing very well and growing mainly on the basis of being recommended to new people by happy clients.

 
Our move is a little one, in fact, not requiring the services of a fleet of vehicles or indeed any vehicles, as our new home in Bromley is a few feet away from the current office! It has been interesting working on sorting out billing for utilities and packing and inventory and fitting out for ourselves, but we're nearly there and the new office should open in September. A cake or two is likely to be involved. 

What has also been involved are the pictures created by local children from Valley Primary School, as part of our My Dream Home art competition. Having those pictures in the windows is so much better than plain whitewash or adverts. We'll be sad when they are retired, to be replaced by homes for sale or for let. In the meantime, mothers and children are drawn to our windows and we're delighted to have the display up.

Once we've "moved", come and say hello. If you pass by before then, take a look at the pictures, and we're still nearby if you want to say that "hello".

Location! Location! Location! and the headlines

In a recent post we talked about the areas of Bromley and Tulse Hill and the expectations of estate agents in each location. They are certainly very different areas, and two of the things they obviously have in common are being in London Boroughs - Bromley is one itself - and each having an Edward Ashdale office.

Don't believe an area is a wash-out till you speak with us

One of the things that has happened in Bromley recently is focused on Orpington. Orpington got into the national press when journalists picked up on the high number of charity shops in the high street there (12) and the relatively high proportion to the shops in general this represented.  The arguments and facts about the rumoured death of the high street are complex, and this local blog for one took a step back and talked about some of the positives in Orpington.

Certainly, seeing a Daily Telegraph headline of "Austerity Street" citing Orpington provides one of those rare rub-your-eyes-and-look-again-moments. Yet you can see where they're coming from. A loss of independent retail shops in favour of, for instance, charity shops isn't perhaps ideal.Yet Orpington is a long way off having tumbleweed rolling down the high street past ranks of boarded up shops. There is a lot to praise in Orpington and the initiative "Orpington1st" appears to be gearing itself  up ready to showcase it.

From an estate agents point of view, we see currently that pretty much all types of property, rented or for purchase, are gaining higher values and rental charges in the current market. In what is something of a scrum to compete for a good quality, good value home in a suitable location a superficial view of an area is unhelpful. So while we reflected on the different sights and behaviours in Bromley and Tulse Hill, our local knowledge reaches beyond the headlines. Thus, we can say to people who ask us about moving to Orpington - "No, that austerity street label is unfair. It's not all gloom and doom and austerity. There's a lot of plusses too."

What are they? Here are just a few examples. 

Orpington has a 7 screen cinema pencilled in for the town centre and a redevelopment of the old library by Bromley Museum due to revive that asset in what are the lovely Priory Gardens. We can point out that the transport links for central London and the South East are great - just as they are in Tulse Hill. We can mention one of the country's few grammar schools in Newstead Wood, that is always very high in national educational league tables, and there other top local schools, primary and senior, in and around Orpington. We can talk about The Walnuts Leisure Centre. We can mention a recently award-winning bakery and an award-winning tea room, and the latest excellent Cray Festival. We can mention the Nugent shopping centre, the Foodbank that was set up in Orpington and that now serves Bromley; we can mention how green a place it is and that there are numerous sporting facilities including the Bromley Tennis Centre. We could talk about the great number of local social, faith, and community groups and charities. Then there are the new hardware store, the new guitar makers and the new American diner all in "Austerity Street".

If asked, we could talk about Tulse Hill in a similar way.  People need to read beyond the headlines. That is an area in which a good estate agent (like us!) can help people gain valuable insights that make for better decisions on where to make the location of their future homes.

Don't believe all you read. Unless we write it.