Stairlifts

Stairlifts Aberdeen – Scotland Stairlifts

2012-02-28T14:06:00.003Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Aberdeen, Scotland

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Aberdeen, Scotland . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01244 421214 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Aberdeen – Stairlifts Scotland

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts says ‘Hello Aberdonians’ we’re heading your way. Yes we’ve come to Aberdeen in Scotland, sometimes called the Granite City.

Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city with over 42,000 retired folk living here. Statistics suggest that there will also be just over a 1,000 people who already have stairlifts in the area. We know statistics change by the minute which is why we keep count – see our scrolling counters on the homepage of our website.

If any further Aberdonians feel the need for a stairlift to give them back their independence and make their whole home accessible again, give us a call and we will give you as much information as you need to choose the right stairlift for you. Call us on 01244 421214 .

More about Aberdeen
Back to Granite City! Aberdeen got this nickname as many of its buildings between the 18th and mid 20th century included some locally quarried granite. The granite gives the buildings a sort of sparkle which has also encouraged the name Silver City with Golden Sands – the latter a reference to its long sandy coastline.

Quarrying local granite is one of the oldest ‘trades’ from the area with a 300 year history.
Granite quarried in the region has been used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge in London. More locally Union Street in Aberdeen, the main shopping street is called Granite Mile – for obvious reasons. Granite quarrying stopped at the beginning of the 1970’s.

Other traditional industries in Aberdeen included fishing, paper-making, textiles and shipbuilding.
All of these industries have faded and disappeared though there is still one working paper-mill in Aberdeen, Stoneyford Paper Mill.

The fishing industry is also less important now; with overfishing and the harbour now servicing the oil industry, Aberdeen has lost its importance as a fishing town.

In this natural evolution of a city’s economy, Aberdeen has built up the electronics design and development industry, agricultural research and of course the oil industry which has been responsible for most of its growth in the latter half of the 20th century.

North Sea oil was first discovered in the 1960’s. Aberdeen services a great many North Sea oil fields and has earned the name of Oil Capital of Europe. As oil supplies dwindle and developments into new energies emerge, there is movement afoot to get it changed into Energy Capital of Europe.

Also due to the oil industry, Aberdeen has one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and its seaport is the largest in North East Scotland.

At the beginning of last year (2011) Aberdeen was named the ‘one to watch’. Aberdeen is one of five cities in the UK which could help us climb out of recession because a high number of its population are employed; there is a profusion of skilled workers and an increase in average weekly earnings. All this because of its rapidly growing economy, size and the oil reserves.

Aberdeen did you knows?
· Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition run by the Royal Horticultural Society 10 times – that’s record breaking!

· In the winter and December in particular Aberdeen only has about 6.5 hours of daylight on average

· The local paper – Aberdeen Press & Journal is the 3rd oldest English language newspaper in the world having been established in 1747

· Laurence of Arabia took sanctuary in the nearby village of Collieston after his heroic escapades in World War I

· In 1909 Houdini performed one of his greatest escapes in Aberdeen Harbour – he was handcuffed, chained and thrown into the sea

· Champion golfer Jack Nicklaus is designing a new golf course in the region as part of a £40K luxury leisure development

Scottish food

Though not directly linked to Aberdeen, we thought we couldn’t leave this country without mentioned some of foods directly linked to this northerly part of the UK.

Whiskey

This traditional drink is now made to strict legislation. For instance Scotch Whiskey must be made and distilled in Scotland; it is a mix of water and malted barley which is fermented with yeast and then distilled for at least 3 years in an oak barrel. Nothing is added except water and caramel colouring. It has to have a minimum alcoholic strength of 40%.

Beware of taking a wee dram before getting on your stairlift! Though it could make the ascent fly by! Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can advise which stairlift is best for your home; we supply a range of curved, straight and perch stair or chairlifts as they’re sometimes called. We represent all the UK’s manufacturers as national agents so will be sure to give you fair stairlift comparisons.

If you’d like to know more take a look at our site or give us a call on 01224 421 214.

Back to some of Scotland’s finest ...

Haggis
This savoury pudding is made of sheep’s offal minced with onion, oatmeal and salt, then mixed with stock and traditionally wrapped in the sheep’s stomach. Most commercial prepared Haggis is wrapped in a casing like sausages. It is traditionally eaten on Burns Night with neeps (turnip or swede) and tatties (potato) and a dram of whiskey.

Out of Aberdeen
Aberdeen has had its fair share of celebrities over the years who have either been born here, lived here or have connections with the city. Here’s a few of them:

· The poet Lord Byron was raised here. Byron had an aristocratic heritage being the 6th Baron Byron who liked to live his life to excess which included huge debts, numerous love affairs, rumours of a scandalous incestuous liaison with his half-sister and self-imposed exile. His one time lover Lady Caroline Lamb described him as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. Some thought he suffered from a bipolar disorder or manic depression.

· Singer Annie Lennox was born here. She sang with the Tourists and then with Dave Stewart; the duo formed the Eurythmics and went onto achieve international success. Annie has won 8 Brit Awards and has been named ‘Brits Champion of Champions’.

· Architect James Gibbs was also born in Aberdeen back in 1682. He was one of Britain’s most influential architects. He trained in Rome and practised mostly in England. Some of his most important works are still revered today – St Martins in the Fields in London and the round Radcliffe Camera with its domed roof in Oxford.

· One of the best horse trainers, Sir Henry Cecil is an Aberdonian. He has won the title of Champion Trainer 10 times; this accolade is awarded to the trainer whose horses win the most money in a season. He is the Master Trainer at Royal Ascot where he has had more than 70 wins – more than any of his competitors.

· Footballer Dennis Law who played for Scotland of course and Manchester United comes from Aberdeen. There is a statue of him at Old Trafford.

Aberdeen in fiction
Aberdeen has featured in a number of fictional stories:
· In one of Ian Rankin’s novels: Black & Blue

· Ken Follett’s wartime novel Eye of a Needle takes place partly in Aberdeen

· Sarah Jane Smith a character in one of the Dr Who series wakes up in Aberdeen instead of her home town Croydon

· Groundskeeper Willie in The Simpsons if often heard saying ‘Go Aberdeen’

· Star Trek’s Scottie describes himself as ‘an old Aberdeen pub crawler’ in the episode Wolf in the fold – but like Groundskeeper Willie he doesn’t have an Aberdonian accent

Ok we’ve come to the end of our short tour. Don’t forget that Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help you in your search for a stairlift. Take at look at our stairlift prices and remember we do reconditioned ones – usually straight ones as curved stairlifts are made to measure to fit your staircase. There are grants and 0% finance available if it helps.

Give us a call on 01244 421214 to book an assessment today.

Stairlifts Edinburgh – Scotland Stairlifts

2012-02-27T08:45:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Edinburgh, Scotland

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Edinburgh, Scotland . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 0131 2420 046 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Edinburgh – Stairlifts Scotland

Edinburgh a hill fort town certainly since the 12th century is the capital and second largest city in Scotland; it’s also the home of the Scottish Parliament.

If you live in Edinburgh’s craggy and hilly terrain and are finding the stairs in your home a problem, then it’s time to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts to see how we can help.

We’ve been in the stairlift business for more than 12 years so we know a thing or two about them. We supply a wide range of stairlifts or chairlifts as they are sometimes known; ones that fit straight or curved staircases. We are happy to come and talk to you about which you need for your home, weight and mobility levels. For instance if you are unable to sit or bend your knees we can supply a perch stairlift. You can see our stairlift comparisons on our website. In the meantime please give us a call so we can assess your needs: 0131 2420 046 .

Seat of the King of Scotland
Edinburgh is also the location of Holyrood Palace, home of the Scottish monarchy. In the 17th century James VI of Scotland also became James I of England when Elizabeth I died without a direct heir. James as son of Mary Queen of Scots became King of both countries whilst the countries remained separate. It was this joining together of the Scottish and English crown which brought the blue background and the white diagonal cross to the Union Jack flag of Great Britain.

A hundred years earlier Edinburgh had been the seat of the Scottish Reformation when Scotland broke with the papacy. Just as other European countries also made the break, the Scottish Reformation resulted in the formation of the Church of Scotland.

The Enlightenment
By the 18th century, Edinburgh lead by Edinburgh University was at the centre of the Enlightenment. This period promoted the sciences, intellectual thought and the exchange of ideas. It was a cultural movement that spread across Europe. It earned Edinburgh the nick name of the Athens of the North. The name reflects its Greco-Roman architecture in the New Town and equally its intellectual group who led the Enlightenment certainly in Scotland; they and were influential across Europe.

In Edinburgh some of the most famous thinkers of the 18th century included
· Author and poet Sir Walter Scott

· Philosopher David Hume

· Architect and interior designer Robert Adam

· Artist David Wilkie

· National poet of Scotland Robbie Burns

· Physician and geologist James Hutton

· Philosopher and economist Adam Smith

Edinburgh’s heritage
Recently both Old and New Towns in Edinburgh have been made World Heritage Sites for their special cultural and physical significance. The Old Town is medieval whilst the New Town was planned Georgian. Edinburgh has more than 4,500 listed buildings and 40 conservation areas which includes 23% of the buildings.

Feel like you should be listed and preserved? If you are feeling less sprightly than you used to and still want to be able to negotiate every floor in your Georgian pile, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can almost certainly help.

A stairlift can definitely improve your independence so that you can still get around your home. Checkout our stairlift prices and then give us a call on 0131 2420 046 to discuss what you need. Remember we do reconditioned stairlifts as well.

Culture of a different sort
Every August since 1947 Edinburgh has concentrated on another kind of culture with the Edinburgh Festival which also includes the International Festival. This is serious theatre from across the world.

In the same inaugural year, Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival began lead by 8 gate-crashing companies excluded from the main festival who put on their own festival. Now Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival is the biggest of its kind in the world. Performances takes place in many venues most of them not theatres as we know them – halls, churches, even sports gyms – bringing together brave new plays and performers as well as the more practiced.

There are a number of other festivals that have sprung up around these main events including the Comedy Festival which is technically part of the Fringe Festival, a Television Festival, a Book Festival, an Interactive Festival, a Jazz and Blues Festival and an Art Festival. The Film Festival now takes place in June though originally it too took place in August.

The festivals attract more than 1 million overseas visitors to the city every summer.

The intellectual and the famous
As well as the notable Edinburgh people connected with the Enlightenment, Edinburgh also has connections with a number of other famous people.

· Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone was born at 16 South Charlotte St where there is an inscription plaque on wall today denoting this fact. Bell was educated at Edinburgh University

· Charles Darwin who ‘discovered’ natural selection also went to Edinburgh University

· Sir Ian Wilmut is the Director of the British Medical Research Centre at Edinburgh University; he is an embryologist best known for cloning Dolly the Sheep – now an exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland

· The creator of Sherlock Homes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh

· As was Robert Louis Stevenson the author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped

· Award winning novelist Muriel Spark whose most famous novel is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie also claimed Edinburgh as her place of birth

· A more recent author and once Tutor of Literature at Edinburgh University is Ian Rankin who writes about Inspector Rebus

· And of course we couldn’t miss out J K Rowling who famously wrote her first Harry Potter in Edinburgh coffee shops whilst living here

· Two other famous residents are the James Bond original Sean Connery and comedian Ronnie Corbett, one half of the Two Ronnies

· The former Prime Minister Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh

· Scottish football player Kenny Miller was born in Edinburgh and began his career playing for Edinburgh Club Hibernian

· Former Scotland football player and manager and captain of Liverpool Graeme Souness was born in Edinburgh

· Currently playing for Huddersfield Town, Gary Naysmith is another Scottish footballer born in this city; he originally played for the other Edinburgh team Hearts of Midlothian

· Another football son of the city John Greig went on to play for Glasgow team Rangers where he appeared 755 times!

· Last but not least, Sweetie Sandy aka Alexander Ferguson moved to Edinburgh from Glasgow and set up a confectionary business. His biggest achievement was the invention of the recipe for Edinburgh Rock which made him very rich.

With a growing population of almost half a million, you may still be surprised to known that approximately two and a half thousand people in Edinburgh own or use stairlifts in their homes. These figures are collected by Castle Comfort Stair Lifts on our scrolling counter on our website homepage – approximately 2.6% of the retired population own stairlifts, that’s approximately 2,500 in Edinburgh. Take a look for yourselves here.

If you need to join the throng and get a stairlift of your own, please give us a call to see how we can help not just with supplying but also with installation and maintaining your stairlift. Contact us on 0131 2420 046 .

Stairlifts Glasgow – Scotland Stairlifts

2012-02-23T12:10:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Glasgow

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Glasgow. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 0141 278 3929 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Glasgow – Stairlifts Scotland

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts has come to Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland and the 3rd biggest in the UK after London and Birmingham.

With a population of over half a million you won’t be surprised to know that about 3,000 already use stairlifts to assist them to gain access to the upstairs floors in their homes. How do we know this? We know that approximately 2.6% of the retired population own stairlifts - you can see the constantly changing statistics on the counter at the bottom of our home page.

If you are looking for a stairlift, or as they are sometimes called, a chairlift, then you have come to the right place. We know just about all there is to know about them having been in the business for more than 15 years and are agents for all UK manufacturers. Take a look around our site to see the types of stairlifts we offer, comparisons and stairlift prices and if you still have questions please give us a call on 0141 278 3929 .

Famous people of Glasgow
Glasgow is linked to two Mackintoshes. The first is Charles, a scientist and chemical manufacturer, who invented rubberised material - actually sealing two pieces of rubber together - that is waterproof and was made into the first raincoat or mackintosh!

Glasgow actually has an average of 165 rainy days every year though it is generally warmer than other cities on the same line i.e. Moscow and Copenhagen! I wonder if it was the rain that inspired this invention?

The second of course is Charles Rennie Mackintosh, architect and artist who was part of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was born in the city and had a big influence on European design. He won a travelling scholarship to study classic architecture and returned to the city to work with Honeyman & Keppie eventually becoming a partner.

His signature architecture includes strong right angles and floral decorative motifs. The Mackintosh Rose is his iconic decoration for which he is probably best known now. He designed the Glasgow School of Art and several other buildings in Glasgow. Like fellow designer Frank Lloyd Wright he specified a lot of the interior design and furniture for his buildings. Evidence of his furniture can be seen at The Willow Tearooms in Glasgow. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh HQ in Glasgow is based in a church, Queen’s Cross which Mackintosh designed.

More recent famous people
Is a city defined by its famous and notable people? Certainly not entirely but the list of notable people from Glasgow is vast from sportsmen and women to those in the entertainment industry to politicians. Here’s a little taste of some better known Glaswegian celebrities:

· Douglas Alexander is currently the Shadow Foreign Secretary and held various positions in Blair and then Brown’s governments

· Frankie Boyle, the controversial black-humoured comedian who was a regular on TV’s Mock the Week until 2009

· Academy Award and BAFTA winning actor Peter Capaldi is probably best known for his performance as Malcolm Tucker in the sitcom The Thick of It

· Actor Robert Carlyle has appeared in many films and TV productions including Trainspotting, The Full Monty and 28 Weeks Later

· Billy Connolly an influential comedian was born in Glasgow; he is married to actress, comedienne and psychologist Pamela Stephenson

· Actor Robbie Coltrane famous for the TV series Cracker and playing Hagrid in the Harry Potter films

· Glaswegian actor Gordon Jackson who is probably best known as Mr Hudson in the original Upstairs Downstairs series

· The all singing and dancing actor John Barrowman was born in Glasgow but grew up in Illinois; he is best known for his roles in Dr Who and Torchwood

· Glaswegian singer Lulu famous for her full-on voice and ‘Shout!’

· Lorraine Kelly, smiling TV presenter

· Bill Forsyth – film director came to fame for Gregory’s Girl and went on to make Local Hero and Comfort and Joy

· Clare Grogan the Glaswegian actress/singer well known for playing Susan in the film Gregory’s Girl and singing with Altered Images, remember the song Happy Birthday?

· Actor John Hannah has appeared in many films including Four Weddings and Funeral and Sliding Doors

· Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United was born in Glasgow and now lives in the ‘footballer belt’ in Wilmslow, Cheshire

· Tennis player Andy Murray was born in Glasgow and has played tennis to international standards, now seeded no 4 in the world rankings. Murray attended Dunblane Primary School and was present when the school massacre occurred. Murray took cover in a classroom; Thomas Hamilton killed 17 students and teachers before turning the gun on himself. Murray says he was too young to understand and is very reluctant to talk about the incident. In his autobiography Murray mentioned that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts certainly want to help you avoid any sort of tragedy or accident whilst retaining your independence and accessibility to your whole property. We can advise just which stairlift will work for you in your home best: straight, curved or perch.

Straight stairlifts are easy to install as they are the simplest form; curved are for curved staircases and take a little longer and cost a little more; perch stairlifts are for those of you who can’t bend your knees. We have it all covered!

If you’d like us to come and assess your home and your needs please give us a call on 0141 278 3929 .

More about Glasgow
Situated on the banks of the River Clyde Glasgow became a real hub of Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century. This period of ‘intellectual and scientific accomplishments’ is perhaps best explained by the number of well remembered Scotsmen who were a part of it: Adam Smith, philosopher and political economist, David Hume, philosophist, poet Robbie (Rabbie) Burns, Adam Ferguson ‘Father of modern sociology’, Joseph Black physician and chemist and James Hutton, physician and geologist.

During this time Glasgow grew into one of the main transatlantic hubs for trade with America and the West Indies. The main commodities were tobacco, cotton and sugar. By the end of the 18th century most of the tobacco trade of the British Isles was concentrated in Glasgow creating a group of merchants who became known as the Tobacco Lords. This group made enormous amounts of money from trading tobacco and built themselves fine mansions on the outskirts of the city. They lived a sober opulence – their Calvanist backgrounds ensuring they remained looking sober not decadent!

During industrialisation Glasgow became known for its shipbuilding, marine engineering and its many industrialists who built this industry. The shipbuilding industry stayed buoyant into the 20th century with many transatlantic liners built here including RMS Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and the QE2.

Football madness
Glasgow has two main football clubs both playing in the Premier League: Rangers FC who’ve literally gone into administration this month after 140 years and Celtic FC. As in other cities where there are two clubs i.e. Manchester, there is great rivalry between these two clubs. Celtic was formed and named to reflect its origins of Irish and Scottish backgrounds who were mainly Roman Catholic whilst Rangers was formed mainly by Protestant Unionists. Their sectarian backgrounds still air via the songs the fans sing!

No matter what your background or what songs you feel like singing, we are here to help you. A stairlift can make the world of difference to your life. If you need help financing your purchase remember there are grants and 0% finance available to assist you as well as our £50 off voucher.

Get in touch with us now to tie up the details on 0141 278 3929 .

Stairlifts North Staffordshire - Newcastle | Kidsgrove | Madeley | Loggerheads

2012-02-22T13:46:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Staffordshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in North Staffordshire. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01782 611 411 anytime between 7am and 11pm

According to the latest report from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council there will be some more money available this year for stairlifts and other mobility adaptations under local applications for Disabled Facility Grants (DFG's).

Last financial year the local authority of Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council actually ran out of money for DFG's (that help prove stairlifts grants) four months earlier than expected which unfortunately might have caused some delays for those in most need.

The Disabled Facility Grants are means tested and require an Occupational Therapist assessment from the area Community Intervention Service. If Newcastle Borough residents don't have funds available in terms of capital then an alternative is to buy a stairlift on a 0% APR 1 year agreement, such as those offered by Castle Comfort Stairlifts. Some example repayments are below together with the criteria:

Who qualifies?

Simple - You need to be a homeowner
You need to have a telephone (mobile or land-line)
You need to have a bank account
YOU CAN BE RETIRED OR EMPLOYED (even self-employed)
(or even UNEMPLOYED!)

Examples –

Cash Price £1,000 - 12 payments of £83.33 = £1,000

Cash price £1,200 - 12 payments of £100.00 = £1,200

Cash price £1,800 - 12 payments of £150.00 = £1,800
Cash price £3,000 - 12 payments of £250.00 = £3,000

Residents of the following areas would be eligible for the Newcastle Borough Council Grants scheme (though you can live anywhere in North Staffordshire, or indeed the UK to get a 0% Apr stairlift from Castle Comfort.)

1 - Audley and Bignall End

2 - Bradwell

3 - Butt Lane

4 - Chesterton

5 - Clayton

6 - Cross Heath

7 - Halmerend

8 - Holditch

9 - Keele

10 - Kidsgrove

11 - Knutton and Silverdale

12 - Loggerheads and Whitmore

13 - Madeley

14 - May Bank

15 - Newchapel

16 - Porthill

17 - Ravenscliffe

18 - Seabridge

19 - Silverdale and Parksite

20 - Talke

21 - Thistleberry

22 - Town

23 - Westlands

24 - Wolstanton

The Council will be receiving £500,000 from the government this year which it will put together with £250,000 of council funds towards its housing capital programme for disabled access adaptations. The local councillor Robin Studd had said that although they would aim to help as many people in need as possible it might still not be enough money because of the growing demand from the rising elderly population.

If you have a need for a stairlift then contact us to see if we can get you an alternative stairlift grant source or to proceed with a 0% finance purchase. Call Ann or Keith on 01782 611 411 today!

Stairlifts Wolverhampton – West Midlands Stairlifts

2012-02-21T13:24:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Wolverhampton, West Midlands

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Wolverhampton, West Midlands . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01902 489 422 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Wolverhampton – Stairlifts West Midlands

Here we are in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands so hello Wulfrunians or Yam Yams if you prefer! These nicknames sometimes seem quite bizarre. The term Wulfrunians comes from the history of the town; Wolverhampton is named after one Lady Wulfrun who is said to have founded a ‘landed estate’ at the place now known as Wolverhampton. This was in the year 985; prior to this she had founded a convent at Tamworth. You’ll still find references around the town to Wulfrun i.e. The Wulfrun Centre or Wulfrun Hall.

Wolverhampton has a nickname of its own and is often called Wolves or even Wolvo.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts’ Wolverhampton office is happy to help anyone in the area looking for a stairlift for themselves or a loved one. We know that approximately 1,200 retired people in the area already own one; you can see how we keep up to date with figures via the rolling counter on our homepage.

We know these figures change constantly so if you find yourself in need of mobile assistance up and down the stairs, check our stairlift comparison, see if you like our stairlift prices and give us a call on 01902 489 422 for more information.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton’s Premier League Football Club is also affectionately known as Wolves. It is one of the oldest Football Clubs in the UK and one of the 12 founder members of the Football League.

Over the years Wolves have won 2 FA Cups and 2 League cups and have reached the final of the UEFA Cup. They have had a number of high profile players including Billy Wright, Emlyn Hughes, Wayne Clarke, Robbie Keane and Wayne Hennesy amongst them. Famous managers include Tommy Docherty, Graham Taylor and Glen Hoddle.

Wolverhampton’s timeline
As a small market town, it was once famous for its wool production; by the Industrial Revolution it had become a major industrial town with coal and limestone mining and iron ore at its core; followed by the production of steel, japanning (Asian lacquer work), locks – Chubb locks still have a presence in the town - motorcycles and cars. Now its economy is engineering based including the aerospace industry and the service sector. How times change!

Car production in Wolverhampton has been lead by Sunbeam who had previously built bicycles and then motorcycles. Along with their Sunbeam cars all carried the trademark brand name Sunbeam.
British composer Edward Elgar was a big Wolverhampton Wanderers fan and often travelled to games on his bicycle – a Royal Sunbeam of course.

They built several cars that beat the land speed record including the first car to break the record at over 200 mph. The car a Mystery aka Sunbeam 1000hp broke the record at Daytona Beach in 1927 driven by Henry Segrave. The car is now on show at Beaulieu Motor Museum in Hampshire.

Sunbeam also built several Grand Prix winners too – it was the only British make to win a Grand Prix in the first half of the 20th century.

Sunbeam Talbots were built for the road up until the beginning of the 1980’s.

Another car producer in Wolverhampton was Kieft Cars best known for Formula Three cars in the 1950’s and for Stirling Moss as their driver.

Are you built for the road? Or have you seen better days ... if your wheels aren’t running as smoothly as they once were, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are here to help. We can fit a stairlift to meet your requirements and those of your staircase in no time at all! We can literally complete the installation within an hour once we’ve assessed which stairlift is for you.

And our after service care is second to none so that you can be sure that your stairlift won’t leave you stranded at the top or the bottom. Why not give us a call now to get the wheels turning on 01902 489 422 .

Celebrities of Wolverhampton
Footballer Billy Wright played for Wolverhampton Wanderers throughout his football career and captained them to win the FA Cup 3 times in the 1950’s. Wright joined Wolves as ground staff and played his first game for a B team at age 14; by 17 he was playing for them professionally give or take a break or two during WWII when the club didn’t play. Wright also played for England more than 100 times, captaining the England side on 90 occasions.

Richard Attwood aka Dickie was born in Wolverhampton and was ‘bitten by the motor racing bug’ at an early age. He raced Formula Ones for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper teams during his career and won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1970 driving a Porsche.

British Javelin Thrower Tessa Sanderson grew up in Wolverhampton and competed in 6 Olympic games. She won gold in 1984.

Gold medallist Denise Lewis is a Wolverhampton girl. She specialises in the Heptathlon made up of 7 track and field events. She won her gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

One of the directors of Wolves FC is Baroness Rachael Heyhoe-Flint best known as a cricketer. She captained England’s Women’s Cricket Team for more than 10 years and played in 22 test cricket matches.

British soul singer Beverly Knight hails from Wolverhampton; Robert Plant singer with the legendary Led Zeppelin grew up in the area; Jamelia lives in here; Kevin Rowland front man in Dexy’s Midnight Runners is also from Wolverhampton.

Comedienne and actress Meera Syal was born in Wolverhamptom. Actress Frances Barber was also born here, whilst comedian Eric Idle part of the Monty Python team went to school here.

One other celebrity we must mention is food writer and television presenter Nigel Slater who was born here and spent the early years of his life in the town.

Making the most of your time in Wolverhampton makes sense. If you’re still considering a stairlift, watch our founder Keith’s video for inspiration and then pick up the phone and call us on 01902 489 422 .

Use our £50 voucher towards costs or look at grants or 0% finance so that you can get started now. We look forward to hearing from you!

Stairlifts Birmingham – West Midlands Stairlifts

2012-02-16T12:50:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Birmingham, West Midlands

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Birmingham, West Midlands . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 0121 371 0123 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Birmingham – Stairlifts West Midlands

Did you know that our destination today, Birmingham in the West Midlands, is the UK’s biggest city outside London? It’s the heart of the West Midlands.

It’s grown from a medium market town in medieval times to the major commercial centre that it is today. It’s ranked as a beta-world city i.e. one of importance globally by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network – a think tank that looks into these things based at Loughborough University!

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts knows it’s a mega city when calculations tell us that approximately 5,230 people here already own stairlifts out of a retired population of around 201,000. But then it is the biggest city outside London. You can see how we know this by visiting our website and checking out the ever-changing counters on our home page which record population, retired percentage, and stairlift owning percentage.

The fact is that these statistics are ever-changing so if you find yourself in need of a stairlift we are your first port of call. Representing all UK manufacturers as their agent, we can give you unbiased stairlift comparisons of what’s on offer and a list of stairlift prices so that you can start work on your calculations. And of course we are just at the end of a phone if you’d like to know more, call our Birmingham office on 0121 371 0123 .

Birmingham’s uniqueness
Birmingham’s stature grew in the Industrial Revolution with a number of initiatives and innovations in science and technology and economic organisation. By the 1790’s it was known as the ‘first manufacturing town in the world’!

One of Birmingham’s unique qualities was its thousands of small workshops offering a wide variety of skilled trades; these encouraged high levels of creativity and innovation making Birmingham a centre of industrial prosperity. This position lasted well into the 20th century.

The Lunar Society founded during the 18th century by industrialist and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton was at the heart of the innovation and manufacturing. The city became known as the top producer of buckles, buttons and small boxes, jewellery and accessories all over Europe. Collectively these goods were known as ‘Brummagen toys’.

The Lunar Society met at Boulton’s home Soho House at full moon; guests included James Watt, Josiah Wedgewood and Joseph Priestly. Today Soho House is a museum where you can see silver and ormolu (gold finished pieces) that were manufactured in Boulton’s day.

Statistics about Birmingham
· Did we mention that Birmingham is the biggest city outside London

· Birmingham is the 72nd largest economy in the world

· It’s the second largest higher education centre in the UK outside London with 3 universities and 2 university colleges

· It has a Big City plan started in 2010 to redevelop the centre of the city and make it one of the most liveable cities in the world in the next 20 years

· This plan will increase the size of the city by 25%

The Bullring

· The Bullring was originally the site of a medieval market

· St Martin’s Church – a Grade II listed Victorian Church stands in the Bullring on the site of the original Medieval church

· It became a centre of retail trade in the 1960’s in the regeneration program after the Birmingham Blitz in WWII

· The current Selfridges building was designed by Future Systems a practice which concentrated on blobitecture or organic shaped buildings. The Selfridge building at the Bullring is an iconic building in Birmingham and was built in 2003 as part of a regeneration programme

· This type of building is in good company with other 20th century icons like the Eden Project, the Sage Gateshead building, the Allianz Arena in Munich and London City Hall

· The Bullring is amongst the busiest shopping centres in the UK – it attracted 36.5 million visitors in 2004 just after its reopening

· It has more than 160 shops including 1 of only 4 branches of Selfridges

What makes Birmingham special?

True to the West Midlands, Birmingham has a very distinctive accent though it is different from those of adjoining West Midland areas! To outsiders it may seem similar as it definitely encompasses some of the commonly recognisable West Midland’s pronunciations i.e. singer to rhyme with finger.

People from Birmingham are referred to as Brummies and as you might imagine there are quite a few famous or notable people from this great city.

There was pharmacist Alfred Bird who invented egg-free custard. John Cadbury who founded Cadbury’s Chocolate Factory was also from Birmingham. Oscar Deutsch founder of the Odeon Cinema was born in Birmingham of Hungarian Jewish descent; Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1937 – 1940) was a Brummie.

The band UB40 was formed in Birmingham at the end of the 1970’s and three of its members are Brummies: Ali, Robin and Duncan Campbell. UB40 had more than 50 singles in the UK charts.

Another famous Brummie, Ozzy Osbourne formed Black Sabbath; Judas Priest another heavy metal band was formed in West Bromich in the West Midlands though many of the original ‘cast’ are no longer members.

In fact Brummie musicians have been in some of the best known line ups:

· Actress and singer Toyah Wilcox comes from Birmingham

· Lead singer Robert Plant of the iconic Led Zeppelin comes from the West Midlands

· Roy Wood and Jeff Lyne, both Brummies formed the Electric Light Orchestra; Wood went on to perform as Wizzard

· Duran Duran was formed in Birmingham with only Simon le Bon not being a ‘local’

· The Moody Blues were formed in Birmingham though the line up changed several times; they are probably best known for ‘Nights in White Satin’

· Singer songwriter Joan Armatrading moved to Birmingham as a child with her family from the Caribbean. Her best known recording is ‘Love and Affection’

· Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac fame grew up in Birmingham

The world of literature also has a good spattering of Brummies:

· Arthur Conan Doyle lived in Aston for a time

· Irish poet and playwright Louis MacNeice spent the early years of his marriage living in Birmingham

· Dub-poet Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Handsworth Birmingham which he nicknamed the ‘Jamaican capital of Europe’

· Author of some of our best loved adventure literature, J R R Tolkien grew up in Birmingham; he was a language professor at Pembroke and Merton Colleges at Oxford

· John Wyndham author of science fiction novels including The Day of the Triffids grew up in Birmingham

· Barbara Cartland was a Brummie! She was famous for her romantic novels all 723 of them

· Author David Lodge was a professor at the University of Birmingham and the town of Rummidge which features in some of his novels is based on the city

· Satirical novelist Jonathan Coe comes from the West Midlands. He is well known for his political satires such as What a Carve Up!

What a city. We’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg in our tour of Birmingham; well it stands to reason that a city this size has a lot going on – maybe we’ll pay it another visit sometime.

Don’t forget though if you’re a resident in this great city and in need of a stairlift or know someone who is, we’re the people to contact. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can advise on the best type for your home and install and maintain it for you. In fact installation can take as short a time as an hour!

If you need help with financing the purchase there are grants available or a 0% finance option which means you can spread your payments with no extra cost.

If you’re still undecided, watch our founder Keith’s video and then give us a call. We’ll be happy to explain anything that is unclear and help you make a considered decision with no pressure at all. Give our Birmingham office a call on 0121 371 0123 .

Stairlifts Walsall –West Midlands Stairlifts

2012-02-13T11:43:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Walsall, West Midlands

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Walsall, West Midlands . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01902 489 422 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Walsall – Stairlifts West Midlands

Walsall in the West Midlands is a real mixed bag from an interesting modern art museum to one of the best known – but maybe not most-loved – voices in popular culture. Yes everyone recognises Noddy Holder screaming out ‘It’s Christmas’ every year in the popular song, Merry Christmas Everybody!

Walsall is not left out when it comes to Castle Comfort Stair Lifts supply of stairlifts either. Let’s not forget Walsall has a retired population of around 3,400, almost 900 of whom already own stairlifts. We know this because of our minute by minute calculator which shows us just how many retired people there are country-wide and how many of them own stairlifts. Intrigued? Take a look at the bottom of our homepage.

Anyway we’re here in Walsall in the West Midlands to remind anyone looking for a stairlift that we have a good range as agents for all UK manufacturers. We also have comprehensive stairlift comparisons for you to check and the stairlift prices we can offer. You can contact us on 01902 489 422 .

Walsall
Walsall means or at least the words it’s derived from ‘Walh halh’ means ‘Valley of the Celtic speakers’.

Although it started life as a settlement and grew to a small market town, little more than a village of 2,000 in the middle ages, by the 1900’s it had a population of around 86,000. Industrialisation brought prosperity to the town by means of coal mining, limestone quarrying, metal working and manufacturing. Walsall produced saddles, chains, buckles and plated ware.

Walsall was famous for its leather trade and is still the home of the English saddle industry. There are still around 90 active leather companies in Walsall.

Now it is also home to a number of big businesses including the RAC’s control centre and T K Maxx’s regional depot, Homeserve plc and South Staffordshire Water.

Walsall Leather Museum
The museum dedicated to leather in Walsall is housed in an old leather factory and tells the story of Walsall’s connection to the trade. At its peak 10,000 local people worked in the industry making saddles and bridles and other products including bags – 3 of these manufacturers held the Royal Warrant at one time.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts DON’T have a Royal Warrant. As yet our Queen who has reigned for 60 years this year and Prince Phillip are still pretty fit. However if you want to feel like royalty and glide to the top of your stairs on a stairlift, we’re definitely the people to contact.

We can assess your staircase however grand to see which type of stairlift will work best for you. If your staircase is grand and curved, a stairlift to cope with this may be a little more expensive as it will need to be custom made. But if you don’t have ‘royal’ funds, there are grants and 0% finance to help you afford your stairlift. And of course don’t forget our £50 voucher which you can use towards the cost – no one is too grand to take advantage of that! Give us a call now to talk to us about what you need for your pile, 01902 489 422

The New Art Gallery in Walsall
This gallery has been built partly to house the Garman Ryan Collection which was donated by the wife of the late artist Jacob Epstein. Epstein is best known for his sculpture which adorns Coventry Cathedral of St Michael and the devil. The collection at the New Art Gallery not only includes his work but also works by notable European artists Van Gogh, Monet, Turner, Corot, Renoir and Constable.

As well as the collection and related exhibitions, the gallery currently has a further 6 exhibitions including one called Black Country Stores. Its creator, photographer Martin Parr, has been out and about with the people of the area; so visiting the leather and metal factories, sampling local food and seeing how the people of the Black Country celebrate i.e. last year’s Royal Wedding.

Walsall’s Arboretum
The Arboretum is a large Victorian park covering some 80 acres in the centre of Walsall. It has distinct areas including a boating lake, a bowling green and clubhouse, a golf course, a children’s play area and several acres of playing fields. Importantly it also hosts more than 200 species of trees and plants.

Celebrities of Walsall
We’ve already mentioned Walsall-born Noddy Holder who is lead singer of the pop group Slade who became famous in the 1970’s, but did you know their song Merry Christmas Everybody is the biggest selling Christmas recording?

Model Erin O’Connor hails from Walsall; she has featured on the cover of Vogue and in several other high-fashion periodicals like Harper Bazaar, Harpers and Queen, Elle and i-D. Designer Karl Lagerfeld described her as ‘one of the best models in the world’.

Actress Sue Nicholls also from Walsall is well known for her role as Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street. She first joined the Street in 1979. Prior to this Sue had appeared in Crossroads.

Author Jerome K Jerome came from Walsall. His humorous travel story Three Men in a Boat is still in publication today. The book was meant to be a serious travelogue but Jerome’s humour made that the focus. Jerome followed this book with one called Three Men on the Bummel about a cycling holiday in Germany which wasn’t nearly as successful.

Walsall seems to have spawned a number of sportsmen including David Brown and Fred Bakewell, former English cricketers, Colin Charvis ex Rugby Union player, Olympic swimmer Nick Gillingham, Mark Lewis-Francis Olympic sprinter, Eleanor Simmonds Paralympics swimmer and Rachel Unitt English football player.

Drum ‘n’ Base star Goldie is from Walsall as are a number of ‘luvies’ – Peter McEnery, Matthew Marsden, Frank Windsor, Andrew Peach and Alex Lester.

If you want more than a bit-part in your own show, you need to master those stairs. You know we can help here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts, so give us a call now on 01902 489 422 .

Stairlifts Dudley – West Midlands Stairlifts

2012-02-09T18:16:00.006Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Dudley, West Midlands

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Dudley, West Midlands . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01902 489 422 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Dudley – West Midlands Stairlifts

Dudley is the unofficial capital of the Black Country aka the West Midlands or that is the rough boundary.

Almost 1000, well 983 of the retired folk of Dudley already have stairlifts. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts know this because of our rolling stairlifts statistics counter at the bottom of our home page which is updated every minute; about 2.6% of the retired population of Dudley own stairlifts.

We supply a wide range of stairlifts from straight and curved even to perch lifts for those who are not able to sit. We can install in an hour or at the most half a day and our after sales service is second to none.

If you’d like to know more please give us a call at our West Midlands office on 01902 489 422 .

Things you might not know about Dudley
· Did you know that Dudley was hit by an earthquake only last November? Just after midnight on 12th November a small earthquake hit Dudley with a magnitude of 1.5 – so tiny. In fact there are 8,000 recorded earthquakes with a magnitude of 1 – 2 everyday around the world! In the UK earthquakes normally occur on the western side of the UK mainland.

· Dudley is the largest town in England never to have had a football team in the league tables!

· Topically Dudley has applied to receive the status of ‘city’ in this year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (2012). The towns – 25 have applied including Reading, Bournemouth and Gateshead – which have been awarded the status of city will be announced in June 2012.

How the West Midlands came to be called the Black Country
There are several explanations though none are clarified as to why the area of the West Midlands came to be called the Black Country.

The most common is that as a result of the production of coal in the area and the industrialisation with iron foundries and steel works burning the coal in the 19th century, the area was left covered in a layer of black soot.

Some historians think it may go even further back as ‘scars’ of black coal could be seen on the heath lands and with coal so near the surface, the earth in the area was extremely black.

As Queen Victoria passed through on the royal train, she is said to have asked for the blinds to be pulled down in her carriage. There is no evidence that this is true!

Dudley is slap bang in the middle of the Black Country with Walsall, our next destination and Sandwell. Dudley is the largest town in the Black Country too hence earning the unofficial title of Capital of the Black Country.

The West Midlands covers a broader area taking in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sutton Coldfield, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen as well.

The accent
Dudley is one of the towns where we hear the famous West Midlands accent. There are still elements of a local dialect in different parts of the West Midlands usually undetectable other than to locals! The accent referred to is perhaps best explained as pronouncing singer to rhyme with finger, bath with math and put with cut!

Here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts we don’t mind what your words rhyme with! All we’d like to do is help you regain some of your mobility to get you up and down those stairs.

We can advise you on the best stairlift for you and your home without bias as we supply stairlifts for all the UK’s manufacturers. Assessing your home to see which stairlift will work best for you is all part of our service.

Take a look at the short video of our founder Keith explaining how he became interested in supplying stairlifts and if you still have any questions, we are here to answer them. Just call our local office on 01902 489 422 .

Dudley Castle
Built in the Norman period, there are only ruins of Dudley Castle left now. In its grounds however there is a flourishing zoo.

Dudley Castle was the home of the Dudley family (formerly Sutton) who took the name from the castle. The most famous Dudley was John who rose in the ranks of the court of Henry VIII to become the Duke of Northumberland. On Henry’s death, the Duke became protector to the young King Edward VI. After his early death, the throne was left open for Henry’s eldest daughter Mary. The Duke conspired to put his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne without success. As a result he was executed along with his son and Lady Jane Grey.

Other famous people of Dudley
More recent than Lady Jane Grey, famous people from the area include comedian Lenny Henry who was married to Dawn French and the long-haired singer in the X-Factor, Wagner Fiuza-Carrilho.

Footballer now manager for West Ham Sam Allardyce is from Dudley. Busby Babe Duncan Edwards who tragically died in the Munich Air Disaster was also born here. There is a statue of him in the town.

Nearby Halesowen was the home of composer Leslie Bridgewater and George Eliot the famous 19th century author comes from Arbury.

Dudley Museum and Art Gallery
The Museum houses a collection of local fossils found at Wren’s Nest a nearby conservation area which is one of the largest fossil sites in England. Fossils dating back as far as pre-historic times are on display.

We’re not saying you are an old fossil, but if you need a stairlift, Castle Comfort are the people to call.

You can check out stairlift prices on our website. Don’t forget you can use our £50 voucher towards the cost and there are also grants available that you can apply for or the more instant 0% finance option.

Give us a call today on 01902 489 422 to arrange a visit to assess your stairs and to ask any other questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you.

Windsor Stairlifts – Stairlifts Berkshire

2012-02-05T08:25:00.003Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Windsor, Berkshire.

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Windsor, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004. If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Windsor Stairlifts – Berkshire Stairlifts

Welcome to the Royal Borough of Windsor in Berkshire. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are aware that there are over 6,000 retired people in Windsor – does that include a couple of Royals we wonder? We also know that at least 163 people in the town already have stairlifts by checking our stairlift counter on our homepage.

If you or one of your loved ones is in need of some help to get up and down the stairs, like our founder Keith’s mother was, then we can help. We can supply a good selection of stairlifts from all UK manufacturers for whom we are agents. You can also find stairlift prices on our websites and a comparison chart of what each stairlift offers so that you can see the pros and cons.

If you’d like more information, please give our local office a call on 01865 477 004 .

Rich, famous and notable!
The two most well-known residents of Windsor are Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Phillip! We understand from official sources that the Queen and Prince Philip use Windsor Castle as their weekend residence, but it is also used for State Visits and other official functions too.

In fact Windsor Castle has had a long association with the Royal family through the ages and is now one of the official residences of the Queen. The original castle was built by William the Conqueror but in the 12th century Henry I made it a Royal ‘home’. In fact it’s the longest running Royal home of any in Europe.

Now more than 500 people live and work at Windsor Castle making it the largest inhabited castle in the world too.

The Queen is always in residence for a month over Easter and then again for a week in June for the Order of the Garter ceremony held in St George’s Chapel. Followed by attendance at the Royal Ascot race meeting.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place daily in the quadrangle when the Queen is in residence.

The Castle
A number of additions and renovations have been made to the castle by monarchs over the centuries so that it is now a mix of Georgian, Victorian and Gothic architectures though some of the earlier parts are still intact.

In 1992 there was a fire which destroyed 9 principal and 100 other rooms. The fire started in the private chapel when a spotlight accidentally ignited a curtain. 1.5 million gallons of water were used to put the fire out over 15 hours. It took 5 years to renovate and restore the castle at a cost of £37 million - £3 million below budget. 70% of the funding for this was raised by opening the state rooms at Buckingham Palace and the remaining 30% from funds set aside to maintain royal residences.

Many parts of Windsor Castle are open to the public including The State Apartments, Queen Mary’s Dolls House, both St George’s Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel. There are also a number of tours around parts of the Castle and in the grounds you can take a carriage for 4 people on circular tours through Windsor Great Park.

This year to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jewellery you can see the gallery exhibition ‘60 photographs for 60 years’. The exhibition includes official photos and more casual family ones.

Castle did you knows?
The Windsor Estate covers 15,000 acres and includes Ascot Racecourse and 3 golf courses.

Windsor Castle Estate has over 450 clocks. When British Summer Time begins, the Queen’s clock-maker spends 16 hours moving every clock forward. When BST ends, he has to move every clock forward 11 hours to get to the right time, 1 hour back! This task takes him 18 hours.

For formal dinners at the Castle, usually held in St George’s Hall, it takes between 8 – 10 people 2 days to lay the banqueting table. Each guest is allowed a space of 46 cm on the table. The table seats 160 guests.

Henry VIII and his favourite wife Jayne Seymour are buried under the castle.

Windsor Chairs
Windsor chairs are made from solid wood with back slats and legs pushed into holes in the solid wood seat. The first known chairs were made as early as the 16th century but it wasn’t until 2 centuries later, when ‘steam bending’ was common that the first chairs were sent from Windsor to London and the name stuck. Now of course they are produced all over the world.

These aren’t so good for going up and down stairs but if you’re looking for a stairlift please call the Castle Comfort Stair Lifts local office on 01865 477 004 .

The Windsor Knot
The symmetrical Windsor Knot often referred to as a Full Windsor and used to tie a necktie, is thought to be named after the Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) after his abdication due to his love of wide knots. In truth it is probably due to his father George V.

It is the only knot members of the Royal Air Force may use when they wear a black tie in uniform.

Red Windsor Cheese
The only native cheese of Berkshire is made by adding red wine or port and brandy to the cheese creating red veins.

Brown Windsor Soup
This is a thick meaty soup that was popular in Victorian and Edwardian times – though it did feature much later in the sitcom Fawlty Towers!

Eton College
Just 4 miles from Windsor on the opposite side of the Thames is the town of Eton. Here Henry VI founded Britain’s best known public school in 1440. At the time he was also King of France hence the Fleur de Lys in the college’s coat of arms. Eton College is one of the original 9 public schools.

Eton Mess is a popular summer dessert consisting of strawberries, crushed meringue and cream. Other summer fruits and even bananas can be used but strawberries are traditional.

Old Etonians include Princes William and Harry, current Prime Minister David Cameron and current Mayor of London Boris Johnson; The Duke of Wellington, Percy Shelley, George Orwell, Guy Burgess, Henry More and Hugh Laurie.

Fictional characters who were blessed to be Old Etonians include James Bond (and his author, Ian Fleming), Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited.

Bray
The nearby village of Bray – 5 miles from Windsor - is home to two Michelin Star restaurants, Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck and Michel’s son, Alain Roux’s Waterside Inn.

More famous people of Windsor
· Ranulph Fiennes the explorer was born in Windsor

· Dhani Harrison – son of Beatle George was born in Windsor

· Michael Caine once lived in the area

· As did actress Anna Friel, singer Natalie Imbruglia, actor Kris Marshall, comedian Freddie Star and Lisa Scot Lee from Steps

Hope you’ve had a right royal tour of parts of Windsor and its great connections. Now if you still haven’t solved the stairlift problem, please get in touch with us. We can come and checkout your staircase to see whether a straight or curved stairlift is necessary; stairlift prices vary and curved will always be more expensive as they are made to measure your staircase. Don’t forget Castle Comfort Stair Lifts have reconditioned straight stairlifts too.

There are grants and 0% finance options as well as our £50 voucher to make your dreams come true and we can have your stairlift in before you can say the Duchess of Cambridge – well almost. Give us a call now on 01865 477 004 .

Stairlifts Wokingham - Berkshire Stairlifts

2012-02-03T15:04:00.003Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Wokingham, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts
legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Wokingham, Berkshire. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Wokingham - Stairlifts Berkshire

Welcome to Wokingham! We’re just 7 miles from Reading a recent destination and 3 from Bracknell. And we’re only 33 miles from London. Wokingham is the fourth largest town in Berkshire and has about 17,200 retired folks.

Wokingham’s elderly may well be in need of or already have a stairlift – well at least 190 of them - so if its something you’ve been considering for yourself or a loved one, then look no further than Castle Comfort Stairlifts.

Watch our founder Keith’s video which will explain how and why he got involved in the business. Then take a look at our range of stairlifts on our website and please call our local office with any questions you may have on 01865 477 004 .

It’s the name thing again
We said in our visit to Maidenhead that place names are fascinating, and Wokingham carries that on. Whilst Wokingham follows time honoured traditions of looking at where their names originate, this town has had a ‘blip’ along the way.

The name Wokingham means ‘Wocca’s people’s home’. The Saxton chief named Wocca owned lands at Wokefield, also in Berkshire and at Woking in Surrey. Strangely Wokingham didn’t take this name until last century. Before that the town was known as Oakingham meaning ‘town of the forests’ and it still retains its original symbol of oak leaves with acorns.

A little bit of history
In Medieval times Wokingham was well known for its bell foundry which made bells for many of the local churches – many still have them. The industry moved to nearby Reading in the 16th century when Wokingham became famous for the production of silk. This was due to Flemish weavers fleeing their homes to avoid religious persecution and settling here along with their craft. They were particularly famous for their silk stockings! Some of the houses where the silk knitters lived are still there in Rose Street. The last silk mill closed in the early 19th century.

Next came brick-making like several other Berkshire towns during Victorian times. There were two major brickyards in Wokingham.

By the late 17th century a linen drapery business opened. It was very successful and continued to flourish with its expansion almost taking over one side of the market square. A second branch opened in Reading in the 19th century and was eventually taken over by the John Lewis Partnership in the mid 20th century.

Wokingham now boasts software development, light engineering and service industries as its economic backbone.

Do you feel like you literally need a new backbone or have you got what it takes to give us a call?

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are on hand to advise or install. Did you know that once you’ve chosen your stairlift and bought it, we can have it up and running in an hour or at the very least a half day?
Yes our friendly installation team don’t hang around.

We supply and fit straight, curved or perch lifts. We will need to assess your staircase to suggest which one is right for you. If you need a curved stair lift to accommodate your stairs it will automatically cost more as these stairlifts are custom built to fit individual staircases.

If that’s brought up any questions please give us a call on 01865 477 004 .

The two Mollys
Wokingham is famous for two Mollys. The first was Molly Millar, the town witch and is still remembered with a lane named after her.

The second is Molly Mogg. She was the daughter of the landlord and barmaid at the Rose Inn which stood in the market place. Poets John Gay, Alexander Pope and Dean Swift penned a poem to her extolling her virtues whilst staying at the Inn sheltering from a storm. Molly Mogg never married; she lived until she was 67.

Ascot Racecourse
Just 9 miles from Wokingham is Ascot Racecourse one of the UK’s top race courses which hosts 9 of the UK’s 32 annual flat races in Group 1 every year.

Ascot has many royal connections going right back to the beginning of the 18th century when Queen Anne had the racecourse built. Royal Ascot is held annually every June and sees the Queen and other members of the Royal family attend, arriving in horse drawn carriages from nearby Windsor Castle. It’s also the most talked about day outside of the racing fraternity because of Ladies’ Day where the ladies’ hats get more coverage than anything else.

The Ascot Gold Cup race takes place on Ladies’ Day and is the highlight of the meeting. There are other important races too including the Queen Elizabeth Stakes; The Prince of Wales stakes and many more with Royal connections.

Ladies’ Day
Ladies attending the Ascot Gold Cup race at Royal Ascot, especially with access to the Royal Enclosure, follow tradition and wear crazy over-the-top hats.

Famous sons and daughter with connections to Wokingham
· Crime writer and jockey Dick Francis grew up in the area; he road 350 races and wrote 40 international best sellers

· Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies is based on a Wokingham boy sweep James Seaward who years later swept Charles Kingsley’s chimneys. Seaward had 12 children and descendants still live in the area
· Mia Farrow was seen in Wokingham in the 1971 film Blind Terror; Wokingham famously starred in an episode of Primeval and The Vicar of Dibley; Phoenix Plaza Bowling Alley was used for a scene in a Superman film
· British rower Anna Watkins who won a Bronze medal in the Women’s Double Sculls at the 2008 Olympics lives in the area; the French gentleman highwayman Clude Duval had connections with the town Pop Idol winner Will Young comes from Wokingham. He has gone on to have several hit albums and appeared in a number of stage productions too

· Actor Nicholas Hoult who played the boy in About a Boy and appeared in the lead role, Tony Stonem from the first two series of award winning TV drama Skins also hails from Wokingham

It’s that time again when we must leave Wokingham to embark on another tour. Contact Castle Comfort Stair Lifts if you have any unanswered question about stairlifts. Our local office will be happy to advise you, assess your home and take you through everything you need to know.

Just call us on 01865 477 004.

Stairlifts Newbury – Berkshire Stairlifts

2012-02-01T13:34:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Newbury, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Newbury, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Newbury – Stairlifts Berkshire

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are visiting Newbury today where approximately 163 of the population already use stairlifts. If you are living in or around this Berkshire town and are thinking about how much better your life would be with a stairlift, then please read on!

As national agents for all UK manufacturers of stairlifts, there’s not much we don’t know about them. We do know that they can make a great deal of difference to your life if, for any reason, you are losing your mobility. They really help to retain your independence.

Have a browse around our site and watch our founder Keith Simpson’s video to see how he got involved in the business and if you still have any questions, please give our local office a call on 01865 477004 .

What is Newbury known for?
Newbury is probably best known for its racecourse and the RAF base Greenham Common which became ‘home’ to USAF during the cold war.

But did you know the town itself has several 17th century historic buildings of interest? One of them, the Cloth Hall now houses the Berkshire Museum.

Newbury Racecourse
Newbury Racecourse is a mixed race course and annually hosts the Lockinge Stakes and the Hennessy Gold Cup. Close to Ascot and Windsor, both less than 30 miles away, it would seem natural that the Queen’s horses race here.

Her Epsom Derby hopeful last year, Carlton House won as a juvenile at Newbury in the previous year. Unfortunately Carlton House was beaten on the day with French horse Poir Moi taking the Derby winner title.

In early 2011 an incident at the course caused a stir. Two horses collapsed and died mysteriously before a race and two others looked as though they were unstable. The novice race started late but went ahead whilst all other races for the day were cancelled.

Investigation showed that an electric leak from a power cable running under the parade ring had caused the deaths – sudden cardiac arrest consistent with accidental electrocution.

Lambourn
In the nearby village of Lambourn, a racing fraternity has established itself. More than 1,500 race horses are stabled and trained here. Only Newmarket has a larger race horse population! Flat training takes place in the ‘Valley of the Racehorse’ or Lambourn Downs to you and me. Many well-known trainers work out of Lambourn.

It is also where Lambourn Racehorse Transport Ltd is based; the company owned by the son of author Dick Francis, is the largest horse transport business in Europe ferrying horses to different races.

Greenham Common
The racecourse is in the small village of Greenham Common right next door to Newbury. In the 1980’s the village became famous for the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp which established itself there in protest.

Greenham Common was the site of an RAF Base with the longest military runway in Europe which was loaned to the United States Airforce who had been there for years since the Cold War started. In the 1980’s the arrival of US Tomahawk Cruise Missiles caused considerable concern.

The Women’s Peace Movement grew and grew and camped around the base as a protest. By 1982 30,000 women joined hands around the base in the ‘Embrace the Base’ protest; a year later 70,000 women formed a 14 mile chain from Greenham Common to Aldermaston, home of the UK’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (scene of CND protests some 20 years earlier in the 1960’s and still the final destination of the annual march from Trafalgar Square) to Burghfield, another AWE site.

The last missiles finally left Greenham Common in 1991 about 10 years after they arrived. The last of the protestors didn’t leave until 2000.

Newbury Bypass
The building of Newbury Bypass in the 1990’s caused a stir too. There was considerable congestion first of all within the town and later on the dual carriageway, so a bypass was deemed necessary. The bypass is just 9 miles long and forms part of the A34 which links towns in the south to the M4 and now goes around Newbury to the west.

Protesters or eco-warriors as they came to be known built camps, protested from trees and caused a lot of unrest. Locally this became known as the third battle of Newbury. The first two battles had happened in the English Civil War in the 17th century.

The protest had several famous supporters including Sir David Bellamy. Aggregate from the decommissioned Greenham Common air base was used in the building of the bypass.

Don’t just protest, tell us what you want now! Castle Comfort Stair Lifts supply straight, curved and even perch stairlifts to get you from one level to the next. We’d need to assess your stairway to see which stairlift is most suitable for your home and consider the weight bearing. Once this is done and all the paperwork is signed, we can install a stairlift in your home in less than an hour - OK occasionally it takes half a day! Talk to us about arranging an assessment today – call 01865 477004 .

Hungerford
One of Hungerford’s claims to fame is a recent massacre. In 1987 in Hungerford, less than 10 miles to the west of Newbury, the Hungerford Massacre took place. Michael Ryan, holding a gun licence took several weapons including an AK-47 and a Beretta pistol, shot his mother and 15 other people before taking his own live.

Who do you know?
Considering Newbury’s surrounding countryside, it isn’t a surprise that author Richard Adams who was born here, told his daughters stories of rabbits when they were young. Adams was persuaded by his daughters to write the stories down and get them published; the result is the international best selling Watership Down. Adams had to be persistent to get published as he was turned down by 13 publishing companies before Rex Collings published. With some 50 million copies sold world wide later, I bet they’re glad they did! Watership Down has been made into a film and an animated TV series.

Another author Michael Bond, also from Newbury had some success with his character Paddington Bear. This bear from deepest, darkest Peru was found on Paddington Station with his suitcase by the Brown family. The books tell the stories of what Paddington Bear gets up to. They have been translated and sold worldwide to an astonishing 30 million readers.

The 2nd Duke of Chandos famously bought his second wife in Newbury from a local man who was selling her!

Author Sebastian Faulks is another from the Newbury area; he’s most famous for his ‘French Trilogy’ which includes the novel Birdsong currently airing on TV primarily about the First World War’s Battle of the Somme.

After the ‘literaties’, come the musicians; flamboyant jazz icon George Melly had connections with Newbury as did genius Cello player Jacqueline du Pre who developed Multiple Sclerosis resulting in her no longer being able to play.

Actor Patrick McNee famous for his role as John Steed in The Avengers lived in Lambourn for a time with his father, a horse trainer.

Well it’s been a mixed bag of a tour, but we’re winding down now. Remember we are the people to call for more information about purchasing stairlifts, brand new or reconditioned. Don’t forget to use Castle Comfort Stair Lifts £50 voucher – every little helps – towards the cost of your stairlift and look at the possibility of grants or 0% finance if that makes purchase easier.

Please call our local office if you would like to make a purchase or would like more help to decide. Our number is 01865 477004 .

Stairlifts Maidenhead – Berkshire Stairlifts

2012-01-29T20:19:00.004Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Maidenhead, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Maidenhead, Berkshire. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Maidenhead – Stairlifts Berkshire

Welcome to Maidenhead in Berkshire where the retired population is just over 15,000 of the ever-changing population of 78,000. It is located on the River Thames about 25 miles from London.

If you are retired or have a mobility problem – that’s more than 400 of you - Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help. We have been supplying stairlifts to the UK since 1999. During that time we have built up a sound reputation and are now the national agents for all UK manufacturers. What we don’t know about stairlifts isn’t worth knowing!

If you’d like us to share some of our knowledge with you, please give our local office a call on 01865 477 004.

History – what’s in a name?
How towns get their names is always fascinating and we probably never consider that they may have changed over the years. The name Maidenhead comes from Maidenhythe meaning ‘new wharf’ and refers to the riverside on which is built. We are going back probably to Saxon times when the joining of several small communities including Bray and Cookham, when a bridge was built across the Thames replacing a ferry in 1280. This is when it became known as Maidenhythe – ‘new wharf’!

With the Great West Road diverted over the bridge taking travellers to Reading, Gloucester and Bristol, Maidenhead grew up around this point. It became a stopping point for coaches on their journeys between London and the west.

Significant places
Maidenhead’s NatWest Bank on the High Street has royal connections! The building used to be the Greyhound Inn and is where King Charles I met his children for the last time before his execution. This was in 1649 and there is a plaque there today to commemorate this.

Another building with a chequered history is Skindles Hotel in Maidenhead which was originally known as the Orkney Arms. It stands on the banks of the River Thames and it was William Skindle who turned it from an old coaching inn into a fashionable hotel in 1833, hence its name. In the 20th century its notoriety was for ‘adulterous assignations’. Winston Churchill and Princess Margaret were amongst its guests and The Rolling Stones and The Strawbs played there.

Cliveden House was the home of the Astors; now a Grade I listed building turned into a luxurious country house hotel surrounded by formal gardens with views across the river. Guests of Cliveden have included every Monarch since George I, Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, President Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw, John Profumo and Christine Keeler.

Boulter’s Lock on the River Thames at Maidenhead is both a lock and a weir. The lock was originally built in 1772 but some years later, it was decided to build it on the other side of the river; this move caused the creation of Boulter’s Island popular for boating parties especially after Royal Ascot.

An intriguing solution to reduce the congestion at the lock at the beginning of the 20th century was introduced – a sort of lift! A moving ramp of wooden slats and chocks to stop rowing boats rolling over was constructed as a lock ‘bypass’. It worked in a similar way to an escalator as boats simply rowed towards it and were carried higher whilst the people in the boat could remain in place. Operated by an electric motor, the ‘boat lift’ opened in 1909; no one is sure when it stopped operating but you can still see where it was at Ray Mill Island.

Modern lifts
Even though the first modern stairlift was invented not much later than the boat lift in the 1920’s, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are definitely still going strong supplying modern electric and battery operated stairlifts.

The stairlifts we supply maybe straight, curved or perch for those of you who find sitting difficult. Before you make a choice, we need to consider several things: the cost, the size of your staircase and weight rating.

Our information about costs is all clearly laid out on our site; prices start from £895 for a reconditioned stairlift and upto £2,650 for a curved stairlift. Curved stairlifts are always more expensive because they are tailor-made to fit your staircase.

Take a look at the grants that maybe available to you or 0% finance and don’t forget to use the £50 voucher you’ll find at the top of this page.

Industry in Maidenhead
Maidenhead is right in the middle of the M4 corridor also known as Silicon Valley; other Berkshire towns that are also located in this corridor are Slough, Bracknell, Reading, Windsor and Newbury. Maidenhead's industries include: software, plastics, pharmaceuticals, printing & telecommunications. Many people from Maidenhead commute to work either to London or to Slough and Reading.

The average house price in Maidenhead is almost half a million pounds.

Rich and famous
The following people have connections, have lived or come from the Maidenhead area:
· Author Hugh Lofting, who wrote Doctor Dolittle
· Princess Margaret
· Artist Sir Stanley Spencer lived in nearby Cookham and there is still a gallery of his work on show there

· Nick Hornby who wrote Fever Pitch, About a Boy and High Fidelity was at school in Maidenhead
· John O’Farrell known for his satirical newspaper columns and novels like May Contain Nuts and The Best a Man can Get
· TV Dragon Peter Jones is from Maidenhead and was set to become an entrepreneur from an early age; his first dalliance with business was at 16 when he set up his own tennis academy!
· Chat show host Michael Parkinson
· Radio and TV presenter Terry Wogan

· TV weather girl now media personality Ulrika Jonsson

· Figures whizz and media personality Carol Vordeman

· Glamorous 50’s film star Diana Dors lived here
· Musician Howard Jones comes from Maidenhead

· Comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor lives in Cookham
· As does singer Chris Rea
· Author Kenneth Grahame of Wind in the Willows fame lived in the area
· As does author/illustrator Posy Simmonds probably best known for her Tamara Drewe cartoon strip in the Guardian ( a modern reworking of Far from the Madding Crowd)

· Actress Jessica Brown-Findlay who plays Lady Sybil Crawley in Downton Abbey lives in the area

Here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts we hope you’ve enjoyed our short tour of Maidenhead with some interesting facts thrown in. Don’t forget to checkout our founder Keith Simpson’s short video which explains how and why he got involved in the stairlift industry.

If there is anything else you’d like to know, if you’d like you home assessed for a stairlift, or if you are ready to choose a stairlift, please give our local office a call on 01865 477 004 now.

Stairlifts Slough – Berkshire Stairlifts

2012-01-29T08:43:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Slough, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Slough, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Slough – Stairlifts Berkshire

Slough In Berkshire is well and truly back on the map thanks to Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s sitcom mockumentary The Office, which first aired in 2001. The series followed the mundane day-to-day workings of a typical office and its employees based in Slough. Gervais played the central character - self-important Manager David Brent – who was forever committing social faux pas. Gervais and Merchant have successfully sold the series to over 80 countries including America. Gervais was born in another Berkshire town, Reading.

If you’re struggling to do the ‘David Brent dance’ or get up the stairs, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are here to help. We are the national agents for all stairlift manufacturers and can advise you on the best lift at the best stairlifts prices for you. We have a range of straight, curved and perch stairlifts and also reconditioned ones. Why not give us a call on 01865 477 004 for more information.

Now and then
Slough is currently a borough of Royal Berkshire but at one time was part of Buckinghamshire and Middlesex.

Slough is first seen in old documents referred to as Slo in 1196, then Sloo in 1336 and Le Slowe, Slowe or Slow in 1437. The name Slough may have been derived from the Old English word Sloh meaning marshes which were prominent in the area at the time.

By the 15th century Slough was already well known for brick making and Henry VI ordered bricks here to build Eton College near Windsor. It is one of the original 9 public schools in the UK.

As well as bricks agriculture was the other big employer in the area. The Co’s Orange Pippin apple was first grown in a nursery nearby and ‘Mrs Sinkins Pink’, a variety of Dianthus (carnation) was cultivated here in the 18th century.

By the middle of the 18th century James Elliman who had draper’s shops in Slough, developed and manufactured his Elliman’s Embrocation to treat stiffness of the joints, aches, sprains and bruises alongside his Royal Embrocation horse liniment!

Nowadays Slough still attracts some big business with companies like Centrica plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Yell, ICL, Electrolux, ICI Paints, Masterfoods (Mars), Citroen, Sara Lee, Yellow Pages and Amazon.com (UK) based there.

Slough’s proximity to the Old London Road – now the A4 – which connected Bath to London helped it develop from a humble village into the town it is today with a population of 119,070. Of this number 23,099 are retired and as many as 600 either have or need stairlifts.

If you’re one of the 600 and you need more than Elliman’s Embrocation, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help you solve one problem, how to get up and down stairs. Take a look at our founder Keith’s video to learn more about us and about stairlifts generally and check out our online comparisons so that you can get a feel for the one you would like.

After that it’s a simple call to our regional office for advice. Once you have made your decision and it’s all done and dusted, we can install a stairlift in your home in as little as one hour and at most half a day. Give us a call on 01865 477 004 now!

Other cultural references
As well as being ridiculed in The Office, Slough has also received bad press through a poem entitled Slough written by the poet John Betjeman in 1937. The poem was a protest to the industrialisation of the formerly rural area. However on the centenary of his death his daughter gave the Mayor of Slough David MacIsaac a book of her father’s poems by way of apology. Written inside were the words ‘We love Slough’ and she said her father had regretted writing the poem.

The novelist John King’s fourth novel called Human Punk is said to be his most autobiographical and is set in Slough. It is part of a trilogy called the Satellite Cycle which includes his other novels White Trash and Skinheads. His first novel The Football Factory has sold over 250,000 copies in the UK and went on to become a film starring Danny Dyer in 2004.

Cultural references to Slough seem to go on and on and many of the references not so complimentary. Slough has had its share of connections with the rich and famous like:

· Gerry Anderson the creator of the animation series Thunderbirds which had cult status; last year Royal Mail produced a set of stamps issued called the Genius of Gerry Anderson

· Political cartoonist Steve Bell was brought up in Slough; his cartoons appear in The Guardian and other publications
· Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls lived in the area for a time; she was known as Ginger Spice

· Stanley Baldwin comes from Slough; he was Prime Minister 3 times between the World Wars under different sovereigns: George V, Edward VIII and George VI
· Comedian Iain Lee probably best known for hosting the satirical news show The 11 O’Clock Show was born here

· As was crime writer Simon Kernick

· Tracey Ullman too was born in Slough; she was the third girl alongside Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in Girls on Top; she had a succesful career as a singer and then moved to the States where she’s a presenter

· Pop singer Gary Numan went to school in Slough

· Comedian Jimmy Carr was brought up in Slough

· Sir William Herschel lived in Observatory House in Slough; he discovered the planet Uranus with his self-built telescope in 1781

· W G Nixey lived in the area; he invented ‘blacklead’ which was used to clean kitchenware. He built Springfield House which came to be known as Blacklead Castle. It was renamed twice and is now known as Elvian House

· Publisher Richard Bentley lived at The Mere in Upton Park; he published some of Charles Dickens works

Ok so now you’ve read all about Slough in our short ‘visit’, it’s time to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts on 01865 477 004. Don’t forget to use our £50 voucher and if you need more help with funding your purchase, then check out our reconditioned stairlifts. Remember that curved stairlifts will always be more expensive because they are built especially for you. Also take a look at the possible grants you can get and 0% finance.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts look forward to hearing from you.

Stairlifts Bracknell – Stairlifts Berkshire

2012-01-27T09:39:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Bracknell, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Bracknell, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Bracknell – Stairlifts Berkshire

Where are we today? Remember the original James Bond film starring David Niven where he was being chased by a remote controlled milk float? That was Bracknell in the mid-sixties - there were some great aerial shots of the town.

That’s where we are today, Bracknell in Berkshire, just 28 miles west of central London and 11 miles south east from Reading where we started our tour of Berkshire.

With a retired population of just under 10,000, Bracknell residents will be glad to see Castle Comfort Stair Lifts paying a visit. National statistics reckon that 2.6% of the retired population – that’s 253 in Bracknell who already own a stairlift – which is where we come in. If you are in need of a stairlift to give you access to your whole house or if you have a stairlift that needs upgrading, then please contact our local office to see how we can help. Please give us a call on 01865 477 004 .

All about Bracknell
Although Bracknell has been here since the 10th century it was only designated a ‘new town’ in 1949. With its proximity to London it was one of a number of towns that would take overspill and encourage industry to the area. The government plans of the post-war era, expected Bracknell’s population to grow to some 25,000; it’s rather exceeded expectations with a population of more than double that now.

Bracknell’s major industry in the first half of the last century was the manufacture of bricks. Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Brickworks made ‘red rubber’ bricks which have been used in some iconic buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and 10 Downing Street.

However most of the manufacturing industries have closed down now – even the Met office has relocated to Exeter in the south west - and ‘high-tech’ industries are the ones that have moved in. Electrical, digital communications and IT seem to dominate now: Panasonic, Fujitsu, Siemens, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Cable & Wireless, Avnet Technology Solutions, Microsoft and more. Bracknell is also the home to the HQs of Waitrose and the UK BMW Group.

Fascinating facts
In 1723 a troop of mounted Grenadier Guards took local trouble-makers, the Wokingham Blacks to task in a pitched battle in the town.

The town has a number of surviving old pubs: the Old Manor complete with priest holes, the Red Lion and the Bull. All are timber framed and date back to the 17th/18th century.

Next door to the Old Manor pub once stood the Hind Head Coaching Inn where it is believed the famous highwayman Dick Turpin used to drink. Underground tunnels between the buildings are believed to have given Dick Turpin an escape route should the authorities have discovered his whereabouts.

In the southern suburb, Birch Hill, you’ll find South Hill Park, a mansion owned by a variety of dignitaries over the years. It eventually came into the hands of the local council who turned it into an arts centre in the 1970’s. Before that time, it is believed that Oscar Wilde wrote The Selfish Giant whilst in the gardens. Later he named one of his characters in The Importance of Being Ernest – Mrs Bracknell.

In nearby Windsor Forest on the edge of Bracknell, is Easthampstead Park, now a Victorian Mansion but originally a medieval hunting lodge used by Henry VIII. It is where his first wife Catherine of Aragon was banished when the king’s affections wandered to Anne Boleyn. Catherine lived there awaiting news of her threatened divorce.

I’m sure you all know of Henry VIII’s connection with stairlifts. As he aged and after a jousting injury that he never fully recovered from this very famous King of England acquired considerable weight – up to 30 stone. Maybe something to do with those 32 course dinners? His injury and great weight made it impossible to get up and down the stairs at his palaces, Hampton Court, Greenwich and Whitehall and so a ‘stairlift’ of sorts was invented based on a block and tackle method.

More recently an American engineer, Mr Crispen invented a stairlift for a friend who had suffered polio and didn’t have the use of his legs. The stairlift was called the inclinator.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can offer you something far more sophisticated whatever the condition that has caused you to lose mobility. We have straight, curved, perch and reconditioned stairlifts to choose from – please give us a call on 01865 477 004 to discuss which is best for you and to give you great stairlifts prices.

Media connections
Did you know about Bracknell’s famous connections? Many TV shows and films have used Bracknell as a backdrop:

· Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at Martins Heron and Time Bandits at Birch Hill

· Pie in the Sky (TV detective series) called Bracknell Laxton and scenes of the exterior of the police HQ in the series were shot in Waterside Park

· Psychological thriller The Offence starring Sean Connery and Ian Bannan was filmed in Bracknell with many scenes of the town and surrounding areas

· Connerys character’s flat was filmed in the listed building Point Royal

· Bracknell features in two PlayStation 3 games: Resistance: Fall of Man and the sequel Resistance 2

Famous residents or visitors
· Queen Victoria stopped at a Bracknell Inn to change her horses but never actually alighted the carriage

· Actress Dani Harmer who played Tracy Beaker in the TV series was born here

Most other famous residents live nearby either between Bracknell and Ascot or in Ascot itself which is mere 4 miles away:

· It’s the home of Sarah, Duchess of York mother of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, ex footballer and manager Glenn Hoddle, swimmers Sharron Davies, Sarah Hardcastle and David Wilkie

· Kate Bush went to school in the area

· Ascot is also home for Brian May and Anita Dobson, Gary Lineker, Chris Evans, Rolf Harris and Marti Pellow of Wet, Wet, Wet

If you’re not as nimble as Anita Dobson proved in Strictly Come Dancing but would like to be able to dash up the stairs like her, let us help!

We may not be able to give you back your dancing legs but as national agents for all stairlift manufacturers we are in the perfect position to recommend the right one for you with absolutely no bias. Have you watched the video that our founder Keith has made? If not take a look now and then, please get it touch with us for advice, no heavy selling here!

If you need advice on raising the finance, have a look at our grant suggestions and at our recommended 0% finance option and of course don’t forget to claim your £50 with our voucher.

Castle Comfort Stairlifts look forward to hearing from you on 01865 477 004 .

Stairlifts Reading – Stairlifts Berkshire

2012-01-26T15:26:00.005Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Reading, Berkshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Reading, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.
Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Reading – Stairlifts Berkshire

We’ve crossed the Wiltshire border into the Royal County of Berkshire. Why Royal? Because the Queen has a residence at Windsor Castle. But first Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are heading to Reading. What do we know about Reading? It’s the County town and the largest in Berkshire but unless you have ‘sat nav’ impossible to find your way around.

Yes Reading has a population 232, 662 and as 19.4% of the population are retired that would mean somewhere in the region of 44,136 in Reading. About 2.6% of the retired have stairlifts – so that’s about 1,173 of Reading’s population.. We have the national figures on our website with constant updates – take a look at the bottom of this webpage.

So if you’re in the Reading area and looking for the best stairlifts prices, your search is over. Here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts we have a good range as the national agents for all UK manufacturers and can give you a totally unbiased recommendation.

Why not give us a call for more information on 01865 477 004 today?

A Royal connection
Reading itself has a current Royal connection. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge grew up in the nearby village of Bucklebury with her sister Pippa Middleton; her family still reside there.

Reading also seems to have bread a number of ‘luvies’ – directors, actors, actresses including another Kate, Winslet this time who’s just won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a mini series for her role in Mildred Pearce.

Two notable film directors also have connections with Reading: Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet’s ex hails from here; his film directorial debut was American Beauty and he also directed Revolutionary Road which starred Kate as well as many other films and theatre plays.

Sir David Lean is an Old Leightonian having spent time at Leighton Park School in Reading. He went on to direct some very famous films – Laurence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and the earlier Brief Encounter amongst them.

Other actors and actresses from Reading
Kenneth Branagh who spent his teenage years in Reading, is well known for his roles in and directing a number of Shakespeare plays on film but has also starred in or directed many other genres. He has recently played Laurence Olivier in the film My Week with Marilyn for which he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe. He was married to Emma Thompson and then had a long term relationship with Helen Bonham Carter who he directed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Lucy Benjamin known for her long-running role as Lisa Fowler in EastEnders also hails from Reading. Her on and off screen lover during this time was Phil Mitchell/Steve McFadden.

Another EastEnders star, John Altman who played Nick Cotton also comes from Reading.

Actress Jacqueline Bisset is another Reading born actress; she is best known for her roles in films like Bullitt and The Deep and also for the TV series Nip and Tuck. Bissset is godmother to Angelina Jolie.

A number of TV presenters have also come out of Reading:
· Famous son of Reading, Chris Tarrant is well known for presenting Who Wants to be a Millionnaire and also as a Radio DJ

· Jeremy Kyle who fronts his own show, The Jeremy Kyle Show where participants are invited to resolve relationship issues or their problems with drugs and alcohol live on air

· Arthur Negus was famously known as a presenter on the Antiques Roadshow

· Sally Taylor is a local news presenter on BBC South Today

Any issues you want to share? Maybe you’re finding it difficult to get up and down those stairs? Maybe you need to replace your current stairlift for a more up-to-date model. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help.

We have a good range of all kinds of stairlifts, straight, curved, perch and reconditioned. Curved stairlifts are always more expensive as they are tailor made to ‘fit’ you, but we have competitive prices for all types.

And if the cost is a problem you can look at our information on obtaining a grant or for a more instant influx of funds, 0% finance. Don’t forget our £50 off voucher too – every little helps!

Reading Festival
This annual event in conjunction with Leeds Festival takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend bringing music enthusiasts to the town to camp and enjoy the music.

Over the years the headline acts at Reading Festival (first festival was in 1961) reads like a who’s who of the pop music industry and includes Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. Cobain famously played his last UK gig at the Festival in 1992 arriving on stage in a wheelchair.

Other headliners include Iggy Pop, Oasis, Pulp, Guns & Roses, Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, New Order, The Pogues, The Police and The Jam.

Reading’s history
Reading has been here for a long time. There was some sort of settlement at Reading back in Roman times but the first official evidence is from the 8th century when Reading was known as Readingum. This is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon tribe The Readings, which means Reada’s People.

By the time of the Doomsday Book, Reading is described as a Borough with 6 mills, 4 belonging to the King and 2 to Battle Abbey in Battle, East Sussex, because the land had been donated to Battle Abbey by William the Conqueror after his invasion of England.

Henry I is buried in the grounds of Reading Abbey which he founded. The Abbey was hard hit by Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and only the remains still stand.

It is unusual that a town and borough the size of Reading doesn’t have city status. The borough council has tried on two previous occasions, as part of the Millennium celebrations and as a mark to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Last year they put in a bid for this year for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – watch this space as no decision has been taken yet.

Who do we know?
· Oscar Wilde imprisoned in Reading Jail for a two year period during which time he wrote De Profundis; after his imprisonment he lived exiled in France where he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol about his experiences

· Jane Austen went to Reading Ladies Boarding School
· More recently Ricky Gervais made a film called Cemetery Junction set in Reading in the 70’s. Gervais comes from Reading
· Property developer and TV presenter Sarah Beeney also comes from Reading
· Journalist and TV presenter Charlie Brooker too
· As does musician Mike Oldfield and Marianne Faithful lived here for a time in her childhood

We’re at the end of a quick-stop tour of Reading but it’s not too late to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts on 01865 477 004 for more information and advice about the perfect stairlift for you. We can assess what is right for you and your house and have it installed in an hour! Or at the very most half a day. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts have excellent after sales service too – you can call us 24/7 on 01865 477 004 .

Hope to hear from you soon!

Stairlifts Trowbridge - Wiltshire Stairlifts

2012-01-23T14:18:00.003Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Trowbridge, Wiltshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Trowbridge, Wiltshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Trowbridge – Stairlifts Wiltshire

Hello we’re still in Wiltshire on our Castle Comfort Stair Lifts’ blog tour! Did you know that people born and bred in Wiltshire are known as Moonrakers? The reason is down to legend: smugglers managed to foil local excise men by hiding their stash of smuggled alcohol in a village pond. To further conceal their contraband, they raked the pond causing ripples and told the official they were trying to rake in a large round cheese – in reality a reflection of the moon! The officials assumed they were ‘simple’ – read stupid – or mad locals and left them to it.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts won’t think you’re simple if you ask questions about their product, and would rather you didn’t make assumptions, but let us explain!

Take a look at our founder Keith’s short video which will probably tell you all or most of what you need to know. Check out which stairlifts we do and our comparisons of their qualities and prices and if you still have unanswered questions please give us a call on 01179 059 177 .

Trowbridge
Today we’ve come to Trowbridge, the County Town where Wiltshire County Council have their headquarters. The land where Trowbridge sits was farmed as long ago as 3,000 years, there is evidence that there was a settlement called Trubridge there at the time of the Doomsday Book when it was recorded that 100 residents lived here. They’ve come on a bit since then with a population of more than 28,000 making Trowbridge the third largest town in the county after Swindon and Salisbury.

It was in the 13th century that Trowbridge began to grow by developing the woollen textile industry in the town. It flourished and grew becoming more industrialised by the 17th century and reaching its peak in the 18th century. By the mid 18th century Trowbridge had 2000 wool-producing factories comparable to towns in the north like Rochdale. It became known as the ‘Manchester of the West’. New ways of spinning saw the industry here begin to decline in the 19th century though.

Only a few Mills remain; Trowbridge Museum which is integrated into a shopping centre now occupies Salter’s Mill which didn’t close until 1982; the County Court sits in what was Clark’s Mill and the Handle House where teasels were dried and stored to raise the nap of the cloth is still there.

Another of Trowbridge’s claims to fame is that it is where the bedding industry developed and thrived initially using cast-off wool from the mills. Airsprung Furniture now Airsprung Group PLC were started here in the 19th century and are still based in the town.

Another industry connection is Bowyers; Abraham Bowyer started producing sausages at the beginning of the 19th century and built up a thriving business. It was eventually bought out by Northern Foods and is now known as Pork Farms Bowyers. You can still buy Bowyers sausages and pork pies today.

Brewing company Ushers of Trowbridge opened in the town in 1824 and continued to brew until closure in 2000 though there were several amalgamations and name changes along the way.

Are you declining like the industries in Trowbridge? We’re sure you aren’t or at least with a little help from Castle Comfort Stair Lifts you certainly won’t feel that way.

So if you’re looking for a stairlift look no further. We can supply and install a stairlift for you at a fair price, in no time at all. In fact it takes our installation team usually about an hour to have you up and running or at most half a day. Giving you back the freedom to access your entire home.

Check out our fair prices for all makes of stairlift including reconditioned models; if you feel you need some help with this we can point you in the direction of grants which are available or 0% finance options. Just give us a call on 01179 059 177

Nearby towns
Bradford-on-Avon just 4 miles from Trowbridge is popular with tourists as it is full of historic buildings. Although Bradford-on-Avon has been there since Roman times, it also grew as a result of the woollen textile industry in the 17th century and still has several buildings dating from that period.

The town grew up around a ford which crossed the River Avon; in Norman times a stone bridge was built over the ford and still stands today. On the bridge is a small domed building which was built as a chapel (now Grade I listed) but later used as a lock-up for misbehaving locals.

Another historic building of note is St Laurence’s Church which is Saxon (700) with some restoration in the 10th century but has had no later alterations making it pretty unique.

Westbury White Horse
Just outside Westbury (6 miles from Trowbridge), an old hill-fort town like Salisbury you will find the Westbury White Horse originally carved into the chalk downs. Legend has it that the horse was carved in a slightly different form to celebrate King Alfred’s victory at the Battle of Edington back in the 9th century.

Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham People
· Sir Isaac Pitman who invented Pitman shorthand, a strong resource for offices for more than a century was born in Trowbridge. There are plaques to commemorate him scattered around Trowbridge and one pub has taken his name

· Famous people actually from Trowbridge are thin on the ground but there are plenty of famous faces from neighbouring towns!

· Will Carling former England Rugby captain was born in nearby Bradford-on-Avon, whilst other rugby players Phil de Glanville and Jon Sleightholme lived in the area

· Another ‘son of Bradford-on-Avon’ was Henry Shrapnell who invested the Shrapnell Shell

· TV presenter Hugh Scully also hails from this part of the world

· England football coach and former player Rob Newman and retired footballer Andy Pearce both came from Bradford-on-Avon

· Writer and journalist Daniel Defoe visited Bradford-on-Avon in the 18th century; he was surprised that it was considered normal that there were wealthy men in Trowbridge worth millions in today’s money all made from the textile industry

· Melksham (6 miles from Trowbridge) is home to Andy Park aka Mr Christmas. He has celebrated Christmas EVERY DAY since July 1993 except the officially recognised Christmas Day of 25th December. He claims to have eaten almost 4,500 roast turkeys and 87,600 mince pies and 4,380 bottles of sherry since he started continually celebrating – figures from 2006. In a local radio interview last year he says he is still celebrating Christmas every day. In 2001 his doctor warned him that his diet wasn’t good for him – he had reached 19 stone! A true Wiltshire Moonraker perhaps?

Remember Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can accommodate weights even 19 stone – many up to 25 stone. We have a range of straight, curved or perch stairlifts; remember that curved stairlifts are more expensive because they are made to measure so that they ‘fit’ you perfectly. But you won’t find better prices because we are the national agents for all UK stairlift manufacturers which also means we will give you unbiased advice.

Just pick up the phone and give us a call ( 01179 059 177 ) and let’s get you mobile again.

Stairlifts Swindon – Stairlifts Wiltshire

2012-01-18T16:05:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Swindon, Wiltshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Swindon, Wiltshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Swindon – Stairlifts Wiltshire

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts welcome you to Swindon, the biggest town in Wiltshire. Today we’re going to take a look around this ‘railway town’ but more of that later. First of all let us tell all visitors and the people of Swindon (Swindonians) themselves what Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can do for you!

Well of course we can supply stairlifts for you or for loved ones who need some help getting up and down those stairs. Obviously if using the stairs has become a problem for you whether you’d been injured or through illness, it’s very frustrating. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are keen to help you might movement a little more bearable.

We can advise on the type of stairlift best for you and your home; we supply stairlifts from all UK manufacturers so can give you an unbiased opinion on either straight, curved or perch lifts. Why not give us a call on 01179 059 177 to find out more.

Train town
Swindon in Wiltshire is just 40 miles from Bristol in the west and Reading in the east and 81 miles west of London.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the chief engineer for GWR, Great Western Railways, chose Swindon as the location for train works way back in 1840. There is myth around the choice of spot. The legend is that Brunel and Daniel Gooch, another railway engineer, were surveying land north of Swindon Hill and Brunel threw a stone or dropped a sandwich declaring the landing spot as the new site for the railway works!

At Swindon GWR opened its railway works and Swindon became a ‘train town’. The first ‘shed’ built was a repair shed, soon followed by locomotive building; the first engine was built in less than two weeks in 1846. A further 6 Iron Dukes – a class of broad gauge locomotives – was built in Swindon. By 1855, the railway works were producing a locomotive a week and employing 2000 men. Goods wagons were also built here.

By 1900 it was estimated that the Railway works were employing approximately three quarters of Swindon’s workforce. At the beginning of the 1870’s GWR had started to deduct a small percentage of every employee’s wages to go into a healthcare fund, allowing GWR doctors were able to prescribe workers or their families free medicines. By the end of the decade the fund was able to supply artificial limbs manufactured by craftsmen in the ‘carriage and wagon works’; nine years after this, a dental surgery was opened obviously much needed as in the first few months the dentist extracted more than 2,000 teeth. The doctors could also prescribe haircuts or a bath!

The services which GWR put in place were later used as the blueprint for the National Health Service.

Swindon station opened as a Junction Station where the Great Western Line divided to head to Gloucester, which meant that every train passing through stopped for a minimum of 10 minutes at Swindon. This was an opportunity to open a place for refreshments on the station – the first of its kind.

Locomotive building concluded at the Railway Works in 1965 and closure took place in 1986; some of the offices and works have found new uses: the offices of English Heritage and new storage buildings for National Monuments Record.

Though we can’t build locomotives and we won’t make you feel like a heritage piece! Give us a call on 01179 059 177 and we’ll get you moving again. Talk to us about what you think you need; we can assess your home and help you choose the right stairlift for you. Even better we can have it installed in your home before you’ve had time to reach the stairs! In most cases installation takes about an hour and at the most half a day.

Swindon Town FC
There’s a football presence in the town. Swindon Town FC has been part of the Football League joining the third division back in the 1920’s. Over the decades they have yoyo-ed up and down the divisions and currently stand in npower League 2. Swindon Town FC are nicknamed the Robins.

Notable players
Over the years they have had a number of notable players including:
John Trollope who played for the club and then managed them; John Moncur Who played for Tottenham Hotspurs, Swindon Town and West Ham during his career; Duncan Shearer brother of David who played for Chelsea and Swindon Town; Norwegian footballer Jan Åge Fjørtoft who played for Swindon Town in the early 90’s and is well remembered playing for Norway against England for running round the pitch with arms stretched out like an aeroplane!

Notable managers
Glenn Hoddle who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Swindon Town during his footballing career also managed Swindon Town FC between 1991 – 93 taking them into the Premier League.

Other notable people from or connected with Swindon
· Julian Clary, camp comedian grew up in Swindon

· Diana Dors personified the English blonde bombshell of the 50’s alongside American counterparts Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe

· Melinda Messenger, presenter and former glamour model comes from Swindon and still lives I n the area

· Justin Hayward – Moody Blues

· Also from Swindon is Nick Hewer probably best known for his role as adviser to Alan Sugar on The Apprentice and now as the presenter of long-running TV game show Countdown

· Billie Piper started her career as a pop-singer and then turned to acting was born in Swindon; probably best known for her role as Rose Tyler in several Dr Who series and The Secret Diary of a call Girl TV series

· Mark Lamarr, comedian and TV presenter comes from Swindon where he was born Mark Jones. He co-hosted The Word and was the original host on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and was a team captain on Shooting Stars

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts hope you’ve enjoyed our brief tour of Swindon. Remember to checkout our founder Keith’s short video if you or a loved one looking for a stairlift.

Also remember to look at our stairlift comparisons of makes and what they do and importantly how much they cost. Then give us a call ( 01179 059 177) to see how we can help or advise on financing your stairlift either with a 0% option or a grant.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Stairlifts Salisbury - Wiltshire Stairlifts

2012-01-15T10:35:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Salisbury, Wiltshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Salisbury, Wiltshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 023 8124 3046 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Salisbury – Stairlifts Wiltshire

Today we are visiting Salisbury in south east Wiltshire. Salisbury is built on the edge of Salisbury Plain on water meadows where 5 rivers converge. The Nadder, the Ebble, the Wylye and the Bourne all feed into the Avon which flows out to sea at Christchurch in Dorset.

Have you got the flow? Or are you more stagnant than free-flowing? If mobility is a problem, you’ve come to the right place as Castle Comfort Stair Lifts supplies their products all over the UK.

We can advise you on the right kind of stairlift to suit you, your home and your pocket, to transport you up and down the stairs inside your home. We are the national agents for all stairlift makers so know all the ins and outs and their best features which can see compared here.

If you’d like more information, please get in contact by calling 023 8124 3046 .

More about Salisbury
Despite its 5 rivers, Salisbury isn’t unnecessarily wet! In fact it gets more sunshine than many, clocking up 1650 hours a year.

Salisbury the city as it stands today has only existed since 1220 and is technically New Sarum though it is rarely referred to by that name. Previously it was called Old Sarum, the ruins of which can still be visited today; Old Sarum is thought to have existed since Neolithic times; during the Iron Age a hill top fort was built there and a Cathedral during 11th century.

In 1220 after some disagreements between the clergy and the military it was decided to move the city and the cathedral to the watery meadows below.

Legend has it that an arrow was shot and the cathedral built where it landed. As that was some 1.9 miles away, this is unlikely. Continuation of the legend says that the arrow landed in a white deer and the cathedral is built on the spot where the deer died.

New Sarum was built on a water meadow known as ‘Merrifield’; work started on the town in 1220 setting the town out in a grid system which is still obvious in the city centre today. The following year work on the Cathedral started.

Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral’s spire can be seen from all roads as you enter the city, it is something of a landmark and this iconic building and other historic features of the town attract some 500,000 tourists every year.

The Cathedral was built under the direction Bishop Richard Poore in just 38 years to build. Because the water table in the meadows is high, the Cathedral’s foundations are only 4 feet deep and on a gravel base which allows for some movement in the wind! The spire was added some years later in 1320; it is 404 feet tall making it the highest spire in the country.

The spire added an extra 6,500 tonnes to the building and it is only due to strengthening works carried out over the centuries that the spire still stands today.

The Cathedral houses the oldest mechanical clock still working in the country and one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta.

The Cathedral has as many windows as days of the year (365) and as many marble pillars as hours in the year (8,760). The walls of the original close still stand today. The gates are closed every night at 10.30 only allowing access to residents of the Close.

Do you need the gates opened for you to regain access to the upper parts of your home? If so please let Castle comfort Stair Lifts help! Take a few moments to watch our founder’s short video about stairlifts which will give you lots of added information and if you still have any questions, please contact us.

The wonder of Stonehenge
Just 8 miles north of Salisbury stands the prehistoric monument Stonehenge which is thought to date back to between 3000 and 2000 BC. Some of the stones were brought from as far away as Pembrokeshire in Wales some 140 miles away. It is thought that these bluestones from Wales were brought overland on wooden rollers. Other stones came from about 20 miles away but were even larger than the blue stones.

Its original use or function is debateable. Suggestions include a burial ground – burial mounds have been found – a place of worship, a place of healing. The Druids still gather there for Summer Solstice to see the sun rise between the stones.

Stonehenge is a World Heritage site.

Markets and fairs
As a market town Salisbury has markets selling a range of products every Tuesday and Saturday, a farmers’ market (1st and 3rd Wednesday every month) and a French market (twice a year in May and September), so there’s always something new to see.

Every October a funfair comes to the city for three days which turns the market square into a music filled hub of fun!

At one time Salisbury also had more than 100 public houses within the city boundaries; that figure is now down to 44. The oldest pub in the city is the Rai d’Or meaning a ray of golden light; it reverted to the name it was known as in the Middle Ages when it was a brothel! It dates from the 13th century when it was built to ‘service the needs’ of the men building the Cathedral.

People you might ‘know’ from Salisbury

Christopher Biggins who comes from Salisbury was winner of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here 2007 and is well known for roles in various TV shows and films.

Author William Golding lived in a village just outside Salisbury at one time. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature and is probably best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. He wrote many other novels including The Spire about the men who built the spire at Salisbury Cathedral.

The German composer Handel visited the city writing several pieces whilst there.

Charles II held court in the Cathedral Close during the Great Plague of London.

John Constable visited Salisbury in 1811 and was inspired by the Cathedral and the landscape. His famous painting of Salisbury Cathedral was commissioned by John Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury at the time.

In more modern times Phil Harding of the Time Team lives in Salisbury working for Wessex Archaeology when he isn’t filming.

Salisbury famously featured in several of Thomas Hardy’s novels as Melchester; Edward Rutherford wrote about the city’s history in Sarum; Charles Dickens gives an account of Salisbury Market in Martin Chuzzlewit.

If you feel older than the artefacts found by the Time Team but still want to be able to get about, a stairlift might just do the trick. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can assess and have your stairlift installed within an hour or at most half a day and you’ll feel in control again.

Take advantage of our £50 voucher towards the cost and look at grants or 0% finance deals too if they will help. Just give Castle Comfort Stair Lifts a call to discuss all possibilities on 023 8124 3046 .

Stairlifts Gloucester - Gloucestershire Stairlifts

2012-01-13T17:17:00.000Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Gloucester, Gloucestershire. If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary websiteCastle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Gloucester, Gloucestershire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Gloucester – Stairlifts Gloucestershire

Welcome to Gloucester in the South West of England. What’s special about Gloucester? Well apart from the fact that Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can be relied on to provide all your mobility needs, the county of Gloucestershire is bordered by seven other counties.

But first of all let’s tell you about stairlifts as supplied by Castle Comfort. We are the national agents for all stairlift manufacturers in the UK so we are sure to have the right one for you! And you can rest assured our advice will be unbiased! So whether you need a straight, curved, perch or even a reconditioned stairlift, we’re your man – or rather you’re men and women!

If you’d like to know more, why not give us a call on 01179 059 177 .

Location and history
The county of Gloucestershire as we mentioned is bordered by 7 counties: Monmouthshire in Wales, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. The county flower has been named by the Plantlife – the wild plant conservation charity - as the wild Daffodil.

Gloucester the city sits almost equidistant between Bristol (32 miles) and Birmingham (45 miles), on the eastern banks of the River Severn, with the Cotswold hills to the east, the Forest of Dean to the west and the Malvern Hills to the north.

The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal runs from Gloucester Docks down to the Severn Estuary mostly following the tidal River Severn and making it possible for larger ships than the river would otherwise accommodate to reach Gloucester Docks. The revamped wharfs and dock buildings now mostly hold museums.

Gloucester’s history reaches back to Roman times. By the Medieval period, exports from Gloucester via the docks included Cotswold wool which was processed in the city, leather and iron tools and weapons. There was also a large fishing industry established here too.

Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral was built in the 11th century on the foundations of the original abbey (7th century) dedicated to St Peter; the cathedral has a stained glass window depicting the earliest known images of golf! This dates from 1350 some 300 years before the first images of the game from Scotland appeared.

Another window shows a ball game being played by several people and is believed to show one of the earliest images of medieval football.

Not only is it the burial place of King Edward II but its cloisters feature in three of the Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

The independent King’s School was refounded by Henry VIII as part of the Cathedral establishment.
The actor Simon Pegg was educated here as was John Stafford Smith who became a composer responsible for the music which later became the Star Spangled Banner.

Of course Henry VIII is claimed to be the original inventor of the stairlift ; before this disclosure, it was thought to be an American, Mr Crispen, an engineer who invented the ‘inclinator’ in the 1920’s to help a friend who had been unfortunate enough to lose his mobility to Polio.

Henry VIII on the other hand had a stair throne which really consisted of a contraption that worked on a pulley system so that servants could lift his 30 stone body up and down the 20 feet of stairs at Whitehall Palace. His obesity and a jousting injury meant he was quite immobile.

Nowadays stairlifts are much more sophisticated and more dignified. Ask Castle Comfort Stair Lifts about the range they can supply and take a look at their comparisons to make it easier for you to decide. If you still have questions, please give our representatives a call on 01179 059 177.

Famous people from Gloucester
The Herbert Brothers – if you don’t know them now we bet you’re going to soon! They currently have their own show on Channel 4 called the Fabulous Baker Brothers. The brothers are Tom, the baker and James the chef/butcher. The family has bakers shops in Tetbury, Nailsworth and Chipping Sodbury though not in Gloucester itself.

Fred and Rosemary West lived in Gloucester; they were responsible for the murder of 12 women and girls including two of their own daughters. People the city would rather not recognise.

The inventor of the vacuum cleaner, Hubert Booth came from Gloucester; Marcel Garvey was born here and played for Gloucester RFC as did his one time team mate Ryan Lamb and Mike Teague; Phil Greening and Andy Hazell are also rugby players from Gloucester. Gloucester Rugby Football Club is one of the best in the country.

Other sporting heroes include cricketers Alastair Cook and Tom Goddard; Luton Town footballer Stuart Fleetwood and Wayne Thomas also come from Gloucester.

Sir Richard Whittington was a Gloucester merchant and politician in medieval times and the inspiration for the pantomime character of the same name. Like Dick Whittington the real character was born in Gloucestershire and went to London to seek fame and fortune. During his lifetime he made many donations to good causes and when he died he left the equivalent of £3m in today’s money which was used to build and repair buildings for the public good.

What about Dr Foster of nursery rhyme fame?

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again.

The rhyme was first published in the 19th century. There is a possibility that the rhyme is about a visit to Gloucester by Edward I of England; on his way there he fell off his horse into a puddle and refused to visit the city ever again!

There is a similar rhyme published at the beginning of the 19th century:

Old Dr. Foster went to Gloster,
To preach the work of God.
When he came there
He sat in his chair,
And gave all the people a nod.

If you are ‘sat in your chair’ the nod should be given to us at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts. We are happy to advise you about the purchase of a stairlift. Talk to us about payment too – there are grants available as well as 0% finance deals.

So after a look at our website and watching our founder Keith’s video, you’ll probably have all the information you need to make your decision. But of course if you still have questions or prefer to speak to someone, please get in contact with us on 01179 059 177.

Stairlifts Bristol - Avon Stairlifts

2012-01-11T08:01:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Bristol, Avon

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Bristol, Avon. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Bristol – Stairlifts Avon

Hello Bristolians, we’re heading your way today. We know there’s a lot of you there – almost half a million in the city and over a million when you include the surrounding urban districts - in this important city in the south west.

If you are looking for a stairlift for yourself or a loved one, look no further. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts at your service. We offer full coverage in the area and are happy to help you with your search. As national agents for all stairlift manufacturers we are well placed to do just that in a completely unbiased way.

Give us a call on 01179 059 177 for more information.

The City of Bristol
The city is bordered by the counties Somerset and Gloucester. The cities of Bath and Gloucester are 13 miles and 48 miles away respectively.

Historically there has been a settlement in the area for at least 60,000 years; Iron Age forts have been found around the area as have Roman villas and forts. The actual town formed around ‘the place of the bridge’ seems to have been founded around 1,000 AD and became an important trading area and port. Through the medieval period Bristol was one of England’s largest three towns after London and this didn’t change until the Industrial Revolution.

By the 15th century it was the second largest trading port in the country and saw many important voyages start from here for the New World, America.

The docks have moved down river from where they were originally built. The River Avon flows into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth just below Bristol which is where the docks can now be found. The Avon rises near Bath and flows through limestone to reach Bristol forming the Avon Gorge on the western side of the city which has protected Bristol Harbour. Landmark Clifton Suspension Bridge crosses the Gorge. Limestone has been quarried to build houses in the city.

Bristol industries
With its history as a trading port, Bristol has always been connected with the sea and trading. In more recent times it has also been reliant on the aerospace industry with production at Filton which played a big part in the Anglo-French Concorde project and Patchway, the media, IT, financial services and tourism.

Aardman Animation
This studio is responsible for some our favourite home-grown animations. Aardman created the simple clay figure Morph for Take Hart and also produced the animation for Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer video. The animation is technically known as clay/stop-motion animation.

Creature Comforts a series of short animated films about animals in a zoo and the basis for later ads won an Oscar. The Wallace and Gromit films followed including A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were Rabbit. All the Wallace and Gromit characters are modelled from clay and the films are known for the great comic and ‘mechanical’ inventions. Peter Sallis cleverly brings Wallace to life; Gromit relies on his silence! Several of the films have been awarded Academy Awards.

There has even been a Wallace and Gromit Exhibition at the Science Museum in London.

Wallace has invented his own contraptions to make life easier, one that gets him out of bed and drops him into his trousers in the morning, one that makes his cup of tea, toast and boiled egg and one that even puts his slippers on! If you think a little help is in order, why not get in touch with Castle Comfort Stair Lifts to see how inventive they can be?

We can’t promise contraptions for everything but we can surely get you up and down those stairs on one of our stairlifts! We can help you assess which type of stairlift is the most suitable for you – once agreed we can usually install within 1 hour. That’s pretty good don’t you think?

With one of our stairlifts, you’ll be pleased with your own ‘creature comforts’! Give us a call to discuss on 01179 059 177.

Who do you know from Bristol?
What about:
Nick Parks – director of the Wallace and Gromit films
Peter Lord and David Sproxton, founders of Aardman Animation
Bristol musicians Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and from a different era, Bananarama

Graduates from the University of Bristol include some well known showbiz names: Derren Brown, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Matt Lucas and David Walliams

Whilst many well known actors have learnt their craft at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School: Patrick Stewart, Jane Lapatoire, Pete Postlethwaite, Jeremy Irons, Greta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Helen Baxendale, Daniel Day Lewis and Gene Wilder.

John Cleese was a pupil at Clifton College and actor David Prowse who played Darth Vader in Star Wars went to Bristol grammar School.

Cary Grant was born in Bristol in 1904 as Archibald Alexander Leach. He went to Hollywood and the rest is history as they say

Michael Redgrave, father of Vanessa, Corin and Lynn was also born in Bristol and went on to have a celebrated career on the English stage and in film
Leading National Theatre actor Robert Stephens was also born in Bristol
As was Stephen Merchant who started his career as a stand up comedian and then presented a radio show with Ricky Gervais; after that their television partnership in The Office is probably what he is best known for
Another Bristolian is Kevin McNally probably best known for his role as Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean films

Graffiti artist Banksy was born and started his ‘work’ in Bristol
Comedian Justin Lee Collins is a Bristolian
Lee Evans, the Perrier Award winning stand up comedian hails from Bristol too

What a lot of you there are!

Stairlifts
If your days of ‘stand-up’ are becoming less and less, let Castle Comfort Stair Lifts help you choose a stairlift. There are grants and 0% finance options if money is an issue. Our website comparisons can help you see and compare which stairlifts take heavy weights or are priced more competitively. Don’t forget we have reconditioned versions too.

Take some time to call us on 01179 059 177 and discuss your needs, we know you won’t regret it.

Stairlifts Bath - Somerset stairlifts

2012-01-08T09:11:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Bath, Somerset

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Bath, Someret. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Bath – Stairlifts Somerset

Hello all you Bathonians. Yes we’re visiting your city today; Bath was given city status by Elizabeth I in a Royal Charter. Bath is the home of the Bath Chair which was invented by James Heath in Bath in the 18th century to ferry those less mobile around. It usually has three wheels and is pulled or pushed by hand!

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can’t offer you a Bath Chair but can offer all types of stairlift if you need help getting around – or more accurately up and down – your home. As the national agent for all stairlift manufacturers, we can advise on the one most suitable for you.

Just call our local office for more information on 01179 059 177 .

Bath is less than 100 miles west of London and just 13 miles south east of Bristol in Avon with a population of 83,992. This beautiful city became established as a spa town in Roman times though it is thought to have existed prior to this. Bath was built around hot springs.

It gained fame as a spa town in Georgian times which led to expansion as people wanted to visit to ‘take the waters’. It was left a heritage of Georgian architecture built from Bath Stone, a type of limestone quarried at nearby Coombe Down.

A World Heritage Site
The City of Bath is a World Heritage Site (since 1987) which means it is a place of special cultural significance. With a number of theatres, museums and other cultural venues, Bath has a big tourist pull – more than 1 million visitors who stay in the city and about 3.8 million visitors come for the day every year.

Bath has 663 Grade 1 listed buildings i.e. buildings of exceptional interest. These Grade 1 buildings include:

The Roman Baths built below ground level over a hot spring as public baths during Roman times. The buildings above the Baths were built in the 19th century

Bath Abbey – a Norman Church with a highly decorative vaulted ceiling

The Circus – three crescents of terraced houses built in the Georgian era by architect John Wood the Elder and inspired by Rome’s Coliseum

Pulteney Bridge a three-arch bridge over the River Avon based on the unused plan for the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

The Grand Pump Room where visitors can sample the hot spring water which fills the Roman Baths next door and eat in the restaurant

Bath food exports
As well as Bath Chairs, Bath is also the home of Bath Buns, Bath Olivers and Sally Lunn buns. That’s a lot of foods associated with one city.

The Bath Bun is made from a rich, sweet yeast dough which was originally shaped around a lump of sugar. Now you are much more likely to find currants, sultanas or mixed peel inside and topped with crushed sugar nibs.

Sally Lunn buns are said to be made to a French recipe which arrived in Bath in the 17th century. They are made from a yeast dough often flavoured with lemon. They are still produced commercially in Bath and are served split in two and spread with butter or whipped or clotted cream before being sandwiched together again.

Bath Oliver biscuits are savoury crackers often eaten with cheese. They were invented by Dr William Oliver of Bath in the 18th century and are made from flour, butter, yeast and milk. Oliver left the recipe to his coachman with bags of flour and £100. The coachman Atkins set up his biscuit baking business from which he made a lot of money.

Whilst we can’t promise you the ‘recipe’ to build your own stairlift, we can help you choose the best one for you from curved, straight, perch for those who have difficulty sitting down including reconditioned versions.

We can assess the best one for your abode and fit it in an hour or at most half a day so that you’ll be up and ‘running’ in no time. Call us today to book an assessment on 01179 059 177

The rich and famous of Bath
We always like to introduce you to celebrities past and present who have connections to the city we are visiting. Bath is no exception and has several easily recognisable personalities.

Living near Bath, Anthony Head an English actor who you might know from a series of Nescafe ads or as Rupert Gales in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Another actor, Andrew Lincoln spent his teens in Bath. You might recognise Andrew for his part as ‘Egg’ in This Life, in Teachers or the film Love Actually.

Popular comedian Russell Howard comes from Bath.

Charles Dickens wrote about Bath in The Pickwick Papers including a chase between two of his characters in the Royal Crescent, Dowler and Winkle.

Jane Austen lived in Bath for a short time before moving to Clifton in Bristol but loved the city so much it featured in two of her novels: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

Painter Thomas Gainsborough moved to Bath with his family

Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein and wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley lived in Bath

Musician Peter Gabriel lived in Bath

Tears for Fears was formed in Bath
Film director Ken Loach has an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath
Eddie Cochran died in St Martin’s hospital Bath after a road traffic accident in Chippenham whilst on a UK tour in 1960

Well our brief tour of Bath is over. But if you are still considering purchasing a stairlift then please let us help. Take a look at the comparisons of stairlifts on Castle Comfort Stair Lift’s website and then talk to us so we can help you with any further information you need.

You can also take a look at how to apply for a grant if this seems like a good option for you or if you need a stairlift more quickly, then take a look at our 0% finance option.

Why not watch our founder Keith’s short video at the top of the page and then you know what to do! Give us a call on 01179 059 177 .

Stairlifts Galway - Ireland Stairlifts

2012-01-05T10:45:00.003Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Galway, Ireland
If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Galway, Ireland . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 021 236 3222 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Galway – Stairlifts Ireland

Welcome to the town of Galway on the west coast of Ireland. Like all the other towns and cities we’ve visited on this blog, Galway is also a town supplied by Castle Comfort Stair Lifts. So if you or a loved-one need one, there is no need to dash off to the east as our representative in nearby Cork will be happy enough to take you through all we have to offer and what is suitable for you. Please call 021 236 3222.

Galway sits on the edge of Galway Bay which has been romanticised in many a song. The traditional Irish song Galway Bay suggests it is the place to see the sun go down and is the song that one of the topical, all-time Christmas favourites, Fairytale of New York reminds us is being sung across the Atlantic by the NYPD!

The city of Galway is also known as the City of Tribes because in the period when the Normans arrived, there were 14 tribes or merchant families all trading and leading the city at the time. The tribes or merchants would have perceived themselves as Irish gentry – many of the Normans marrying into the Irish families of note.

The 14 tribes dominated all aspects of life – political, commercial and social - in Galway from the mid-13th to the late 19th century. They were of mixed ethnic origins: Norman, Irish-Norman, Gaelic-Irish, French, Welsh and English. The names of the ‘tribes’ bore the surnames:

Athy
Blake
Bodkin
Browne
D’Arcy
Deane
Font
Ffrench
Joyce
Kirwan
Lynch
Martyn
Morris
Skerrett

Landmarks in Galway
Lynch’s Castle is on Shop Street, the main shopping street, in Galway. It is an example of a medieval town house which is today a branch of the Allied Irish Bank. It still bears the arms of the Lynch Family and of Henry VII.

On Market Street you can see The Lynch Window commemorating the hanging of Mayor James Lynch FitzStephen’s son commissioned by the Mayor himself after his son stabbed a young visiting Spaniard.

The remains of Menlo Castle which was burnt down in 1910, are just outside the city on the banks of the River Carrib. This was the ancestral home of the Blake family from the beginning of the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The best view of Menlo is from the west bank at Dangan or at the riverside walk at the National University of Ireland nearby. The Blake family’s town house (Blake Castle) or rather its façade can be seen next to Jury’s Hotel at the bottom of Quay Street.

Everyone’s home is their ‘castle’ so the saying goes. I expect it is no different for you. If you want to be able to get around your ‘castle’ as well as you ever did but are finding it increasingly difficult, give Castle Comfort Stair Lifts a call on 021 236 3222.

We can help you decide which type of stairlift is the most suitable for you and your budget, Straight, Curved, Perch and even reconditioned. We can advise and help you compare prices before you make your decision.

More landmarks
Starting with the religious, the medieval St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, the largest of its time is still in use in Galway. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas is much larger but also much younger. It was consecrated as late as 1965.

Near to the Cathedral is the quadrangle building of the National University of Ireland, Galway which is one of three ‘Queen’s’ colleges in Ireland along with Queen’s College, Belfast and University College, Cork.

A monument to Christopher Columbus stands opposite the Spanish Arch in front of Jury’s Hotel in the city. The monument was presented to Galway by Genoa to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to the New World and the visit of Columbus to Galway in 1477.

Celtic traditions
The Claddagh Ring designed with two clasping hands clutching a heart and usually shown with a crown. This ring was first made in the 17th century during the reign of William and Mary though the design can be traced back to the Romans.

Traditionally the ring is given as a symbol of love or friendship and often as a wedding ring.

Dillons Claddagh Gold on Quay Street were the original makers of the rings. The small museum attached to their premises has some of the world’s oldest examples of the ring.

17th century Marriage Stones – a stone lintel carved with the initials of the two parties – can be seen throughout Galway on the outside of buildings or occasionally inside i.e. the King’s Head Pub.

Another tradition: watch the Atlantic salmon swimming upstream to spawn from the Salmon Weir Bridge over the River Carrib.

Famous sons and daughters
Nora Barnacle, the eventual wife of James Joyce, was born in Galway. Their first romantic liaison was on 16th June 1904; this was later used by Joyce as the basis for Ulysses. The day became known as Bloomsday and is still celebrated on the same day every year in Dublin.

Peter O’Toole’s birth place is given as either Galway or Leeds in West Yorkshire! For now Galway can claim him! O’Toole found fame after portraying T E Lawrence in the film Laurence of Arabia. He went on to star in many theatre and film productions.

Aoife Mulholland first found fame appearing in the BBC TV show ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’; she was runner up but this hasn’t prevented her accolades as a musical theatre actress. Aoife has twice appeared as Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre; as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium for 18 months; as Brooke Wyndham in Legally Blonde at the Savoy.
Actress Pauline McLynn best known for her portrayal of Mrs Doyle in Father Ted and Libby Croker in Shameless grew up in Galway.

So for all you sons and daughters and residents of Galway, let Castle Comfort Stair Lifts help those of you who need it to get around better.

Remember we’ll come and assess your stairs to see which lift works best for you; a stairlift can be fitted in an afternoon so we can have you ‘up and running’ in no time at all.

Whilst you’re at it you may as well check out grants for stairlifts to see if they can help finance your investment. Please listen to our founder Keith’s short video at the top of this blog which will explain a lot of your unanswered questions and then give us a call on 021 236 3222.

Stairlifts Waterford - Ireland Stairlifts

2012-01-04T12:34:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Waterford, Ireland

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Waterford, Ireland . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 021 236 3222 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Waterford, Ireland Stairlifts

Here we are in Waterford. The ‘untaken city’ in the south east of Ireland. Here Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can offer top brands of stairlifts at fair and competitive prices. We can install in no time at all and offer you a guarantee for our workmanship.

So if you or a loved one in Waterford is looking for a stairlift, look no further, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can advise, assess, supply and install. Just give us a call on 021 236 3222 .

Just a little history
Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland from a Viking settlement in the 9th century; it sits at the top of Waterford Harbour. The city’s motto is ‘Waterford remains the untaken city’ which was granted by Henry VII at the end of the 15th century.

Waterford underwent two sieges during the Cromwellian invasion and conquest of Ireland, withstanding the first and surrendering in the second.

With its colourful history it is not surprising that the city is home to several buildings of note. Reginald’s Tower is the most recognisable landmark in Waterford and is the oldest civic building in Ireland and still uses its original Viking name. Reginald’s Tower is thought to be the first building in Ireland to use mortar.

The Viking Triangle in the centre of the city is home to several landmarks including Reginald’s Tower, now a civic museum. Other buildings of note in this area include Christchurch Cathedral, The Theatre Royal and the House of Waterford Crystal as well as two new museums.

Waterford’s oldest pub is T & H Doolans in George’s Street just outside the Viking Triangle. Officially it has been serving alcohol to the public for 300 years though the premises are thought to have been open for longer, 500 years. One of the original City Walls forms part of the public house and is thought to be at least 1,000 years old. It can still be seen in the lounge area of the pub.

The port of Waterford has been a major Irish port for more than a millennium. It was home to Neptune Shipyard in the 19th century when they built and operated the biggest fleet of iron steamers in the world including 5 trans-Atlantic passenger liners.

Waterford Crystal
Waterford is perhaps most famous for Waterford Crystal which was manufactured here from the late 18th century until 2009 when it was shut down after Waterford Wedgewood plc went bust. Production then moved to Europe leaving behind some allegedly very disgruntled and poorly treated staff.

Today though Waterford makes the most of its legacy. It is home to the largest Waterford Crystal shop in the world at the visitor centre which also offers tours and shows how the glass is made. The retail showroom houses the largest collection of Waterford Crystal anywhere.

What about you?
Are you making the most of your legacy? Can you make the most of it? Do you need help getting around your castle? If so, please get in touch with Castle Comfort Stair Lifts for advice on which stairlift to buy: Straight, Curved or Perch for those who find sitting difficult. We have new or reconditioned versions of straight or curved stairlifts; we can supply extra wide seating lifts and weight-bearing can be upgraded to 30 stone. Stairlifts can be mains powered or battery operated. Talk to us about which will be best for you and your budget and remember we can install in as little as an hour.

Call us on 021 236 3222 for more information.

St Patrick’s Day Parade
Like all Irish cities St Patrick’s Day is celebrated well. Waterford is no different. They celebrate every year – 17 March in 2012 – with a parade led by a guest Grand Marshall. Next year, the parade will follow its usual route along the Quays and The Mall starting at 1p.m. There will be a special viewing area in the Mall for those who are less mobile.

As well as the floats there will be entertainment including face painting, Irish dancing, a live band in John Roberts Square and artisan food on sale in the City Market. Sounds like fun for everyone.

Who do you know from Waterford?

Poet Sean Dunne was born in Waterford in 1956. He edited a number of collections as well as publishing his own. He died of a heart complain in 1995. In his memory Waterford has inaugurated the Sean Dunne Writers Festival, the first of which took place in 2009.

French poet Laetitia Marie Wyse Bonaparte was born in Waterford to Lucien Bonaparte. She was educated and lived in France most of her life. She is a cousin of Napoleon III.

Irish-English singer and songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan was born in Waterford; his real name is Raymond Edward O’Sullivan. He is best known for hits such as Alone Again (Naturally), Clair and Get Down.

Professional footballer John O’Shea grew up in Waterford. O’Shea used to play for Manchester United and now plays for Sunderland.

Ending our short tour of Waterford, we would just like to remind you that Castle Comfort Stair Lifts offer our services to those in this area. Advice, price comparisons, installations and even advice on grants for those of you who’d like some help with your purchase.

Give us a call now on 021 236 3222 to find out about all our services and mobility aids.

Stairlifts Limerick - Stairlifts Ireland

2011-12-21T06:50:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Limerick, Ireland

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Limerick, Ireland . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 021 2363222 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Limerick – Stairlifts Ireland

Continuing our tour of cities that are served by Castle Comfort Stair Lifts, we arrive in Limerick on the western side of Ireland.

If you are lucky enough to live in this part of the country or have relatives who do then you’ll be pleased that Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can assist with all queries and supplies of stairlifts or other mobility products.

We can advise on the best stairlift to suit your needs, whether it’s straight, curved or perch; we even have reconditioned versions. If you’d like to know more, why not give our representative a call on 021 2363222 .

Limerick sits at the top of the estuary of the River Shannon and was originally known as King’s Island in pre Viking and Viking days. When the Normans arrived they redesigned much of the city including building King John’s Castle and St Mary’s Cathedral both of which still dominate today.

Limerick attracts tourists and is served by nearby Shannon Airport. King John’s Castle and St Mary’s Cathedral are two of the main attractions though there is still plenty to be enjoyed besides these two ancient monuments.

Hunt Museum is housed in the old customs house and contains a collection of antiques collected by dealers John and Gertrude Hunt. To interest tourists there are several seasonal tours – boat tours on the River Shannon, an historical walking tour and an Angela’s Ashes walking tour around the places mentioned in Franck McCourt’s famous novel. And don’t forget St John’s Cathedral, it has the tallest spire in Ireland.

There are two sides to Limerick, the old English on the southern end of King’s Island where you can find King John’s Castle and St Mary’s Cathedral and the Irish town on the southbank which is home to older streets and the new economic district, Newton Pery.

If you’re staying over, there’s lots of places to find a bed and there’s a good night life.

Verses
It’s hard to think of Limerick without considering the humorous verses of the same name. The links to Limerick the city are tenuous but it is widely believed there is some connection. Of course they may derive from an earlier form of nonsense poems.

In a limerick the first two and the last (fifth) lines rhyme and the third and fourth lines rhyme. Here’s an example:

A clumsy young fellow named Tim
There once was a fellow named Tim
Whose dad never taught him to swim.
He fell off a dock
And sunk like a rock.
And that was the end of him.

Or take a look at a limerick penned by Castle Comfort Stair Lifts – just follow this link.

This form of verse was popularised by Edward Lear in the 19th century although he never referred to the verses as limericks.

Famous residents or one-time residents
· Eamon de Valera, 3rd President of Ireland and founder of the Fianna Fail party is from Limerick as is the current President Michael D Higgins.

· Richard Harris actor (A Man Called Horse, Unforgiven and Prof Dumbledore in first 2 Harry Potters) was born in Limerick

· Successful indie band, The Cranberries – very festively named – were formed in Limerick

· The Rubbberbandits, a hip-hop comedy duo are from Limerick – they are an award winning satirical stage and TV act

· Comedian Jimmy Carr’s parents hail from Limerick; his father is a self-made millionaire

· Composer Bill Whelan famous for Riverdance was born in Limerick; he’s worked with a number of well-known musicians including Van Morrison, U2, The Dubliners, Kate Bush and Richard Harris

· Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan also claims Limerick as his home town

· Limerick is the setting for Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes; although born in Brooklyn, McCourt returned to Limerick his mother’s home town with the family whilst still a youngster

· Malachy McCourt, Frank’s older brother stood for the Green Party Candidate for governor of New York State in 2006

· Liverpool soccer player Steve Finnan comes from Limerick; Irish rugby player Jerry Flannery and rugby player Keith Earls too. Another rugby aficionado, Marcus Horan was educated in Limerick ... Rugby is played at all levels in Limerick.

· Hurling, the national sport of Ireland which has been played for at least 3,000 years is still a popular Gaelic sport which boasts players Cairan Carey, Eamonn Cregan (who also plays soccer), Eamonn Grimes, Pat Hartigan, Gary Kirby, Johnny Mackey and Mick Mackey all from the Limerick area.

All from Limerick
Pioneering surgeon Sylvester O’Halloran was from Limerick and has one of the River Shannon’s bridges named after him; William Brooke O’Shaunessy introduced the use of cannabis as a therapeutic drug to Western Medicine; rebels Cornelius aka Conn Colbert and Michael Colivet, an Irish Sinn Fein politician during the 1916 uprising and Sean South leader of the IRA who was killed in action in 1957.

Mary Jane Kelly also known as Black Mary from Limerick is thought to be the final victim of Jack the Ripper.

There’s absolutely no need for you to be a victim of immobility not with Castle Comfort Stair Lifts to hand. Our stairlifts are fairly priced and we’ve even done the functionality comparisons for you on our website. Remember stairlifts are quick to install; they usually take between an hour and half a day.

If you still need some help with financing your purchase, take a look our blog which explains the criteria necessary and how to claim for a stairlift grant.

Still got some questions? Use our online form or call us on 021 2363222 .

Stairlifts Cork – Stairlifts Ireland

2011-12-19T21:05:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Cork, Irleland
If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Cork, Ireland. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 021 236 3222 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Cork – Stairlifts Ireland

Hello Rebels, that’s all of you who reside in the southern Irish city of Cork also known as ‘Rebel County’ and ‘the real capital of Ireland’.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are coming to town – or rather we’re already here. So if any of you Rebels or Corkonians are looking for a stairlift, please contact our local representative on 021 236 3222.

We can come out and measure up and help you decide which type of stairlift you need. We won’t give you the hard-sell, just advice; watch our founder Keith’s video for a taster and some information. We aren’t expensive either as you’ll see when you check our price comparison’s page.

We look forward to hearing from you! Now let’s carry on with our short tour of the beautiful and interesting city of Cork.

Cork is Ireland’s second largest city down in the south-western corner of the country. It’s built on the River Lee which breaks into two channels here; Cork is built on the island created by the channels. At the eastern end of the city the river channels converge and the River Lee flows onto Cork Harbour one of the largest natural harbours in the world.

Cork is a major Irish seaport with docks and quays along the eastern side of the river. Cork is upstream in the upper harbour which allows ships up to 60,000 tonnes to navigate their way there. Larger ships – 90,000 tonnes – cannot pass further than Cobh which is in the lower harbour nearer the river mouth and one of the last harbour villages seen before hitting the Atlantic on the way to America. In fact the Titanic passed this way on her fateful voyage.

The islands of Cork Harbour
There are a number of islands in Cork Harbour including these inhabited ones:
Great Island where Cobh is situated. The Island has a population of some 10,000 and contains farming land too.

Fota Island has the Fota Wildlife Park, the golf course and Fota House, once the family Estate of the Earls of Barrymore, sold off when the last surviving family member died in the 1970’s to the University of Cork. It is now owned and managed by the Irish Heritage Trust.

Little Island is residential and industrial; Haulbowline Island is the HQ of the Irish navy and former prison Spike Island where prisoners were held before deportation to the penal colonies.

We won’t hold you prisoner, in fact we’d like to free you up to have easier access within your home! That’s why Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are happy to look at options for you to purchase a stairlift. We have reconditioned and brand new stairlifts; we can repair stairlifts; our aim is make your home as accessible as possible. Want to know more, please give us a call on 021 236 3222.

Rocky Island is now home to the Island Crematorium, the first one outside Dublin but it once housed ammunitions for the Royal Navy and was later used for storage by Irish Steel.

Now one island is an oil refinery – Corkbeg Island – and one an Equestrian Centre – Hop Island; there are at least another four that are inhabited: Harper, Weir, Brick and Brown Islands.

A veritable hub
Although tucked down in the south west corner, Cork is well connected. As well as the waterways, there is good access to other parts of Ireland and to other countries from Cork. There is a ferry service to Wales and to France. Cork Airport has 68 internal and other destination flights with 60 flights leaving the airport daily. There are also good road and rail links.

Sunniest city
Interestingly Cork is one of Ireland’s sunniest cities with only 69 days per year when there is no ‘recordable’ sun and an average of almost 4 hours of sunshine a day. In fact temperatures in Cork are unlikely to go below 0°C or above 30°C. The downside is there is an average of 151 rainy days every year!

Industry
A little like Dublin, Cork has seen a growth in IT and pharmaceutical companies in the area. It is renowned as the production capital of those powerful blue pills Viagra. In the IT world, Apple Inc currently employs 2,000 +, Logitech and EMC Corporation have depots there too.

Heineken have taken over local breweries and continue to brew the iconic Murphy’s Irish Stout and Beamish. Multi-national company Amazon.com has a base here.

Ford Motor Company used to manufacture cars here until 1984. Cork was chosen as it was the home of the innovative Henry Ford’s grandfather.

Known Rebels
It is probably through ‘culture’ in its various forms and sport that most Corkonians are known around the world.

Famous actor ‘Rebel’ Cillian Murphy has starred in several Irish and British stage plays and films before making the big time in films like ‘28 Days Later’ and ‘Inception’.

There are a number of musicians and opera stars who all hail from Cork; the former include folk singer John Spillane, The Frank and Walters, Sultons of Ping, Simple Kid and inspirational rock singer Rory Gallagher who tragically died of liver failure when only 47; the latter include Cara O'Sullivan, Mary Hegarty, Brendan Collins and Sam McElroy.

Writers from Cork include short story and literary critic Frank O’Connor whose short story form is now honoured in an annual festival in Cork and Sean O’Faolain another prolific short-story writer. Poet and novelist Thomas McCarthy who attended University College Cork, poet Gerry Murphy both still live in Cork; novelist and poet William Wall who also taught English and Drama at Presentation Brothers College where he is said to have influenced Cillian Murphy’s decision to try acting.

Footballer Roy Keane was born in Cobh and played for Cobh Ramblers before his professional career propelled him into the premiership league and his time at Manchester United. He is now manager at Ipswich Town.

Well we’re at the end of our brief tour of Cork – we hope you’ve enjoyed it. Of course there is lots more to tell about Cork ....

In the meantime don’t forget we can help you with your stairlift choices. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts will be happy to point you in the direction of grants to help with your financial outlay and don’t forget to use our €50 voucher towards the costs.

Please give us a call on 021 236 3222 and we’ll be happy to address any concerns and answer any of your questions.

Stairlifts Dublin - Southern Ireland Stairlifts

2011-12-16T06:10:00.002Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Dublin, Southern Ireland

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Dublin, Southern Ireland. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01 513 3658 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Dublin – Stairlifts Southern Ireland

As sure as the River Liffey runs through the centre of Dublin, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can offer advice to any in the area looking for a stairlift.

Not sure which one you need? Straight, curved or perched, which will be best for you? Take a look at our advice and then give us a call on 01 513 3658 if you need more information. We also have helpful information about grants too.

There’s a romance to Ireland’s capital city that stretches across seas and oceans. With the Irish good nature, the ‘black stuff’ and the folk music of this country it is little wonder that it beckons visitors from far and wide.

Celtic Tiger
A few years ago, Dublin as the capital of Ireland spearheaded the economic surge; it is known as the Celtic Tiger period (1997 – 2009) named after the East Asian Tigers: South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan who all experienced a similar rapid economic growth period. Unfortunately since then there has been a downturn as in many other countries and Dublin is no longer as buoyant.

Ireland went from being one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the richest. At the time, Dublin was one of the most expensive cities (13th) in the European Union. It was the 10th richest in the world in terms of personal income and 4th in purchasing power. It was also the 58th most expensive place in the world to live at the peak of this period with house prices soaring.

The Dublin area was a source of employment for many and still is. Although many of its traditional industries from brewing to textiles have dwindled, an influx of financial services, pharmaceutical and IT and communications companies have been attracted to this city and its surrounding areas.

IT capital
One of these companies is Google who opened its offices in Dublin in 2003 and now employs 2,000 people. They’ve been voted ‘Best company to work for’ three times. The Dublin Office assists people with using its products across the whole of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At any one time you might hear up to 50 different languages spoken on their helplines! Google make sure their staff have a friendly place to work with bean-bagged break out areas, games rooms and a gym.

Another IT giant, Microsoft also chose Dublin as its European headquarters. Like Google they have been voted ‘Best place to work’ three years in a row and they employ a staff of almost 2,000 which includes contract staff. They service the same areas as Google and their operations cover software development and testing, localisation, finance and sales and marketing.

We can’t visit Dublin without mentioning the Black Stuff. Guinness has been brewed in Dublin since the early 18th century and now more than 1.8 billion pints of this thick stout are sold world-wide every year. As well as its taste, even non-drinkers are aware of its iconic advertising campaigns. Remember The Surfer?

If you’re no longer up to riding the surf at least you can still enjoy a pint of Guinness. Castle Comfort Stair Lifts will help you manage the stairs no matter what state you’re in after a pint or two!

If you’re not sure which one you need, or which will be the best for you, please take a look at the comparisons on our website. Watch the video of our founders Keith and Anne and give you local office a call on 01 513 3658 for more information.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts won’t give you the hard sell but will help you define your needs.

Back to the romance
The Dublin accent or brogue, to use an Irish word, and language is captivating. The Irish language is Gaelic and not many still speak it. What we hear mostly now is a form of English that is affected by Gaelic. English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman Conquest (12th century) and is officially known as Hiberno-English.

Irish lends many words to this dialect especially in formal occasions i.e. the Taoiseach or the Head of Government. There are also no Irish words that directly translate yes and no, so the common way of responding is a repetition of the verb in the question either positively or negatively i.e. ‘Are you coming home soon?’ ‘I am.’

Some colloquialisms like craic meaning fun epitomise the Irish language for us. ‘It’s worth the craic’.

Who do you recognise from Dublin?
Dublin has a long history of famous or well-known residents. There’s a long line of writers who hail from this fair city including James Joyce best known for Ulysses and The Dubliners, Nobel Prize winner for literature Samuel Becket who took his influences from Joyce and is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Playwright George Bernard Shaw, also a Nobel Prize winner for Literature who excelled in satire and black comedy and Oscar Wilde best known for The Importance of Being Ernest, The Picture of Dorian Gray and also his infamous trial for Sodomy and gross indecency for which he was sent to prison.

Bram Stoker also came from Dublin and wrote the famous novel Dracula; as does another Nobel Prize winner for literature, the playwright and poet W B Yeats.

Two living authors who claim Dublin as their home town are Maeve Binchy and Roddy Doyle; both write about Ireland. Roddy Doyle has had several novels turned in films including the most famous, The Commitments.

Irish actor Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects) hails from Dublin as does Colin Farrell who has won Best Actor for a number of appearances in films.

Another Dublin actor Michael Gambon has appeared as Prof Dumbledore in all 6 Harry Potter films. Jonathan Rhys Myers who starred in Bend it Like Beckham and The Tudors is another one; award winning actress Brenda Fricker (for her part in My Left Foot) is also a ‘Dubliner’. Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara long term friend of John Wayne also came from this ‘fair city’.

Musicians and singers abound from this city! There’s Bono lead singer with U2, Nicky Byrne singer with Westlife and Bryan McFadden former singer with Westlife, Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats, Sinaed O’Connor, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, the folk band the Dubliners, Siobham Fahey singer with Bananarama and the unforgettable Jedward.

You don’t need to be fans of Jedward to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts! We supply brand new or reconditioned stairlifts, mains or battery operated and installation is quick taking between an hour and half a day depending on your choice of chairlift.

If you’ve got any questions for us don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01 513 3658 and your life could be made easier before you can say ‘in Dublin’s Fair City’.

Stairlifts Didcot – Oxfordshire Stairlifts

2011-12-14T15:12:00.001Z

Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Didcot, Oxfordshire

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Didcot, Oxfordshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01865 477 004 If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Didcot – Stairlifts Oxfordshire

The once sleepy village of Didcot in Oxfordshire has grown some. Now Didcot is far bigger than all the surrounding villages and is a hub for atomic scientific research.

If you or a loved one lives in this futuristic town and if you are looking into the acquisition of a stairlift, then look no further, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are ready to help. We won’t experiment with your mobility; we know what’s needed and can recommend a stairlift for you.

Please call our local office on 01865 477 004 for more information.

Yes there is a plethora of scientific laboratories in the area. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) have their base at nearby Culham; the UKAEA is a government research body which has been responsible for the UK’s nuclear programme both civilian and military since it was opened in the 1950’s. However, since the 1970’s its functions have been reduced.

Harwell Laboratory, the Science and Technology Facility which explores particle and nuclear physics, space science and astronomy is based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Harwell in Chilton, the Diamond Light Source also based at Chiltern is the science facility for the country’s synchrotron science.

Synchrotron science produces an intense beam of light which is used in many areas of science including investigating intricate properties of protein and engineering components, in fan blade aero-engines and in conservation. Famously it helped to conserve The Mary Rose, the flagship belonging to Henry VIII.

Henry VIII seems to be the forefather of stairlifts. When he became so obese that his movement was extremely limited, he had his servants move him on a huge chair that they hauled his 30 stone weight around using a sort of block and tackle system.

Stairlifts now are much more sophisticated than that! Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can give you a comprehensive guide to all stairlifts available as they are the national agents for all manufacturers.

Why not give them a call on 01865 477 004 to see how they can help?

After all of the information about the scientific sites in Didcot, you won’t be surprised that they have a power station. It uses coal, oil and natural gas to produce power for the national grid. In 2003 it was voted the third worst eyesore in Britain by Country Life Magazine though some locals refer to the towers as ‘the cathedrals of the Vale’ – referencing the Vale of the White Horse of Uffington which we mentioned in an earlier blog about Abingdon. Having noted that you may be surprised to know that the Power Station A building here won awards for its architecture!

Award winning writer Kit Wright who was educated at Oxford wrote ‘Ode to Didcot Power Station’ parodying the early romantic poets.

Nearby villages and towns
Surrounding villages include Chilton, Culham, Little Wittenham, Long Wittenham and Dorchester-on-Thames. Chilton not only hosts Harwell Laboratory but can also boast Grim’s Ditch part of an old earth works attributed to the Iron Age settlement of the area.

Grim’s Ditch forms part of The Ridgeway National Trail which is described as Britain’s oldest road. It follows a chalk ridge for 87 miles covering parts of Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

The long established village of Dorchester-on-Thames has existed here since Neolithic times. The Norman Dorchester Abbey is its main attraction these days. Saint Birinus and Wulfrig two previous Bishops of Dorchester are buried here.

Dorchester-on-Thames’ famous people
Jonty Hearnden the antiques expert and TV presenter was brought up here and retired footballer and football manager Mark Wright was born in Dorchester-on-Thames and started his career playing for Oxford United.

The market town of Wallingford is close-by; one of its claims to fame is being the location for a Midsomer Murders episode! Other attractions include Wallingford Castle, Wallingford Priory and the Cholsley and Wallingford Steam Railway which still runs on selected dates usually weekends and bank holidays, but disappointingly pulled by diesel engines.

Didcot’s finest
William Bradbery who was born in Didcot in the 18th century was the first person in the UK to grow watercress commercially. He moved to Kent after his marriage and it is there that he began. Bradbery gets a mention in an article for the London Horticultural Society saying that Bradbery was cultivating watercress for the London markets at a site near Gravesend. He had placed young plants in the shallow running water at the nursery with ‘a small proportion of wet earth’; he found that they spread like wild fire over the water.

Wallingford’s rich and famous
Writer Agatha Christie lived in Wallingford after her second marriage. Christie’s catalogue of well known plays is long but she may be best remembered for the Hercule Poirot mysteries – all 33 novels and 54 short stories - which have been captured so well by David Suchet in the TV series. All of the novels have been turned into films with Murder on the Orient Express perhaps the most memorable.

Author Jerome K Jerome (Three Men in a Boat) lived near Wallingford. It is also the home of comedian and writer Charlie Brooker known for his shows Screenswipe, Gameswipe and Newswipe all on BBC Four. Actress Dulcie Grey went to school here.

Wallingford is also the home of sculptor John Buckley who is best known for his untitled sculpture of a shark impaled in the roof of a house in Oxford.

Interesting statistic
In the last census the average lifespan for men and women in the UK was listed as 67 and 68.8 respectively. Citizens of Didcot however could expect to exceed this with an average life expectancy of 86 healthy years!

If you’re still young or ‘young at heart’ but need help to get to the top of the house to make sure there are no strange fish there, let the team at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts help. We can advise on the best stairlift for you and your property.

Please take a look at our video for information and then give us a call with any questions on 01865 477 004 .

Don’t forget you can use the £50 voucher towards the cost of a new or reconditioned stairlift.