Len of Draincare talks about Draincares 24hr preventative maintenance contracts, flushing out drains before they become blocked. Also featured is the free daytime call out service where len can discuss probelms and provide advice.

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Draincare, featured on Recommended Sutton Coldfield Magazine, Recommended Sutton Coldfield Online and the Great Barr Gazette Magazine.

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Jo recently featured in the Great Barr Gazette, please mention the Great Barr Gazette or Recommended when calling.

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Visually it has the sloping roofline of a coupe and the look is accentuated by the concealed rear door handles and the way the rear window juts back into the C pillar. Below this, though, lie the tall sides, big wheels and jacked up ride height of an SUV. The gaping grill sits well with the chunky proportions and the panoramic windscreen, curvaceous rear and bulging wheel arches combine to make the design both distinctive and easy on the eye. The rear of the car bears the brunt of the compromises caused by the coupe styling; you take your life in your hands trying to get past that jutting rear window and, once installed in the back seats, you’ll find it decidedly claustrophobic, a situation that is not helped by the fact that the rear windows don’t wind down. Thankfully, things are much better in the front; the seats are big and comfortable, the dash is curvy and well laid out and the three instrument pods behind the wheel look great, even if they are difficult to read. There are lots of nice design touches too; it feels like a lot of thought has gone into the interior.

So far, so good but, as with the DS3, the proof of the pudding lies in what it’s like to drive. Let’s start with the engine; I was driving the top of the range 1.6 turbo with a hefty 200bhp to be had. This delivers pretty peppy performance with 62mph coming up in 7.9 seconds and a more than adequate top speed of 146. The engine has to be worked hard to get the best out of it but this is no great hardship, thanks to the slick 6 speed gearbox and the lovely rasp from the exhaust when you pile some revs on. The claimed combined MPG of 44.1 sounds impressive but I doubt that you’d see that in real world driving. There is nothing particularly exotic about the suspension but, once again, the engineers have applied themselves and the result is taut handling with minimal body roll and bags of grip. The steering is nice and precise, too, with plenty of feedback – this really is a car you can have some fun in. That driving pleasure doesn’t come at the expense of the ride either; while not as satin smooth as a Citroen C6 it absorbs the bumps commendably well, even on our third world standard town centre roads.

What is perhaps most remarkable about the DS4 is how much better it is than the C4 upon which it is based. It is not a triumph of style over substance; it is a genuinely good car in virtually every respect. Yes, there are a couple of drawbacks; the boot is pretty titchy and some of the styling cues, the rear windows in particular, come at too high a price in terms of practicality, but this is still a very good effort by Citroen. The DS brand proves that they are still capable of producing cars that are stylish, innovative and a little bit out of the ordinary. I’m already looking forward to the DS5 which should come out later this year.

Just one thing, though; I can’t help thinking that the DS4 would have been better still if it truly was a five door coupe rather than yet another crossover.
K Johnson
Car as tested Citroen DS4 DSport THP 200  £23,650 OTR

Article from Recommeded Magazine – Sutton Coldfield – Delivered to over 40,000 Sutton Coldfield residents.

First stop was just up the road at Renishaw Hall near Sheffield. The Hall itself is a large and imposing gothic pile – both a family home and backdrop for a jaw droppingly beautiful garden laid out across a valley, complete with man-made lakes and a vineyard! The front ‘garden’ is singularly unimpressive and lulls you into a false sense of apathy – little knowing that just around the corner is one of the country’s most beautiful gardens. For the connoisseur of beautiful vistas and special plants this is truly a must-see garden.

Next up was the world famous Alnwick Castle Gardens in Northumberland – seat of the Duchess of Northumberland. It’s probably fair to say that, through her vision and enterprise, there now exists the closest thing to a horticultural Disneyland that you could wish for. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my kids with me when I visited which is a shame as it really is a garden that everyone can enjoy and learn from. The Grand Cascade – a water feature to top all water features – is without doubt the best garden ‘feature’ I’ve ever seen, but probably not for those of a weak bladder disposition! Equally amazing is the Poison Garden – but I won’t spoil the experience by revealing all the secrets for those lucky enough to visit in the future….all in all, a great family day out which certainly has the wow factor!.

A bit further north is the birthplace of a certain Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – the unofficial patron saint of landscape gardeners – at the working farm of Kirkharle. In his teens Brown produced plans for the transformation of the surrounding countryside and the current owners of the farm have now instigated much of his original dream – complete with serpentine lakes. For the family visitor there is one of the best rural enterprise areas I have seen for a long time with a great mix of restaurants, craft shops and art workshops. Certainly well worth a visit – BBC’s Countryfile were there the week before me so it must be the place to be seen in!

Finally, and without a shadow of a doubt the star turn of my mini grand tour, was Gertrude Jekyll’s garden at Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island. The garden is miniscule at just an eighth of an acre, but for lovers of true heritage gardening this probably is the pinnacle of that genre. I had trouble finding the garden as it stands some way from the Castle and used to serve as the veg patch for the garrison stationed there. Now it is a simple mix of hardy perennials and annuals with a few veg for good measure surrounded by the original stone wall. Importantly, it is true to the original plan that Jekyll drew exactly 100 years ago this month with most of the original plant varieties now painstakingly sourced by the National Trust. Stars of the show were annuals such as Godetia ‘Salmon Princess’, Calendula ‘Orange King’ and old varieties of Sweet Pea. If you are looking for some true inspiration and want to see gardening still executed in time honoured fashion, then you must visit Holy Island during the months of July and August when everything will be looking extremely rosy!!

 
J Wild
Garden Consultant and Occasional Garden Tourist!