Expert Locksmith Advice

Locks and Films

Let’s face it, the weather has been pretty awful for the last month or two with the biting cold wind, rain, storms Ciara and Dennis, Jorge and who knows what next, all of which has left fence manufacturers rubbing their hands together with glee at the damage wreaked across the country. 

As it’s not really been the month for outdoor pursuits, there’s not a lot else to do in any spare time except get comfy, settle down and watch a good film or two. Hot on the heels of the film award season there has been a lot to catch up on, whether it be old classics, new releases on DVD, or even an award winner at the cinema such as the Oscar winner Parasite, or the immersive 1917. With my Barry Norman head on, I should inform you that both of these are very fine films, by the way. 

The History of uPVC Windows

After the 76 weeks of January, it seems as if February may finally be in view. If you look closely, that is. And those 2 sentences contain not-so-subtle clues to the subject of today’s blog. Notably the phrases “in view” and “look closely”. Where can you look closely at a view? Why, through a window, of course. And there we have it, the new most convoluted segue of the year so far. 

So in a departure from locks, doors and other security issues, today we’ll have a brief look at the recent history of a particular type of window. I can sense you are all agog, impatiently waiting to discover which particular type of window the next 800 words or so will cover. I will keep you on tenterhooks no longer – it will be the uPVC variety. Bad luck to those of you who had Windows 95 or Windows XP in the sweepstake, maybe next time. 

Locksmith Resolutions For 2020

As we say farewell to 2019 and welcome in 2020 it’s worth taking a second to calmly reflect on the passing of time. Before shrieking “TWENTY TWENTY!? How the blazes did we get here? It was only 1987 a few minutes ago.. make it stop. MAKE IT STOP, no, don’t lock me up again…” and then escaping into the woods, a blubbering mess. But maybe that’s just me.

Now that we’re further ahead than the original Blade Runner was set, and far beyond how far they travelled to in Back to the Future, science fiction would have us believe that we should all be jetting around on flying skateboards with our android-human hybrid pals. We may have to accept we face a touch of disappointment on that score but hey, at least we have the ability to play Candy Crush no matter where we are in the world. 

As any opportunist gravy thief knows, the turn of the year is an excellent time to take stock. And also to look forward to the year ahead, perhaps making a resolution or two. Resolutions are always a tricky beast – make them too difficult like resolving to solve climate change in 2020 and you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. But going the other way and making them too easy, like resolving to eat a tube of fruit pastilles per day, and where’s the challenge in that? 

So if you’re struggling to strike the right balance with your resolutions, fear not, for I am here to provide some suggestions. And whilst you might suspect they’ll all be around the subject of making your house more secure, I’m going to surprise you and say they’re not. Nah, only kidding, they are really. But they ARE useful, so here we go. 

Rotherham Upvc Door Handle Advice

Right, it’s not long until Christmas, and I’ll let you into a secret. Sometimes I try to compose blogs that are relevant to the time of year – you may remember I’ve done specific Christmas blogs the last few years, and sometimes I already have a subject in mind, and just try to crowbar in a reference to make it seem as if it’s relevant to the time of year. See if you can spot which one I’m doing today. 

Christmas is all about the Messiah, agreed? Jesus, and the wise men, and the stable and that. A child is born, and all that jazz. Well, who wrote a famous oratorio called Messiah? That’s right, it was Handel.  In 1741, if you want to be precise. And if we transpose the last 2 letters of Handel’s name, we get Handle. Which brings us to the subject of today’s blog – handles. Seamless see! (Yes, it’s the second kind of blog today)

Rotherham Locksmith Advice

I think you’d agree that it’s a bit of a weird time at the moment, making it difficult to keep track of what’s what. As governments rise and fall and sea levels rise and…well, rise; as the truth becomes ever harder to uncover, and the future of the country is uncertain, sometimes it’s worth just taking a deep breath, stepping back, and focussing on what really matters….

Which obviously is home security… what else? All too often in this business, we can get caught up in the minutiae of the details surrounding security systems, the intricacies of the latest locks, and any minor changes in trends and methods of break-ins. Once in a while though, it’s important to take that step back and look at the irrefutable pillars of home security, just as a reminder and in case any of them have slipped by the wayside whilst distracted by the little things. Here, I’ll cover four crucial points of which everyone should be aware to best protect their house.

Where Do Burglars Look In The House

Now I don’t normally have much time for burglars. To be honest, as a locksmith, they are my nemesis. The Lex Luther to my Superman, the Riddler to my Joker, the Donald Trump to my reasonable human being. As such, I don’t tend to pay much heed of what they say. 

However, for every rule there is an exception. And that exception was a recent report I came across, commissioned by John Lewis insurance. This report, carried out in conjunction with an offender rehabilitation agency, interviewed a number of reformed offenders for the purpose of finding out the behaviour pattern of burglars, most notably the places they would target when breaking into a property.  This then informed the recommendations of the report when it came to the best places for householders to keep their valuables to help protect them.

Locks Within Religion

Easter is on the horizon, and along with it a reminder of what can happen if you don’t fit proper locks to giant rocks – Jesus really did make the whole profession look bad on that day - but I think we’ve just about recovered. Besides, if the Romans had secured the services of a professional, accredited locksmith, who knows how different the Easter story would be. 

But in an attempt to stay the right side of blasphemy, today I’ll look at the role locks and keys have played within religion and superstition down the years. Because I know that’s what you come to this blog for – a lock-related history lesson. 

Rotherham Locksmith Spring Security Advice

Well, hello there and a belated happy 2019 to you. I’d like to say I’d been doing something exciting, and that’s the reason for my brief absence from these pages but that would be a lie. Work, winter and life took over for the last two and a half months. But now spring is on the horizon and with it come all sort of, well… springy arrivals like warmer weather, new-born lambs, and…err… new things to look out for when it comes to home security. Much as I’m all across the subject of birthing lambs, it’s more the latter subject that I’ll be concerned about today – a look at how to keep safe as the warmer weather arrives.

Xmas Locksmith Tips Rotherham

And so this is Christmas. No, really it is. Despite all assurances after last year that it wouldn't happen again, it's crept up on us once more. But before we can put our feet up for day or two and try and forget anything to do with work, politics, or the continued appeal of Mrs Brown's Boys, I best I'd better pen down something vaguely related to my job. As it's Christmas, and the radio is full to bursting with all the Christmas hits, why don't we go a bit tenuous and explain the connection that many festive songs  have with the art of locksmithery.

Know The Difference With Your Cylinder Locks

You’re probably seen the John Lewis advert by now and, even if not, you can’t have escaped at least knowing about it. It features Elton John and travels back in time to see how all his success can, at least in part, be traced back to when he was given a gift of a piano as a child. Now you may not know, but this wasn’t the first draft of this advert because originally it was an advert created by myself, and this is how it unfolded.