Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Locals pile into an old American car as the group cycles through a village in the Sierra Maestra mountains

Cuba is bigger than you think, only slightly smaller than England, with a population of 11.2 million. The entire trip would cover around 1,200 miles, of which we would cycle 400 miles, with the rest made up by transfers in our mini bus. For the entire fortnight we would have one bus following us, ready to assist with punctures or tired legs, while another bus (carrying our bags) would race on to the first checkpoint and the driver would start chopping up pineapple, papaya and guava for snacks. On the bus transfers our guide Lazaro De La Maza, a 30-year-old Cuban, talked proudly about the island and its history and answered our increasingly discourteous questions. How much is the average monthly wage? (10-20 CUCs about 6-12). How much do you get paid? (18 CUCs).

The biggest mental challenge was getting used to a communist country. The hotels are state owned. The restaurants are mostly state owned (although this is changing). The banks are state owned. We would pass something and I would ask Laz, is this owned by the government? He would nod wearily. Even Laz was an employee of the state. Although our group holiday was booked through Exodus, a UK-based travel company, on the ground it was run by Cubana, a state-owned travel company. Despite this Laz was startlingly honest, explaining the quirks and idiosyncrasies of his country. (Showing us his ID cards Cubans must carry three at all times we smirked at the picture of our normally Lycra-clad guide in a suit and tie. I dont actually own a suit, but they can Photoshop one on for you, he said. In a cafe in Havana, I saw a smartly dressed woman being asked for her ID by a policeman. When she didnt have it she was led away.)

I had been warned about the food. While the Cuban embassys website promised eating in Cuba is an exciting and rich experience, Laz was more realistic. Youre not here to have a gastronomic journey, he said. It was true that in lots of state-run restaurants the food was overcooked and there were limited choices (fish, chicken or pork with rice and beans). But it wasnt as bad as I had been told; in some of the new private restaurants it was outstanding.

Spending six hours a day on a bicycle, I found myself continually wondering about the system of government. Apart from the lack of creativity in the kitchen Cubans suffered from having no free press, no free elections and limited chance for self-improvement. But the island has a world-class health system life expectancy is high at 78 years; education, including university, is free; and no one is starving thanks to government rations of rice, sugar, salt and oil. I came home to stories of one million people accessing food banks in Britain over Christmas.

Outside the bigger towns we noticed fewer and fewer cars until all that was left were sun-baked farmers whipping their skinny carthorses; their carts were made up from different sized wheels and patched together with spare planks. The fields were full of sugar cane, thick and high, a reminder of Cubas agricultural history. We stopped for a break at an old plantation that had a monument to the former slaves outside the crumbling mansion.

It only struck me on that third day that there was no advertising anywhere. The billboards had party slogans or quotes from Fidel or Che. (At the top of one particularly punishing hill a sign saying, siempre se puede mas You can always do more was galling.) The graffiti, instead of being counter culture, was about the revolution: CUBA LIBRE, VIVA FIDEL.

The life of the peasant farmers was apparently what changed most after the revolution. Castros agrarian reform laws sought to break up large landholdings and redistribute the land to the peasants who worked it, co-operatives and the state. Farmers apply for a plot of land and are obliged to sell 80 per cent of coffee and cocoa back to the government at a set price. The rest, along with meat, eggs and fruit, they can sell for a profit.

Later in the trip we went on a walking tour in the middle of the Sierra Maestra mountain range to a hamlet of farms. Roberto, an 85-year-old farmer with milky eyes and a shuffle proudly showed us his home. The living area was decorated with tiny china ornaments, and behind a curtain were two double beds and a single. We sat at a table with a bleached white cloth while his wife made coffee on a stove. Ricardo, a local guide, told us that Castro had brought electricity and running water to these remote villages. Before the revolution people like this had no life, now they have a farm, freedom and can make a profit legally. People here have a better life than those in the city.

It depended, it seemed, on which city. From the Bay of Pigs we cycled on to Cienfuegos, the industrial capital of the island and a rich-looking town. Unlike Havana the huge colonial buildings gleamed with fresh paint. Why was there this difference? Because the people organise collective restoration projects. The residents have pride here, Laz said.

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Cycling through the revolutionary landscape of Cuba

FMT LETTER: From Ramakrishnan Ramasamy, via e-mail

The signboard at the entrance to the District Land office, stands forlorn, totally ignored by all around it. It has been standing there since 2008 proudly proclaiming the following:

Please be informed that all land applications for Grant titled land and Temporary Occupation Licenses have been frozen for the District of Cameron Highlands as per the decision made at the Exco Meeting Bil No 25/2008 on the 30th July 2008 for Temporary Occupation Licenses and Bil No 31/2008 on the 24th September 2008 for Grant titled land.

Anyone applying for new TOLs will be politely reminded of this decree. Even Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob will use this to defend the state government whenever hes asked by the media to explain illegal land clearing. We have not issued any new TOLs since 2008.

In 2008 as a response to wanton land clearing, the State Government to its credit came up with this ruling. One would have thought that with this, illegal land clearing would be more manageable. But the opposite happened.

Looking back, how can the opposite not happen with so many wolves in sheeps clothing at the local Land Office? An equivalent proverb in Malay would be harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi. It was during this period that the word Flying TOLs or TOL Terbang was coined.

In accordance with the Land Conservation Act 1960, farmers in Cameron Highlands were given TOL or Temporary Occupation License to work their land .Most of these TOLs were for two acres or slightly more for a period of one year to be renewed annually.

However farmers tend to farm more than their stipulated area and most of these would be adjacent to their original plot. Back then there were still land which were below 25 degrees gradient and deemed suitable for farming. However from 2005 these suitable areas were mostly used up and that was when the State Government came up with the above ruling.

For earth works to commence land clearing permits have to be issued first. Land clearing permits have to be referenced to a particular TOL and can only be issued by the Land Administrator and the top ranking Land Administrator in Cameron Highlands is the District Officer.

Now assuming all the old TOLs were used up and no new TOLs issued, then there should logically be no new land cleared for farming. But instead there was an explosion of them mainly in Kampung Raja, Kuala Terla and Manson Valley.

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The flying TOLs of Cameron Highlands

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AN INTERIOR designer and a furniture maker from Faversham are receiving international interest after showcasing their work at a national event.

Abbey Chic owner Mo Palios and craftsman Jason Muteham displayed textile designs, furniture and ceramics at an exhibition in Birmingham.

FRESH: The ethnic-style home-wares were popular at the exhibition. Credit: Peter Smith

LATEST DESIGNS: Archie the dog featuring on coaster designs. Credit: Peter Smith

CHIC: Mo Palios (right), owner of Abbey Chic, with business contact Jane Potter

They have now been approached by outlets across the country and as far away as China.

The interior trade exhibition at the NEC arena welcomes designers, architects and contractors from across the UK.

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Town designers in national event

Two weeks after hooking up my home with SmartThings, I've learned things about my kitties I cant unlearn.

ReadWriteHome is an ongoing series exploring the implications of living in connected homes.

When I'm at work, my catsGamera and Gojiralove to defy me. I know this because my smart home tells me so.

People have all sorts of reasons for connecting their homes. Some people want to monitor the nanny, or keep an eye on things for security or safety reasons. Others just want to see what their pets do when they're not around. I happen to fall into the latter camp.

So when SmartThings asked if I wanted to check out one of its DIY smart home kits, I jumped at the chance. Two weeks into the experiment, it's turned up some disturbing evidence.

In 2012, SmartThings tore through its $250,000 Kickstarter goal by raising $1.2 million. Then it attracted another $15 million from other investors. In other words, the company managed to put out a smart home system that people really seemed to want.

I can see why. Its devicesa hub and a collection of sensors and other gadgetsare sleek and attractive, and pretty simple to set up. Connecting each device to the network requires nothing more than pulling out a paper tab (similar to those battery pull tabs you sometimes find in watches and other gadgets) and firing up the SmartThings mobile app. I had everything hooked up in less than 15 minutes.

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Smart Home Shocker: My Cats Are Out To Get Me

Stouffville Sun-Tribune

A fire that caused up to $200,000 damage to a home in northeast Stouffville Sunday was caused by an electrical issue.

Jennifer Cooper, fire prevention/public education officer for the Whitchurch-Stouffville fire department, could not say whether the Pendutch Circle blaze was related to an ongoing renovation, an appliance or perhaps wiring in the home.

A forensic engineer, hired by the homeowners insurance company, is investigating.

The amount of damage sustained to the second floor is more than originally thought and is closer to $150,000 or $200,000, she said.

Ms Cooper said the home looks repairable, but the homeowners will be displaced for quite some time.

Friends and relatives are rallying behind the family of four left temporarily homeless, according to neighbours speaking on social media. Plans were in the works to set up a bank account to assist the family.

The fire started on the second floor of the home, just west of the Stouffville Country Market in the Tenth Line and Hemlock Drive area, around 3:45 p.m Sunday.

Residents of the house were not home when the fire started. However, when they returned, they found smoke coming from the brick homes second storey, according to Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville Fire Chief Rob McKenzie.

There were no injuries.

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Electrical problem caused $200,000 Stouffville house fire

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FRANKLIN PARK (KDKA) No day is a good day to fight a fire, but on Thursday, it was 19 degrees felt like 12 and up on that aerial ladder, water is spraying back at you.

The call came in just before 11 a.m., bringing nearly half a dozen fire companies to the scene. But the house on Holmes Drive in the Settlers Walk neighborhood went up fast.

Murali Otti, his wife Saritha, and their two sons were not at home when it started.

Pavan Otti arrived from a doctors appointment to find firefighters mopping up.

I think its part of the electrical wiring of the house, said Pavan.

His parents were at a neighbors on the phone about insurance.

The damage to the house was far worse than neighbor Eric Palmer expected.

Theyre wonderful people; theyre great neighbors. Its just a shame, he said. Im glad nobody was home. Im glad nobody got hurt.

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Fire Destroys Home In Franklin Park

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