Opinion

With summer well and truly behind us, you may be starting to think about getting ready for all that winter brings. This may include swapping over your car tyres for winter ones. But did you know that how you store unused tyres can have a big impact on their condition?

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They’re not designed to be stored for long periods of time, so if you don’t store them correctly now, the chances are they well may be damaged by the time you go to use them again when the seasons change. And having to buy a new set of tyres simply because they weren’t put away properly is enough to take the spring out of anybody’s step.

Here we take a quick look at the dos and don’ts of tyre storage.

Storage of Dismounted Tyres

All tyres should be stored away from direct sunlight to avoid the rubber being corroded and at a low temperature. It is also important that they are kept in a room where there is a good circulation of air and extreme changes of temperature can be avoided.

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Don’t hang unmounted tyres or stack them on top on one another in piles. This can lead to them becoming deformed. Instead, ensure the tyre is kept upright. Not only will this make it much easier for you to mount them on wheels when you need them again, but it will also minimise the risk of damage.

Purpose-built racks are available to ensure the safe storage of tyres, such as those offered by industrial shelving Ireland from https://www.rackzone.ie/shelving/industrial-residential-shelving.

Once you have your tyres safely racked, remember to rotate them regularly to prevent one side from caving in.

Storage of Mounted Tyres

If you have spare wheels and are able to store your tyres as complete units, it is much easier to store them without the risk of damage. When fully mounted, tyres can be safely stored piled on their side or even hung against a wall.

When you’re ready to use your tyres again, remember to check that they have the correct tread depth and pressure for your vehicle. Further information can be found on the tyre safe website – https://www.tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/tread-depth/

Taking care of your tyres now gives them the best chance of doing the same for you when they’re back on the road.

How to wash your van

A van is a big investment for any business and is an asset that needs to be looked after. With some care and attention, it will last your business for years.

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It also says a lot about your business. It is a visual representation of your brand’s values. A scruffy dirty van is not going to convey a very positive message! Therefore, it is important to keep your van clean.

Washing your van exterior

According to the car experts at the New York Times, salt from the roads is a particular issue as it encourages the oxidation process that causes rust.

The best way to remove salt and other environmental contaminants from the surface of your van is with a special vehicle shampoo. Harsh household cleaners will do more harm than good. Use a soft sponge or a wash-mitten to apply the soapy water and work it into the dirt gently. Start at the roof and work downwards. It is vital that all of the soap is washed off so use a hose or several buckets of clean water.

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The wheels require particular attention as they can get filthy from dust produced by the brakes and from the road surface. You cannot clean warm wheels effectively so make sure that they are cold. A power hose is the best way to remove dirt from wheel-arches but an old cloth and an acid-free cleaner is best for the wheels themselves.

Cleaning your van interior

It’s a good idea to protect the interior of your van and make it easier to clean by installing a Speedliner from a supplier such as https://www.vehicle-accessories.net/interiors/van-linings/speedliner-euro-fr/. It will make cleaning much quicker and more effective.

Start by removing any loose mats and take out any old bottles, food wrappers and general rubbish. Use a vehicle vacuum cleaner on the carpets and fit the brush attachment to clean the seats. A crevice attachment is useful for areas between the seats.

Fabric mats can be shaken or vacuumed but rubber mats can be washed with warm soapy water and rinsed. The vinyl/plastic interior surfaces can be cleaned with a special vinyl cleaner. Don’t forget the windows – a glass cleaner is best because it does not leave streaks. Finally, pop in an air freshener to give it that ‘new van’ odour!

A career as a financial adviser is an increasingly attractive option for those with an interest in finance and helping people at crucial points of their life.

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There are two kinds of investment adviser: Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) and Restricted Advisers. The latter can only recommend certain products or providers and cannot describe themselves as independent.

Most people will be looking at a position as an IFA, as the employment prospects are much greater.

Furthermore, the emergence of sophisticated software for IFAs found at sites such as www.intelliflo.com/ is transforming the job and attracting applicants with an interest in technology.

Experience

Although graduates are attracted to this kind of career the National Career Service suggests that entry to a firm can be accessed by candidates with good grades in GCSE Maths and English, potentially via an apprenticeship. You could also start as a paraplanner, who provides research and administrative support to a financial planner.

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As well as numerical skills and tech knowledge you will also need excellent communication skills and be comfortable writing reports. Experience in customer service, sales or finance will also be an advantage when seeking an initial position. With a degree you may be able to enter a graduate training scheme, either with a bank or an IFA.

Career

You will also need a qualification in financial advice approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, although you will usually acquire this whilst working. There will be the possibility of acquiring further qualifications as you progress through your career, increasing the markets and products you can advise on.

When embarking on this training expect to be subjected to a credit check and a background check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Further details on training can be found at the Financial Conduct Authority website.

There are lots of career options for financial advisers who hold the relevant qualifications from working as an IFA, working for a bank or building society selling their products, or as a restricted adviser.

As an IFA you will be talking to clients about their finances and plans, researching the right products for them and explaining them clearly. You will also negotiate with providers and produce reports for the client to keep them updated on their investments.

Finally, you will also need to keep abreast of new products and changes in the law.

Wolves have been portrayed as dangerous animals and are often used in stories as villainous characters and whilst they are wild animals and so of course have an element of danger they are also beautiful creatures that are fiercely protective of their families. Arctic wolves are amongst some of the most striking of their species and live in conditions that would be disliked by many humans. They also don’t have the same luxury that we do to be able to contact Boiler Service Gloucester company http://www.hprservicesltd.com/gloucester-boilers/boiler-service-gloucester/ to come and make sure that our heating systems are in tip top condition before the colder weather start to set in.

Here are some interesting facts about the Arctic Wolf family.

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Body size and condition

These wolves tend to be smaller than the grey wolves that you may have seen either in the wild or in animal parks across the world. The reach a length of around 6 feet with the male being larger than the female and weigh around 100 pounds which is significantly more than their grey counterparts. The ears of an arctic wolf are smaller than in others as a way to help maintain a core temperature during the colder months. The fur coat of an Arctic wolf can be a grey, black or white colour. In a pack the alpha male will always be the largest of the wolves, as the leader of the group he will tend to get the pick of any food first before the rest of the pack slot into their relevant hierarchical positions.

Hunting

Just like all other pack animals the Arctic wolfs hunts in groups. Looking for prey like caribou, artic hares and moose. Wolves will travel across large areas of land to be able to find food and they will often follow the migrating caribou during the winter in order to make sure that they have enough food to sustain the whole pack.

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The future

Although not officially on the endangered list the number of Arctic wolves has been in slow decline partly due to the fact that there has also been a decline in the number of their natural prey species. They are not currently on the high-risk list as they exist in areas of the world where they are not subjected to hunting and human effects on their natural habitat like has occurred with their grey counterparts.

Our human senses are incredible and are what allow us to understand the world around us and they are also important in the making and recall of memories. Most people are aware of the five basic senses including sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. There is also a sixth sense known as proprioception, which is the sense of body positioning and movement.  As more and more research is undertaken into how the human body and the brain works more and more senses are being discovered such as the sense of pain, sense of balance.

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One of the five senses that is often given less importance than the others is the sense of smell. You can easily think of smell as your nose detecting what the scent of an item is and whilst in extremely simplistic terms this is right your sense of smell is so much more complicated and impressive than that. It is why Scent Marketing has become so popular for businesses. Your sense of smell is liked heavily to your recall and construction of both short term and long term memories and this is where Scent Marketing comes into its own by stores utilising smells to create particular feelings in their customers and companies like https://moodmedia.co.uk/project/scent-marketing-for-businesses/ can help with this.

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Your sense of smell begins in your nose where over 400 different receptors in the lining of the back of your nose lie in wait for the smell molecules from any aromas to float past. These receptors all work on different smell combinations. It is like a giant lock and key centre. When the receptor connects with a smell molecule it sends an electrical signal to the processing centre of the brain known as the olfactory bulb. This is essentially a sorting area for all the electrical signals that are firing around your body at any given moment. From here the signal is moved on to the relevant area of the brain. The ‘smell’ signal is forwarded on to a number of areas in the brain including:

• An identification centre called the piriform cortex
• The Thalamus which is which is another relay area for signals in the brain
• Our sense of smell and taste are so closely combined due to the signal that is sent to the orbitofrontal cortex. It is this combination of senses that allow us to appreciate the different layers of scents and flavours in our food and drink and is one of the reasons why if you have a heavy cold you can find that food seems to lose its smell and flavour.
• The link between smells and our memories and other emotions comes from the signal that is sent to the hippocampus and the amygdala which are areas of the brain concerned with memory, learning and other states such as anxiety, fear and pleasure.

So next time you enjoy the smell of a beautiful rose give thanks to the complex and hardworking system that is your sense of smell.