Limited edition album Amnesiac by Radiohead image © Lance James Daniels. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

I have made reference to a few songs and music groups related to doors in previous Blog posts and this weekend I discovered another one. is the intriguing title of a Radiohead song, which features on their album Amnesiac. The album was launched in 2001 and this song featured as track number three.

In the song there are various references to different types of doors including barn doors, revolving doors and sliding doors. On the face of it this is a simple song but I think that the reference to doors relates to the choices we make in life. For example, there is reference to doors that lock and doors that don’t and this could be related to times when you have a choice and other times when you don’t. There are many interpretations of the song so this is just one possibility. Other people have suggested a link to the different people we meet in life. Who knows? Maybe it is just a simple song about doors following a search on the Kershaws Doors website.

I am not sure what Pulk/Pull means and I cannot find a simple definition for the word “pulk”, which is strange. One definition for the word “pulk” relates to a sort of toboggan that is pulled by a dog, but I don’t think this is relevant to the song title.

As with many Radiohead songs Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is quite a long song at over four minutes and this one seems quite a strange track to me. I had never heard it before this weekend and I have to say, it won’t go down as one of my favourites. The lyrics are quite difficult to decipher with what seems like some kind of computer generated voice and a background of fuzzy interference sounds. It is not what you would call a sing-along song, although I am sure the hard-core fans will love it.

Feng Shui is a Chinese philosophy most commonly associated with creating a harmonious interior scheme. The literal translation in English is “Wind-Water”.

There are a number of principles relating to the positioning of elements to create harmony and balance. This can be applied to buildings from an architectural perspective or the interior, including the positioning of furniture and furnishings within the home.

As this is a Blog about doors, I thought I would investigate the Feng Shui principles related to doors. One of the key rules relates to the alignment of doors. The front and back doors should not be directly aligned. This is to avoid the loss of energy from one door to another. Energy enters the home through one door and should be allowed to circulate and flow throughout the home. If the two doors are positioned directly opposite each other, the energy will enter and quickly leave the house. Energy can be visualised like water, flowing in channels and it is best to allow it to flow freely and fill the home.

So what should you do if you have directly aligned doors? Obviously one option is to invest in renovation works and move one of your doors. However if you have a more modest budget you can place furniture in the area between the two doors. This will force the energy to disperse around the furniture. You will need to be practical and make sure you can easily move around your home. Placing a large table in the middle of your main room may not be appropriate.

Another alternative is to work with colour to alter the balance of your doors. Painting one door in a strong colour can help to create alternative levels of energy at each side of the room. Plants are always a key part of Feng Shui and they can be used to redirect energy within the home

Grand Depart – Huddersfield, image © eventcoverage and used under CC license

At Kershaws Doors we’ve all been looking forward to the Yorkshire Grand Depart, which started on Saturday. This is the first time we have seen the Tour de France come to Yorkshire.

The Tour de France is the world’s largest annual sporting event and this year the UK will be hosting the first three stages starting in Leeds, close to the Kershaws Doors office.

The streets throughout Yorkshire were lined with millions of people who turned out to watch the Grand Depart and the people of Yorkshire were prepared for the event with welcoming banners and cycling themed bunting.

The route on day one started in Leeds city centre and covered 190 miles ending with a sprint finish into Harrogate.

So, here’s a few facts about this famous event. The Tour de France attracts a huge TV audience worldwide with around 3.5 billion viewers. The first Tour de France was held in 1903 and this year’s event will be the 101st. There are 21 stages including flat hill and mountain stages. There are 22 teams, each with nine riders, meaning there are 198 riders in total. This year the race will end on 27th July in Paris. Bradley Wiggins was the first British winner of the Tour de France in 2012. The complete course covers 2,272 miles.

Whether you are watching on the television or shouting from the sidelines, we hope this will be an exciting event.

World Cup fever is in full swing and it seems that most of us are following the tournament. The first games kicked off on the 12th June and the final will take place on the 12th July. This is the 20th FIFA World Cup to be hosted and it is thought to be the second largest international sporting event after the Olympic Games. There are 32 national teams involved in the tournament and there will be a total of 64 matches over the eight week period when the games will take place

So, are you a follower or an avoider of the World Cup?

After a quick poll in the Kershaws Doors office this morning, we are split four to one in favour of watching the World Cup. So what is the effect of the World Cup on selling doors?

We find that during major sporting events, our online sales of doors are often purchased at unusual times, this is an advantage of a 24 hour sales facility. Many of our customers are switched off to anything other than football related activities at the moment and these people are not going to spend any of their spare time looking for new doors. However we have a large portion of people who are actively doing things to avoid watching football on the television. For some people, buying new doors is something that they often put off for a while. If these people are not watching the football, then this may be the time for them to catch up with necessary jobs. They may find that their usual routine of watching soaps is interrupted by football and they will do anything to avoid watching stumbling across the latest results and football stats. You will find them in the garden weeding and planting flowers. You will see them down at the DIY store buying decorating materials and we will find them browsing and buying new doors online. If you call our customer services line we will not mention the World Cup unless you do so you can be sure you won’t find yourself in a football conversation.

Image © cherrylet cropped and shared under CC license

This is a Blog post about a song, which includes reference to a door. “Close Every Door” is a song from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical is based on the biblical story from the Book of Genesis and was first shown as a stage production in the early 70′s. The musical grew in popularity when Jason Donovan took the lead role in 1991. In 2007 the TV programme Any Dream Will Do helped to renew the popularity of the musical culminating in the appointment of Lee Mead as the lead role in Joseph. This resulted in a very successful London show, which ran for a further two years.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat musical continues to draw in the crowds and I was lucky enough to see the show last year in Leeds, which I really enjoyed. I think it is a great family show, which is suitable for all ages and I would love to go and see it again. I thought the songs were great, including Close Every Door and I bought the CD after the performance.

Close Every Door is sung towards the end of the first act in the show, when Joseph has been imprisoned. Philip Schofield released the song in 1992 when he starred in the production and he went on to sing it at the London Palladium Variety Performance.

In December last year Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that the popular musical would be made into a film shortly. This follows the success of Les Miserables last year and I am sure it will be equally successful.

If you are looking for a door that is worth singing about then take a look at the Kershaws Doors website 1doors.co.uk where you will find a large range of internal and external doors.

Image © P L Chadwick used under Creative Commons Licence

I put pen to paper (or fingers to laptop, to be precise) a couple of times per week to write Blogs about Kershaws Doors. I write about a variety of topics and I tend to focus on door related themes although sometimes they can be quite tenuous links.

Today I thought I would explore the origins of the surname, or sometimes first name, of “Kershaw”. I researched on the Internet and although opinions differ, I found a couple of websites that break down the surname into two sections, “Ker” and “Shaw”. It seems that the name Kershaw used to be spelled Kirkshaw back in the 16th century and there were other spellings prior to that. The word Kirk is from old English and back in the 6th century it was the name for a church. The word for church in Dutch is “kerk” which supports this theory and “Kirk” is commonly included within place names, such as Kirkheaton and Kirkburton, which are local to us here in West Yorkshire.

The second part of the name, “Shaw”, is quite a revelation as this is an old name for a coppice or wood. It must be fate or destiny then that the owner of the company Mr Kershaw specialises in wooden doors! It could of course be a coincidence, but I like to think it was just meant to be!

So far, here at Kershaws Doors we have occasionally sold the traditional large arch shaped doors as found in churches, as these were a special custom door order, but maybe this is a growth area for us one day. Then we could really fulfil the destiny of the Kershaw name!

If you are looking to buy a quality wooden door for your home or your office then you should take a look at the Kershaws (Church – Wood) Doors website 1doors.co.uk.

When someone calls at your door to sell a product or service, this is referred to as a “Doorstep Sale”. Whether or not you find this irritating, people are within their rights to call at your door without prior warning to try and sell something to you. However there are a number of regulations that apply to such practices.

After buying a product in this way, you are usually entitled to a minimum of a seven day cooling off period, in which time you can change your mind and cancel the order, however there are some exceptions. This condition should be provided in writing at the time of sale.

If you have any issue with a trader in your home, you are fully entitled to ask them to leave immediately as you will be covered by the Law of Trespass.

Often people who sell door to door put pressure on homeowners to purchase there and then. Before committing to buy something you may wish to ask for the details of happy customers. Speaking to someone independent that has used a product or service is typically a good way to ensure you are dealing with a reputable person or company. Alternatively you may want a bit of time to consider your purchase and any reasonable seller will grant you time to think about it.

If you have any problems with a doorstep seller you should call your local Trading Standards.

Are you happy with the door that any random doorstep seller will call upon? Even if we don’t like unexpected visitors to our home, most of us would like to think that people get a good impression when they call on your door. If you would like to purchase a new front door then take a look at our website where you will find a wide range of classic and modern styles of external and internal doors.