Window Cleaning News

Santa and his two elves waved and gave high-fives through the glass Monday morning.

Santa Claus not only shoots down chimneys, he also rappels down windows: The holiday-themed window-washing crew is part of Millennium Building Services, a company that's been cleaning Legacy Health's hospital windows for 28 years. Since last year, the company has scheduled Santa and his elves to do a special cleaning before Christmas for an audience of patients spending the holiday season at Randall Children's Hospital.  

The children and their families watched from two family lounges on the fourth and sixth floors as Santa and his two elves waved and gave high-fives through the glass Monday morning. After the work was done, Santa stopped in to talk to the children and wish them a merry Christmas. Families told us they are thankful Santa can clean windows so well, because if not, their children probably would have gone without seeing him this year. 

36 year old window cleaner Atsushi Shimizu (right), who has also been awarded a prize as Japan's best window cleaner.

Costumed window cleaners entertain passersby in Tokyo: Tokyo window cleaners dress up as horse and sheep ahead of Japanese New Year. Tokyo commuters couldn't believe their eyes this week, when they saw a horse and sheep suspended 50 meters in the air, cleaning the window of a high-rise building. Luckily, the animals were actually two men, dressed in the signs of the Chinese zodiac. The stunt was held ahead of the Japanese New Year celebrations on January 1. By why a horse and sheep? It's because, in the Chinese zodiac system, the horse represents the current year and the sheep represents the year to come. 36 year old window cleaner Atsushi Shimizu, who has also been awarded a prize as Japan's best window cleaner, hopes the year of the sheep will be a peaceful one, like the animal he represents.

Your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, along with his trusty pal Superman were hanging from the ceiling of the Chinook Regional Hospital on Monday afternoon. When the two aren’t out fighting crime, they can be found working for Intrepid Industries, a local commercial cleaning company that specializes in industrial rope access. For the past six weeks or so the company has been hard at work for the hospital’s annual window cleaning as well as the high level beam cleaning which is done every other year, siad Bob Corfield, the director of Linen and Environmental Service South Zone with Alberta Health Services. 

Patricia Danforth, the sales/safety office administrator for Intrepid Industries, said someone from hospital administration suggested the idea. “They were watching our industrial rope access technicians work and they saw it as a kind of like a Spiderman portrayal — how they clean the beams, they go in between them, they’re kind of spider-like when they do it,” she said. Initially, they thought it would be a good source of entertainment for the children in the pediatrics unit. When hospital staff went to gather some of the children on the fifth floor, they quickly realized the fortunate news — there were no sick kids around. 

Kendra Kroetsch, a 10 year-old who was in for a day procedure, was able to get the chance to see the superhero duo in action. “It was really cool, to see Spiderman turning, and letting go, and turning, it was just funny,” she said. Like most siblings, she was excited to rub it in her brother’s face. “I’m going to tell my brother, he’s going to be super jealous,” she giggled. Danforth hopes they can continue on with this for years to come. “We talked to the hospital administration about making this an annual event and making it a charity challenge for the next few years, that’s one way we can give back to our community. We’re just hoping that everybody will be on board with it and we can raise some money for the pediatrics wing — if not this year, hopefully next year,” said Danforth.

Pedro Perez’s daughter says the fundraiser for her badly injured father “has surpassed anything we could have hoped for.”

Pedro Perez’s daughter says the fundraiser for her badly injured father “has surpassed anything we could have hoped for.” It’s been one week since the Perez family reluctantly asked the public for financial help after the 58-year-old window washer fell 11 stories onto the roof of a passing car in downtown San Francisco and survived. The family, which lives in San Leandro, originally asked for $20,000 to help cover living expenses while the husband and father of three recovers from head trauma, internal damage and broken bones from the Nov. 21 accident. By Monday, however, the crowdfunding site set up by Perez’s family had raised more than $70,000.

“I just wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts on behalf of my father and my family,” Perez’s 19-year-old daughter, Monica Perez, wrote on the gofundme.com site. “It means a lot to us to know that we’re not alone and that people are willing to give us what little they may have just to help us in this time of need.”

More than 1,000 people have chipped in, many donating hundreds of dollars to the fund. The family says the money will help them make ends meet while Perez is unable to work. Perez has insurance through work to cover his medical bills, but his workers’ compensation checks don’t cover his entire income, his wife, Maricela, said last week.

Monica Perez said she had quit school to take on extra hours at work to help the family scrape by. But “thanks to all the donations we have gotten in these past days,” she wrote on the funding site, “it will be possible ... for me to go back to school in the summer.” “It also gives my father a peace of mind to know that we won’t have to struggle any longer with the bills and that we are going to be OK,” she wrote.

Pedro Perez will soon be moved from San Francisco General Hospital to a rehabilitation center in Pleasanton, where his family hopes he may regain use of his right arm and leg. His daughters, Monica, 16-year-old Daniela, and 11-year-old Gaby, spent Christmas in the hospital with their father. They said that although he can’t walk, he is eager to get back to work — just not as a window washer. “We hope that soon we will have our father back home with his family where he belongs,” Monica Perez said.

Air ambulance lands in Sutton after 'fall by window cleaner': An air ambulance helicopter landed in Sutton station car park after a man in his 50s was injured in a fall. The emergency services also sent an ambulance and a single responder car to a small car park by the Sutton Conservatives office off Sutton Court Road just after 11am today. Police are also in Sutton High Street. The man has sustained a head injury and was taken by road to St George's Hospital as a priority. Early indications suggest a man who was either window cleaning or clearing guttering.

Abel eats the free meal served by the Salt Lake City Mission, at the Christian Life Center, on Redwood Road, the 52-year-old is optimistic he can return to working as a window washer once the weather warms.

Salt Lake City Mission helps homeless usher in new year with warmth, hope - Over a steaming bowl of ham and bean soup, Abel recounted how he saved his wages for four months only to lose it all gambling in Wendover. He’s spent the past five months in the shelter and admits he’s had run-ins with police for public intoxication, but the 52-year-old is optimistic he can return to working as a window washer once the weather warms. "I’m waiting for something, maybe I’ll find a job. I’ve got a lot of customers in Park City and the Avenues who know me, a lot of nice people. I used to clean their windows," Abel said, his eyes brimming with tears. "I’ve still got a life. I know I’ll keep going." Abel was one of hundreds of homeless individuals who escaped the cold to gather Thursday at the Salt Lake City Mission’s 21st annual Fresh Start New Year’s Meal and Celebration.

John Darling, who runs a window washing business in downtown Nashua.

Greater Nashuans look to 2015 with hope: When posed with the question “what’s the one thing you hope will happen in 2015,” Greater Nashua residents are generally a hopeful bunch. John Darling, who runs a window washing business in downtown Nashua, was covered for Monday’s cold wind while working with a bucket of soapy water and squeegee, reflected on the question. “I have a friend who has ALS,” said Darling. He explained how his friend is confined to a wheelchair but doing as well as can be expected, save for some complicating issues that are preventing him from taking a drug that could offer relief. He hopes the millions of dollars raised from the Ice Bucket Challenge will be funneled into research that will lead to a medical breakthrough. “He’s my age,” said Darling.

Brenda Robbins of Vancouver is attempting to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean next year for the 2015 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

A Vancouver woman is preparing to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a bid to raise awareness for blood donation. Brenda Robbins will be rowing more than 5,500 kilometres unassisted from the Canary Islands to Antigua next December as part of the 2015 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, considered the “world’s toughest rowing race.” Although she has only rowed for about a year, Robbins said she felt a calling to sign up for the race after seeing a friend take on a similar challenge across the Pacific Ocean.

“It seems very crazy to begin with,” Robbins told Metro, “but I just became obsessed.” Robbins said she immediately knew she wanted to use the endeavour to help raise awareness about the importance of blood donation, a cause close to her heart. A year ago, she said her father was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Terminally ill, he requires weekly six-hour blood transfusions to keep him alive, she said. “It’s vital,” said Robbins. “Doctors gave him a limited time frame to live and he’s pretty much reached that point of what they said.”

The solo trek will see Robbins take on a torrent of potential challenges, from severe storms to strong ocean currents and seasickness. Depending on the weather, the journey is expected to take about 90 days, she said. Although there are risks involved, Robbins said there are also many safety precautions in place. “The boats that they make, they make them for the ocean,” she said. “They almost never sink.”

While no amount of practice will fully prepare her for the challenge, Robbins said she is rowing on open water as often as she can, and taking kickboxing and yoga classes to build physical endurance and flexibility. Robbins believes her experience working as a high-rise window cleaner could also help. “You can’t mimic it,” she said. “You have to just get your body in as healthy and fit place as you can.”

With a year to go until she launches, Robbins is now actively searching for sponsors to help fund her participation in the race, including the cost of the boat and entry fee, which is expected to be about $170,000. Robbins started a crowdfunding campaign to try to raise $20,000, but she is also looking for companies interested in sponsoring her and the cause. “It’s a great opportunity for businesses to get on board,” she said.

Canadian Property Stars' owner Ben Stewart won't disclose how much money the company makes from toy sales. 

Lawn-care company denies complaints of unethical, misleading toy drive: A lawn-care company that sells toys during the holiday season is being accused of misleading people who want to help the less-fortunate. Canadian Property Stars (CPS), of Kanata, Ont., is a privately-held corporation and is not obliged to release its financial statements or abide by the fundraising industry code of ethics. CPS president Ben Stewart won’t disclose what percentage of the money raised in the toy drives actually goes to charity.

Stewart said staff are paid a commission of 14 per cent, which critics say raises concerns that percentage could be considerably higher than the portion going to charity. The company is operating in Alberta without a fundraiser’s licence as required by provincial law. Charities have told Go Public they’re concerned CPS’s toy drives could hurt the reputations of charities it claims to be supporting.

Stewart said the CPS Toy Drop is a way to help existing toy drives meet their goals and fill a three month window when his lawn maintenance company has no revenue. In spring and summer CPS staff go door-to-door selling driveway sealing, window washing and lawn aeration. 

For the past two winters CPS has branched out to selling toys. It placed online ads offering “an amazing opportunity to make BIG $ raising money for a reputable Canadian charity….$100 to $400 CASH paid daily!” CPS sold the toys in Edmonton, Calgary and other Alberta municipalities, as well as in Ontario. The Charity concerned fears it's reputation may be damaged. CPS approaches supermarket and big-box store managers asking for permission to set up a table for a local charity fundraising event. The store manager is asked to choose which charity should receive the money.

CPS staff tell customers they are raising money for the local charity, and ask them to buy a toy from the table then place it in a donation bin. The toys usually cost $10, $20, or $30, but have been described as being of dollar store quality. When asked, Stewart could not provide the toys’ cost per unit.

Jessica Ryder said when she went into Canadian Tire in Edson, Alta., last month she was asked if she would like to help the local Kinettes club. She called the $100 for four toys “exorbitant.” When she declined, she said the seller wanted to know why she wasn’t interested in helping her community.

“He was aggressive,“ Ryder said. “I’m upset because I feel he was taking advantage of the people in our town.” On its website, CPS responds to concerns of aggressive sales practices by saying “CFE (Charity Fundraising Events) does not tolerate its staff engaging in any aggressive behaviour, whether directed at customers, the staff of its host businesses or other CFE staff.”

CPS owner Ben Stewart is a former kickboxing star and author of the self-published book “Millionaire in 90 Days.” On his personal website, Stewart describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” who knew what he wanted to be by the age of five, when his hero was the fictitious CEO Victor Newman, a character of the soap opera “The Young and the Restless.” Stewart claims his company gave $25,000 to local charities in 2013 and pledges to give $20,000 this year. However, Stewart said no-one should confuse CPS with a charity or a fundraising company. “(CPS is) 100 per cent a sales and service company,” he said. “We have absolutely no ties to charities, we never have, and it is in our mandate and processes and training that we ensure our staff know never to say we are a charity.”

City home-owner shocked as grapes grow in December: Huge bunches of white grapes have endured plummeting temperatures to flourish on a vine on the front wall of Mike and Hil Williamson’s house – home to feted Scottish philospher Thomas Carlyle in the 1820s. The fruit would not look out of place in the gardens of Greece or Spain, but should have perished before the harsh Edinburgh winter kicks in.

The yield was spotted by window cleaner Les ­Glasgow who was working on the house this week. He said: “It’s mad to think about having grapes in ­December, let alone grapes in Scotland in December.

“You never get them at this time of year unless they are in a greenhouse.” The 55-year-old, who lives in Corstorphine, said: “They are small – unlike ones you get in a shop – and very sweet. “I always take notice of these things. In all my years as a window cleaner, I have never seen anything like this.”

The late crop has also baffled owners Mike, 62, and his wife Hil, 64, who planted the vine 15 years ago. Interior designer Mike said the grapes were visible thanks to recent pruning of the vine as it had grown quickly and was threatening to cover some of the windows.

Thriller author recovering after being crushed under wheels of his own car: An author is recovering at home after being crushed under the wheels of his own car. Barry Durham was airlifted to hospital after being pinned between the wheel of his Vauxhall Astra and his driveway. His son Paul, his postman and a passing window cleaner sprang into action to help the 67-year-old, who came out of the incident without any broken bones.

Nearly 300 brave swimmers take to the sea for a Boxing day Dip in Aberdeen this morning with the temperature at -2 degrees out of the water.

Taking the plunge with Bananaman: Press and Journal reporter Kieran Beattie braved the icy cold North Sea to go for a quick dip with Bananaman for this year’s Nippy Dip. Thanks to the superhero’s potassium powers, Bananaman and Kieran survived a dunk under the freezing cold North Sea waters. Watch Kieran and Bananaman, whose alter ego is Mark Clark, a window cleaner who happens to clean the windows of the Press and Journal offices at Lang Stracht.

Could you be the fastest Window Cleaner in the World? The existing world record holder, Terry ‘Turbo’ Burrows, will take on all-comers trying to break his long-standing world speed record for cleaning three regulation-size windows. The competition – which takes place on Wednesday 11 March at 2pm - will be expertly adjudicated by the Federation of Window Cleaners, and details of the event have been logged with Guinness World Records to ensure the record, if broken, will stand. All participants will have the opportunity to practice for the event during the morning of 10 March. Anyone successfully breaking the world record during the competition will receive a cash prize of £1,000 (See T&C below). The competition is free to enter and open to everyone. 

43 cases of fallen windows in first 11 months of 2014 (Singapore): There were 43 cases of fallen windows from Housing and Development Board (HDB) and private residences between January and November this year, according to a joint press release by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and HDB on Friday (Dec 12). Urging home owners to check their windows regularly, BCA CEO Dr John Keung said: “One fallen window is one too many. It can pose a safety risk to the public and potentially be fatal. Because lives may be at stake, we urge home owners to be responsible in checking and cleaning their windows twice a year, and if need be, change them.”

Casement windows that gave way and fell were found to have corroded aluminium rivets, which were used to secure the friction stays of the window, the BCA said. Sliding windows that fell did not have safety stoppers and angle strips to secure the window panels, and the windows were not able to slide smoothly along the tracks. “These could have been prevented if home owners had retrofitted aluminium rivets of casement windows with stainless steel ones and maintained their windows regularly,” the BCA said.

Home owners can be jailed up to six months, or fined up to S$5,000, or both, for failing to replace all aluminium rivets in casement windows with stainless steel rivets. In addition, if a window falls due to lack of maintenance, they can be jailed up to one year, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

Tory austerity hitting low-paid workers hardest with real-time earnings 12% down on 2007: Low-paid workers and carers are suffering the most under the Tory-led Coalition’s austerity drive, a study of official figures has revealed. The real value of earnings for full-time workers in the lowest-paid groups is 12.6% below its worth in 2007 - a year before slumped into recession. Across all work sectors the real value of earnings is still 10.4% below the figure seven years ago, according to a study of official figures by the GMB union.

Worst hit are: security guards, supermarket shelf stackers, hospital porters, kitchen and catering assistant jobs, waiters and waitresses, bar staff, farm workers, forestry workers, unskilled construction jobs, industrial cleaning process jobs, packers, bottlers, canners and fillers, postal workers, messengers and couriers, window cleaners, street cleaners, cleaners and domestics, launderers, dry cleaners and pressers and refuse and salvage jobs.

A model keeps a close eye on the work of window washer Morris Coad as he puts the finishing touches on the International Eye Care building on the town square in Pittsfield, Ill. Coad owns a window cleaning device and cleans many of the storefront windows in and around Pittsfield.

Consumer: Has the cheque book had its day?  For some of us, the familiar feel of a cheque book, is a blast from the past. Maybe you used to pay the milkman by cheque or for mail order items, it is a convenient option. But if anyone in front of you in a high street shop or supermarket brought their cheque book out, you would take a deep sigh as they spent a minute or so writing out the detail.

Figures in a new publication, UK Cheques 2014, show that although the number of cheques written last year (718 million) is down by 68 per cent compared with the 2,251 million cheques written in 2003, it remains a popular way to pay. Consumers wrote 425 million cheques in 2013 compared with 1,353 million in 2003 and 2,469 million in 1993. But research commissioned by the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company (C&CCC) showed that 44 pc of the general public are still choosing to use cheques, with the most common reasons being to pay a bill by post, pay a tradesperson or to pay a club or society.

Businesses are using fewer cheques than consumers, writing 293 million of them in 2013, but it was a more popular way for them to pay with 64% of businesses writing a cheque last year. The most cited reason by businesses for writing a cheque was to pay a trade supplier, with payments to other businesses also featuring highly. Unsurprisingly, the average value of a business cheque written last year was nine times higher than that for a personal cheque, at £2,167 versus £242.

Angela Thomas, managing director of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, said: “Although their usage continues to decline, many consumers and businesses are still choosing to use cheques in certain situations. With nearly two million cheques written every day last year it’s clear that for some of us - whether it’s paying the window cleaner or a business paying another business - there’s a preference to pay with a chequebook and pen.” The new research also revealed the top three scenarios where cheques are most commonly received by individuals:

* As a gift (35 per cent of people received a cheque as a gift last year);

* As a refund for something (32 per cent); and

* As wages or salary (12 per cent).

The full findings from the market research can be found in the Resources section of the Cheque and Credit website. The website also features information about cheque clearing timescales, cheque fraud, key facts and figures about cheques and a section focusing on the history of the cheque.

City leaders clash with businesses over proposed transient merchants law: GREENSBURG — Some local merchants have told city officials that a proposed local law concerning transient merchants could harm their businesses. Mayor Gary Herbert and Greensburg City Council members had been scheduled to approve an update of the transient merchant ordinance on Monday evening, but tabled a decision after hearing concerns from local businesses. Herbert and council members said that the update of the ordinance aims to prevent transient merchants from coming to town and selling things off the back of a truck or scaring residents by going door-to-door after hours. However, some local merchants and the head of the local chamber of commerce said they feared the ordinance would harm local businesses.

The one-page ordinance, the header of which indicates that it applies to transient merchants, would prohibit that anyone distribute “handbills or other advertising matter of any kind … in any automobile, yard, porch or mailbox in the city.” It also reads that “no peddler, hawker, transient merchant or other person will be permitted to solicit door-to-door or through the city or from house to house to sell, expose or offer for sale in any of the streets or alleys of the city any goods, wares or merchandise.” Violators would face a minimum penalty of $500 per day. Citations would be issued by the Greensburg Police Department. City Attorney Christopher Stephen said that the ordinance does not apply to nonprofit organizations.

Charity Wilder, owner of St. Paul-based Crystal Clear Window Cleaning, said she understands some of the reasons for the ordinance, but worries that it may prevent her from conducting her established marketing efforts. She said she frequently visits new businesses to let them know about her company’s services and over the holidays delivers candy canes together with her business card.

Wilder asked that any action on the ordinance be delayed. 

NYC Developers Not Losing Any Opportunity To Be Total Dicks: Erin McFadzen chose her middle-income — and rent-stabilized — corner apartment at Long Island City’s new Q41 building because of its wrap-around terrace. But when she moved in, half of it was fenced off by what she calls a “Jurassic Park”-style barricade. The ugly, 6-foot-high wire barrier also interferes with views from every window of her sixth-floor, $2,186-a-month pad.

See, this is the problem with poor people — they just don’t understand how the world works. If they thought they were going to want the special privilege of using the space they were renting, they should have gotten that in writing! It’s not the landlord’s fault they assumed that the apartment would be the same size it was when they decided to live there.

The superior brains at Queensboro Development, LLC claim that they need the extra space for staging their window washers, and it’s not to be sullied with moderate-income feet even when there are no window-washers in sight. And residents should be prepared to deal with The Lawyers if they sneak out through the gaps in the fence to steal a little of the more-privileged air on the other side, because management is watching.

The gender wage gap: Whom to believe? How women makes 23 percent less than men is calculated from 104 million workers by taking the median of full-time female annual wages compared to all men’s annual wages. The difference is 23 percent, hence the 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Another way to calculate the so-called gender wage gap is to compare women’s average monthly wages with men’s; the gap then falls to 19 percent. A third way is to compare weekly wages; the gender gap is down to about 18 percent. Men work more weeks per year on average than women.  Full-time work is defined as 35 hours, which many women work, whereas most men work more than 41 hours. This is why the wage gap is different when using annual wages, monthly wages, weekly wages and hourly wages, and also averages versus medians.

Additionally, few women work in such high-paid jobs as lumberjack tree toppers, electrical power pole installers, high-rise ironworkers, skyscraper window washers, roofers, coal miners, commercial fishing, offshore oil riggers, and portable toilet cleaners, etc. Furthermore, 12 times more men are killed on the job than women, suggesting more men work in high-paying but dangerous jobs. It is also statistically accurate that more women than men work part time and here they are paid slightly more than men.

One way to eliminate the wage gap would be to pass a law that men must stay home and take care of their small children. And if that doesn’t work, make them stay home and take care of other people’s children, particularly those of unmarried women who generally earn less money. Liberals are succeeding with gender-free restrooms and could also work on forcing men to take time off work to breastfeed — all things that could help reduce the gender wage Gap.

Izzo works as a general manager for Globe Window Cleaning, a high-rise window-cleaning company, work that requires the 58-year-old Columbus woman to meet with clients outside.

Chilly air can affect Raynaud’s patients’ extremities: Cold weather merely inconveniences most Ohioans, sending us in search of long johns and a parka, or forcing us to spend a few extra minutes in the morning scraping ice from our windshields. Not so for Debbie Izzo. For her, low temperatures trigger spasms that constrict parts of her circulatory system, reducing blood flow to her extremities.

Last year, the condition — called Raynaud’s phenomenon — pitted Izzo’s hands with ulcers and ultimately cost her part of the middle finger on her right hand.

Izzo works as a general manager for Globe Window Cleaning, a high-rise window-cleaning company — work that requires the 58-year-old Columbus woman to meet with clients outside. “I had survived colon cancer, and that was an easy fix,” Izzo said. “This is ongoing, and it’s still hitting me in the head.” She’s thinking about wintering in Florida to help prevent the attacks.

Raynaud’s phenomenon afflicts between 3 and 12.5 percent of men and between 6 and 20 percent of women, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. (Hormonal differences might at least partly explain the gender discrepancy.) The prevalence of Raynaud’s generally increases in colder climates, though an air conditioner running full blast or the freezer case at the supermarket also can trigger the condition, said Dr. Richard Silver, the director of the rheumatology division at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Most people with Raynaud’s have symptoms that are far less extreme than Izzo’s. An estimated 80 to 90 percent of people with the condition have primary Raynaud’s phenomenon, said Dr. Steven Dean, a vascular medicine doctor at Ohio State University who has treated Izzo. Primary Raynaud’s has no known cause, but it is generally mild and begins to show up in most people when they are 15 to 30 years old. Conversely, secondary Raynaud’s is virtually always a symptom of an underlying health condition — typically autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma (a thickening and hardening of the skin) or lupus. Secondary generally is more severe than primary Raynaud’s and sometimes shows up later in life, after age 50.

Although cold weather is the most-common trigger for Raynaud’s, stress and other strong emotional responses also can be culprits. To a far lesser extent, some medicines — such as certain chemotherapeutic agents or medicines for attention-deficit disorders or migraine headaches — can trigger attacks, doctors said. Doctors who prescribe medicine often turn to calcium channel blockers, which relax blood vessels. Off-label prescribing also is becoming more common, with Botox injected at the base of the fingers and Viagra and its generic counterparts also showing some promise. Such treatments often aren’t covered by health insurance.

Izzo, who suffers with secondary Raynaud’s, said she takes three generic erectile-dysfunction pills in the morning and three at night, and that treatment has helped. Still, the amputation has been a blow to her confidence. “I don’t get my nails done like I used to,” she said. “Why do I want to bring attention to my other fingers? Then people are looking at my middle finger and wondering what happened.”

Houseplant care - If possible, it’s generally a good idea to move plants closer to the window during the winter months. During the cold season, the intensity and duration of light is diminished. Avoid locating shade lovers right in a south facing window, but even plants that don’t like direct sunlight will do much better if they receive a touch of morning sun, and bright indirect light for as long as possible for the rest of the day. When it comes to light, the clarity of the windows can make a big difference as well. Simply cleaning a dusty window can increase light intensity by 10 percent.

Updates and reaction after the singer loses battle with lung cancer: The singer – who was born on May 20, 1944 in Crookes, Sheffield – fell in love with music at an early age. He performed for the first time at the age of 12 at a local youth club when his older brother Victor asked him to sing with his skiffle group. By the time he was 15 he had quit school to become a gas fitter and play music by night. He bought a second-hand drum kit and formed The Cavaliers, who made their first public appearance at the Minerva Tavern in Sheffield. But success didn’t come and Cocker renamed himself Cowboy Joe, allegedly inspired by the nickname of his parents’ window cleaner. He started stepping out as a frontman and quickly secured a deal with Decca, dropping the name Cowboy. 

Can you help find missing ring and make couple’s Christmas? A Suffolk woman is desperate to trace a lost piece of jewellery and make this Christmas perfect for her window cleaner husband. Kerry Care is appealing for help in finding the gold ring, with a large cubic zirconia, which her husband, Roy, wore on his middle finger for 42 years until losing it at work last month. Mrs Care, from Witnesham, said: “I’m hoping to find a Christmas present that money can’t buy. “The ring was an 18th birthday present from his parents but it was lost in Wickham Market or Woodbridge on November 9. “It’s sentimental value is irreplaceable so it would be the ultimate gift I could give him.” If you can help Mrs Care in her quest to find the missing ring, call our Framlingham office on 01728 726535 or leave us a message online.

Python, willpower and becoming a diarist" - "I thought about what else I wanted to do with my life that I never had the willpower to do and one of those things was keep a diary. And so I've kept a diary fairly regularly ever since."Somehow anything you put in it is interesting" says Palin. "When I look back on the diaries, it's not the big events of my career that are what I find interesting, it's the little odd things like the fact that we had a window cleaner with vertigo. It's the little things that don't seem important on the time but are telling in ten, twenty, thirty years time. The process of keeping a diary enslaves you, but now we're in a partnership together."

Alleged Islamic State (IS) recruit Arif Majeed has shared the names of two more Indians, who had initially agreed to join Majeed and his three other friends to fight alongside the militant organisation in Iraq, but developed cold feet and withdrew, The Hindu has learnt. A senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “While one hails from Mumbai, the other is an NRI settled in a Gulf country. Meanwhile, sources claim that Majeed said that menial work assigned to him by the IS and pressure from his family pushed him to return. He does not regret participating in the ‘jihad’ and maintains that he was fighting for a larger cause.

“He claims that after getting trained in handling of arms and ammunition and basic combat training, he thought he would get a chance to fight the war, but he was made to do menial jobs like cleaning toilets or window panes and even given mason’s work. He started getting frustrated and his mother pleaded him to return. He then eventually decided to return but he feels returning to India was a mistake,” the source adds

The sources add that Majeed now claims that he never participated in the war. But the investigators are taking his claim with a pinch of salt and suspect it could be a diversionary tactic. “The case against him is that of waging war against an Asian allied country. Therefore, this could be ploy. Once he told us that he got a bullet injury while undergoing training. Later, he claimed he got shot while cleaning window panes. It is hard to believe that he sustained bullet injuries but did not directly participate in the war,” he added.

Dad claims to have found moth in chocolate bar: A sweet-toothed father says he is terrified to eat chocolate after finding a moth in a bar of Dairy Milk. Craig Brown claims he found the body of the winged insect embedded in the back of the chocolate bar after buying it from a local shop. The window cleaner had bought the treat for his three-year-old son when he found the moth buried in the chocolate.

Mr Brown, 21, said: “I bought a chocolate bar for Tyler, it cost me about 37 pence. But thankfully before I gave it to him I opened it up and saw the moth. Cadbury have since sent me a voucher for £10 - but I don’t want to eat £10 worth of chocolate. I used to love chocolate but this has completely changed things. I’m literally terrified to eat chocolate now, I have to take tiny bites because I’m worried that I’ll find another moth.”

Mr Brown, of Scarborough, took a photograph of the bar before contacting Cadbury. “Honestly when I first looked at it I thought it was one of those big bubbles of chocolate and I thought, that doesn’t look right,” he said. “Then I saw some juice in the chocolate and I knew it was a moth straight away.

“I’m a big lover of chocolate and I’m sat checking every bar. I wouldn’t buy that chocolate bar again. It has dented my confidence in it massively. You want to feel safe in knowing what you are eating. I’m dismantling all the chocolate I eat now.”

A spokesperson from Cadbury said: “This sounds very unpleasant for Mr Brown and we have sent him a pre-paid envelope so that he can send the product back to us. “Once it’s returned, we will carry out an investigation to see how this could have occurred.”

Navy veteran's hallmark was drive for excellence: Dick Keslar wanted everyone around him to put forth maximum effort and show an exacting attention to detail. His son Robert Keslar said his dad “never had a sick day in 20 years.” Mr. Keslar's career included working as a foreman for Latrobe Steel and owning Latrobe Window Cleaning, Latrobe Industrial Maintenance and Allegheny Medical Supply. He was director of safety and construction at Penelec, a maintenance supervisor at Duquesne Light, then a Realtor with Scalise Real Estate. Richard Roy “Dick” Keslar of Ligonier Township died in Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johns-town on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014, after an aneurism. He was 77.

Born Oct. 7, 1937, in Connellsville, he graduated from Derry Township High School in 1955 and served in the Navy from 1955-59, specializing in electronic countermeasures. His work ethic and insistence on perfection were constant themes for a man who spent the last 27 years living in a log home he built by hand with his sons and grandson. “He was just a hard, hard worker to the very end,” his daughter Ann Marie Amatucci said. “As demanding as he was, he expected twice as much from himself.”

168,000 qualify for community service instead of fees: More than 165,000 Michiganders buried under costly traffic violation fees may get an early Christmas present. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and the State Treasurer Kevin Clinton are in the process of sending letters to 168,000 people who are eligible to perform community service instead of paying some driver responsibility fees that the Legislature voted to phase out earlier this year.

Detric Ward, 49, of Detroit, is one of those who hopes he might be able to wipe out $8,000 in accumulated drivers' responsibility fees from his record and get his license back. "I can do community service because I need my license," he said. " I drive as little as possible only in emergency situations. It's been very rough and difficult."

Ward got a ticket in Warren for driving on a suspended license in 2008 and the problem has just snowballed from there. He owned a window cleaning service at the time and needed to be able to drive, but any time he got stopped, he got another ticket because of the suspended license. "It's been an uphill battle," he said.

The fees are for minor charges that were eliminated from the driver responsibility fee schedule in 2012, including driving without a license or an expired license or without proof of insurance. The fees — $150 to $250 — increased every year they weren't paid and caused many drivers to lose their license.

Grimsby man was in a state of 'drug-induced psychosis' when he drove stolen car down Humberside Airport runway at 80mph: A man who was high on drugs drove a stolen car 80mph down Humberside Airport’s runway and “took off” after smashing his way through security. Matthew Dobson, 40, was jailed for three years and eight months after admitting burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, recklessly endangering an aircraft and driving whilst disqualified.

The airport was put on high alert, implementing the same protocol as a terrorist attack, and was forced to stop all aircrafts taking off and landing there on August 5 this year. At the time, a KLM passenger flight was due to arrive but was forced to stall 20 miles away, with just seven minutes left before it would have been forced to divert to another airport. Dobson, who had previously worked at the airport, was in a state of “drug-induced psychosis” when he stole the Renault Clio from Marilyn Todd, 62, of Ridgeway, Grimsby. Police spotted Dobson in Torrington Street in Grimsby and chased him as he weaved through traffic down the busy Peaks Park Way during rush hour traffic. They lost him as he left the town and headed down the back roads to the airport.

At 8.40am Dobson, of Peaks Field Avenue, was seen by aviation security officer Amanda Downing at the gatehouse, the last security checkpoint before the apron where aircraft are boarded, loaded and refuelled, repeatedly sounding the car’s horn. Prosecuting, Jeremy Evans said Miss Downing’s superior Graham Davidson saw Dobson hurtling towards the runway and raised the alarm with airport emergency crew leader Lee Power and air traffic control. Mr Power saw Dobson flooring the car at 60mph, with his hazard lights flashing, across the apron and towards an off-shore helicopter that was taking off. The helicopter, which was carrying 11 passengers, was 30 feet from the ground, with its nose pointing downwards, preparing to accelerate forwards. Dobson drove the car underneath the helicopter, which was travelling in the same direction.

Stephen Huteson, a firefighter who was stationed at the airport on bird scaring duties, saw Dobson and heard over the radio a trespasser had broken through the security gates and was on the runway.

Mr Huteson and Mr Powers then watched as Dobson sped down the full length of the runway, before driving off it and soaring through the air and into a field. Mr Evans said: “The defendant ran from the vehicle and was later found lying down in the grass in a futile attempt to conceal himself. “Mr Power and Mr Huteson spoke to the defendant who initially denied any knowledge of the presence of a car and stated he was a farmer. “He appeared agitated and under the influence of intoxicant.”

In mitigation, Ketya Saudek said Dobson, a window cleaner, had started taking amphetamines after his life spiralled out of control following the breakdown of his marriage. He had previously used the drug for five years after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia to help with the pain. He had been sectioned under the mental health act and had been released from hospital a week before the offence.

Miss Saudek said: “He had a window cleaning business, a mortgage, a marriage and children and he was not a trouble to the law.

A Sunderland man who bought a failing window cleaning round went on a crime spree in the Lake District to make ends meet. Hugh Clinton fell behind with his rent and got into other debt, Sunderland Magistrates’ Court heard. “There are seven offences of simple shoplifting,” said Paul Anderson, prosecuting. “These happened in Kendal, Windermere, and Ambleside over a period of a few days. “Among the items taken were decorative candles, clothing, and things used by dog owners.”

Clinton, 51, of Gillingham Road, Grindon, admitted seven charges of theft in August of this year.

Joanne Gatens, defending, said: “He bought a window cleaning round which was not doing as well as the seller said it was. “This led him into financial difficulties with his rent and other matters. “In desperation, he turned to shop theft to make ends meet. “This was one-off offending and he is embarrassed and ashamed about it.” Clinton was sentenced to 120 hours of community work, and ordered to pay £275 in compensation and costs.

Drunk dealer/window cleaner found hiding in loft with £110,000 of drugs: A bungling drug dealer who fled after drunkenly crashing his car was discovered by police hiding in his loft along with £110,000 of heroin. Leslie Cropper, 37, rolled his car down an embankment after a drunken argument with his partner. But after fleeing the scene, he was traced by police who found him hiding in his loft with a stash of drugs, worth close to £120,000 in total.

Leeds Crown Court heard Cropper first drew attention to himself following the argument with his partner in the early hours of November 30. Mr Mackay said officers had also found heroin and crack cocaine with him in the loft and more heroin in a bag in the bedroom. The heroin weighed 2.389kgs with a potential street value of £112,000, while the crack cocaine was worth £6,000. Around £600 in cannabis was also found which Cropper said was for his own use.

Initially Cropper claimed to have found the drugs but he later admitted he had been approached a few months earlier by a taxi driver who offered him some work. That turned out to be bagging up the Class A drugs for which he was paid £1,200 each time. He said he did it because if was “easy money.” Kathryn Stuckey, mitigating, said Cropper worked as a window cleaner but was only earning around £150 a week and found it difficult to make ends meet.

He was jailed for five years and four months and banned from driving for 12 months. Judge Sally Cahill QC told him: “It seems to me to have this amount of heroin in your possession it must have been completely clear to you the scale of the operation you had become involved in. “This was a very large amount indeed. “You had it to cut up and deliver it back to those who gave it to you and you were paid £1200 each time so you did it for financial gain.”

Back in jail: The ‘psychologically unstable’ window cleaner who attacked taxi driver over fare: A South Tyneside man who was given an indefinite jail sentence for threatening to have a taxi driver stabbed, to avoid paying a fare, has been put back behind bars. David Sewell was locked up in 2006 at Newcastle Crown Court after attacking a driver taking him to his home in Jarrow. He threw punches at the driver, kicked the car door, and threatened to get a friend to stab him. Sewell then snatched the driver’s bag of takings, containing about £100, before making off.

He was described as ‘psychologically unstable’ when put behind bars by Judge John Milford – but was later released on a lifetime licence. But the 36-year-old is now back in prison after failing to provide a breath test to police in South Shields, who suspected him of drink driving. Sewell admitted a charge of failing to provide a specimen of breath when he appeared in the custody dock at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. He had been stopped by officers in the town in the early hours of Sunday, December 21.

Glenda Beck, prosecuting, said: “In the early hours of Sunday morning, police on mobile patrol saw Sewell travelling towards Sea Road. Due to the manner of his driving, they decided to follow him. “He came to a stop at the Little Haven Hotel car park and police spoke to him. He was showing signs of drunkenness. “He was arrested and taken to South Shields Police Station where he refused to provide a specimen of breath.” She added: “He was previously jailed for robbery at Newcastle Crown Court and is on licence for that. I understand he is now to be recalled on that licence.” 

Peter Conway, chairman of the magistrates, fined Sewell £165 and ordered him to pay court costs of £85 and a £20 victim surcharge. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months. The court heard that Sewell, now of Malvern Road, Washington, was to be sent back to prison on an emergency recall by the probation service.

A Pontypool window cleaner who tried to steal from his 70-year-old grandmother before pressuring her to withdraw her witness statement has been jailed. 26-year-old Christopher Reilly, of Broadway, Pontypool, was sentenced to 14 months in prison at Newport Crown Court on Friday [December 19]. On November 6, Reilly pleaded guilty to attempting to burgle the home of his grandmother, Mary Reilly, in Tenby Close, Llanyravon, and on Friday pleaded guilty to three further counts of witness intimidation.

The court heard how drug addict Reilly was spotted by a neighbour breaking into his grandmother’s house, who was out at the time, using both a broom handle and a metal mop handle on Sunday October 12 this year. Police were called to the property at 5.40pm and arrested Reilly who was found hiding under the bed. Nothing had been taken. But between October 12 and October 25 Reilly continued to contact his grandmother three times via telephone calls and a letter, intimidating her and urging her to withdraw her witness statement. The court heard how widow Mrs Reilly had “made it clear the defendant was not welcome at her house and he was a nightmare”. The pensioner said she received a letter from her grandson which ended: ‘Withdraw your statement. Lots of love, Chris’

The court also heard how Reilly phoned his grandmother twice, telling her: “What’s going on, why are you putting me in jail?” At Newport Crown Court on Friday, Judge David Wynn Morgan sentenced Reilly quickly after an outburst at the press while in the dock, where he shouted: “Don’t you write about me."

In mitigation, the court heard how Reilly is 'in the grip of drug use', but has a good employment record as a window cleaner and shows remorse for the stress caused to his family. Judge Wynn Morgan ordered the defendant to serve a prison sentence of 14 months and told him he is banned from contacting, either directly or indirectly, Mary Reilly. He said: “The defendant does have an excellent work ethic, although the only reason he works is to fund his drug habit. “His attitude today seems to show that he will not co-operate with any agency.”

A burglar who posed as a window cleaner to steal cash from an old people’s care home in Heywood has been jailed. Steven Bone 49, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison last Tuesday (December 9) for committing burglary and robbery at two care homes, in Heywood and Bury. A spokesperson for Rochdale police South Division , said Bone, of Whalley Road, Heywood, had entered Brackenhall Court on Todd Street in June as people were leaving the home.The spokesperson said: “He said that he was there to collect money for cleaning the windows.

“He was an opportunist and knocked on quite a few doors until somebody opened the door for him and let him inside. “Most victims said no. “Once inside he then committed burglary in one of the flats in Brackenhall Court and escaped. “He stole cash from the flat. He was later identified on CCTV.”

The spokesperson added that Bone had also taken a wallet containing cash from Holly Court Care Home in Bury in 2012.

Confessions of a fake window cleaner: Neil Stembridge admits east Hull burglaries: A burglar masqueraded as a window cleaner to sneak into homes without arousing suspicion from neighbours. Neil Stembridge, 33, admitted three counts of burglary and one count of fraud. Hull Crown Court heard how he selected victims he knew were not at home. Susan Simpson, 66, of James Reckitt Avenue, east Hull, returned home early from a shopping trip and caught Stembridge red-handed.

Prosecutor, Stephen Welch, said: “She came out into the garden and saw a set of stepladders were against the house, which had been left in her outhouse. In mitigation, Steven Garth said Stembridge stole to feed his “long-standing” heroin addiction. “Clearly these offences are aggravated by the fact he uses his employment as a window cleaner to perpetrate his crimes,” he said. “When desperate to feed his habit he needs money and he turns to crime. He is sickened by the position he finds himself in.”

Sentencing Stembridge to three years and four months in jail, Recorder Rachim Singh said: “You have been using your occupation, if it is legitimate, and I very much have doubts that it is, to gain access to people’s properties during the day. “The reason it has been successful is that people do not suspect someone who is carrying window cleaning products and a bucket. “You picked that work to target the homes you subsequently burgled and then you find a convenient time, when they are not at home, to break into properties, causing damage and stealing valuable belongings, which you sell to feed your habit.”