As you might imagine, I was delighted to learn that Grand Designs Live is to feature a new area for those of us who hate to see anything thrown away if it's at all possible to save it or cannibalise it to create something new.

At the 'Upcycling Hub', we'll be able to closely observe some of the skills used by these master craftspeople to create bespoke pieces, and talk to them about what works and what doesn't, and how they get the best results.

It will be interesting to learn more about where they acquire their pieces... I'd like to know whether it was a 'one-off' that a woman was recently threatened with potential arrest at the civic amenity tip unless she left without the cabinet she'd acquired from a man about to dump it, or whether these facilities are completely out of bounds when it comes to taking goods away. I know some have shops where decent but unwanted items intended for landfill/breaking up for recycling are rescued by the handlers and sold to raise money for the council, but these are, sadly, all too rare.

I'm going to make sure my daughter Melissa goes along to the Upcycling Hub... she's into upcycling furniture as it was the only way she could furnish her flat. The results have been impressive but I do wonder whether she's always taking the best route. The quicker and more accomplished she becomes in her work, the less I'm going to have random pieces of furniture stored at home, awaiting her 'treatment'!

Yours,

Jan Hobbs