This house is a testament to this couple's hard work and the deep love they feel for each other, their home and the earth it sits upon...

I'm sure you've sat watching TV's hugely successful and admittedly fascinating "Grand Designs" show, smiling at presenter Kevin McCloud's almost emotional summaries at the end of another crazy new-build or restoration project. There he is standing on snow-spattered subsoil, freezing his Jacobs off whilst trying to wax lyrical about a house that looks like an upturned wheelie-bin with windows bigger than Cuba (windows that have probably cost enough to settle that country's national debt) in the middle of the Scottish heath-land.

But McCloud's legacy is his passion and forthright assessments, something you can encounter at the two upcoming Grand Designs Exhibitions due to be held in Birmingham and London. Not surprisingly it is a home and lifestyle exhibition on a grand scale with numerous exhibitors, speakers and presenters on site to help you ponder either making that life-changing decision to build your own home or just simply gain inspiration for doing up the spare room. There will also be several food and drink stalls throughout the venue.

Birmingham's event takes place at the NEC from 8th to 10th October and tickets are still available at £13 if you book online sharpish. There is also an exclusive offer that enables you to purchase the November edition of the Grand Designs magazine for 98p (instead of £3.75), which you can collect at the show on presentation of your ticket-receipts.

This week the first tickets for London's even grander version became available. The ExCeL centre in Canning Town will once again host the event from 30th April - 8th May 2011, covering two weekends including the Bank Holiday. Prices range from £11 (weekday advance) to £14 (weekend advance) and it's probably worth getting in quick since this event is very popular.