TopicUK Kirklees and Calderdale edition jan 2017 by Yorkshire BusinessWoman & TopicUK

ISSUE 11 JANUARY 2017

Kirklees & Calderdale free business community magazine

WWW.TOPICUK.CO.UK

YORKSHIRE’S FAVOURITE CALENDAR GIRL TOPIC SPEAKS TO JOURNALIST AND BROADCASTER CHRISTINE TALBOT

NEW BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT CENTRE FOR HUDDERSFIELD

CHARITY EVENT RAISES £18K FOR CHILDRENS HOSPICE

Raise awareness of your brand, Raise awareness of your put faith in your PR and brand, marketing put faith in your PR and marketing We can get the people that you want to talk about you...to say the things that you want them to say. We can get the people that you want to talk about you...to say the things that youproduct want them say. gear in town and it needs to stay Whether your is thetohottest that way or you want to create a buzz from thin air, we have the Whether is the to hottest gear in town and itOur needs to stay creativity,your gutsproduct and contacts get the story out there. team also that way or you want to create a buzz from thin air, we have the includes experts in social media, copywriting and graphic design to creativity, and contacts to getand the marketing story out there. cover yourguts every communications need.Our team also includes experts in social media, copywriting and graphic design to cover your every communications and marketing need.

@faith_pr www.faith-pr.co.uk @faith_pr Tel: 01484 599 886 www.faith-pr.co.uk Email: stefanie@faith-pr.co.uk Tel: 01484 599 886 Email: stefanie@faith-pr.co.uk

Stefanie Hopkins Founder Faith PR

Stefanie Hopkins

Placing brands into hearts, minds & hands Founder Faith PR Placing brands into hearts, minds & hands

K&CUpdate p07 - Preparing the next generation p16 - W orld class mountain biker

p18 - New jobs and opportunities p32 - Are you embracing technology p35 - Historic machinery restored p40 - What is SEO p44 - Spitting feathers

Businesses raise ÂŁ18k for childrens hospice

Business Engagement launches in Huddersfield

All the fun of the festival

Donation for Kirklees College

Yorkshires favourite calendar girl

Contents & Comments

Details of this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s TopicUK, your Local Business Community Magazine

Cover: Christine Talbot Courtesy of itv

Group Editor Gill Laidler

HR Lynn Bradley

Recruitment Nadio Granata, Stafflex

Editor Stefanie Hopkins

Legal Matters Sarah Crowther, Chadwick Lawrence

Marketing Katrina Cliffe

Creative Director Rob Blackwell

Beauty & Wellbeing Alexander Spa

Sport Sean Makin

How its made Alex Mason

Food & Restaurant Review Anthony Hegney

Commercial Property Mark Hanson - Chartered Surveyors

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

Editor’s Notes by Stefanie Hopkins

Welcome to the January issue of TopicUK Kirklees and Calderdale – sadly my last, as the team and I hand the reins back to Gill Laidler, the founder of the TopicUK group, in order to focus fully on my business, Faith PR. The past year has been a steep learning curve as we were thrown into the world of publishing and found ourselves on the receiving end of a press release for a change – I now understand journalists’ frustrations with regards to being sent totally inappropriate, badly written content with the most tenuous of news links! However, the majority of content we have received about local businesses has been fantastic and demonstrative of the wide variety of successful companies in the region and the vast array of trades and industries represented in our small corner of Yorkshire. Interestingly, most of the inappropriate content came from outside the region, from those not familiar with the area or audience of the magazine (another PR tip – make sure you take the time to find out about the publication you are sending your content to, so that it is relevant and then send the appropriate pitch!). We hope that we have built on what was already a quality publication by introducing some regular features such as ‘How it’s made’, ‘CSR Showcase’ and ‘My Topic’ to further showcase the businesses in the region.

Furthermore, we have extended the reach of TopicUK further into Calderdale, in particular the upper Calder Valley through our partnership with UCVR – read on the progress that has been made since the devastating Boxing Day floods last year on page 18-19. Our 12 month stint of running TopicUK Kirklees & Calderdale also coincided with the creation of a committee to stage an event to raise funds for children and young adults across Kirklees and Calderdale. The Kirklees & Calderdale Annual Christmas Lunch (KACCL) committee was established last January based on the successful Wakefield Annual Charity Christmas Lunch (WACCL), which has been running for three years now. Together with fellow local businesses including representatives from James Robinson Fibres Ltd, Cedar Court Hotels, Chadwick Lawrence, Stafflex and Crowther Accountants, we organised the first ever KACCL Christmas Charity Lunch at the Cedar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, in support of Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice. TopicUK has been a founding partner and sponsor of KACCL and we hope to continue our support of the event as it grows and evolves in 2017. At the time of writing, KACCL had already raised £11,250 ahead of its inaugural launch and I hope that when this issue goes to print, we will have doubled the amount with fundraising efforts on the day! As we start a new year, please continue to send your good news stories and contributions to Gill at editor@topicuk.co.uk for inclusion in the magazine or on the website. I look forward to continuing to follow the amazing stories of businesses across Calderdale and Kirklees - but now as a business owner, employer and reader. Stefanie Hopkins

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The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those held by the publishers and therefore, no responsibility can be held by the publisher for misinterpretation. Reproduction of this magazine without the express permission of the publisher is prohibited. Whilst every care is taken in the production of this magazine, the publisher/editor and staff cannot accept any responsibility for errors in articles, advertisements or programme schedules. To subscribe to this magazine contact07711 539047 or email editor@topicuk. co.uk. Published by Ghost Publishing Limited, Suite 6, Unity Works, Westgate, Wakefield WF1 1EP. Law pages are written by Chadwick Lawrence LLP and TopicUK is not responsible for any advice given.

K&CUpdate

New addition to Ramsden’s family team

amsdens Solicitors is delighted to announce the appointment of Katarzyna Zatorski to its family team.

This includes disputes that arise between parties in relation to contact or residence. Katarzyna is a Polish national and speaks Polish fluently.

Katarzyna, based at Ramsden’s Dewsbury office, will work to strengthen the existing family law team by continuing to build on its strong reputation across West Yorkshire.

Helen Thewlis, Partner and Head of Family at Ramsdens said: “We are delighted that Katarzyna has joined our family team and we very much look forward to working with her to continue to provide an excellent service for our clients and to the wider Polish community.” Katarzyna said: “I am absolutely thrilled to work at such a respectable and award-winning law firm.

Katarzyna specialises in family matters involving domestic violence and helps clients obtain the protection they need on an emergency basis and also deals with divorce matters and matters involving children.

Faith hand back the reins After almost 12 months of editing TopicUK Kirklees & Calderdale, Faith PR are handing back the running of the magazine to founders Gill Laidler and Rob Blackwell. Gill Laidler

Editor TopicUK “It’s almost three years ago that TopicUK launched in Kirklees & Calderdale,” said Gill, “and it has grown year on year. Rob and I would like to thank Stefanie and her team at Faith PR for the work they have done, helping to build the magazine across the district, introducing new features and expanding the readership.” TopicUK launched four years ago in Wakefield and since then has expanded into Kirklees/Calderdale, South Yorkshire, Soho and Leeds. “We are keen to expand all our magazines further,” added Gill, “and will continue to add new features and promote more businesses.” Please do continue to send in your news

stories and suggestions. From January 2017, all information should be sent to editor@topicuk.co.uk. Our new look website is launching in January where news and features can be uploaded direct to the site. There will also be a space where video can be uploaded and you can even have short promotional films made by TopicTV and promoted not just on our site, but on your own site and across social media. If you would like to act as a distribution point for TopicUK in your area, do let us know.

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

I look forward to working in the family department with so many amazing and experienced people. “As a Polish solicitor I hope to provide assistance to the Polish community across all of our offices. I appreciate that for many Polish clients dealing with family or marriage breakdown in an unfamiliar legal system can be very daunting and stressful. I believe that it is very important to be able to explain the complicated procedure involving so many sensitive family issues to the clients in their native language.”

Preparing the next generation

An Elland-based print management company has been sharing vital employability skills to prepare the next generation for the workplace.

Hellomint hires new Marketing Assistant

Huddersfield based digital marketing company Hellomint welcomed a new member of staff this month. The business’ recent growth has allowed for the appointment of Hannah Mott in the company’s new Marketing Assistant role. Hannah is a student at the University of Huddersfield studying a degree in Advertising and Marketing communications, and is looking forward to gaining hands on experience in the world of business marketing. In her new role she will be assisting with Hellomint’s clients’ social media campaigns, and will also be creating content for blogs and newsletters.

ABS UK Ltd has joined forces with Ahead Partnership - a social enterprise that connects businesses and communities to create social and economic change – on its ‘Make the Grade’ initiative to pro-vide employment advice for students at Lightcliffe Academy in Halifax. Volunteers from ABS recently delivered a employability workshop alongside Leeds-based project management and technical consultancy WYG Group and Halifax-based technology provider Frog Education, for pupils aged 14-18 at the school, to give advice on CV writing, personal statements, social media, interview skills and workplace etiquette. David Lees, ABS’ marketing manager delivered the workshop alongside his brother, ABS’ operations director Paul Lees. He said: “We’re really keen to give back to our local community and so when the opportunity came up to work with Ahead Partnership we jumped at the chance. “Alongside the work we do with our corporate charity The ABS Foundation, we’ve pledged to support projects like

this which allow staff to give something back.” He continued: “We found the children to be very receptive and hope the mentoring session helped them as they take their first steps into the world of work. “We’re already looking forward to working with Ahead Partnership again in the future and getting back into the classroom.” Assistant Principal, Andy Bemrose said he was delighted to welcome such high quality industry personnel to the school, who were able to provide a level of information to students which, he said, would be invaluable when they come to their end of year job applications. Since its launch in 2011, over 55,000 young people have benefited from Make the Grade, driven by a national team at the Ahead Partnership and supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the Careers and Enterprise Company. The initiative focuses on hands-on experience for young people to give them ideas on their future career paths.

Managing director Nicola Mellor said: “Hannah has already brought some great new ideas to the table and we’re really happy to have her on board. She’s picking things up very quickly and is really enthusiastic about giving our clients the best possible service in terms of their marketing.” She continued: “Hellomint is a company that is dedicated to giving opportunities to young people who may not be given them elsewhere. Hiring students or recent graduates means they usually haven’t picked up any bad habits and there is more scope for moulding them into the kind of employee the company needs most.” Hannah said of her new role: “I’m glad to be getting a chance to put into practice all the things I’m learning at university and the Hellomint team have been really welcoming and helpful every step of the way. I’m looking forward to working with the company to develop my skills and help come up with some really exciting marketing campaigns.”

K&CUpdate

Business Engagement Centre launches in Huddersfield Bringing together professional, academic and technical support

as well as hot desking and tea and coffee making facilities. The centre will provide a single point of access for the University of Huddersfield, giving businesses a foot in the door to its research centres and business development managers, benefitting from R&D support, KTP opportunities and student placements.

new dedicated Business Engagement Centre has been launched in Huddersfield at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) in partnership with the University of Huddersfield and NPL North of England. Organisations across the Leeds City Region now have access to a unique one-stopshop business engagement facility that brings together professional, academic and technical support to address the bespoke needs of all businesses.

The Business Engagement Centre is facilitated through the unique partnership between the 3M BIC, the University of Huddersfield and NPL North of England, pooling together their expertise, as well as the capabilities of specialists and professionals from the 3M BIC’s grow-ing network membership and associated businesses. The dedicated area within the 3M BIC offers a relaxed, informal, yet practical space for businesses and advisors to meet in the open plan area, or within a private meeting room,

Those seeking more technical support can tap into the technology team at the 3M BIC, that specialises in 3D technology, as well as access NPL North of England’s expertise, including metrology, CMM programming, and bespoke measurement training and consultancy. The Business Engagement Centre will also host a series of diverse events through its Business Growth Forum, including regular drop-in surgeries where companies can access the expertise of consultants, coaches and professionals from the 3M

BIC network and associated partners on a 1-2-1 basis. Prof Liz Towns-Andrews, CEO of the 3M BIC and Director of Research and Enterprise at the University of Huddersfield, said: “Businesses have different issues and needs. That’s what makes this business engagement centre unique.

“Business can access all that they need from one single point of access. Our combined expertise is extensive, but we also have a vast network of contacts across all sectors, so if we can’t help with a specific issue, we’ll know someone who can.”

The partnership between the 3M BIC, the University and NPL, as well as our associated businesses, enables us to accommodate all types of business issues. Whether it’s technical or academic support to improve a new or existing product, advice on legal or HR issues, how to promote your business, or simply how to get a new start up off the ground.

Conveyancing specialist marks 10 years service

A Calderdale conveyancing specialist is celebrating ten years’ service at Wilkinson Woodward in Halifax.

industrial engineer and spent time living in India before returning to the UK to re-train as a legal secretary.

Edna Ward, who lives locally and is based at Wilkinson Woodward’s offices on Fountain Street in Halifax , began her career as an

Following a period working at Angela Viney Conveyancing in Halifax, Edna moved to Bradford legal firm Sampson Horner where

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

she subsequently qualified as a licenced conveyancer in 2001. Since then, she has specialised in conveyancing, dealing in all aspects of residential including, sales, purchases, remortgages, transfer of equity and declarations of trust.

Huddersfield Live gets one step closer to running Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival 2017

thousands of people who visit it each year and is also a huge boost to the local economy.” Huddersfield Live was set up in May of this year to try to help save some of the public events currently taking place in the town and provide some alternative events if budgets permitted. Initial funding has come from corporate sponsorships including Stafflex, Eastwoods and Chadwick Lawrence with additional monies pledged by Brian Stahelin, Sam Watt and Tim Gledholt. All are local business owners who have expressed their wishes to see the vitality of the town maintained through a healthy programme of fun and entertaining events.

A not-for-profit events company set up by a group of Huddersfield business owners has just made a giant step towards saving the Huddersfield “We recognise that local councils Food and Drink Festival. Months of discussions with various organisations across the country are coming under increasing pressure to around the town has cut back on ‘the nice led to Huddersfield “It’s vital that this event things’ and yet, as local Live being chosen as and others such as the the preferred partner Caribbean Carnival and business owners, we to deliver next year’s Festival of Light survive feel it is important for us, our families and our mammoth event on the austerity cuts. Yes, staff that Huddersfield behalf of the previous things will have to continues to be a event organisers change and some costs Huddersfield may need to be increased community that enjoys Partnership who have if the event is to survive, itself. It also makes commercial sense decided to focus all but we feel we have the as we know that our their resources into right team in place to staff, customers and developing a BID make cost savings and suppliers support us application for the still improve the event in what we are trying town centre. thereby securing it for to do and in the long years to come.” term we urge other Speaking after like-minded businesses agreeing terms to chip in and help us in our mission with the Huddersfield Partnership, to keep Huddersfield a fun place to who have selected the Huddersfield work, study and play”, said Sam Watt, Live team to deliver the event for a Director of Huddersfield Live and minimum of three years (subject to owner of The Star Inn, Folly Hall. conditions), chairman of Huddersfield Live, Nadio Granata said, “This To find out more about Huddersfield is great news for us, for the town Food and Drink Festival or and we believe for the region. The Huddersfield Live, contact Project Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival Director Chris Alexander on is one of the highlights of the year in 07541 592934 or email: Huddersfield and further afield. It’s info@huddersfieldlive.co.uk. seen as a huge success by the many

New appointments A Huddersfield-based security company has appointed a new recruit to develop the academic and SME strands of its business. Jermyn Consulting has added former recruitment consultant Chris Hunter to the team. Chris will take responsibility for expanding the company’s existing client base, as well as supporting existing customers with enhancing their security levels. He said: “My experience of working in recruitment taught me that business continuity is vital for any organisation, not just a nice-to-have. “I will be looking at working closely with senior managers to help them understand their risks and develop strategies to mitigate them”. The company has also appointed Toni O’Sullivan who joins to manage Jermyn Consulting’s popular ‘scenario exercise’ function. The former York University graduate will project manage and organise scenario exercises designed to test the resilience and management capabilities of the company’s customers.

K&CUpdate

Kirklees College receives donation A company keen to support the growth of Apprenticeships has donated a training rig to Kirklees College for its new Process Manufacturing Centre (PMC) in Huddersfield.

Lancashire-based William Blythe Limited has designed, manufactured and donated the equipment which will allow all apprentices to practise skills such as intrusive maintenance, safe working procedures, changing pipework and understanding liquid flow through pipes. The company has two apprentices currently

training at the centre. Mike Nixon, Pilot Plant and Production Supervisor at William Blythe said: “Kirklees College has proven itself as an excellent choice for us to partner with for apprenticeships, and we have donated the training rig to support the growth of the college’s training facilities. Kirklees College Process

Manufacturing Operations Manager Paul Singh, said: “This process rig will allow the students to see and work with the actual process fittings and fluid flow dynamics found in industry, along with being able to break into pressurised

lines in a safe and controlled environment. The PMC, which officially opened last month, was awarded £3.1m capital funding from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2014.

ambassador Alex Lees to Hit Cancer for Six. They pledged to donate £10 for every catch taken and six hit by Alex through the season. With extra donations for wickets taken and centuries scored, Alex raised a magnificent £626.66p for the Trust which is also based in Huddersfield. The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, is the only UK charity funding research specifically into cancers affecting the 13-24 age group. It also provides practical support to the 43 hospitals across the UK and Ireland that treat teenage cancer by funding measures to improve the quality of life for youth cancer patients during their frequent and often debilitating stays in hospital.

Hitting Cancer for Six! Yorkshire’s opening batsmen Alex Lees had an extra incentive to play well in the 2016 season because he was being sponsored by Huddersfield based business Pennine Business Partners to

raise funds for The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust. To mark their 6th birthday year, Pennine Business Partners sponsored their brand

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

The fight against cancer is also close to Alex’s heart as he lost his father Simon to the disease in 2011. Pennine Business Partners provide outsourced HR, Marketing and Health & Safety support to business-es across the North of England and have been formally associated with Alex and Yorkshire County Cricket Club since 2012.

Croft Myl scoops New Business of the Year Croft Myl was announced as the winner of the category after being bought by husband and wife team Vicky and Brian Nolan in 2015 and converted into luxury office space.

Showcasing Twitter wall platform at Venturefest Yorkshire Social Progress were one of 100 exhibitors at Venturefest Yorkshire 2016 which welcomed over 900 registered delegates to the event at York Racecourse on Wednesday 16th November. The company’s brand new Twitter Wall platform Big Screen Social was used at the exhibition which resulted in the official event hashtag (#VFYorkshire) trending on Twitter in the UK for 9 hours that day. The organisers of Venturefest Yorkshire 2016 (Make It York) displayed the Twitter Wall on two 60 inch TV screens located in the busy networking areas where they were easy to see and naturally encouraged people to tweet and get involved. Big Screen was launched after Social Progress director Janet Bebb failed to find a suitable and inspiring existing Twitter Wall platform to use at previous event and conferences. As a result she developed their own to license out for other marketers, event organisers and venue managers to use

at events, exhibitions, conferences, parties or weddings. The Twitter Wall was built by Delicious Media who are continuing to develop the platform further to engage with other social media platforms including Instagram. The platform can be programmed to pick up and display tweets which include a specified hashtag (eg. #VFYorkshire) and can also be moderated to strip out any unwanted tweets on accounts. Janet said: “Not only was it encouraging to hear from the event organisers how impressed they were with Big Screen Social, but the icing on the cake was finding out that #VFYorkshire had been trending on Twitter across the UK for 9 hours that day!”

Croft Myl now has 26 tenants and plans are in place to refurbish the lower ground and attic space this year. Brian said: “We found Croft Myl in 2015. It was a bigger project than we had planned and needed completely gutting, but we saw the potential for both ourselves and other local businesses. “There were just two tenants plus our own business at first. Having a keen interest in design, Vicky headed up the revamp of the building. The first two floors have now been completely refurbished to an impeccable standard, the like of which would only normally be seen in prime city centre locations.” Vicky and Brian’s long term vision for the Myl is to use the business acumen they have acquired to help others make the transition from home office to a business address. They currently offer a set fee for tenants that includes utilities, phones, and internet access.

Big Screen Social is available to license per day or annually and is specifically designed to enhance any event such as exhibitions, conferences, expos, festivals, parties and weddings.

K&CUpdate

Firm improves synthetic ski slopes

uddersfield-based Briton Engineering Developments Ltd, has just announced the launch of their new improved water misting system used to naturally lubricate the surface of the Snowflex® slopes. The new surface system will create greater speed, less friction, and reduced “burn” wear of ski and snowboard bases and edges. The BritonMist system is making its debut at the expansion and refurbishment of the nursery slope at SkiRossendale in Lancashire in the UK. Briton Engineering Developments Ltd are leaders in the design and build of synthetic snow sport slopes and the inventors and manufacturer of the high

performance SNOWFLEX® synthetic ski and snowboard surface system. A spokesperson from Briton Engineering Developments Ltd said: “An accurately designed and fully engineered mist system sprays a precise droplet size to the surface, giving maximum effect with minimum water usage. Sliding speed is increased

Client win for Scriba PR

Huddersfield-based public relations company Scriba PR has added an awardwinning estate agency to its portfolio of clients. Scriba is set to provide communications support to Holmfirth-based Applegate Properties, in the form of social media management, the creation of blog and newsletter content and ongoing PR. Committed to providing excellent customer service and a ‘different way of doing things’, Applegate Properties

has grown mainly via word-of-mouth recommendations, to date. But wanting to develop the business further, managing director Amy Wray knew she needed a PR partner on board, to help strengthen the company’s position within Huddersfield. Commenting on why she chose Scriba for the job, Amy said: “We heard a lot of positive feedback about Scriba and were convinced they could do a great job after a meeting Katie for a general chat over coffee and cake.

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

and friction and heat are reduced significantly, assisting in the elimination of potential heat damage to ski and snowboard edges. The BritonMist system increases the lifespan of the snow sports surface and also skis, snowboards and snow tube bases and just as importantly it sets Snowflex® apart from other surfaces that claim not to require lubrication.”

“I identified they had similar core values to us, they are a very pro-active and positive team. We are looking forward to a great working relationship.” Katie Mallinson, founder of Scriba PR said: “We’re delighted that Amy chose to work with us. Applegate Properties is a great company – they’re brilliant at what they do, and have bags of personality, so we have lots of ideas in the pipeline for them!” Earlier this month, Applegate Properties claimed silver at the national Negotiator Awards for the York-shire & The Humber Agency of The Year category. This new contract comes hot on the heels of Scriba winning another client, Manchester-based call intelligence company ResponseTap. Other clients include graphic display company Leach, software vendor Cascade HR and marketing automation specialist Force24.

Internet Resiliency

Two award wins and six figure brief for Brighouse PR agency A West Yorkshire PR agency is celebrating success after winning two industry awards and securing a significant account win that will see it working with TV property expert, Sarah Beeny.

into online sales – a first in the global direct selling company’s 133 year old history. The agency has been working with Vorwerk UK on an intermittent basis for the past 24 months, and has teamed up with Sarah Beeny who will support the campaign with online content and social media campaigns as well as press events.

Faith PR, based in Brighouse, recently won Gold in the Best Event and Best Education Campaign categories at The UK is the first market to be chosen the 2016 CIPR (Chartered Insitute of to venture into online sales and Faith Public Relations) PRide awards for its PR joined a number of national agencies work with Hipperholme to pitch for the highly “To top everything off, Grammar School and sought-after six figure our two gold award wins contract. Turtle Bay restaurant in are a real testament to Huddersfield. the hard work of the Stefanie Hopkins, Faith PR team to deliver founder and managing The CIPR award winners are selected by an esteemed outstanding results for director at Faith our clients.” judging panel of industry PR said: “We have experts, with the awards enjoyed a very successful few months. designed to recognise and promote Winning the Vorwerk brief following a the outstanding work and campaigns competitive pitch is a great boost for the delivered by leading PR agencies across agency, and the campaigns are already the UK. progressing quickly. Following the award win, Faith PR’s latest brief will see the agency working with Switzerland-based home appliance manufacturer Vorwerk as it expands

Faith PR was established by leading PR strategist Stefanie Hopkins in 2007 and now works with brands on a local, national and international scale.

In today’s modern age, companies are reliant on the internet to exist and would be lost without it. However, many companies are often unwilling to invest in this most valuable facet of business, often due to a lack of knowledge on the improvements that can be made in regards to their company’s internet resiliency. When that’s the case, Fusion is here to help. In order to help decide what internet solution is best suited to you, we have a variety of trusted partners who are experts in their field who will talk to you and help discern your needs. Whether it be bonded DSL, to true leased lines and dark fibre, we are certain together we can find the best possible solution. When your internet is set up ‘safe and secure’, you need to have the confidence that if your internet connection is compromised, your data is safe. Fusion will help with that too. We invest heavily in back-ups, so no matter what happens we can ensure the security of your company’s information. We take into account factors such as your environment, size of your company and the type of data you store. For example, some companies may require an offsite backup to a data centre via the internet, others may simply require a USB drive that has files copied to it once a week. Whatever it is, we will make it work, ensuring that if the worst does happen, your business will continue with minimal disruption. If you think you could benefit from us installing or overhauling your internet resiliency system – get in touch and see what we can do for you! Call Fusion on 08451 221240, email info@ fusionmanageit.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @fusionmanit...we’re here to solve all your IT problems.

K&CUpdate

Huddersfield Lit Fest off to a flying start The Huddersfield Literature Festival (HLF) has been awarded increased funding of £45,000 from Arts Council England for the 2017 Festival. With this funding next year’s Festival will provide an even more diverse selection of events with a commitment to being more accessible to an even larger section of the local community. HLF2017 will take place at venues in Huddersfield from 4-19 March 2017, with a theme of “Courage”.

Michelle Dickson, Director North, Arts Council England said, “Huddersfield Literature Festival has now established itself as a dynamic and important part of the Northern literature landscape attracting large audiences from all parts of the community. I’m delighted that we have been able to increase our funding to enable the festival to programme even more diverse work that will entice many more visitors.” “We are very excited about the opportunity to grow and improve our Festival, thanks to this increased funding, as well as the funds already secured from

Image - Lemn Sissay - Jonathan Jacob Photography Ltd

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

the University of Huddersfield and the kind support of our sponsors” Michelle Hodgson, Festival Director commented. For information on how to become a volunteer, please contact Julia Lilof: huddlitfestchair@gmail.com If you are interested in taking part as a performer or want to know details of the authors and entertainment that will be taking place in 2017, visit the Get in Touch tab on our website: www.litfest.org.uk. For advance information on upcoming events, you can sign up to our newsletter by emailing huddlitfestoffice@gmail.com.

Local businesses raise over £18,000 for children’s hospice A Christmas charity event to raise funds to support children and young adults across Kirklees and Calderdale has raised over £18,000 through an inaugural lunch.

Award for PR firm

Huddersfield-based PR agency, Scriba PR, has scooped a corporate supporter award from Thrombosis UK, following three years of fundraising efforts. Since 2014, Scriba has raised more than £1,000 per year for the charity, which supports people living with and affected by thrombosis, through a range of events from a football tournament, to a social media selfie campaign. The latest in a string of fundraising efforts was a ‘Drink & Think’ night, which raised an additional £2,044 for the charity. Scriba has been an avid supporter of Thrombosis UK since founder Katie Mallinson was diagnosed with a life threatening blood clot in 2014. Commenting on the award win, Katie said: “Luckily I’m now fine, but my first-hand experience of the condition showed what lack of awareness there is, not only among members of the public, but the medical profession too. That’s why we endeavour to raise funds for the charity and to increase awareness about the illness.

The Kirklees & Calderdale Annual Christmas Lunch (KACCL) which took place on Thursday 15 December at the Cedar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, was a huge success and raised vital funds for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, based at Russell House in Huddersfield. The lunch which was sponsored by Huddersfield accountants Crowther and TopicUK, was attended by the local business community and was hosted by well-loved magician John Danbury, who provided entertainment and acted as the event’s auctioneer. A local college choir and string quartet also made their debut at the annual Christmas lunch as Huddersfield New College’s Performing Arts Group performed alongside Musica Kirklees’ String Quartet. The 15-strong choir was accompanied by Thornhill Infant and Junior School student Olivia, who sang an array of

songs including Billy Joel’s Lullabye and When Christmas Comes to Town from Polar Ex-press, which included a solo by the eight year old. The String Quartet from Musica Kirklees (formerly Kirklees Music School) performed a range of music from classic to modern. The School was formed in 1992 and delivers tuition to over 9000 pupils in Kirklees. The KACCL organising committee represents figures from local businesses including James Robinson Fibres Ltd, Cedar Court Hotels, Chadwick Lawrence, Stafflex, Crowther Accountants, TopicUK and Faith PR. Stefanie Hopkins, managing director at Faith PR and editor of TopicUK Kirklees Calderdale said: “We would like to thank everyone in the business community who attended the lunch and helped us to raise such a fantastic amount for a very worthy, local cause. “We started planning the first KACCL lunch back in January 2016 and have already set a date for the event in 2017 – Thursday 7th December - where we hope to raise even more funds.”

“As clichéd as it sounds, we believe it’s really important that businesses ‘give something back’. So fundraising for Thrombosis UK is a great way for us to put our PR skills to good use and support this fantastic charity.”

K&CUpdate

Exam trio success for Huddersfield accountancy firm A firm of Chartered Accountants in Huddersfield is celebrating the success of a trio of students. All three of Simpson Wood’s trainees recently passed their advanced stage exams, achieving ACA qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Joanna Bullock, Ed Russell and Sophie Speight all work in the company’s Business Services Group providing management accounts, and performing audit and accounts work on the company’s larger business clients. Ed also achieved the top score in the West Yorkshire district on his case study paper. Craig Stratford, training director at Simpson Wood said: “For all three of our

students to pass their exams at the same time is a great accomplishment and we hope they will continue their hard work

Action-packed autumn for training business Brighouse-based company Lattitude7 is celebrating following a host of new client wins and a move to new office premises. Over the past few months, the company has secured contracts with Manchester Metropolitan University to carry out leadership training and coaching; a project that the company will work on over a 29 month period. In addition, the company will also deliver a number of ‘train-the-trainer programmes for a class-leading audio business after securing a contract through Leeds City College. Martin Haigh, owner of Lattitude7 said:

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at Simpson Wood where they provide an extremely valuable contribution to both clients and the company.”

“It has been an excellent few months for the team. In addition to our new contract wins, we have also had a new office and training room built and we have already carried out some presentations training at the facility. We also now have the space to take on additional staff”. Lattitude7 was also recently named winner of the Yorkshire and Humber Chamber of Commerce regional business award in the Excellence in Customer Service category. Martin added: “I am delighted that we have been recognised in this category, and we now look forward to the national Chamber Awards in London. We have a number of new projects lined up for 2017 and I am looking forward to further developing the business”.

Huddersfield optician ranks in world cup mountain biking A Huddersfield optician has is celebrating after achieving a high ranking in the mountain biking world cup. Jack Reading who works as a locum at Huddersfield based Valli Opticians, recently finished 27th in the world cup series overall rankings, and has also won his first British Downhill Series event. Mr. Reading worked with Nicolai Bikes, the team’s main sponsor, throughout 2016 to design and develop a new world cup race bike. The bike is now in production for 2017 following a successful first year of initial development. Mr Reading commented: “I started racing bikes about ten years ago and have been racing world cups since 2010. “The sport is extreme and I absolutely love the challenge of competing at the highest level against the best in the world.”

Join the pure-fibre revolution Businesses in Huddersfield have access to some of the fastest internet speeds in the world thanks to CityFibre’s new pure fibre network. Register your interest and supercharge your business: Ultra-fast upload and download speeds: Speeds of 1000Mbps+ enables you to fully embrace next-generation cloud services. Future-proofed: Supports your business now with quick and easy upgrades as your digital requirements evolve. Responsive and resilient: Provides complete confidence that business critical services run smoothly.

CSRShowcase

New jobs and opportunities Orchard Facilities Management is expanding rapidly and its success is not just creating new jobs and opportunities locally. Thanks to its commitment to giving a minimum of 12% of its profits to good causes every year, the growth of the business is good news for the community too. Founded by Gareth and Rachel Henderson 10 years ago, Orchard Facilities Management employs more than 30 people and works with businesses in Calderdale, Kirklees and beyond to help them streamline their operations and minimise costs. Orchard’s range of services includes data and IT support, pest control, building services and all types of waste management, including clinical, hazardous and washroom services. Recent expansion has seen the addition of new services including PAT testing, planned and reactive maintenance and cleaning. Strong partnerships have always been a cornerstone of the business, promoting lasting client relationships and productive links with charities and community organisations. Making a tangible difference “We actively seek to partner with organisations where we can make an immediate difference and where we know as much money as possible will go directly to providing front line services rather than being caught up in

bureaucracy,” explains Gareth. “We work with charities on a relational basis, getting to know those involved at all levels of the organisation so that we can offer support in the most practical and useful way possible,” he explained. “This philosophy of care extends to our own organisation and we are committed to creating a supportive and respectful working environment in which our people can achieve their full potential and feel inspired to contribute positively to the success of our clients’ businesses.”

The Orchard Facilities Management team taking part in Town Foundation’s It’s a Knockout earlier this year

Orchard Facilities Management supports a wide range of charities regionally and nationally. The company has enjoyed long term corporate partnerships with many community organisations and charities including Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Overgate Hospice, Town Foundation’s Early Kick Off Breakfast Clubs, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, regional food banks and many more. “Our involvement goes far beyond simply donating money and we choose to partner with organisations where we feel we can make a real and tangible difference,” says Gareth. Support in times of crisis One example of Orchard’s unique style

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Rachel and Gareth Henderson, founders of Henderson Firstfruits.© JOHN EARLY

founder member of the charity’s 99ers Business Club. “Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice is one of a number of fantastic charities in our region that we are delighted to support and to have been involved with from the early days, even before the bricks and mortar hospice was built,” says Gareth. “Seeing the hospice grow and flourish has been incredibly rewarding and we’re proud to be a part of that success story.” Henderson FirstFruits In 2013 Gareth and Rachel established the charity Henderson FirstFruits to help those who are in crisis or disadvantaged due to poverty, ill health, age, financial hardship, or disability. The charity invites applications for grants, gifts and support in kind from charities, organisations and individuals in need. The charity can be found at www.first-fruits.org.uk.

of corporate social responsibility was seen following the devastating floods throughout Calderdale at the end of 2015 and into 2016.

Town Foundation in recognition of its sustained financial support for the charity’s Early Kick Off breakfast clubs.

Gareth actively encourages other “Our charitable arm stepped up to businesses to get involved in the project support families and and believes Early Kick Off communities through provides local firms with a “The cost of this terrible time by great opportunity to fulfil feeding each helping financially to their CSR objectives and make child is small but rehome, rebuild and a real difference to children in the impact it can get their lives back on the community. have on their track,” recalls Gareth. health, education “I have been lucky enough and wellbeing is Orchard’s response to see the breakfast clubs enormous.” to this local crisis in action and the hard work was honoured with that is being done to give a unique special recognition award children the opportunity to start the day from the Lord Lieutenant of West with a healthy meal in a fun and sociable Yorkshire and the Calderdale Community environment,” he says. Foundation. Orchard is a long-term supporter of Orchard is a “champion” member of the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice and a

So far the charity has helped a wide variety of causes both regionally and nationally, predominantly but not exclusively, demonstrating a Christian ethos. These have included homeless charity Simon on the Streets, Hope for Justice which works to end human trafficking and slavery and Christians Against Poverty which runs a debt support service to release people from debt and poverty. Other causes that have benefited from Henderson FirstFruits include Mercy Ministries in Bradford, educational charity The Lighthouse Group, Angel Tree Project and New Hall Prison Ministries. Gareth says: “For us CSR isn’t just about ticking a box - everything we do to support charities and community groups through Henderson Firstfruits and Orchard Facilities Management is aimed at making a lasting and positive impact on the organisations we team up with. “CSR is a motivator for business success and our business plan clearly states that by achieving our growth objectives we will be able to increase our charitable giving as a consequence.”

How it's made

ROSENBAUER UK Designed to showcase the diverse manufacturing companies operating across our region, our regular ‘How It’s Made’ feature seeks to lift the lid on some of the hidden skills and trades that exist right on our doorstep.

manufacture of specialist fire and rescue vehicles to airports and fire and rescue services across the UK, saw its impressive Panther 8x8 on the big screen as part of the Transformers 2 movie in 2009. Oliver says: “Our Panther trucks are seriously impressive to look at. People often say “it looks like something from Transformers”. Then I usually point out “it is off Transformers! “Some are powered by not just one but two 750bhp engines, which – for a truck that weighs in at 42 tonnes – delivers 0-60mph in next to no time!” As a subsidiary of Rosenbauer International (its parent company with an annual turnover of almost 880 million euros), Rosenbauer UK is 25% owned by managing director, Oliver.

This month, TopicUK catches up with Brockholes-based fire vehicle and fire-fighting equipment manufacturer Rosenbauer UK to find out more about how the company is tackling the fire and rescue market. Not many managing directors can say that their company features in a Hollywood blockbuster. But that’s not true of Oliver North, the 35 year-old in charge of Brockholes-based Rosenbauer UK. The company, which specialises in the

After merging his former company, North Fire, with Rosenbauer in 2014, Oliver rebranded to Rosenbauer UK and began to dominate the UK market. Oliver comments: “In 2016 we achieved our highest turnover to date, and we are set to increase that by 100% this year, which is fantastic.” But what exactly makes Rosenbauer UK’s fire trucks so special? “Although we do manufacture municipal fire engines, our speciality lies in the design and manufacture of technologically advanced trucks used in situations where specialist kit is required, such as aircraft fires and large incidents dealt with at heights of up to 150ft”, says Oliver.

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“Our recently released ‘AT-Stinger’ features a boom on the roof which can fire a ‘spike’ that can pierce the fuselage of a burning aircraft and spray foam inside to extinguish the fire, removing the need to send in fire fighters and put more lives at risk.” A product in demand When it comes to new business, things are certainly looking strong for Rosenbauer UK. There is currently a one year lead time for the company’s Panther vehicles, and, says Oliver, “when it comes to specialist trucks, we’ve worked hard to ensure that most people won’t buy from anywhere else but us.” Expansion throughout 2017 is also on the cards, and the company is about to move to a new, state-of-the-art factory in Meltham, increasing production capability by over 300%. Oliver continues: “We needed to grow the business to keep up with demand, and

The New Rosenbauer Panther - The International Fire Training Centre in Teeside space is at such a premium across Kirklees so we jumped at the chance to move into the new site in Meltham. “We have invested heavily in the most advanced design and manufacturing technology to stay ahead of the game, and a lot of time has been spent on the aesthetics and efficiency of the new building.“Our customers expect to see the highest possible standards when they walk through our doors, so we’ve made sure that the new space is impeccably presented – with work stations much like a Formula 1 pit team bay!” However, it isn’t all plain sailing, says Oliver: “We face some unique challenges in the sector in which we operate; the main one being the public sector procurement process. “We tend to find that some local authorities take certain companies’ answers as gospel if they don’t have much

experience in procuring services such as ours. Lots of those companies are less than capable of doing the job properly, so it’s an education process. “We have to inform and demonstrate to the UK fire service senior officers and procurement departments the benefits of using more advanced technology than they already have, and this can sometimes be difficult as they are typically very traditional in what they know and like. “A modern day fire-fighter has such a vast role that advanced technology makes the difference between life and death on a daily basis throughout the UK. We’re always the first choice for the ‘troops’ using the kit, however, which is testament to our world-class range.” Creating employment opportunities Following a successful 2016, Rosenbauer UK is also set to create new employment

opportunities across the area, with work progressing on a major contract bid that will require the company to recruit an additional 15 service team members and two administration assistants, taking its current 19-strong team to over 30 people. So, what does Oliver think of Kirklees as a place to do business? “First of all, the location is excellent as we have such great access to both Leeds and Manchester. “Also, when you look at the cost of labour rates and premises in the capital in comparison, they’re through the roof. Our customers also comment on how lovely the area and its surrounding countryside is when they come to visit. “All-in-all, being based in Kirklees represents excellent value for money and it has allowed us to recruit a very skilled workforce that has enabled the company to innovate and grow. It certainly is the place to be!”

K&CUpdate

Outstanding students awarded at college

Students selected for exceptional achievement or major progress at Kirklees College attended a glittering awards ceremony to receive their prize.

“Our mission statement at Kirklees College is creating opportunity and changing lives and tonight we have seen some of that in action.” The college was delighted to have received sponsorship from local businesses for individual categories and the overall prizes. Representatives from the companies were invited to attend the event to present awards in the category they sponsored. The award for Apprentice of the Year was won by Monika Kulka from Huddersfield. Monika arrived in the UK with low confidence in communicating in English as it was not her first language, but began a Business Administration Apprenticeship with Kirklees College. Within weeks she unfortunately found herself looking for a new home for her and her sons but difficult personal circumstances did not impact her ability to work and learn. In fact she responded with increased drive and motivation, taking every chance to develop.

The annual student COLS (College Outstanding Learner Success) ceremony took place at the Huddersfield Centre onThursday 15 December. The winners were made to feel glamorous at an Oscar-style awards evening, hosted by Huddersfield Town’s commercial director Sean Jarvis. Amongst the audience to cheer them on were the students’ family, friends, and college tutors who had nominated the winning students and the college’s senior managers. Awards were presented in each curriculum area as well as overall prizes for Education and Training Student of the Year and Apprentice of the Year. Acting Principal June Durrant said: “It never ceases to amaze me how the students who come to Kirklees College do such astonishing things – winning national awards, raising significant amounts of money, volunteering, being a carer at home or facing personal problems that they overcome all whilst achieving excellent outcomes in their qualifications.

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A challenging role at work was approached by professionalism, determination to succeed and a friendly smile. Nothing was ever too much trouble and she strived to deliver the very best on every task. She has now moved on to a full time role at college. The Education and Training Student of the Year award was won by Richard Bentley from Wakefield. Richard studied the Access to Higher Education course at Kirklees College after being a bomb disposal expert in the army. On duty in Iraq he had received extensive injuries which took over two years’ rehabilitation to overcome including numerous operations and learning how to walk again. Through working with children and thinking about his own issues post Iraq, this led to a desire to go in to mental health nursing. At college Richard consistently produced work of a very high standard and was nominated to be a class representative, due to his willingness to help others.

New survey reveals barriers to young employment in Yorkshire New research by the City & Guilds Group and Business in the Community (BITC) has revealed that more than a third of young people view location as a barrier when it comes to applying for a job. The study, which looked at the challenges young people face in recruitment, also revealed that despite nine out of ten young people having some idea of the career they wanted to pursue, two fifths said a gruelling application process knocked their confidence. Future Proof, a Business in the Community campaign backed by City & Guilds Group, aims to encourage businesses in the region to start a conversation around how to communicate and recruit the future workforce. Supermarket giant Asda recently hosted a Future Proof Assembly for local businesses at its Leeds HQ to kick-start the conversation, bringing together over 50 local business leaders, stake-holders and HR professionals to explore how to connect with Yorkshire’s future young talent. Highlights from the survey of 4,000 18-24 year olds include: • 37% of young people in Yorkshire didn’t prepare for their last job interview.

Law project recognised for developing the international legal community • A third of young people worry that they don’t have the right qualifications. • A quarter said a negative experience made them less likely to apply for other jobs. • A fifth found job adverts difficult to understand. • 29% found the overall experience difficult. • Asked what they value in a prospective workplace, only 13% of young people from Yorkshire said the most important thing was additional benefits and perks. • In contrast, two fifths emphasised having opportunities to develop and further their career • More than a third prioritised working with friendly and helpful colleagues and managers. Speaking about the research findings, Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group, said: ‘‘Young people in Yorkshire face major barriers during the job application process. Of course, employers should challenge and test potential new employers, but their recruitment practices should also be inclusive. That means making sure assessment days, interviews or any part of the process are as accessible as possible. Otherwise, businesses risk losing out on talent that they can’t afford to take for granted, particularly given the Government’s ongoing focus on the Northern Powerhouse. “Employers must not lose, or put off, talented employees before they even start their careers.”

A unique twinning programme between The Huddersfield and Dewsbury Law Society and Uganda is demonstrating the power of pro bono work to unite and develop the legal community locally and internationally. The Twinning link project, which began in 2002, has been recognised regionally, winning ‘Pro Bono Team of the Year’ at the Yorkshire Legal Awards and nationally, when it was highly recommended at the Law Society’s Excellence Awards. The project has delivered tangible benefits to Ugandan lawyers and the community at large. Four Huddersfield lawyers travelled to Uganda during National Pro Bono Week (5-12 November) to further the Law Society’s work with the country’s lawyers, including Nigel Priestley of Ridley & Hall, independent mediator, Paul Beevers and two solicitors from Ramsdens.

Jane Holroyd, solicitor at Ramsdens who travelled to Uganda as part of the project said: “The Uganda Twinning Project has proved to be a huge success over the 14 years it has been running. When I was given the opportunity to take part in the project and go out to Uganda to see first-hand the amazing work the project do and to give presentations to Ugandan lawyers, I jumped at the chance. “Client care and professional standards is a particular issue for the Ugandan Law Society and therefore in my first presentation I aimed to teach the Ugandan lawyers some of the client care principles we have in the UK and help them understand why it is important. “My second presentation related to the

drafting of partnership agreements. Most Ugandan lawyers do not trust their peers and therefore the aim is to show them that coming together as partners can work and how the relationships with their fellow partners can be regulated.” Over the years, the programme has provided over 6,000 text books and training DVDs which have been used by the ULS to establish the main legal resource centre in Kampala and ten regional resource centres. It has also provided training for the last 13 years for more than 1,200 Ugandan lawyers and 2,000 post graduate law students in Kampala and helped promote good governance and respect for rights and the rule of law. In partnership with Chance for Childhood and the Uganda Law Society, the group is currently monitoring a programme which provides legal representation and legal advice to protect vulnerable children in Patongo, Northern Uganda. The project will be funded by the Law Society charity, however, the initial funding will soon be exhausted and the group is hoping to secure alternative funding for the project.

TheArts

All the fun of the Festival

Free family events, comedy, guided walks, film screenings, Jane Austen - era dance and LGBT cabaret – all in accessible venues – if you think literature festivals are only about authors on a stage, think again! By Michelle Hodgson Festival Director While there are many opportunities to see bestselling authors and prize-winning novelists, the 2017 Huddersfield Literature Festival will once again uphold its tagline: Bringing Words to Life. Held from 4-19 March 2017, with a free launch event on 3 March, the Festival’s aim is to pre-sent a diverse range of performers and events, at affordable prices and accessible venues. Family-friendly – and free! Our Free Family Day (4 March), sponsored for the second year by Stafflex recruitment consultancy, features storytelling, activities for all ages – adults can rediscover how relaxing colouring in can be – and a family film. All provided free. v Talk of the Town Huddersfield Town Hall will be the venue for three major events at #HLF2017. First off, Woman’s Hour presenter Jenni Murray will be talking about her new book: A History of Britain in 21 Women (6 March). The man who many said

should have been Prime Minister, Alan Johnson MP, will chat about the third volume of his award-winning memoirs, The Long and Winding Road (19 March), covering his time in the Blair and Brown governments. And last but not least, one of crime fiction’s biggest names, Ian Rankin, will be talking about how he created one of its most memorable characters, Rebus, for the detective’s 30th anniversary (10 March). v Criminal intent Still on the theme of crime fiction, international bestseller Sophie Hannah will be at the Festival to chat about Agatha, Poirot and Me (8 March). Described as “genuinely Christie’s heir”, she will talk about her new Hercule Poirot novel, Closed Casket, the inspiration of Agatha Christie, and how she became the first author to write a Poirot mystery with the blessing of Christie’s family and estate. This will be followed by a Crime Fiction Day (11 March), with discussions on historical crime and crime fiction in translation, plus a workshop on How to Create a Villain.

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Jackie Hagan v Inspired by Austen Talking of villains, to mark the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death, we’re very excited to welcome dashing actor Adrian Lukis, who played the villainous army officer Mr Wickham in the 1995 BBC TV adaptation of Pride &Prejudice. A Celebration of Pride and Prejudice (5 March) will also feature a display of dances from Jane Austen’s era by Regency Rejigged and

audiences are welcome to dress up in their best Sunday bonnets! Our popular Literary Afternoon Tea also offers the opportunity to put on your glad rags for an afternoon of scones and stories in the beautiful setting of Fixby Hall (12 March). Looking back to a different era, to mark International Women’s Day (8 March) we have invited Julie Summers

to talk about how her bestselling novel about a WI group during the Second World War inspired the popular ITV drama, Home Fires. v Take part yourself Budding writers can hone their craft at workshops, including a special partnership with Mslexia for Writing a Synopsis – the magazine will also be presenting a Meet the Editors session (18 March), where you can get some insight into the publishing process. Or why not try your hand at performing at our Open Mic Night, Pecha Kucha Night (a presentation format with 20 slides, each moving on after 20 seconds) or Poetry Slam, which this year will be hosted by punk poet Attila the Stockbroker. v Performance Poetry As well as Attila, our poets for 2017 include our Patron Lemn Sissay talking about his new collection Gold from the Stone and upcoming local performance poet Lisa Luxx (both 14 March). v Murray Lachlan Young will perform shows for children and adults (12 March) and the writer of TV hits such as Gavin & Stacey and The Mrs Merton Show, Henry Normal, is returning to performing with his new poetry collection Staring Directly at the Eclipse (16 March). v LGBT at the LBT Poetry and prose sit side by side in our annual visit to the Lawrence Batley Theatre (LBT) from host Paul Burston’s cabaret-style Polari Up North (7 March), featuring a wealth of LGBT writers with universal appeal. The event runs the gamut from the hilariously wry observations of VG Lee and the award-winning darkly comic

novel from Paul McVeigh, to the feted author of novels and YA fiction, Juno Dawson, and poet Jackie Hagan, known for sipping champagne from her false leg! v Novel ideas Finally, in fiction we have bestselling and award-winning writers Joanne Harris (11 March), Michèle Roberts (17 March) and Kit de Waal (14 March), all talking about their latest works. v Magical Majikkon For anyone who enjoys Japanese popculture, fashion and games, as well as Western comic book heroes and Sci-Fi shows, The Huddersfield Manga, Anime & Comic Con – Majikkon makes a welcome return to the Festival (11 March) in the new venue of Huddersfield Leisure Centre. With stage events, a Cosplay Contest, Artists Alley and lots more, including several special guests such as SuperSorrell, this is bound to be a popular event and advance booking is recommended. See you there! If you haven’t visited the Festival before you are in for a treat. Tickets make popular birthday and anniversary presents, or why not get a group of friends together for a night out.

Ian Rankin

Adrian Lukis

Jenni Murray

Most tickets available from the LBT Box Office: www.thelbt.org; 01484 430 528. Tickets for Town Hall events can be booked at: www.kirkleestownhalls. co.uk; 01484 225 755. For more information, visit www. litfest.org.uk or call 01484 943 093. Alan Johnson

K&CUpdate

Is your business embracing technology? You can count on one thing in 2017; technology will continue to blister ahead at a rate which is sometimes hard to keep up with.

Tim Mercer, said “We have developed and built our business because of the potential we recognised in cloud-based services from an early stage. More companies are changing their technology policies and moving to cloud or an element of it and we are anticipating further growth on the back of this trend.”

Jason Sharp (Finance Director) and Tim Mercer (CEO) outside Vapour’s HQ in Elland

s a business owner, keeping up to date with the latest advances in technology and products available to you can be a challenge. Whether it’s embracing a new generation of telephone systems, looking into faster internet connections or making sure your business is protected from the threats of the latest virulent virus that hits the streets – it’s all out there to think about. The good news is that there are companies out there who specialise in this field of technology – they exist to

ensure that your business is running in the most streamlined way possible. The Elland-based company, Vapour Cloud, is one of the most advanced technology companies in the North to offer businesses of all shapes and sizes a cloud-based communications solution. Having just recently expanded to new premises in Elland, West Yorkshire, Vapour Cloud is growing steadily along with its customer base. Vapour Cloud was previously located at Woodvale Business Park in Brighouse. CEO and co-founder of Vapour Cloud,

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Recent major contract wins include work with Egton, one of the UK’s leading providers of healthcare technology and solutions. Vapour is supporting Egton in delivering next-generation voice services to its client base, using cloud-based technology. Vapour has also partnered with Leeds-based education technology company ICT4C – a collaboration to roll out a cloud-based voice network to schools and other education organisations. Tim added: “We have plans to grow our base throughout 2017 and our existing client base further within our key pillars which are health, education, insurance, automotive and professional services. Our clients recognise that we have the knowledge to deliver the right solutions for their businesses supported by unrivalled levels of customer care and service. The case studies on our website at www.vapourcloud.com are solid testament to our innovative products and the level of service we offer.”

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YorkshirePeople

Yorkshire’s favourite Calendar girl

Christine Talbot is a familiar face to many, gracing our screens at 6pm every weeknight, as main news presenter and anchor, alongside Duncan Wood, on ITV’s Calendar. Gill Laidler EditorTopicUK

hristine took the time out of her busy schedule to have coffee with TopicUK Group Editor Gill Laidler, telling us about her career and growing up in her native Lancashire. Journalism was in Christine’s blood from a very young age. The first newspaper she worked on was a family newspaper that she created with her sister, reporting on anything that was going on in their family life!

After qualifying as a journalist at the Lancashire Polytechnic School of Journalism in 1985, Christine worked for both the Southport Visitor FACT FILE: and the Lancashire Evening Post, before moving into TV journalism, Favourite holiday where she began working for destination: Australia. BBC North West on their Tonight programme. “I started helping out behind the scenes at first, before Favourite Car: moving onto reporting live.” Range Rover Evoke Favourite Restaurant: Fifty Fifty in Boston Spa. Favourite food and drink: Italian and white wine. Favourite gadget: Floor steam cleaner!

However, it wasn’t long before Christine, who lives in Wetherby with her husband Chris Gregg and daughter Beth, moved to ITV in 1994 , first presenting the Tonight show for four years and a programme called Wellbeing. At the same time, Christine worked as a reporter for Calendar before becoming their main presenter alongside Duncan Wood. Twenty two years later, she is a familiar face most evenings on our screens.

Working on live TV is unpredictable and Christine admits to still being a little nervous before big interviews. “We don’t always have an autocue, especially whilst interviewing away from the studio

January 2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

and if its a big story or a famous person, such as the prime minister, who she has interviewed many times, the nerves do still kick in!” she explained. So who have been Christine’s favourite people to interview? “There have been many over the years, but I think two people who stand out for me, as being both lovely genuine people and very professional has to be Cliff Richard and Lulu. The more famous a person is, the nicer they seem to be. Following the story of fundraiser Jane Tomlinson has also been memorable for me and before her passing, we did become good friends. What she achieved was amazing and an inspiration to us all.” So what is a typical day for Christine, who has a daughter Beth 18 and a stepson in his 30s, who actually appeared on Calendar at just 4 weeks old, dressed as a Santa!? “I usually arrive a the studio around 11am where there will be a number of meetings, before I prepare for the lunchtime news and any pre-recordings, from around the region,” she explained. “After lunch, I will be involved in writing links before preparing for the main Calendar News at 6pm. The days can be very long, particularly if I am presenting the late news bulletin too, but generally I will be home by 8pm to spend time with my family.” Outside work, Christine, who has twice been nominated for the Royal Television Society Best Presenter Award in Yorkshire and winner of RTS TV Reporter 2016 and O2 Broadcast Presenter 2015 and O2 TV Journalist 2016, as well as Yorkshire Choice Media Personality 2015, is quite the outdoor type, enjoying sport, walking, particularly in the Dales and generally enjoying the fresh air. Spending time with her family is also important.

K&CUpdate

Marsden children on path to jazz playing music with homemade musical instruments in the ‘Big Noise’ street parade at this year’s festival, which also featured three of the UK’s leading street bands. Festival Producer Barney Stevenson said: “We had a fantastic festival this year and wanted to do something to help inspire local children to become our headline performers of the future.

Children at a Marsden school are getting their first experience of playing music with a brand new set of recorders.

Festival have donated 30 recorders to Marsden Junior School to help mark the festival’s 25th anniversary.

The organisers of the Marsden Jazz

Pupils at the school got a taste of

“We’re really pleased we’ve been able to donate the recorders which we hope will be used by children for years to come to get their first taste of performing music.” Sarah Mansell, Principal at Marsden Junior School, said: “We are extremely happy with our class set of recorders. We are thrilled to engage all our children with music, creating opportunities and supporting the rich musical heritage that the children are exposed to in Marsden.”

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January 2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

CommercialProperty

Business Rating Appeals 2017 Hanson Chartered Surveyors was established in October 1989, by Mark Hanson BSc FRICS to service the needs of clients expecting direct and uncomplicated advice.

Business Rates in the UK are levied on most non-domestic property. Also, all business occupying space, pay rates; or more accurately, tax. The Government has to raise a given amount of tax through Business Rates in any one year but because it is based upon an assessment of notional rental value reassessed from time time (typically every five years) the reassessment can (and does) shift the burden from one use to another. Rating appeals have therefore been common place, but they have in the eyes of HMRC been too easy to invoke. The new 2017 List which becomes effective in 1st April 2017 takes over from the 2010 List. The basis for making an appeal is significantly more onerous on the rate payer and invokes a three step process; Check, Challenge, Appeal. v Check Stage Allowed once per revaluation unless facts change. Confirm physical details the Valuation Office Agency holds about the property. The 12 months to conclude the check. Fines will be levied for false information provided knowingly, recklessly or carelessly. v Challenge Stage The Challenge should be completed

within four months of the Check. An alternative valuation must be provided by the appellant. The valuation must include all rental evidence, argument and case law. Post Challenge evidence may prove inadmissible. v Appeal Stage There is 18 months allowed to agree an appeal. The VOA will issue a Decision Notice with explanation. The Decision can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal within three months of the Decision. Upfront fees to the Tribunal of up to £300 are payable which is refundable if successful. The new Rating Appeal system is clearly designed to concentrate the mind of the appellant before embarking on what, will, inevitably be a significantly more expensive appeal process. On a positive note, it should significantly reduce “Have a Go” companies canvassing firms for Rating Appeal business. If you are at all concerned about the Business Rates which you pay, we recommend you consult a Chartered Surveyor with the necessary rating experience. Mark Hanson BSc FRICS

Financial advisor appointed at growing firm Huddersfield-based financial advisory firm, Sheards Wealth Management has appointed a new advisor into the business as it continues with expansion plans. Richard Derdowski has over 12 years’ experience in the financial services industry and a Diploma in Professional Financial Planning. He joins the Sheards team from a Yorkshire based financial advisory firm. Richard started his career in 2004, working for a national IFA consultancy firm before progressing to set up and grow a national advisory business, which went on to become the fastest growing firm within its sector. In this time, he worked closely with a wide number of financial advisers gaining excellent knowledge of the industry and developing a passion for helping them deliver exceptional service to their clients. Speaking about the appointment, Mark Stewart Director of Sheards Wealth Management commented: “I am delighted to welcome Richard to Sheards Wealth Management. With a competitive growth plan for 2017 and beyond as a result of changing requirements from our client base, I am confident that Richard’s expertise and passion for providing his clients with outstanding levels of customer service to help them reach their financial goals will be of significant benefit to the business”.

HRUpdate

The Gig Economy Rarely a day goes by without a news story about the ‘gig economy’. By Lynn Bradley

Pennine Business Partners

We are coming to accept that more and more of us are moving away from the traditional model of full-time employment and are taking on a variety of self-employed roles, short term assignments and ‘on demand’ working.

This new take on working life is facilitated by the continual development of digital technology, enabling companies, workers and customers to be brought together more easily. While some will say it heralds a new era of innovation and flexibility, others will see it as an opportunity for organisations to take advantage of workers and to evade their responsibilities as employers. Uber The recent Uber tribunal case has highlighted the potential dangers of these new, flexible models of work. The case was brought by two drivers who claimed that they were workers, not self-employed as the booking app company maintained. The tribunal decided in favour of the drivers, deeming that they are workers and should be entitled to workers’ rights, such as to be paid the National Minimum Wage and to receive paid holiday. Although Uber has said that it will appeal the decision, the ruling will cause consternation amongst businesses that operate with similar arrangements.

Government sponsored review of employment practices The government has also expressed concerns about how these employment practices are impacting on workers. Following recent inquiries into companies such as Sports Direct and Deliveroo, the Prime Minister has announced a six-month independent review of employment practices in the modern economy. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has been tasked with conducting a review of workers’ rights that will cover issues including security, pay and rights of workers and whether there is sufficient protection and support for those outside traditional employment roles. Another issue that the enquiry will cover is whether the current legal categories of workers are appropriate. The challenge will be to apply binary tests (worker/non-worker, employed/ self-employed) against the wide range of arrangements available such as temps, agency workers, zero hours contracts and casual workers, as they are harder to differentiate than the traditional employee and independent professionals and tradesmen. Implications for employers We will need to see the outcome of the BEIS review and the Uber appeal to fully assess the implications for businesses. However, it is important to note that tribunals will look carefully at the true nature of the working relationship, not just what is set out in a contract. This is particularly relevant for business-es that use ‘self-employed’ contractors on a regular basis, such as transport

January 2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

services, delivery drivers, couriers and warehouse workers, to name but a few. If this is found to be a false definition, business owners may find themselves answering not only to employment tribunals but also to HMRC. We should expect to hear a lot more about this case and the Prime Minister’s independent review of employment practices going forward with the potential for legislative changes.

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RecruitmentUpdate

What’s your New Year resolution ? Here are our top tips if you are looking to improve your career in 2017 By Nadio Granata

Director of Marketing Staffex Recruitment I am writing this as Christmas is fast approaching. The cold dark nights have turned to bitter, frosty mornings and the supermarkets are turning up the volume with their endless stream of seasonal hits from the distant past (can anyone name a recent Christmas song?). However, by the time you are reading this, the tree you lovingly decorated will already have lost its needles and New Year resolutions will just about be kicking in. Your phone may be updated with the latest fitness app as you join the many millions determined to finally do something about their health and wellbeing. But from a career perspective, how can you ensure that you set (and stick to) some resolutions that will help aid a successful 2017? Here are our top ten tips. v Social Profile Like it or not, your social media profile is there for others to see. Whether you are an avid ‘tweeter’ or a passive ‘facebooker’, you are highly likely to have some online presence; so make sure it is up to date and accurately depicts who you are. Make sure you hide that embarrassing photo from last year’s Christmas party or the post you were tagged in by your kids whilst wearing your most embarrassing onesie, or at least comment on them and let the world (and your future employer) know that you are a fun person, happy to take the mick out of yourself!

v Professional Profile Similar to your social profile, your professional profile is hugely important when you are job hunting. Recent research shows that up to 87% of recruiters will check out your LinkedIn profile as part of your interview process. Significant importance is attached to the content that you have posted, the size of your network and the quality of your career history. LinkedIn has changed massively over the years and now allows you to upload videos, dynamic links to articles or blogs you have written and all sorts of other useful features designed to aid your job hunting. v CV Update If you are like me, your CV will be ancient! I first wrote mine when I was about 16 and have just added and added to it over the years. Recently, I invested £95 in having it rewritten by a professional CV writer. The change was dramatic and well worth the investment. Essentially, they re-organised my career history and highlighted my most significant achievements (yes, there are one or two!). They also rewrote my introduction and took out the waffle. Most significantly, they turned ‘jobs’ into ‘projects’, which makes a great deal of sense from a recruiter’s point of view. v Network Talking to people who work within your industry is one of the best ways to find employment. Find out what events are taking place where you will be able to rub shoulders with your potential employers. Check out the networking sites such as http://www.networking4business. com/ and www.eventbrite.co.uk where you can filter by event type, location and cost. Make sure you have a good ‘elevator pitch’. Can you can succinctly describe who you are and what type of work you are looking for?

and 3D printing are just three of the innovations prevalent on the transformational landscape. Spending a little time to get up to speed with the current state of your industry - who the major players are, what the latest trends are etc. - is time well spent. When done effectively, it will leave you feeling empowered and eager to make your mark. v Get fit for business A healthy mind is often related to a healthy body. Time spent out of the workplace can leave you feeling a little down and perhaps not as agile as you might wish to be. Spending a little time doing those press ups or swimming a few lengths at your local pool will leave you feeling brighter and revitalised. v Training Get yourself signed up to a training scheme which will plug that knowledge gap you’ve been aware of for years but avoided doing anything about. There are lots of free webinars and online courses you can do from the comfort of your own home. Alternatively, check out your local further education (FE) college that will have lots of valuable courses to offer. v Join an agency Last but certainly not least, get yourself on the books of a recruitment agency. Choose one that you can have easy access to that has a specialism in your field of work or in the territory you want to work in, or both. By getting to know your recruitment partner, they will be better able to filter through the online job adverts for you and identify real opportunities. They will also be able to share your CV with their clients and fast track the recruitment process for mutual benefit. All that remains is for us here at Stafflex to wish you a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2017!

v Research Changes in technology are impacting on the work place at a faster rate than ever before. Artificial Intelligence, algorithms

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New homes development starts in Linthwaite

Development work has started to deliver 113 new homes at an historic and picturesque site in Linthwaite, Huddersfield. cottages, and will build a range of two, three, four and five bedroom homes in keeping with the local environment and incorporating a number of energy efficient and eco-friendly features. David Mackintosh, Sales and Marketing Director at Kier Living Northern, said, “We are delighted to start the development of Stonegate after a long consideration period due to the historic nature of the site.

eveloper Kier Living has announced the first phase release of properties for sale at ‘Stonegate’, a private development on the site of Black Rock Mills, off Waingate. The new estate is located in in the Colne Valley with stunning countryside views, just above the Peak District National Park and near to Blackmoorfoot Reservoir. Much of the surrounding site is to be maintained by Trust management and

offer open, green spaces for resdients. Black Rock Mills is famous for its association with Florence Lockwood, the ‘lady of the estate’ and former resident of Black Rock House. Florence was recognised for her artistic interpretations of the Colne Valley but was also an active campaigner for the Suffragette movement. Kier Living is redeveloping land which previously housed textile mills and mill

“Linthwaite is a very desirable location with great amenities, good schools and brilliant connectivity with the M62 just minutes away. At Stonegate we have been sure to include a good blend of starter homes and larger family houses to suit most people on the property ladder.” The first release of homes includes 10 three bedroom properties, due for completion by June 2017. Prices will start from £167,500, or £134,000 for buyers taking advantage of the Government Help to Buy Scheme.

Historic machinery restored RPL, located in Nortonthorpe Mills, recently restored an Albion Product ‘Hurricane Harvester’ by creating replacement pieces for the historic machinery. The machine was originally made under license for David Brown. John Cook of RPL, and member of the David Brown Tractor Club, sourced old copies of the

machine’s product guide and advertising literature in an attempt to repair the harvester. Many of the new replacement pieces have been created by John as parts of the old machine were no longer useable. The restored farm machine will be used to cut grass and blow the cuttings into a trailer or back on to the ground.

K&CUpdate

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Each issue Chadwick Lawrence Yorkshireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legal People, share with our readers information to keep us all within the law. If you have a legal question, or need to know about a particular subject, email editor@topicuk.co.uk A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which gives someone you trust the authority to make deci-sions on your behalf if you were unable to deal with your affairs due to an accident or illness. An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it is used. You can only set up the LPA while you are still mentally capable to do so. There are two types of LPA, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Care LPA. v Property and Financial Affairs LPA A Property and Financial Affairs LPA is for financial decisions such as buying and selling property and paying bills. v Health and Care LPA A Health and Care LPA covers decisions such as your medical care and where you should live and your attorney can only use this when you no longer have mental capacity. v Can my daughter who lives in Australia be my attorney? The answer to this is yes. However if your daughter had to carry out something for you in person, this would of course be more difficult. A financial institution would also need to carry out an evidence of identity check which would be more difficult for an attorney who is abroad. v I want my niece to be appointed as my attorney for property and financial affairs but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want her to act until I am no longer capable of acting. You can choose whether you wish your niece to act while you still have mental

capacity or whether the document is only to come into force if you lose capacity. v I own a business, should I set up an LPA in respect of the business? If you are a sole trader, partner or a company director, would your business be able to continue if you were incapacitated by illness or injury or if you were stranded abroad? If the answer to this question is no, you should consider putting an LPA in place to appoint someone to deal with your business in this event. Your appointed attorney would have the authority to access bank accounts and enter into contracts and would therefore be able to take over the running of the business. Otherwise a Deputy may need to be appointed which can take around 6 months or longer, what would happen to your business during this period? If you are a partner or company director, as well as setting up the LPA, we would also need to review the partnership agreement or articles of association and any shareholder agreements to ensure that they meet the needs of the business in the event of incapacity.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised or have any queries in respect of Wills, Trusts, Estates or Lasting Powers of Attorney, please email Angela on angelathorp@ chadlaw.co.uk or call 01422 330 601. Huddersfield Office, 13 Railway Street, Huddersfield, HD1 1JS Halifax Office, Somerset House, Rawson Street, Halifax, HX1 1NH

WE’RE NOT A REMOVAL COMPANY… BUT WE DO REMOVE THE STRESS AND THE HASSLE

Home & Property Experts Moving house can be extremely stressful and if you are buying a home, it can be one of the biggest financial commitments that you will ever make. Chadwick Lawrence has a specialist team of Residential Property Lawyers who will explain each step of the legal process to you in plain English and to answer any questions you might have.

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K&CUpdate

How to Get Things Moving When Medical Treatment Goes Wrong v Where to start? Find expert Solicitors who specialise in clinical negligence claims. We wouldn’t see a dentist for a broken leg and we wouldn’t advise you to call a Solicitor who specialises in accidents at work if medical treatment or surgery has gone wrong. v What should I have to hand? When we first speak, all we really need to know is what happened, when it happened and how it has affected you. It may be that you’re enquiring on behalf of a loved one or perhaps, a relative who has died, but whatever the circum-stances the more information you have the better the advice we can provide. v How much? There are a number of methods of funding a clinical negligence claim available and the only methods that we use here at Chadwick Lawrence, won’t cost you anything ‘up front’. These are; Legal Aid - Is still available, but only for children who suffer severe disability caused by neurological damage during labour, birth or in the first 8 weeks of the child’s life.

used methods of funding a legal claim. It’s available to everybody, regardless of how much you earn or have in the bank and credit history isn’t relevant. v Legal Expense Insurance Many people are unaware that their motor policy, household policies or other insurance policies may contain ‘Legal Expense’ cover. Insurers may have included this free of charge and it may be that you have cover for costs by that route. We will check this for you and ensure that if you have suitable cover, we make use of it. There are no financial barriers to making a reasonable claim in the UK. If you’re concerned that something has gone wrong with your medical treatment get in touch and we can help you get answers. After all, clinical negligence is all we do.

Contact the Partner and Head of our Clinical Negligence team, Tony May on 0800 028 2969 or email to-nymay@ chadlaw.co.uk Huddersfield Office, 13 Railway Street, Huddersfield, HD1 1JS

v Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Better known as ‘No Win No Fee’. Originally designed to replace Legal Aid and has been available for more than 15 years. It is now one of the most commonly

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

OVER A THIRD OF NORTHERNERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT MEETING THEIR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS IN 2017 Equifax reveals that over 40% of workers don’t believe they will get a pay rise in the New Year New research has revealed that over a third of Northerners (38%) are very or fairly concerned about being able to meet their financial commitments in 2017. The YouGov research*, commissioned by credit information provider Equifax, also reveals that 30% of Brits think their financial situation will worsen next year, with only 15% believing it will improve. Lower paid workers feel the least confident about getting a pay rise next year, accoriding to the research, with 53% of those earning £5,000-£9,999 per annum and £10,000-£14,999 per annum not expecting an increase. Those earning £40,000£59,999 per annum appear to be the most confident, with 54% expecting to get a pay increase in 2017. Commenting on the latest research, Lisa Hardstaff, Equifax credit information expert, said: “There’s no question that 2016 has been a significant year for the UK, so it is not surprising that people are concerned about the strength of the UK economy as we head into 2017. “Although it is somewhat unfortunate to see that nearly a third feel their financial situation will be worse next year, it is positive to see that 46% believe it will stay the same. 42% also stated that they are going to review their current financial commitments in a bid to get better deals and save themselves some money.”

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Package of training delivered to calderdale print firm A successful Yorkshire business has been given the opportunity to expand thanks to support from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

alderdale based Falconer Print and Packaging Ltd. has taken the next steps towards its business growth goals by investing in their workforce and training their staff. Falconer approached the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to take advantage of the support and funding offered by the skills service. Through the LEP skills service, businesses can work with a skills advisor to identify appropriate training provision, gain support to create and implement a training plan, and eligible businesses can get funding to support with training costs. Falconer design and manufacture packaging for a variety of products including cosmetics, giftware, drinks, luxury confectionery and healthcare brands. They also produce a wide range of pharmaceutical packaging with in line braille. They have ambitious growth plans including increasing turnover by 5-10 percent year on year, in turn creating additional job opportunities in sales, pre-press and within operations on the shop floor. They are also planning to grow the business by tapping into new markets. This includes plans to expand into luxury packaging, as well as geographically growing by increasing the exporting element of the company.

The business was successful in securing funding for 11 staff to undertake a management and sales development program. Following on from their initial application, Falconer were awarded additional funding for both Managers and Officers to complete management development workshops, and have received overall grant funding of £12,500 which they have invested in their workforce in order to grow the business. John Sherwood, Commercial Director of Falconer explains “we anticipated some significant changes to personnel within the organisation which meant that our newer managers needed to be brought up to speed. We also wanted to encourage a culture of innovative thinking to create a more efficient, productive way of working and continue to grow the customer base as well as building on existing external relationships. The training was tailored to support the strategic plans for the company and has enabled us to move forward with our plans to expand and reach new customers. It has also allowed staff to identify and grow target sectors against specific goals, and given us a new way of thinking, ensuring all our activity links back to our value proposition and business aims.

to invest in growing our business, and we are currently planning to submit an additional application to the LEP skills service focussing on strategic management and leadership training.” Through the LEP skills service employers have the opportunity to work with a team of expert skills advisors, discuss their long term growth plans and skills needs, and put together a robust training plan for their staff. Businesses can also apply for grants of between £500 and £50,000 to contribute towards their training costs in some cases attracting funding for up to 50% of training costs. The funding is time limited and applications must be submitted by 31st March 2017. To find out if your business is eligible for skills support and funding, please visit: www.the-lep. com/skillsservice or contact the team on skills@the-lep.com or 0113 386 1910.

“It’s very important to us to continue

K&CUpdate

What is SEO? TopicUK would like to give reader’s websites a boost by sharing some tips on tech. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a much talked about topic so it seemed a good starting point.

opicUK asked Daniel from Bigint Ltd based at the University Of Huddersfield’s Duke Of York Young Entrepreneur Centre which offers website development and hosting services, to share his knowledge on SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a topic much talked about; but what is SEO, is SEO important and is there any tips? SEO is the process of improving the visibility or rank of a website in the organic search engine results. Organic in this context means not an advertisement. SEO increases the opportunity for a website to be found when the target audience searches for the products or services as-sociated to the site. Good SEO is achieved by following a set of strict guidelines designed to help

search engines better understand the physical structure of a website and nature of the content. The SEO guidelines also help website developers to meet the business needs of clients by increasing opportunities for the site to succeed online. When I describe the importance of SEO to customers in relation to their website I use this analogy: developing a website without search optimizing the site is like leaving a best seller under a bookshop counter instead of in the correct section classified by subject, title and author. Only those who know that the book is under the counter will find it. It is similar with websites; unless search engines can understand a website and classify the content the search engine will have difficulty associating the site to search queries and in turn recommending the site in the results. SEO has evolved to have many influencing dynamics; indeed, an industry has grown up around SEO. Nonetheless through a broad lens SEO encompasses code, content, use and analysis. A good starting point to understand SEO code requirements is Google’s SEO Starter Guide. From an SEO perspective, websites need to be mobile friendly too. Following Google’s April 2015 update there may be a significant decrease in search traffic for searches completed on mobile devices if a website is not mobile friendly. With Google confirming that more than 50% of searches are completed on mobile devices it makes sense from a SEO perspective to have a mobile friendly website. Use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test Tool to check your site for mobile friendliness. The content should have text rich in volume and quality with naturally occurring keywords and plenty of relevant

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

media. Keywords are words describing the products, services or primary content. There was a time when developers could load the code with keywords that did not reflect the true content but gave the site an advantage. It was commonplace to add multiple location keywords for a single location business. Not anymore; nowadays search engines are far too clever to be tricked.

There is doing SEO and there is doing SEO right. Find a conscientious, serviceorientated developer through recommendation. Check the performance of sites the developer has search optimized in the results list.

In fact, improper use of SEO code tags can negatively impact the site ranking. Now, content is king; search engines will promote sites containing the exact word or phrase used in the search. All else considered, search engines will promote popular websites. If a website is widely used it will steadily climb the results under the keywords associated to the site. Therefore, with code and content sorted, SEO performance can be boosted by directing additional users to the site. Due to the broad range of influencing factors, SEO is usually an ongoing process of analysis and improvement; consequently, if there is no long-term budget for SEO there is added emphasis on getting SEO right from the start. There are plenty of online analysis tools that will test for SEO and make recommendations for improvement. The most relevant tools are provided by the search engines free of charge and even help website owners to understand who is using the site, how, when and where from.

Here are my top tips: v Use the browser source code view to check your website’s SEO tags against Google’s SEO Starter Guide. v Know and understand your customers by putting yourself in their shoes when identifying keywords. Don’t use trade jargon for keywords if your customers are not likely to use them. v When writing content use a free keyword research tool to see what the most popular search words are related to your product or service and work the keywords into the content. v Be exact, one word can make all the difference. For example, vastly different results will show when searching for budget desks and budget desking. v Do competitor analysis; learn from sites at the top of the results list. Don’t copy though, that can hurt; keep your content original. v Bring niche customers to the site and cross sell. Niche products have much more opportunity success because there is less competition. v Ensure your website has good performance online; performance effects SEO ranking. v Use links to and from the site. However, it’s not about the number, more the quality and reputation of the sites linked to. v Take advantage of social media and free listings like Google My Business. This will establish reputation and achieve a free second listing in the search results and on Google Maps. v Analyse SEO performance regularly and make changes where needed. Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are free of charge services offering data and tips to help improve website visibility and understand users.

Out Of Office Name and age: Doug Main, aged 42 Job title and company: creative director, The Bigger Boat Lives: Scissett Drives: Jeep Renegade What is your first ever memory? That’s a difficult question for someone of my age! It’s perhaps unsurprising given my job, but one of my earliest memories is winning a drawing competition when I was about 6 and collecting my prize in front of the whole school! What is your idea of the perfect day out in Yorkshire? Yorkshire is quickly becoming the county of the cyclist and if you ride a bike around this stunning countryside it’s easy to see why. My perfect day is riding up hills and down dales in blistering sunshine. When the weather’s good, there is no better place to get on a bike. What is your number one holiday destination and why? I love the architecture, laidback culture and fantastic food in Spain. If I had to settle any-where it would be Puerto Pollensa in Majorca. A great place for all the family and it’s like Disneyland for anyone who likes cycling hills! If you were stranded on a desert island with one item, what would you take and why? It would have to be my iPhone – not because of Facebook, Twitter or even the ability to keep in contact, but I’m a massive Audible fan. What hobbies or activities do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I’ve already mentioned cycling, and I completed the 890 mile Land’s End to John O’ Groats challenge in only seven days in June, to raise money for

Child Brain Research (CBR). I enjoy the training, which probably explains why I compete in triathlons too. I also coach junior football and love going to watch movies. Tell us your best party trick? I’m actually a man of many party talents! I can spin a tray on one finger and juggle – both things I learned when I waited tables in my youth. My favourite party trick though is a weird, clicking, hand-slapping thing I do which I learned from my Grandad. Difficult to explain and also to master! If you could invite anyone to the party, who would it be and why? I’ve been asked this before and there’d have to be a list, not a single invite! Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone and Mohammed Ali, to name just a few. It would be one hell of a party! If I had to pick one it would be Dean Martin. And finally, what is your best piece of advice for switching off outside of the office? Exercise – run, swim, ride the bike, whatever. Watch a good film at the cinema – nothing helps me to forget what’s going on, more than two hours watching a really immersive film at the flicks. And ditch the phone if you really want to switch off!

SportUpdate

Huddersfield Town: A club on the up? Sean Makin, a student support worker currently working towards an NCTJ in Journalism, examines the future of Huddersfield Town Football Club.

deals, which has put bums on seats, the club has been averaging just over 20,000 per match this season. Just over a year ago the contrast couldn’t have been more different. Fans were voting with their feet under former manager Chris Powell as his style of football just wasn’t attracting the punters in. Powell was getting enough points on the board to keep Town’s head above water in the Championship, but the Terriers had been treading a fine line since returning to the English second tier in 2012 and something needed to change.

I’m Sean Makin, a long-suffering Huddersfield Town fan for 22 years and have been a season ticket holder now for 15 consecutive seasons. The club was promoted in my first season as a fan in 1995, and I thought it would be easy but it turned into anything but. I’ve seen it all; from the club nearly going out of business, to an empty chair at a press conference to unveil a new manager. Thankfully the club came out of the darkness and into the light and I hope the only way is up! (to the Premier League). A year is a long time in football but the changes in that time couldn’t be any more different at Huddersfield Town. Bringing in David Wagner as manager has put a real feel good factor around the John Smith’s Stadium and reduced admission prices. Along with ticket

Whilst Powell was a genuinely nice bloke, his philosophy on football was to dour to watch. Huddersfield fans like to be entertained by a team that attacks with purpose, playing an attractive style of football. Instead what we got was a work-man like, defensive and cautious approaches to games and it seemed as though Powell was more than happy to take a point than gamble to go for the win. Other factors such as overlooking the academy in favour of older players didn’t help his cause, and with fans leaving in their droves, Powell was relieved of his duties in early November 2015. The Town chairman Dean Hoyle decided to go down a different route after years of stagnation under the usual formula of going with managers with experience of the Championship and plumped for a relatively unknown quantity in a German called David Wagner. I’ve since heard a rumour that Hoyle had tried to entice him to Huddersfield before the appointment of Chris Powell in

January 2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

September 2014 but he decided against moving to England at the time. Wagner, a former Schalke striker and USA international, is best mates with Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp and the pair share their love for ‘gegenpressing’ style of football, which is basically pressing the opponent into a mistake and transitioning from defence to attack as quick as possible. It wasn’t all perfect to start with but the Town faithfully bought into it. The change in style of football got the fans feeling positive again and despite a damp end to the 2015/16 season, optimism was high but no one could have predicted the start to the new campaign with six wins from the first seven, putting the Terriers at the top of the league. Wagner stamped his authority on the squad over the summer by delving in the transfer market to bring in 14 new players; six of which were from his native Germany. He also initiated a team-building exercise in Sweden where the players camped in woods with no bed, electricity, mobile phone or toilet for four days, which seemed to bring them together. Wagner brought in double training sessions which aren’t common in English football and clubs around the country that have tried it experienced mutiny, but the Town squad bought into it. At the time of writing, Huddersfield are in a bit of a sticky patch at the moment with one win from their last six matches and no win in their last three as former manager Neil Warnock inflicted the Terriers to a 3-2 defeat at Cardiff City but still they remain 4th place in the Championship table. It does seem that after a few years of avoiding the trap door, things are finally looking up for Huddersfield Town and whatever happens this season, many of the Town fans believe they have the right man in charge in David Wagner. Watch this space.

Health&Beauty

How to incorporate meditation into your daily routine Dr Maxine Stead, founder of holistic health and wellbeing spa, Alexandra House in Huddersfield, explains how you can make it your New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resolution to incorporate the practice of meditation into your daily routine. Why is meditation a good stress reliever? What are the benefits? Meditation is a wonderful tool for stopping the chatter in your mind and relieving stress. Meditation has been shown to decrease stress hormones such as cortisol, making you feel more relaxed and less stressed. The deep relaxation which is generated quietens your mind and this allows your thoughts and worries to settle. During and after meditation you feel more peaceful and calm and your inner energies become more balanced and settled. Meditation also creates a sense of inner happiness. Regular meditation creates clarity in your mind, which helps you to solve problems without going into crisis mode. It can help you cope with everyday life because you feel calmer, happier and less stressed. Your relationships with your colleagues, family and friends will be improved and it will make you more efficient at work and less likely to make mistakes. We have around 50,000 thoughts a day and taking time to meditate helps to settle the thoughts and puts life into perspective - helping you to stop worrying about the trivial things and focus on being happier and healthier. It can be a great tool to build into your everyday life or to cope with a particularly stressful period at work.

How does meditation work? Meditation is about focusing on what you are doing and not being distracted by your thoughts. A good way to start meditating is to sit or lie comfortably where you are warm and will not be disturbed. Just 5-10 minutes of meditation can have a powerful effect, helping you to cope with work and to feel calmer and happier. Here are a few meditation techniques to try in a quiet place at work or at home: Method 1 Start by taking a few deep breaths and letting go of any strains or stresses. Concentrate on your feet and feel each toe relax and release one by one. Relax the sole of your foot, then your ankle, then the top of your feet. Slowly

work up into your lower legs, knees, thighs and hips, relaxing and releasing any tension. Relax your abdomen, then your chest and your shoulders. Release any tension down your arms to your fingertips. Relax your neck, your scalp and your face and feel stillness in your mind. Method 2 Sit or lie comfortably and start by taking a few deep breaths and letting go of any strains or stresses. Slowly feel all of your skin soften and relax and then relax the flesh underneath your skin. Feel the muscles throughout your body release tension and totally relax. Feel your joints relax. Feel your mind let go of any thoughts and quieten your mind.

#MyTopic

Paula Ho, senior consultant at Provide Education, Brighouse need a constant stream of high quality teaching and support staff so ensure we can fulfil the needs of our local schools. We are continually coming up with new and innovative ways to en-sure we have the best supply staff available.

1. Tell us in no more than 20 words what your company specialises in. We are an educational recruitment agency providing supply staff to schools and academies on a short and long term basis.

Senior Consultant to open the West Yorkshire office and was quickly promoted to Branch Manager. I have over ten years’ industry experience and worked in various sectors prior to joining Provide.

2. How many years’ experience do you have in your industry? Provide Education have been working with schools and job candidates since 2006. I joined the organisation in 2011 as

3. What is the most challenging part of what the company does? Sourcing staff in a competitive market. With more and more schools turning to us for their cover needs, we

January 2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

4. What makes the company different to others who offer the same or similar services? We are an independent company and although we are growing quickly we treat all our candidates as individuals rather than just a number on a board. We work so hard to ensure everyone feels extremely valued which means we have fabulous working relationships with our wonderful supply staff. In addition, we have really close working partnerships with our schools which means we are able to offer incentives and rewards which then filter out into the wider community. 5. What words of advice would you give to someone looking to make it in your industry? Make sure you really want it! It’s hard work and can be long hours so it’s not for everyone. It takes real commitment and passion for what you do to succeed in this very competitive industry. But if you are ready for the challenge, the rewards are worth the hard work.

Growth leads to office move Huddersfield accountants Crowther is relocating from its Leeds Road base to larger premises after a period of continued growth. The chartered accountancy firm is moving to Pennine Business Park, Huddersfield after expanding in response to new client wins and a broadening of its service offer. Crowther will leave behind Woodland View House - its Leeds Road base since 2000 - to better accommodate a growing workforce. Crowther works with businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to corporate finance, and has specialisms in working with charities and community interest companies (CICs). Moving to a purpose-built office park provides a number of advantages for the firm’s clients, including super fast, secure, internet and telecoms; a modern, energy-efficient building; and a more flexible and accessible venue for meetings, demonstrations and events. Steve Crowther, founder and managing director of Crowther, said of the move: “Our office move is the culmination of an intense period of planning and structuring to put in place solid foundations for the upcoming years. As a result, I’m absolutely confident that Crowther has never been better placed to help our clients fulfil their business ambitions.”

MarketingUpdate

What can we learn from Donald Trump’s marketing efforts? Granted, we’re not all jumping for joy at Donald Trump’s recent rise to power. However, the shocking result of the US election campaign should not come as a surprise to seasoned marketers.

By Katrine Cliffe Managing Director KC Communications

understanding that he knew his target audience and worked diligently to engage with them which in turn led to his election triumph. So what can we learn from Donald Trump as marketers?

hether you agree or disagree with Trump’s ideologies, there’s no denying the powerful and influential force behind his marketing campaign. His efforts attracted significant media attention and ultimately drove the bolshie businessman to win the 2016 US Election. Very successful at generating headlines, Trump secured billions of dollars’ worth of free media coverage. His refusal to play by the rules of the political game and his willingness to offend others drummed up much support among disheartened Americans, who presumably felt forgotten about by the current political and economic system. Now we’re not suggesting that all press coverage is good coverage. Quite the opposite in fact. However, in Trump’s case his bold character and highly questionable opinions appear to have worked in his favour in his campaign for presidency. The point here is not whether you like or dislike the President Elect, it’s

In clearly defining a target audience, a campaign automatically becomes more effective in achieving its objectives. Businesses should identify exactly who and where their customers are and the best ways of reaching them, resulting in a much greater return on marketing investment. Regardless of whether you’re an avid Trump fan, you may find yourself begrudgingly admiring the consistency of his brand message. Trump has never altered; he’s just talking politics now rather than business deals. A marketer’s lesson here is to be unswerving in one’s attempts to engage with a target audience. Have a message and stick to it across all channels. Creating key messages that appeal to your target audience is essential. Ask most people about Trump’s campaign catchphrase and they will probably be able to repeat it: Make America Great Again. The President Elect identified his potential fan base and worked meticulously to capture their attention. In the same vein, it’s increasingly important for a business’ marketing efforts to become ultratargeted in order to stay ahead of the

competition. The best marketing campaigns have a particular prospect in mind and will work tirelessly to engage with them. Social media played a significant role in Trump’s marketing endeavours, presenting a convenient method of getting in front of and interacting with Hilary Clinton sceptics. Creating a social media strategy is as an important step for any business. An affordable platform for customer service, advertising, research, relationship building and much, much more, social media really is a no brainer. The President Elect is also not one to shy away from confrontation and is certainly not afraid of being different. As a business, you should offer something wholly different to your competitors. Most political candidates are well rehearsed, refined and extremely professional. Trump stepped away from this industry norm and provided the public with an alternative to the traditional political leader. Too many businesses focus on the mainstream, without considering their unique selling points and what they could potentially offer customers that’s unlike the opposition. Whether the President Elect is successful in delivering his ideas for change is besides the point. While personally you may not agree with his political stance, you can’t knock his business acumen and truth be told – he’d probably make a great marketer. What matters here is he had an idea, he was passionate about it and he stuck to his guns. Something business owners and marketers should strive to do themselves when executing a strategic marketing campaign. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue so tweet me @KatrinaCliffe.

K&CUpdate

Spitting feathers at Bar 10 kitchen

We received a great welcome to Number 10 kitchen, located on Lindley High Street and sister to Bar 10; a well-established bar run by Nikki and her team. By Anthony HegneyDirector at

Asparagus Green

e visited on a Wednesday evening in October, and we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of covers that were in, with most tables being taken. We were welcomed in the small bar at the front of the building which overlooks Bar 10, and the manager Olli offered us the menus to peruse whilst enjoying a pre-dinner drink. The décor has Nikki’s name all over it, and whilst it’s in keeping with Bar 10, it has its own identity focusing on the brand itself. There are some fantastic character chickens with tutu’s on dressing the walls, covered with perspex to protect them from sticky fingers! There are also some great wire chickens which I believe Nikki made herself. With about 70 percent of the tables

taken, the restaurant had a nice atmosphere with chatter amongst the dinners. I loved the open plan kitchen feel whilst you are sat dining, and watching the chefs prepare dinner. A very pleasant waitress introduced herself and asked if we were ready to order. I opted for one of my favourite dishes, named on the menu as ‘Wing it BBQ chicken wings’, served with sour cream and chive dip. Glen opted for a vegetarian dish of grilled halloumi with honey & chili flakes. A short while after we ordered, our starters were delivered to our table by the waitress who explained our dishes. My chicken wings were served with simplistic approach in a bowl with the dip on the side in a white ramekin; five tasty chicken wings as I had ordered.

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

Glen’s Halloumi was served on a black plate with a bed of leaves and drizzled with honey, topped with chili flakes. Both dishes were tasty with great flavours the chicken wings were tender and juicy. The waitress returned to our table to

described on the menu and filling in their own simple way. After a short break, the waitress brought the dessert menu for us to look at. I decided to go for the chocolate fudge brownie sundae and Glen went for the crème brulee served with shortbread. Both desserts arrived after a few moments and were perfect; the sundae was just as Olli explained to me when I asked what he recommended and the brulee was nice and crisp on top with wonderful short-bread to dip into the custard centre.

clear our starters while the chefs were busy pre-paring the mains, by this time the restaurant had filled up completely, which was great to see on a Wednesday evening in the winter. The staff were always keen to make sure that we had sufficient drinks from the bar, and I was happy being topped up with gin so no complaints there! For main course, I opted for the ‘spitting feathers’, which is a 10oz steak burger topped with smoked Applewood cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion & chili jam. Glen went for the superfood salad which was filled with sweet potato, avocado chinks, tomato, cucumber, feta, beetroot, spinach, pomegranate seeds, rocket,

sesame & roasted seeds topped with a poached egg (it might have been much easier to say what it didn’t have in it rather than what it did!). Watching Glen eat, it was obvious he was enjoying it as he didn’t say a word thought the whole dish. 10 out of 10 for that one chef! I went against the grain (pardon the pun) by going for the beef in a chicken house. It’s not for the faint hearted; I had the skinny version which is wrapped in a lettuce leaf, however this can be served in a brioche bun if required. The meat was succulent and tasty with great flavours coming through from the cheese and chili jam; a great dish to fill you to the brim. Both dishes were as

We were both far too full to go for drinks, so we opted to pop back over to Bar 10 for the late night cap. I went for a long island ice tea made by cocktail expert Enrico who has become well known for his cocktails in the bar. It was well worth the trip across the road just finished the night off nicely. I would certainly recommend Number 10 Kitchen as a great way to catch up with friends in great surroundings with well cooked, simple food served to perfection. The starters range from £3.00 to £6.95 for the sharing board and mains from £6.95 to £15.95 for the whole bird, with sides around the £2.50 mark.

It is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm to 9.30pm, and 10pm on Friday & Saturday evening. To book, call 01484 648724 or go to www.10kitchen.com.

K&CUpdate

Ingredients If cooking at home, we would recommend serving it with buttery mashed potato, some of the cooking liquid and a fried egg

Gimbal’s Treacle and Cider Braised Ham Hock Our best-seller at this time of year. At Gimbals we serve this with a wild thyme hash brown or rosti with a poached egg, beetroot relish and whole sweet mustard vinaigrette.

1 large ham hock (you may need to order the ham hock in advance from your local butcher) 1⁄2 a tin of black treacle 1 can of medium cider 1 bay leaf 5 cloves Spring of thyme, parsley and rosemary Chicken stock 1 onion roughly chopped 2 carrots roughly chopped 2 sticks celery roughly chopped

Method

2 3

GIMBALS RESTAURANT

creating simple but sumptuous seasonal dishes If you would like to book a table at Gimbals, visit the website www. gimbals.co.uk or call 01422 839329

Once mixed, gently lower the ham hock so it’s just covered in the liquid and add a tight fit-ting lid or strong foil.

Bring to the boil then turn down the heat to a gentle simmer leaving for around 2 hours for it to cook through. Be sure to check that the liquid hasn’t boiled away during this time.

4 5

If the liquid is significantly reducing, top up with more cider and stock during the cooking process.

The ham hock is ready when the meat comes away from the bone easily. When yours is cooked, remove the ham hock and let the liquid simmer till it has reduced by half, leaving the ham hock to cool on the side.

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

Except for the ham hock, put all the ingredients in a pan (be sure to select a pan which will be big enough to add the ham hock at a later stage) and warm slightly to melt the treacle with the cider and stock.

Once it’s cool enough to handle, remove from the bone and place on an oven proof dish. Pour on some of the cooking liquid and cover with foil and place in a warmed oven till ready to serve. You can prepare this in advance and warm the ham up from cold in the oven with the cooking liquid.

Festive smells made my mouth water! Stephen Naylor

Director of Waverley Consultancy

It’s always slightly nerve-wracking to be asked to try and recreate a dish from one of your favourite restaurants. So when the recipe for ham hock dropped into my inbox from Gimbals I was looking forward to trying it out. At first glance it looked fairly simple… but then I noticed the phrase by the ham hock – ‘you may need to pre-order this from your butcher’. I duly checked at the local supermarkets and, indeed, there was no ham hock to be seen. So off to the farm shop and, thankfully, the butchers there were able to help. The main element of the dish secured, it was then a case of checking the cupboards and getting in anything we didn’t have. I’m not a cider drinker so a bottle of that was purchased (and, by the way, when did cider become such a big thing – so much choice, so many different varieties, so many different flavours… though I decided blackcurrant cider probably wasn’t what they intended to be used…) and the assembly could begin. The recipe was simple to follow – indeed the preparation took about 10 minutes – and that included trying to peel the onion, badly. Basically everything went into the pot and then two hours of waiting and watching it bubbling began. This would have been the perfect time to

sit back with a good book and have a nice glass of wine as the very festive smells of treacle, ham and cider drifted through the house. Sadly I was doing the recipe on a cold, wet mid-week evening with the 18-month old’s bed time to sort so that wasn’t an option. Nice dream though. After two hours of cooking, and the house smelling amazing, it was time to take out the ham and then reduce the stock. It took quite some effort to not devour the ham at this point but I resisted and then added the reduced cooking stock which made the ham glisten and look amazing. Gimbals suggest that this would be great served with mashed potato. I would agree, but sadly I’m not a fan of mashed potato (I

know, my wife says I’m weird too) so I decided to just try it on its own. And it was delicious – moist and just the right balance of saltiness from the ham and sweetness from the cider and treacle. If you’re looking for a winter warming snack or meal then this is the one to try. Apart from sourcing a ham hock, it’s fairly straightforward and simple, just make sure you leave yourself enough time for the cooking and then the cooling as I think it’s probably best not eating boiling hot but left to cool slightly to let the flavours infuse. All that would have made it better, was if Gimbals then delivered one of their trio of desserts to finish the meal.

Brewfit tasting the difference

Left: Curtis Paxman, Managing Director Brewfitt Limited and James Paxman, Operations Director

Sainsbury’s fresh and lively Pignoletto is a Prosecco-lover’s delight and ideal for adding a bit of ‘fizz’ to any special occasion. The team at Brewfit put it through its paces. If you could choose any meal to drink this wine with, what would it be? We think this prosecco would complement a starter of prawns and a variety of light canapés well. Would you be proud to display this wine in your home? Prosecco is best served cold, therefore we’d probably store it in the fridge, so it’s ready and waiting

The Government and ACE have acknowledged the imbalance, but argue that it is because the major national institutions are based

TopicUK proud to be working with...

January2017 - Kirklees & Calderdale Edition

for when we’re visited by guests. If you could choose anywhere to be sipping this wine, where would it be? It would be idyllic to enjoy a glass of the fizz on a beach terrace watching the sun go down. Does the flavour evoke anything in particular? We’d love to try this with some fresh fish so it’s making us a little hungry! On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate this wine? We’d give it a 6 out of 10.

or who can afford it. The report also points out that had Londoners won a comparably disproportionate number of Lottery prizes compared to people in the rest of England, equivalent to

Employee Management Skills Workshops

www.eatonsmith.co.uk

We’re pleased to announce that Eaton Smith and The Personnel Partnership are continuing their popular series of practical and interactive workshops aimed at all managers with responsibility for people management and HR staff who would welcome additional skills development. The trainers have received excellent feedback from all in attendance and have been described as: “trainers are very good, there is clear communication and they are very open to discussions started by attendees” and the workshops have been described as “excellent”, “very useful” “relevant”, “educational and enjoyable” and “very informative and interactive”.

Each workshop will cost £75 plus VAT and will include refreshments and all training materials. Difficult Conversations “it’s not me, it’s you”:

21 March 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm We all dread that situation where we have to sit down across the table from someone and start an awkward conversation, but sometimes it just has to be done! Whether you’re dealing with an issue of personal hygiene or suspected alcohol abuse, mediating a personality clash between colleagues, tackling issues of poor performance with an employee who may view your attempts at management as bullying or discrimination, or dismissing a good egg who has lost their way, we can guide you through the process and give you the tools you need to confidently approach that difficult conversation and take action.

Dealing with Genuine Sickness and Disability:

16 May 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm

Following the success of the “Monday sickie” workshop, in which we looked at how to deal with those disruptive one day absences, Kate and Helen will be looking at how to deal with those genuine cases of sickness which have a longer lasting impact on your business. Perhaps you’ve had to address the difficult issue of an employee who is no longer able to satisfactorily perform their duties because of ill health – how do you performance manage them when you know it isn’t their fault? Or, perhaps you have an employee who is on long term sick leave and you’re not sure when or if they’ll be back. We’ll look at strategies for coping with capability issues and long term sickness, the new Fit For Work scheme and what steps you might take to dismiss a member of staff for capability.

Disciplinary: from investigation to dismissal:

4 July 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm

As busy managers or HR Practitioners, it can be hard to know where to start when an allegation lands on your desk – have you got time to deal with it properly, and what are the pitfalls to taking a procedural

shortcut? In this workshop, we’ll look at practical scenarios of disciplinary allegations and how to investigate them efficiently and thoroughly without absorbing too much management time, we’ll then work through a disciplinary procedure from start to finish, including useful template letters, so that you’ll be ready to tackle the next allegation head on.

Performance Management:

19 September 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm Back for the third time, this popular workshop looks at how to get the best out of your staff via a performance management process. If employees are working at their optimum performance level and concentrating on tasks that will help drive the business forwards, then they can make a significant contribution to the success of your business. We will look at how to do this by using a strategic approach to performance management and show you how to deal with poor performance issues at an early stage before they become unwieldy. We will consider what to include in a performance management policy and give you lots of ideas to help you create your own or change your existing policy. We will also look at how performance management might lead to dismissal, and how it may be used to your favour in the Employment Tribunals.

Employee Relations: Your Questions Answered!

14 November 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm To round off the year, we’ll be looking at common problems that businesses experience in order to help you to spot the pitfalls before you fall in them and equip you for employee relations issues in 2018! Before the workshop, we’ll send you a pre-learning questionnaire to find out if there are any specific scenarios that you have faced or are facing and that we can help you with and we’ll then work through them within the workshop. We’ll also prepare anonymised case studies based on live situations that we’ve dealt with during 2017 to ensure that you leave the session with lots of practical learning points.

Performance Management:

19 September 2017 9.30am – 12.30pm To round off the year, we’ll be looking at common problems that businesses experience in order to help you to spot the pitfalls before you fall in them and equip you for employee relations issues in 2018! Before the workshop, we’ll send you a pre-learning questionnaire to find out if there are any specific scenarios that you have faced or are facing and that we can help you with and we’ll then work through them within the workshop. We’ll also prepare anonymised case studies based on live situations that we’ve dealt with during 2017 to ensure that you leave the session with lots of practical learning points.

Who are your trainers?

Kate Booth from Eaton Smith -Kate is a Partner with Eaton Smith, and a Notary Public, and was shortlisted for the Yorkshire Legal Awards “Rising Star” award in 2016. She is an experienced solicitor specialising in employment law, with particular interest in business acquisitions (including the TUPE Regulations), restructures and discrimination issues. Kate has been dealing with employment law issues for many businesses in and around Kirklees and nationally for the last eight years and was an advisor to the House of Commons’ Justice Committee on Employment Tribunal Fees. She brings with her practical examples of what can and does go wrong in the workplace and how you might address this! Helen Straw from The Personnel Partnership - Helen is the Managing

Director of The Personnel Partnership and is also a Chartered corporate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Helen operates at a senior level, providing HR support and advice during times of company set up, business growth, major reorganisations and deals with complex employee issues. She has developed and implemented a range of HR policies and strategies as well as managed day to day operations and developed and delivered HR training programmes across the UK for many small to medium businesses and larger blue chip companies. Helen is both pragmatic and commercially savvy.

Group booking discount: if you book 3 or more workshops in one go or book 3 or more people into a particular workshop you will receive a discount of 10%.

To b o o k p l e a s e c o n t a c t e l e a n o r c u m m i n g s @ e a t o n s m i t h . c o. u k o r c a l l 0 1 4 8 4 8 2 1 4 3 0